#if you did it. congrats! you now have the ability to easily put any game ever released onto your 3DS for free!

[celepeace]

Last call for homebrewing your 3DS!! I used this guide, which adapts to what your current software version is + your region (the method differs based on these things). It's very easy, all you need is 30 minutes to an hour of free time, a basic understanding of how file explorers work, an internet connection, and an SD card reader if your computer doesn't have an SD slot.

After today, it may become harder to homebrew your 3DS. It will probably not be impossible to do so after the eshop closes, but methods will likely change and there is no guarantee there will be another way available anytime soon.

[thistleandthorn-rpg]

Congrats G on your audition for Roen Topaz! Please check out this page for what to do next, and send us his blog within 48 hours! Welcome to the group!

OOC INFORMATION:

Name/Alias: G Preferred pronoun: He/Him Age: 28 Timezone/Country: GMT RP Experience: a good 10 years, probably more Activity Level: 6/7 normally but it’s the holidays rn so might be here more

IC INFORMATION:

Name: Roen Topaz Designation: sub Age: 28 Birthdate: 14TH April 1996 Faceclaim: Ncuti Gatwa Orientation: Homosexual Kinks: rough sex, bondage, public sex, group sex, open to most except Anti-Kinks: scat, watersports, needles, blood

Key Points: 

Sassy and quick witted – Roen is known for covering a lot of his insecurities, fears and everything else with his quips and sassy attitude. It helps to keep the power in his own court and he feels that it allows him the chance to deliver the punchlines before others can.

Straight to the point, sometimes harsh – Roen isn’t someone to beat around the bush. Getting straight to the point cuts out the time for bullshit and keeps things moving along the way he likes it. If your feelings get hurt in the process, then that is your fault not his.

Loyal to the right people – Once you get onto Roen’s good side you are in for one of the most loyal friends you could ever want, he’s there all the time for you.

Not easily swayed by others – Roen is stubborn and strong-willed. He makes up his mind and once he’s done so it’s like trying to draw water from a rock to make him change it. It takes someone or something special to start to get that sway.

  BIO: 

Roen Topaz is the oldest child of the Topaz family, a rich couple originating from the Hague in the Netherlands. Both of his parents, a dominant father and switch mother, met at their internship working at the International Court. They worked hard causing them to continually struggle with having to split themselves between their demanding career and raising the three children they had. Roen always looked up to his parents, loving the job that they undertook and the way that their whole life was dedicated to ensuring that the world was a place where people were held to a standard of good that he believed in. It was something he strived to, wanting nothing more than to follow in their footsteps, but when his mark was given there seemed to be sudden halt to his plans. His ability to decide for himself, to pursue what he wanted on his own whim the same way his parents had, was gone and instead he was left with a history of education, a passion and level of knowledge that was left waiting for someone else to sign away for him.

Roen did not take too kindly to this, his attitude going from one of a man full of hope to one a little angry at the world. Roen began to become known as the man with the sharp tongue. The world was no longer going to be the easy path he had carved for himself until this point and Roen felt like the only real power he had left was his words. He knew how to use them to his benefit, how to cut people down with them, how to catch them off guard. He knew how to keep things light when it was needed. Roen was smart, he knew how to play the game but the anger that bubbled quietly under the surface could often cause him to be a little too ready to lash out. The new world he found himself in had caused the lovable, amicable, good natured man to become a little stoic. His defences were up, and other than the select few he kept most of the world at arms length now.

Things were not going well for Roen and with the countdown to his 30th birthday fast approaching things were starting to get a little tense. His parents, meaning their best, began to try and start setting him up with a claim to ensure he was alright. It hurt his ego to have to go through the horrible set ups, the awkward encounters and the continual falling apart of any situation when he once again put his foot in it. Eventually a decision was made, Roen would move to America and attend the prestigious Stonewall Prep (where his own father had attended) and would eventually leave there with what was needed.

  BIO QUESTIONS:

  What are your feelings about the mark you have received? 

The mark that I was given completely changed the trajectory of my life and I cannot say that I am particularly happy about it. I had a plan, I knew where I was going and I knew that I was going to do with my life and now all of that depends on someone else. There is nothing I can do about it but I am not alright with any of this – I’ll need to make it work for me somehow.

How do your feelings on the system compare to your parents’ feelings on it?

My parents have always talked about how the system works, have worked to make sure that it is working properly and well for everyone in the world. They’ve helped to ensure that it’s positive and I have always agreed with them. It’s been something I have been on board with. However, now that it has put a spanner in my plans I do not know how I feel. I am struggling to reconcile my tattered future with the system that I watched my parents help structure.

Where do you see yourself after you graduate?  

I hope that I get to do all that I had planned. That I get to continue the law journey I wanted to take, that I can follow in my parents footsteps like I wanted and that I will get to be able to do all of this and more while being genuinely happy.

How do you feel about authority?

Authority is needed, it’s important and when done properly and used appropriately it keeps the world moving. I have grown up in a family that have spent their life ensuring that there’s a worldwide consensus on authority keeping to a set of guidelines and positivity. I want to be part of that dynasty. Someone who throws their authority about though, they need to be stopped. There’s a lot of differences and nuances.

[watevermelon]

Fate | Kageyama Tobio x Reader (One-shot)

✧ Summary: For years you watched Kageyama grow - from his time as king of Kitagawa Daiichi to the seemingly aloof setter on Karasuno. Your lives were a set of near misses; distant friends, but never getting any closer. You figured that once you entered Shiratorizawa High that it would be the end of your friendship. Thankfully, it was only the beginning.

➳ Tags: Slight Oikawa x Reader; Fluff with very minimal angst; Reader transfers from Seijoh to Shiratoriazawa so there’s drama; I love Oikawa but oooF this is not a good fic of him ➳ A/N: Captain-Sama! In the groupchat is the username for the female captain of Shiratorizawa and do you know da wae is the reader’s lmao

Navigation

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As much as Oikawa complained about him, you understood Kageyama Tobio to a certain extent.

You spotted the setter during your shared time at Kitagawa Daiichi Junior High, him being one year your junior. There was no doubt the genius and pure talent that was coursing through his veins - he was surely going to make whichever high-school he attended proud.

You had the same position as him on the women's volleyball team and served as vice-captain in your second-year, alongside a third-year who held their head just as high.

There was nothing more scary than the thought of looming talent, creeping up on you until you were rendered absolute. Oikawa, you were sure, had felt that since the moment Kageyama was placed as an alternate setter during his first-year. It was a daunting feeling, to work on something at all hours of the day and know that there was someone who could easily render it all worthless.

But that did not mean it was fair to treat the poor first-year that way.

Iwaizumi was the senpai Kageyama deserved, but the blueberry held a strange respect for the setter two years his senior. No matter how much of a jerk Oikawa proved to be, through his biting words or taunting nature to the other setter, that did not change how amazing of an all-around player Oikawa was. And that made Kageyama respect him even more.

You respected Kageyama's genius, even helping him personally with his jump-serves, but there was no doubt that he heavily relied on Oikawa's example.

You wondered how long that would last.

Oikawa progressed to Aobajōsai High School at the end of the year. And, to everyone's surprise and obvious disapproval, you did not advance to the white-and-blue signature colors of the school that most Kitagawa Daiichi students went to.

The vice-captain and later full captain of the women’s Kitagawa Daiichi Junior High volleyball team was not going to Aobajōsai.

You would be branded a traitor by the lesser students, people who served as your other teammates that you were not close to. But your friends around you knew just who much you worked hard and aspired to have this academic achievement. You, in the depths of your hearth, admitted that you wanted to be on a team that almost guaranteed victory, with teammates who you could conduct and control the game with.

Unlike what many had hoped, you were going to Shiratorizawa Academy.

Your grades were well above average, actually landing you in the top five in your class among your entire graduating year. What stood you out among the endless crowds of talented setters, beyond your unending potential, was your already rounded ability as an aggressive server. Your jump-serves were better than the other first years in your newly minted class (an ability that came as a perk of being a certain Oikawa Tōru's friend).

Given both an academic and sports scholarship, you flashed a blinding smile at your junior high graduation, parents and friends clapping at your achievements.

You felt blessed to have such supportive parents, ones who, despite their busy work schedules, still attempted to attend your major volleyball games. And had vocally voiced to you their approval of your wanting to go to Shiratorizawa, offering to pay for it out of pocket if you had not received a scholarship.

You could not ask for better parents than these.

Shiratorizawa Academy handed you a new ass - giving an entirely new meaning to practice and torture. 

You accepted the position as alternate to the regular setter with a smile, happy to just be on the bench and not cheering from the stands. If anything, the first few months of Shiratorizawa showed you that you had so much more to learn.

But you were eager for the challenge.

A particular practice match with the women's team from Itachiyama Academy solidified your need for much more training. You wanted to be a reliable pillar to the team, for whatever role you needed to sub into for the game. Whether it be just as a pinch server or when the regular setter was sick, you wanted to demonstrate the winning attitude that came with being a student to a school of absolute victors.

You spent your first-year training nonstop, your fellow first-year students surprised at your youthful vigor and unending stamina. But you had to prove yourself better than reliable, that you were going to uphold the Shiratorizawa standard for setters and more if you wanted to be a regular.

You related to Shirabu and Kawanishi, fellow students in your year who were keen on becoming regulars to the men’s volleyball team. Both you and Shirabu had not attended Shiratorizawa Junior Academy, instead coming from separate junior high's that were considered lesser. Because of this, you two came in ‘brand-new’ with no friends or experience with the school personally. Shirabu grew to have an obvious close relationship with Kawanishi, but you found yourself gravitating toward them every once in a while, as well.

The rivalry between your school and Seijō took the back-burner during your training. You would see some of your previous friends when there were practice matches between your schools and you made an effort to text and even hang with some of them if given the time, but volleyball man. 

It was hard to manage your academic workload alongside giving more than one-hundred percent in your sport.

When the Interhigh-Preliminaries rolled around, you watched from the stands as second-year Oikawa Tōru had already taken the helm as vice-captain and regular setter of the Aobajōsai volleyball team. You were silently proud of your brunet senpai, despite how gaudy and annoying he could be, there was no denying Oikawa’s obvious skill and love for the sport.

The rivalry between specifically Ushijima and your previous senpai ran bone-deep and it was easily palpable to everyone watching the match, even more so to you, who sat at least a hundred feet away but knew both young men personally now.

After the game, you went down and put a comforting hand on Oikawa's shoulder, who gave a small grimace at the motion before fully standing to look at you. It was easy to morph your appearance and identity with the other students adorned with purple tracksuits, (since not matter who, they all annoyed the hell out of him) but Oikawa remembered your face personally from Kitagawa Daiichi.

The two of you were not especially close during junior high, but definitely friends that would often converse on a daily basis. Since you were the vice-captain of the women's team while Oikawa was captain of his, you often shared your personal woes and experiences. 

You even had a shared extra-curricular class in some science-related subject (you knew he was a closeted nerd, no matter how much he denied it). He was definitely a friend of yours, but you never truly knew what was going on in that head of his.

Oikawa’s eyes widened at recognizing your face, before dropping down the bold font of your school's name at the front of your jacket.

"And here I was, wondering if you had moved or died." Oikawa started with a small smirk, "This is much worse."

You lightly punched at his shoulder and then sighed, "Believe it or not, even though you're such a nuisance, I missed you."

Oikawa smiled, but then held a hand over his heart in feigned offense. "Nuisance?"

"I missed you, big oof." You put a loose arm under his and wrapped it around his middle in a side-hug, surprising the brunet who quickly returned the action. "I'm proud of how far you've come.

He rolled his eyes and attempted to pull away, "I don't need you to baby me."

"I won't." You stated in a firm voice, "But I do know you will continue to do whatever it takes to destroy my school."

Oikawa looked at you, fully peered at your countenance as he soaked in your words, before nodding in affirmation. You shared more words of conversation, catching up between friends who had not seen each other in a whole year, before he returned back to his team.

Like the previous Seijō captain, you were relentless in your training during your first-year. You wanted nothing more than to be the regular setter on your team. It was not enough being the sub, even as a first-year, you wanted to prove your abilities on the center-court in an official game.

The regular setter was a third-year, with graduation looming around the corner. Both you and your second-year counterpart were eyeing the position with eager eyes, but your work ethic did not fail you.

GroupChat: Caw Caw SHIRATORIZAWA ୧༼ д ͡༽୨

07:57   From: Not-my-libero-Yamagata ( ´ ▽ ` )             welcome aboard (L/N)!!

07:57   From: Captain-Sama!             congrats (L/N)!

07:57  From: do you know da wae            aw thanks! But it wasn’t without the help of the team (✿ ♥‿♥)

07:57  From: do you know da wae            also congrats to shirabu and kawanishi!

07:58   From: Not-my-libero-Yamagata ( ´ ▽ ` )             i ship it

07:58   From: Kenjiro (`へ´*)            thank you and you too

07:58   From: Captain-Sama!             but there’s three of them

07:58   From: Kawanishi ✩꒳✩            thanks b + you 2

07:58   From: the most tender Salami             ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

07:58   From: the most tender Salami             Also yah congrats but im watching you

There was no question that every eye of both the men’s and women’s volleyball teams were now scanning the shared groupchat with narrowed eyes. The newly formed regular positions were just released this morning and everyone was eagerly anticipating to see their names announced.

You were thankful that the women’s captain was so friendly, offering congratulations for your achievement, unlike many other envious third-years who were now sitting on the bench.

You were pronounced as the regular setter in your second-year, your older senpai inwardly sneering at the pronouncement. Nothing was set in stone and no player was ever safe in their position, (unless of course you were Ushijima Wakatoshi), but your older teammate knew better than to waver in their own training.

Which is why you were not personally offended when the kind-hearted, Semi Eita, did not add to the numerous amounts of congrats to you and the two other second-year boys. You were grouped together with Shirabu and Kawanishi, newly minted second-years now inaugurated into regular positions on a renowned team. There was no doubt that there was a hint of envy and competition within Shiratorizawa now.

07:59   From: Captain-Sama!             don’t be rude salami this is a congrats thread

07:58   From: Ushiwaka-sama             You will all surely be assets to our team

7:58     From: do you know da wae             Thank you!! ❤⃛ヾ(๑❛ ▿ ◠๑ )

08:00   From: Coconut-head            congrats to all the second-years! 

08:00   From: Coconut-head             ໒( ♥ ◡ ♥ )७

You saw the multiple indicators that someone was typing, suddenly come to a complete stop. 

Goshiki Tsutomu was the rare case of a student abounding with natural talent and enthusiasm. Yes, there were tons of students blessed with a general aptitude for volleyball. But what set him apart was his humble attitude and willing manner to learn and keep being molded. He was growing to be the product of all his older teammates, since he had no previous sense of style to retain.

Goshiki Tsutomu would surely grow to be Shiratorizawa’s ace. 

But right now, he was an enthusiastic first-year trying to overcome the overwhelming shadow of Ushijima Wakatoshi.

It undoubtedly set off the tempers of multiple (now) third-years. You even felt the crawl of envy at the young man. You were only granted a regular spot in your second-year. And yet this first-year had already overcome your personal feat. You knew, in the more comprehensive parts of your mind, that Goshiki earned his role and there was no excusing your petty behavior.

So, with a deep sigh, your fingers swiped across the keyboard.

08:05   From: do you know da wae             Congrats to you too, Goshiki-kun! (♥‿ ♥ ) ~

08:00   From: Coconut-head            thank you senpai!!

The captain of the women’s team, along with Yamagata and Ushijima, added in their own forms of congratulations to the growing thread on the chat. But there was no doubt that the atmosphere was suddenly even more tense with the addition of Goshiki’s words. You could not blame anyone; you knew first-hand how much you worked and literally slaved for your position on the starting block.

Every regular on the team worked their way to their position – that was a fact no one could ignore.

But they had to learn to live with it.

You spent most of your time getting integrated with your fellow teammates, thoughts of Kitagawa Daiichi taking a much further backburner than before. You heard the distant yet familiar names of Oikawa and Iwaizumi often make their way into conversation. There was no doubt that you loved your friends, but they were your rivals now. 

And you had no hesitation in recounting their abilities and weaknesses when both Reon and the infamous Guess Monster had asked you.

It also helped that you were once the captain of the women’s team and knew them better than anyone had before. Which also helped you exploit their weakness – another additive that the coach had taken to account when putting you on the starting block.

But there was another label that, in particular, stood out as you approached your second Interhigh-Preliminary as a student of Shiratorizawa.

Freak quick duo.

You were familiar with the several different nicknames that promulgated the Miyagi volleyball scene – great king, guess monster, little giant, super volleyball idiot (but that was more of an inner joke between Shiratorizawa students).

It was strange to you, that Kageyama had not yet made an appearance at Shiratorizawa Academy. He surely had the volleyball forte and physical ability to be the most skilled setter in the Prefecture, but you chalked it up to his grades or brisk personality that may have weighed him down.

But when Kageyama was not even present for the practice match between Seijō and your own school, it made you wonder if he had dropped off the face of the planet. For students who were seriously pursuing their sport, it was not a surprise for them to travel abroad to train. But you doubted Kageyama of all people would do so, his English was terrible.

Usually students from your junior high would immediately accept the invitation to Aobajōsai, a private school seconded only by Shiratorizawa. The few unique instances against this was yourself, but there was no sight of Kageyama at your school. 

So where on earth was he?

Both of Seijō’s teams, men’s and women’s, were coming for the match and the annual start of their explosive rivalry. It was strange for you, to now experience both sides of the Oikawa and Ushijima relationship. You had been on Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s side not too long ago, seeing Ushijima’s brute words that you had taken, at the time, as sarcastic and extremely biting. 

It was funny how now, knowing Ushijima personally, you knew the poor spiker only had volleyball in his heart and mind – oblivious to how offensive his words could really be.

09:34   From: the most tender Salami           enemy spotted Attached: brunet.jpg, ihatethisguy.jpg

09:34   From: Ushiwaka-sama           He should’ve gone to Shiratorizawa

09:34   From: the most tender Salami           lmao he can’t hear you waka-kun

09:34   From: Ushiwaka-sama           That does not make it any less true

09:35   From: Captain-Sama!           Wait

09:35   From: Captain-Sama!           WAIT

09:35   From: the most tender Salami           ????

09:35   From: Captain-Sama!           wait Attached: screenshot.jpg

09:35   From: the most tender Salami           WHAT

09:36  From: Kenjiro (`へ´*)           That’s literally just a zoomed in version

09:36   From: the most tender Salami           um that’s SHIRATORIZAWA’S (F/N) with the enemy

09:36   From: Kawanishi ✩꒳✩            I mean she did go to Kitagawa Daiichi

09:36   From: Not-my-libero-Yamagata ( ´ ▽ ` )            wait she’s Oikawa’s student ???

09:37   From: Captain-Sama!            and now it all makes sense

09:37   From: Ushiwaka-sama            even his student has the good sense in coming to Shiratorizawa

09:37   From: the most tender Salami               LMAO you have no chill

09:37   From: Ushiwaka-sama            it’s almost summer, why would I be cold?

09:37   From: Captain-Sama!               the top 3 ace in the entire country, ladies and gentlemen

You opened the chat after the last message from your captain. By then, you had already greeted the visiting teams from Aobajōsai and were leading them to the gyms that were being used to the practice matches. It was strange, seeing the friends that you had spent more than three years with, wearing rival colors to your own.

“I’ll never get used to seeing Shiratorizawa-clad you, (F/N).” One of your old close friends commented, pointing at your purple tracksuit.

“Honestly, me too.” You admitted, looking up toward her before going back to your phone. You briefly showed the last few texts to Oikawa himself, who rolled his eyes at Ushijima’s words.

There was always something strange about Ushijima when it came to the Aobajōsai setter. It was mixture of respect and something, that always motivated Ushijima to voice his desire for Oikawa to go to Shiratorizawa. He had explained on one occasion that Oikawa was a setter unlike any in the prefecture, including his current team as well.

Oikawa was the type of setter who could bring out the absolute best of anyone, orchestrate his team to their full one-hundred percent, molding them toward his personal interest and control of the game.

And as a setter yourself, you knew that despite his gaudy style, Oikawa was well above the rest.

Ushijima often voiced that Oikawa deserved a team that would help him grow, rather than a team that require him to win – a team he had to drag by his fingertips.

You had explained to Oikawa once before how Ushijima explained it to you, of course with better words and ones that the brunet would less likely take offense to, but the setter simply scowled and muttered that Waka was still an asshole anyway. When you had told Ushijima about the bonds that Oikawa upheld, Ushijima simply narrowed his eyes and said nothing.

It was strange, their relationship. The feelings seemed to run bone-deep, neither male listening to the other side or even simple reason. But you learned not to question it anymore. It went against logic.

You flipped your phone back open to the groupchat and typed.

09:38   From: do you know da wae             I wasn’t his student, I was his babysitter

You typed in, Oikawa looking over your shoulder as you texted, immediately reaching over you to grab your phone the moment he had realized what you conveyed. You could almost feel the loud laughter of Tendou as he bellowed out at your text.

“Why must you taunt me like this (L/N)-chan?” Oikawa pouted, crossing his arms and looking away from you. Iwaizumi had a small smile when you showed him your words, Makki and Mattsun laughing in response since the true personality of the intimidating setter was coming to light to the other Shiratorizawa students.

“It’s time everyone learns the truth.” You teased, rubbing your shoulder against Oikawa’s as he continued to pout. There was no one quite like Oikawa, you admitted inwardly but never to the face of the already proud setter.

They unloaded their things into the visiting school’s locker room and when you returned they had already shook hands and were warming up before the start of the practice match. You tilted your head at the line-up, now a visual confirmation that Kageyama was nowhere in sight.

“Who are you cheering for, (F/N)?” Tendou asked you with a pointed finger in your direction.

You simply rolled your eyes, “Myself. I have my own game in an hour.”

It was to no one’s surprise that your school had dominated both matches, for both the men’s and women’s team. You spied the score-board when you looked over to the men’s match: 25-22 and 27-25. The gaps were not huge and it was obvious that the teams were close in ability, but Aobajōsai had yet to win a single match from your school in three straight years.

You had an unfair advantage of already being closely acquainted with many of Seijō volleyball players – you were once their captain and had to help them individually with their own routines. To your captain’s glee and the third-years’ utter dismay, you proved yourself to be the integral cog that led to the team’s victory – your position as a regular was obviously here to stay.

There was no denying the evident vigor in Oikawa’s eyes after the match, even more so since he had personally requested from you the digital recording of his practice match. An exchange of two orders of milk bread from the bakery across Aobajōsai and you had emailed the brunet his request.

You offered to walk the Seijō students to their bus, since you had a personal question in mind. “Did Kageyama move or something?” You asked toward Oikawa, who scowled in response.

“He went to Karasuno High.” Iwaizumi answered instead, elbowing the brunet for his rude behavior.

“Why do you care so much, (L/N)-chan?” Oikawa taunted, “You already have me and I’m the best setter you need.”

You rolled your eyes along with Makki, but decided to say nothing after his words.

Karasuno… 

You remembered the name of the school distantly. It was still within the prefecture, but you do not recall the school being particularly outstanding when it came to volleyball or any sport for that matter. The school was not anywhere near the list of high-schools you had applied to when you were in junior high, so why would Kageyama, who had unending potential, go somewhere else?

You had voiced this outwardly and even asked if there was an offer from Seijō to Kageyama.

Makki shrugged his shoulders, but the younger student behind him, one that you did not recognize, visibly tensed and the frown on his face grew. He said nothing to you, but it was obvious that Kageyama’s name alone had an effect on the first-years.

Ushijima was already standing at the buses; perfect posture and his hands were naturally down by his sides. You could tell the Seijō students were ready to fight, tensing immediately at the sight of your fellow schoolmate, Oikawa and Iwaizumi moving to stand at the very front of their group. You fought down the urge to call Tendou or Semi, hoping that the situation would not progress further and requiring the help of the other third-years.

“Let today be a testament, Oikawa. It’s never too late for you to come to Shiratorizawa.” He uttered before walking away, right through the center of the group and back to the school grounds.

You spotted Oikawa’s tense smirk, one that he was attempting to use to hide his obvious frown. Iwaizumi was not hiding his scowl and Mattsun looked ready to fight.

You put your hands up, unsure what to say. “I don’t get it. He’s only ever like this with you guys.”

“Don’t defend him, (F/N).” One of your old friends on the female team stated, “You’re one of Ushiwaka’s friends now, you wouldn’t understand how it’s like to be on the losing side anymore.”

You bit your lip but said nothing, there was no reasoning with them when the snide venom from their defeat was still a fresh wound in their minds. You were better off not trying to say anything to them, but with Oikawa’s scowl only increasing you knew you had to do something.

Oikawa kept his eyes trained on Ushijima’s retreating back, before motioning for the younger students to load up their things into the bus, giving his own pack to someone else.

“Oikawa-senpai, please don’t let him get to you.” You put your hands on his chest, seeing the tight fists at the brunet’s sides. “Ushijima doesn’t mean it in a douchey-way, he just comes off like that by accident.”

The brunet took in a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second, before putting his hands on your shoulders and looking you full-on with his piercing hazel eyes.

“Take that Waka! (L/N) still views me as her senpai – her ability hand-picked and trained by me.” Oikawa stated with enthusiasm as he looked over your shoulder and toward the school. Your smile was now a straight-line, there really was no end to their rivalry, you inwardly mused.

You jabbed your elbow into his stomach, making Oikawa release his hold on you. He groaned and bent-down, low enough for you to lightly pat the top of his head and tell him that you looked forward to the milk bread that he owed you.

He countered, saying that you really could not resist seeing your senpai again, and was about to continue if not for the extremely fast volleyball setting loose right on the brunet’s head.

You flashed a quick thumbs-up toward Iwaizumi then waved goodbye. Walking back toward the dorms, you were ready to shower and take a nap after a day like this.

It was strange that two schools that held such an intense rivalry would often hold practice matches between one another. You chalked it up to Seijō’s innate ability to get better as the duration of a match continued, their batch of third-years in particular were good at planning and strategizing on the fly during official matches. It only made sense that they would want to play against the top school even more often.

Your first official Interhigh-Preliminaries as a regular and you watched the competition with guarded interest. You saw the name Karasuno on the first-day, surprised that the school Kageyama had chosen was in the bottom bracket. The women’s team were obviously subpar in terms of volleyball, incapable of even stopping the average serve from their opponents. You frowned, neither team on the court would prove to be a worthy challenger to Shiratorizawa, so you simply walked away from the match.

Maybe his test scores were really bad, you inwardly joked.

Shiratorizawa was exempt from the first few days of matches, giving everyone ample time to watch and gauge their future rivals.

You decided against watching the match of Karasuno vs Dateko, hearing that the Iron Wall had crushed the team only a few months prior. Rather, you chose to watch a match between Johzenji and another, since you wanted to watch for yourself the extremely aggressive style that had you wondering just what was going on inside their heads.

But when a crowd had exclaimed in surprise over by Karasuno’s court, you chose to maybe just walk over and see what the fuss was about.

You took a seat farther from the rest, hearing distantly of a freak quick that not even the school who specialized in read-blocking could keep up with. You knew, first-hand, how fast and aggressive Kageyama was with his setting, it could be a surprise to everyone’s who was seeing it. Even the spikers on his own team in junior high were constantly surprised, you could imagine how it was now that he was using it in a more public setting.

It was confirmed now, before your very eyes, that Kageyama was now attending Karasuno.

Donned in a uniformed of black and orange with a huge indicator of his number nine, Kageyama was still same in appearance from when you had last seen him. Sporting an unintentional scowl with eyes that shone with a certain determination, you could spot Kageyama in the sea of volleyball players. A part of you was proud to see your, now much taller, kouhai on the court.

Your eyes followed the game, watching as Karasuno attempted to get around the Iron Wall that Dateko was infamous for.

A lucky save from a blocked spike, Karasuno’s libero was quick on his feet and you distantly recognized the short male. You blinked, seeing Kageyama’s perfect form and unable to personally decipher where the first-year was going to set to. You saw the older looking man, one who was surely in his twenties. Or the balder looking one, watching the setter from his place in the back line.

You blinked, a second passing as you tried to figure out who was the next attacker.

Your eyes could barely keep up with the orange flash of someone as the figure ran toward the net, without regard to the set, and spiked the ball before anyone on the other side could react. You felt yourself physically reel back in surprise, what the hell was that???

This was the freak-quick duo that everyone was talking about.

It was not just another name, rather it felt like an extreme understatement to what you had just seen for your yourself. You had not spotted any visual signals and wondered just how much Kageyama had worked on his precise pin-prick setting – he was a monster now, that was for sure.

You were not able to watch the rest of the match, your team calling you since it was getting closer to the time that your group was leaving. You had your own matches to deal with, and as curious as you were about how much Kageyama had changed since you last saw him, you had your own pressures to deal with at the moment.

The women’s team of Shiratorizawa won their matches the next day, overwhelming numbers in your favor since your renowned school seemed to always carry the best ace in the entire prefecture. You took in your victories with humble stride, knowing that nothing was set in stone until the final with your rival school - Aobajōsai. Rather, you finished your stretches and attempted to get the tail-end of the match between Seijō and Karasuno.

You watched with bated breath, unsure of who to root for in the final points, as the freak quick nearly disabled the second-best school in the prefecture. You could not help but bite your lip as the shortest middle blocker you had ever seen, rose above the net, only to be blocked by your old friends.

There was no stopping the apparent heart ache you felt at seeing a team you barely knew, dejectedly fall to the ground with their heads hung low. Oikawa was hollering in victory; there was no doubt in your mind that this match extended to a much more personal level, like that of his games with Ushijima. Within seconds, the brunet was yelling out commands for his team, likely getting ready for the next match as Karasuno lagged behind with depressed visages.

It seems Kageyama is finally beginning to trust other people, you inwardly mused when you reran the last few plays within your mind.

You stood at Aobajōsai’s side of the stands, waving to Oikawa with a smile when he spotted you, lining his team up to bow at those who came to watch the match.

Oikawa made a point of smirking and pointing a finger-gun at you, making many heads turn towards your direction as he did so.

You felt the instant pang and vengeance of a thousand fangirls, making the third-years of Seijō roll their eyes as you tensely motioned a slash across your neck toward the brunet. Other Aobajōsai students, those cheering from the stands, lifted a brow in confusion and curiosity – wondering just who this Shiratorizawa student was and what connection you had to Oikawa.

“At this rate, you’ll be branded a traitor, (L/N)-chan.” Tendou joked, making you tense up at the voice. You spotted him, along with three other students from your school sitting a little farther back from the Seijō crowd.

“I can’t be interested in some of my old friends?” You teased back, walking up to where they were sitting.

“Just don’t cry when I demolish your boyfriend.”

“He’s not-!”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” Tendou interrupted, turning back to the court as Karasuno neared the Aobajōsai side of the court to bow and offer their own thanks. “Besides, why be interested in him when we have cuties like this one?”

Tendou quickly grabbed at Shirabu’s cheeks, forcing the setter’s frown into a puckered fish-face for a quick second before the brunet nearly mauled his fellow teammate. You rolled your eyes at the antic, but said nothing to acknowledge the question.

You turned back, watching as Kageyama’s distant eyes never wandered higher than eye-level, obviously devastated that this was the result of all his training.

“Kageyama!” You yelled, hoping that the setter would hear you over the applause.

He had, looking up at the stands and seeing you wave at him. There was no hiding his surprise and it looked like he wanted to yell something back, but was instructed by his captain that it was time to head back to the coaches. Kageyama simply waved to you and then ran back to join the others.

“Or is it that one, all along?” Tendou asked in a low voice, eyes following the Karasuno setter before they slide over to you.

You hadn’t heard the red-head, turning back and going out to where the teams were convening downstairs. You attempted to look at the Karasuno crowd, but your own team was assembling for some strategy concerning your own final, the very next day.

After three games, the Shiratorizawa women’s team was pronounced winners of the Interhigh-Prelim. Everyone was aware of your school’s name, it’s reputation – how a win like this was simply expected of you.

But absolute winner did not cover the fact that your face ached from a receive to the face, unable to raise your hands in the visible route of the insane spike of your friend. Or the fact that one of your middle blockers was now actively sporting a limp, pain exploding in her ankle after having a bad landing in an awkward spot after successfully cutting off their ace. Or the fact that one of your regular wing-spikers was now benched, an ice-pack on her knee after her old-injury was sprouting after having to be used so many times.

Or the fact that you nearly cried with joy when you heard the immense crowd of Shiratorizawa cheerleaders and students chant your name, after you performed a setter dump.

None of these details really mattered in most people’s eyes. 

You were Shiratorizawa – winners to the core. They had no sympathy for your story or the hard-earned journey you made to the top, many just expected it with no empathy, and it made you scowl.

You and your team lined-up after the match, the cheering growing to a loud uproar as the cheerleaders, alumni section, and just immense crowd of students chanted the victory screech for Shiratorizawa.

You waved with both hands at your parents as they cheered your name even louder.

This was your second-year in Shiratorizawa, but your first time as a regular on the team. Your friends in Seijō were seeing your skill first-hand in the match, from start to finish, as your team had utterly demolished their hopes in progressing to nationals. You were a skilled setter before, but your time at the Academy had honed you better than you ever were. You gained experience from playing other powerhouses from around the country, even some local colleges who were willing to challenge you.

You were on a completely different level than where you were as the captain of Kitagawa Daiichi.

Your friends had accepted long ago your association with Shiratorizawa, but actively putting your face and actions to their defeat obviously strained their feelings toward you more and more.

You made sure to smile at them before the match, attempting to placate the tense feeling of fighting against your friends, but it was obvious that their friendship with you was getting harder and harder to maintain. After the game, they had completely ignored you – your current friends in Shiratorizawa advising you that it was just the heat of the match. 

But you knew better and simply kept walking away as they ignored you.

The men’s team was able to defeat Aobajōsai in only two matches – Oikawa’s bitter glare and Iwaizumi’s tense frown being sent directly into your own heart.

In the end, everyone deserves to win.

But there was only one winner in the end – you mused. Taking one last look, Oikawa not greeting you this time when he saw you at the line-up, you walked away from the match and back downstairs to the lobby.

It was just too much for your heart, all at once.

You sent a text to both third-years the next day: I’m proud of you guys! Don’t let Ushijima get you down. Iwaizumi answered within minutes, thanking you for the encouragement and even complimenting you on your jump-serve, since he caught a glimpse of your game.

Oikawa never answered.

Back at school, the coaches for both the men’s and women’s team allowed a rest-day on Friday’s holiday – Family Day – claiming that everyone needed to take a breather and that they had earned it from their win.

GroupChat: Caw Caw SHIRATORIZAWA ୧༼ д ͡༽୨

11:23   From: Captain-Sama!             congrats to all !! ✿♥‿♥✿

11:23   From: Captain-Sama!                           may your crops be watered and your skin is clear

11:23   From: Coconut-head             thank you!! And for you as well ٩(♡ε♡ )۶

11:23   From: Ushiwaka-sama!             thank you I am checking my plants now

11:23   From: do you know da wae             I have exactly one succulent

11:23   From: the most tender Salami           lmao thanks b attached:oikawameme.jpg

11:23   From: Kenjiro (`へ´*)            why must you call plants that @doyouknowdawae

11:23   From: do you know da wae            y

11:23   From: do you know da wae            are you jealous of my good succc ??

11:23   From: Kawanishi ✩꒳✩            LMAOOO

11:24   From: the most tender Salami              holy shit

11:24   From: Kenjiro (`へ´*)            fight me

11:24   From: Kawanishi ✩꒳✩              ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

11:24   From: the most tender Salami            (f/n) gives me hope for our meme legacy :’)

11:24   From: do you know da wae            i gotchu bby boo

11:24   From: do you know da wae            maybe I’ll even bring you back food from break

11:24   From: Captain-Sama!            am I the only one staying on campus for family day? :’)

11:24   From: Not-my-libero-Yamagata ( ´ ▽ ` )            myself + Shirabu are staying as well

11:25   From: do you know da wae            aw guys I’ll bring some of my mom’s oyakodon when I get back!

11:25   From: Not-my-libero-Yamagata ( ´ ▽ ` )            thank you!!

11:25   From: the most tender Salami            my food is now forgotten :’)

11:25   From: Captain-Sama!            you live closer to Karasuno and Seijooo, right?

11:25   From: do you know da wae            yaaaas

11:26   From: Captain-Sama!            ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

11:26   From: the most tender Salami            ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

11:26   From: Kawanishi ✩꒳✩              ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

11:26   From: do you know da wae            ｢(ﾟﾍﾟ)

11:26   From: Captain-Sama!            don’t think we didn’t notice your little exchange with one of the freak quick kids

11:26   From: do you know da wae            oh

11:27   From: Kenjiro (`へ´*)            (f/n) cant have other friends ??

11:27   From: the most tender Salami            oh come on we all know they shared

11:27   From: the most tender Salami            the look attached: hearteyes.jpg

11:27   From: Not-my-libero-Yamagata ( ´ ▽ ` )            oh no the matchmaker is back in business

11:27   From: Captain-Sama!            oikawa then kags are you hiding any other setters ??

You were lounging on your bed during common hour, hesitating in your next answer and trying to decide if you were either going to mess with everyone or just end it there. But, you always loved sowing some seeds of discord with your favorite volleyball nerds. Typing in…

11:28   From: do you know da wae            im actually in love with one of the miyas

11:28   From: the most tender Salami            gasp

11:28   From: My only Okaasan/Eita            he can jump up his own ass

11:28   From: Ushiwaka-sama!            he is a good setter

11:28   From: Captain-Sama!            but a complete douche

11:28   From: Not-my-libero-Yamagata ( ´ ▽ ` )            I do not approve

11:28   From: the most tender Salami            that’s how you know he’s that bad, yamagata doesn’t ship it

11:29   From: Coconut-head attached: ???meme.jpg

11:29   From: Kenjiro (`へ´*)            ＼| ￣ヘ￣|／

11:29   From: Kawanishi ✩꒳✩           who the fuck

11:29   From: the most tender Salami            third from left attached: InarizakiHigh.jpg

11:29   From: do you know da wae            tbh didn’t expect anyone to know who that was

11:30   From: the most tender Salami            lmao sweetie we live and breathe vball

11:30   From: Captain-Sama!            also unfortunately he was at a vbc camp with some of us

11:30   From: the most tender Salami            I’d rather approve of you with oiks

11:30   From: do you know da wae            lmao nah

11:30   From: Captain-Sama!            these RECEIPTS would beg to differ Attached: oinkawa.jpg; jointpractice.jpg; bakawa.jpg

11:31   From: Kenjiro (`へ´*)            holy

11:31   From: the most tender Salami            I knew it was true love 11:31   From: Kenjiro (`へ´*)            where is everyone’s chill ???

11:31   From: Ushiwaka-sama!            you will be a nice Shiratorizawa couple

11:31   From: the most tender Salami            LMAO

11:32   From: do you know da wae            why does this keep happening

11:32   From: do you know da wae            only kenjiro understands me

11:32   From: My only Okaasan/Eita            ive known waka forever and even I don’t know why he’s like this with Oikawa

11:32   From: Kenjiro (`へ´*)            its bc we’re the only normal ones

11:33   From: Ushiwaka-sama!            I’m not with Oikawa, he doesn’t even go to Shiratorizawa

11:33   From: Ushiwaka-sama!            a mistake in itself

11:33   From: Captain-Sama!            IM SCREAMING

11:33   From: the most tender Salami            wakanda forever

11:33   From: do you know da wae            LMAO I was thinking that too but decided against texting it

11:34   From: the most tender Salami            wait a second

11:34   From: the most tender Salami            kenjiro x (f/n) >.>>>>>>

11:34   From: do you know da wae            lmao don’t even

11:34   From: Kawanishi ✩꒳✩              lmao well

11:35   From: Kawanishi ✩꒳✩              ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

11:35   From: do you know da wae            we all know that if that if kenjiro’s girlfriend hears this she’ll literally shank me

11:35   From: the most tender Salami            lmao true

11:35   From: Kenjiro (`へ´*)            she doesn’t even like me

11:36   From: do you know da wae            what a lie

11:36   From: Kawanishi ✩꒳✩             hard retweet

11:36   From: Captain-Sama!            we all know the alpha ship

11:37   From: the most tender Salami            oikawa x (f/n) x kags

11:37   From: Captain-Sama!            LMAO

11:37   From: do you know da wae            end me pls

11:37   From: Kawanishi ✩꒳✩             oof didn’t know you were into that

11:37   From: Kenjiro (`へ´*)            they can definitely do that for you

11:38   do you know da wae            …

You rolled your eyes at their antics, conversation on constant haywire. But you would not have it any other way. Most people would look at your school, the simple name and already have connotation to others. Yes, you were a powerhouse school. But that did not change the fact that you were all teenagers, just like everyone else. And with it came the continuous antics of meme-lovers.

Throwing your phone back on your bed and turning to look out the window, you were happy to have a day to yourself to finally make sense of everything happening. You were proud of your win at the Interhigh Tournament, no matter how bitter or lost your friendship had become with the people you were once the closest to.

Your texted your parents about the three-day break for Family Day and they had immediately pushed for you to come back home, where they would hold a celebratory dinner along with some other families they were close to and invited. You told your roommate about it and how embarrassing they were, but she countered that it was a sweet gesture, since she held a close relationship to her own parents as well.

“They’re just proud of their little girl, that’s all!” She teased, grabbing your head into a small nuggie. She was much taller than you, a middle-blocker who was still serving as an alternate.

Most of the other members of the team were also heading home on Thursday night, eager to visit their homes and parents and finally have a home-cooked meal after being away for half the semester. You personally looked forward to your mother’s cooking and said goodbyes to your teammates after your last class on Thursday.

Your dorm at Shiratorizawa was much farther than your home, actually sitting between Karasuno High and Aobajōsai. You considered jogging the entire way, but it was a rare break and decided to give your body one as well (at least just for the weekend, of course). Coming off the train, you spotted the street sign pointing to the aforementioned high-school and heavily considered visiting the old-time friend and setter that you had yet to have a formal conversation with in a good two years.

You had some time to kill and decided that maybe it was not such bad idea.

You neared the school and heard the tell-tale sounds of sneakers and volleyballs being tossed about.

Standing in the already open doorway, you spotted several faces that you recognized from the Interhigh game still training. They wore serious expressions, studying their abilities very carefully and working to fix the kinks in what they planned to bring to the table.

“Japan!” You heard someone shout over the others, the owner of the voice pointing at you as they looked at you in surprise, before they ran over to where you were standing.

You waved at the orange-haired middle-blocker, smiling as you did so. “I remember you. Good spikes, little dude.” You complimented, patting the top of his head as he blushed at the physical contact.

You turned back to the gym, stopping the blush crawling to your cheeks as every male looked at you in genuine curiosity. You kept scanning, until finally seeing the setter you were looking for.

Kageyama was already walking up to you, smacking the head of the still sheepish middle-blocker and muttering hinata boke, before he greeted you in a neutral voice.

“(L/N)-san.” He stated simply, inclining his head as he did so.

“Kageyama-kun, didn’t expect us to meet again like this.”

You felt the looming presence of two behind you and turned to see two males peering at you with open interest. One of them, that was the taller of the two, asked toward you, “Eh, Kageyama. How do you know Shiratorizawa’s setter?”

You smiled at the two looming boys and answered, “We went to Kitagawa Daiichi together.”

The two held their hearts with open euphoric expressions, happy that you were even gracing them with a response.

Kageyama fought the urge to slap them on the head as well, before adding. “She helped me with my jump-serves when Oikawa had refused to.”

You just kept on smiling, unsure what to say or add when the boys before you had yet to say anything at all as well.

“You give me too much credit.” You countered, “You were a monster on the court the other day.”

Asahi silently studied your figure, distantly remembering your sharp jump-serve that he had gleaned from your match, it was something you were personally known for after all. A setter who was capable of shutting out the team from making any offensive plays to begin with – you really were one of Oikawa’s students after all.

“Nice to meet a senpai to our little monster.” The captain teased, offering his name – Daichi.

“What are you doing here?” Kageyama asked you, trying to keep his voice leveled.

“Both volleyball teams were given breaks until Monday, consider it a blessing for winning Interhigh.”

“Wah! I remember you.” Hinata, you recalled from earlier, stating. “You did that thing that Oikawa did to us. He went pow and was about to set and then boom it was a spike!”

You nodded, surprised on how truly enthusiastic and just all-around pure the small middle-blocker was proving to be. This was the same volleyball player who was part of the freak quick duo you had seen for the first time not long ago. Eyes shining with determination and an indescribable aura, it was a complete change to the young man jumping with joy in front of you now.

You turned back to Kageyama, “I wanted to see how you were doing. I saw your game and was just wondering…” You trailed off.

Kageyama hesitated, a small frown still evident on his visage. “We have practice now.”

You dropped your sports bag to the side, “Sure. I don’t mind helping out with jump-serves or something if you guys need it.” You paused at the silence, “It feels weird not having practice during the week anyway.”

“Jump-serve? Shiratorizawa?” The coach asked with a finger on his chin, before it morphed to a smirk. “Better make the most of it!” He directed to the group.

You felt the evident hesitation in the air, several of the older looking men simply looking at you with no words coming out. But that did not stop the little orange to bound up to you without restraint, eyes gleaming with anticipation at whatever question was being held behind those wide orbs.

“Do you mind showing me your jump serve?” Hinata asked with hands held up to his chest, excitement apparent through his lack of restraint.

“Don’t crowd her, boke.” Kageyama bit out, but you waved him off with your hand and a relaxed grin.

Offering a small smile, in hopes of softening some of his reserve, you took the ball that Hinata was offering you and glanced up toward the rest of the group. The moment your eyes came to, the older (you assumed) third-years, were ushering other members to get back to their own practice. A man with silver hair was pushing his younger ones to their previous positions, but it was obvious that their eyes were following you as you walked across the court.

“Stand back, little dude.” You motioned with your free hand as you paced further back past the line.

Holding the volleyball out with your dominant hand, you took a deep breath and launched it up into the air above you. Examining it with keen eyes, you smashed it forward, close to the outer corner of the other-side, but within the bounds.

“Uwah!” You heard his cheer of excitement from the side and turned to see a bright and eager smile.

It seemed that all the other commotion in the gym had stopped as you readied to serve, silence now much more evident as they took a full gander at you – the one capable and widely known for your monster serve. You felt eyes peering at you, but they quickly averted as you timidly looked around the room for yourself.

All but two pairs of eyes, both of which you were sure were burning into your head.

“Allow me to receive your serves!” You heard the voice from behind you, turning to see a male who was a shorter than you, with two-toned hair.

“Sure.” You muttered, surprised at the humble request of a libero you had heard so much of before.

This continued until the next rotation, a strange smile on your face from being on the other side of practice. Your coach knew better than anyone your strengths and definitely exploited your weaknesses when it came to your own practice. You distantly remembered having to do a cursed number of jump serves and, even though it was your forte, there were tears in your eyes for just how much you ached.

“Here.” An older man inclined a water bottle in your direction. “My name’s Asahi.”

“Thanks. Nice to meet you.” You nodded back in appreciation, slightly intimidated from his tall stature and rugged appearance.

Forcing yourself to steel your spine, you recalled how you were previously incredibly apprehensive around Ushiwaka, who turned out to be the biggest volleyball idiot on the planet.

“Something up?” You asked with a raised brow.

“Do you mind, walking me through your serve?” He hesitated in his request, making you inwardly surprised that a man so big and bulky, was coming to you so humbly.

Again, Karasuno seemed to surprise you.

You walked home with Kageyama after practice, floors mopped and nets neatly stored away. You were so used to your dorm at Shiratorizawa, the walk home felt familiar and yet distant – it was strange to you. The both of your homes were only a few streets separated from one another, you remembered from the walks home you would have together before in junior high. And you decided on spending the beginning of the walk together in comfortable silence.

Or at least comfortable for you.

Kageyama was inwardly struggling to say literally anything.

He remembered you as the type of person who hung around Oikawa and Iwaizumi, two people who often had no qualms in engaging in conversation. You had a bright smile, unlike his own. 

And yet here you were, simply gazing ahead to the commute in front of you without a single word uttered. Kageyama had to stop himself from the physical nervous tick in his fingertips.

“I can’t explain it, but there’s just something different about you.” You stated, slowly moving your gaze over to the setter at the end of your sentence.

It was clear that Kageyama had no idea what to say, sputtering but no actual words coming out.

“It’s not a bad thing, not at all.” You raised your hands, waving them in defense. “Don’t worry, Kageyama-kun.”

“How can I not…” You heard him mutter under your breath, making you lightly chuckle at his words.

“It’s definitely a good thing.” You complimented, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder and making him instantly shy once again. “Why are you so shy, now?”

“What do you mean?” He raised a brow.

“It’s just me, no need to feel so tense.”

Kageyama hesitated, “Thank you.”

“For today? No worries, a small part of it was selfish since I wanted to see you.” You admitted.

You could hear his breath hitch, before he added okay.

“You’re such a blueberry, Kageyama-kun.” You laughed at his disposition.

“What does that even mean?! Boke.” His apprehension was quickly pushed aside at his frustrated words, making you chuckle at him even more.

You reached Kageyama’s home first, a sight you had not seen for yourself in the past year. Even when you returned back home, this was a little out of the way from your usual commute. But this was strange, it seemed completely the same no matter how much time had passed. It always just seemed…

… Empty.

You turned to Kageyama, “Are you spending family day alone, Kageyama-kun?”

“Yeah.”

You gauged his reaction, despite his rough exterior, Kageyama did not exhibit a hint of a frown or sadness at the answer. Rather, his response was rather plain – as if this occurrence was normal and not even disappointing to the setter anymore. This realization hurt your heart, having such comforting and supportive parents of your own, Kageyama deserved just as much.

Kageyama was used to spending his time alone, that much was evident.

“Would you like to have dinner with us tomorrow, for family day?”

He looked at you fully, apprehension palpable, but stated anyway. “Sure.”

You exchanged phone numbers as a formality, but saw that both of you had your previous numbers saved in each of your phones. It made you slightly happy, that Kageyama decided on keeping your phone number despite your time apart at different schools.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Kageyama-kun.”

“Boke, I’ll walk you.”

You tilted your head and pointed in the direction of your home, “It’s not that far–”

“It’s dangerous, you never know.” He interrupted, brisk words in evident contrast to his sheepish strides in front of you.

You just kept on smiling the way home.

“Would you like to come in?” You offered to which he nodded. You slid the door open and greeted. “Mom, dad! I’m home, I have Kageyama with me.”

“Come in sweetie, I’m in the kitchen!” You heard your mom’s voice, the sweet smell of her cooking fliting through the room and to your growling stomach. “Your dad is still picking some stuff up for tomorrow.”

You settled your bag at the end of the stairs before making your way over. “Hey.”

“Look at my favorite swan!” She wrapped her arms around your shoulders and then lightly squeezed your cheeks, “Now an official winner, too!”

“Mom, stop.” You grumbled, wrestling your face away from your ongoing embarrassment.

“Kageyama, good to see you too!” She greeted. “You’ve always been so tall – look at you now, all handsome.”

You laughed at Kageyama’s reddened face, no worries coming out of his goldfish expression.

Your mom continued, “I meant to stop by your home last week, I still owe your mom thanks for the calla lilies.”

“Oh. They’ll be back next week.”

Your mom paused, turning her head in question as she looked at the young man. With a newly determined face, she glanced at you and then toward Kageyama, “Would you like to join us for family day, then? We’re having a few people over and we would love to have you as well.”

“I already invited him, mom.” You stated, taking some dough off the table to eat as a small snack, which resulted in a large smack on the back of your head.

“Perfect.” Your mom assured, “I’m still cooking now, but you’re welcome to join us for dinner tonight as well.”

Kageyama backed-up with his hands raised, “I couldn’t barge in on (F/N)’s first night back with her family–“

You interrupted, this time. “Nonsense, Kageyama-kun.”

“Here, Kageyama-kun can help me with this little bit. (F/N) unpack your things upstairs and then come help set the table.”

You nodded, taking her orders without delay as Kageyama settled into the rhythm of your family.

“You were such a stern boy, back in Kitagawa Daiichi. I’m glad to see you’ve lightened up.” Your mother commented, passing the young setter some greens over the kitchen table.

By now, the meal was ready and the four of you, with the new addition of your father, were enjoying a quaint dinner to celebrate you finally visiting home after so long.

“Lightened, that’s a good word for it.” You added.

“There’s definitely a difference.” Your dad observed, “I was glad to see you’re still enjoying volleyball – still as gifted as ever.”

Kageyama paused, “You’ve seen me play?”

“Of course. There’s no denying the shock we still have when we see you serve. And that quick toss, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you do it like that before.” Your mom replied, “We saw your game against Aobajōsai, there’s no doubt in anyone’s minds that you’ve grown as a person.”

“Game nearly gave me a heart attack – I’ll never get used to your brunette friend.”  You dad pointedly stated toward you before turning to Kageyama, “But I’ll be honest, even though we’re closer to the Oikawa’s, I was rooting you.” He winked.

“Honey.” Your mom lightly slapped his shoulder with a smile.

“Of course, the highlight of the tournament for us was cheering our daughter on to her first official tournament win.” Your father continued, waving off her light admonishment with a grin of his own.

“Wait.” You saw the little hamster running in Kagyeama’s mind, “You watched the last few days of the tournament?”

“I wasn’t about to miss my daughter become champion!” You father bellowed, putting a comforting hand on your shoulder. “Even if I have to use my vacation days at work, I would hate to miss something so important to her.”

Kageyama continued staring, eyes never leaving your father. There was no doubt that Kageyama lived and breathed volleyball, he loved it more than anything else really. But, his parents had yet to even begin to understand the dedication he had toward the sport. Kageyama could not remember the last time they had attended one of his games or even tournaments.

The expression on Kageyama’s face was so far-gone, it made you want to do something to comfort him.

Apparently, your parents thought the same way.

“You’ll definitely get ‘em next time.” Your dad motioned toward Kageyama. “Seriously, that quick attack you have – I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

“We’ll be rooting you on again.” You mom reassured Kageyama, offering a plate of meat toward the setter who was staring at them with wide eyes.

He took the plate with hesitant hands. That’s how you knew Kageyama was so surprised, the fact that he was even wavering to eat meat – his king of food.

“Don’t look so surprised.” Your father joked before turning to Kageyama fully with a serious expression, “We’re proud of you.”

You smiled at their words. 

You knew your parents well, just as they knew you, but here they were being entirely honest. Your parents did everything they could to have you in a loving environment – and this required being honest with what they wanted and what all parties were feeling. Meaning, they were not dressing up their words to the silent setter.

They really were proud of him.

You put a comforting hand in the crook of his elbow, since he was sitting beside you. That seemed to snap Kageyama out of his stupor, his glazed eyes turning to you and then between your parents.

“Thank you.” Kageyama paused, “Really.”

This was probably the extent of his social ability, you inwardly joked before offering the plate back to your parents. The poor dude was close to exploding, you could tell, and tried to steer the conversation away from the setter before that happened.

It was strange to Kageyama, the effort your parents took in spending time with you or even just what you were interested in. Your parents commented that they always downloaded your games if they were broadcasted on television, eager just to see how you were doing or wanting to send you an encouraging text about something you had done during the match.

Kageyama really felt the love in your family.

Your father walked him to the door, once dinner and dessert was done. Offering a goodbye and a literal see you tomorrow. Kageyama felt guilty, even in the face of your whole family telling him it was no issue, leaving your mom no choice but to task him with bringing a small cake for the gathering tomorrow.

Kageyama put a hand on the gate to your house, looking back with a small smile before continuing on his walk back home.

You spent the next day preparing for the small gathering that night. You only hoped that your parents would not embarrass you later. Kneading dough and humming along to the song through the speakers, you spent the calm morning alongside your mother in the kitchen. Your dorm only had a microwave, since you were still an underclassman with no privileges to a kitchen yet. It was a great change to finally have a cooked meal.

You greeted the first family with a smile, unaware of the feelings of one in particular.

“Hey, glad you guys could make.” You started, turning to the side for the new guests to enter. The parents smiled at you, inattentive to the tension between you and their daughter.

“Good to see you, (F/N). Congrats on your win, as well.” The father greeted as he passed you.

You turned to your friend, “I haven’t really seen you in a while.”

“Our last two sets was three days ago.” She bit out, glancing at you briefly before walking into your home.

You had always worried about this. 

You loved your friends; your time at Kitagawa Daiichi held a special place in your heart – but that was nothing compared to the continual animosity they held for your school. The rivalry between Shiratorizawa and Aobajōsai was not a surface level problem, it was one that was seemingly burning to the core of each blue-clad student. They wanted nothing more than to absolutely destroy you, even if you were their friend. And the fact that you were a forerunner in the women’s team’s defeat, it made them dislike you even more.

You could not withhold the long sigh that escaped you.

Your parents were always the type to participate in fundraisers or school events and, being a previous member of a strong school like Kitagawa Daiichi, meant that they were in constant association with other parents to kids just like you. You loved it at the time, since it was obvious display of their support for you and the sport. 

But now, after leaving the life-track of your Kitagawa Daiichi friends…

It’s not that there were no other parents that yours could connect with at Shiratorizawa. But it was harder for your parents since most of the others knew each other from Shiratorizawa junior high – meaning they already had their tight knit clique of parent association friends. It was not like your parents did not try either, but they were just closer to the friends they made at Kitagawa Daiichi. It also helped that your home was closer to the schools as well. Which meant that…

Some of their closest friends were parents from your time in junior high.

Meaning most of those invited today were probably now attending Aobajōsai.

You had to stop yourself from slapping your forehead against the door.

Your home was littered with various families containing your friends – or ex-friends? They had never actually confirmed anything to you verbally – making you want to literally throw yourself out the window and down the street into the river and hopefully float down back to Shiratorizawa.

If not for your parents, you would have had no problems walking back to school today if it meant avoiding this.

Opening the door after the telltale sign of the doorbell, you nervously smiled before the caustic eyes of the Oikawa family. Tōru, along with his parents, older sister with her husband and son, greeted you at the door as you stepped aside for them to enter. The older Oikawa dragged you into a hug, claiming you’ve grown way too much and that she was proud of your recent win. Takeru handed you a flower and you recognized it from the nearby park.

You were most nervous of Tōru – his reaction to you after the Interhigh Tournament was unlike how he had ever treated you before. Even as a newly minted Shiratorizawa student, he still took the effort to catch up with you and even text you back. But since the tournament he had been ignoring you. Iwaizumi reassured you that it was nothing personal, it was just your school that inflamed him.

But it just made it all the more awkward to be inviting Oikawa into your home now.

The rest of his family made their way into your home, but Tōru took his time in taking off his shoes and stand in the foyer area alone with you, hazel eyes locking with yours and never turning away.

“You’ve always been an amazing setter, I hope you know that.” You started.

He blinked slowly, eyes making their way from the bottom of your shoes all the way up to your face. It felt like you were being examined, his intense stare and uncharacteristic quietness raking through every detail of your body – no wonder your fellow students at Shiratorizawa found him to be intimidating. Oikawa really could be if he tried and it hurt your heart that you were now placed at the completely other side of a friendship.

Hazel eyes narrowed when he reached your face, “I don’t need your pity.”

You grabbed his elbow before he could walk away, “It’s not. Tōru, you need to know that. You’ve always been an incredible setter I look up to and that will never change.”

Oikawa looked at you but said nothing. At least his expression was more neutral, rather than its previous hints of resentment.

“Take away the names, the labels, the stupid school colors – you’re an amazing setter. And you will always have a place in my heart as my first mentor.” You admitted, watching as his eyes slowly widened with each word.

You continued, “Which is why I hate to see you beat yourself up over this. You mean so much to me, to so many people – I just want you to treat yourself right.”

Oikawa closed his eyes, seemingly taking in all of your words and letting it process one more time in his mind. When hazel eyes were peering at you one more, he had a slight smirk on his face, but you could tell that it was morphing into a genuine smile.

“Thank you, (F/N).” He tugged on your hand his time, free arm coming around your waist to bring you into a hug.

You felt his head lean against the top of yours, relishing in the moment that you could be there for your older senpai, one that had taught you so much when you were first starting your beloved sport. There was so much you wanted to convey to him and your really believed in your heart that Oikawa deserved to go to nationals – but you were just happy that he was not mad at you anymore.

“I really mean that much to you, huh?” You could hear the telltale signs that Oikawa’s teasing voice was edging back and you lifted a brow as the setter spoke, “I knew Shiratorizawa couldn’t take you away from me. You really must love me.”

You rolled your eyes, Oikawa was coming back to you.

He lightly pushed at your shoulders, one arm still around your waist but the other holding you a good enough distance so that he could peer down at you.

“Please wait for me, for marriage.” He winked.

Immediately you were pushing his arm away and turning to hammer your elbow into his ribcage. Oikawa back away immediately, muttering a curse and yelling at your violent nature.

“You’re lucky Iwaizumi’s family left for vacation or you would’ve gotten a real ass-whooping.” You stated in a dead-pan voice, making Oikawa sigh at you and mutter true.

You were happy to have at least keep your friendship with Tōru, even if your relationships with your past female friends were nothing short of a complete garbage fire at this point.

The brunette led you by hand into the living room, where many of the others were already socializing. You could literally feel the gossip spreading already, prolonged stares at where you were joined at the hands with Tōru, the whispers between the older parents, and even his own damn sister taking one look and then winking at the both of you.

You attempted to flick his hand away, but Tōru simply chastised you for being a brat.

You had to fight the urge to kick his shins.

He took out his phone and the two of you posed for the picture, joined hands visible from the angle. You wondered if this would be worth the sudden death via Shiratorizawa’s roasting if Oikawa posted this to Instabook, but you figured he would not since you were still on tense relations with literally everyone (sans Iwaizumi) from his team.

Your savior came in the form of the doorbell, immediately springing away from the hazel-haired setter and to the last awaited guest. He still followed you over, leaning his side against the doorway as he waited for you to open the door.

“Glad you made it, Kageyama-kun.” You greeted, taking the box of food from his hands so he could take his shoes off.

“Thanks again, for inviting me.”

“No problem. Make yourself at home.”

Turning back to Oikawa, you could see he was standing at full attention now - posture haughty, narrowed eyes, raised chin, and a small scowl on his visage.

You wondered if there would be a fight today.

Kageyama lost to Oikawa and your friends lost to you.

What the hell were your parents thinking????

You led Kageyama back to the living room, the both of you standing awkwardly as the current Aobajōsai kids talked amongst each other. Oikawa stood the side, surveying the situation before tsking, then walking over to you and leading you to sit in the empty armchair while he leaned on the armrest. He placed a lazy arm across the back and you fought the urge to say a sarcastic remark.

It immediately became silent, parents conversing on the other side of the dining room, unknowing to the tense situation in the center of the living room amongst the young teens.

Tōru was making it pretty obvious that he was draping his presence all around you. First leading you by the hand and sitting very close to you, even encompassing himself around you via his arm.

“Since when are you so chummy?” One of the girls asked toward you.

“We’re just friends!” You immediately raised your hands in defense. Oikawa said nothing as he raised a brow.

Another one of them sputtered, “You’re friends with Oikawa, but you don’t even try with us?”

“That’s not true. I tried talking to you and you ignored me.”

You could tell she was growing agitated as she bit back, “Why should I even try? All you do is beat us – practice matches, official games, tournaments.”

“Well, I’m playing to win.” You said with a raised brow, unsure where they were going with this.

“But why couldn’t you even try to play to win with us?” She huffed, “I get it. You wanted to be on a team of absolute winners and obviously that does not mean us. You’re the one who walked away because we weren’t worth it, right?”

You tried to get a word in, but she raised her hand for you to stop. Turning her head away from you, it was clear that no matter what you said, she was not going to listen. You looked at the other friends you had from Kitagawa Daiichi, most frowning before averting their eyes from you.

One of them took one hard look at you, keeping your eye contact, before she got up and walked away.

You felt the pain pinprick behind your eyes, the small sign of indication that tears were building on your visage. Not wanting to show your weak state to people who obviously hate you at this point, you quickly stood up and made your way to the back-porch area. Oikawa attempted to stop you, but you finagled your hand out of his grasp as you left.

You leaned against the wooden railing, wondering just how fucked up the situation grew and how different it could have been.

It hurt even more knowing that her words were true. You tried so hard, your last year of junior high, to pass the entrance exam for Shiratorizawa. That was your main goal the entire time, get into your dream school and that will make you an absolute winner. You had never, once, considered going to Aobajōsai as something desirable. It was not your second choice and honestly not even your third (Itachiyama and Fukurōdani reserved those spots). Aobajōsai sat as your last choice, something you did not actually want to do since it was inferior in your view.

But for your friends, it was their main and only choice.

You would never regret going to Shiratorizawa, it was your school and just because they resented it, did not mean that you did not deserve the title of winners.

But it still hurt that they hated you thusly.

You fought the urge to scream at the sky, when you felt an awkward, but comforting hand on your shoulder.

“They hate me too.”

“They don’t hide it well, Kageyama-kun.” You turned to him fully, a wistful smile on your face.

“It seems… Oikawa still treasures you.”

“Yeah. Don’t get me wrong, he can be a complete asswipe.” Kageyama smiled at this, “But he’s still a brilliant setter and someone I wish the best for.”

Kageyama leaned his arms against the rail, eyes still trained on you. “Why do you care so much about people who want nothing to do with you?”

“I hate that I care so much.” You admitted, “But they were my friends – I held a leadership position for two years, even as their captain goddamnit. My time with them meant so much to me and it just hurts that it obviously didn’t have the same impact.”

Kageyama looked at you fully, a wondering expression on his visage.

“Was it worth it? Going to Shiratorizawa?”

“If I could go back, I wouldn’t change a thing.” You stated. “You?”

“I would still go to Karasuno.”

“Really? King of the Court?” You teased and watched the angry tick form at his forehead, “You wouldn’t come to the school of swans and absolute winners?”

Kageyama had a grim smile, one that indicated that he was thinking hard. “Now, probably not.”

“Wait, really?”

“No.” He hesitated, “I think I can really grow with Karasuno.”

“That’s great to hear.”  You smiled,  “Then let’s continue to live without regrets.”

“I try, but I understand.” Kageyama replied.

“Oh?”

“I remember what it’s like to turn around and no longer see a team.”

You felt your heart sag, recalling the headlines of Kitagama Daiichi’s loss. “But that won’t happen on Karasuno, right?”

Kageyama looked down and smiled, “No. It won’t.”

“Good, ‘cause I’m still rooting for you.” You said as you winked, causing Kageyama to flush red immediately.

The two of you stood in comfortable silence until the screen door opened.

“Never thought I’d see you two together like this.” Oikawa observed from the doorway.

“It’s not like that.” You waved your hand to casually dismiss his statement.

Oikawa walked toward Kageyama, stopping only at an arm’s length from him. “Good, I’ll have you know (F/N) is waiting for me for marriage.”

You actually tried to punch him in the stomach, like a full-on solid right cross on the annoying brunette, but Oikawa nearly growled and maneuvered you instead. Now, your arm was twisted behind your back and you felt Oikawa’s chest against your spine. You were about to tell Kageyama that Tōru was joking and would get a formal ass-whopping from Iwaizumi when you let him know, but you heard another voice call from just inside the house.

“Oh, this is where you all were! We’re starting dinner, come inside!” Your mom urged.

The other students said nothing when you joined them this time, probably only since you were now in the presence of parents and real adults. Kageyama sat on your right while Oikawa was on your left, you attempted to include both of them in conversation, but it was obvious that anything either setter said would immediately set the other off.

“Kageyama, would you like some more meat?” You asked, turning to him with a hopeful smile.

“Why don’t you pass me that plate instead, (F/N)?” Oikawa immediately countered before he could even answer.

Oikawa snapped another picture at dinner, one with you alongside him and flashing a peace sign at the camera and Kageyama munching away in the background as he listened passively to the others.

After dinner you returned back outside to the patio with Kageyama, now joined by others as they flit through the house.

“God, I’m sorry this is so awful.” You stated as you stood alongside the porch, shoulders touching side-by-side.

“It could be worse.” Kageyama offered, “Thank you for including me.”

“Always.” You replied, “I know we weren’t exactly close, but I did miss you for what its worth.”

Kageyama hesitated, “You don’t have to say that.”

“Why do you say that?”

“No one missed me in junior high.”

You poked him in the chest and demanded his whole attention, “Well, I did.”

The both of you lingered there for the night. Catching up on lost time and for the various woes you had in high school. Kageyama was still quiet as ever, but still offered words not unkindly throughout the conversation. 

It was nice to have one-on-one time with the setter. To think that even being from the same school, the times you were able to do this could be counted on two hands. You hardly ever sat down and had a serious talk with him in the past and any insight into the misunderstood setter had you hanging onto every word.

It was no surprise later that the Karasuno setter was the first to leave. You did not blame the pour soul since he was literally the most far removed from the families present (the next probably being you).

Walking Kageyama out the door and to your front-gate, you started. “I don’t know what it is with Oikawa and you. He’s almost as bad as Ushijima when he’s with Oikawa.”

Kageyama raised a brow, unsure just how the proper Ushijima could be anything but.

“Anyway, don’t listen to Tōru.”

He cracked a smile, “I never do.”

You lightly pushed his shoulder, “We both know that’s a lie.”

Kageyama just kept on smiling, not saying anything as he looked up at the night sky.

“Thanks for coming over. Sorry that literally everyone hates us.” You joked, “I don’t know when I’ll see you again, but stay in touch, okay?”

The little awkward bean nodded, but you could tell that this goodbye was incomplete. He offered a handshake, but that seemed too formal considering your friendship. You took the hand for a second, before pulling it and wrapping an arm around him into a hug.

“Get home safe, Kageyama-kun.” You murmured against his chest and felt the deep rumble that signified his affirmation. His other hand curled around you hesitantly, unsure in his actions as he tried his best to reciprocate the hug.

“Thank you, (L/N).”

Waving one last time, you saw Kageyama make his way down the street before he turned fully on his walk back home.

“I don’t remember the two of you being that close in junior high.” You heard Tōru’s familiar voice from the doorway. It seemed the brunet was constantly walking in and spying on your interactions with Kageyama.

“Maybe your judgement is always clouded around a certain blueberry.” You stated as you walked back into the house.

Oikawa rolled his eyes then placed a lazy arm around your waist, guiding you back inside.

“I don’t feel comfortable seeing my fiancé alone with my annoying kouhai.”

“Don’t you dare say that in front of the real adults.”

Oikawa chuckled at your vernacular, but his hand on your body only tightened. You looked at him with an inquisitive stare, then pointed to the offending limb.

“Are you going to be like this all night?”

“Why? Can’t resist me if I continue?”

You sighed before moving to poke him on the forehead.

He grabbed your hand quickly and pulled it close to his bodice, pushing you forward to lean further into Oikawa’s chest. Surprised at the action, he leaned his forehead against yours, eyes closing from the comfort of the close proximity. One arm was around your waist while the other was in your hair. 

You and Oikawa had always joked around, but never had you actually flirted. But feeling his large hands on your body and the soothing beat of his heart under your own, it was strange.

Oikawa whispered against your forehead, “I’m glad Shiratorizawa hasn’t changed you.”

You leaned back to look him fully in the eyes and returned in a similar tone of voice, “Don’t let it change you either.”

Oikawa had a small smile at that.

“Don’t stop on my accord.”

You jumped in surprised and tried to spring away from the brunet immediately, who slowly let go of his hold and allowed you room to stand next to him, arms still touching.

“It’s nothing like that.” You started, but Tōru’s sister just smiled and walked away, muttering about young love.

The rest of the night was thankfully uneventful, Oikawa giving you space to converse with his fellow schoolmates and you spent time playing with Takeru, his cute little nephew. You made sure to keep your words guarded around the other parents, when they commended you for your recent win at the tournament. It was weird, to say the least, to accept the compliments and praise of parents who had kids on the losing side (and they were present too! oof). At least, if it seemed your Kitagawa Daiichi friends were about to spite fire at you, Oikawa was quick to intervene and even stand by your side.

You were sure to pass out once everyone left the house, helping your mom in some light cleaning but saving the shore of it for future you.

Turning to your phone on the nightstand, since your mom utterly refused for you to use it when guests were around, you spotted dozens of missed texts and fought the urge to groan aloud.

You scrolled all the way back to the first message.

GroupChat: Caw Caw SHIRATORIZAWA ୧༼ д ͡༽୨

23:11   From: Captain-Sama!           what the fuck attached: instabook.jpg; screenshot.jpg;

23:11   From: the most tender Salami            looks like (f/n) actually took our advice and went with oiks and not miya

23:11   From: My only Okaasan/Eita            wait but what if they’ve been related this whole time?

23:11   From: Captain-Sama!           yeah it is family day

23:11   From: the most tender Salami           …

23:11   From: the most tender Salami           then that would mean an Oikawa actually does go to Shiratorizawa

23:12   From: Captain-Sama!           LMAO

23:12   From: Ushiwaka-sama!           this is not what I meant

23:12   From: My only Okaasan/Eita           we know, waka

23:12   From: the most tender Salami           but how can we confirm it

23:12   From: Captain-Sama!           (・_・)

23:12   From: Captain-Sama!           @kenjiro @kawanishi pls respond its urgent

23:12   From: the most tender Salami           @kenjiro @kawanishi help ive fallen and cant get up

23:27   From: Kenjiro (`へ´*)           they are not related

23:27   From: Captain-Sama!           I KNEW THEY WERE DATING

23:27   From: Kawanishi ✩꒳✩           lmao no way

23:27   From: the most tender Salami           I need more receipts

23:27   From: Captain-Sama!           I think my ship is sailing (´∀｀)��

23:28   From: Kenjiro (`へ´*)           i don’t think so

23:28   From: Captain-Sama!           but they’re hOlDiNg HaNdS

You caught the gist of their conversation and scrolled down to the bottom, unwilling to read everything since you would have a whole hour to catch up to and with your sleepy eyes that just won’t do.

Without regard to whatever the last text was, you started:

00:57   From: do you know da wae           oiks is an old family friend

00:57   From: do you know da wae           my parents keep in touch w/ a lot of my ex-friends parents from Kitagawa

00:57   From: Captain-Sama!           oof sounds awk

00:57   From: do you know da wae           you have no idea

00:57   From: Kenjiro (`へ´*)           wait your celebratory dinner was w/ the ex-friends you just beat ??

00:58   From: do you know da wae           yeah…

00:58   From: Kawanishi ✩꒳✩           oof

00:58   From: do you know da wae           oikawa was the only one from Seijō willing to talk to me without the need to shank me

00:58   From: do you know da wae           and even then they made sure to verbally roast me at every opportunity

00:58   From: the most tender Salami           wow

00:59   From: Not-my-libero-Yamagata ( ´ ▽ ` )           we love you (L/N)!

00:59   From: Captain-Sama!           just know that we’re always here for you! ♥(ˆ⌣ˆԅ)

You smiled then and offered thanks, before shutting off your phone and finally getting a good nights rest after such an awful day.

The next day at breakfast, you just smiled and complimented your parents for their thoughtful dinner and how it was a success – saying nothing about the tension between you and the friends you used to have. It was your final day home and there was not a single thing you wanted to do.

Most of the people who lived around this area went to either Karasuno or Aobajōsai and then was no point in meeting up with your current friends at Shiratorizawa just to have to go back home and then head back to school the next day. You cherished the meal with your parents, but both your parents had plans later in the afternoon. Your mom sensed your anxiousness and tasked you with small chores.

You finally were interested when she directed, “(F/N), Kageama-kun forgot his leftovers yesterday. Mind bringing them over?”

With a quick nod and changing into your outdoor shoes, you headed out the door and a few streets over to the Kageyama household.

The windows were shut and no signs of light were seen. Kageyama seemed like the type who would do anything to keep himself in top form and you wondered the possibility if he was out jogging or something.

Ringing the bell, you heard some movement inside until the setter finally opened his front-door in surprise.

“(L/N)-san?”

You lifted the container of food into his point of view, “You forgot to bring some food home last night.”

“Oh, thanks.” He took it from you and paused, “Would you like to come in?”

You nodded at his polite gesture and greeted with a familiar sight. This was not the first time you were in his home, but it surely seemed the same from the last time. Kageyama seemed like a clean, tidy sort and undoubtedly his parents were as well.

You noticed his family picture displayed proudly on the center coffee table, an innocent smile on Kageyama’s face as he was nestled between his two parents. It looked like a picture-perfect family, reflecting only questions as to what happened to them now.

“You know, I can’t believe that I have never met your parents.” You commented, looking at the picture and him following your gaze.

He hesitated before replying, “I’m not surprised.”

You looked at Kageyama fully, “What do you mean?”

“I don’t think they’ve ever watched me play.” He admitted, eyes on the floor at the sad realization.

“I’m so sorry to hear that.”

“Yeah.” He had a tense expression on, “But I like your family.”

“Thanks, they’re pretty embarrassing.”

“I..” Kageyama was hesitating in his words a lot, concerning this subject, you noticed. “There are no words to say how thankful I am toward your parents, for what they said and do.”

“Don’t worry about it.” You comforted, putting a hand on his shoulder. “They really are proud of you. And so am I, really. Believe me, great things are in store for you.”

That, in your mind, marked the notable shift in your relationship with Kageyama. Even after the weekend break for Family Day, you still were able to keep in contact with the setter. Previously, you were unsure where you stood with the King of the Court. But now with shared numbers and daily texting with one another, you were glad to have held your friendship with the blueberry.

Everyone was training for the Spring Playoffs, everyone’s distant goal of nationals constantly in mind. As the reining champions of your Prefecture, this was the time of year to prove once again why that was so. You were defending for three years straight, Ushijima standing tall as the prime representative of your school.

As the regular setter, you knew better than anyone the massive amount of pressure and training it took to get to this stage. And you made sure to prove it during the official matches.

You felt your heart physically break when Karasuno faced off against Aobajōsai. A school that even you had remembered as a fallen-powerhouse was now over-powering a longstanding rival of your own school.

Oikawa did not cry at the end of the game, but your connection to the older setter was enough to feel the pure anguish and annoyance that was raging in his heart. You wanted to just say something to the brunet, but when Ushijima rushed Oikawa after the match, you figured that it was probably not the best timing. (You also did not want to risk the wrath of the others).

You waited behind a pillar, listening to Oikawa and his unusually intimidating voice. Both alpha males turned and stalked in opposite directions and you fought the urge to call out to the setter. Rather than leaving it to another moment, one that would be much easier for him to ignore, you ran behind him and wrapped your arms around his waist.

He squeaked out in surprise, “Wha-”

“You deserve the world Oikawa and I know you’re meant for more than what this prefecture has to offer.” You interrupted before walking around to be face-to-face to him, “You’re going to stand on an international stage. And no one will be able to stop you there.”

He stayed quiet, eyes hard as they examined your own, as if he was trying to gauge how honest your words were.

“Besides, I wouldn’t marry a man who wasn’t prepared to take over the world.” You joked.

He cracked a small smile then, and slowly wrapped his arms around your waist. “Thank you.”

You smiled brightly, a hand on his chest while the other was on cheek, to full look at him. “I just want you to be as proud as I am about you.”

Oikawa looked away, turning to the side before returning his gaze back to you. “Why couldn’t you come to Aobajōsai?”

You were internally taken aback at the question and you were sure it showed on your face.

“I never asked before, I just accepted that my counterpart on the women’s team was on a completely different track.” Oikawa explained, voice a small whisper. “And it made me wonder how someone like you, who tried so hard against Shiratorizawa in junior high and still lost, did not even try to fight them.”

His voice was hard by the time the last few words came-out and this felt like an incredibly different Oikawa.

“You claim so hard that you care about us, about me.” Oikawa bit-out, “Then why didn’t you even try to fight for us?”

“I, everyone knew from the start-“

“You were the pillar of the team, the cog that made it run. You gave them strength and you knew that and you still left.”

You were sure this was something Oikawa had been waiting to get off his chest, a thought that had lingered for years apparently now, and were unsure what you could say to placate the remnants of your friendship with the setter.

“The fact of it all is that we cared to keep our family together even if meant not being an absolute winner.” Oikawa stated, a bruising hold on your waist now. You could not find it in yourself to push him away, “Which obviously, didn’t matter as much to you.”

“Oikawa, please.” You whispered out, unsure what you were asking for.

“Please what? To stop saying the truth or making you finally realize it?” His gaze was a predatory-kind, one you had spotted multiple times on the court and one that displayed an intimidating anger. “Are you really supposed to refer to your fiancé by his last-name?”

���Why are you being like this?” Your voice came out weakly and you barely recognized it.

“Why were we your last choice, (F/N)-chan?”

You pushed at his chest, but his hold did not budge and you were sure that your face demonstrated the absolute fear you had toward your friend of five years.

“That’s enough.” You heard the comforting voice of someone familiar along with multiple footsteps.

When you looked over Oikawa’s shoulder to see Semi’s confused one, it immediately hardened at seeing you so scared. He did not hesitate to push you two apart, standing as a shield in front of you between you and Oikawa as Kenjirō put a protective hold on your shoulder and Kawanishi scanned you up and down.

“What happened here?” You heard Iwaizumi’s voice as he rushed down the hall.

His best-friend, who knew Oikawa almost better than himself, saw the raging anger in the setter and for once and only once – it was aimed toward you alone.

The brunet took one last look at you, hard and piercing despite the addition of multiple people, before her turned away and walked back toward his team.

Iwaizumi did not leave immediately, looking at you with an apologetic disposition before following behind his friend.

“Are you alright?” Semi asked once both boys were out of eyesight.

You reassured them you were fine, but your voice could not even convince yourself.

“Oikawa might’ve been your friend, but he’s our rival now and he is trying to shake you before your final, don’t let him get to you.” Semi explained.

You nodded meekly, allowing Kenjirō to guide you back to the Shiratorizawa area. The others were quiet as you approached and you wanted nothing more than for the others to forget this ever happened.

“If only we could crush him tomorrow.” Tendou stated with narrowed eyes as he looked at your rosy nose and distraught eyes.

“Thanks, Salami.” You attempted a small smile.

“Ugh, I hate seeing you like this.” Tendou commented before putting a comforting hand on your shoulder and ruffling your hair.

Oikawa was right, to an extent. You and him had started on the same track, leaders of each respective Kitagawa Daiichi volleyball team and one of many victims to the Shiratorizawa streak. You had both felt the pure anguish of utter defeat, the fact that you had both tried your best and it still was not enough. And instead of following Oikawa’s track, you had chosen to attend the school that often broke your heart.

You wondered how long Oikawa had thought this but said nothing.

You were sure the bitter defeat was a large impetus to how he just treated you. But it still stung to know that was some pure honesty and truth in his words. You wanted the ground to swallow you up, to take away the memories of the last hour and stop yourself from seeing one of your close friends because one of your now many rivals.

Goshiki sat with you on the bus and made a point of keeping your mind off of what had just happened. It was obvious that everyone knew by now, from your captain’s reassuring stare and Yamagata putting a comforting hand on your shoulder, they were thankfully trying to keep their words guarded, at least. You smiled at the first-year, appreciative that he was trying so hard.

You saw from your peripheral that Kenjirō would often turn in his seat to check-in on you (it’s not like he was trying to hide it anyway). Yamagata offered you his spare juice box and Ushijima offered to pickup ice-cream for you on his usual night jog. It made you laugh at the offer, but accept it nonetheless since this was a rare occurrence.

Why do you care so much about people who want nothing to do with you?

Kageyama’s word rang in your mind and you thought, maybe, it was time to let Oikawa and the others go. Your heart ached at the thought, but you doubted that they shared the same sentiment about you. They weren’t staying up at night, losing sleep as they thought about you.

No, they hated you.

And when Iwaizumi texted you the next morning, you just said you were fine and it was probably for the best.

Besides, you had other things to worry about rather than people who cared nothing for you.

The next night was the finals between the men’s teams, Karasuno bringing Shiratorizawa to a full five sets, one that had you watching with baited breath. The crowds themselves seemed to have their own battle, cheering with their whole hearts to the point that you were sure you were rocking the stadium. You wished Kageyama good luck before the match, his face erupting in a rather obvious blush as his grey-headed senpai smiled and just patted him on the back. You did the same with Shirabu and Kawanishi as well.

Shirabu just smirked and Kawanishi patted your head.

Assholes.

But now you were seeing more emotion on each second-years’ faces than ever before. Yes, Shirabu and Kawanishi were salt squad and had no qualms using biting words or sarcasm. And yet the setter was much more expressive, displaying even fear and surprise as the game went on. You felt your heart surge when you saw Kawanishi get a serious face on, eyes narrowing as you saw the little hamster in his head run at full speed, guess-blocking working at it’s peak form now.

Kageyama was no exception, acting as one of the main conductors of the game and even having to sit out from his diminishing stamina. His jump serves were much better than during the Interhigh, you wondered if you should give yourself a pat on the back or kick your own ass for helping him against your own team. 

But there was no doubt in anyone’s mind, while the team of Karasuno was strong through their constant attacks and teamwork – it was Kageyama who was standing out the most during this game.

Hinata and that blond middle-blocker were interesting players, but your eyes always gravitated back to Kageyama. From his jump-serve that had even your powerhouse school on their toes to his resilient efforts to keep playing despite exhaustion, Kageyama kept your attention for the entire duration of the game.

You wondered if Kageyama’s parents were present.

You were not sure who to cheer for. Ushijima proved his unending stamina, earning point after point even when it was obvious that it was getting tiresome. It made your own shoulder hurt just looking at him. Tendou showcased the true power of the guess-blocker, eyes roaming the shorter setter with keen eyes.

All of this came to a crashing end.

21-19

The absolute winners were retiring.

Everyone was tasked with one-hundred serves, even the women’s team who had their own finals in a few more days.

Shirabu and Kawanishi were tenser than usual, you noticed during class and again during lunch. Shirabu’s not-girlfriend attempted to placate his mood with ice-cream, but she later iterated to you that in the end he just needed a long hug. You tried to do the same to Kawanishi, who simply took it in pure silence as he reciprocated the gesture.

Tendou was seemingly placated when you gifted him a home-cooked meal from a recent care-package from mom, but you knew the third-year well enough that his dark paradise was a hole in his heart that could never be replaced. Ushijima was hard to read, but nonetheless thanked you when you had given him a small cactus.

The men’s game put your nerves more at odds, despite how much you were trying to hard it with a strong face. Karasuno, a team that rose from nothing to become the team heading to nationals, they were able to beat the indomitable champions of Miyagi. It made your stomach churn at the possibility of losing to your long-term rivals at Aobajōsai.

The day after the game, everyone could observe your anxieties and had decided that maybe you needed some good luck help from home. You used to always have a ritual when you were particularly nervous and that involved a certain dish you mom made as a charm before big games and it also helped to have the words of your parents affirm your confidence. Your coach agreed to this idea, spying your shaky hands and unsure moves in practice.

Before home you stopped at the Kageyama’s, Tobio answering the door for you.

“Just wanted to say congratulations.” You greeted before taking something out of your bag. “I remember you used to love these milk cartons in junior high, so consider this a celebratory gift.”

“Thank you.” He had a small smile, one that you were sure he was not even aware of. “I’m glad you’re not mad at me.”

“Why would I be?”

“Shiratorizawa...”

“Is just a school.” You interrupted, thinking back to your ex-friends from Aobajōsai, “We all love volleyball and it’s time we all accepted there can only be one winner.”

He nodded at your explanation.

“Besides, you should come watch me win our spot to nationals.” You winked, “Me versus Seijō. It’ll be one hell of a game.”

“I know you’ll do great.” Hearing a compliment like that from Kageyama, it was strange. But you smiled anyway. “What are you doing in the area?”

“Ah. I’ve been getting nervous from seeing your game, honestly. So I was allowed to go home tonight for a good luck charm and to help calm myself.”

“Nervous? But you’re not playing us.”

“I know that!” You rolled your eyes in amusement. “But Shiratorizawa has always been considered as the winners. And no offense, nobody saw your win as possible. But you did it anyway. And the same thing could very well happen to us.”

Kageyama lightly poked on your forehead. “Boke, focus on the fight in front of you. You’ve always won against them, right? In practice matches and last tournament, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then use it to your benefit, but don’t get complacent.”

You paused and smiled, “Thank you.”

“Would you like to come in?”

“As tempting as that is, I have to get home to my parents and then head back to school.” You looked at his house once more, “Are your parents home?”

“No.” You frowned, but said nothing and waited for him to continue. “Neither of them have been, for a few days.”

“Have you heard from them?”

Kageyama turned away, “They don’t even know I’m going to nationals.”

You put a small hand in the crook of his elbow, “Would you like to join us for dinner?”

“Sure.”

Since then, the match between Karasuno and Shiratorizawa was spurning you on, the thought of further rivals exciting you rather than scaring you now. You could not deny the fact that seeing both your parents and Kageyama had lightened your spirits. 

And, not for the first time, you pondered over your strange relationship with the young setter.

You were not as close to him as you were to Oikawa in the past. And yet Kageyama was the one who tried just a little bit harder to hold onto you than your brunet friend. You could not deny the slight attraction you felt toward the blueberry as well, his shy and blunt nature something you were akin to. If anything, you knew better than most how much Kageyama had changed in the last few years.

But you had bigger things to worry about now.

Like going to nationals.

You relished in the slight burn in the palm of your hand at your untouched jump-serves, success rate higher than usual. And when you stood on the court itself, the name Shiratorizawa echoing as it cheered through the stands, you felt pride course through your veins.

When both Shirabu and Kawanishi wished you luck before your match, you felt the need to knock their heads together like coconuts. They tried to do it in the chillest way possible, muttering it to you with their hands in their pockets. You watched Tendou roll his eyes from behind Shirabu. Instead, you tugged them both into a hug before either could be too cool to refuse it.

Ushijima patted you on the shoulder and reiterated the tips he had given you in the gym the day before – it seemed Waka was actually watching you intently and you thanked him for his observance and helpful advice. Goshiki offered you a thumbs-up and Tendou patted you on the head for the nth time, but you smiled at both. Semi and Reon stood to the side with genuine smiles, since neither were particularly close to you, but you appreciated their presence anyway.

You were placed in the front line, your team’s starting position opting for the most attack options in the front row. The women’s team for Aobajōsai was similar in that it was a complete team, but a team not as good as Oikawa’s. 

The synergy and trust between the setter and Iwaizumi was not something that could be replicated, only earned through more than a decade of true friendship. Rather, the women’s team lacked the power necessary from their ace and it was easy for a team as skilled as yours to pick up their serves defensively. Shiratorizawa relied on the power of their ace – and for a team with the best volleyball players in the Prefecture, it was a winning strategy.

Once you were rotated to serve, the entire stadium was separated from you mentally. It was just you and the game in front of you, not the loud shouts of Seijō or the pressured looks from your older captain. You let it lose, scoring with a single touch on your serve.

A no-touch service ace – a feat only you were capable of throughout the entire game.

You relished at the cheer of your name, the powerhouse clout proven when seemingly the entire stadium erupted in your name. It was a skill you had alone, not even your older senpai’s capable of scoring on a no-touch ace. And yet you did it multiple times. You spotted the clenched fists of your previous friends and their glares in your direction. But that did not deter you from your goal as you served with your entirety.

You glanced at the scoreboard, only one more point and you would be the reigning victor.

A deep breath.

In only three sets, it was over.

You were going to nationals.

Everything after that was hazy – you remember your ace literally picking you up. She was a good ten centimeters taller than you and built like a complete brickhouse, so that definitely helped. You remembered bowing to both your current and previous friends, but not a single one of them took your hand to shake at the lineup.

If you were still unsure of your relationship, it was quite clear that they hated you now.

The men’s team, sporting their similar tracksuits, clapped along in the stands as you thanked the audience. Your star-struck facial expression must have been obvious, since your fellow teammates kept poking at your cheeks and teasing your appearance.

“No touch service ace!” Your ace yelled aloud, grabbing you in another hug and lifting you like a trophy for the second time in the last ten minutes.

“You are an absolute monster, (F/N)!” Your captain commented as she laughed, arms in the air as she celebrated as well.

You felt the congrats and praise of everyone around you – your stoic coach even smiling in your direction (a small act of praise, but that was probably the best you were going to get). You felt the murmurs of the crowd around you, an immense audience that had just watched you singlehanded slam a ball away from an entire team.

It was liberating.

You along with a few others walked out from the courts, wanting to get some air away from the ruckus at the center of it all. Some wandered to the bathroom and others wanted to immediately run to their significant others.

You wandered out in the hall and the first non-teammate you ran into was a familiar brunet, running and hugging him from behind.

“(F/N), I will break your bones and make a chair out of them.”

“Shirabu, take me out to dinner first.” You joked, arms never leaving his middle even after he turned around towards you. “Come on, I just won. Grant me this?”

Shirabu rolled his eyes, but did eventually return your hug, ears suddenly red at the endearing gesture. “You serve well.”

“Thanks, maybe I’ll give you some private lessons.” You winked, earning you a push to your face immediately, putting a good foot between you and the other setter.

You laughed, the sound echoing through the hall and earning a small tsk, signaling that you two were not the only ones in the near-empty hall. You saw Shirabu tense in your peripheral, before he stepped in front of you between you and the other man with his one arm raised as if it was a protective wall.

He had his chin-up, arm on his waist as he regarded you with narrowed eyes and a dangerous expression.

“Oikawa.” You started.

“Congrats on your win.”

“Thanks.”

“Five points in the last set were yours alone, meaning twenty percent of the win was just from your serve.” Oikawa started explaining and you were unsure where he was going with this. “That’s without counting sets to the ace.”

“I suggest you leave.” Shirabu interrupted Oikawa’s external train of thought.

The brunet ignored him. “And who did you learn that jump serve from?”

You swallowed lightly, “From you.”

“And yet it was greatest weapon used today.” He narrowed his eyes, letting it travel your form as you stood there with a tight expression. “If only I had known then.”

“Let’s go, (F/N).” Shirabu stated, eyes never leaving Oikawa.

“Go ahead. I hope you think of me each and every time someone praises you on your jump-serve.”

“That’s enough.” Another voice cut in from the other end of the hallway, “She won today and not even you can take that away from her.”

Oikawa narrowed his eyes at Kageyama’s appearance before turning to you, “Of course, this is the one you actually care about.”

“Tōru, stop.” You bit out, voice stern at this convening of setters.

“Oh, cut that out. I played a part in who you are today, you and I both know that.”

“Of course, I know that!” You exclaimed as you move to stand right in front of him, “The part you played in my life will always mean something to me, but you are not the same Oikawa I grew up with right now.”

Oikawa tsked before biting out, “Good luck at nationals.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“Of course I do, dear fiancé.” Oikawa emphasized the last word, shrugging as he turned to leave the way he came.

“Whatever, it’s not like you can relate to nationals anyway!” You yelled as he walked away, watching him physically hesitate at your words, but never uttering another word toward you.

Kageyama’s eyes followed him until he was completely out of view, before he turned to you. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, that was nothing.”

He looked as if he did not believe you, blue eyes hanging onto your appearance for a second longer before turning to the quiet Shirabu. The brunet was examining you also, eyes trained on your blank expression as if you were trying hard to convey that you were okay.

“I should freshen up or something before the ceremony.” You started, “I’ll see you in a bit. Thanks for coming Kageyama, in case I don’t see you later.”

You fought the urge to bite your lip as you ran in the direction of the bathrooms. This was supposed to be your day. The culmination of all your hard-work as you finally earn your rightful spot to nationals, it was supposed to be a day where you cheered and were happy at being at the frontlines for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

And yet.

You opened the door to the women’s bathroom and came face to face with the vice-captain of Aobajōsai. Or as you once knew her in junior high, she held the same position while you were the captain.

“This isn’t over.” She immediately snarled.

“I know.”

“I hope you know that I hate you.”

“I know.” You stated in a low tone, pushing past her and into the bathroom. She huffed, silently observing you as you washed your face in the sink.

“Then do something!” She yelled, “I hate you so much I feel like I can just rip you limb from fucking limb! You were my best-friend for years and you still felt the need to leave!”

“I know. And I was wrong to diminish your feelings like that.”

“I… What?” She was still huffing, despite the confused expression on her face.

“You’re right. You guys were my closest friends since I first started school and I just… left.”

“Why are you saying this?”

“Because you’re right. I don’t regret going to Shiratorizawa, but it wasn’t fair of me to disregard all your feelings. I thought it was because of the rivalry between our schools, but it was because of me.” You sighed, “I’m sorry. I should’ve considered the fact that we were a family, but I’m not like Oikawa.”

She clenched her jaw but said nothing.

“I didn’t choose to stay with my friends, I chose for my future. And that was selfish of me, but I won’t change it.”

She sucked in a deep breath and stated, “I hate you.”

“I know.”

With a long-hard look, she huffed yet again. “Good luck at nationals, you bitch.”

You could not help the chuckle that escaped your lips, but she had already turned to leave out the door by the time you turned back to where she was. At least you had said your peace, there was nothing left for you to do if they could not accept even that.

The prefecture ceremony was a blur, names announced and cheers erupting at each team-member. You remember looking over to Aobajōsai on multiple occasions – it seemed they were all looking at you. No matter what was happening or who was being called, you could almost guarantee that a good amount of them were glaring in your direction.

It was liberating that you could brush it off, no longer as affected as you would have been even a week ago.

“Congratulations, (F/N).” Ushijima commended as he stood towering over you.

“Thank you.” You bowed, “Your advice really helped.”

He nodded, before turning to speak to other members of your team.

“Congrats again.” Shirabu greeted with a smile.

Kawanishi said nothing as he wrapped his arms around your middle for a quick second before backing away. “You earned it.”

You rolled your eyes, unsure if he was referring to the game-winning victory points or the ‘hug’ he had given you just now.

But you loved them all anyway.

They were your family now.

Your coach started practice the same as any other day, as if you had not just earned your way to nationals seemingly the day before. You wondered if you had just dreamed up the last few days, the real match taking place soon which is why you were training so damn hard. Your ace raised a brow as you were all instructed to do more jump-serves but did not grumble aloud unless face with another consequence.

When the entire team had finished their round, the coach gathered everyone into a circle to address them.

“Hopefully, the last few days have taught you the importance of the jump-serve.” Her eyes travelled the group until they landed completely on you. You felt multiple eyes of your teammates do the same. “You could completely shut-out your opponent with this attack, stopping them from ever connecting and letting them simply suffer defeat without ever touching the ball.”

You raised a brow at her morbid description but kept on listening.

“There is no doubt why (F/N) was named MVP of the match. But do not rest on your laurels, enjoy your break but don’t get lazy.”

The reaction was instantaneous.

“We have a break?!” Your captain exclaimed in obvious excitement.

“I’ll see you all on Monday.” Your coach stated vaguely, before turning and walking away.

“Hell yes!” Your captain yelled, “Let’s clean-up faster so we can get homecooked meals, yes?”

You felt the air of amusement and laughter in the gymnasium, happy to finally go home on this warm Friday evening, without the worries of practice over the weekend. Maybe your coach was not that bad after all.

And when you woke up mid-Saturday morning in the comfort of your home, guessing maybe around ten, you stretched and relished in the rare enjoyment of sleeping-in. Waking at nearly five in the morning every day, just to jog of all things, was taking it’s toll on you. You had to learn how to enjoy life more, you mused with a small smile.

Your mom knocked on your door before entering, “You have a visitor sweetie. I suggest you freshen-up. I’ll make breakfast for the two of you, but then I have to leave!”

“Ughisdfhis.” You murmured into your pillow as your rolled over.

“Or maybe I should just invite Kageyama-kun to your room so he can see how you really are.” She teased.

Immediately you were up, springing out of bed at the aforementioned name. You grabbed an outfit you packed the night before, rushing into your bathroom to brush you teeth and look presentable before the young setter.

By the time you headed downstairs, you were as clean and crisp as a bloomed daisy.

“Good morning, Kageyama-kun.” You greeted, “To what do I owe this visit?”

He greeted you in kind and explained, “I wanted to congratulate you like you did to me before..”

You walked over to him and suddenly a box of avocados were thrust into your view, quickly grabbing hold of it as Kageyama rushed in into your arms.

“I’m sorry! You gave me milk and I remember in a magazine you said you liked avocados! I thought…!”

You laughed at the sentiment, happy that he had thought about you but amused that he had resorted to the secondhand words of a magazine of all places. “Thank you, Kageyama-kun. I love it.”

“Are you sure? Because I can –”

“Stop worrying so much. It’s a present from you, of course I’ll love it.” You put the box on the floor and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Thank you so much.”

“No problem.” You were openly staring at him, eyes trained on his flushed appearance as he shyly attempted to look away from your strong stare. “Boke, stop staring at me.”

You chuckled, turning your gaze to the side before back to him. “There’s just something about you that I like, Kageyama-kun.”

It seemed as if he stopped breathing, expression similar to a fish out of water.

“Like, like-like?”

You chuckled, “What? Am I not allowed to?”

“No!” He seemed exasperated, hands raised as if to stop you. “No… I’m just surprised.”

“Why?”

“Oikawa…”

“Has only ever just been a friend.” You quickly finished the sentence for him.

“Or Shirabu…”

“Has a semi-girlfriend who would literally kill me.”

“Oh.”

You had a brow lifted, already expecting this surprised and unsure reaction from Kageyama. He was always socially stunted and did not hold it to him that he had yet to actually respond to your confession. Kageyama stood, wide-eyed and barely blinking, staring straight into your eyes as if looking for a hint of farce.

“I like you, too.” He stated plainly and if not for the seriousness of the situation, you would had chuckled at his solemn tone of voice.

“That’s reassuring to hear.” You responded, smile on your face widening.

“Are you sure you like me?”

You chuckled lightly, “For someone who claims to like me, it seems as if you’re pushing me away.”

“No!” Kageyama urged, “Just making sure, boke.”

You rolled your eyes, smile still prevalent at his words. This was the same Kageyama who was labeled as King of the Court – and for good reason too. He was relentless and exuded confidence in the one medium that barely anyone could match his all-around skill. There were times, as you watched him on the court, that you were utterly impressed with his abilities. And yet now..

It was clear that Kageyama was one thing right now: unsure. And you found the need to somehow reassure him, to let him now fully and transparently that he was the complete object of your affections.

So you stepped toward the now shy setter and took his hand in yours. Widely smiling, you were about to ask him something before he suddenly interrupted.

“Would you like…” He paused, looking to the side before turning back to you. “Would you like to date?”

“I would love to.”

He smiled back, tightening his hold on your hand. It was quite clear that the entirety of your own could fit in his palm – it was a nice feeling. Unlike the multiple times that the situation called for being your hand held, like with Oikawa being an ass or the occasional Shirabu (like when he was dragging you away due to embarrassment), this felt right.

“How about today? Are you free right now?” He asked, mustering more courage now knowing that you would most likely say yes.

“Sure, just let me get ready and we can get brunch.”

Your mom was not at all surprised when she returned, seeing you getting ready for your first-date ever. Kageyama was still waiting in the living room, hands clenched at the top of his knees while the television played ignored in the background. It was evident from the expression on his face that his mind was reeling over the past hour and over the implications of the next one. You were not the only one nervous, but this was Kageyama of all people, you understood him. If only there was a way for you to convey this to him.

Kageyama overheard your mom’s declaration of happiness at the situation and fought the urge to blush, was he that obvious? Your mother, uncaring of the rather uncomfortable setter sitting in her living room, walked out of the kitchen to shoot him a thumbs-up and ink. When Kageyama only blushed harder, your mom laughed and held out her hand, your father slapping an annoyed twenty bucks into her expecting palm.

“Don’t make me regret trusting you, boy.” Your father warned, a pointer finger in Kageyama’s direction as he was dragged away and out the house by your mother for ‘privacy.’

You shoved the door closed behind you as they left, back against the wood once both were gone. “Don’t mind them, they’re embarrassing.”

Kageyama smiled, then stood and hesitantly took your hand in his. “No, don’t worry about it. I love your family.”

You felt your own expression widen as it matched his, giving his hand a gentle squeeze in yours. “Thanks. Where to?”

Kageyama nodded, saying nothing as he guided you out the house and down the street. You had good idea about where you were headed, Kageyama was a man of routine and rarely strayed from his likes unless necessary, so simply entrusted your walk to him.

You peered up at his handsome visage, black mop of hair sitting naturally with a small rosiness dusting his cheeks. He was Kageyama obviously, but much different from the one you went to junior high with. This was a man weathered and you appreciated his journey from dictator to kind blueberry, happy to have seen his growth.

You lifted a free hand to push some of his longer bangs back behind his ear, the feeling unnatural to the poor setter, who immediately froze at the physical contact.

“You’re so cute, Kageyama-kun.” You complimented, before turning back to your route and lightly tugging on his hand to keep walking.

“Boke.” Breaking his stupor, Kageyama looked to the side and muttered in a low voice. “You’re the cute one.”

You fought the urge to laugh, but wanted to do something to reflect your feelings. You knew that a kiss would nearly cause the setter to explode and debated it as your stared at his lips and later at his cheek. Your train of thought must have been obvious, since Kageyama’s eyes widened unsurely.

Knowing you did not want to implode this poor boy’s heart, you took his hand in yours and placed a harmless kiss.

He was red the whole day. 

[cassanovancats]

herding cats

becoming nekoma's manager

You really didn’t want to be here. Here being Tokyo, here being Nerima ward and, most importantly, here being the hallway of your new school. The uniform is itchy and you’re being dragged along by some student council member because, apparently, first years can’t be trusted to walk around themselves.

He was nice enough, though he certainly seemed more excited to show you around when he got a look at you. Then he got more excited when he found out your mom’s occupation was what brought you to Nekoma High halfway through your first-year. “So, what’s it like having a famous mom?”

Your eyes darted to the side instinctively. What kind of question is that? How are you supposed to answer? Like having a mom except you get asked things like that. “Uh, fine. She’s really not that cool.” Especially for moving you so late into the school year because her animation studio decided working distantly wasn’t working. “I get spoilers sometimes.” It’s exactly what he wants to hear.

You can hear the next question already, so you cut him off before he gets a chance to ask about the upcoming episode of the anime your mother was working on. “Ah, it seems we made it to the classroom. Thank you for helping me, Senpai.” You bow half heartedly and knock on the door before he gets a chance to respond.

This is exactly what you told your mother would happen. Even as you introduce yourself to the class, there’s a few people who instantly recognize your last name. Those students turn to whisper or pass notes and you know by lunch, you’ll be crowded by people hoping to become your friend purely for bragging rights. The teacher seems tuned to your inner angst, as she gracefully directs you to a seat in the back of the class, where you can watch instead of be watched.

The first subject of your people-watching is next to you - the one person who did not look up as you introduced yourself. A curtain of dark hair kept you from seeing any details of his face (and you can only tell it’s a he because of the uniform). What you can see is the screen of his handheld console and the bright features of one of your favorite games.

Which is why, during break, instead of making eye contact with any of the students striving to talk to you, you turn to him to complain about the latest update.

congrats, you befriended a wild kenma!

he’s the first person you’ve met in a while who doesn’t care about what your mom does, or how much money you have

he literally only cares about your ability to hard carry a team through a dungeon

a few weeks go by, with you basically just coming to school, talking to Kenma, and going home

until the student counselor comes to you and says you have to join a club

even though it’s the end of the year - some policy to ensure you have a club going into next year

“I hate this,” your complaint comes out severely muffled thanks to how you buried your face into folded arms. Kenma gives a noncommittal hum.

“Are you going to finish that?”

You glare at him but still shove the snack closer to his desk. One hand breaks away from his controller to snatch it, before it gets glued back to his PSP. “I’m serious - if one more club tries recruiting me, I’ll scream.”

He answers, sparing a side-glance towards you. The only hint he actually is listening. “Just warn me when that happens.” You groan and go back to your folded arms. It’s been hard to make friends despite people seeming desperate to be your friend. Well, that’s the problem, you think. You don’t particularly want friends who are planning what questions to ask before even greeting you, you want friends like Kenma who can treat you like a normal person.

Minutes before break ends, the president of the Anime Club approaches for the third time this week. “Hello, (l/n)-san. Have you thought any more about joining our club?”

You feel bad for the instinctive grimace. Really, she’s quite nice. It’s just an anime club is the last place you wish to be. Before you can find another polite way to let her down, Kenma interrupts. “Sorry, Sato-san. (y/n) is joining the volleyball club.”

“I am?” You can’t help but question. He shoots you a look, slighting narrowing his eyes.

“She’ll be meeting the captain at today’s practice.”

Sato-san tilts her head suspiciously but doesn’t press. “I hope to still see you around, (l/n)-san,” she says before flouncing off. You take a moment to reorient yourself.

“I am?”

Kenma sighs, saving his game and shoving the console into his bag. “Yeah, you are. Don’t worry, Kuroo will just be glad a girl is there. Coach Nekomata won’t decline help either.”

You blink at him. “Are you aware the only rules I know about volleyball is to not let the ball hit the ground and to only use your hands?”

“The last one isn’t true.”

“Do you see my point, then?”

yes he does, but he simply chooses to ignore you

it…. does not go well

Kuroo was awkward around you, which turned into a mischievousness when he realized Kenma was the one who brought you in

he kept insinuating you and Kenma were dating which like… no you were just a girl (space) friend

Yaku and Kai were normal-ish though Yaku straight-up asked if your mom was the (l/n)

he let it drop after confirmation at least

then… there was the students in your year

Kenma hovered near you, feeling responsible for putting you in a situation nearly identical to what Kuroo did to him

Yamamoto seemed flustered by your presence and also irritated that Kenma already was your friend

Fukunaga just kinda waved and went back to practicing

it took a while for everyone to get over their initial awkwardness, mostly being helped by having to constantly explain what was happening

but the time spent together meant you quickly found friends

friends who, similar to Kenma, dgaf about anything besides your personality and ability to quickly refill water bottles

Maybe you should have realized sooner what joining the volleyball club entailed. It’s not like you ever really participated in an organized sport though, so these summer practices were kicking your ass. The early morning and heat.... You felt pity for your boys; at least you weren’t having to run. Speaking of, the new members of your team just rounded the last bend.

“Come on, babies,” Kuroo cups his hands over his mouth to ‘encourage’ the first-years. “Even (y/n) could beat that!”

“Don’t say that; Lev’s gonna wanna see it!” you hiss, hitting his side.

Speaking of, the giant, silver puppy heads straight to you. After introductions, his upperclassmen quickly understood Lev required a, well, firm hand. Something you lacked which made you the target of his affections. “Woahh, (y/n)-senpai must be fast! Why don’t you actually play any sports?”

Yaku’s eyes level a harsh glare on him, “Are you trying to insult our manager?”

Shibayama steps forward, saving Lev from having to repeat his run. “I am curious why you chose to be a volleyball manager. No offense, but… you don’t seem to care about the sport.”

“Ah, none taken,” you easily wave off his concern. “Volleyball’s cool enough, but you’re right that I’m not passionate about it in the same way as others on the team. I mostly joined because of Kenma, actually.”

The first-years felt confused. How could their quiet, cat-senpai pull in one of the most popular girls in school? Even last year, when they were in Nekoma's middle-school, they had heard rumors of you. When you joined the volleyball club, even teachers started giving the once-golden club attention again. It was how the club received funding to travel to Miyagi next week. (In addition to a large donation from your mom, who was overjoyed you actually made friends.)

“He was my first and only friend at Nekoma for a long time,” you explain. Lev gasps dramatically. It seems impossible to imagine you without lines of admirers. “It doesn’t matter now since everyone in the club is my friend! Take your bottles and get in the gym; we need to talk about the logistics of going to that camp with Karasuno.”

the ones who stay behind are upset </3 cough cough lev

you’re pretty surprised you do get to go

but you’re excited - from what you understand it’s a rural area and you’ve been in Tokyo your entire life

maybe you'll even see a cow!

except you get there, walk a few feet and then notice Kenma is missing

excitement: ruined

Kuroo panics while repeating that he is not panicking

then you both get a text that’s just “in a playground”

when you find him, you scold him on talking to strangers

anyways the rest of the day is spent familiarizing yourself with the gyms and rooms

you run into Kiyoko while preparing dinner for your team

she explains she’s the only other manager at the camp, but she won’t be staying with you

You’re a lil upset bc sleepover ruined but it seems weird to complain about getting your own room and bath

(you still spend most of the time in the team’s room because it got really lonely without your boys :( )

the next morning, the day of the actual match, you get to wear your Official Manager Clothes

which is really just the track jacket, but it makes you feel cool

meeting karasuno is,,, interesting

you’re starting to think you’ll never find a normal volleyball player

From the corner of your eye, you spot Yamamoto attempting to intimidate some Karasuno players. With a sigh, you go to fetch him.

“Tora-kun, can you please help me bring in some supplies? They’re too heavy,” you whine. It’s you’re tried and true method to keeping him on a leash. If he’s helping you, he’s with the team.

Except you don’t just get his attention, you also get the attention of the boy he was staring down. Tanka startles at your sudden appearance behind Yamamoto and loses the harshness in his face. “G-girl-”

You make eye contact with Kenma who looks amused. He ignores your plead for help. Yamamoto takes the opportunity to flaunt you. “This is (y/n). Talk to her and you’ll learn how much pain a volleyball can inflict.” As he finishes his threat, he gets distracted by Kiyoko’s appearance over Tanka’s shoulder.

You decide it’s a lost cause and subtly inch away until you’re walking with Kiyoko. The boys are unable to hear what you’re talking about, but both stare dumbfounded as the only two girls in the entire camp gossip and laugh. Tanka and Yamamoto share a look; maybe there’s something shared between the two they didn’t see before.

“Is your idiot always like that?”

“Yeah, I assume that’s normal for your team too?”

[abyssal-memories-and-dreams]

Yay new tw blog! Can I ask hqs for Mallets, Leona and Vil where their girlfriend introduces them to her family? ( bonus if she has a protective dad) These are for you 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

Thank you for all the support, luv! Can I just say that I absolutely LOVE this prompt, btw? Like, this was SO much fun to write! :)

Malleus, Leona, and Vil Meeting their Fem! S/O’s Family

~Malleus Draconia~

Out of all the people in this request, Malleus is probably the most accepting of your father’s skepticism towards him. I mean, he’s not exactly an easily confrontable person. That and his standing as one of the most powerful wizards in all of Twisted Wonderland may make your father believe that he has alternative reasons for your relationship.

That being said, he will nonetheless try to win your family’s favor. He vows to your father to protect you at all cost, and that no matter what happens, he will still love you for who you are.

However, your dad is not the only one suspicious of Malleus. At first, everyone in your family is intimidated by his presence.

Your mother almost has a heart attack the first time seeing him walk into your home for dinner. However, he takes his time to compliment her in order to win her favor. 

“Did you perhaps cook this meal, Mrs. (L/N)? I was wondering how to thank the chef for preparing such a wonderful dinner. Would you like any assistance in bringing these plates back to the kitchen?”

Anything would be better than Lilia’s cooking, let’s be honest here. 

Any siblings you have are the easiest to win over. Being younger and more impressionable, the only thing that they find jarring is that his horns almost touch the doorframe. However, all it takes is for him to show them a little magic trick in order for them to agree that you two are a perfect match!

The best way Malleus can try to impress them all is for him to showcase his proficiency as a wizard. Not only will this show that he is more than capable of protecting you from danger, but he could use his vast knowledge of defensive magic to create a fancy show for the entire family.

At the end of the event, most of your family agrees that he’s a good man for you. Your father might still be a bit overprotective, but it’s not as intense as it was before.

~Leona Kingscholar~

Ok, let me be honest and say that Leona is probably going to have the hardest time convincing your family that he is the one for you. You deserve better than a lazy good-for-nothing who had to stay back in school more than once! - At least, that’s what your father thinks.

But your can bet your ass that he will stop at nothing until your family approves of your relationship. When he wants something, he will stop at no ends to make sure that he’s in your family’s favor.

Just make sure to remind him to tidy up before he meets them beforehand. 

Leona shows a great amount of respect for your mother - complimenting her attire, offering to help out after dinner, etc. - in order to try and win her over first.

Having to put up with take care of Cheka has granted him the advantage of (somewhat) knowing how children act. If you have any siblings, congrats! Leona might ruffle their hair a bit or even offer to play a game with them. Just be cautious if you have any younger siblings that want to try and climb him for a piggyback ride.

Your father, though? O h b o y.  Not going to lie, seeing your father glare at him, or crudely ask him about his future, makes him remember his home life when people compared him to his own brother. He starts doubting his own relationship with you and might want to give up on appeasing your family. However, he is determined once you squeeze his hand from underneath the dinner table. No matter what, this is all for both of you, and that is what you are trying to tell him.

“Listen, Mr. (L/N), I understand that I might not be the best role model for (Y/N) to be around, but if it wasn’t for her, I would not be trying as hard as I am right now to appease you. Your daughter is an amazing woman, which is something that I believe we can both agree on. My only wish is that no matter what, you will respect her decision just as I respect her.”

After dinner, try to get him to play a game of Magift with your father to lighten the mood.

When Leona leaves, there will still be a bit of tension between him and your family. But even then, that’s still okay. He knows that it could take more than once for him to win their favor, but he will do whatever it takes to make you happy, even if it means having to suffer from your father’s wrath.

~Vil Schoenheit~

He definitely finds it annoying how overprotective your father is of you. Yes, he understands that he only wants you to be safe and secure (and trust me, he wants it, too), but it’s still annoying nonetheless.

But when it comes to winning people over, no doubt is Vil one of the best people you know to do it. He’s calm and collective throughout the entire ordeal and almost knows exactly what to say to win everyone over during dinner.

By the time the night ends, your mother might have made a new friend in Vil. Don’t lie, he’s a charismatic bastard, but make sure you make him remember that he’s your charismatic bastard. He needs to appease your dad, after all!

If you have any sisters, then Lady Luck is on your side! They might be one of Vil’s millions of followers on Magicam, so it doesn’t really take any more persuasion for them to agree on their relationship. If you have any brothers, then he might not pay him that much attention unless they also gawk at him or show respect for him.

Surprisingly, it’s easier than he thought to persuade your father that he’s the one. Yes, he does face that typical stubbornness your dad puts out, but that could easily be extinguished by Vil’s quick tongue. His future? He’s already built an empire off of his modeling career, so he can keep his (S/O) financially stable. His ability to keep his daughter safe? He vows his life to do that. Why does he love his daughter? (Please, is this a real question?)

“Mr. (L/N), I assure you that my love for (S/O) is not in vain. She’s a gorgeous woman, both inside and out. Not only has she swifted me off of my feet by her beauty, but I admire her remarkable intelligence and charisma. I could go on and on about why I think your daughter is amazing, but I don’t want the food to run cold.”

A people pleaser that he is, Vil is the most successful out of the three to win over your entire family. Despite his sometimes haughty behavior, he does everything that he can to maintain a Prince Charming-esk personality for that night.

Will also bring a present for your parents to ensure their interest in him, be it a wine bottle or a fruit basket.

[dindjarindiaries]

Collide - Chapter 4

summary: Needing to forget the pain Javier brings her, bella drowns herself with more drinks than she should—and ends up spilling much more than she bargained for.

warnings: angst, mentions of death/drug use, angst, mentions of driving under the influence (don’t do it!), angst, overconsumption of alcohol, did i say angst?

rating: R

word count: 4.555k

masterlist

chapter 4

The first week in Colombia surprisingly flies by. You’re able to work just fine alongside Steve and Javier—thanks to your ability to at least pretend that nothing’s unsolved between the two of you—and though you’ve made no further progress on Escobar, you feel as if you’re finally starting to get something accomplished.

Your truce with Javier has stayed limited, though. You’ve refused to let yourself be alone with him ever since that day at the market. You know that if you continue to spend time with Javier like that, you’ll both completely give in to the urge to move forward like nothing’s ever happened—and you can’t have that. Too much happened that one night, and you know too much has happened ever since. You refuse to drop everything, though you can tell it’s what Javier wants to do. But you still haven’t figured out how to approach it. You’d tried that once, and it’d gone horribly.

It’s the Saturday night officially closing out the week, and you’re wrapping up your day at the office when Steve looks at you with a twinkle in his eye. You’d know that look anywhere, even after only spending a week with him: he’s either excited about something or he’s about to light a flame under someone’s ass. Or maybe both.

“Alright, fuckers, time’s up,” Steve starts, causing you to snort and Javier to sigh loudly. “I’m not spendin’ another minute here when we oughtta be celebrating.”

“Celebrating what?” Javier scoffs, raising an eyebrow at Steve as he puts out his cigarette. “The fact that I endured this kind of shit for a week and barely complained?”

“No, the fact that she endured us,” Steve corrects him, gesturing to you. Javier continues to raise his eyebrow at Steve. “And the fact that you made it a week without getting laid. Congrats, Peña.”

You feel sick at Steve’s comment, but try not to show it. Javier chuckles and shakes his head, leaning back in his chair. “So, what do you propose?” Javier asks, choosing not to dwell on the last part of Steve’s words as he puts his hands behind his head. You attempt to ignore the way it tightens his shirt around his arms, pulling your gaze back to Steve instead.

“Javi, we’ve spent a week with her in Colombia and haven’t even shown her our favorite spot.” Steve clicks his tongue disapprovingly and gives a shake of his head. “I propose that we go out for some drinks tonight.”

You let out a deep breath, beginning to collect your things in your hands as you wait for Javier’s answer. Instead, he’s looking at you, and he furrows his brow when he sees your attention on him. “What’re looking at me for?” Javier questions.

“I’m waiting for your answer,” you inform him simply.

“It’s your decision,” Javier clarifies.

“Oh, I thought we were waiting on you,” you say. “I was going with or without you two dipshits.”

Steve and Javier both chuckle, and Steve slaps a friendly hand against your shoulder. “Now that’s how you survived a week with us,” Steve reminds you, shaking his head. Once Javier’s also gathered his things, the three of you walk out to your cars, finally escaping the office as you make a plan to meet back in the lobby of the apartment building in an hour’s time.

Once you’ve gotten back to your apartment, you get ready for a night out the way you always have—but perhaps with a bit more effort than usual this time around. You exchange your work shirt for something more fun, and definitely more tight-fitting to your body. You play it safe and stick to wearing pants but choose a pair that sticks more to your legs, satisfied with the way all your best assets are showing off. As far as the rest goes, you let your hair fly free as you style it minimally and touch up your makeup lightly. You don’t want to make your effort extremely obvious, but just enough for a certain person to notice.

No, you try to convince yourself. That’s not the goal. You’re just having some fun with your coworkers.

But you know that’s not the truth. You just hope that if you and Javier get a little tipsier than expected, you’ll finally spill your truths to each other and fix this mess—maybe even enough to admit your truest and deepest feelings. It’s unlikely, but you’re bold enough to continue hoping for it.

The hour’s soon arrived, and you try to ignore the way you feel nervous—why the hell am I nervous?—as you grab your wallet and head back down to the lobby. Steve, Connie, and Javier are already there, and they turn to face you upon your arrival. Your cheeks heat up slightly when you see the way Javier looks at you, and you try not to feel affected by the way his usual button-up’s opened just a sliver more than usual, and his hair’s tussled more messier than he typically has it at work.

“There you are,” Steve greets playfully. “I was startin’ to think this week really made you hate us enough to stand us up.”

You laugh, shaking your head. “No, not even you two shitheads could stand between me and a much-needed night of drinking,” you insist, watching as Steve and Connie chuckle at you. Javier, though, seems to shift anxiously, and you raise an eyebrow at his suddenly guarded behavior.

“Well, we were thinking it’s probably best to limit our number of drivers,” Steve informs you. “So, I’ll take Connie, and Javier will take you. Sound good?”

You give him a nod. “Great.”

“Then let’s go,” Steve says, gesturing with his head to the exit. You follow, standing at an awkwardly far distance away from Javier. Your gaze falls on him in slight concern, seeing the way his jaw’s practically clenched shut as his eyes stare straight ahead. A pit forms in your stomach at his change in demeanor. You’ve gotten to know Javier’s newer personality quirks very well this week, and you know it’s odd to see him looking so utterly drained of any kind of attitude or life. Deciding to swallow your own worries in exchange to heal his, you dare to ask him about it once you’re sitting alone in his car.

“Javi, are you okay?” you don’t hesitate to ask. You look over at where his hands are gripping the steering wheel just a bit tighter than usual, his dark eyes narrowing as he watches Steve’s car navigate the roads ahead of you. “You seem… I don’t know, out of it.”

“I’m fine,” Javier insists gruffly.

You hold back a scoff at his standoffish manner. “Are you tired?” He shakes his head, and you try again. “Mad?” He repeats the movement, this time gripping the wheel even tighter. “Annoyed?” You see him clench his jaw more. “Frustr—.”

“Will you just leave it?” Javier snaps, looking over at you with his dark eyes finally widened. You lift your hands in mock surrender, and immediately you see his expression fall as he clears his throat. “I’m sorry, bella, that was uncalled for. I was being an ass.” He lets out a soft sigh, his hands loosening around the wheel as he focuses on the road again. “I’ve just been stuck inside my own head too much lately, that’s all.”

A small flicker of hope makes itself known inside your chest, and you look over at him with a curious tilt to your head. “About what, cariño?”

Javier shakes his head again, the corner of his mouth twitching in a way you easily recognize. He always tended to do that whenever he was struggling with something—or trying to think of a lie. “Escobar,” he finally says, tapping his thumbs on the wheel as he speaks. “I’m driving myself crazy trying to think of where that bastard could possibly be.”

You try not to let disappointment fill you as you nod understandingly. “I know, Javi. I’ve only been here for a week and I can feel that same frustration. But the more patient we are, the more calculated we can be once we get something. He’s playing a game, and that means we have to play it, too—but we’ve got to outsmart him in it.”

Javier nods to agree, looking over to give you a small yet grateful smile as he pulls in behind Steve along the curb outside the bar. “You always know what to say, bella.” He gives your shoulder a pat before he gets out of the car, and you follow suit. Soon, the four of you are inside the rowdy bar, a drink in hand as you attempt conversation over the loud music and dozens of other people already speaking around you.

You take a quick glance around and notice the bar is practically split into two halves: one meant for socializing and talking over drinks and the other for dancing and making out with whoever’s in the closest vicinity. You wonder if the latter is usually Javier’s go-to spot while Steve sticks to the former, but you don’t have to fantasize as Javier soon dismisses himself to start heading over to the livelier part of the establishment.

It proves to be a challenge for you to pretend you’re still engaged in Steve and Connie’s conversation as your eyes beg to follow Javier and see what he’s up to. Every once in a while, you allow your gaze to drift over, and you watch as Javier starts to get close to a beautiful brunette who’s unafraid to show off her assets in a tight-fitting dress.

Good for her, you think to yourself. If you had that kind of confidence, you would’ve done the same to get Javier’s attention. You shake your head at yourself. You don’t want that. But you know deep down what you want, even if it’s a mixed cloud of confusion in your mind and heart at the moment.

Looking down at the now-empty glass in your hand, you address Steve and Connie over the music. “I’m gonna go get another drink!” you tell them, waiting until they nod to walk away from where you’ve been standing to head back to the bar. “Or five,” you add under your breath. You walk up to the bar and ask for a shot of tequila, taking it in your hand as your gaze makes its way back over to Javier again.

He makes the woman laugh. You take the shot and slam it back down onto the counter, asking for another one.

You continue to watch as Javier’s lips approach the woman’s ear, whispering something in it as his hand sneaks its way onto her waist. You take another shot and get it refilled.

The woman bites her lip up at Javier and pulls him by the collar towards the dance floor. A third shot.

Javier’s hands reach for her hips, pulling her against him as they melt together underneath the dim lights. A fourth shot.

In a grand finale, you watch Javier spin the woman around in his arms as his mouth meets hers, his hands going to places you never wanted to see. A fifth and final shot.

You can tell the bartender is concerned at your ambitious intake of so many back-to-back shots, yet you still insist upon getting a rum and coke in hand as you walk back in Steve and Connie’s direction. You can’t feel the impact of your bad decisions just yet, but you wish you could, because all you can see is the burning image of the man you’re still hopelessly in love with melting against a woman he’s just met.

“You alright over there?” Steve asks, chuckling a bit as he gestures towards you. “You were gone for a while.”

“Just deciding what I wanted,” you lie, forcing out a laugh and swallowing hard as you turn your back to the scene you can’t forget.

The longer the conversation goes on, the more you start to feel yourself fade away. Your mind is solely able to see Javier’s hands exploring the stranger’s body, and you match it to the way he’d done the same thing to you once—but in such a gentle, tender, and loving way. You question if it was truly as sacred as you used to think it was. You wonder if that woman’s feeling the same way you did: valued, beautiful, practically holy in the knowing hands of a caring creature. You marvel at the fact she likely won’t care if she never sees him again after this night when all you’ve been able to do is think of him since the moment his hands first touched you in such a manner. And finally, you ask yourself what the hell it’ll take for him to finally treat you like that again—but not just for the pleasure; because it’s the sheer passion that’s fighting its way out of his unrelenting heart.

The last thing you remember is trying to drag a tipsy Connie to the dance floor with you, insisting that you’ve got some moves you need to practice for a future date.

Meanwhile, Javier’s still wrapped up in the moment with the brunette in question. He hates the way he feels fulfilled, finally able to let his mind and heart still as he finds an outward pleasure in a woman who was, luckily, willing to help him. With every sway of her hips against him and feeling of her tongue dancing along his, Javier forgets everything he’s been bottling up inside for not just this entire week, but every single damn day since he left you in Kingsville. For the moment, the world only exists between him and this woman—whose name he either hasn’t caught yet or hasn’t bothered to remember.

Javier feels like shit using her but finds himself justified by knowing she’s also using him. It’s the kind of arrangement he’s used to. He likely won’t ever have to see her again after this, unless she happens to be at the bar at the same time as him. They’ll take out on each other what they need to in order to reap something worthwhile, and they’ll forget it ever happened once they feel better the next day. Javier isn’t proud of it, and fuck, does he wish it could be meaningful to him like it used to be a long time ago, but it’s the only thing he’s been able to find solace in since leaving you. He can forget the pain in your eyes and concern on your face when he knew you were starting to catch onto him by drowning himself in a stranger’s offering of lust—a sacrifice for his darkest demons and deepest worries.

But even that relief doesn’t last long. Thankfully, Javier’s happened to be a step away from the woman when he feels a firm grasp on his arm. He instantly turns to see Steve standing there, raising his voice above the music as he addresses him.

“We’ve got a problem, Peña,” Steve says with a furrowed brow. Instantly, Javier’s mind goes to you, and he looks past his partner to see you practically falling onto Connie’s shoulder as she struggles to support you. “She’s gonna need a ride home, now.”

Javier feels his concern for you strike him deeply, creating a pit in his stomach as he looks back to Steve. He doesn’t even question why he’s been elected to take you. “Alright,” he agrees, looking back to the confused woman with a small pang of guilt in his chest. “Lo siento, señorita, pero necesito irme ahora. Gracias por una noche muy divertida.” He doesn’t wait for her reaction as he follows Steve closely, wondering how you’ve gotten yourself in such a state.

You’ve never been one to enjoy losing control. It’s how he knows the hell you went through when he stepped out of your life—because you weren’t able to control whether or not he would reenter it. In his cruelty at the time, he’d played with it, seeing how far he could push you back until you reached the edge and fell further away from the disaster he considered himself to be. He didn’t want you anywhere near him—not for his sake, but for yours. But now, as he watches you practically stumbling into his arms, he regrets every single thing he’s done leading up to this moment, as if he already hasn’t enough for the past twenty years of his life.

“¿Qué te hiciste?” Javier asks you softly, wrapping your arm around his neck as he begins to lead you back out to his car.

“I’ll do you one better,” you slur back at him, giggling to yourself and taking a deep breath as you meet the cool air of the Colombian night. “¿En dónde está tu novia?”

Javier feels a lump in his throat suddenly appear, and he tries to swallow it back as he responds. “I don’t have a girlfriend,” he reminds you, helping you into the passenger seat of the car. He gets you buckled in, making sure it fits right before he heads over to his side of the car.

“No?” You scoff, and Javier’s still disturbed by the way your voice is completely warped by your unstable state of mind. “It sure looked like it, cariño.”

Javier exhales deeply as he brings the car to life. Shit. He’d completely forgotten the fact that you’d probably seen everything he’d done with the woman inside the bar. “It meant nothing, bella, don’t worry.”

“Don’t worry?” You echo his words yet again and laugh—a crude laugh that makes Javier clench his jaw. “You’re right, Javi, I don’t need to worry.” You pause for a second, and he looks over to see your dazed eyes looking out of the window as if you can’t even face him. “I shouldn’t worry that I was once that same woman to you.”

Javier furrows his brow. “What do you mean?”

You let out another laugh, and Javier tries not to let his frustration grow as he tightens his grip on the wheel. “Don’t play stupid with me, Javier.” He feels your gaze land back on him, but he doesn’t have the faith to return it. “You know you’ve touched me like that before.”

Javier freezes, trying to keep his focus on the road as the feeling of icy horror spreads through him. This is exactly what he’s been avoiding—but now he has to face it: at least, to satisfy your drunk self. “It wasn’t like that, bella.”

You’re quiet for a long moment, longer than Javier pleases. He takes a quick look over to see that your gaze is now full of tears, and he curses mentally as an ache starts to fill his chest. “It sure feels like it was.” He bites his lip when he hears you choke back a sob, trying to tell himself this is all because of your drunkenness—and perhaps you’re just emotional when you’re like this. “You wanted to pretend it didn’t happen, like you would’ve with this one tonight.” He hears you sniffle, and he knows you well enough to know that you’re starting to cry. “I felt like a whore for letting it happen, Javi.”

Javier’s heart breaks at your words, and he gives you a quick yet reassuring look. “You aren’t, bella. I just—it was just—.”

But it’s almost as if you never hear his words as you continue, saying the words that knock the breath straight out of his lungs. “I waited so long to preserve myself and finally gave it to you, Javier, and when I realized you didn’t want it—you regretted it—I felt so fuckin’ stupid.”

Javier discovers that he’s having a hard time breathing, now, and so he pulls the car over and puts it to a hard stop. He’s finally free to look over at you completely, his eyes widened to twice their usual size as he sees you practically shrink into your seat. Javier knows you’re not sober, that this could all be bullshit—but it’d be some pretty complicated bullshit to come up with on the spot. His hands are practically shaking at the mere thought of what you’ve just said being true. “You were a virgin?” Javier’s words come out in a haunted whisper, and he’s suddenly aware of how hard his heart’s drumming against his chest.

“I was waiting for you, cariño,” you say through a cry, causing Javier to feel lightheaded.

“You didn’t tell me!” Javier exclaims, horror pulsing through his veins. This would’ve changed so much—it could’ve changed everything. He would’ve never let that happen in the first place, and he definitely wouldn’t have tried to make you forget about it. He slams his fist against the wheel. “Fuck!” When he brings himself to calm down for a moment, he looks back over at you, seeing more tears falling down your flushed cheeks as you shrink back further away from him. “Do your parents know?”

Javier sees you freeze up upon him mentioning them, and he feels cold at the way your eyes fill with even more tears. “I don’t know,” you finally answer.

“What do you mean, ‘you don’t know’?” Javier snaps, feeling frustrated—mainly towards himself. “It’s a yes or no question!”

“I don’t know, asshole!” you yell back at him. “I never told them, but I don’t know what they thought happened that night! And I can’t know!”

Javier frowns at that. “Why not?”

He watches your lips quiver as your gaze falls. “Because… they’re gone.”

Your words hit him all at once, much too fast, and he can’t even process them before he’s spitting out the word of doubt. “What?”

Javier watches as your face contorts into something of sheer pain and hot anger towards him. “They’re fuckin’ dead, Javier! Because a couple of drugged-up motherfuckers thought it’d be funny to drive under the influence and hit them head on! Why the fuck do you think I ended up in the fucking DEA?”

Fuck. It makes sense. Javier knows it must be true—and now he suddenly can’t catch his breath.

It worsens when he hears you hiccup and sees that your sobs are starting to escape your throat. “And… A-And you weren’t even there for me, Javi. Why weren’t you there? I needed you, cariño. I was so alone, I just—I wanted you.” Your next few sobs are so heart-wrenching that Javier can’t stand them, and before he can think it through, he’s unbuckling himself and stepping out of the car, slamming the door shut behind him. He rests his elbows against the car as he buries his face in his hands, trying to process everything he’s just learned.

On that night, he took your virginity—only further contributing to the breaking of your heart when he decided to leave you months later. He made you feel like the dirt of the earth instead of the star in the sky he’d tried setting far away from himself. Somewhere along the way between then and now, your parents died, and he wasn’t there for you when you needed him the most. Your parents were like a second set of parents to him, and he didn’t even get to say a final goodbye or support you during the entire process.

Javier always knew he was a piece of shit, but now he feels like the fucking devil himself.

Yes, he’d done everything for a reason—but now he’s not sure if it was worth it. He thought it’d help you, but it’s only seemed to hurt you. Javier hasn��t hated himself this deeply in a long time—or, at least, he hasn’t allowed himself to realize how deep his hatred for himself truly goes until now. Until he has to see you suffer because of him, because of what he makes himself suffer through on a daily basis.

Remembering the state of pain he’s left you in, Javier gets back into the car, seeing you practically balled up into the corner of your seat as you stare out of the window. Silent tears are running down your cheeks, and the cloudiness of your drunken state still fills your gaze as they reflect the Medellín sky. In any other situation, Javier would be musing about how beautiful your eyes look, but he can’t even bring himself to think about something like that right now. He doesn’t even deserve to be looking at you with his own eyes.

Javier brings the car back to life and finally finishes making his way to the apartment building. Not another word is exchanged as he stops, getting out to assist you inside. Upon realizing you’ve fully passed out already, Javier curses to himself and holds you in his arms, hooking one arm under your knees and the other on your back as he carries you to your apartment. He retrieves the keys from your pants pocket and unlocks your door, not stopping until he’s gotten you to lay in your own bed. He considers changing you into something more comfortable, but decides against it, remembering the way you’d said he’d made you feel so horrible about yourself and not wanting you to feel more insecure at the idea of him seeing your body like that again. Instead, he gets your shoes off and sets you under the covers.

Javier runs out into the kitchen and manages to find a glass, filling it with water and setting it on your bedside table for whenever you wake up. He stops, regretful to leave you in such a state but knowing that it’s for the best. Javier still can’t help himself from brushing the loose pieces of hair out of your face, feeling his heart beat in both a pained and a soft manner as he looks down at you.

“I’m so sorry, bella,” Javier whispers, well aware that you can’t hear him. “I shouldn’t have let you get that close to me. I should’ve been there for you. I’m sorry that I was—that I am—nothing but a goddamn fool.” His fingertips gently brush over your forehead as he starts to pull away from you. “I don’t deserve you, anyway.”

With that, Javier finally breaks himself away from you, heading back to his own apartment. As soon as he’s inside, he throws his keys towards God-knows-where, crumbling onto his couch as he holds his face in his hands. The emotion’s welled up so badly inside of him that he can feel the warm tear he’s allowed to escape land on his cheek, and he bites his lip to prevent any more from following. He doesn’t deserve any kind of sympathy. He doesn’t deserve to feel sad.

All Javier wanted was a second chance—but he knows he doesn’t deserve that, either; so, he’ll keep pushing himself away from you to keep you safe.

chapter 5

translations:

Lo siento, señorita, pero necesito irme ahora. Gracias por una noche muy divertida. = I’m sorry, miss, but I need to leave now. Thank you for a very fun night.

¿Qué te hiciste? = What have you done to yourself?

¿En dónde está tu novia? = Where’s your girlfriend?

tags: @tarrevizslas @none-of-your-bullshit @lavenderl3mons @gooddaykate @flower-petal-blooming @stilllivindue2spite @mrsparknuts @fionnthebandersnacc @pisss-offf-ghostt @gaydreamland @longitud-de-onda @literallytrashh @kkgraham @arrowswithwifi @rage-isaquietthing @awesomefandomsunited @theforceofdarkandlight @murdermewithbooks @blushingwueen @rachelloveseveryone @madadlorian @ah-callie @mrsdaamneron @lokiaddicted @arcadianempress @benakenalove @wickedfrsgrl @pascalisperfect @absurdthirst @weirdowithnobeardo @lcandothisallday @sailorflowermoon @engineeredfiction @souls-rain @kaylaylaylayla @cailoleaf @unintentionalwriter @earthtokace

[jungle321jungle]

Ten of Swords- Level Five: Good and Bad Ideas

The world of Swords of Power and Conquest was one Virgil dove head first into, giving his soul and life to the game. He would play whenever he could, and had even decided he wanted to go into game design. At times he had even dreamt of how wonderful it would be to be inside that world for even a moment- until that world became his reality.

The familiar world he had come to love was now a foreign prison, one with no way out.

Taglist: @angels-and-dreams @ollyollyoxinfree @gattonero17 @chumo-cookie @dreaming-always @anxiety-ismy-name @mrbubbajones @janustheliar @why-do-you-care

Ao3 - Masterlist

Level Five: Good and Bad Ideas

To be quite fair a duel was probably the dumbest idea he could have possibly ever had. If they were just talking swords themselves Logan had the upper hand. Sabers were fast and quick, the complete opposite of Virgil’s dadao. Sure he had practiced with it and he certainly was fast enough to fight a monster, but against a skilled player like Logan, he wasn’t so sure. Then there was Logan’s ability to read him on top of all of that- and he was a higher level too. So really the only thing Virgil had on his side were his skills. His skills... his skills which he was still perfecting... this was truly really a horrific idea wasn’t it? Why had Dee let him do this?

Virgil’s gaze glanced over to Dee who was meanwhile still convincing Patton this was a good idea.

“Backing out?” Logan hummed.

Virgil shook his head, “Just wondering if they’re too close.”

“I see. And your assessment?”

Virgil resisted the urge to call the older man an ass in reply.  “They’re fine. Traditional rules?”

“Traditional rules are fine. I wonder if the game still has the duel feature or if we’ll need to time it ourselves.” As Logan paused to scroll through his menu Virgil was still trying to determine how the hell he could beat Logan.

He was also failing at determining how to beat Logan.

Virgil gave a mental scream of frustration. He had proposed this idea to get Logan to loosen up and work with the rest of them, and maybe better understand skills- but he wasn’t sure he could draw the match out that long.

“Ah! It is here.”

Fuck.

Virgil forced himself to take a deep breath as he got into a ready stance and drew his weapon. He could do this. Being evasive was his specialty. He knew how to avoid mobs of players to steal from under their noses, so he could avoid Logan long enough for the other player to be pissed off. Somehow he would manage to be okay. He had escaped the tyren pack on the way to the Tavern with nothing (with Dee’s help) he could definitely do this! Well... maybe. Probably. Most likely...  hopefully.

The moment the duel began Logan was rushing him. Virgil held in a screech as he dodged and god did he hate that smug look on Logan’s face. Dodging would do him no good. He jumped back to put some distance between them but as Logan lunged in he quickly stepped and turned. Logan didn’t hesitate to pivot and strike again but this time Virgil had turned his large blade on the side to act as a shield as he moved. It was a risky thing, holding a two handed sword with one in this manner- but the only advantage Virgil could possibly have over Logan was his strength stat. Given his naturally heavier weapon he needed to put his points into strength, while Logan had focused elsewhere. He backed up again holding the sword in one pained hand while touching the flat part with the palm of his other. And this time when Logan pressed in, Virgil shoved back with all his might. It wasn’t much- not at all. But it was enough to catch Logan off guard causing him to stumble and give Virgil an opening.

His arm was straining from the weight but even so Virgil swung towards Logan’s unguarded torso. For a second Virgil thought he could land a strike. For a moment he thought he could at least land a single strike on his perfect opponent. Just for an instant.

Just as Virgil’s blade should have been smashing into Logan’s ribs- a forceful parry sent shockwaves down his arm causing the weapon to slip from Virgil’s fingers. He didn’t even have time to draw his back up knife before Logan’s sword tip was at his throat. “I understand now,” he said simply. “it is very much like muscle memory.”

“I told you!” Remus shouted from the side.

Virgil bit back a retort. “Congrats.”

“Your strength stat must be quite high,” Logan commented sheathing his blade. “But it could be higher, as could your stamina.”

“I’ll win next time.”

Logan's face didn’t change. “No you won’t.”

~~~~

“Hello sir, would you like to browse my shop?”

Roman gave Virgil a glare. “You know I hate you right? You know well I just left to get something.”

Virgil blinked. “Hello sir, would you like to browse my shop?”

“Yes!” Roman shouted in annoyance.

Virgil wasn’t fazed as he unlocked the door to allow Roman inside the meeting room but he stayed out. While he did truly want to know what was going on with the intel Dee had gotten, more people had found their way to the Tavern in his absence and they needed to be sold weapons.

“Anthony!” Someone called. “I’d like to shop!”

“I'm very sorry, but the Owner has closed my shop for a private meeting.” He gestured to his right. “But I have some of my new items right here. Would you like to browse?”

“Hell yes.”

Virgil was quite frankly thankful when he was allowed to stop playing NPC for the night. The moment he was through the shop door he sunk into the nearest open chair. “Why is this more exhausting in person?”

“Because when it was on the computer you could multitask,” Dee answered easily.

Virgil gave a sigh, “Where’d you send the others to?”

“Patton’s asleep upstairs, Logan is checking on a loose thread to our lead, and the twins are coordinating with some other players to see if it’s even possible to move forward with construction.”

“For what? I wasn’t here during your little meeting, remember?”

“I want to go all in on a new business venture,” Dee started. “We take this from a tavern, to an inn. But to do so we need more space. We could pay other players for construction, and then when it’s up and running we can charge less than the game inns. And we can also encourage trade.”

Virgil gave a frown, “How long have you been thinking about this?”

Dee gave a chuckle, “A few days. But I had been thinking before that if we are going to do raids for the swords we will need a whole lot of money to fund that and we aren’t a guild with that sort of reserve. So I came up with this idea. I figure we get started with our lead and we have people building while we are gone. I’m sure the players who have been sleeping on the floor will help in return for a bed too.”

“You are always doing so many things at once.”

“I guess,” he shrugged. “If this works out we can expand your shop too. I can hire people to work in your place while we travel. But...”

“But?”

“I guess I should ask if you’re okay with all of this. We built this together after all.”

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Of course I’m fine with it. Why wouldn’t I be? Your crazy scheme to build this place worked so why would I protest expansion? I mean you’ll get a ton more secrets to sell this way.”

“By the way... why did you agree to this in the beginning? This could have very well been a horrible mistake.”

Virgil gave a shrug, “Well initially we had just been looking for a place to build a house for us instead of paying for an inn so I didn’t care. But then when you came to me with this scheme I thought it was crazy. But I also thought if there’s any chance in it working, that you’d be the one who could do it. So, I just trusted you.”

“That’s insane.”

“I guess. But it’s not like we spent a ton of real world money on this so I didn’t mind. Finishing the quests to get the materials we needed was fun all in all.” Virgil gave a slight smile. “And I still remember how you used to scream at the NPC who built things because it didn’t customize right. You kept going on and on like it could understand you.”

“I wanted things to be perfect,” Dee grumbled.

“I know, I know. But you know to this day you still haven’t told me how you managed to get your hands on a guilds teleport point for this place.”

“I’m still sworn to secrecy on that.”

Virgil gave a chuckle, “Sure whatever.”

They lapsed into a comfortable silence just listening to muffled the sound of talking from the main floor.

“Did it really hurt that badly?” Dee asked him suddenly.

Virgil raised an eyebrow, “Hm?”

Dee gave a sigh as he hung his head to look at the table. “Dying I am mean... I know it’s been a while since, but- but I never knew how to ask.”

Virgil hadn’t realized he had been smiling until it slipped from his face at the question. He looked back to Dee’s concerned gaze and gave his friend a slight smile. “Yeah... it did, and then some.”

“Are- are you okay? You... you did die.”

Virgil took a deep breath and looked at the ceiling above him. “I... yeah. Yeah I am.”

Without looking Virgil could tell Dee didn’t believe him, but it was true. Dying had been the worst thing he had ever experienced and yet... somehow he was okay. He wasn’t great or even good, the pain has shaken him to his core. He wasn’t bad either, he didn’t have nightmares or think much of it strangely. So yeah in this moment at least, he was okay.

Logan didn’t come back till early morning, but apparently his news was important enough that Virgil found himself being woken up. He sat up blearily and rubbed at his eyes as Logan spoke before he shook Dee beside him.

“We now know for certain which group has the Sword of Stone,” Logan started when they were all sitting on the bedroom floor.

“Who?” Patton yawned.

“Shadow Dawn.”

“Fuck no,” Roman said loudly.

“Roman,” Patton chided. But the other player didn’t seem to have heard.

“Let’s start elsewhere. I don’t want to deal with them at all.”

“We don’t have any other leads,” Logan frowned.

“Ignore him,” Remus said, rolling his eyes. “They’re one of the many he fucked over.”

“I did not!” Roman yelled back. “They screwed me over!”

“Didn’t you try to steal a commander’s armor after claiming his play style wasn’t fit for it?” Virgil asked in confusion. “And then when he did change it they lost a war because he longer had the underlying skills for it?”

“I-I mean yeah! But- but they left me stranded in a mine!” Roman yelled back.

“After you did all of that to them.”

“W-what do you even know!?”

Virgil gave a slight shrug, “Well I’m a fan of yours... and I used to have a friend in the guild.”

“I’m not doing this,” Roman declared.

“No one is asking you to,” Dee replied. “You don’t have to do anything other than be a good diversion.”

Logan nodded in agreement. “Agreed. I suggest we start with diplomacy and send the twins to speak with them. If it doesn’t work we move to the second part. Virgil, Patton, and I can offer services to them.”

“You three should go ahead of Roman and Remus. Might seem too suspicious otherwise.”

“True.”

“Wait Virgil can’t go,” Roman put in. “Won’t he be recognized? Anthony is pretty easy to remember no? Won't people make the connection to the NPC?”

“I use a different avatar skin as an NPC and I hide my level and player icon with a few glitches I’ve fostered,” Virgil assured him. “So people usually just assume I’m boring because of it and leave me be.”

“...You make that sound like a good thing.”

“And if anyone figures it out I can usually just offer them a good deal to pretend they don’t. It’s easy really.”

“Why was this so time sensitive again?” Remus yawned.

Dee gave a frown, “Isn't it obvious? We aren’t the only ones after the swords.”

“Who else is?” Patton asked worriedly.

“Not sure just yet. But other people have been poking around and soon enough they’ll make the same connections we are. We need to get the Sword of Stone first.”

“But then is it really a good idea to ask Roman and Remus to talk to them? Isn't a surprise better?”

“But if they say yes and join us Patts then we got a whole ass guild on our side,” Remus answered, laying down. “We might only need to sacrifice Roman.”

Roman opened his mouth to most likely shout at his brother, but Remus had already fallen back to sleep. He gave an eye roll. “This is still a bad idea. SD will shoot me on sight.”

Logan didn’t bat an eye, “You have enough gold for revival.”

Roman gave a groan and collapsed onto the floor. “This is gonna suck.”

~~~~

Level Four - Level Five - Level Six

[anomander-dragnipurake]

Possessed Part 2 Chapter Four: Discussion

Back in the lab, the boxes were placed haphazardly all over the floor. E. Gadd was already sorting through them while Polterpup chewed on a bone in the corner and Gooigi seemed to just be sort of standing around, watching. They looked up and lifted a hand in a small wave as Luigi, King Boo, and Mario entered. King Boo even let Luigi return with his own wave. It was nice to see Gooigi again, though Luigi felt a bit bad about having not thought of them much the past however long King Boo had been possessing him for.

“Did you tell him?” E. Gadd asked, looking up from his work to swivel around in his chair to face them. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what he had to mean.

“Yes,” Luigi said. He would’ve still preferred not to but there was no way they could’ve kept it a secret for long no matter what.

“Good. I already explained to Gooigi so you don’t have to worry them.” That was one worry off Luigi’s plate at least. Whatever Gooigi felt about the situation was impossible to guess but that was how it was always was with them.

“You can fix it, right?” Mario asked, walking around the boxes to stand by E. Gadd at his desk.

“I don’t know yet but I’m going to try. I have to adjust the KBE blueprints some and might need to send you four out for more parts to build it. So it’s still days if not weeks away from being done. And I don’t even know if that time frame’s going to be an issue or not. How fast does it take for two souls to become one? At what point does separating them become impossible? There’s so much we don’t know.”

Neither King Boo or Luigi had thought to consider that before. What if they’d already reached the point of no return? If not how far away were they from it? It could potentially take weeks for E. Gadd to finish the KBE, that was a scary amount of time when under an unknown time limit.

“You two,” E. Gadd said, pointing at King Boo and Luigi, “You haven’t said anything about it but you must’ve noticed symptoms of what’s happening with your souls by now. About how long ago did they start? If we can pinpoint about when the process began, we might be able to calculate approximately how fast it’s occurring.”

Both of them thought back to when they’d first started becoming more aware of the other’s thoughts and emotions. They both came up blank though; their memories from before their trip to the Boo Kingdom were foggy and indistinct. Neither of them were even sure how long King Boo had been possessing Luigi for.

Which is your fault. If King Boo hadn’t been running around injecting Luigi’s body with every chemical he could find they would know more. Also, he would’ve gotten bored of the game sooner, possibly resulting in them not being in the mess in the first place. Or heck, if he just hadn’t possessed Luigi in the first place, things would be better for both of them.

‘How was I supposed to know this could happen? If anything, it’s your fault for making defeating you any other way so difficult.’

In the interest of keeping what little peace they could have Luigi wasn’t going to reply to that. “Longer than two weeks ago,” he said out loud instead.

“Much longer?” E. Gadd asked. “Or about two weeks?”

“Uh… I…” Luigi began before King Boo cut him off. “We’re not entirely sure because most of our time was spent experimenting with every inebriating substance we could get out hands on. As a result, we were barely aware of much of anything a lot of the time, let alone our thoughts getting closer, and we certainly can’t remember any of it well. So we can’t say when it started, only that it was longer than two weeks, probably by a fair bit. Before we found out about it was fun though, drugs, alcohol, and the ability to sleep are the only good things the living have.”

Why’d you have to tell them that? Luigi had had no control for any of it but he still felt ashamed and would’ve preferred no one ever knew of it. … Which was exactly why King Boo had told them.

Mario glared but as he opened his mouth to speak, King Boo cut him off.

“Before you get all mad at me about that, let me share just one more thing and ask a very important question related to it.” With an evil smile, he pushed back against Luigi’s attempt to make him shut up because mentioning that wasn’t necessary. Luigi didn’t want to think about it ever again. … Too bad, King Boo wanted to know why it had happened and there was a chance it might be useful information to E. Gadd. “On the day we discovered our predicament, I tried multiple ways to fix it myself. I only came here as a last resort after all. But the way that definitely should’ve worked but didn’t for some inexplicable reason was death. I tried to kill the meat suit but it wouldn’t die.”

“You did what?” Now Mario was really mad as he took a menacing few steps closer.

With an evil chuckle, King Boo pulled down the collar of suit, better revealing the mostly healed wound on Luigi’s neck. “I slashed his throat,” he said as he ran the thumb of his other hand over it, sending a shudder down Luigi’s spine. “Deep too. He couldn’t breath and he bled what seemed to be most of if not all his blood out. I even stopped his heart. And yet, he wouldn’t die.”

“You bastard!” Mario grabbed King Boo by the shirt and shoved his back roughly against the wall. He reared a fist back for a punch but seemed to catch himself just in time to punch the wall next to Luigi’s head instead of Luigi himself. “How dare you?”

With in inward chuckle, King Boo surrendered control to Luigi. Mario pushing him against the wall was suddenly the main thing keeping him up right as he shook from just the memory of that incident. It made him nauseous but he could almost recall what it felt like to lie there, bleeding out but not dying, not even passing out.

Mario jerked back with a stricken look. “I’m sorry Luigi, I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s fine,” Luigi interrupted. “I uh… just don’t want to think about… that.” He wanted to say more but…

Having had his fun messing with Mario, King Boo took control back; steeling against the trembling and even pushing down the growing panic and forcing away the memory of it which Luigi wholeheartedly welcomed and assisted in. He then put a hand on Mario’s shoulder to push him to the side a bit to stroll past him. “Why did that happen?” he asked he strode over to stand in front of E. Gadd. “Why can’t the meatsuit die?”

E. Gadd looked shocked but quickly recovered, shaking it off before replying. “Hmmm… well I can’t say for sure without more data but my hypothesis would be that it has something to do with your souls merging. One of your souls is dead while the other is not, together you’d be something that’s sort of in-between, right? Meaning you’re neither fully alive nor fully dead and thus you can’t die. Oh uh… you may have actually discovered the secret to immortality, congrats! Hmm… I wish I could run all sorts of tests and experiments on you but… I can’t. My lab’s in shambles and there are lines I won’t cross even for science, letting a friend’s soul merge with someone so vile is one of them. I need the prioritize finished the KBE above all else.”

Luigi could’ve hugged him for that and with all he’s been through lately, he probably would’ve if King Boo wasn’t there to restrain him. … That hug with Mario had been more than enough for the day, King Boo refused to tolerate any more. So Luigi had to settle for a shaky, “Thank you,” instead.

E. Gadd grunted an acknowledgement as he spun his chair back to face his desk. “Speaking of that, I have work I need to get back to. Revealing your… stunt reminded me just how urgent his is.”

Unhappy but satisfied with that answer, King Boo turned back around to grin at Mario who was back to looking mad. “As soon as you’re out of my bro’s body, I’m gonna make you pay for everything you did to him,” he said, making it sound like a promise.

With an evil chuckle, King Boo raised an eyebrow. “Really? And how do you plan to do that? We’ve fought before, remember? Three times now. I won easily every single time. If it wasn’t for your bro here, you’d still be wall art.”

“I don’t care. You’re going to pay.”

Luigi wished he could take comfort in that but… he just couldn’t. Mario didn’t stand a chance against King Boo; three times were certainly enough to prove that. Maybe if he had a Poltergust he would but even then, he didn’t know how to use it, did he? It didn’t match his style of combat at all.

‘If he tries anything, he’s doomed.’ … So hopefully he wouldn’t. If he did, Luigi would have to try to convince him not to. But that was thankfully something he didn’t have to worry about right now, getting free of King Boo came first.

 -

Over the next however long, they sort of just hung out at the lab. E. Gadd worked, only occasionally calling Gooigi over to help with something. He called King Boo and Luigi over once for one more scan just for the sake of it and to see if anything had changed; it hadn’t. Other than that, none of them had anything more they could do right now but seemingly nowhere else to go.

It was Mario who eventually pointed out how late it was. Neither Luigi nor King Boo had noticed beyond taking note of Gooigi falling asleep in the corner but it was nearing midnight. King Boo’s magic and seemingly the whole half dead, half alive thing reduced their need for sleep – and other life sustaining things like food and water – making it easy to lose track of how late it was.

“Rest is for those without coffee,” E. Gadd protested upon the suggested he should rest and continue tomorrow.

Mario frowned at him. “While I agree, this is very important and needs to be done as soon as possible, it’s probably better if you rest.”

“I agree,” King Boo said. “If you fuck this up because of sleep deprivation or any other reason, I’ll make you death a slow one.” As much as he’d like it if E. Gadd could work on it 24/7, even he knew that the living needed sleep or they didn’t function properly. He’d rather it take a little longer to ensure E. Gadd did it right then rush it and probably result in something in it not working right and thus the whole thing failing.

E. Gadd groaned and complained in a way that was almost funny before finally spinning around and hopping off his chair. “Fine whatever. Let’s all get some rest. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” Mario said as E. Gadd walked off. He then turned to look at King Boo and Luigi, still leaning against a wall to the side. “You want to come back to the castle with me? It’s a shorter drive back here than to your old place. And we can car pool.”

“You… really want me coming back with you?” Luigi asked because anywhere he went, King Boo went too and no one in their right mind would invite King Boo over to their house.

‘Wow, rude! I’m perfectly good company.’ … That was so blatantly untrue it wasn’t even worth a response. … ‘When I want to be I am.’

“Of course I do, your my bro. Even if you got an uh… unwelcome passenger right now, you’re still welcome over.”

“Let’s go then,” King Boo said as he stood up. He was bored and sleep sounded nice right about now anyway even if they didn’t feel much need for it yet.

 -

Mario didn’t live in the castle itself – though he did have a room there that he stayed in sometimes – but a house very near it. Luigi had lived with him there until a few years ago when he’d decided to try to be a little more independent. Which actually was part of what had led into the original haunted mansion trap so maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea after all.

Regardless, the place was almost exactly how Luigi remembered, the red couch in front of the outdated TV, the kitchen doorway to the right, and the hall leading to the bedrooms, except messier. Mario had never cared much about tidiness the way Luigi did. … King Boo preferred tidiness too. … Finally, something they had in common so at least when their souls merged, whatever kind of person they’d become would still be neat and tidy.

‘No need to be so pessimistic.’ It dampened King Boo’s confidence that this would turn out fine.

Can you blame me for being pessimistic when you’ve been making my life a living hell for however long we’ve been like this? Honestly, as bad as the idea of their souls merging into one was, it would probably be better than continuing to exist with King Boo in control of his body. So I think I’m allowed to be as pessimistic and negative and whatever else I want however much I want.

‘You should really stand up for yourself more. It’s more exciting than your whimpering and cowering is.’ Though part of why it was exciting was that the whimpering and cowering had gotten old after being exposed to it for so long.

Fuck you too. Even if he wasn’t physically tired, he was mentally and he just wanted this nightmare to be over with already. He’d reached the end of his rope a long time ago. That earned a chuckle from King Boo, before he could properly reply though…

“You okay?” Mario asked, stepping in front of them.

“No,” they said out loud together because it was impossible for them to be okay in these circumstances.

“Anything I can do to help?”

“Unless you’ve been hiding a way to get me out of this meat suit, then no, you can’t help,” King Boo replied.

Mario glared at him. “I wasn’t talking to you.”

“It’s fine Mario,” Luigi cut in before King Boo could reply with a snarky taunt. “I’ll be fine… hopefully. I trust the professor, if anyone can fix it, it’s him.” What if he couldn’t though? What if it was too late already? Or too late by the time he finished the KBE?

“Yeah, you’ll be free of King Boo soon, I’m sure, just got to hang on a bit longer.” Mario gave him an encouraging smile. Luigi had always been a little jealous of his confidence. “Let’s go to be now, huh? It’s been a long day.”

Ignoring him, King Boo strode past him towards the bedroom. For the sake of getting along… ‘Which room is yours?’ He was tempted to head for Mario’s room to mess stuff up but it would accomplish nothing.

The one on the right. Luigi wouldn’t have let him mess with anything anyway.

“Uh… goodnight then Luigi,” Mario called after them as King Boo started down the hall. “Sweet dreams.”

“’Night Mario,” Luigi returned before King Boo could close the door.

[letaintedserpentine]

ZADR WEEK: Emo/Scene

Day 2!!! “What did you do?!”

“Laugh it up.” Dib said defensively. “Hair dye, it’s a thing, not that you would know, space-boy.”

a little stronger emphasis on the Gaz&Dib sibling relationship cause. I love them, and this is the only thing that got into my head with the prompt. thanks to @zadrweek3 for hosting, you are awesome :D

Full fic below or in AO3

The tragedy began, as most tragedies do- with a right-willed protagonist with the misfortune of misguided hubris. It was easy enough for Dib to be caught up in the moment, nabbing his sister’s handheld console as he spotted a familiar figure on the screen.

“You get to play as the Loch Ness monster and you’re choosing some lame warrior?”

“Give it back.” The words, ever so innocuous, sounded downright threatening from her mouth, which was pinched in a scowl. “I am not going through an hour of cut scenes to get there again.”

“It has good stats and everything!”

“I’m warning you.”

“The lore is muddy but close enough! You should at least try it, how bad could it be?”

Gaz felt generous enough to allow her brother a few more seconds of geeking out. That, and the fact that Dib could be fast when he wanted to, dodging out of her grasp easily almost like reflex.

All thoughts of generosity flew out of the bulletproof Membrane enterprise window as Dib sheepishly handed her the console, the screen flashing with congratulations on choosing the character.

All for Dib’s paranormal obsession of the hour. Gaz cracked her knuckles audibly, and left to get a sedative.

“Aughhh… wha-?” It took Dib a moment to place where he was. While waking up on the floor was unusual to him, it usually happened in his room, whenever he’d slumped down after having a particularly tricky battle.

A few bots watched him, and that’s when the place finally clicked. That’s it, she was going to feed him to her robots- he screamed.

A pillow knocked him back.

“They’re off. For now.”

Dib turned. Gaz’s eyes weren’t on him, they were on her console- he was safe for now. But the question remained, why she’d brought him here?

When the panic faded as did his surprise, he noticed that his hair was uncomfortably damp, and reeking of a chemical scent.

“I did warn you.” She said. “I thought about dying your hair a garish color. Something appalling. Maybe green or orange.”

She paused to kill another character on screen. “But the Loch Ness monster had cloaking abilities, perfect for a rouge-like playthrough. Not the worst decision you’ve left me with. Your hair is safe for now- minus the… hm.” She took a moment to toss him a mirror.

He peeked through it and made a face. His hair was bright and pale. “The Swollen Eyeball would never take me seriously with this!”

Any plans of cornering Zim would be second in the meantime, he’d have to get black dye.

“Like they took you seriously to begin with?” Gaz scoffed, but Dib knew it was teasing.

“Well it looks unnatural. On me. Why’d you even have this stuff?” Investigator at heart, he wouldn’t pass this opportunity to take notes on Gaz’s room. She was in a good mood, a bit unlikelier for her to toss him out immediately.

The beeping of her console never paused, but the clatter of her hands on the buttons slowed. “Right, I wouldn't know anything about unnatural hair colors,” She said, the sarcasm thick on her tongue. “What do people usually use hair coloring products for?”

“You wanted to change your hair?”

“Unprecedented astute observation. That’s a first for you, Dib.”

Protective wasn’t usually his role with his sister, especially since she was more than capable of handling others. “Are you okay?”

She sighed, forced and drawn out. “I conceded to you about Nessie. Better take it before I cut your hair off entirely by staying too long.”

“You brought me here!”

“Out.”

“Alright, alright.” Dib sauntered to the door, then paused. “Your hair’s not weird, Gaz.”

Gaz knew she could ignore it. But Dib rarely noticed anything other than his paranormal obsession. She could see where this goes. “You have a stalk on your head. You don’t get any bearing on what’s weird.”

“But still.” Dib shuffled on his feet. “Do you still have your hair coloring things?”

She turned away from her game, squinting at him. “I don’t have black, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Do you have a color that’s similar to yours?”

She stared at him for a while, deliberating. Then, she closed her console. “I’ll mix something up.”

The hair dryer was loud to his ears, not to mention a bit searing when held in place for too long, but they were nearly done. She worked on him so silently, only every so often humming a note.

Dib didn’t mind. If anything, it was relaxing.

“You’re not going to be popular in this.” Gaz stated, as she felt the hair looked close to done.

“People already call me freak, I don’t think there’s anything new there.”

Gaz hummed, ignoring the unintended implication. “I tried smoothing out your stalk, but…”

Dib could already picture his hair, unaffected by gravity. “Ha, good luck with that. Maybe it’s a mutation.”

The two then thought of the imposing figure of Professor Membrane.

“Nah,” they chorused.

She gave his hair a once-over and gave a light nod. “There goes you being emo.”

“The emos died a long time ago. And I never was.”

She made a face and handed him a mirror. “Sure, edgelord. Congrats on unleashing your pastel self.”

“Wouldn’t that imply that you’re…”

“Labeling me, Dib?”

“Gamer.”

She didn’t acknowledge his backpedal, but she was pleased that her intimidation goes so far.

She pushed the mirror more insistently towards him.

Dib blinked at his reflection. It was awful. He wasn’t used to seeing color on his head, never mind one that’s really bright. Gaz waited for his reaction. “I like it,” he finally said.

She snorted, a sound that managed to be sarcastic, and ruffled his hair roughly. “Dark blue next time. And Dib?”

He perked up.

“Get out of my room.”

Dib didn’t wait for her to get the bots live again, and just went with it. The gruffness of their norm was still there, and he never expected less, but it was nice to be invited again, even if she was, for now, kicking him out.

Dib wasn’t in a hurry to get into school the next day. If not for Gaz waiting on him to go, he would’ve delayed the inevitable for as long as possible, in small part due to the dread of how obnoxious Zim was going to be.

Gaz barely glanced at him when they parted at the school gates, which was fine by him. Best not to have an audience when-

“Dib-stink!” There it was.

The Irken sauntered up to him and pointed to his hair. Blunt as usual, then.

“What did you do?!”

“Laugh it up.” Dib said defensively. “Hair dye, it’s a thing, not that you would know, space-boy.”

Zim wasn’t laughing. If anything, he looked… impressed.

Zim nodded at him. “Rebelling against your code, then? I, too, never did too well being stuck in a role I didn’t want.” His antennas longed to twitch from under his wig, as he deliberated. “I suppose even humans could rebel, even in something as inefficient as appearance....”

Dib didn’t think Zim could be quite civil. He must be plotting something.

“As for the color…” It was highly reminiscent of the one that the current Tallest had, the association too blatant to ignore, but to Zim, it was a dangerous one. Zim wasn’t the type to follow Tallest trends, but if Dib himself was showing subservience to the glory of the Tallests…

“You look good.”

Dib spluttered, choking on air, face red.

Zim only looked at him with admiration for the rest of the day, which only highly confused and flustered Dib.

And if Zim suddenly turned up to school with bright red hair- Dib made sure to say it looked good, too, even if he wasn’t sure himself.

Of course, when Zim began to sprout how much they matched- Dib put that thing to a stop, fast.

[alternislatronemhq]

Congrats, BELLA, you have been accepted to AL for the role of FRANK LONGBOTTOM (FC: John Boyega). add some comments and stuff here. BELLYBOO! Wow, what a great app! It’s so exciting to have Frank here, and your portrayal of him just made me fall even more in love with him and your writing. OMG I can’t wait to see some of your plot ideas play out. Rachie is about to be PUMPED. Please send in your blog (no sideblogs for first characters, please) in the next 24 hours and be sure to take a look at our new player checklist. Welcome home (once again), we’re so excited to have you join the family!

OOC

name — bella! hi it’s me. age — 24. pronouns — she/hers/her. timezone — pst. activity level — i would give myself somewhere around a seven, but i always post at least twice a week.

IC Overview

name —franklin ibiyemi longbottom. faceclaim — john boyega age — 29. gender —cis-male. sexuality — heterosexual. patronus — elephant; frank is formidable, but not in the way that alastor moody is formidable. he’s a calming presence, one that brings people together, especially in times of crisis. he’s also known to be the protector, the person who will make sure others in his life are put first. his father’s patronus was also an elephant, and it’s a fact that he wears with pride. boggart �� when frank was a little boy, a boggart escaped from a cabinet in his mother’s office. then, the creature appeared to him as a gigantic spider, scrambling around the house after him as he screeched for one of his family members. when frank was in school, slughorn allowed him to see another boggart. then, it was the thought of not being successful. of not living up to his mother’s expectations. it was an image of himself living on the side of the road, alone and without anyone in his family by his side. when he was finally an auror, it was his own death. he was so afraid of losing himself to the cause that it became his biggest fear.

his boggart has changed throughout his life. maybe that means that he’s always been scared; always been afraid of what might be. although he hasn’t seen a boggart recently, frank is certain it would be the loss of alice or neville, which is maybe his biggest fear of all. he now has a family, and he would be lost if he were to lose them.

IC In Depth

personality traits —

+ compassionate: frank has always been kind. he’s had a heart for those who need it; a keen eye to help when someone is hurting. he’s never known how he got pushed into the role of being the person people lean on, but he enjoys it. he enjoys knowing that he can make someone feel better with a long talk or a cuppa. it quite reminds him of his father, stern and stoic as he was. their ability to soothe was similar, and frank had always admired that in himself.

+ flexible: although steadfast in his morals, frank is not one to be stubborn. he easily bends his mind if it means that the job (or the conversation) will be easier. it makes him a good friend; a person who is easy to apologize for mistakes he’s made or the person hew as in the past. frank learns easily and doesn’t like to stay in one spot. he hopes to grow, and knows that it is impossible to do so if he isn’t flexible.

- over-protective: although he, sometimes, finds his protectiveness a use, for the most part it just gets in frank’s way. he can’t seem to stop protecting the people he cares about. if he knows they need help, he will over-help to the point where they might start to resent him. frank doesn’t know when to stop, and he truly doesn’t know what it does to the people around. he doesn’t realize that he might be stepping over lines that he shouldn’t be crossing.

- paranoid: hand-in-hand with his over-protectiveness is frank’s paranoia. especially since the war ended, frank has almost sounded like a conspiracy-theorist. he knows with every inch of his being  that the war will come back. he knows that he must take every precaution to keep them safe. this makes him not only a bit less present in his family life but in his job. he’s not quite sure how to stop it but it’s taking a toll on his mental health as well. it’s not long before he knows his physical health will go down the drain too.

character biography —

When Frank was born, no one would’ve expected him to turn out an auror. He was scared of everything: from too hot pans to tiny bugs that would appear in the kitchen. No one could understand how this child was the product of one Augusta and Abaeze Longbottom. For many years, Frank couldn’t understand it himself. His mother was on the Wizengamot and his father, having immigrated from Nigeria, rose his way in a new country through the Department of Mysteries (like his father before him). They were fearless supporters of muggleborn rights (although Augusta was not exactly the best at showing that support outside the debate room), bright minds leading Wizarding England into the future. Meanwhile, Frank couldn’t even learn to hold his wand properly without fumbling when a spark shot out of it.

Of course, that put a slight strain on his relationship with his parents, especially his mother. Where Abaeze had learned to be patient, Augusta had learned frustration. She would often get short with her son if he wasn’t able to figure out a spell and, even at a young age, expected nothing more than her son to be perfect. Frank tried as hard as he could to please her, and earned the reputation of a goody-two-shoes. Where other pure blood kids would sneak off at social gatherings to play games, Frank remained either with a book in his hand or socializing with those adults whom his mother hoped to please. And, a part of him never minded. He adored his alone time, especially if they meant settling in with a good book. Nothing to scare him there. Only words and stories that he longed to be real. He’d practically exhausted the selection in their home library by the time his Hogwarts letter arrived.

Frank finally was given an owl and a wand (his own wand! something he could hold and not fear an explosion from), and was sent off on the Express with few words of wisdom and money for pasties on the train. He was determined to make friends this go round, after all, muggleborns and halfbloods would be here as well. Maybe it was fate that he ended up in Alice’s cart. He knew of her, of course, from pureblood society, and was disappointed at first not to meet someone different. That disappointment quickly turned to a feeling of luck. He’d never met anyone who he’d bonded with faster than Alice Rosier.

When they got to Hogwarts, he was shocked to find the hat almost instantly shouting Gryffindor! upon touching his head. As if a switch had been flipped, Augusta wrote with a letter saying how proud she was that her son was in the same house as her. A bit of the pressure she’d put on him began to lessen, especially as Frank’s grades proved to be formidable. Soon, although still afraid of a lot, Frank began following in his parents’ footsteps. He even got detention once for trying to stop a Slytherin pureblood from hurting a first year muggleborn. His mother had cried tears of pride upon hearing that fact (although Frank still got a talking to as to why it was wrong to curse a bully and not talk to them first).

It was on a warm spring day that an Auror visited their Defense Against the Dark Arts class and talked about what it was like to work as a premiere wizarding law enforcement agent. Frank was star-struck. Starting his fourth year, Frank came into school with a new purpose and it wasn’t long before he started to look forward to the future. With a recommendation from both Flitwick and McGonagall, Frank was almost instantly accepted to the program, especially upon getting Head Boy in his final year of school. It was sometime in there (although Frank never was certain when he fell in love with Alice, he always just was in love with her) that he’d asked Alice to be his girlfriend. When they became aurors together, well, that was just a cherry on a very tasty cake.

And then the war started.

It was almost like his dream turned slowly into a nightmare. The bright edges turned a little bit grayer. Yet, there were always moments of sunshine. He and Alice got married and had Neville. Frank thought he knew love; thought he knew what it meant to be in love, but then Neville was born and it was like the entire world had stopped. The prophecy was spoken and he felt as though he were going to explode every day with the thought of keeping his son safe. He didn’t expect what was to happen next. He didn’t know that it would be his mother to be the one to save his son.

To this day, he wishes it were him. Frank feels a deep sense of regret that his father was left alone because his mother did what he couldn’t. Of course, he wasn’t home. Alice and himself were on a mission. It’s been five years and he still feels a deep sense of guilt for what happened to his mother. And, surprisingly, he misses her. He misses her quips and her over-the-top speeches. He misses her silly outfits and the way she had to wear her hat just right. But most of all, he misses the fact that he had just started to become friends with his mum. The war is over but he can’t help but think that it might start up again. And Frank refuses to lose anyone. No, not this time. Frank would be damned if he let anyone take away his family again.

plot ideas —

madness: i want to see what happens if frank lets his paranoia take over. he’s got a good heart, but what if he thinks his family is in trouble? what if he thinks that alice or neville might be at risk again? he would go to any lengths to see them safe, even if that means betraying what he believes in.

grief: i don’t think that frank has ever truly dealt with what happened with his mother. he has never given himself the time to realize what happened to her and take a breath. he has been so consumed with taking care of everyone else, namely his dad, that he hasn’t thought about taking care of himself. what happens if he gives in to his grief? what happens if he finds himself falling in too deep?

care: frank cares deeply about his friends and he can’t imagine what lily potter is going through right now. while he wants to make sure remus was alright, he also hopes that the young mother is taking care of herself as well. while he knows there’s not much he could do, the thought of losing alice in an attack was enough to make him want to help in any way he can.

worry: while he knows that remus doesn’t need the care, he worries about the younger man. his status as a werewolf is precarious at best, and frank doesn’t know just how to help. he fears he’s overdoing it. and what if he is? what if he’s pushing remus away because he cares too much? it’s the dad in him, of course, but he hopes he won’t lose a friend in his paranoia.

family: frank knows that alice is having a rough time lately, just like his father. they are both feeling as guilty as he is, and he hopes to take some of that guilt off their shoulders. besides, he loves alice more than anything in the world. maybe it’s time that he shows them what his love means.

work: i want something to go terribly wrong for frank at work. i think up to this point he’s had no conflict there. he’s good at his job, but what if his paranoia makes him suffer? what if his inability to stop makes him lose some of his security?

[rubywithin]

Zen Flow Rebirth Part 10

(Host) “Its time for our second semi final, now let’s find out who will move on to the final and face Rina”. (Noire) “I summon Burn-Swan and place 3 effect cards and call it a turn” I want to control this battle as much as possible. (Root) “I summon Clock Mage in defence position and I place an effect card then call it a turn”. (Noire) “I summon a Burn-Owl and it will then destroy your Mage while my Swan attacks you directly”. So far so good but he does not seem too bothered at all, I heard a lot about him watching lots of Zen Flow battles before making his own deck. He likes to collect info, I don’t know if he has any on me, my goal is to just destroy everything he throws at me. (Root) “I activate Turn back which returns your Owl to the hand and my monster to the field. I then summon Time Dial Magician and destroy your Swan and I place an effect card”. Huh wait a second that card revived his monster and forced me to re summon mine is that even fair?

(Noire) “I summon Burn-Phoenix and I attack your Time Dial Magician” I decided to destroy his monster so he can’t use it too add cards to his hand. (Root) “I will summon Clock Magician and I use his ability ability to draw the next card from my deck but he can’t attack this turn. I then use Historical to return a card to the top of my deck and I place an effect card”. (Noire) “I summon Burn-Owl and fire boost them with Phoenix and I use Owl to destroy Phoenix who is revived and when this happens all of your monsters are destroyed. Both of my monsters then attack you directly” (Root) “I activate Return to the start which let’s me place all my cards that were on the field at the start of the turn back on the field”. Time decks are tricky to fight but luckily their affects don’t work on the lives, he is down to his last 2 so I just have to use Phoenix’s ability again. (Root) “I summon Time Dial Magician and use his effect to add the third card in my deck to the hand. Both my monsters then attack you directly” (Noire) “I counter with Burning Guard which destroys...”

(Root) “I activate Rewind which protects my monsters from your Guard and let’s them attack again”. The damage is irrelevant because I can just end this battle on this turn,��“Norie) “I once again fire boost Phoenix and use its effects to destroy your monsters. Now my two monsters attack you directly....” (Root) “I use Return to the Start again”. (Noire) “Then Phoenix will destroy your Clock Mage while Owl attacks you directly”. (Host) “Incredible Noire has gotten Root down to his last life which neither of Root’s previous opponents pulled off”. That meant nothing to me because I simply wanted to get his lives down to 0. (Root)  “I summon Sand Timer Magician and all three monsters attack you” (Noire) “I use Fire Shield to block Sand Timer”. (Root) “I use his ability to change it to the next turn making your shield fail” game over. (Noire) “I activate Burning Guard to take out your Time Dial and Clock Magicians”. I had to bait him into using his time effects with a shield so that I could use a guard after the effect.

(Root) “You out played me which is not something done often well done now claim your win!”. (Noire) “I summon a Burn-Dove” I wanted to make sure I can end things this turn “Now attack Root”. I did it I actually pulled off the win, Kura I hope I represented the Fire Society well”. (Host) “And there we have it Noire has advanced to the final where he will be taking on Rina”. She beat me in our last battle but I plan on settling the score with her, Burn-Phoenix let’s show Rina how strong we really are. (Root) “Noire thank you for the battle, it was interesting to see how you dealt with my time effects in the end. I guess I need to re work my deck to be able to handle your style of playing”. (Noire) “Haha thanks honestly I’m glad you pushed me to put more thought into my strategy at the end”. We both shook hands and I made my way backstage, both me and Rina will put on a worthy final battle.

-Meanwhile in Rina’s waiting area- Wow I can’t believe he was able to counter the time deck that easily. My deck specialized in resurrection while Noiree’s used destruction so the battle could go either way. (Aris) “Hey um Rina....I’m sorry for bailing out after our battle....I just wanted to say good luck and congrats on making it to the final”. (Rina) “Aw thanks Aris it means a lot” that’s right I want to win so that I can prove I’m a worthy opponent for that Enu guy. Noire you better watch out because I’m going to throw everything I have at you. (Rina) “Hey Aris how do you utilize the rank up summon?” she gave a shy smile which was quite cute. (Aris) “Well first you need a rank up card which for your will be something like Ghost Rank. You also need to have a strong bond with the card so its best to choose a monster you like to use a lot”. Hmm, I guess Phantom Blader would be my pick, (Rina) “Thank you Aris” (Aris) “Oh no problem at all”. I added a card to my deck and made my way out to the arena for the tournament final.

[toogoodmusic]

THE TOO GOOD TEN with DYLAN ROCKOFF

Self-proclaimed “pop-hop-singer-songwriter” Dylan Rockoff recently celebrated the release of his EP Crooked Records whose titled was inspired by the wall of records that hangs in his room. The 6-song project is the follow up to 2020′s Semicolon & Parentheses album - the latter which saw him end up as #2 on the iTunes pop charts between Selena Gomez & Harry Styles and racked up millions of streams. After the pandemic hit, Rockoff ended up having to cancel an opening slot on the 2020 Travie McCoy tour in support of the 10 Year Anniversary of “Billionaire (f. Bruno Mars).” This shift in plans gave the talented artist time to work on his new EP. Now with this most recent release Rockoff has struck “Magic” with the latest single off the EP that gained support on Sirius XM’s The Pulse and featured on iHeart Radio. Lucky for Too Good Music, Rockoff took some time to take on the latest Too Good Ten to talk all about the new EP, single, what surpassing 20+ million streams feels like and so much more. Check it out below:

The Too Good Ten. Ten Questions. One Artist. Too Good. Let’s go.

1. You’ve already had a pretty impressive career so far - but looking back at the beginning, what was it about music that made you want to pursue a career in it?

DYLAN ROCKOFF: First off, thank you! I appreciate that. I think I’ve been so drawn to music because of its ability to bring people together. Especially people who might not have come together otherwise. I love how universal music is.

2. Now you’ve got over 20 million+ global streams - what does that number mean to you? Does it feel real?

DR: All I’ve ever wanted to do is make music that resonates with people. That number means a lot to me… It's a big number to wrap your head around - a bit surreal! But I’m so grateful for every one of the listeners out there – they make it possible.

3. Congrats on the recent release of the Crooked Records EP. It features a number of collaborations including with Max Wells, Bre Kennedy & Sela Bruce. How do your collaborations normally come together? Who would be a dream collaboration for you?

DR: Thank you! Most of the collaborations came about naturally the day of the session…. Bre and I wrote “Problems” together, and she sang the verse with the intention of it being a duet. It was a similar process with Sela. Max got a hold of "Highlight Reel" and absolutely crushed the verses. It’s usually pretty organic the way it all comes together. My dream collaborators: Harry Styles, Anderson .Paak, Phoebe Bridgers, Maggie Rogers.

4. The Crooked Records EP also features the single, “Magic” which also just recently played on Sirius XM The Pulse and various other radio stations. What does the song mean to you? Do you believe in magic? Have you ever done magic tricks?

DR: Of course, I’m so grateful for all the support thus far. “Magic,” to me, is a celebration of the way that loved ones make us feel. It’s about the universal forces beyond our comprehension and control. I have never done magic tricks, but I may have to learn some!

5. If you had magical powers/superpowers for a day - what power (flying, time travel, etc) would you want and what would be the first thing you’d do with that power?

DR: What a great question… Growing up, before I got into music, I was big into sports. My game was always based around speed, so if I could have hyper-speed like Dash in The Incredibles, I think I might have a shot in the NFL. I’d try out for the Philadelphia Eagles!

6. Before COVID hit, you were scheduled to open for Travie McCoy’s nationwide tour. What were you most looking forward to on that tour? Have you met Travie before? If so, any advice or tips you got from him?

DR: I’m a big fan of Travie, so I was mostly looking forward to watching him play, and getting to know him. We were also scheduled to play some places I’d never been before (that’s always the best part of tour for me). I've yet to meet Travie! But I’m sure our paths will cross again someday.

7. You may not have gotten to open for Travie’s tour, but you DID win a Livenation contest that saw you open for Bon Jovi at Madison Square Garden. What was that experience like? Did you learn anything from watching him perform that night?

DR: What an incredible experience that was… I think the coolest part of it all was hearing my band fill up Madison Square Garden - an iconic arena - with my music. That was easily the most people I’d ever performed for at once, so it was equal parts intimidating and exciting. Bon Jovi is such a dynamic performer, and there's so much tact that goes into creating a show at that scale. I definitely walked away with a greater appreciation for what it takes to put on high-energy arena shows multiple nights in a row!

8. What’s the most interesting/funniest/craziest fan interaction that’s happened to you?

DR: Nothing super crazy! I remember the last time I played in Philadelphia (2019), I got to meet a fan who’d been following me since my first release in 2015. We had communicated on Instagram a lot up, but it was so crazy to finally put a face to a name. Those kind of full-circle moments are what it’s all about for me!

9. If you could only listen to (5) artists for the rest of your life, who would they be?

Led Zeppelin

Kendrick Lamar

Pink Floyd

John Mayer

Carole King

10. What’s the rest of 2021 look like for Dylan Rockoff?

DR: Keeping “Magic” bumping on the airwaves, getting some shows announced (stay tuned), and working on the next album!

A big shout-out to the talented Dylan Rockoff for hanging for the latest Too Good Ten interview. Be sure to stay updated with the upcoming show announcements and everything else Dylan by following his journey below:

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[survivorreelsmagicwithin]

Episode 1B - “I'm praying to Yoncé I survive and don't get first boot.”-Jess

no words.

LITERALLY

NO WORDS.

Two points. TWO FUCKING POINTS.

I'm praying to Yoncé I survive and don't get first foot. That ain't a cute look xoxox

i'm already forgetting to search for the idols, i'm already getting paranoid about if i need to start making alliances instead of just enjoying the really cute convos i'm having with ruthie lily and kevin (max is kinda dry and annoying but... we'll try to make it work ig).... and i'm already hating every challenge we do especially this one although i actually really liked the challenge it was so creative and fun, i just hated that i have bad luck and am stupid with the deduction things, HENCE why i havent looked for the idol yet. LOL. so.... tl;dr - things are going perfectly! this hufflepuffle is workin exactly as he should!

I just wanna say we really are the hufflepuffs. 114 moves in like 5 hours, but we did it.  Really proud of Ruthie, Landen, Kevin, Max, and I! Sending positive vibes to slytherin. Hope they are okay in this madness.

Yo my tribe? Kinda dope. I think that everyone worked really well together today! I think Joanna kinda took the lead and some of her ideas were... a choice. But! It got us first place! I think that this tribe has a good shot of getting to swap unscathed.

With Slytherin going to tribal, I really hope that someone I don’t know goes, but at the same time I’d be okay with Jess going? I feel like she’s such a sleeper threat in most games I’m in with her and I really just don’t want to compete with that this time around.

I kind of snapped and got myself an idol good until final 6 teehee.

I knew that the Snape's letter or writing or whatever that freak was up to was SOMETHING. Did I get lucky... hell fucking yeah.

A crackhead like me SHOULD NOT have all this POWER.

I also gave Jacob literally the worst clue ever because we are sharing clues ladies xoxoxo

The clue was:

"Snape is taken aback. “That wouldn’t be any business of yours now would it? I wouldn’t want to find out you are spreading false information. I trust you won’t have any issue with that”. Congrats! You’ve discovered Snape Storyline 2! That’s all for the moment, and will end your search for this round."

BOTH ARE HALF TRUE. Just in case he doesn't put 2 and 2 together and now I went from place to place on purpose. He's gonna think now I gave him something of value and I know he's gonna think "No way someone go an idol on day fucking 3".

CONFESSIONAL 1.1 — Walking into the Great Hall, I saw a few familiar faces... for not good reasons!

First Jacob, who I know from tengaged. He and I were in a similar friend group for a short period before he left it, but we had a rocky relationship. We flirted a bit (blame 16-year-old Nicholas), but that is in the past.

Secondly, Jess... who I just directly sent home in Eve’s The Challenge: Fresh Meat. She did not have great words to say to me (such as I’m condescending), so I was very wary and, honestly, unhappy with her being here.

But, as Kylie Minogue says, it’s better the devil you know.

Flash forward to the Sorting Ceremony, and I’m so happy to be.. Slytherin? I told Mister Vintage (Sammy) and Mister Heinen (Caeleb) that I’m either a Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, but I suppose I’ve been lying to myself.

Then, I see my tribe: both Jess and Jacob are present. This is a curse wrapped in a blessing wrapped in an enigma. And, I love it.

I hate, hate, hate conflict and bad vibes, so I directly spoke to both. Jacob did not easily recognize me, but remembered me fondly; so, a successful reacquaintance. Jess, on the other hand, was definitely more apprehensive (as was I), but I made one thing clear: the past is the past, and I am declaring my loyalty.

I have been hurt in previous games by shoving the past aside while the other is still grudgingly aiming for revenge, but I feel Jess is different. She apologized to me about her words, which did hurt, and I apologized to her. What I said was honest, so I’m glad to see a fateful blossoming.

The first reward challenge is revealed, and honestly, I’m really bad at participating in pre-merge competitions, because I do not mind tribal. However, I do want to, since we are such a small tribe, focus on maintaining our numbers in case of a swap. We came in second this reward, and honestly, I’m glad to have eaten cupcakes (although I hate cherry). The fact we all chose a dessert and were privately messaged makes me assume someone received an advantage, but who knows...

What I DO know is that I had two separate relationships, so I wanted to lock a trio down (Me, Jess, Jacob), but I obviously did not want to gamebot this early and make the chat day one. So, naturally, i waited until after immunity.

Speaking of immunity... I took charge, because I like it, but also, I wanted to be able to take blame if we lost. I hate the whole “let’s vote someone out cuz they cost us a virtual challenge” this early in the game, it’s a cheap way to vote. I want to vote on loyalty and activity instead. That’s why I am probably going to target Jessie or Vi, but I‘m unsure as to which will be my vote. On one hand, Vi is much less social, but she also contributed a lot to the challenge. I do not want to judge a book by it’s cover, so I will reach out to her and assess her vibe.

I like going to tribal first, because my philosophy is that it’s better to test loyalties now, rather than guess loyalties later.

Regarding other players, Jules and Juls just played in a mini with me and sheeped the majority alliance to screw me over, so I’m not feeling them right now. Bitterness doesn’t exist in my mind: play well and I respect it; sheep and be stupid, and I will gladly dish out the karma. 

I’m satisfied with the happenings of this game so far, and I hope to make it further!! This is one of my first real orgs so, I’m em definitely excited. x. nick

Yay we won immunity. Raffy do be carrying our tribe though!

WELL WELL WELL!!!!!!! as far as my relationships go which is where i left off last round, really nothing much has changed about how i feel about or view my tribemates, but in exciting news... we won immunity!! i am not going to be first boot that is so nice, and im hoping that we can keep winning immunity until a swap so I can feel more secure. I think I could stand a shot if we lost on this tribe but i think if so the vote would split 3-2 i dont think i can get a unanimous vote on anyone unless its myself which is NOT WHAT WERE TRYNA DO HERE !! if anything i feel like i have the best chance to wiggle myself in with the girls (lily and ruthie) Max would probably be my ideal first vote if we ever lose an immunity because I know landen can be useful in challenges, but he YET AGAIN addressed me with a name that does not sit well with me he called me a "challengewhore" yet another reference to TS 2020, so this is not a good sign. Ideally I could get landen out and still be set but i know he has a relationship with juls who i also have a relationship with and wish to continue to have in this game, and us going against each other could make that more stressful than it needs to be because i know landen avenged beck for voting juls out maybe juls would do the same for him? Much to think about, but thankfully i dont have to think about it all that hard because yet again we ARE SAFE !!! woo, anyways thats pretty much it hopefully we can keep winning :D

Ahhhh safety feels so nice, I’m glad that I’m not in danger of being the first boot. Also I love the fact that ravenclaw won the first challenge with so little moves HAHA!

I want to go far in this thing with lily and with kevin, my goal right now is to get to merge and owen be alive so I can work with him!

I am very happy to have won this immunity challenge. We barely won, but I managed to pull my tribe to a victory. Emphasis on the "I" part. I am very frustrated with my tribe's lack of challenge activeness and ability. If the time did not work for them, then I do not know why they even suggested doing it at 2 PM. This challenge would have gone faster if I had done everything myself. In the end, though, I hope this helps in me staying in the game because I am a necessity if they want to ever win a challenge in first place. I highly doubt that they could do it without me.

So I’m currently writing this with one hand because my cat decided to lie on my other one  anyways Nobody is really talking about the vote which means it’s probably me going but I’ll see what I can do to change that

Here's a breakdown of my first few experiences since I am writing this a few hours before the first tribal council.

FIRST I was cast in this game along with a BUNCH of people that are icons across different formats of Tumblr Survivor - so that's intimidating. Mostly because my play style is kinda vanilla in comparison. I gotta find a way to stand out or I'm going to be thrown out fast.

SECOND There's a twist that will probably have some major effect at some later point in the game where everyone is added to the Great Hall. I think that it's for convenience of posting things like results and challenges so it only has to be sent to one chat... but also so that we can feel THEMATIC which is a lot of fun.

The game started in the Great Hall and we got sorted into our houses and the implication was that it's random but.. I don't think it's entirely true if I can read into what the hosts said to me once I was sorted into Gryffindor (something about running out of room in Hufflepuff) - because I definitely didn't say Gryffindor in my application.

THIRD My tribe has the following people: Joshua, Juls, Raffy, Autumn, and myself. 

I do not know how many of theme said Gryffindor when they applied but also did not want to bring it up to them as I am masquerading as a brave idiot. :D

Anyway, I started conversations with all of them and they all seem very sweet!!

I've played in a game before with Raffy where he was super snakey but also a great ally until he tried to snake me. So there's that... he's also an "over the top" type of person so he takes charge a lot of the time and voices his opinions about everything. I hope we can create some sort of working relationship in the game, but I think that he will tell me the truth if he does align against me.

Autumn is super chill and super strategic-minded. She puts lots of thought into all of her decisions and makes calls that benefit her getting to the end while trying to align with the right people. If I can't get to the FTC of this game... TBH I want to make sure she gets there. I played with her in one game and we both were tossed out one after another when the game turned on our "side". I don't think that relationship will factor into this game as it was forever ago and we both kinda play "new" every time we start a game but I'm hoping she will want to try and play with me just because I've seen how great she is at the game.

Juls is a very fun person who seems to always be having a great time! I found out she lives in Texas too and that she was excited to get to know me because we are from the same state. I was like.. do I know you? Because when she messaged me the way she did implied that she knew who I was and I was thinking OH NO what have people said.

Joshua seems really sweet. He hasn't added incredibly much to conversations so far with him but he has contributed some fun things. I love that he tries to be entertaining, but as I see it so far he's the first person I'd be willing to vote out if it came to our tribe going to council... though of course, having said that I bet they've all declared me their first choice.

FOURTH The reward challenge was the Letter plus Number challenge so as predicted...

I did terribly and earned 0 points for our tribe and was SO happy it was not for immunity.

The immunity challenge was a Choose Your Own Adventure Puzzle.

We got a slow start in that I feel like everyone was afraid to make a move because that would put a target on whoever "failed for the team". Then me and Raffy kind of got things rolling with him taking the main leader role and me taking on a secondary role either agreeing with his suggestions or contributing a suggestion for what we should do.

There was a misunderstanding with the competition and we ended up making a whole bunch of extra moves because it was unclear to us that the letters we found at a later part of the challenge were able to be changed into numbers at a lockbox so we did a bunch of extra stuff... and I was resigned to the fact we were going to the first tribal when we go surprised that Slytherin... DID WORSE!!! O_O

Anyway... I still have no alliances or confirmed "working game" relationships and I really don't feel like starting those conversations at the moment so if I am out of the ones established or on the bottom of one that will add me to "pick me up" for later votes then I blame myself for not trying hard enough in that category.

FIFTH I definitely didn't just now search for the idol and waste two days that I could have searched other times. Nope! Not me!! :)

Anyway I went on a trip to Hagrid's Hut because I love me some Hagrid and I figured he'd let me in since I"m a Gryffindor and he loves us the best (you know, like a reverse Snape)... I dug through all of his junk and found his umbrella. Apparently I liked that it was pink and then left his hut. 

To be honest, I probably should have taken his dragon's egg and turned him in... maybe could have gotten him fired.

Someone finally got me to come out of retirement- can you believe it

It's been cute so far and I have no complaints, probably cause the hosts wisely put me, Owen, and Dan in separate corners lmao. Yooo if we all make it to merge?? Hell hath no fury. But we will cross that bridge when we get there! And for now I enjoy the calm before the storm. I deadass forgot how to be an org so I need all the time I can get to socialize and reacclimate. Me checking Skype more than once a year? Don't remember ever doing that. I love Raffy, it's always good to see Chips, I think I like Juls, and I'm not sure how I feel about Joshua but it's fine. I like Gryffindor cause we have no beef and I hope it stays that way.

ok so my tribe lost :( big sad. but im def ok bc jess is soooo close to me and we made a threesome with nick so. i think jessie is an easy first boot bc shes not around as much as vi. but really its our decision at the end of the day!

here’s the hot goss.. i’m a little upset i didn’t get anyone i Know on my house/tribe but also grateful HSBSNSNN all i know is that so far i’ve been doing pretty solid in securing relationships with those on my team (at least.. i hope so :flushed:) and i’m hoping they all like me hehe. kinda praying to just mist my way to merge where i can be united with people who like me enough to keep me around still.. >:D 

[cresswellvaneck]

Cresswell + 9

Meeting Online AU (not really sure how this got from A to B, but hope y’all enjoy!) also I was feeling ~inspired

–

Captain214: Darlin, you can’t do that. That’s what they call cheating.

Damsel_in_Distress: it’s not cheating. I’m just using my abilities to my advantage.

Captain214: …

Captain214: …

Captain214: so cheating.

Damsel_in_Distress: NO!

Damsel_in_Distress: Captain, we have to beat this level, and the only way we’ll do that is if I do what I do best.

Captain214: *sighs* okay tell me what I have to do.

–

Cress had been playing Defenders of the Galaxy with Captain214 for years now. They were first introduced by one of their online mutual teammates, TheMechanic, and they made an excellent team. For a while, there was a select group of them that played together and chatted for hours on end, and they called themselves the Rampion Crew, named after the main class of ship in-game.

In the beginning, they didn’t know any of the others’ names in real life (except for JacinClay because he ‘didn’t see the point of a nickname’), but they called each other by their screennames. After a while, people stopped playing the game, either they got too busy with their real lives, or they simply grew out of it. The first to go were JacinClay and WalkingInAWinterWonderland (who didn’t really get the concept of a short and sweet username), then it was Scar and Wolf962, and finally the trio TheEmperor, TheMechanic, and AndroidChic. Once a month, they all logged back on to have a huge group chat, and to catch up. Some of them logged back on more frequently, just to check up on Cress and the Captain.

When Cress finally discovered the Captain’s real name, she knew they were going to be friends for the long haul.

–

Captain214: this has been killing me for a long time now.

Damsel_in_Distress:  what?

Captain214: …what is your name?

Damsel_in_Distress: m-my name?

Captain214: yes, darling, your name ;)

Damsel_in_Distress: you know my name silly, it’s Damsel_in_Distress :P

Captain214: ………………………

Captain214: *rolls eyes*

Damsel_in_Distress: hmph. Okay fine, Captain.

Damsel_in_Distress: My name is Cress.

Captain214: That’s lovely! Is it short for anything?

Damsel_in_Distress: Yes. But you have to promise not to snoop around on social media or anything like that.

Captain214: I promise. Captain’s honor.

Damsel_in_Distress: My name is Crescent Moon Darnel

Captain214: pleased to meet you Crescent Moon. *salutes* Captain Carswell Thorne at your service.

Damsel_in_Distress: you’re such a nerd

Damsel_in_Distress: but you have a great name :)

Captain214: as do you m’lady ;)

–

She started playing Defenders of the Galaxy back in high school, as a way to escape her terrible home situation. She practiced her hacking, even then, and continued to get better. Cress had never had any real friends until she started playing. Her foster mother never allowed her to have any social interaction outside of school, which she was mostly okay with, as she struggled in making friends and meeting people. But this game was her lifeline.

She made so many friends online, and easily too. Being behind the screen (and being a natural at the game), gave Cress the extra boost of confidence she needed. She even looked forward to coming home from school, something that she had never done before, just to get a chance to talk to her friends. And most importantly her best friend, who she told everything to (except her massive crush on him), Thorne.  

Making these friends online, helped her to break out of her shell in her day to day life as well, and she made a few lasting friends her Freshman year of college. One of them, Iko, it turned out, was AndroidChic of the Rampion Crew! Cress was beyond thrilled to have met her in person, as she became one of Cress’s biggest confidants, and more importantly, friends.

Throughout college, Cress continued to play, and continued to fall even harder for the Captain. He coached her through some of her darkest nights, and made her laugh more than she thought even possible. Through the screen, he made her blush, by the little ways he called her ‘darling’ and the ‘aces, you’re amazing’ whenever she utterly destroyed one of their enemies. Every winky face sent her heart thumping a mile a minute. Whenever he told her that she made him laugh, she melted.

He was an unbelievable flirt, but when it came down to it, he was a total sweetheart. He seemed to genuinely care about her, and always, always, supported her, both in-game and out.

Stars, I think I’m in love with this nerd.

–           

Cress and Thorne were lucky, because they lived in the same time zone, and had 9 to 5 jobs, so they were practically logged on at the same time every day, and on weekends they were online for most of the day as well (they even ate meals at the same time, so they could ‘maximize productivity and possible winstreaks’ as Thorne had put it). He was a total dork, but she absolutely loved it. They chatted for hours every night about anything and everything, before logging off; and it never got old.

–

Captain214: Cress.

Captain214: Cress.

Captain214: Hey Cress.

Captain214: Cress. You there?

Captain214: Cressssssss

Captain214: CRESS! THIS IS IMPORTANT!

Captain214: RED ALERT! RED ALERT!

Damsel_in_Distress: Aaaah sorry Captain! I was brushing my teeth! D:

Damsel_in_Distress: Is everything alright????

Captain214: aww thanks for being so concerned about me

Captain214: but yes, everything is fine. I just wanted to know…

Captain214: wanna 1v1? ;)

Damsel_in_Distress: …

Damsel_in_Distress: Carswell Thorne! You cannot yell ‘RED ALERT!’ when you want to 1v1!

Captain214: That’s CAPTAIN Carswell Thorne to you

Damsel_in_Distress: *rolls eyes*

Damsel_in_Distress: fine. We’ll 1v1 but you are going to get DESTROYED.

Captain214: it’s cute that you think that darling ;)

–

As the years went by, not only did their relationship evolve, but so did their skills in-game. They became one of the most formidable 2v2 teams in the world, thanks to Cress’s hacking (or cheating as the Captain liked to call it) and Thorne’s unbelievable moxie.

One day, when Cress was at work, she opened her email to find one titled: Calling to arms, Defenders of the Galaxy. She opened it and discovered that it was an invitation. An invitation to GamezCon, where all the best players of hundreds of video games came to one place and played together.

“Oh my stars,” she breathed.

Her thoughts became a mishmash of ‘I might not go’ to ‘I’m definitely going’ to ‘I’m going to have to get out of work those days’ to ‘did Thorne get that email?’

“Thorne definitely got that email” she said to herself, still staring at her computer screen. “Oh my stars if Thorne got that email…? Then that means? That means I’m going to finally meet Carswell Thorne!” She let out a shout of delight.

“Is everything alright in here Ms. Darnel?” her boss asked her.

Her face was on fire, but she just smiled and nodded, and her boss went on his way.

–

As soon as work was over, Cress rushed home and logged on to her Defenders account, giving Iko the rundown as she typed.

Damsel_in_Distress: Thorne! Thorne! Did you get it???

Captain214: Get what??

Damsel_in_Distress: the email!

Captain214: ?

Damsel_in_Distress: just check your email Thorne! :D

Captain214: okay. Hold on one sec.

Damsel_in_Distress: okie doke

Captain214: …what email are you talking about?

Damsel_in_Distress: the invite to GamezCon!

Captain214: …?

Damsel_in_Distress: maybe check your spam?

Captain214: nope. Still nothing there.

Damsel_in_Distress: what? That doesn’t make any sense!

Captain214: wait, you got invited to GamezCon? To play Defenders?

Damsel_in_Distress: Yeah! You must have got one too! You’re just messing with me :P

Captain214: WOW! :D That’s amazing! Congrats Darling!

Captain214: …and no. I didn’t get one. :/

Cress’s stomach dropped.

Damsel_in_Distress: …I’m so confused Thorne :(

Captain214: hey, it’ll be okay. You are the reason we win after all ;)

Damsel_in_Distress: but we’re a team. You and me.

Damsel_in_Distress: Right?

Captain214: of course we’re a team, but maybe they want to pair you with someone who’s actually worthy of your amazing skills

Damsel_in_Distress: …but I don’t want another teammate. I want to play with you :(

Damsel_in_Distress: I might as well not go.

Captain214: No! Cress you have to go!

Captain214: trust me. It’ll be worth it. You’ll have the experience of a lifetime :)

Cress wasn’t completely convinced, and her heart hurt knowing that she wouldn’t be playing with her Captain, but she figured he was right.

Damsel_in_Distress: …okay. I’ll go.

“I’ll play for you, Thorne,” she whispered to herself.

–

Cress woke up in her hotel room in San Diego, the first morning of GamezCon. It took a lot of convincing (from both Iko and Thorne) to actually get her there. She drove from her and Iko’s LA apartment the night before, as soon as she’d got off from work. She hadn’t had a chance to speak with Thorne at all last night, because of the drive and because he said he had some work thing.

She logged on in her hotel room, just to see if she had any missed messages, and in fact she did.

Captain214: good luck today darlin! I’ll be rooting for you! :D

She hoped against hope that he’d have sent her something along the lines of “I’ll be there!” or “Can’t wait to see you!” but she knew that was too good to be true.

“Cress, hurry up! You don’t want to be late for your big day!” Iko called from the makeshift kitchen.

“Okay, hang on!” She quickly typed a thanks to Thorne, and logged off.

–

“Oh my stars, Cress! There’s thousands of people here!” Iko squealed, clinging to Cress’s arm.

“I know,” she breathed, a new sense of anxiety washing over her.

Iko immediately stopped, sensing Cress’s sudden apprehension. She turned the smaller girl to look her dead in the eyes, and said, “Cress, you’re going to do amazing. Believe me. As someone who has played on your team before, I know how kickass you are. I bet all the people going up against you are going to be shaking in their boots.”

Cress blushed, flattered by her friend’s praise. Some of the nervousness had already begun to dissipate. “Thanks Iko,” she said before she pulled her friend into a hug.

“Of course. Now come on! You’ve got some ass-kickery to attend to!”

–

Cress’s teammate was not at all what she expected. He was middle-aged, and very well dressed (wearing a suit! At a gaming convention!) He stuck out his hand and introduced himself as Konn Torin.

 Cress shook his hand and told him her name.

“So what’s your screenname?” she asked.

“KingKonn,” he replied with just a hint of a smile, the first emotion he had shown since they’d met.

She smiled back, “I like it. I’m Damsel_in_Distress.”

“Oh. I’m glad to have you on my team. You’re quite the talk of the town around here, you and that Captain of yours.”

 Her smile dropped, at the simplest mention of Thorne. “Oh. Yeah.”

“Where is he? I’m surprised he isn’t playing with you. I guess I’ll count myself lucky though.”

“He wasn’t invited… though I’m not really sure why not…” she replied. “I’d have loved to have played with him though. No offense!” she quickly amended.

“None taken,” he said, and his demeanor softened a bit. He indicated where they would be starting play, and asked, “Shall we?”

–

After some severe “ass-kickery��� as Iko would have put it, Cress and Konn Torin (“please just call me Torin”) celebrated their win with a complimentary glass of sparkling water.

“So, Torin, do you have someone you usually play with?” Cress asked, as they waited for the next round.

He smiled, something he had begun doing more often as soon as he realized how good a team the pair of them made, and pointed to where the standing audience was, “yes. I play with my husband, although he’s…not the best.” He laughed.

Cress looked over and saw a short man in glasses wearing a shirt that had ‘I

“He may not be the best player, but he supports me like no one else could,” Torin said as he waved.

Cress smiled, the happiness from her teammate was contagious.

She looked back over at his husband, still beaming, and caught a glimpse of bright blue. Iko was talking excitedly to someone. Of course, Iko’ll probably meet the love of her life here, she thought to herself.

–

Thorne rushed into the convention center. He had overslept, but he’d still picked up flowers along the way. He felt a bit ridiculous wearing a captain’s uniform, but he was doing this for her. For Cress. This girl, who had a way of making his heart race, just by thinking about her. He burst through the doors, trying to find the Defenders of the Galaxy area. As soon as he found it, he pushed through the standing audience and made his way to the front, despite the protests of many fans.

He scoped out the set-up, the rows of computers and their users spanning across a large area. After looking for some time, Thorne realized that he didn’t know what Cress even looked like. All he knew was that she was a few years younger than him, probably about 25. All of the girls here were roughly around that age, so he had no help there.

I guess I’ll have to wait until the next round. Or I guess I could just ask someone…?

He tapped the nearest person to him, “excuse me, have you seen the Damsel?”

He was met with a grunt. Okay, someone else then.

He turned to a gorgeous woman with bright blue braids. “Excuse me miss? Has the Damsel played yet?”

The woman looked at him, then away. He began to look for someone else, perhaps someone friendlier to ask, when the woman whipped her head back around, and asked, “Captain?!”

“Umm… yes?” he tried.

“Oh my stars! You came!” she cried, as she wrapped him in a hug.

“Can’t- breathe,” he squeaked. She let him go. He brushed off his uniform, cleared his throat, then asked “…are you the Damsel?”

The woman laughed. “No, I’m Iko!”

“I’m sorry, but do I know you?”

“It’s me! AndroidChic? Also Cress’s best friend? she playfully shoved his arm. “Yes, you know me!”

“Hi!” he returned the hug this time, and laughed. “I knew you two were friends, but she never told me your real name. And for the record, I’m Cress’s best friend.”

“Whatever,” she huffed, then she pointed at one of the players proudly, “there’s our girl over there.”

Thorne followed where she was pointing and she was there. Cress was there, in the same room as he was.

She was laughing with her teammate, her hair shimmering in the fluorescent overhead lights. Aces, she’s beautiful. He wanted to leap over the dividers and hug her and kiss her and just be there, with her.

He was snapped out of his trance by the sound of giggling. “You’ve got it bad,” Iko wheezed, clutching her sides as she laughed, “you should see the look on your face!”

There was no use denying it, “yeah,” he started laughing too, “I do ‘got it bad.’”

–

Round two was set to begin in three minutes, so Cress and Torin finalized their strategy. They were set to play against the number one seeded team in the world, but they were confident in their abilities.

“Are you ready, Damsel?” Torin asked, before he placed his headphones over his ears.

She nodded. “Let’s do this!”

Before she donned her own headphones, she heard screaming from the crowd, “GO CRESS! YOU CAN DO IT!” She turned to look at the audience and saw Iko and the guy she was talking to earlier cheering and waving their arms. She offered a smile, and thought, that’s weird, I don’t even know that guy, as she turned to face her screen.

She gave one last glimpse back at the crowd, and looked at the guy wearing the army uniform, and carrying a bouquet of lilies… her favorite flower. Oh my stars. I do know that guy.

She faced her screen, blushing so much she thought she might explode. Torin shot her a worried glance and mouthed ‘are you alright?’

Cress nodded, even if she didn’t know whether she was or not.

The game began.

–

“Noooooo!” Iko cried as Cress and her teammate lost in the last few seconds of the round. “They were so close!”

“This is all my fault, I should have let her play without distracting her, oh my stars, she’s going to kill me,” Thorne muttered under his breath.

“Hush, she’s going to be so happy you’re here. And that was the best I’ve seen her play in a while, so I think you were her good luck charm.”

“Really?” he asked Iko, who was smiling from ear to ear.

“Really.”

He glanced over at Cress and saw she was smiling as well, hugging her partner, and then shaking the hands of her opponents graciously. He could not take his eyes off her.

“She might be a bit creeped out if you keep staring at her like that though,” Iko chided.

“Right,” he coughed and straightened up.

Iko sighed, “just be yourself Thorne. That’s who she wants to see anyway.”

–

Cress’s heart was going to leap out of her chest. ThorneishereThorneishereThorneishere, was the only thought going through her head.

She focused on congratulating her opponents, and apologizing profusely to Torin. He insisted that it was a team effort, and they were simply outmatched. She hugged him goodbye, and promised to keep in touch as he made his way over to his husband.

Breathe, Cress. Just breathe. She turned to face where her two best friends were standing, and made her way over to them.

She looked at Iko, who was grinning like a madwoman, and chanced a glance at him. Stars, he’s handsome. So handsome. There’s no way a nerd like Thorne could look like that, is there?

Their eye contact was so charged, she had no other choice but to stare at him as she approached. She noticed the reddish tinge in his cheeks, and thought it probably matched the color of her own.

His eyes, oh my stars. They’re like—

Before she could finish her thought, someone bumped into her—hard—and she was on the floor. She sat up rubbing her arm, and berated herself quietly, “of course, in front of the guy you’ve been pining over for years…”

“F-for years?” Thorne stuttered, offering her a hand to help her up.

Her face ignited, and she nodded.

“I-I didn’t know… I didn’t know you felt that way, Cress,” he stammered, his cheeks deepening in color as she took his hand.

“Of course I do,” she pulled him towards her into a hug, “you nerd.”

He returned the hug tightly, and whispered in her ear, “If I’m not mistaken, you’re the one who just played Defenders of the Galaxy at freaking GamezCon, so I’m not sure why you’re calling me ‘nerd.’”

Cress stepped back from their hug, and looked Thorne up and down, “well, if I’m not mistaken, you’re the one who came here dressed up as a captain, Captain.”

They both grinned.

Just when she thought she was going to stop blushing, Thorne bowed, and said “it’s lovely to finally meet you darling.”

Cress thought she actually was going to explode this time.

He slowly wound his arms behind her back, and leaned forward, and breathed, “i-is this alright?”

She nodded, chewing on her bottom lip.

His gaze flicked to her mouth and back up to her eyes. He came even closer, and asked again, more confidently this time, “is this alright?”

She nodded again, her heart hammering in her ribcage.

He inched forward, eyes closed, his lips nearly brushing hers, as he whispered, “is this alright?”

Instead of nodding, she pushed her mouth onto his, and relished in the surprised sound that escaped from his throat.

“Ew get a room you two!” Iko cried, splitting them apart.

They looked at her, then back at each other and smiled.

“That was well worth the wait, Captain,” Cress said.

Thorne winked, “I completely agree darlin’.”

–

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think! 

[r95irth]

Since you are in writting mood and I REALLY love how you write, let's go for some angst. Satoru having mixed feelings when he found out that Todomomo are going to have their first born (a.k.a the @akeemi-life's twins 'Cus they're adorable) He's like "Yay! I'll be a big brother" but also something like "Oh no! A biological child, What if they love him/her more than me!? What if they forget me!?" Something like that would be interesting

Sorry for the delay, I went to bed andonly found this ask when I woke up. It was great though, really helped me getout of the bed! (which is really hard for me, I have to take like twentyminutes every morning just to gather the courage to get out of the comfy bed, Ilike sleep too much xD) So thank you for your prompt =D

I’m glad you like myworks, I’m indeed in writing mood so don’t hesitate =D So, here we go someangst about Satoru finding out he’s going to be a big brother ! (of Akeemi’sadorable twins) :

Satoru had been restless since themorning. He could feel something was wrong with Momo and Shouto for a while.They kept being happy, then worried, then happy again, then even more worried.He could feel it through their bonds, thanks to his power. Sure, if he wanted,he might have used his quirk to get into their heads and learn what put them insuch state, but…He would rather avoid that. Shinshou, his teacher, made sure hecould control his ability to avoid that kind of intimacy violation. It wasn’t alife-or-death situation, he knew that much. He supposed that if it wasimportant, they would tell him rather sooner than later, without him using hispower to get the truth out of them. Maybe they were just stressed. And so wasSatoru.

That’s probably why, when he got a callfrom Shouto on a tuesday evening, he dropped everything he was doing to reachhis phone. Shouto’s voice was his usual one, and it took forever to exchangethe usual « how are you, how was your day ? » So Satoru decidedto be blunt :

-Okay what’s wrong? I could feelsomething was up with you since i woke up today.

That shut Shouto down for a few seconds.Then he sighted and mumbled:

-Your power is as accurate as ever.

He wasn’t angry, nor sad, it was Shouto’sspeciality ; cold constat.  

-We got to the hospital today –everythingis fine, he quickly added before Satoru could panic-Momo is pregnant, he toldhim.

Sometimes brains worked funny, the firstthought that Satoru had was ; wellall i had to do was to leave for them to have kids, i suppose i really did getin the way ; before anything else. It hurt before he was happy. Thesecond thought was as good as the first one, it was ; Will she be able to keep it this time ? 

So he swallowed hard and tried to reasonhimself to say :

-That’s a great news, congratulations !

-Do you want to talk to Momo ?Shouto asked, and Satoru could hear that he was smiling. He was really happy. I should be happy too, i want baby brothersand sisters, i want Momo and Shouto to be happy. Why am i scared? It’s not themoment to be selfish, they have enough on their plates already !

-No, it’s okay, she probably needs torest. Tell her congrats. Do you already know if it’s a boy or a girl ?

-No it’s too soon, the only reason we  already know is because she follows ascheduled treatment. We’ll have to wait until she’s four months.

-How will that go for work ?

-She decided not to go on field, andstick to managing Peace office until the risk of miscarriage is over.

Satoru could feel Shouto’s relief likeit was his own. They both feared that Momo would be stubborn and insist onstill doing her usual heroes works. Of course it was out of question for her tostop, but there were other ways to beheroes, other duty to fulfill that could prevent her from getting hurt and losethe baby like the last time. He tried to stay positive and confident. This timethere was no reason anything could go wrong, right ?

Exceptthat now they’re gonna have their own baby, where does that leave me ?

He felt a bit cornered, as he realizedthe truth : there was no room left. Quite litteraly. In the flat they werecurrently living at, there was no spare room.  

-Once they’re born, they can take myroom, he said.

-What ?

-Well there is no other room in theflat, and i’m at the dorm right now so i don’t need it, so you can turn in intoa nursery, i don’t mind.

-This is your room Satoru, commentedShouto, and he could almost see him frown.

Satoru didn’t know if the irritation hefelt was Shouto’s or his own.  

-But i’m not using it.

-It’s still yours.

Satoru bit his lips nervously, and hedidn’t know if the way his heart hurt was because he was sad or moved. He didthought that it was stupid to keep his room not-available. But he was glad thatsomehow, Shouto was not replacing him with his natural kids.

-How are you gonna do it ? You’llneed a room for them.

-They can sleep with us when they’restill baby.

-That’s just delaying the problem.

-Well, i suppose we could move away, buti would rather stay here, it’s close to Peace office and your school. And thereis all our memories in there.

There was a sound in the background, andSatoru recognized Momo’s voice.

-She says that the neighboor next to usis moving, explained Shouto-So maybe we can find a way to get their appartmenttoo and turn everything into a big home. We’ll see, we still have time forthat.

Satoru wasn’t so sure. If everythingwent well, they would be parents before Satoru graduated his second year at UA.Babies would be there in no time. Will ibe able to see them when they’re born ? It will be right during exams, right ?Even before that, he would not be there to help Momo, or Shouto. He wasgoing to miss so many changes in their lives ! Would his home still be thesame when he came back ?

Satoru never thought he would be thekind to fear changes, before, not after everything that happened, not after thebiggest change in his life brought him so much happiness. But he couldn’t helpbut worry.

-I…i’m super happy for both of you, herepeated, trying to force happiness on him, trying to make this feelingoverwhelm every other ones he was feeling right now.

Shouto promised to call back and keephim informed about everything. They shared their goodnight wishes, and hung up.He let out a sight he didn’t know he was holding, and stared at the ceiling.Not able to analyze his own thoughts.

Thiswas a good thing, right ? (You wanted to be a big borther, youasked them that countless times, you can’t have a change of heart now !) Shouto and Momo really wanted this, theytried to have a baby for a year now. (They never planned to have you intheir lives in the first place, you’re the one that is not wanted.) Maybe i should step out. (You’re oldenough now, you can use high school as a excuse to get away, then go towhatever college to leave them alone and have the life they deserve with theirreal children) I had five good years,with wonderful parents, this is enough, right ? It was more than i couldever hope for.

-Seems like someone i shaving anexistencial crisis.

Satoru was starled, as Takashi satbeside him on the couch, still playing on his playstation vita. He seemed sofocused on it that Satoru almost thought he had heard wrong, but then Takashisaid again :

-Sorry i heard your conversation. Fromwhat i understood your parents are going to have a baby ?

Satoru bit his lips and nodded.

-It’s okay to be scared, it doesn’t makeyou selfish to want to keep your parents to yourself.

Satoru stared at Takashi, with wideeyes. It was not the boy’s quirk to read mind, but his own. How could hepintpoint his problems so easily ? Was he that obvious ? Again, as ifTakashi read his mind, he said :

-You’re adopted. No need to confirm, idid my research on everyone in our classes. Your case was kind of famous whenit happened. It was all over the internet.

He put down his console and turned toSatoru ;

-It’s the usual way for adopted child tofeel like they don’t belong when they get a sibling. It’s totally normal. Hell,even real siblings feel that way sometimes. So don’t wory about it. Just thinkabout it the other ay around : your parents choose you, they didn’t need a child when they had you, but they still got you. They won’t know what theirfuture baby will be like, they don’t know them yet, they will have to get toknow them, to love them.

-They will love them as soon as he isborn, whatever they’re like, contested Satoru. (Because that was true, hecouldn’t imagine any other way, he was sure that Momo and Shouto already lovedthe baby so much, even though, at this point he was only a puddles of cells)

-Debatable, commented Takashi. –Not allparents have maternal instinct. But that’s another thing. The thing is youearned your parents’ love, when natural children don’t, you won it. It’s a bigadvantage. You’re not an intruder Satoru, and you’re not replacable. Familygrows and adapts.

-How do you know that ?

He fought back the tears that wereforming in his eyes. No way he was going to cry. There was no reason for it :Takashi’s words were sweet and comforting, Shouto and Momo were happy, and hewas going to be a big bro ? There was absolutely no reason to cry. A tearstill managed to roll on his cheek. But Takashi acted as if he didn’t see it.

-I’m from a composite family. And i reada lot of psychology books. Now if you’ll excuse me…I think your annoying bestfriend is coming near. I will take my game away from her before she rewrite itby accident again.

The couch was indeed starting to buzz,among other furniture. That was Mahô’s doing, she must had been arriving, andher excitement was spreading all around her. Takashi took back his console andleft, not before adding :

-This is movie night, right ? Ithink i will bring Lilo and Stitch to watch. It’s an interesting movie youshould watch.

Mahô was here in a matter of secondslater, reeking with sweats. She jumped on him, screaming « Super smellyattack ! » and then proceeded to tickle him to death. For the firsttime in the day, he let out a real laugh. Suddenly, as if all he needed to dowas that, he felt happy. He felt impatient. He felt like meeting the babyalready.

-I’m going to be a big bro, he said toMahô, as she was trying to lift him.

She dropped him on the floor, with starsin her eyes :

-Really ? Awesome ! I’m sureyou’re gonna be the best big bro ever ! And i have a lot of big bro, soyou can trust me on this ! Now tell me, tell me !

And he told her.

[junker-town]

Are Sean McVay and Jared Goff the next Bill Belichick and Tom Brady?

The Super Bowl is more than just Rams vs. Patriots. It could also be a changing of the guard.

In more than one way, Super Bowl 53 is giving viewers a matchup between the new school and old school. There’s the literal way — the Rams are led by Sean McVay, who at 33 is the youngest person to ever coach in the Super Bowl. His starting quarterback, Jared Goff, is 24 — or the same age as 41-year-old Tom Brady was when he started his first Super Bowl for the Patriots 17 years ago.

Brady’s boss, 66-year-old Bill Belichick, is the second-oldest coach in the NFL. The two are also the most decorated quarterback-coach duo in NFL history. This is the Patriots’ ninth appearance with Brady and Belichick, and they have a chance to win their sixth Super Bowl together.

McVay and Goff are in a much more unfamiliar situation. They only just got their first playoff wins this season. In fact, this is the Rams’ first Super Bowl appearance since playing against the Patriots all the way back in February 2002 — when McVay was just 16 years old and Goff was 7.

Then there’s the figurative way. McVay has helped usher in a new era of the NFL, one where offensive innovation is king, resulting in an inimitably watchable brand of all-or-nothing football. It’s in some ways less disciplined, more chaotic, but more exciting than the Patriots’ cohesive version. It’s one where “Do Your Job” is pushed aside for “We Not Me.”

But Brady and Belichick haven’t passed the torch just yet. The Patriots are, as much as they don’t want to believe it, the favorites to win on Sunday night. What they’ve done and continue to do is unprecedented and may not ever be topped in NFL history.

What the Rams are doing is still special, though. And with a win, they could be on the verge of kickstarting their own magical run.

Jared Goff’s stats are better than Tom Brady’s were at a similar point in their careers

When they first teamed up in the early 2000s, Brady and Belichick weren’t the feared versions of themselves that they are now. Outside of a Super Bowl ring, McVay and Goff have arguably accomplished more than Brady and Belichick did in their first two years together.

In his first two years as a starter, Brady was still a bit of an unknown, a guy who had usurped Drew Bledsoe with a mix of clutch play and luck. He won MVP honors in Super Bowl 36, although he threw for just 145 yards and the award could’ve easily gone to kicker Adam Vinatieri instead. That following season, the Patriots went 9-7 but missed out on the playoffs.

Before McVay came on board, the Rams had missed the playoffs for 12 straight seasons. They hadn’t won their division in even longer. In the first two years of the McVay-Goff era, the Rams have won double-digit games and back-to-back NFC West titles. McVay and Goff have turned around an offense that was dead last in the NFL to one that has ranked in the top two each of the past two seasons.

That’s especially impressive considering their history. When McVay was hired in 2017, he had never been a head coach before at any level. Meanwhile Goff was coming off an apocalyptically bad rookie season under Jeff Fisher when he went 0-7 as a starter. Since then, he’s played like an MVP, even if his performance has flown a bit under the radar.

Comparing their first two seasons as a full-time starter, Goff’s numbers blow Brady’s out of the water.

There are a couple key differences. Brady got his start in an era of football when teams averaged three fewer points and 50 fewer yards per game than they did in 2018. There’s also a big contrast in how much each team invested in Goff and Brady. The Rams traded multiple first- and second-round picks to trade up to draft Goff with the No. 1 pick in 2016. The Patriots had Brady fall into their lap in the sixth round 16 years before.

There are a couple similarities to how Goff and Brady began their career, too. Like Goff, Brady was helped by a strong supporting cast.

It’s difficult for young quarterbacks to have success on teams that are bereft of talent — Goff learned that the hard way in 2016. The Rams had Todd Gurley and Aaron Donald in the fold, but they still needed to revamp their entire offense after their horrid 2016 season where they averaged just 4.4 yards per play.

The Patriots teams in the early 2000s may not have had the offensive firepower that the current Rams had, but they had a ton of defensive talent. Ty Law, Richard Seymour, Willie McGinest, Lawyer Milloy, Mike Vrabel, and Tedy Bruschi populated the Patriots’ defense for their first Super Bowl title in 2001.

Goff and Brady also both benefited from the leadership of a head coach with remarkable knowledge about the game of football.

Bill Belichick and Sean McVay have each turned the NFL into copycats

Belichick had plenty of coaching experience when he joined the Patriots in 2000. He spent five seasons as the head coach of the Browns, and sandwiched between that were nine years as a defensive coordinator, first for the Giants and then for the Jets. In his first two seasons with Brady as the starter, Belichick’s record was 20-12. While that’s good, it didn’t hint at the dominance that they’ve had over the past two decades.

Part of what has made Belichick such a special coach is his ability to adapt to whatever players he has on his roster. The Patriots have seen a lot of different types of players come through their team over the past 20 years — especially on offense. Whether it was Corey Dillon and the Patriots power run game, running a vertical attack with Randy Moss, two-tight end sets with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, or the current iteration of their running back-led offense, Belichick has always been able to get the most from players on his team.

McVay hasn’t quite had a chance to do that yet, but the early returns are positive. After three seasons as the offensive coordinator for Washington, McVay became the youngest coach in NFL history. It took him one year to turn one of the worst offenses ever into one of the best offenses in the NFL. His Rams offense thrives on creating big plays and on variation, although in a different way than Belichick’s. McVay uses the same 11 personnel package most of the time, but that’s the only predictable part of his offense. Opposing defenses never exactly know what he’s going to throw at them from there.

The Rams remade their roster over the last two offseasons, going all-in on a Super Bowl run with big-name additions. So far, it’s paid off. Factor in players like Gurley, Donald, Brandin Cooks, and Robert Woods locked up for the future and the idea of sustained success becomes more plausible. For now, McVay’s initial success — 24-8 over the past two seasons and the 2017 NFL Coach of the Year Award — has the NFL buzzing that he’s the next great head coach.

Teams are already trying to find the next McVay just like teams have been trying to find the next Belichick for the last 20 years. Cincinnati (Zac Taylor) and Green Bay (Matt LaFleur) have already hired McVay disciples for head coaching gigs. The Cardinals even referred to Kliff Kingsbury — a creative offensive mind who was fired at Texas Tech and has never coached in the NFL — as a friend of McVay’s when they hired him.

Belichick’s coaching tree has mostly been a dud, while it’s too soon to know how McVay’s former coaches will do. But the impact McVay has had on the NFL is already felt.

McVay has his share of appreciators, and one of them is Belichick himself. Before the Super Bowl, McVay revealed to Peter King that Belichick sent him a text after a win earlier this year:

“This season, he has basically texted me after every one of our games. After we beat Minnesota in September, he texted, ‘Man, you guys are really explosive and impressive and fun to watch. Congratulations—keep it rolling.’ For him to even take the time to say congrats, it’s pretty cool.”

Now McVay’s got a chance to beat Belichick on the biggest stage of all — which would only put him and Goff four Super Bowl trophies and eight Super Bowl appearances behind Brady and Belichick.

Of course, what Brady and Belichick were able to do after their first two years together is unparalleled. They got better. They won four more Super Bowls with a chance at a fifth. As of this season, they’ve made eight straight AFC Championship games and have a record 10 consecutive division titles. They are, without much room for debate, the greatest of all time.

McVay understands this.

As he said at Super Bowl Opening Night, “When you look at these guys and what they’ve done in terms of consistency, where that’s really the truest measurement of performance, and nobody’s done it better than they have over the last handful of years. And that’s why you have so much respect and appreciation for them.”

McVay and Goff don’t need to match the legacy that Brady and Belichick have built. No one may ever be able to reach those heights. It’s more about what a Super Bowl win would mean for the NFL: that for the first time in almost two decades, there’s a new quarterback-coach duo that everyone else is chasing.