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samwilsonshandsandass · 4 years ago

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In The Coffee Shop

Summary: You work in a coffee shop and preparing the special of the month starts something you’d never thought would happen at your work place.

Pairing: Sharon Carter x Sam Wilson x Bucky Barnes x Natasha Romanoff x Steve Rogers x Reader

Warnings: Dubcon (sex pollen), smut, oral sex (m and f receiving, m and f giving), fingering, anal

Word count: 4.6K

A/N: This is my entry for @tinymalscoffee 400 follower writing challenge. Congrats on that milestone and thank you for hosting this challenge! I chose the prompts sex pollen and coffee shop AU. The graphics I used are by the amazing @firefly-graphics

It was, surprisingly, a slow morning in the coffee shop. Well, maybe not that surprising. There had been a warning for an extreme weather phenomenon and judging by the lack of customers in suits, several of the big employers had for once decided to not force their employees to come into work during this. You could already see the dark clouds forming on the sky.

The bell above the door rang and in came a red head with shorter hair. You didn’t look up from the flat white you were preparing and put some chocolate powder on it when your colleague yelled to you to get started on a double espresso. The flat white was done and snatched up by someone who visibly thought himself a hotshot, and even more visibly, wasn’t. Probably why he was out, to show his unwavering dedication to the company…

Then came the red head into your line of view directly. She was beautiful. And your hands trembled when you pushed the cup over the counter to her.

“Here’s your coffee, ma’am. Enjoy” You were surprised you were able to keep your voice steady.

“Thanks. Sugar is…?” Her voice was beautiful.

“To your right, ma’am.”

She smiled. “Do I look that old?”

“N-no, miss” You felt yourself get hot in the face.

“Don’t worry, just pulling your leg.”

You smiled at each other. Her smile made her even more beautiful. She nodded once more to you and then went to find a seat in the farthest nook of the shop. Your shift went on like usual after that.

Some days later, you had the afternoon shift. Your favorite. There were mostly students chatting about their lectures and during ordering, they were the nicest of customers and even chatting with you and the other baristas about their own side jobs, often in other cafés like yours.

This time you were on the register. Because of the influx of customers, you didn’t register the black-haired man and the blond one next to him until they stood directly in front of you.

“What can I get you, sirs? Our feature of the month is the flat white and the blueberry muffin.”

“I’ll have a latte macchiato and one of those blueberry muffins. Sound delicious.” The black-haired man grinned at you.

“And for you, sir?”

“Just a black coffee, thanks.” The blond one smiled.

“Right away, just wait for it over there.” You pointed to the end of the counter.

“Thanks” The black-haired one smiled. “So, Steve about that idea for Veterans Day…”

A week later, right at noon, a blonde woman and a brown-haired man came in. You were just finishing up an americano when they came over to you and you caught a snippet of their conversation: “… but knives-“ Said the blonde woman.

You had expected normal talks about work or whatnot. But not about knives, and apparently that had shown on your face.

“Don’t you scare the lady that’s granting you tea, Sharon!” The man said and smiled at you.

You smiled back as you gave them their tea and coffee and they smiled back. Like customers and employees smiled at each other.

Days later, when you were on table cleaning duty, your eyes swept over the customers’ heads. There was that cute couple that had had their first date here. You had no idea what number date they were on, but they were clearly progressing. The redhead putting her hand on the hand of the other woman after she put down the cookie she just broke in half.

The next table already had drunk their orders and the crumbs on the one plate in front of the brown-haired man signaled them being finished.

“Can I clear away?” You asked.

The brown-haired man and the redhead woman nodded.

“Thanks.”

There was even more traffic than usual in the morning today. Some conference was happening near you. And it wasn’t the fun kind for comics or books or games or a combination or all three with people in cosplay and sometimes, literally, screaming about who they saw and who was gonna be where and what they wanted to do and fandom discussions you got way to invested in for the fact that you were working. No, it was some business conference. It meant even more suits and even more snatched drinks without so much as a glance. It shouldn’t have bothered you, but it still did.

On one table though, there were two blondes and a black-haired man next to them. When you yelled out their orders, the blonde woman came up and took them with a genuine but tired “Thanks.” It was the first thanks you had heard that day by a customer.

When you went to do your cleaning rounds and came to their table the black-haired man and the blonde woman seemed to be dozing. The other blond smiled to himself. You took the cups and remembered how they all had wanted a double-caffeine shot.

“Thank you very much, ma’am” The blond man said.

You looked up at him, aghast. Thanking customers were one thing. They made your day. But this? This much manners? Calling you ‘ma’am��? Wow.

“O- of course. You’re welcome.”

You came out of the back room and had to grip the doorframe to hold yourself up. Your head was swimming.

“Hey! … okay?” You heard a voice in front of you.

You clenched your eyes and opened them again.

“Hey. You okay?” The blonde woman came into focus.

“I feel … weird…” You mumbled.

“I’ll take a look” The blond man said and went to the back room. A few minutes later, he came back, carrying a tray with a coffee grinder and half of the beans already ground.

“Did you just work on this?”

“Yeah… it’s… it’s our … special feature … the coffee with … with our special… home-ground beans…” Speaking was hard, you slurred, but somehow you managed while the blonde woman stroked your back.

“And you prepared them for tomorrow?” The redhead asked.

You nodded.

“Right, there was an ad about the new monthly feature” The brown-haired man mused.

You nodded again.

The blond man bent over the tray and took a whiff.

“Steve, no!” The black-haired man shouted.

“That’s been a losing battle for decades now, Sam” The brown-haired man sounded almost resigned.

“It smells a little weird.”

“I don’t smell anything” The redhead said. “But if you sense something, it must be there. Probably not strong enough for her to pick up.” She nodded to you.

The brown-haired man stood up from where he sat and went into the back room. He came back shortly after and pinched his nose in what seemed disbelief. “I think I know what it is. And all of us already inhaled it.”

“What are you talking about, Bucky?” The blonde woman spoke up.

“There were rumors about a substance that could be both used in liquids and in air to heighten sexual arousal. At the moment I don’t yet know who exactly produced it or why they need this and I also don’t know who ‘they’ are but the rumors I could listen to years ago when they were slow with wiping me, apparently led to something.”

“So, ‘they’ isn’t Hydra?” That was the redhead.

The guy shook his head.

“So, what happens now?” The blond man, Steve, asked.

“Most likely, all of us will go more or less crazy unless we…” Bucky scratched his neck and trailed off.

“Getting ourselves of by ourselves isn’t an option?” Sam wanted to know. “The whole thing would be weird if it was just people we knew from work, but she” He pointed to you. “doesn’t know us, we don’t know her and besides introducing ourselves, there won’t be much getting to know each other.”

“I know your orders, but that’s about it. I can’t even tell if you have a routine for which you need caffeine, because you all came in at different times and all the time” You mumbled with a tight-lipped smile.

“They say something about ourselves, right?” The man who was called Steve.

You nodded and looked at the blonde woman. “You have someone British in your family.”

Now Steve. “You want something simple. Maybe you don’t care for all the special things coffee shops have, but maybe, you’re also overwhelmed by the sheer amount of choice.”

The one called Sam was next. “You want something sweet but unlike others, you don’t want it contrasted with a drink on the bitter side of the spectrum. You want something toned down. You don’t need another stark contrast.”

“You” You looked at the redhead- “want something strong and sweet. Always. It’s both a pick me up and something to calm down but stay energized.”

“And you, ordering a black coffee but with caramel and peppermint syrup. There are people who order one of the two syrups in their coffee. Maybe caramel and hazelnut together. Peppermint on its own. But caramel and peppermint? That’s very unusual.” That was the last one of the group.

As much as they looked stunned, you looked proudly at them.

“How do you know I have someone British in my family?” The blonde woman seemed a little lost for words.

“Tea in this shop is either ordered by people who wanna seem fancy but not too fancy to hinder their career or by people who have an emotional response to tea. That’s why we sell almost no tea when there’s a conference, even to those suit-wearing people from around here who normally order one.”

“But how?” The one called Sam wondered.

“Barista.”

“If you know all that just by our drink orders and we’ll probably have sex with each other tonight, we should probably know each other’s names, right?” Steve said.

You nodded. “I’m Y/N.”

“I’m Steve and this are Sharon, Natasha, Sam and Bucky.”

You shook their hands and looked them in the eyes when their names were called and they smiled at you. You shook hands with people you barely, if at all, knew and who you were going to have sex with in probably a few minutes.

“Is there somewhere where it wouldn’t be that uncomfortable?” Natasha asked.

You nodded and led them to the very back of the shop, right where Natasha had once drunk her double espresso.

“The first time I came in here, you made the coffee and I went to this nook. You make a mean double espresso.”

“How do you remember that one coffee?”

“Because the first time it wasn’t you who made it, it didn’t taste as good.”

“Oh. Thanks.” You smiled; the barista part of your ego needed that and getting that compliment from someone like her, was an added bonus.

“May I?” Sam asked and untied the apron, now working on your shirt and you nodded.

Your clothes went one by one, slowly and when you were just in your underwear, you saw the others had taken off their clothing as well, except Sam of course.

You looked at Sam and when he smiled at you, you took off his clothes, first the sweater, then the pants.

Someone took your hand and you looked to your right to see Sharon pulling you with her on the couch. She put her hands on your cheeks and slowly kissed you. Her lips moved with yours and left you breathless when she let you go.

You felt someone on the other side of you who rubbed your waist. Turning your head, you saw Steve who looked encouragingly at you. He kissed the junction of your shoulder and neck. You could feel his chest pressing to your back and leant into him.

Suddenly there was something cold on your left leg and you flinched away, only to be stopped by soft hands.

“Sorry” Bucky mumbled and when you looked down you saw him massaging your leg with his hands, one flesh, one metal and you couldn’t help but think of how his metal hand would feel between your folds.

On your right leg were Natasha’s hands, massaging, kneading higher and higher until you felt her between your folds. She rose up until you could feel the tip of her tongue when you heard Steve say: “Nat, wait a second.”

You tore your eyes away from Natasha and saw Steve push a pillow under Natasha’s knees. She turned her head to give him a quick smile of thanks and then licked a stripe on the junction between your vulva and your right leg and then on the other side. Her hands had left your leg to hold you down at your hips and not too soon, because as her tongue was on your vulva longer than a second and she moved around, licking up and down your lips, your body bucked into her mouth on its own.

Sam moved behind Sharon, pressing himself into her, pushing her on you and both of you a little more into Steve. He somehow got his hands under your butt, letting his fingers dance over it, rubbing all the spots that you didn’t even know would make you moan. And then, he removed one of his hands. You just heard a wet pop and felt Steve’s forefinger at your hole.

“Okay?”

You tried to nod but in that moment Natasha inserted two of her fingers in your channel, and already, you could hear your wetness. So, instead of a nod, a moan escaped your lips and that was the non-verbal “Yes” Steve needed and he pushed his finger in.

Your mouth, still open from your moan, fell open even more and Sam traced it with his thumb. You moved your head forward a bit and closed your lips around it and sucked. You wrapped your right hand around Sam’s wrist to keep his hand where it was and linked your left hand with Sharon’s. You could feel her thighs next to yours on the couch moving. You looked at her. She had her eyes closed, whimpering into your neck.

“Y/N, hold her hip” Sam ordered.

You moved your hand from his wrist to her hip and Sam held her other hip. He moved forward and Sharon whined when Sam sank into her.

“Good?” You asked her.

She smiled lazily at you and nodded. You rubbed her neck and with each thrust of Sam, he squished her and your chests together. You angled your head a little to easier to kiss Sharon. You traced her lips with yours, she traced yours with hers when you pulled back for a second. She caressed your cheekbones with her thumbs and only when you opened your lips a bit further, did she use her tongue. She poked yours playfully, you poked back and could hear her giggle that traveled straight to your core. You entangled her in a light dance until you both had to breathe.

You leaned against each other, foreheads touching. You felt Sam moving his arm but couldn’t see where it went. You just noticed Sharon jolting and looked down to see him rubbing her clit.

“Baby, open up” Sam purred and pulled down your bottom lip with the thumb of his other hand.

You parted your lips immediately.

A second later, Natasha pulled her fingers from you and held them up in front of your face. She scissored them a bit and you could see your wetness between them.

“Sam?”

“Oh, yeah” He chuckled and removed his thumb from your mouth to a whine from you but that turned into a moan when Nat pushed her fingers into your mouth. You moved your tongue around, tasting yourself on her and maybe, just maybe, putting on a little show for her.

Steve kissed your shoulder blades, your neck, your collar bones while he moved his finger in you.

“Ready for the next one?”

This time you could nod, and you did.

“Alright” You could hear the smile in Steve’s voice.

He inserted his middle finger alongside his forefinger slowly and gently. He waited until he felt you relax and suck on Natasha’s fingers again. Just enjoying the feeling of being full and you felt your pussy clenching around nothing.

Now, you felt Bucky moving up a little. He looked up at you through his lashes. He massaged your tummy, going in circles until his hands gripped you were Natasha had had her hands. Bucky dove in, kitten licking your pussy and Nat’s soft hair was one thing between your thighs and definitely something you’d enjoy later when you were alone, even if it was just a memory, but Bucky’s shorter hair combined with his stubble was something else.

You couldn’t help but put your legs over his shoulders and link your ankles.

“Good… so good…” You moaned. Natasha had pulled her fingers back by now and kneaded yours and Sharon’s breasts.

“Yeah? What exactly feels good, baby?” Sam purred as he thrust into Sharon.

“Nat’s… Natasha’s fingers… and Steve’s as well” You could feel Steve’s grin on your shoulder blade and his fingers thrusting a bit deeper. “And-“ Bucky’s tongue entered you, going back and forth, in and out and you clenched around him.

When he pulled back for a moment with a grin, he said: “You were saying?”

You swallowed thickly and summoned your will to answer him. “Your beard! It feels so good on my thighs, never had one between them before…” You moaned again.

“Then I’m honored to be your first” He winked and dove back in.

He continued right where he left of. His tongue fucked up into you, his hands pulled you down onto him and soon your hips were basically riding his face. After a very pointed movement of his tongue, perfectly timed with Bucky squeezing your hips while pulling you down again, made you come undone. Your pussy spasmed around him, your mouth opened and your eyes closed.

You couldn’t hear anything, you couldn’t move anything but when you came down back to earth, you could still feel your pussy spasming. Apparently, you had gripped Bucky’s hair at some point and carded your fingers through it and scratched his scalp to ground yourself. But that plan backfired. Your scratching of his scalp made him purr. Understandably because having your scalp scratched was nice but after such an orgasm it was too much for you and you whimpered.

Bucky moved his metal hand to cup your pussy and the pressure of the plates without much structure plus the coldness soothed you and you sighed.

You felt several hands stroking you, calming you down and Sharon and Natasha kissing you.

“All good?” Steve wanted to know from behind you.

You nodded and turned your head to kiss him, moving your tongue against his.

They all pulled back a bit, Natasha and Bucky sitting back on their heels, Sam pulled Sharon from you and leant back and Steve removed his fingers and while you still felt Steve’s chest at your back and Sharon’s thighs next to yours but other than that, nothing.

You whined at the loss of contact and of the confusion until Steve lifted you up by your waist.

“Spread your legs, love” He commanded softly, and you did. As he lowered you down, you could almost feel his thighs under yours and the tip of his cock at your spread butthole.

“Ready?”

“Yes.”

“Then breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Steady, okay?”

You followed Steve’s advice and you felt him slowly inch in. He stopped every few seconds, letting you adjust to it all until you felt his hips digging into your butt.

He wrapped his arms around your waist and slowly leaned back, until he laid flat on the couch with you on top of him. He rubbed your arms

Bucky climbed between your and Steve’s legs, holding his dick and looked to you for confirmation. You made grabby hands and he chuckled.

“Needy.”

Bucky bent over you and looked you in the eyes. And he continued to hold your gaze as he entered you. You couldn’t have looked away if you wanted to.

“Wet. So warm and wet” His eyes were screwed shut and he leaned his forehead on your collarbone.

Natasha moved to your head and you moved so your head was on Steve’s shoulder. You put your hands on Nat’s hips and pulled her down until her clit met your lips and she hissed on contact, while facing away from Bucky. She slowly began to ride your face and you moved your tongue a bit to touch her.

Seeing Natasha in this position, you below her, your mouth on her clit, her using you for your pleasure and her stiff nipples and her breasts moving made you wish for two mouths. You wanted to taste her but at the same time, you wanted to suck and bite her nipples until they were swollen and she’d push you away because it felt too good.

Bucky and Steve held you close, sandwiched between them, their arms around you and each other and when they started to move, they moved in unison. They made you feel almost completely empty and then full again and Bucky rubbed your clit with his left middle finger and forefinger.

That was the moment Sam softly took your left hand from under Bucky’s and Steve’s arms. Sam wrapped it around him and started moving it up and down. When you looked to your left, you saw Sam, but you also saw Sharon looking straight at you as she quickly rode Sam’s thigh. She smiled and reached out to stroke your forearm.

You were so glad Sam helped you, because on your own, you wouldn’t have been able to do something. The stimulation of Bucky’s slow and deep strokes that hit all the points in you, Steve grinding and keeping you close, Sharon’s touches a contrast but at the same time not to it all, the heat of them around you, Natasha on your face and moaning. It was all too much.

Natasha rode your face rhythmically, you licked and sucked on her until the rhythm she had built stuttered, her moan broke off and her legs twitched. You could see her bending forward to rest on her forearms.

Sam moved your hand along him, he squeezed your hand around him, lessening it a bit when he came to the tip and twisting your hand around it.

You moved your right hand from under Bucky’s arm and put it on Natasha’s hip to stabilize her. She moaned at the contact and the moan morphed into a whimper when you switched from using your tongue to nipping and sucking on her with your lips.

At the same time Steve gripped your hips and used what leverage he had to chase his release and soon you could feel him cumming with a groan. After the last spurt, he pressed you to him.

The slightly new angle seemed to trigger something in Bucky. He started rutting arrhythmically in you. With each thrust, he bent over you a little more until he effectively blanketed you with his body. Bucky softly rubbed and pinched your clit and you clenched around him. He stopped moving and you heard his growl as he started cumming in you.

And then you felt like you were floating up and away from the earth.

For a short time, nothing.

And then you felt like you were floating back down to earth.

You could feel your pussy still spasming, although now around nothing, and you could hear voices. You couldn’t discern who said what.

“Hey. Hey! … Oh shit, I think that was too much.”

“Too much of what exactly?”

“Of everything.”

“That wasn’t me, was it? The weight of my body?”

“Don’t think so.”

“Hey, Y/N. Hey. Come back to us.”

“Mmmhmmmm”

“Oh, good, you’re back. Thought we’d lost you there for a second.”

“You probably did, but I’m back now.”

You were maneuvered to lean against the back of the couch and just breathed in and out a few times. When you calmed down and got your beating heart a little more under control, your eyes fell to Sam’s cock, which still stood at attention.

“May I?” You asked and looked at him, at his cock and back at his face.

Sam just nodded and that was enough to lick long stripes up and down, only sucking on his tip for a second before you went back to the base of him and massaged his balls until you could feel him twitch. You waited until the last second to put your mouth on just his tip and sucked.

You continued sucking on Sam, letting him buck up his hips and swirled the tip of your tongue around the slit until he couldn’t take it anymore. Sam came and spurted in your mouth until he literally tore your mouth off his dick. You swallowed and grinned at him like a Cheshire cat.

You turned to Sharon, and this time, you pulled her on the couch. You pushed her back until she laid on her back. You moved down her breasts and tummy with little kisses and bites. You ignored her whimpers when you neglected where she visibly wanted you the most in favor of her thighs. You altered between nips, kisses and bites that would leave a memory for a few days, until you reached the junction between her legs.

You pursed your lips and only moved them over her. When your mouth was back at her entrance, you flattened your tongue and licked up until you swirled your tongue around Sharon’s clit. First in bigger circles that went smaller and smaller up to the point where you sucked her clit in your mouth. You continued sucking on her with alternating pressure until you could feel her twitch and buck her hips into your mouth.

Each time Sharon bucked into you, you made it a point to get closer to her, until she couldn’t take it anymore and came. She whimpered, she wailed, you could see several hands stroking her body, soothing her and you felt her thighs shake next to your head. After some time, her thighs stilled and you gently uncrossed her legs and took them off your shoulders. You licked your lips and grinned at her.

“Good?”

Sharon only nodded with a smile.

One day after this one-of-a-kind night, Natasha came back in the morning and left with a little black container under her arm and a double espresso to-go.

One or two weeks later, you had the day shift and were solely on coffee making duty. Your coworker had just told you the next order and it was a big one all at once.

“Latte macchiato, one blueberry muffin, black coffee, double espresso, black coffee with peppermint and caramel and a black tea!” You yelled out.

Someone came up to you and you recognized Sam.

“Good to see you” He winked with a smile.

“Not like I work here” You retorted with a smile of your own.

“Buck! Help me carry all these things!”

Bucky came up and looked at you. “Hey. Nice seeing you.”

“Surprisingly, I work at the place that I also call ‘my workplace’” You deadpanned.

Bucky let out a dry laugh. “Yeah, should have expected that.”

They both took half of the order in their hands and went to walk to the table where the others were sat. Although you couldn’t see the entire table, you knew exactly who sat at it, just from the orders.

Sam turned his upper body to you again. “When do you get off work?”

“In an hour. Why?”

“Wait for us here?”

“Who is ‘we’?”

Sam only winked and he and Bucky went to their table.

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orlissa · 3 years ago

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For therapeutic purposes, here is the full story of the person who owes me a buttload of money.

So, her name is Imola--she is an old family friend, my mom used to work for her mom, doing embroidery and stuff, when I was a kid. I’ve known her for ever. She is about 15 years older than me, married with two kids, a seamstress by profession.

The fall of 2016 she got this idea that she wanted to buy a small, already operating store selling vintage home decor, but she didn’t have enough money for it. At the time I was doing my MA, my parents were still supporting me, and was doing translation on the side, so I had some savings--and so Imola had this idea to borrow from me. To this day I stand by my word that mom my pressured into it, although she says otherwise. Anyway, I did end up lending Imola 1.3 million forint, which would be about $3600 today, but like during the first two years of my phd, aka the first time I had a steady monthy income, I got 140.000 forint (~$390), and that was enough to live on. We even wrote a contract, signed by a notary public, which was Imola’s idea, and she even paid for it. As per the contract, she was to pay me back my money by February 28, 2017 in one sum, with no interest (but if she didn’t pay on time, she’d have to pay a 10% interest, which part I completely forgot about until last year, but which also means that by now the full sum she is to pay back to me is nearly 2 million forint).

She didn’t pay by the deadline, and I didn’t force it, partially because “she is a family friend, she has been helping us [my parents] out a lot” and partially because, as a seamstress, she would help me out with cosplay stuff (although she would half-ass it to a point that some of the stuff she made for me could be worn only once, with no chance of repearing it). One of the things she made was a skirt for a steampunk corset I bought. That steampunk outfit was my dream for years. This will be important.

Some time later, I want to say 2018-2019, but I don’t actually remember, she asked to borrow the whole steampunk outfit and my other, green corset (which was part of my Enchantress cosplay, which included a miniskirt made of chiffon and satin ribbons) so she could display it in her shop window. She said that in exchance she’d make a similar skirt for the green corset as well. I did lend her these outfits, I even saw the steampunk one in her store window.

At some point after this, she silently sold the store. She still didn’t pay me back, nor did she give back my dresses. At this point I was heavily pressuring her into doing both, reminding her of her debt and my stuff, but she remained dismissive, showing a kind of “I’ll do it when I do it, don’t worry about it” attitude.

Come October 2020, when finally, after months of begging, she got around to bringin back my steampunk dress (only that one; I still haven’t seen my green corset). I was excited, because I was having a little Samhain get together with my friends (all complying with covid restrictions), and I wanted to wear that. Only I couldn’t: the boning of the corset was in channels made from faux leather, and while the dress was at Imola’s/on display, the faux leather ripped, and the boning was poking out in several places. It was unwearable. I cried for two hours. That was the last straw. I talked with Imola about it, she “apologized” and said she’d repair it (the only way to repair it is to change all the boning channels on it, which I doubt she did). She took it away some weeks later. That was 1,5 years ago. She still hasn’t returned it.

Done with her bullshit, I made an ultimatum the next year: either she starts paying her debt in installments starting in March (as the end of February was the 4th anniversary of her original deadline), or I’m taking this to court. The original agreement then was she had to pay at least 50.000 forint (~$140) a month (once again: her full debt is nearly 2 million by now), and if she misses two months in a row, I’m taking this to court. Which led to her paying basically every other month.

January this year I told her this won’t do, we’re changing the terms: she is to pay every month by the 25th, and if she misses that, I’m taking this to court. She said okay. She basically never pays by the 25th. She missed the March payment, paid it in early April. Had to remind her two or three times that she needs to pay the April amount in April as well. And now she is saying she can’t pay in May. With the current pace, she’ll ba paying me for at least 3-4 more years. And let’s not talk about my ruined dress and my emotional distress. I’m... I’m done.

#personal

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eponymous-rose · 5 years ago

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Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E96 (February 25, 2020)

Tonight’s guests are Taliesin Jaffe and Liam O’Brien!

Announcements: The Chicago live show and C2E2 are imminent! The live show will be on Thursday night, but an hour earlier than usual, at 6 PM Pacific/8 PM Central! Liam will be at the live show, but unfortunately has to leave C2E2 early and won’t be able to make it on Sunday. On Friday, the first behind-the-scenes video for The Legend of Vox Machina animated series was posted on YouTube, introducing the writing team!

Episode 96: Family Shatters

Stats for this week’s episode! Of the 16 times Caleb has cast Teleportation Circle, the M9 have remembered to contact someone prior to their arrival 7 times. Of those 7 times, they were successful at contacting someone at the location only 3. Taliesin: “We’re playing this game like Skyrim, we’re just going through people’s houses breaking pottery.” Caduceus got the straw hat that he gave to Clarabelle in episode 31, about 188 in-game days ago. There were 17 cow-related puns. Dani: “Is that above or below average for a Critical Role episode?”

“Clay was kind of built relatively quickly. I didn’t give Matt a ton to play with. I gave him the order in which they left, I gave him Clay’s attitude and his impression of his family members, which was usually just one sentence, and some basic idea of what their power set might be if they had one. I always thought of him as, from a family perspective, of what would have happened to Percy if nothing went wrong.” He was happy to be the one to run the family business and just hang around at home and run the shrine. “I think the rest of the kids’ wanderlust probably put them at odds quite a bit.” He liked being able to play that conflict and show what Caduceus was like when he was annoyed. Cad took after his father, the girls generally wanted to leave, and Colton is “just sort of a doofus.”

Caleb was an only child, so seeing this many kids was a lot. “They clearly had their grudges and their different dynamics with each other, but that’s normal, for sure. Caleb’s very unfamiliar with it.” He also keeps looking at Nott and thinking about how everything he’s doing is about wanting to rebuild his family, whereas Nott is so conflicted about going back to hers. “He doesn’t understand it, but he doesn’t want to push it” or judge her for it. “I thought I had a really defined direction at the start of the campaign, but my seven best friends have knocked it silly.”

What’s keeping Cad with the Nein? “Caduceus is not ready to go home at all. He’s not done with his walkabout. He feels like he wants to see a bit more. He feels he has an intense debt to pay. He feels he has a mission to see everybody else through, at the very least. Or at least he’s telling himself that. So he’s saved his home, or at least he thinks he’s saved his home, and his family’s all right, so now it’s debts that must be paid. He’s not somebody who thinks you can just get off the bus.”

“Caleb was going to ask [the hag] about the ability to travel backward through time, not really believing that she could do that, but was still like, show me what you’ve got.” Even if she’d said it, he would have thought she was a liar. “Probably would’ve offered to kill the M9″ in exchange, then would’ve turned around to hit her with a surprise Disintegrate. Liam notes repeatedly that nothing could possibly have been as cool as what Laura wound up doing.

On the Nein not worrying about places Cad considered sacred ground, Caduceus “is fine with conflict. He doesn’t even really have to have conflict, he could assert himself if he were so inclined. It’s that he’s aware that there are limits to what these people can do. It’s very much the philosophy of ‘children and drunks can do no wrong’.” He’s picking his battles.

Was there a defining moment where Caleb started seeing the Nein as family? No single moment. “It’s like love by a thousand cuts.” Liam notes that he’s still not sure how Caleb would react if he suddenly had the means to carry out his plans. “He’s got the recovering-addict mentality.”

Cosplay of the Week: an amazing Pumat! (CriticalHitical, photo by Minniemooncos on Twitter)

Taliesin notes that Caduceus is definitely feeling more connected to the group. “If anything, Caduceus is really embracing his role as the spiritual guide to the group. He feels like he really has a lot to offer from that perspective of being the roving therapist. Or at least, he thinks he’s a roving therapist.” Liam notes that Cad is the most mysterious of the group to Caleb. “He’s the most religious character I’ve ever played, too. He’s fun! He really came together very nicely.”

On Caleb being more lighthearted on occasion: “He’s been out of practice being a human being for a long time.” The Nein’s brand of ridiculousness is rubbing off on him.

Why hasn’t Cad been pranking the Nein? “They don’t treat him poorly in that way yet. Siblings, man. I have quite a few siblings, and there is an energy. It’s the same way like when you’re around your parents, you revert to a 15-year-old.” Same with siblings. “There’s just something-- just the urge to torture them is so overpowering.” The moment he got the whistle, he knew exactly what he was going to do with it. Liam was reminded of Taliesin’s real-life siblings while watching these interactions in the game.

On Caleb’s laying on compliments for the Traveler: “The thing about time travel is it’s so implausible. It’s so implausible that I could see us finishing this campaign and Caleb will still have it in the back of his head for the rest of his life. But maybe Artagan could help with that. He certainly sees the potential in Artagan, and it was a balance between wanting to support everything Jester has devoted her life to, so it just felt like everyone was ready to write it off. Life is often like this, life isn’t what you thought it would be, it is what it is. Let’s not damn this yet, let’s feel it out. And if I can use this situation to possibly eradicate ultimate evil, that’s a win.”

Cad found it tough to have family and friends in the same room and play both roles. “I don’t know how much it came across that he was trying to keep them, not necessarily separated, but ‘family, guys, guys, family, ANYWAY.’” He did want to get his family on their way as quickly as possible. Cad is the equivalent of his early 20s, so something like 85-120 years old for a firbolg.

Liam is asked about the conversation between Caleb and Yasha on watch several episodes ago. "You know what one of the best parts of that scene that played out was, is about 20 minutes or 30 minutes before that happened, I texted Ashley at the table and said, ‘Want to take watch? I have nothing planned, it could be fun.’” He wasn’t expecting it to go that far. “I think he had such an extreme reaction because he felt that he had done a good job of hiding things, and he was suddenly worried that he was transparent, that everyone had been able to read him this whole time when he’d thought that he was-- well, he’s a little in love with Jester Lavorre, and has been for a while, uselessly in love with her. The waltz was probably a little pebble. And in that moment-- this doesn’t play out verbally too much in the show, but he just was worried that this thing that he’s never going to admit to because it’s useless, she’s finding herself, and has her whole life ahead of her, and has other people around her who care about her and are a whole lot better for her than he is. And he’s aware of the way those two [Fjord and Beau] feel as well. It’s just there in the background fucking up his shit. It’s really just a problem. Big fucking problem.”

Fan art of the week: a gorgeous Clay family portrait! (by Teaweltzer on Twitter)

On Clay being absent for the renewal of his home: “I don’t think his arc’s ending off-screen. I think his arc ends when he comes home to see what’s become of it.”

Is Caleb worried about Beau since the confrontation with her father? “Of course he is. She’s ignoring all the advice that she gave him. He doesn’t like to see her that hard on herself when she’s so competent and probably the backbone of the group. It’s the most judgey Caleb’s been of anybody, really, but he’s very aware of the pain of family and personal stuff. She knows her, and even though he broke his shit in half, he could still see the dynamic in the room when we visited his family, so he feels for her. We need you and we love you and we will miss you, you don’t fucking get to go.”

Each of the temples has a secondary god; what was the Blooming Grove’s other god? “The Blooming Grove is for the Archeart because it is a gift of beauty. It’s the Allhammer, the Changebringer, and the Archeart. It’s kind of a powerplay from the Wildmother, in my opinion. They’re all three based off of very specific types of funereal practices that are common throughout the world.”

Caleb saw giving over the transformation spell to Essek as a returning of one of his many favors. “Caleb likes Essek a lot. They’re like two highly gifted kids at school together. And, you know, he’s quirkily charming and handsome. There’s just no reason not to, in his mind. Outside of the M9, he’s probably the only person that Caleb would see as a friend that he’s made. Everyone else is just sort of scenery around the M9.”

What’s next for Cad? “It’s a little bit of finding himself, or at least finishing himself would be the way to put it.” (cue snickering from off-camera) “He’s also vaguely aware of some of the things that are going to possibly emotionally damage the party on the horizon, and he wants to be ready to deal with, in vague order, whatever’s going to happen to Jester, and then whatever’s going to happen to Fjord, and then whatever’s going to happen to Nott, and Yasha, and Caleb. He doesn’t know how to deal with what Beau’s going through. It’s the one thing he has no experience of, because he has no experience with that family dynamic. When he met people with that family dynamic, it was always at the end of it.”

Some fans sent in death whistles. Brian encourages Taliesin to play one on the plane.

The hat for Calliope was a last-minute thought. The flute could also have gone for Colton, depending on “who I could sneak up on”.

Caleb took a symbol of the Archeart from the Labenda Swamp. “I think it was familiar to me. I think I might have either correctly or mistakenly thought it reminded me of the woman who helped Caleb in the Sanatorium.”

#critical role #critical role spoilers #talks machina #talks machina spoilers #long text post

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whitherliliesbloom · 4 years ago

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✿ stories you want to write

Tagged by: @earthlystar, @fistsoflightning, @stars-bleed-hearts-shine, @windup-dragoon THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

Tagging: idk, whoever wants to do this lmao. just say I tagged you!

Anyone who knows me knows I’m a bundle of unfulfilled ideas / headcanons. I have a lot of stories / AU ideas I want to write.. but either don’t have the time or energy to write them... Or you know, I’m just plain lazy.

I’m also kind of leaning more towards Genshin Impact now than FFXIV oops

1) More time travel AU

I KNOW!! I’m the only one who cares about this au okay but

TIME TRAVEL STORIES ARE ALWAYS SOME OF MY FAVORITE STORIES??? ADDING TO THAT ANYTHING INVOLVING LIKE.. META COMMENTARY AND POSSIBLE 4TH WALL BREAKING??? STEINS;GATE??? MADOKA MAGICA??? CHARLOTTE??? UNDERTALE??? The ability to stop time and rewind time is just such a COOL ASS concept to me?? I won’t shut up about wanting time mage in ffxiv just so I can OFFICIALLY make her a canon overpowered time and space manipulator. Maybe then, time travel au won’t just be an au anymore.

On top of that I just really like Cronus. The idea of an Illya who is so damaged and broken she becomes an entirely different person. I just don’t really have a set plot planned for this au or have any idea on how to resolve the conflict between Cronus, present timeline Illya and Alphinaud... or if I even wanna give Cronus a happy ending iafnioafas. But whenever there’s an opportunity to talk about time travel au, you bet your gil I will.

2) More Nier Automata AU

I kinda lost steam for this AU really really quickly for some reason but.. I had pretty ambitious plans for the plot of this which I really hope I’ll find the inspiration to write out some day.. because I really don’t like just.. reducing my ideas to simple bullet point headcanons.

Some brief idea of what I had in mind though:

bad ending depending on illya’s actions at one of the climatic scenes

different ‘good’ endings depending on her last dialogue choice which would lead to her ending up with different love interests.

love triangle, of course

side plot for alisaie and ryne involving an escort mission

really really meta writing about the meaning of an android’s life and who 2C feels like she really is

scene of 2C regaining memories of alphinaud’s death and losing her shit

Like I said. I’m a bundle of lots of ideas that are almost always unfulfilled. I still really like this au though and I don’t want it to go to waste...

3) More Modern AU

Oops another AU. At least this one isn’t depressing or something that might give you an existential crisis. I have A LOT of headcanons for modern au ffxiv characters... not to mention different versions of the modern au concept. There’s Youtuber Illya AU, there’s highschool AU, there’s that AU where Illya works at a coffee shop and Alphinaud is a university student.

I just love how laid back and Slice of Life-y modern au can be and I just... really love the idea of Illya living a normal happy life that doesn’t involve her having to kill gods every other day as much as i do love to torture her, yes.

Some ideas for modern au fics i had:

Highschool AU Ryne asking her friends to cosplay sailor moon characters for a cosplay convention. Laurelis as Sailor Moon and Haurchefant as Tuxedo Mask. Ryne herself as Sailor Venus. Gaia as Sailor Mars. Illya as Sailor Saturn.

Youtuber Illya attempting to vlog outside her home for the first time while she’s on a date with Alphinaud because her viewers requested it so much. Just pure fluff and the dorks being dorks.

Highschool AU Illya working on a set of mini terrarium jewelry to sell at the school fair to raise money. The jocks at the school sort of laugh and lowkey bully her for the idea but she ends up making a ton of money.

SOL comedy AU where alisaie and alphinaud both have a crush on Illya sort of compete for her attention. She’s completely oblivious to all of it.

Cafe AU where Illya has raised enough money (and with Alphinaud’s generous donation) to send in an entry to university. Alphinaud helps her study for the entrance exam.

More double dates? :eyes:

4) To Aru Majutsu no Index AU

LOOK SOMETHING I HAVEN’T TALKED ABOUT ON MY BLOG BEFORE. I just really like the premise / setting of this anime. ARE YALL READY FOR WORD VOMIT???

Academy city, a city that houses many schools, and research intuitions devoted to the study and advancement of science. Espers are individuals who use scientifically based supernatural powers, all of whom gained and trained their powers artificially under the system of Academy city. However, there is another underground side to the city - a small organization of people with supernatural abilities that cannot be explained by science. They are called magicians - and due to the rarity of magic, and how Academy city is so repulsed by the idea of abilities that defy the laws of conventional science and their understanding, some people even believe that magic is simply a myth or urban legend.

While espers typically specialize in only one or two types of ability, magicians are often able to wield a variety of different abilities that take time to train and nurture, making them so frightening to the science side of academy. Some magicians even end up dabbling in the occult or black magic.

Alphinaud, a level 4 esper with the ability to physically see energy waves emitted by other espers. Couple that with his high intelligence, he is able to analyze the movements and abilities of other espers and even pin point the weak points of their abilities. His twin sister Alisaie is also a level 4 esper who is able to teleport herself and one other person she touches a certain distance in a radius around her current location.

Alphinaud comes across Illya on his home from his training program one day, beaten and exhausted on the side of the road. He wants to call the hospital, but she begs him not to, saying she’s afraid that ‘they’ will find her. He takes her back to his home and nurses her wounds. Not seeing any energy waves being emitted from her, he assumes that she is simply an ordinary citizen. He asks her where her home is and how she ended up injured on the side of the road, but she refuses to tell him.

One day, a fight breaks out on the streets near his home, where a level 5 esper has gone rogue and is attacking innocent bystanders. He asks Illya to stay behind while he and Alisaie takes care of the situation. They are outmatched however, and Illya, watching the situation from the balcony of his home finally decides to step in. She easily incapacitates the esper using a variety of magical abilities the twins have never seen before, draining the man of his energy before returning to heal Alphinaud and Alisaie.

They question Illya later, and she finally confesses to being a magician who is on the run from an organization who had been keeping her captive for the past few years. She has the ability of perfect memory - being able to memorize spells from any grimoire she reads and utilize the powers for herself, though often at some debilitating cost. The more powerful the spell, the more dire and painful the side effects. She has been forced to read a total of more than 500 grimoires by now, and only managed to narrowly escape thanks to a mysterious man who took pity on her.

Due to the side effects of her ability, and also having done nothing but be chained up and forced to read grimoires for the past few years, Illya is physically frail and cannot fend for herself beyond using magical abilities, which she is often hesitant to do.

5) Pokemon AU...carmela im looking

Waiting for @windupnamazu to provide more details on her pokemon au buttttt i’ve already been working on illya’s sort of backstory, her pokemon team, alphinaud’s pokemon team and other headcanons regarding this au. Also.. working with an artist regarding illya’s design for this au, which i’m very excited to be able to share =3c Not the time yet tho

I actually talked about a pokemon au with Jam as early as June of last year. I made a pokemon team for illya aaaaaand only half of her original team I had for her over a year ago is still in her current team oops. It’s okay, the retconned ones can stay at home and relax with Lachlan.

6) More amaurotine stuff

Oh finally something relating to canon. I’ve been thinking about Chloris x Apollo from time to time and honestly I.. really love their dynamic.. despite how sad and lowkey awful Apollo can be towards her. But I think that’s part of the charm of what makes alphinaud and illya’s relationship later so sweet, being able to acknowledge that they had their flaws and learn from them ;w;

I had an idea for Chloris inventing a type of flower with the unintentional suggestion of Apollo, and it later makes an appearance where Alphinaud discovers the flower and asks Illya about it.

7) The twins... no, not the Leveilleur twins

I think everyone’s talked about their lovechildren more than I have and I’ve already kind of explained why I haven’t made any screens or talked about them at length but.. I really do love them so much ;;;; I wanna find the opportunity to write a fic of them maybe spending a day inside with their army of carbuncles... Also @ancientechos‘ OC Esme (son of haurche and laurelis) developing a crush on one of them =3c

Also another idea I had involving them is being taken to the site of some of Illya and Alphinaud’s adventures...

8) Butler AU...hey, anyone remember this?

Remember when I did several comics back to back and was super motivated for this AU? I do. I miss being motivated and inspired and not like.. wrecked with depression. I have plot points... ALSO INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER OCs WHO JOINED THIS AU???? Maybe one day I’ll find the drive again. At least I was able to finish one plot arc!! Which is more than I can say for most of my other AUs. Someone get me back in the shoujo manga mood!!! please!!

9) Idol AU

Hey idol AU anon where are you.... WHERE ARE YOU?! YOU STILL HAVEN’T TOLD ME YOUR EXTRA HEADCANONS PLEASE COME BACK

10) More Alphinaud and his interactions with DRK Illya

I’ve already written a good number of fics about this, but I still... wanna do more... Acceptance, unconditional love, Illya learning that he won’t leave her despite all her insecurities and flaws... ILLYA FINALLY LEARNING TO IDK ACCEPT HERSELF. HELP.

I just really like DRK Illya okay, and you can pry the symbolism of her duality with her dark side from my cold dead hands.

#tagged meme #stories you want to write #long post #headcanons #HEY WRITING OUT THE ACADEMY CITY AU MAKES ME WANNA TALK MORE ABOUT IT NOW SHIT #THANK YOU FOR THE TAGGGG I got... SUPER RAMBLY IN THIS

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severeblizzardlady · 5 years ago

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Isekai in the Time of QuarantinePart 2

Twice/Jin Bubaigawara

Warnings: Spoilers, Swearing (and whatever else may come our way)

“You went way too hard on that Jin cosplay.”

To be honest, you’d always thought your last words would be something meaningful. But, then, you’d never expected to die at the hands of a delusional cosplayer.

I haven’t even met a delusional cosplayer before, your brain unhelpfully supplied. Really, your brain wasn’t focusing on the priorities. Like, scary guy. Right there. In your face.

“Huh?” The Jin lookalike looked confused. Then he gritted his teeth and stared you down again. And you were reminded again, that those words were gonna be on your tombstone. If they ever found your body. “Stop playing around and fix this.”

“Huh?”

“Jin’s” eye twitched, lips pulling back in a snarl at your unintelligent reply. You moved to take a step back but it was too late. Your basket fell as he grabbed you by the shoulders. “You trying to mess us up? Ruin everything we’ve worked for? Send me back to my friends already!”

He was crazy. There was no doubt about this guy in your mind. You’d heard about people becoming ultra fanatic about stories and characters, but this took the cake. “Lemme go,” You broke free, pointing a finger at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You broke into my apartment!”

“Jin” jabbed a finger back in your face, “Like hell I did. You used a quirk on me!”

“No one has quirks!”

You were pretty sure anyone in the store was currently watching you both. But how were you supposed to care? You’d spent the last few days feeling like you’d jump out of your skin at the slightest sudden movement. You hadn’t been able to sleep without checking for intruders at least three times. And even then, you’d jolt awake, half expecting a costumed figure to be standing over you.

You were terrified and angry, and you were almost out of food.

“Look, man, I get you’re probably freaking out right now. The world’s gone to crap, and it seems like there’s no end in sight. But does it look like anybody wants to deal with your League of Villains shtick right now?

I get that it’s good to escape now and then. But this is reality, where life is horrible and almost all of us are depressed because things like hopes and dreams are only for the people with enough money and power for it. Pokemon aren’t real, unicorns aren’t real, quirks aren’t real. God, even Jin Bubaigawara isn’t real. They’re all fictional, so wake up, get in line, and be miserable and terrified like the rest of us!”

It felt like your throat was on fire. And your eyes were going to bulge out of your sockets, you were sure. “Jin” just gaped at you as though you’d just flashed him in public.

“Ma’am,” a store clerk neared you, his hands held up in the universal sign of “I don’t want any trouble” even though he was still two feet away from you. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you both to leave.”

You stared at the guy. Just...looked at him. He bit his lip, glancing at“Jin” over your shoulder then back at you, like he couldn’t decide which scared him more. Dammit, and now I’m getting kicked out of grocery stores.

Mom’s gonna kill me if she ever finds out.

“I’m real.”

“Jin” had followed you out, getting kicked out right behind you. And nobody bothered calling the police. For all they cared, you were the one disturbing the peace. Leaving you to walk around with the crazy guy and potentially be murdered.

At least he’d given you your phone back. Now you could call the cops on him. Or so you’d thought. Your battery was completely dead, leaving you to be herded wherever “Jin” wanted you to go.

That ended up being a park that was practically deserted. The few people around wore face masks and gloves. One woman was even fighting her chocolate lab for her face mask. Why she’d want it back after that was a mystery.

Sitting in the pavillion, staring at the empty playground equipment was just sad. There had been children playing, laughing, screaming, living just two weeks ago.

“I never said you weren’t.” You tried to keep your voice level, even though your throat was itching a little. Geez, when was the last time you’d said that much? Well, shouted that much.

“Yeah, ya did.” He seemed calm. Ish. “Jin” wasn’t sweating quite as much as he was earlier. You couldn’t help staring at him. It was a shame he was such a whackadoodle with a personality and criminal record to match. The guy was pretty hot, scar or not.

“What do you want from me?” You asked. “Jin” sat on the side opposite of you, a cigarette in his mouth. Every now and then he’d exhale over his shoulder, leaving a cloud behind him. He’s really got Twice’s mannerisms down.

Which was why you needed to call for help.

“You’re saying this world doesn’t have quirks right? No heroes or nothing?”

Oh-kay, or maybe it was time you played along. Keep answering his questions and doing as he wanted could end well. Maybe a few mental scars. But that was better than dying. “Yeah,” you said, “We have policeman and firefighters and politicians, but that’s it in terms of the hero department.”

“A bunch of happy, upstanding citizens then.”

You weren’t sure how to respond to that, “Eh,” when he gave you a (scary) side-eye, you hastily added. “I, I mean you can’t always be happy and upstanding.”

“Where are my friends?” He tensed up, shoulders hunching and trembling, head bowing. The cigarette fell to the ground. Uh-oh.

“I don’t know,” you admitted. “Back home, probably?”

“So where is home.”

Oh. Oh no, that wasn’t a good voice. Dammit, why hadn’t you run? Why weren’t you running now? Why didn’t you just scream for help back at the grocery store like any rational person?

“If home isn’t real, then how am I supposed to get back to it, huh? If my friends aren’t real, if I’m not real, what the hell am I supposed to do?” He looked up then, tears in his eyes and expression agonized. “How am I supposed to protect them and their dreams if I can’t get back to them?”

“S-sir--”

“My name’s Jin!” He screamed, slamming his hands on the picnic table. Your heart was thudding in your chest as he glared at you. The air felt like it was vibrating, tensing, about to explode. “Jin Bubaigawara. And I’m just as real as any of you!”

You weren’t quite sure what happened. One moment you were getting to your feet, and the next you were on the ground. The picnic table was gone. No, not gone, destroyed. Where there had only been one “Jin” before, there were now several, all of whom were glaring at you in varying degrees of anger and/or despair.

Sad Man’s Parade....

Were you dreaming? Or maybe you were high. Were you high? When was the last time you’d been high--had you ever been high? All you could do was just...stare up at them.

Because, Jin Bubaigawara AKA Twice AKA one of your favorite characters in the BNHA series had broken into your apartment, harassed you in public, and suddenly used his ultimate death move in front of you because he was tired of dealing with you.

“No way.” You turned to the one closest to you, poking him. (Later, you’d curl up in a ball thinking about how “casually” you did that when he could’ve just crushed you with his clones.) The clone was solid, real, and--

“Oh my God. Oh my God--holy shit, you’re Twice!”

“That’s what I’ve been telling you!” He, they, threw back at you.

“Well, I didn’t know!” Was anyone seeing this? How was literally no one else seeing this. Where the hell had all the people in the park gone in the last five seconds? “Oh my God, what is even happening right now. Am I dead? Is that what this is, I’m dead?”

“Why don’t you tell me, huh!” One of them--a few of them, was the world spinning?--shouted.

“I,” You looked at all of them--him--feeling even more overwhelmed than before. “I think I need to sit down. In an actual chair. And food. I need food. Do you need food? Let’s get food. I’ll pay.”

#jin bubaigawara #jin bubaigawara x reader #twice x reader #SevereBlizzardLady Indulgences #twice bnha #isekai in the time of quarantine #shoutout to the people who liked part one #i like you guys stay frosty

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ask-de-writer · 4 years ago

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THE MORGRIPE REPORT : MLP Fan Fiction

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to MLP Fan Fiction

Return to Tales to Read AFTER the Lights are OUT!

THE MORGRIPE REPORT

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

2180 words

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Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights. They may reblog the story provided that all author and copyright information remains intact. They may use the characters or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions.

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fiction is actively encouraged.

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The small cloud white mare with black mane and tail was industriously clipping the grass and weeds around the tomb of Colonel Goodheart. The marble of his monument was softly lighted by the moon overhead. Done with her weed and grass tending, she raked up the trimmings into a tidy pile, ready to gather them up and take to the tomb that she shared with the liches Zom and Junea.

Even though she had heard it before, she listened politely to the Colonel's ghost as he talked to her while she worked, “Kind of ironic, you know, Bonnie, my mare. I fought in two Prance Incursion Wars and didn't get a scratch. Home on leave, despite my name of Goodheart, it was my bad heart that got me! Heart attack and here I am!

“I am so glad that a mortal like you lives among us who have passed on. It helps to have somepony like you to chat with.”

Bonnie smiled, “It works both ways, Colonel Goodheart. I was abandoned as a small filly because of my stunted horn. If Zom and Junea had not taken me into their tomb, I would have died that first winter. Since then, you ghosts and liches have taught me so many neat and useful things!”

Bonnie was just reaching her limited horn magic down to bind her tasty grass and weed clippings into a shock to take back to the tomb that she lived in, when a pony came charging up and careless hooves scattered her dinner!

The intruder announced breathlessly, “I am Melissa Newsnose, reporter for the Ponyville's Dark Secrets magazine! I am here to demand . . .”

Very irritated, Bonnie did not wait to hear more. She pulled out a whistle and blew three sharp blasts!

Pulled up short, Melissa, now irritated herself, snapped, “What was that for?”

Bonnie replied angrily, “The police! It is after visiting hours and this cemetery is CLOSED! Whoever you are, whatever your errand, you will be arrested for trespassing.”

Drawing herself up haughtily, Melissa replied, “I am a REPORTER working on a story. You have no right to . . .”

Return police whistles cut her off. There were nightwatch lanterns visible at the cemetery gate. Official voices called, “Miss Bones! Where are you? What is happening?”

Bonnie called back, “Over here by the Goodheart monument! We have an after hours trespasser!”

The police ponies converged on the scene. One addressed the reporter, “Melissa, I am afraid that Bonnie is correct. You have no business here at this hour.”

Argumentatively she retorted, “Then what is SHE doing here?”

Bonnie waited while the officer replied in a mild tone, “Miss Bones works here as a caretaker, usually in the evenings or after dark. She tends the graves and keeps the grass trimmed.”

Bonnie agreed, “And part of my payment from Duchess Red Hoof is the right to graze the trimmings.” She pointed to Melissa and growled, “Clumsy hoof there just ruined my dinner trimmings. I had some nice dandelion flowers and greens and a nice thistle bloom but she trampled them all and even scattered my grass.”

Melissa drawled, “Sorry, I am sure. You can just go pick some more. I am here to solve the Morgripe murder case.”

Bonnie looked up with interest. “Oh, have you found some shred of proof that he was murdered? Something not in the police reports on the case? Last that I heard, he was listed as a missing pony.”

One of the police ponies nodded. “That's what we concluded. I was on that case. Bonnie here, stopped Morgripe, Gabe and Chaz from vandalism by knocking both Morgripe and Gabe flat. Chaz ran and brought us. He was spouting all sorts of nonsense about Miss Bones dropping from the sky on them! Gabe got up and ran too, abandoning Morgripe.

It appears that after Miss Bones picked up their tools and paint brush, that Morgripe got up and left on his own.”

Melissa pounced on that. “How do you know that she did not kill him, then?”

He replied, “Easy. The grass and sod where he and Gabe fell made excellent impressions. Besides, the spilled paint marked the spot beautifully. If he was killed, his body would have to have been dragged off or carried. She is too small to have carried him. Likewise, there were no deep tracks made by a heavily laden pony and no drag marks. There were some hoof prints going back to the gravel path. QED, he left on his own.

“I suspect that he finally actually saw Miss Bones during and after she flattened him. He was always liar and braggart. For years he and his buddies were saying that there was a monster in the graveyard. I think that he realized that his monster was a filly way smaller than any of them and knew that the truth would get out. Embarrassed, he just sneaked off and left town.”

Melissa snorted, “I saw the police reports. Very unsatisfactory. How could such a little wither horn as her possibly take on three ponies, all bigger than she is?”

Before Bonnie could respond to the insult, one of the police ponies cut in, “That last entry in the Morgripe file was made by constable Crager. That report came about because he saw Bonnie get ambushed by both Gabe and Chaz.

“She flattened both of them and put a sleeper hold on Gabe, knocking him out for ten minutes or so. Her involvement in the Morgripe case came up in conversation. She then provided a statement which gave us better detail but changed nothing basic.”

Bonnie acidly pointed out, “This LITTLE WITHER HORN will be happy to demonstrate how I flattened those evil ponies. All that you need to do is agree that I am not responsible for your injuries in front of these nice police ponies. Once you do that, the demonstration can begin at once.”

Melissa turned to the police ponies and demanded, “Are you going to just stand there and let her threaten me like that?”

Calmly one of them replied, “Ma'am, you have been nothing but rude and unpleasant since we arrived. We were called to deal with your trespassing in the cemetery after closing, which IS a crime, if a minor one.

“Bonnie did not threaten you, either. You asked a question that was very rude and contained a direct personal insult. She offered to answer it by a physical demonstration, which I gather, from your response, you have refused.”

The other put in, “Bonnie has been most forbearing in not demanding your immediate arrest and removal. However, that is why we responded and what we must do. Will you come to the station house, or must we put you in manacles?”

As they led her off, Bonnie heard Melissa expostulating, “But I am trying solve the Morgripe murder case! She is a witness!”

Bonnie turned back to her work and found a pleasant surprise. The ghost of the Colonel had been busy. All of her clippings had been regathered. That was not all. There was a nice sized helping of dandelion flowers to replace the few that had been ruined by Melissa's hooves.

The old warrior's ghost smiled down at her from where he was sitting on top of his tomb. “Gathering that together and finding you more dandelions was pretty tiring, Bonnie.”

She smiled up at him and, gathering her meal with her weak magic, ghost floated up to his level to eat it. Her legs folded comfortably under her, as if she were resting on a nice cushion, instead of empty air, offered, “I know that was hard for you do do, Colonel. Here, even if you can't eat any of it, at least you can share the scent of it.”

They completed her meal in companionable silence. Taking her leave politely, Bonnie went home, walking into Zom and Junea's crypt through the door. As usual, she did not bother to open it, but simply passed through the solid oaken panels like she had been taught to do so long ago by the many ghosts who shared the graveyard with her adoptive parents, Zom and Junea. There were other liches of several sorts and a few vampires too. They all had good things to add to the education of an abandoned foal like she was.

She settled herself on the empty coffin shelf that had been her place since Zom and Junea took her in. The attentive liches that she loved so much, carefully tucked her in before retiring to their coffins to wait out the passing of the day.

The next evening they arose as usual and shared a quiet breakfast. Technically, only Bonnie ate the fried hay twists but her loving liches took pleasure and emotional nourishment from watching her eat.

Since ponies rarely look UP, Bonnie floated ghost-like, up and put her head through the stone roof of the crypt to look about. The way being clear, she floated over to the gravel path and trotted quietly towards the gate. She floated up to peer cautiously over the wall.

Sure enough, there was Melissa Newsnose sitting in the omnibus weather shelter, keeping an eye on the cemetery mail box. Bonnie went to the corner of the cemetery closest to the forest and emerged from the brush there, making it appear that she had come out of the Everfree. She trotted up the street to check the mailbox.

She was removing a letter and a note when Melissa spoke up. “I wish to apologize for my behavior last evening, Miss Bones. Would you be willing to show me where you encountered Morgipe, Gabe and Chaz? I really am working on a story for Ponyville's Dark Secrets magazine.”

Bonnie chuckled, “You are new there, aren't you? Your first story? Right?”

Melissa nodded as she got up. “Yes, it is. They told me that it was an important unsolved case. Why do you ask?”

Bonnie produced a key and opened the gate for them to enter. “Because PDS pulls that on just about all of their new staffers. Seeing how fast they catch on that is a missing pony case rather than a murder is part of their testing new hires.”

“You just blew their game, didn't you?”

“Why not? They aren't paying me. Besides, you can still make a good story out of his disappearance.”

Carefully locking the gate behind them, Bonnie escorted Melissa into the cemetery. Shortly she pointed, “I was doing some mortar repair on that tomb. Since I was behind it and down almost at ground level with the work, they did not notice me.”

Bonnie crouched behind the tomb. “When I heard enough of their plans, I jumped from here to the middle of the path, right between them and gave a Morgripe double buck. I followed that with a forehoof strike at Gabe. Chaz ran like a rabbit. While I was gathering up their hammers and prybars, Gabe got up and ran too. Morgripe just lay there blubbering. I got his paint brush.

“Since I had seen him, his tools were gone and his paint all spilled, I figured that he wasn't going to do anything more and left to get ready for a Nightmare Night party. When I got back from that, it was nearly dawn. I looked, but there was no sign of him or any vandalism. Went home.”

Melissa looked everything over carefully. “I see. That was quite a jump, but nothing impossible. No wonder they thought that you fell from the sky!”

She made copious notes. “I have two more things to ask, Bonnie. First, what do you think happened to Morgripe? And second, would you please look over my story draft before I turn it in?”

As they were approaching the cemetery gate, Bonnie gave a cheerful laugh. “Sure. I will be happy to look over your story.

“As for that other one, I see three possibilities. First, it was after the Nightmare rose and was sharing the sky with Celestia. At such times, according to witches, the border between here and Nightmare Lands is thin. He may have wandered into Nightmare and vanished from this Equestria. Second, he may have gone into the Everfree, which is close by, to try finding my place to get even for being stopped. He was like that. Bad things can happen to any pony who does not know what he is about in the Everfree. Third, the police version. He left out of shame when he found out that the monster that he was talking up for years was a filly, smaller than any of them.”

As Bonnie was re locking the gate, Melissa said, “The Everfree angle was not in the police reports. Thanks. I think that I will use that one. As for your first one, do you really believe that?”

Bonnie gave another giggle. “I spend most of my time in a graveyard. I just had to say it!”

~THE END~

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to MLP Fan Fiction

Return to Tales to Read AFTER the Lights are OUT!

#THE MORGRIPE REPORT #MLP Fan Fiction #Tales to read AFTER the Lights are OUT #Written by De Writer

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lonelypond · 4 years ago

Text

Teenage Mutant Ninja Idols

Love Live x Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, 3.9K, 1/2

This is entirely your fault, Tumblr ; )

Out skating one day, Yazawa Nico, Kousaka Honoka, Hoshizora Rin, and Sonoda Umi are accidentally exposed to a mutagenic gel, causing Umi's werewolf traits to be transmuted to the other three. A year later, they find themselves in trouble again as they meet four individuals who know a lot about mutations. And pizza.

Practice Interupted

The sheer shiny cliffs of buildings surrounded Sonoda Umi, the moon a cool silver slash in the sky, her ears alert for any sound. They were meeting here tonight, for meditation practice, now, when the influence of the moon was slim, controllable. Nothing about the three young women who Umi was expecting was controllable, so she had to settle for what she could.

“Hey, Nico, there’s a car! Watch it.” Kosaka Honoka’s voice shouted from the west and Umi turned in that direction.

“Nico Nico Ni!” There was the high, shrill call of Yazawa Nico’s battle cry and Umi could see in her mind the tiny, twin tailed tornado torque off the front of a car or slide under a truck or some severely dangerous manuever.

“Wait for me, Nico!” And there was Rin, about to catch up, speed past, and do something even stupider than Nico had done. Umi sighed. Her life was now inextricably linked with those three maniacs and the burden was on her, since she had burdened them with her curse.

A Year Ago

“C’mon Umi, this is boring. I told Nico and Rin I’d meet them at the skatepark.” Honoka whined, her t-shirt untucked from her board shorts, her hair shoved under a backwards snapback.

“You are going to flunk more than half of your midterms if you do not allocate several days for study.”

“Umi, I’m bored, I had to sit in class all day and now, Rin’s got a cool tricks she’s showing off that I need to learn.”

“What you need to learn is how to conjugate verbs in English.”

Honoka rolled her eyes, “Been there, bored that.”

“That doesn’t even make sense.”

Honoka bit into a pastry and then stuck her tongue out at Umi, before sending her board rolling ahead. “See you at the park.” And Honoka hopped on her board and sped away.

Umi snarled. She could feel her anger rising. She glanced up at the sky. Still late afternoon, not yet moonrise. Maybe she could talk some sense into Honoka. Umi centered her chi, did three deep breaths, and then took off at a steady jog for the skating bowl Rin, Nico, and Honoka preferred.

###

Yazawa Nico was all set. Tokyo Olympics coming up, skateboarding was a full fledged, medal event, and Yazawa Nico was on track to level up her skills to crack the competitive circuit. Add charm, cuteness, and an unparalleled knowledge of the skate scene and Nico was about to make a HUGE splash, launching her own clothing line next month. Honoka’s best friend, Kotori had helped out and the custom shirts and bandanas were going to be seen in TWIG skating videos worldwide.

“Hey, Nico.” Rin hissed in her ear, sliding next to where Nico was sitting on the lip of the bowl.

“Yo?”

“That girl” RIn pointed to a tall redhead in jeans and a tight gray polo shirt, “keeps taking pictures of you. I think she’s in my grade.”

Nico leaned back and yes, there was a redhead with an actual camera, not just a phone, circling the skate park, pausing to kneel or lie down or prop herself at an odd angle to snap a shot. She saw Nico looking and startled, nearly dropping her camera.

“Hot.” Nico thought, then smiled, “Hey, if you want Nico to pose for you just say so.” Nico bounced up, dropped her board, and rocked an ollie into a nosegind, to pop up in front of the girl.

“I...I’m...you’re just here and I...have…” the girl seemed to be choking on air and waved her camera in Nico’s direction instead of finishing her sentence. Long eyelashes blinked over shimmering lavender pools.

Nico kicked her board up, flexing as she caught the nose, glad she’d worn a tank top. Sweaty though. But she’d pulled off a sweet move.

“What’s your TWIG? Tag Nico when you post your snaps. @NicoNollie.” Nico stepped forward and the taller girl tried to step back, but nearly fell over a huuba ledge. Nico reached out her arm and pulled the girl in close. She smelled like flowers. Nico stared into wide, surprised eyes, and then felt herself falling back when the girl shoved her.

“Hey!” Nico screamed as she dropped her board and rolled down the bowl slope, scraping her elbow.

“I didn’t ask you to touch me.” The girl pouted.

“Maki!” Rin yelled suddenly. “Nishikino Maki. We have study hall together. You say hi to Kayo-chin sometimes.”

The girl turned, eyes narrowed, “I don’t know you.”

“But you know my best friend, Kayo-chin? She’s in all your smart classes. Glasses, cute, super super smart.”

“Koizumi?”

Rin nodded as Nico pulled herself back up to ground level, glaring at her assailant, while she wiped her elbow, “Where’s the first aid kit?”

Rin shrugged, “So you skate, Maki?”

“No.”

“Want to skate? We can teach you.” Rin offered as Nico sat with her legs hanging down, wincing as she put an alcohol rub she'd found in her pocket on the scrape.

“No.” Maki opened her camera bag, settling her Fuji inside.

“So why are you taking pictures of Nico and then injuring Nico when she saves you from falling?” Nico awkwardly placed a cute bunny bandaid over her wound.

Maki glanced away, crossing her arms, one hand reaching up to play with her hair, “Had to take sports pictures for class.”

“And skateboarding is the best sport.” Nico’s voice boomed with approval.

Maki shrugged, “I like that girls and guys skate the same. And I didn't have enough time to hit the surfing spots.”

“Nico surfs.” Nico announced.

Rin glanced down, puzzled, “Since wh…”

Nico’s elbow connected at bruising speed with Rin’s shin.

“Nico?!??!!”

“Just shut it, Rin.” Nico stood up, stepping up to Maki, “So did when you post the snaps of Nico’s favorite tricks, you’ll tag Nico.” There was a pause as Nico levelled a serious glare at the photographer, “Right?”

Maki shrugged, turning away from Nico. Nico’s hand shot out, grabbed Maki’s shoulder and spun the other girl back to face her, “Right?”

Maki tensed, ready to open her mouth for a rant when a crouching body on a board zoomed between them.

“Save me, Nico. I’m not fast enough.”

“Honoka, what the hell…”

“She’s after me, Nico. She’s going to ruin everything!” Honoka 180'ed and hopped off next to Nico.

“What’s happening?” Maki asked, wondering if she should just leave.

“Her’ Nico grabbed Honoka by the back of the shirt, “ninja bff is about to drag her off to study.”

“You have to save me Nico!”

“Nico has her own problems.”

“Honoka.” Umi’s voice, though calm, carried. And then a siren blared, startling all the girls clustered around the skate bowl.

“You can’t make me study.” Honoka shouted.

“Let Honoka go, Nico.” Umi slowed, hands on hips, glaring at Honoka.

“Gladly.” Nico dropped Honoka, brushing her hands together.

“This happens all the time, Maki.” Maki was surprised to find Rin suddenly next to her, chatting as if they talked every day.

“I don’t really see how it affects me.”

“Nico never studies either. But then her Mom gets on her. Nico’s got it tough. Her dad died and she’s the big sis.”

“I don’t really care.” Maki was fascinated by the energetic gestures Nico was throwing around as she mediated between the other two girls.

“Anyway, Nico’s the best and I bet you got cool photos.” Rin gleamed, “Can’t wait to see them.”

“I don’t even know you." Maki rolled her eyes at her conversation partner.

Rin had a bright idea, “Hey, sit with us at lunch. Kayo-chin would love that. Aren’t you usually by yourself?”

Maki frowned, it sounded like she had no friends, but she just liked to play games on her phone without interruption and this Rin seemed to be all interruptions. “I’m fine. It’s not…”

And before Maki could finish her sentence or Umi could strangle Honoka, an out of control motorcycle with a glowing canister strapped to the back vroomed toward them. Nico leapt for Maki and Rin, an arm around each of them, pulling them down in the bowl. As the bleeding driver fell off and the cycle forced Umi and Honoka to roll after Nico, the canister broke free, spilling a viscous gel across everyone but Maki, who watched in horror from where Nico had pushed her as the other girls thashed and screamed.

BACK TO NOW

Umi frowned. This was worse than she expected. Nico’s head was cocked at the angle for ultimate sassiness, her fur ears forward, alert, and smug. Ruby eyes flickered between dare and amusement. Nishikino Maki, who had not been invited to tonight’s session, was sitting on the edge of the roof, doing a terrible job of hiding her amusement at Umi looming over a smug Nico.

“This is not a date night, Yazawa."

“We’re not dating.” Nico and Maki echoed. Rin giggled, her ginger tail swaying.

Umi rolled her eyes, “You need to get serious about your training, Nico. You remember what happened last month?”

Nico’s confidence dented slightly, “No one was hurt.”

Honoka was perched next to Maki, glad Umi was lecturing someone else tonight, “I don’t know, Nico. A lot of people might have wanted to eat ice cream and you wiped out the whole freezer section.” Honoka’s grin showed her full set of fangs.

Umi sighed and addressed herself to Maki, who was usually responsible, “Did Nico drag you here?”

“Mrs. Yazawa came home early so I didn’t have to watch Nico’s brothers and sisters. So I was bored.” Maki shrugged.

“Maki needs to learn self control anyway, so she doesn’t yell at cute little Nico so often.” Nico winked.

“Maybe if cute little Nico didn’t stalk every girl who said something about how cute her ears are, I wouldn’t have to. You’re supposed to be discrete.”

“I have to agree with M…” Umi started.

“People think it’s cosplay, Nico’s gimmick, super duper cute.” Nico raised her hands to her temple, “Nico Nico Ni, Nico wins EVERY popularity contest.”

“Not mine.” Maki muttered.

“It is supercute. If we had to catch something from Umi,” Rin said as she grabbed at her bobbing tail, “I’m glad it was furriness.”

“You didn’t ‘catch’ furriness, Rin.” Maki stated. “Exposure to the mutagen caused your dna to alter, influenced by Umi’s lycanthropy.”

“Well, I like my tail.” Rin slapped the back of Maki’s head with it as Maki snarled.

“Too bad you didn’t get anything cute.” Rin teased.

Umi sighed. This session had gotten out of control even faster than usual. Her exposure to the mutagen had caused her hair to grow all the way down her back, her wolf ears present every day, not just during the days around the full moon. And the full array of animal senses Umi could never turn off, so she could sense so much more than anyone was willing to confess. Even if Nico and Maki refused to admit they were dating, their scent profiles and pheremones screamed it loud enough that Umi wanted them living several states apart. And Umi could feel her own attraction to Honoka, as well as the need to wrestle with the fact that Honoka had yet to mature fully. Rin also remained in a state of innocence, friendly to everyone, and very attached to Koizumi, but not yet ready for...Umi couldn’t even think the words in her mind...adult things. Eager for a distraction, she focused on Nico, who was watching Maki shove Rin away from her. Nico watching Maki was one of her few calm states so Umi hated to break the mood, but maybe they could transition to meditation. Or at least a few breathing exercises.

“Everybody on their feet. We’re going to start with warmups.” Not too much grumbling as the three settled into their starting pose. Umi nodded at Maki, “If you’re here, you work out with us, Maki.”

Maki considered, but instead of making a show of protest, joined Nico where she was standing behind Rin and Honoka. Nico suddenly became much more focused on her positioning, her posture improving almost immediately. Maybe Maki being here would be a boon.

Something metallic zinged by Umi’s ear. She whirled, reaching for a weapon she didn’t have. Nico’s voice screeched behind her, “MAKI!”

Umi was too busy searching for the threat to look behind her, but from the sounds, she guessed the dart had hit Maki, who had fallen, to be caught by Nico’s quick reflexes. So Nico was busy. Umi inhaled. 10 warriors, encircling the roof. “Rin, grab my bag. Honoka, to me. Nico…”

“Got her.” Nico said before Umi could finish.

Rin tossed weapons to everyone and Umi started the mental meditation that would allow her wolf side to take over completely. It had become so much easier since the accident to slip into the body that only the full moon used to summon. Nico would transform when she was angry, so Umi was teaching her restraint, and with Rin and Honoka, it seemed to be a random thing, more of a joy than a burden. But since as young as she could remember, Umi’s training at the Sonoda Dojo had been about controlling her animal side, so the others just opening freely to the change was a puzzle.

Umi readied her stance, gripped her no-dachi in her thumbed paws, and parried the first blow. Figures in black rushed her, trying to surge around her. Rin was at her right, with a katana, Honoka a little further to left so her naginta could use its full range. They were the wall protecting Maki.

And then out of the sky came commentary. “Hey, look, Leo, creepy ninjas vs. samurai furries. Are we in a video game?”

A more commanding voice stage whispered, “Quiet.”

And then a deeper, rolling grumble, “Yeah, Mikey, you’re blowing our surprise attack”

“Nah, these guys are even stupider than…”

“You?” the grumble hissed as three green blocky figures dropped in front of Umi, ninja weapons flashing as they pushed the attackers back.

“Hey, they’re girl samurai.” One of the newcomers stopped to stare long enough that Umi saw a simple, cloth, orange mask and a turtle shell. “Cool.”

“Umi.” Nico sounded panicked. “Maki’s not responding to me at all.”

A slash of the no dachi lamed an opponent and Umi stepped back to let Rin, Honoka, and two of the newcomers cover her as she fell back to Nico’s position.

“Is she breathing?”

“Barely.” Nico grimaced as she showed Umi a dart, “Poison?”

Umi sniffed, shaking her head, “Sedative. Might be too high a dose.”

Nico was blinking at a hyper sonic rate, to keep any tears from leaking out, “We’ve got to get her off the roof.”

“Can you and Rin carry her?”

Nico nodded.

“Rin. Help Nico.” Umi ordered.

Rin was there before Umi finished her sentence, raising Maki off the ground. And then ten more ninjas dropped in.

Nico, with a burst of adrenaline, bent down to swing Maki over her shoulder while Rin moved to intercept the first attacker. And then one of the turtles cartwheeled past Umi, grabbing Maki from Nico, and heading to the roof’s edge, the ninjas encircling them.

“Hey!” Nico shouted, pulling out her twin swords, cutting her way into the scrum.

A sudden flurry of arrows and shuriken flew toward them and then, with majestic poise, this turtle, head wrapped in a tattered red mask, froze, a surprised look on its face, and toppled forward. Before Nico could reach Maki, the creepy ninja scrum had grabbed Maki and gone over the roof. Nico watched them pull away in a van, and then collapsed on the roof edge, arms out, head hanging down, whispering “Maki.”

“Don’t worry, I put a tracker on their van.” A three fingered green hand grabbed the roof edge next to Nico, and a turtle face wearing a purple mask turned to smile at Nico. “I’m Donatello. Call me Donnie. These are my brothers. Why’d the Foot Clan kidnap your girlfriend?”

Nico lifted her head just barely enough to glare at the green face six inches from her nose, “Ask the Foot Clan.”

Donnie, jumped up on the roof, and pulled a pad out, with a green blip moving away from them. Nico grabbed it, “Umi, we have to follow them. Now.”

Umi was parrying three swords so Nico’s demand went unanswered. With a massive effort, Umi threw her opponents back, howled, and bashed each of them with the hilt, knocking them unconscious. Rin and Honoka had the rest tied up, with the help of the two conscious Turtles. Nico shoved the one who’d grabbed Maki with her foot as she pulled the dart from its shoulder, “They got this one with a dart too. Can we go rescue Maki now?”

“Hey, Leo, let’s take the Shellraiser.” the orange masked Turtle said as he put his weapons away.

“What’s a Shellraiser?” Rin and Honoka asked in unison and the Turtle waved them to the street side of the roof and pointed down at a subway car converted into some kind of travelling siege engine.

“Whoa!” Honoka

“Can I drive?”’ Rin bounced with excitement.

“No.” Nico had a grappling hook out and was about to drop off the roof. “Shotgun speeding.”

“Excuse me.” The blue masked Turtle held out its palm, in a stop gesture, “I’m the only driver. And we can rescue your friend.”

“Who even are you?” Nico glared, grappling hook ready to bash.

“Leonardo. Leo. These are my brothers, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael.”

“Sleeping Beauty.” The orange masked one snorted.

“The unemployable comedian is Mikey.” Donnie explained.

“Nico doesn’t care if you’re Ms. Zoo America. They took Maki.”

“Do you know why?” Leo asked.

“DO I CARE WHY?” Nico was screaming, her arms flailing as the grappling hook got closer to landing a secure grip in Leo's nostril. Then she pivoted, “Umi. Help Nico.”

“We are very pleased to meet fellow guardians of goodwill, but our friend’s situation appears to be urgent. So we have no time for non productive chatter.”

Nico checked the pad, her voice hitting a panicky high note. “They stopped. Which means whatever weird thing they’re going to do to Maki is about to start.” Nico paled, her ears slumping.

Umi stepped up to Leonardo, her hand out, “I will be commandeering your vehicle now.”

Nico was furled up, a low growl drawing the attention of the Turtles. They watched as she transformed, increasing in size until she became the size of a large bear, black fur covering her completely.

Mikey pushed Leonardo, “Leo’s the only one who gets to drive the Shellraiser, It’s a rule.”

"Shellraiser?" Raph sat up, rubbing his forehead. "We're saving the girl." Donnie whispered.

"Of course, I am." Raph pushed himself to his feet.

Nico ran to the edge of the roof and jumped off, metal groaning as she landed solidly on the roof of the shellraiser. Donatello glanced back at Leo, “I guess I’ll be reinforcing that. Hey, wait, she’s trying to claw her way in.”

Mikey grabbed the pad Nico had dropped, “Van’s on the move again.”

“Hey, did they drop off Maki?” Honoka asked.

Rin, slumped, suddenly terrified for her bff.

“I’m going down there before she wrecks my custom mods,” Raph said and vaulted down to the car.

Leo frowned, “That’s a multi car crash waiting to happen.”

“Agreed.” Umi sheathed her sword at her back. “We may need your help. If we have to check out the building and follow the van.”

“And save the werewolf’s girlfriend.” Mikey grinned.

There was an angry howl.

“What did she say?” Donatello wondered.

“A lie.” Rin stood, ginger fur covering her as she did, but retaining her bipedal status. She sprinted, leapt into the air, and landed like a cat on the hood. Nico huffed.

“Nico thinks we don’t know they’re dating.” Honoka said.

“Ha! Like nobody knows April dating me.”

“That’s not what’s happening, Donnie.” Mikey was standing on the roof edge, watching the scene below, and he winced as a large noise happened. “Oh wow. The furball just crushed a dumpster with Raph.”

Leo was tumbling toward the ground, Donatello following, using his staff to vault, Umi paused briefly to calculate the arc and speed of the leap necessary to land her near Nico. Honoka was standing next to Mikey, throwing air punches in support of Nico’s attempts to rip through the Shellraiser’s roof.

Leo pulled out the keys, jumped into the vehicle, and started the ignition. Nico howled. Umi landed lightly on the hood and strode toward the window. Leo wondered briefly if she was going to kick her way through the windshield, but then remembered she wasn’t Raph or Mikey.

“Nico.” Umi snapped. “Get inside.”

Nico snarled, claws crunching dents into the metal of the roof.

“This is boss.” Honoka said as she and Rin jumped into the Shellraiser right after Mikey, Donnie, and Raph.

“Fine, stay on the roof." Umi closed the side door behind her. “Drive.”

###

Nishikino Maki woke up, headachey, sore, groggy, shoulder throbbing. Where was Nico? The last thing she’d heard was Nico calling her name. She could smell cedarr incense and wood and nothing familiar. Opening her eyes slightly, she took in details of the room. Antique Japanese screens, incense burners on low tables, floor to ceiling glass facing the night cityscape. She could hear several voices, but no actual words. She tugged at her hands. Tied. Ankles too. Not gagged, but she wouldn’t want to be drawing attention to herself until she had a plan. She closed her eyes again and concentrated. Fingers on her right hand altered, paw and claws replacing fingers. Claws were much much better for slashing through rope. As often as she’d cursed Rin’s clumsiness in accidentally biting her and then bounding off during Rin’s first full moon transformation, the time Maki'd been putting in working through the mental exercises Nico always ranted about was going to pay off now. Perhaps she could slip out of here before she was discovered or needed to use her wolf abilities in a fight. She’d done so well at keeping them a secret, even from Nico, who had wondered occasionally about different scent mixes coming from Maki, but when Maki said, “it’s because I’m in love,’ Nico had blushed, fake grumped, and never mentioned it again. Nico hadn’t replied that she was in love too, but there had been a few extra hip bumps when they walked home. Right now, Maki was content to wait. She got to spend most of her extra time with Nico, and occasionally catch the smoldering glow in Nico’s beautiful carmine eyes when she thought Maki was preoccupied with something else. Maki knew Nico thought she wasn’t smart or rich or…something enough for Maki, but Maki was going to patiently nudge Nico until her fiercely talented future wife got tired of underestimating herself. Or couldn’t resist Maki’s charms anymore. Grinning as she freed her wrists, Maki carefully moved her bared claws to free her ankles. Still the low rumble of conversation. Too many people to take on without backup, but maybe if she could manage to sneak…

And then the windows shattered. Maki recognized the growl and her instincts took over, inner wolf becoming fully outer wolf to rush to Nico’s side.

A/N: This is entirely the fault of the anonymous Tumblr ask who said "all of them are werewolves."Truth to tell, I have had a really really busy stressful month that included the death of my wife's father, along with all the lives lost to Covid-19 and American's evil beating heart pumping systemic racism. And I'd bought a TMNT mask for wearing in public spaces, so I was in a Turtle mood, and started watching the animated series and here we are. I was going for episode pacing, so this initial effort is a two parter. I also feel like my writing has been wrenched out of the zone by everything and I really really just want to finish something cute and fun and kickass.Take care. I appreciate all of you who've read and/or commented and/or written and/or kudoed to keep this Love Live corner of the universe lively.

#Love Live #Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #NicoMaki #Nishikino Maki #yazawa nico #etc.#will add more tags later #cheers

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kanene-yaaay · 5 years ago

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Double-Cosplay Challenge

Author’s note: Hello-ho-ho-ho!! My gosh, is it already 25th? I can’t believe in this, neither that the world is so small, @scribbly-gigs, after all I’m your Squealing Santa too!! I really hope you enjoy this gift, because your prompt was absolutely adorable! I fell in love for its and aaaaa! Best. Idea. Ever.

Okay, I got a little carried away! Enjoy the gift!

But, before the fanfic, I would like to give a specially thank to @ticklygiggles for hosting this wonderful event! It was an absolutely lovely experience, thanky you veryy much!! >w<)s2</i>

Warnings, fun facts, random things and stuff:

* This characters don’t belongs to me! Jeremy and Michael belongs to the musical Be More Chill.

* The song in the benning is Hide and Seek, a cover by Lizz Robinett

* This is a SFW Tickle-Fanfic, so, if you don’t appreciate this kind of content, please, look for another blog. There are a plenty of fabulous arts in this site!! ^w^)b

* Oneshot. Something around 4.500 words.(I REALLY got carried away xDD) -w-)b.

* Sorry for any spelling, pontuation and grammar mistakes! Any and every advice is very very welcome! \(-w-)/

* Portugese’s Version (Brazilian’s one) coming soon! Thankys for reading, my lollipops! Have a wonderful and incredible, festive or not, day! Take care with you gonna prank anyone (And only do if they’re okay with it) , they can get revenge. ~

[~*~]

Ding Dong I know you can hear me

Open up the door

I only wanna play a little.

- What the fu… – Opened his eyes, the song suddenly swallowing him from his dream. He blinked a few times, his hands going toward his cellphone, vision finally focusing in the middle of the dimly lit darkness by sunlight, which managed to passes through the small slits in the curtains successfully. The device was not turned on.

Ding Dong you can’t keep me waiting

It’s already too late

For you go and try to run away. ~

He turned to the closet, where, on the floor, a small device vibrated, its screen glooming and being entirely responsible for proliferation of the calm background melody, which for some unknown reason made a feeling of cold, gelid fear spread through every inch of his body, growing more and more stronger as the light brown-haired reeling approached. His mind still foggy by tiredness.

Whose phone was that?

I see you through the window

Our eyes are locked together

I can sense your horror

Though I’d like to see it closer.~~

He bent down to turn it off.

Wait…

He recognized this phone cover! It was from-

- DING DONG! – The door slammed open, almost as fast as the fall from the one who just had woken up, the light suddenly invading every particle from his room along with the excitedly extremely loud scream – HURRY UP AND RUUUUUN! LET’S PLAY A LITTLE GAME AND HAVE FUN!!

- MICHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!

It was crystal clear that Michael wanted to utter some words, something so easy to say by the way that small portions of sentences sought to slip through his lips. However, he was being completely hindered by his own (blood from his blood!!) uncontrollable laughter, needing a firm grip on the doorjamb to not collapse with the other’s fright. Jeremy placed his hand in his chest, feeling the heart skip some beats at a great speed and trying to control at least a small piece of his ragged breathing.

- I should have recorded this! My holy Pacman, why didn’t I record this??? – Wiped few tears that accumulated at the corner of his eyes. The onslaught of laughter threatening to come back again as he faced the poor, poor teenager with his pajamas, hair and appearance full of mess. The one who has the sad fate of being the target of his prank and now demonstrated his gratitude by showing a very specific finger to him.

- I will end with your existence, just give me a second. I-I need to recover my soul, I think it ran out the window. – Got up, finally succeeding in breath normally, his gaze was sharp, or the most close as possible with the sleep that still covered his features, but he couldn’t deny the smile, part vengeful and part because he have to give it to him: it was a good prank; that he struggled to doesn’t let its took over his face. – Why? Just… Why??

- Because today is the International Double-Cosplay Chaaaaaaaallenge day!! – Michael was literally bouncing excitedly, gesturing as if he presented the answer to a huge and attentive audience and not a young man slowly coming down the stairs, still yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes while leading the trail to the kitchen.

Oh, the Double-Cosplay Challenge.

It could even be seen as a tradition, a very ancient one, held of years without end. Not one of the seculars, though, that ones initiated in some trunk of time, which, if asked, No one would really know to explain from where it emerged. In fact, Jeremy almost remembered perfectly (‘perfectly, sure, it’s a hyperbole. Jeremy imagined his memory as a miniature of fish Dory. So, remembering more than six or five actions of a day that had gone years ago was a progress!) the way it all started.

Like most things in his friendship with Michael, of course it had began with teasing that led to a semi-fight where both sides argued, yet without really having any warm in their words. For this time, the focus of the discussion was the ease and speed that Jeremy could paint every square of himself with blush as the slightest instigation…

(...)

- Could you stop??? – Heere jerked away by impulse, his cheeks already beginning to flush in pink for the squeal he uttered due the light blow that Michael dumped on his ear. – We’re in the middle of the game!!!

- Do you mean that if we weren’t playing it wouldn’t be a problem, then? – Malefic smile. Jeremy felt the blush spread even more.

- Wha- Sure it would be!!!!

- Hmmm… I bet that would be okay if it was Christiiiiine doing that. – He mimicked a singing tone as he spoke her name, losing control over his car for a minute and being hit by a tortoise shell. – Damn, Bowser!! You were my favorite character, dude!!

- Yeah, yeah. Keep talking while I take the lead!- The light brown-haired smirked, his tongue sticking out as he dodged a few drivers and climbed some positions in the ranking.

- Ha! You couldn’t win this match even if you wanted to. – Jumped and hit one of the floating boxes with the question mark. Got the cannonball. – Just as you can’t stop to being a mess flushed even by the wind!

- Is that so? And what about the Pinkberry employee? - Michael’s car was out of control for a piece of moment and Jeremy allowed himself to take his eyes off the screen for a few seconds just to catch the other’s face now painted with a light blush and a wobbly smile. – See? We’re rotten apples from the same basket, compadre.

- Lucky shot.

- Ability. – He corrected, contradicting his words, his automobile went straight towards the water. The Player Two wrinkled his nose.

- The thing is, unlike you, I can control my blush. I would win from 10 to 1 if this were a competition.

- I bet. – It was the magic word. Michael paused the game immediately, both turning to stare each other, the glare full of dangerous burning in their eyes, a grin finding space in their faces.

- How much?

A brief silence spreaded across the room, barely finding space with all the adrenaline and electricity following Jeremy’s thoughtful glaze as he searched in his mind for an award up to the challenge.

- The one who be the most blushy, for most period of time or a greater amount of times, that is, who made the best tomato cosplay earn the right to try to survive for…

(...)

- …a week wearing a cosplay that the winner, and by this I mean I, - Michael gesticulated pompously, not even paying attention to the friend and opponent, who calmly hummed as setted the breakfast. – choose. At school, on the street, in home… With a break of five daily hours to wash and dry, as well as permission to get it off to sleep, BUT, that’s all. – Evil laugh. – I hope you are prepared, Heere. Because this year I choose the best cos-

His eyes finally went to find the breakfast table, setted with a blue and red tablecloth where the phrase ‘Best Player nº1’ was practically completely hidden by the delicacies deposited on it: Pacman-shaped Pancakes, some being stuffed with hazelnut cream; Some cups with iced coffee, a small bowl of fruit salad, the common eggs and bacons; waffles with cream and blueberry spreading their sweet scent along the Special Christmas Donuts, available only for one hour after the local bakery opens. That cost great hours of Jeremy’s sleep, which immediately worth it just in watching the utterly surprised and clumsy expression from the one who wears glasses.

- …tume… – His mouth hang wide open and he blinked several times, as if it was all a mirage about to disappear at any second. Michael simply couldn’t believe all his favorites dishes were really gathered in a only table in a only one meal.

- To my faworite pewson. – The one in pajamas guides him to the chair; happily enjoying the blush consumes his friend’s cheeks.

Fun Fact: Michael is hardly embarrassed by usual teasing and/or flirting. The thing that can truly make him mirror the color of his hoodie was actions and true, sincere compliments. It was as if the boy really didn’t expected anyone to thought about him long enough to prepare a gift or perceive and admire his actions… That always reminded Jeremy why he liked this day so much.

- You play dirty, Heere. - The Mell finally managed to find words between his surprise, unable to look away and face the other with the dangerous smirk that was his mark.

- I need to get to your level. – His voice bathed itself in a (fake) sweet tune, the teasing being enough to successfully capture the attention from the one in hoodie, leading their eyes to meet. Jeremy blinked innocently.

- I just forgive you because of the donuts! They are like, an impossible legend, which I just heard being told and retold in all my years of life, waiting for the right moment when I finally could have it in my arms. – The light brown-haired rolled his eyes, smiling with the exaggerated description. – But don’t even think about getting used to my forgiveness! You won’t be so lucky ne-

His sentence and merciful act have been interrupted by a high pitch squeak from Jeremy, who jerked away instinctively from Michael’s finger that poked him, protecting his tummy defensively, a wobbly, unstable smile in his face.

Immediately thousands of memories and empirical data invaded the Mell’s mind, and, the more and more his brain reminded him, the more and more a predatory expression got strength and color in his face.

- Oh, never mind. – Jeremy gulped, all his instincts beating like a bright red ‘r u n’ signal shining in the middle of a desert road on a stormy dawn. He felt himself starting to increase the distance between both. – It seems like you are out of lucky right now.

And the race begin, this time out of the videogames’ screen.

(…)

- Oh Heeeere!~ - His tune could be described as ‘singing’ if it was not the panting voice due the attempts to still in maximum speed in pursuit of the Player Two. – Why do you keep running away from my love? This hurts. Sadface.

- I bet it didn’t hurt more than my fall for you! – Jeremy’s only relief was that Michael would rather to lock himself on the basement to play than exercise in his free time. His only sadness was that he also would rather lock himself on the basement with Michael to play videogames in their free time, which mean that neither of them had the slightest, and necessary, disposition to any sports.

However Michael at least was lucky, which uneven unfairly his chances. In the first opportunity he got, the one on the pajamas placed the coffe table between them.

- Naaah. – The prankster started to encircle the table, analyzing the friend and opponent do the same action, but in the opposite direction. – Easy peachy compared to the time you stole my heart.

- It was just to return the favor, since you stole mine first… - His gaze drifted to the stairs right behind the one who wears glasses. If he could dodge him and make to his room, he could lock himself there and spend the next hours on the safety and comfort of his computer and bed. His glare returned to Michael… All there was needed was a distraction. – No, wait, in truth, it was always yours.

- Not in the same way that I am yours. – Wink.

- But do you know what is just yours and you could give to me? – The dirty joke came and went away before it could be mentioned by the dark brown-haired, who failed in not burst out laughing. – Your hand!!

Jeremy took vantage of the small moment of carelessness to rush out.

Good Point?

He managed to dodge Michael!! Yeaah!! Phase one completed with praise!

Bad Point? (Suuuure that always it has to exists a bad one! It was too boring for your standards, wasn’t it, Universe?)

He couldn’t even research the stairs before being knocked down on the carpet. He turned himself over, fighting for a few minutes stuffed with laugh and pieces of phrases (‘Michael, don-‘; ‘Could you stop, Heere!?’; ‘Just if you let me go!’; ‘Ouch! Damn, my glasses!’; ‘Gyah! Sorr- Hey! No! Nonono!’), at least until Michael finally find a gap in his barrier, wasting no time in attacking his bare foot, pulling a squeal from the one on pajamas, which worked like a race start, being immediately followed by dozens of giggles as his fingers danced in a lively rhythm: poking, scratching and wriggling in each centimeter of available skin.

- MihihihihihihihihihihihichaACK- Michael never played any instruments for much in his life, but he assumed that this is how the musicians should feel. Wriggling: Squeal; Poking that exactly spot in the middle of his sole: Shriek; Each scratch could give him a different melodious sound depending on the spot he was attacking. - NOHOHOHOHOHOHOhohohohohOHOHO!!

- What did you said, Heere? Mind repeat? I can’t understand any word in the middle of your adorable giggles. – Jeremy rocked his arms from side to side without really managing to coordinate them to do something useful. The sensation took over his mind and all his nerves. However, he was still able to hear and understand another words beyond his own giggles, which automatically made a heat spread quickly through all his face. - Awwwn!! You already are blushiiiing. ~

- Shuhuhuhuhuhut UHUHUhuhp!! NononO! Nohohohoht thehehehere! – And then more uncontrollable laughter began to float from his lips as Michael’s nails found their way to the ticklish skin right under his toes.

- ‘There’, where? Did you mean… here? – One of his hands held his toes in order to unfold them while the other tickled without a single drop of mercy. Jeremy felt himself jump in a sit position, trying to focus his tearing eyes enough to stop the assault. It took just a few pokes in his tummy to make he lay down again.

- NAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHahahahahahaHAHA! – His eyes were closed and his nose wrinkled. His whole body shook with the loud, shrill laughs that spilled from his mouth without any barrier; only being interrupted by some squeak or yelp as the Player One decided to get bored with his toes and quickly changed the tickle attack to his knees. Started to switch from one to another in random patterns, squeezing his kneecaps or giving an especial attention to the extremely, unfairly ticklish skin under them.

That leading the laugh to grow even louder and the sensations more and more unbearable. Michael happily watched when Jeremy swung his legs up, seeking to curl in a protection ball, “obliging” him to retaliate with a series of kneads on his thighs, causing the light brown-haired to frantically kick, trying to free himself from the tickles, leading Michael to go back to his knees and restart the loop all over again.

- S-Sthohohohohohohop!! – He let out a frustration groan in the fifth time it happened. The Mell couldn’t help but evil crackle at that, also being helped by the fact that Jeremy’s laugh was extremely contagious.

- I don’t know what are you talking about, Heere! All I can ever hear is the victory sound of me winning the Double-Cosplay challenge this year!!

- YOHOHOHOHOHOHOU WIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHISH-nono! No, pleaSE! nHOHOHT THeherHEHEHEs!

- Is this your final answer, then? – Michael stared at him, the mischievous grin still very present, even though Jeremy didn’t saw it. The sunshine flooded the victim’s face, only further highlighting the freckles already favored by the blush, which literally cover his entire face, now. Jeremy shook his head side to side, as if denying the fate that was about to catch him, or as if answered the question from the other, Michael just shrugged and decided to ignore the act. – So, that’s it! Be prepared to the Ultimate Tickle Attack!!

He stopped.

And the Player Two used the opportunity of a break to take some sips of air, finally being able to shrunk in a defensive ball. The crackling laughter still bouncing gladly from his mouth that couldn’t at all undo the big bright smile going ear to ear in his features. It really seemed to illuminate the place.

His hand trembled a little as he wiped tears that managed to slide across his burning cheeks. The laughing now became giggling and finally starting to fade.

And then he realized.

Not even a whisper from Michael.

He opened his eyes, a little confused, and suddenly shivers ran thundering down his spine, spreading through each of his ticklish spots, making them tingle more, perhaps in the same amount of times that the Mell approached his fingers teasingly until they were a few inches above his calves.

Damn! Cursed be these years of friendship and all the tickle fights in their childhood that give him the knowledge about this particular spot.

- Mihihihichael! – His giggles came back strident, his smile threatened to widen further. Jeremy bitted softly the tip of his tongue, trying to do at least a threatening expression, yet too much excitedly for it. The one in hoodie quickly lowered his hand, stopping before he could research the place, leading the other to jump and release a pinched scream would never admitted being his in the future. Butterflies danced in his stomach. – NohohoHOT eVEn thIHIHIhihnk abohohohut th-

- Not touchin you, dude! – The prankster laughed starting to wiggle his fingers, and, even though they didn’t have touched him yet, Jeremy could already feel it. Feel the uncontrolled laughter in his chest, the nerves tingling eagerly, the eyes closing reflexively and… - If I knew it was so easy to make you blush just with that I already would won this tournament years ago!! – His face was going to melt, he was absolutely sure of that. It was going to melt and he would be obligated to wear the stupid mask of whatever cosplay Michael chose for him for the rest of his life!! – And I’m not even doing anything, literally!

- Shuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuht uhuhuhuhuhuhuhp, youhohohor sadihihihistic!! – The heat just spread stronger, arriving to the tip of his ears. He attempted to shrink more in defense; however, the Player One held his leg, his other hand resting on his chest, as if he were truly offended.

- Jeremy! – He faked another attack, almost losing control of his dramatic pose and laughing when the Heere snorted. – Now, that was not the manners I gave you! I’m not even doing anything and a puddle of adorable giggles offends me! Humpf… – He wander lightly his index finger through all the extension of his calf, each inch releasing a new squeal tone.

- Sohohorry!! Sohohohohohohohohohohrrehehehey! – He pushed his leg, trying to free himself from the deadly grip. Michael didn’t even bother into pretending to ponder about his apologies, and then the light brown-haired knew he was screwed up in the exact moment he find that glint the other’s eye.

- Nah. I would rather return the favor. – And, as he said, started to ruthlessly knead his calves.

Jeremy never had fought that much in his life. All of his muscles squirmed; reacting to the warning signals they received from his nerves, which probably were all very confused when they heard his laughter. Powerful, loud and fully stuffed with screams, laughter. His mind went in a total collapse and he could only focus on the tickling, finding his synapses unable to form a single coherent word, neither a sentence.

Michael stopped. Half because he had pity to see the tears began to wash the friend’s cheeks and the other half because he was afraid that some neighbor would call the police with the screams from the shorter; and also because he couldn’t control his own laughter anymore. Grateful to be seated, he leaned against the outsider arm of the couch, his voice mingling with the remained giggles from the other. Both flying in the air.

For a moment, the duo stayed just like this: Laughing.

- Yohohohohou ahahahahare the worhohohohost! – Wiped his tears, finally managing to remove the sensations rubbing the spot that, probably, was the most ticklish and unlikely to have. Thanked to the pure, fresh air entering his lungs, which seemed to give him strength to sit and stare the shape who still laughing.

An awesome idea crossed by his brain and camped there. A little cliché, that is true, but he felt deserving this privilege.

His hands met the armpits of the Player One, without moving, who instinctively downed his arms, an uncharacteristic squeak now running from his lips. Jeremy enjoyed the sense of power he had when the opponent, in the videogames and for this day, faced him with wide eyes, struggling with a smile in his face.

- Je-jeremy… Come on, pal, dude, friend... – The one on pajamas just smiled in response, turning softly his head, like a puppy staring you doubtfully about your despair as hold your only short in their mouth, paws flexed and about to run through the beach, to anywhere as long is far from you (Long and funny story, ask Mr Heere to show you the video later.) and wasted no time before start the attack.

Michael held his breath. His lips suppressed in a arc as they were pressed strongly, refusing to let out a single giggle from the thousands that already stirred in his throat.

- What the matter? – Jeremy chuckled, noticing the not-so-subtly effort from the newer victim to control himself, just getting even clear when his legs began to squirm. The light brown-haired positioned himself on his right, already knowing what was coming, his face approached further. – Wouldn’t you happen to be… too ticklish for that, right?

He started to slowly scribble in the other’s armpits, the glint in his eyes glowing as watched him jumping with the touch and hugging his sides, fighting more with the waterfall of giggles trying to pour from his lips and this struggle seeming about to make him explode, due how much his cheeks puffed and blushed. The Mell shook his head.

- Phew, what a relief. – The Player Two faked a relieved sigh, as if heavy chains were removed from his back. His face got closer, Michael stared at him, fear and expectation shining mingled up in his expression, red beginning to grew stronger in his face. S c o r e. – So you won’t mind if I get a itty bitty revenge, right?

And started to blow right on that spot behind his ear, something that the friend did almost daily and now tasted what he so gladly distributed. Michael squealed, the barriers finally giving in and being quickly subdued by the snorts and giggles as fingers skillfully poked and wriggled in his armpits, taking more speed and strength, just as Michael’s fight to escape from his fate.

- JEHEHEHEHEHEheheheheHEHEHEHEHEREMYY!!! NOHOHOHOHOHO!!

- Michael! We are in a serious competition here! I would like to see a little more compromising from your side!! – His head moved away as he stopped in order to teasing the other’s neck. Changing his tactics to verbal teasing and, even though he didn’t threatened back to his neck anymore, the ‘victim’ still kept his shoulders up, as if by precaution.

- FUHUHUHUHUHUACK!! – The light brown-haired was able to release his hands from the friend’s gasp, giving him some free seconds before immediately tickle his sides. – PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHhahahahahahahAHAHAHA! – His tune got a fewer octaves higher, flinching a little as Jeremy alternated between kneading his left, squeeze his right and then attack both at the same time.

Fun fact: Michael did not squirmed, he trashed his body side to side in a mad dance ruled by the melody of his own deep, frenetic and uncontrollable belly laughter that fled without any permission from his mouth. Therefore, tickle his legs or even sit on them to try pinning him down was practically impossible. His upper body, on the other hands, due his fear of tossing away his glasses, were easier to deal.

- Wait… Oh no, Michael! I discovered! – His eyes even attempted to meet with the other’s, but these were tightly closed, tears starting to welling up in the corner. The Heere forced himself to slow the attack, noticing the crackling laugh and shrieks that started to took over Michael’s loud, and completely contagious, laughter. He drank a little of air, still letting squeals and giggles escape from his lips for the soft tracing in his tummy, one of the Mell’s hand holding his wrist, but didn’t doing nothing to really stop the tickle. – You are not able to command your laughter!

- Nohohohoho shi- A lightly squeezing in his hips was enough to make a yelp interrupt the rest of his sarcastic sentence.

- This is extremely serious! But do not fear, as your best friend, I will help you! I am almost sure that I find a Resert Buttom!!

The one who wears glasses felt his smile grow wider, more for the nonsense from the other than anything else. He tried to ignore the rising heat spreading now across his neck.

A finger poked his navel and the jump Mell did nearly broke the ceiling, together with a squeal that Jeremy definitely would remind him later. The Player Two used all his willpower to not fall on the floor laughing with the other’s reaction, especially when this one actually began to really try to remove his hands from anywhere closer of his most ticklish spot, miserably failing when Jeremy suddenly started to give quick tickles in any and every where to distract him.

-Heere, dohohohohon’t you dahahahahahare! – His hands were in a total uncontrolled frenzy, just as his euphoric giggles.

- I-I’m just- Their laugh were now mixed as danced through the room, especially when in an act of pure despair Michael attacked his ribs, making him really start laughing for real. Oh no!! He wouldn’t win this one!! – I’m juhuhuhuhuhst trying tohohoho hehehehehehelp, yohohohour ungreatuful!!! Boop!

And then his finger finally was able to tickle his belly button, wriggling, poking an causing a real scream to leave the other’s lips, as a small signal before the loud, mad and extremely frenetic laughter exploded from his mouth. He jostled and babbled non-ended words that even he had no idea with what they were supposed to mean.

He was getting crazy. Michael was absolutely sure. His head was thrown back with the strength of the laughter and for a moment everything, even the tickles that spread through every little inch in his body as unbearable and hilarious shivers, disappeared.

A piece of rationality, the last one, made him attack and scribble his fingers in some unprotected skin from his opponent. It didn’t mattered where it was, and yes that seconds later Jeremy’s laughter started to go along his owns, showing that retaliation was working.

Both rolled out on the floor, laughing, snorting, yelping, squealing, squeaking, giggling and equally trying to make the friend released the same sounds as himself. Their members shuffled, seeking to tickle any and all minimally reachable tickle spots, both unwilling to give up and both waiting to the other give in first.

Maybe it was the so-called ‘friendly telepathy’, the same one which allowed them to chat just with glares and always know what and when the other needed something. However, the duo slowly begun decreasing their attack almost simultaneously. The squeezes and kneads becoming pokes before turning into scratching and scribbles until they finally broke apart, staring the opponent for a few hesitant seconds (not that they really could properly see each other through all their tears happily spilling down their cheeks ) before laying on the floor. The remaint laughter being the only thing filling the silence, along with the panting breaths.

For a while they just stayed like that: laughing.

The sun’s rays started to heat the room, showing it wasn’t that early anymore and probably the donuts were already cold by this moment. Cars were passing outside and some dog somewhere barked desperately, the sound not echoing louder than their hearts, which stilled seeking to calm down themselves after the strange and high dose of adrenaline.

Jeremy was the first to speak, raising his arm and waving as it like a white flag.

- Draw?

- Keep dreaming. – Michael’s voice was slightly hoarse. He cleared his throat while the one on pajamas rolled his eyes, none of them really succeeding in removes the bright smile in their faces. – Truce for breakfast?

They sat, not taking too long to get up as hear the angry protests from their stomachs, they shook their hands, sealing the quick agreement. Their eyes met and, for a piece of moment both ignored how much redder they were, their minds now just focusing on the eagerly awaited meal.

- Truce for breakfast.

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the-phantom-nagisa · 5 years ago

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Karmagisa week 1: Cosplay

It was definitely not unusual for conventions to host several meetups. It happened all the time that people who cosplayed from the same franchise organised a get together to talk and take photos together. Seeing as it wasn’t Karma’s first convention, he therefore wasn’t surprised by the ongoing Love Live meet near where he was just hanging out for a bit.

He had just gotten himself a bubble tea but lost Nakamura on his way to the food court. That was honestly bound to happen, seeing as the convention they were at was huge. They had known about that when they planned to go together but the enormous spaces were very different in real life than on the website.

He looked at the group of mostly girls dressed up as pretty girl idols with a bored expression on his face. He had seen many cosplayers at the con and, even though he himself didn’t cosplay, he had to admit his respect to those who do. It seemed like an intense pain to him to wear those extravagant outfits all day.

Just as he was about to get out his phone to call his friend Karma noticed a group of girls in matching outfits at the love live meet. There were three girls all wearing a very cute yet slightly revealing cosplay, all the respective versions of their character, Karma guessed. They wore crop tops or bikini tops that were heavily decorated with stones and other shiny materials. They had these long skirts with a lot of draped fabrics that reminded Karma of mermaids. It wouldn’t be wrong to assume it was a mermaid inspired set.

As he kept looking he kind of directed his attention to their wigs, which they definitely were wearing. All three their wigs had two buns in them, which most likely wasn’t coincidental but Karma wouldn’t know because he didn’t know who the characters were at all. All he saw was that one had blonde hair, one a bordeaux red, and one a sort of grey yet slightly blonde colour.

For reasons he couldn’t really put to words he was intrigued and decided to walk a little closer to the trio. He noticed the blonde and red haired one were talking to the grey haired one excitedly as they carefully raised a part of the grey hair’s skirt fabric to inspect it closer. Whatever they were saying, Karma couldn’t hear it, so he stepped even closer.

He was perhaps a few feet away from them when he noticed the lenses the red haired girl was wearing. They were two-coloured, partly yellow and partly a caramel colour. Somehow the girl’s eyes looked bigger because of them, but her makeup might have helped with that too.

The blonde girl was also wearing lenses, hers were completely yellow and, in karma’s opinion, looked a bit scarier and unnatural. They did make her eyes call for more attention. Then again her purple mermaid like outfit also called for a lot of attention.

Just as he was about to sneak to look at the side from the group to see them better, the grey haired girl turned around slightly to look at another girl. Her blue skirt twirled with her and the fabric fluttered in the air. seeing as the wig wasn’t entirely bun but also had hair hanging loose, that also whirled along with her movement. The lightness of all the material made it seem very soft and angelic and Karma could most definitely imagine it in slow motion.

Even though this girl’s eyes looked big and had a bright blue colour that was almost too beautiful to be real, Karma knew they weren’t lenses. For one, the eyes were very deep in a way lenses could not be. They perfectly well reflected their surroundings, especially the light coming into the space. second, they naturally went over to pupils like lenses never could. And third, Karma knew these eyes.

“Nagisa?” Karma asked as he stepped closer to the grey haired person he earlier mistook for a girl.

Said person turned completely to Karma’s direction and the bright blue eyes earlier mentioned grew very big. The cosplayer’s head turned as red as the wig of the girl next to them.

“wh-you? w-what are you-” Nagisa Shiota uttered, not having expected his friend to be at this convention. “you’re here...too?”

Karma couldn’t help but show a smirk looking at how embarrassed his friend was. “yeah. I mean, Nakamura is here as well somewhere” He said as he considered at what moment he should get his phone out and take a picture of the boy in front of him.

“you have got to be kidding me” Nagisa raised his hands and touched his temples with the end of his fingers. he was very aware of how much fun he’d be ridiculed for the situation he was in. It wasn’t hard to rethink all the other moments the friend in front of him had teased him for any and all things, most to do with his girly appearance. To have exactly Karma see him dressed as a girl from a girl idol’s group, with skirt and everything, definitely wasn’t a dream of his. He was so taken away by the stress of all his doomsday thoughts that he forgot he was talking to other people prior.

The girl next to him, who he knew was dressed as Riko from Love Live, tapped his shoulder. “is this an IRL friend?” she asked, slightly scaring Nagisa for a second because of his lack of attention.

“Uh, yeah. This is my friend Karma.” He introduced him as said friend was still smirking. “can you leave us alone for a second?”

The girls nodded and walked away, but the Riko cosplayer took a moment to smile cutely in Karma’s direction and wave at him as she walked. Somehow Nagisa didn’t like the way she did that.

“So Love Live, huh?” Karma raised his eyebrows and Nagisa couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the way he had said those words. There was definitely a teasing undertone present.

Nagisa looked back at the cosplaying girls behind him and sighed deeply. Strangers seeing him like this weren’t too big of a problem for him. There actually were a couple more guys dressed as girls and the other way around so he didn’t feel ashamed as much. “Let’s walk and I’ll explain things, okay?”

---

And so Nagisa explained everything. How his mother made the cosplay he was wearing and he was meant to enter some cosplay competition in her name, seeing as they had gotten special permission so his mother wouldn’t have to go on stage. Nagisa hadn’t had any say in which outfit his mother would be making or where it was from and so he ended up in a Love Live cosplay. He also confirmed Karma’s mermaid prediciton, saying it was called ‘mermaid awaken’ and the character was named You Watanabe.

somewhere along the story Karma had stopped smirking. Most of the fun had worn off, even if he had to admit Nagisa looked great in the outfit. The way his skin was showing made Karma want to embrace Nagisa to protect his bare skin from the cold but he realised how weird that would be.

“please promise me you won’t tell anyone” Nagisa pleaded and as Karma saw his adorable eyes he really couldn’t disappoint his friend. He was honestly glad Nagisa wasn’t wearing lenses because those puppy eyes would not have worked as well for him.

“Okay” he promised and he saw a smile appear on Nagisa face. A warm feeling went through Karma as he saw his friend’s worry disappear. “If I can come watch your competition.” He added.

Nagisa looked slightly worried again. He was slightly embarrassed still, but after a moment of hesitation he agreed to the condition and made Karma promise Nakamura wouldn’t be there.

“Oh she texted me ages ago that she went home.” He shrugged. “Apparently she wasn’t feeling well.”

---

The cosplay competition was just about exactly what Karma had expected. Pretty dressed people came on stage and twirled around a bit on music or lip synced along to some dialogue. There were cosplays from several anime and games and Karma recognized someone to be cosplaying from the same thing as Nagisa.

When Nagisa did come on stage Karma noticed his his clothes really beautifully reflected the lights that were shining on it. He made an overly cutesy twirl at the front of the stage and Karma couldn’t help but think back to the moment earlier where he had recognized Nagisa in his cosplay. This time the moment truly did seem to happen in slow motion, and though the flowy fabric was beautiful, all Karma looked at were Nagisa’s shining eyes. The look on his face was an adorable smile Karma would love to see many more times and he was sure he would be thinking about mostly for the rest of the days. The reflection of the spotlight on his eyes reminded Karma of the shiny reflection of the sun shining on the sea and even if the light wasn’t bright enough, he seemed blinded.

Nagisa didn’t win the competition, but to Karma he had been the prettiest person to have walked on that stage. The disappointed look on his face wasn’t something Karma had wished to see. All he thought about was the shining smile from earlier and he wanted to see it again.

“Everyone else was just to pretty” Nagisa sighed as he looked around to find something to eat. They had decided to walk around together for the remainder of the day and when Nagisa had said he hadn’t had lunch yet Karma set a priority there.

“I think you looked the prettiest” Karma said, without really thinking about his words. It was a bit silent after that and Karma turned to look at Nagisa. He was looking at him with clear surprise showing on his face. Karma couldn’t help but slightly blush as he looked away to avoid that stare.

He felt a hand grab his and he looked down to see that he and Nagisa were now holding hands. Nagisa wasn’t looking at him but from the side Karma saw that he was smiling again and that was all he really wanted at that point. He leant towards Nagisa and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Let’s go find some food.” He said, ignoring Nagisa’s extreme blush. And so the normy and a school idol went on together.

#karmagisafanweek2019 #karmagisa #fanfiction #cosplay #assasination classroom #ansatsu kyoushitsu #nagisa shiota #karma akabane #ship #lmao first time posting mt writing here #creatively obsessed

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beautheexpositor · 6 years ago

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My Nerdy Best friends

I wrote an essay for one of my writing classes on something that changed my life, and for me it was about critical role. Here is an abridged version, because I feel like it could resonate or help a lot of people struggling how I have.

When everything is dark, sometimes it’s hard to find a light. For me, the light came from a very unexpected and seemingly trivial place, the show Critical Role. Now, it may seem like just a silly show where “a bunch of nerdy ass voice actors sit around and play Dungeons and Dragons,” but for me and so many other people, it has been a life saving experience (Mercer). It entered my life at just the right time, and helped my brother and me more than we could have ever imagined.

To understand my position at a life changing point, it’s also important to know that my brother, Nate, is the person who introduced me to Critical Role. My brother is 6 years older than me, an absolute dork, a kind and loving person, and severely agoraphobic. Over six years ago, he got in a serious car accident on his way to move into college that stopped him in his tracks. He had always had anxiety, but the accident left him more afraid than before. He stopped driving, which eventually turned into him stopping going out, which eventually turned into him not even stepping foot into the dangerous world. His only way of communication with others for the last six years has been video games, social media, chat rooms, and Twitch streams. As his anxiety got worse, it was harder for him to survive. Aside from the friends he had made online, he had nothing, and felt like a failure. Getting better seemed out of the question for a long time, and there were many times when we worried we’d lose him. Him finding Critical Role helped him find new friends, many of whom understood his situation more than the friends he’d had before. Some even started to come over and spend time with him. He got so excited about it, and spread the word to me.

Around six months ago, I got out of the second of back to back long term relationships. While this relationship had been overall healthy, the one before it was not. My ex girlfriend was emotionally manipulative and very controlling, and she had taken a lot from me. She stomped out any ounce of self expression I had, so long as it didn't fit her image of what her S/O should be. I stopped drawing, watching cartoons, playing Dungeons and Dragons, and anything else that she teased or mocked me for. Starting my next relationship immediately after one that damaged me so heavily didn’t allow me time to grow or readjust to who I was, so I continued the unhealthy mindset of living fully for another person. During my second relationship, my new girlfriend and my brother both attempted to get me back into the things I used to love, but it was a difficult transition to make when I didn’t know who I was. It took a long time for any of it to seem possible, and that all started with watching and listening to shows again. When the second break up happened, I felt shattered and empty. Unsure how I was going to put the pieces of myself together again, I reached out to my family and the friends I still had, and I dove myself back into the world of fantasy and whimsy that I had spent too long avoiding.

I was alone in an all new city, with most of my old friends many miles away. I was recovering from a pretty serious and life threatening disease, worrying about the bills and repercussions, and unable to talk to the person I had kept by my side for so long. On days when I couldn’t move, or days when I had nothing to do, escapism was the only way I knew how to deal with the depression and anxiety I was feeling. Without escapism, I only had my thoughts- and those thoughts were telling me I shouldn't even be alive. To silence those thoughts on the bad days, I started watching campaign one on top of my weekly episodes with the Mighty Nein. I started posting about it on social media, and even started drawing again. It allowed me to meet new people, and brought my closer to my brother than I had been in over five years.

What started as escapism became genuine passion for something. Passion for drawing, cosplay, passion for gaming and writing. When I would have days where I felt hopeless, and considered the darkest possibilities for the first time in years, I would turn on episodes, or interviews with the cast. It made me feel surrounded by friends, even if I had never met them. The theme song in the new introduction opens up with the line “The adventure begins, we were always beside you. Your nerdy best friends, and the DM to guide you,” and those lines really resonated with me (Riegel Bailey et al). These people may not know me, but they are my friends. They saved me on multiple occasions from sleepless nights, or days alone in bed with my pain- whether those be physical or emotional. Not only that, but they also allowed me to meet new people. A group of wonderful fans and supporters called the Critters. Never in my life have I been in a group as supportive and enthusiastic to reach out and help others than the critters. Through this show, I got a new group of friends to play Tabletop Games with in Chicago. Through this show, I’ve met groups of cosplayers to go to conventions with and take photos with. Through this show, I’ve met fellow artists who have encouraged me to keep drawing, even if I felt behind. Through this show, I’ve rekindled a relationship with my brother after years of feeling somewhat estranged. Through this show, I've found a family. Later on, it would even be a key factor in Nate going to get help and conquer his agoraphobia.

The things that change our lives can come in many forms. They can appear in the form of a person, a song, a moment, an opportunity, or something totally and completely unexpected. For me, it was Critical Role. If this show hadn’t entered my life, I’m not sure where I would be. Quite honestly, I’m not even sure I’d be alive. Certainly, I wouldn’t being drawing, interacting, writing, and cosplaying again. Our own identity is so important, and I lost that completely because of the circumstances I fell into. Critical Role gave me hope. It gave me a place to go, and a way to hone my creativity and passion. And I know I’m not the only one. I’ve met hundreds of critters who share similar stories, whose lives were changed greatly because of those 8 nerdy voice actors. It may seem trivial or insignificant to those who don’t understand, but without it I wouldn’t be the person I am. My brother wouldn’t have sought out help, I would have never gotten close to him again, I wouldn’t have had a creative outlet, I wouldn’t have started playing D&D again. This show has allowed me to be myself again; that’s about as life changing as it gets.

TLDR: After an unhealthy, manipulative relationship I lost a lot of my identity. My brother was also going through very tough shit, including severe agoraphobia. He found and introduced me to critical role right before I went through another huge breakup and the beginnings of recovery from many severe physical illnesses. The show saved me, and helped me find new friends and passions that have gotten me back into the things I loved before everything happened. The show kept me alive, and the amazing other people who enjoy it helped me find friends and believe in myself. Thanks Critical Role, and the wonderful other people who enjoy it.

If you're struggling through any of the things I mentioned, or anything at all- whether that be money, depression, anxiety, lack of creativity, abuse, sexuality or gender identity, stress, or whatever else, know there is always a place where you can find home. I found it here, and there's always room for more critters! Don't give up hope, don't quit your passions, always find what brings you joy and cling to it. Life is short and happiness is hard to find in dark places, but I promise there's a place for you. 💙 -K

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triscribe · 6 years ago

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THERE IS NOW A PART 2

Because my brain refuses to let go of this crossover idea just yet. Enjoy!

-Spiders-

The next time Miles visits, his watch is repaired, and Peter is back in Queens. They swing around together for a while (which is awesome), stop a gang fight (which is even better), and then (best of all), hang out on a rooftop eating take-out pizza. That’s also when Peter finally gets to talk about his own universe in depth, several details of which apparently keep throwing Miles for a loop.

(“Wait, hold on, are you seriously telling me your Iron Man isn’t James Rhodes?”)

It’s a fun night.

To make it even better, before Miles has to go, he and Peter pose together for a selfie taken on the latter’s phone. Said photo is then passed along to Ned, who - after suitably spazzing out - uploads it to the ‘official’ Spider-man twitter account. The caption attached reads: Turns out the multiverse is a Thing, and Other Spidey has much better fashion sense than me!

“You sure you aren’t gonna get in trouble for this?” Miles asks, pressing the right sequence of buttons on his watch to get home.

“Are you kidding? It’s not like anyone pays attention to our stuff - everybody thinks it’s just another cosplay account.”

Well... Peter turned out to be wrong about that, but it didn’t come up until the next day.

-Spiders-

“So it turns out the ‘multiverse is a thing’, huh?”

Wincing, Peter can’t do more than offer his mentor a sheepish grin. “Uhh... I can explain?”

Tony gives him a thoroughly unimpressed look. “Yeah, I think you’d better.”

-Spiders-

Miles visits twice more by himself before Gwen shows up again too. She seems, if not completely at ease, then at least better than when she’d first met Peter. He picks up on how Miles keeps shooting her worried glances, and tries to avoid talking about himself too much.

Which, is pretty easy, because once she starts sharing details he really wants to hear more about Gwen’s universe.

(“Let me get this straight-” he says. “Potts Industries is owned by Pepper, who is Iron Woman, and run by Rhodey, her CEO, and it’s Tony Stark who’s War Machine? What. The Heck.”

“You think that’s cool, I can’t wait to tell you about Jennifer Walters and Peggy Carter.”)

They briefly swing by Peter’s apartment to grab hoodies and sweatpants, in order to enter a grocery store to get a tub of Neapolitan ice cream and a package of plastic spoons. Then it’s back to the rooftops, hurrying to find a good spot to settle and eat before their frozen dessert melts.

“So dude,” Miles says at one point, leaning past Gwen to get another spoonful of chocolate and strawberry. “You have an MJ yet?”

Peter just about chokes. “Do I- gah- what?”

Gwen arches an eyebrow at the other boy. “Did you tell him he was married in other universes?”

“Yeah.”

“Just not to who.”

“Well, I wanted to find out if she was around here yet or not.”

By that point, Peter’s recovered enough to wave his hands in a hold the heck up gesture. “Whoa, wait, does that- are you saying what I think you’re saying?!”

“~MJ and Peter, sittin’ in a tree, K-I-” Whack. “Ow! Gwen!”

“That’s enough outta you, ya dork.”

Apparently, not only were most adult versions of Peter married to MJ, but in some of the universes Gwen had been to, they even had kids.

“May and Ben, of course,” she tells him when Peter starts to ask about their names. “And I’m not saying any more than that, because the details about them really vary from one place to another.”

“That’s... still. Thanks.”

“No prob. So, you wanna come visit one of us next time?”

“Can I?!”

(He can, and he does.)

-Spiders-

After about a month of back and forth visits, Peter is of a mind to think he’s learned all there is to know about his new, alternate-universe friends. Then he meets Officer Jefferson Davis by accident when hanging out with Miles (and boy, listening to his friend put on the ‘deeper so it has to be older, obviously’ voice is flat out hilarious), which leads to talking more about his deceased uncle Aaron.

And of course, that particular name drop is way too big of a coincidence, so Peter does some snooping back home.

The next time his friends drop in, summoned by an semi-emergency beep from the blue button on Peter’s fob, he all but tackles them with his news. “There is a six year old version of Miles in this universe.”

They both stare at him. Then Gwen rips off her mask, revealing the most evil grin Peter has ever seen on anyone. And she aims it right at Miles. “Dude.”

He immediately brings up a hand, index finger pointed directly at her nose. “No.”

“Dude-!”

“Absolutely not-”

“-Miles, we have to-”

“-have to my butt! We so are not-”

(Spoiler alert. They so are.)

“He’s adorable,” Gwen cries, leaning halfway over the fire escape railing to get a better look.

“I don’t care if he’s the cutest to ever cute,” Miles grumbles, “I am not comfortable with spying on my own family.” Nevertheless, he too keeps glancing in through the window, watching younger versions of his parents have dinner with itty-bitty six year old Miles, all three of them chatting and laughing together.

Peter, in the meantime, is pretty proud of himself. “Aw, c’mon, dude, there’s no harm in one peek. And hey! Just think, in another eight to ten years, there could be a second Spider-man in this universe too!” Both the others shoot him wide-eyed looks, and Peter mentally rewinds his words before paling. “That. Um. I could’ve said that better.”

“Yeah, ya could’ve,” Gwen tries to chuckle. “How about, let’s just say, a decade from now you could be mentoring a second Spider-kid. Better?”

“Much, much better.”

-Spiders-

Inevitably, Miles and Gwen have to meet Ned and MJ. And of course, it goes nothing like what Peter anticipated.

To start, the first thirty seconds are just the pair of multiverse travelers starting at Peter’s sort-of girlfriend. “Uhhh, guys?”

Gwen is the first to blink, and she immediately slants her gaze to their fellow Spider. “Um, are you sure this is Mary Jane Watson?”

Then it’s Peter and Ned’s turns to stare, whereas the third member of their trio just raises her eyebrow. “My name’s Michelle Jones.”

Miles frowns. “But, you’re still MJ?”

“I’m still MJ. Around here, I’m the only MJ.”

“...huh.”

Apparently, something Peter had not picked up on during his visits to Miles and Gwen’s respective universes, was the difference in name and appearance between his MJ and those of other Earths.

“I’ve thought about dying my hair red,” she remarks, once the others finish explaining. “But pure caucasian? Overrated.”

Gwen cracks a smile at that. Miles isn’t far behind her, and soon enough the five teens are relaxed and chatting happily.

(“Peter, we have got to get you a Spider-cave. As your Guy in the Chair, I insist.”

“Well, kinda need a backyard, first...”)

“We’re gonna do this again sometime, right.” MJ phrases her question as a statement when Gwen and Miles are getting ready to go, something which causes absolutely none of them to bat an eye.

“Of course we are,” the other girl answers, turning on her watch, before pausing. “Hey, Michelle? You play guitar by any chance?”

Both Peter and Ned’s eyebrows shoot up when their friend shrugs. “I’ve fooled around a bit on my mom’s old one, but not too seriously. Why?”

“Well, if you ever find and have a chance to befriend this world’s Gwen Stacy, you might ask if she plays the drums or not...”

“What happened to ‘every universe is different’, Gwanda?” Miles asks. Gwen then puts a hand to his face and shoves the boy through their portal. “Ack!”

“See ya later, guys.”

The trio call their own goodbyes, and when the portal fades, Peter casts a nervous glance at his friends. “So? What’d you think of them?”

“I meant what I said, Parker,” MJ replies. “We’re doing this again sometime.”

-Spiders-

Meeting his own other, older self is... odd.

“Geez, I do not remember ever being this short,” Mister Parker mutters, looking Peter up and down. “Or well-geared - seriously, is this circuitry-?”

“Um, yeah. My first suit was, well, definitely homemade, and not all that good - but then I met Mister Stark and he made this one for me-”

“Stark? As in Tony Stark?” The man looks surprised. “Is he still alive in your universe?”

And just like that, a wave of cold fear washes over Peter so fast he’s left dizzy and practically shaking. “W-what do you mean?”

“That man drank himself to death years ago; no ‘Iron Man’ where I’m from, unfortunately. Stark Industries didn’t stop making weapons until afterward, when his daughter took over with her clean energy initiatives.” Mister Parker seems to finally notice how pale Peter’s gone. “Hey, kid, do you need to sit down? You don’t look so good...”

He does, in fact, sort of just collapse right there on the rooftop, and his older counterpart winds up needing to call Miles over to take Peter home. Cutting their first meeting short is a shame, because Peter had come with a bunch of questions pre-prepared, but hearing about Tony just kinda... empties all the wind from his sails.

Back in his own universe, he shakily sends Miles away, promising to call for a ride rather than attempt to swing home. And there is something to be said for how clearly out of sorts he sounds right now, because one phone call is all it takes to summon Tony to come get him. A few minutes of waiting later, Iron Man zooms into sight and touches down.

His mentor steps out of the suit, and Peter immediately jumps up to grab him in a hug.

Thankfully, Tony realizes this isn’t the time for questions, and just holds him back for a while, until the trembling stops. “C’mon, kid, let’s get you home.”

-Fin!-

(There is also a Part 3 in the works, which will introduce more Spider fam members from various sources because I feel like it.)

#fan fiction #Marvel Movies #Into the Spiderverse #Peter Parker #Miles Morales #Gwen Stacy #Tony Stark #spider-man #spidey son and iron dad #endgame? what endgame?

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danganronpaimagineslol-blog · 6 years ago

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Danganronpa Imagine | V3 girls getting jealous and their S/O reassuring them (2/2)

A/N: Here’s the second half, thanks for your patience!

Angie, Tsumugi, Tenko, and Himiko x S/O

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: N/A

Requests are closed at the moment!

Angie Yonaga

“Ya-hoo! S/O, over here!” In her usual sing-song voice, Angie called over her S/O.

“Oh, Angie, what’s up? What did you wanna talk about?”

In the morning before school, Angie’s S/O had received a text message from the Ultimate Artist.

6:37 AM: 💖 Angie 💖: gooooooooood morning, s/o! did u sleep well???? i sure did! btw can u meet me after school today??

6:41 AM: You: gm! yeah, i slept fine and of course, cant wait to see you!

6:41 AM: 💖 Angie 💖: nyahaha, im happy to hear it~! bye-onara, see u later!! (✿´‿`)

They had proceeded to be a nervous wreck the entire day, wondering what Angie could possibly be calling them over for. ...Maybe a date? they optimistically considered.

“Well, S/O, Angie has called you here today because Atua is mad and disappointed with you,” she stated as casually as if she were announcing the weather.

Oh.

Despite not even really believing in Atua themself, her S/O still felt the slightest bit offended. “W-what did I do?”

“Nyahahaha, there’s no use playing dumb, for Atua knows all!” Her S/O winced as Angie stared intensely, almost unsettlingly, into their eyes. “But if you really forgot, then Angie supposes it won’t hurt to remind you!”

“Uh, yes, please, er, r-remind me...?”

“To put it simply, you tricked Atua. You promised loyalty and devotion to only His vessel, yet you let yourself be defiled at the hands of another woman!” The artist’s cheerful demeanor didn’t match her words at all.

“I was... defiled?” They frowned.

“Right-o! That short brunette tainted you with her constant hugs and touches!” Angie sounded legitimately concerned before perking up instantly. “It’s quite alright though! If you’re sacrificed soon enough, Atua will purify your soul and welcome you!”

“Angie, wait! Slow down!” Surprisingly enough, the artist did simmer down and allow them time to think. A short brunette that hugs me a lot? ...Ah, I remember now.

“It’s not what you think! That girl, she’s, like, obsessed with me or something. I push her away, yet she always returns. I promise you, I’m not seeing anyone but you, Angie,” her S/O frantically explained, a tad scared for their life.

“Oh, then you won’t have any trouble with her anymore!” she exclaimed with a huge grin. “Atua said that He really liked her blood sacrifice!”

“Wha-?! A-Angie, did you-?!”

“Nyahaha, of course not! Angie’s just joking!” She laughed lightheartedly, and her S/O let a sigh of relief escape their lips. “Besides, Angie remembers her promise to you. Y’know, the one where she can’t make any more sacrifices, no matter how much He wants one?” the artist pouted.

“Y-yes, I remember, and I’m super duper grateful,” her S/O laughed nervously.

“Still... Something must be done about that girl, don’tcha think, S/O?” she wondered. “Anyone who stands between our sacred love must be dealt with! ...So says Atua.”

Her S/O blinked. “Wow, Atua really doesn’t like that girl, huh?”

“He says she gives Him bad vibes,” Angie said with a shrug.

“Angie...” they began slowly, not knowing quite how to phrase their question. “Are you sure that, well, Atua’s really the one who dislikes the girl? Like, it’s not you that’s annoyed with her?”

Before the two had started dating, her S/O had learned that Angie had difficulty differentiating her own emotions from Atua’s. However, at the time, she was convinced all her emotions and actions were because of the god. Despite this, after hanging out with her for several weeks, her S/O was soon to pinpoint some emotions that were definitely Angie’s own: for example, her love for them.

“Nyahaha, who knows? Atua works in mysterious ways!”

Her S/O bit back a grimace. Normally they loved her chipper, eccentric personality, but this really was a serious moment. “Look, let’s try to talk this out before... you do something you regret to that girl.”

“Sounds good!” she agreed.

“So, when the girl gets really touchy with me, it annoys you, right?”

“Right-o!” Angie sang.

Her S/O bit back an amused smile. “Angie, are you... jealous?”

The Ultimate Artist blinked. “Hmm, that’s certainly a plausible verdict! After all, Atua gets very lonely when you don’t play with Him!”

I’ve hit the nail on the head, it seems. “Hey, Angie, if you’re getting jealous, you can just tell me, y’know? No more of this, uh, Atua-being-mad-at-me stuff.”

The artist appeared to think this over but said nothing in response, so her S/O continued.

“I’ll give that girl one final warning to change her ways, alright?” They smiled. “And I want you to know that the day I stop loving you is the day I die.”

“Aww, that’s no good, S/O! There’s still the afterlife to think about!”

“Ah, right.” Her S/O laughed.

“Angie has already secured a nice spot in the afterlife since she’s a platinum disciple, but she worries about you!” She took their hands in her’s. “Angie will pray for you too, so we can be together forever!”

Her S/O softly smiled and squeezed her hands. Even if the Ultimate Artist was a bit weird in expressing her love, her affection for her S/O was nonetheless loud and clear. To let someone like her become jealous of another girl... I must be the worst partner ever, they thought regretfully.

“I love you, Angie. Don’t ever worry about anyone else coming between us, okay? You’re all I need, in this life and the next,” they reassured.

“Angie better be, lest Atua release His wrath upon you!” Despite sounding menacing, her words were full of love. She giggled and jumped on her S/O, squeezing him into a tight hug.

“Atua loves... No, Atua and Angie love you too!”

Tsumugi Shirogane

“Tsumugi, I've noticed you've been scratching at your skin for a while now. do you want some moisturizer or something like that?”

Tsumugi’s S/O didn’t want to bring her reddish skin up for fear of offending her, but they were starting to feel bad for the cosplayer. Scratching and twitching uncomfortably for the past hours or so; it really was a bit concerning. Plus, since she was currently a guest at their home, they felt responsible for making her as comfortable as possible.

“Thanks for offering, but I’ve already tried lotion earlier and this rash didn’t go away,” the Ultimate Cosplayer replied.

Her S/O blinked. A persistent rash all over her body? Sounds oddly similar to cospox... they thought. However, as far as they could tell, despite a slight change in style, Tsumugi didn’t seem to be dressed too similarly to anyone else they knew. However, speaking of which...

“Tsumugi, I’ve noticed that you turned to pastel yellows and pinks, rather than your usual blue uniform. Can I ask why? Oh, not that there’s anything wrong with this new look! You look great!” they added quickly.

“Oh!” The Ultimate Cosplayer seemed unprepared for this question, not to mention a little uncomfortable. “Well, thank you! Yeah, I, uh, just got inspiration from this new anime that aired a while ago. There were, um, lots of pastels, and I thought it would be, er, cool to switch up from being so plain all the time.”

Ah, of course, Tsumugi and her otaku interests. In fact, their shared interest in mainstream and obscure media was what brought them together in the first place. “Oh, cool. What’s the anime? I may have seen it,” her S/O asked.

If Tsumugi wasn’t nervous before, now she truly was. Being who she was, she should’ve been able to pull out any pastel-themed anime out of her brain like it was nothing, but her thoughts were currently a jumbled mess.

“I-I, well, it’s, I f-forget the name... You know, i-it’s, I...?” she sputtered. She began scratching at her skin a bit more.

“Ts-Tsumugi, are you okay? You’re pretty pale and sweating quite a bit; are you sick?” her S/O asked, concerned.

“Y-you know what? Be right back.” Tsumugi suddenly picked up her backpack and trekked into the bathroom, leaving her bewildered S/O behind on the couch.

A few minutes later she reappeared, but this time she was back in her blue uniform, the old pastels nowhere to be found.

“Ah-? Tsumugi, you didn’t need to change! Sorry if my question made you uneasy-”

“No, don’t worry about it, you didn’t do anything.” She sighed.

Tsumugi’s S/O was about to inquire her more, but then they noticed something very odd. Her skin...? It’s no longer red, they realized. No, this can’t just be a coincidence.

They cleared their throat. “Uh, were you, by chance, cosplaying as someone real...?”

Bullseye. A jump and an expression of horror was all the confirmation they needed.

“Tsumugi...” they began, confused.

“I can explain,” she interrupted. Her panicked state had promptly vanished, replaced with a face of solemnness and almost... resent?

“I’ve seen you hanging around that other girl, you know. The one with the frilly pastel outfits,” she said calmly, looking directly at her S/O. “At first, I tried to ignore it. But then she started giving you hugs like it was nothing, and I was... I was just plain terrified she was taking you from me.”

Tsumugi’s S/O’s eyes widened. They opened their mouth to reply, but the cosplayer continued.

“So I took her pastel style and incorporated it into some outfits to wear. I didn’t think it would be enough to trigger my cospox, but I guess really deep down, my body knew that what I was doing wasn’t right.” She laughed softly. “In hindsight, this really was an awful plan. I know that you’re not someone to fall for looks, especially clothing, but I guess I was just... desperate. Desperate for any possible way to keep you.”

“Tsumugi, that girl and I are just friends. Those were platonic hugs, but if they make you uncomfortable, I can stop,” they suggested.

"Oh, no, no, it's fine. I'm just being overdramatic. It's my fault for being so plain possessive," she replied bitterly.

It suddenly clicked in her S/O's mind. This feeling of resent emanating from the cosplayer, it wasn't directed at their friend. She was mad at herself.

Before the cosplayer could utter any more self-deprecating words, they swiftly swooped her into a tight embrace. “You’re not being overdramatic or possessive at all. I’m sorry for not noticing what was going on.”

Tsumugi buried her face into their chest, eyes beginning to brim with tears. “You’re... You’re not mad at me?” She suddenly faced upwards, staring right into her S/O’s eyes. “Y-you should be mad! This is- I’m unforgivable.”

Tsumugi’s S/O comfortingly ran their fingers through her hair. “Of course not I’m not mad. In fact, knowing that you care so much about me, it’s touching.” They laughed softly. “Tsumugi, you can’t control your feelings, so try not to beat yourself up about this, okay?”

“I...” Feeling embarrassed, she retreated back into the safety and comfort of her S/O’s warm chest. “Maybe you’re right.”

“Just promise me that if you’re uncomfortable about anything ever, always feel free to talk to me about it. I won’t ever blame you for anything,” they reassured.

Although muffled, her S/O was able to hear Tsumugi murmur a quiet, “I promise.”

Tenko Chabashira

Tenko and her S/O sat at their usual hangout spot during lunch. Although a few of their friends also hung around them, they tended to only talk to one another. After all, due to a lack of shared classes, lunch and break became their only chances to interact during the school day.

The two made light conversation about nothing in particular, instead focusing mostly on their lunches. However, a few minutes into lunch, another girl came jogging up to Tenko’s S/O, a bit out of breath. This mystery girl had never approached their lunch group before, but no one really minded her presence.

“Oh, S/O...! I was... looking everywhere for you!” She hunched over, breathing heavily.

The Ultimate Aikido Master cocked an eyebrow at her S/O. “Oh, is she your friend?”

“Yeah, she’s in most of my classes, actually,” they replied and turned to face the girl. “Do you need something?”

She straightened up and cleared her throat. “Nothing in particular. Just wanted to hang out with you this lunch!” The girl took their hand in her’s and beamed.

Tenko’s S/O shot a glance at the martial artist and noticed her tensing up. Shaking the girl off their hand with an awkward laugh, they blinked uneasily. “Well, sure, of course you can. But don’t you usually hang out with your own friend group?”

The newcomer took a few steps back, lip trembling. “A-are you asking b-b-because you want me to g-go back to them...?” Her eyes began watering, which caused them to start panicking.

“W-what?! No, that’s not what I-”

“Hahaha, I’m just joking! Chill out, dude!” The girl playfully pinched their cheek, resulting in a barely audible “Tch.” from Tenko.

“Yeah, my friends all just went to the library to study, but I have, like, no homework or upcoming tests, so I decided to not join them,” she explained. “So I ran all over campus trying to find you!” At the last word, the girl lightly tapped them on the nose.

She proceeded to plop down right in between the Tenko and her S/O, much to the Aikido master’s irritation. In fact, Tenko didn’t even bother hiding her face of pure disgust; either the girl didn’t notice or didn’t care.

She continued practically swooning over Tenko’s S/O, resting her head on their shoulder, giving them impromptu hugs, among other things. Right as Tenko felt her temper about to snap, she quickly stood up, looked the girl dead in the eye, and asked her to leave in the most polite way she could muster.

“Sorry, but I’ll have to ask you to leave,” she declared matter-of-factly.

Her S/O and the girl both turned to face her.

“Huh? How come?” the newcomer pouted.

“I have something to discuss with S/O.”

The other girl opened her mouth to protest, but Tenko’s S/O spoke up quickly. “Yeah, I think you should go. Sorry.”

She blinked at them in surprise, looking back and forth between the two people ushering her to leave. Finally, after a few seconds, she packed her things and walked off with a huff.

“...Are you two really just friends? She seemed a bit too friendly to me.” The question sounded more like an accusation.

“What? Of course we’re just friends!” Tenko’s S/O looked a bit offended by even the suggestion. “And I agree, she was really raising some red flags...”

“Then why didn’t you push her away?” she inquired. “You know, tell her that you were uncomfortable?”

“S-sorry, I probably should’ve said something. I just didn’t really wanna be rude.”

Tenko scoffed. “She was the one who was being rude, not respecting your personal space like that!”

Her S/O furrowed their brows in contemplation. Although admittedly not very calm to begin with, they had only ever seen the Ultimate Aikido Master get this fired up around “degenerate males.” Something about the girl had really rubbed Tenko the wrong way.

“...Hey, you know I can take care of myself, right?” her S/O slowly spoke up. After running through a list of possible reasons for her behavior, they felt that maybe her protective instincts had taken control. “If she had gone any farther, I could defend myself just fine.”

“I... That’s not it.” Tenko shook her head.

“Oh. Then, uh, what is it?”

“I know you can protect yourself. I’m not scared of that sort of thing. It, well...” She sighed. “Fine, it bothers me when she acts so buddy-buddy with you.”

Tenko had never been one to hide her emotions, which her S/O was thankful for, especially in situations like this. Communication was never a problem between the two.

“I mean, who does she is? Basically throwing herself on top of you, especially when your girlfriend is less than one foot away?! That’s classic degenerate male behavior!” She threw her hands up in the air in exasperation.

Her S/O laughed as she spouted her catchphrase. “So what you’re telling me is... You’re jealous?”

They were just joking, but the martial artist’s face reddened. “M-me? Jealous?! Jealousy is an emotion for degenerate males that are too possessive over their partners, and as such, I c-can’t possibly be... j-jealous...”

She faltered, realization dawning on her face. So she wasn’t hiding it on purpose. She just... Didn’t know? her S/O thought, amused.

“Haha, hey, Tenko, it’s okay if you’re jealous. Feeling that way doesn’t make you stoop down to a, well, ‘degenerate male’s’ level,” they reassured her.

“So, Master was wrong then?”

He’s wrong about a lot of things, her S/O stopped themself before it slipped out of their mouth. “Well, yeah, you can’t control your feelings. I’m glad you told me about this, really.”

Tenko visibly relaxed, a huge invisible weight taken off her shoulders.

“Hey, next time I come across her, I’ll tell her to stop calm down a bit with all the physical contact. And Tenko, I want you to know that you’re my number one and always will be. I’m... I’m sorry that you had to feel jealous in the first place. You wouldn’t have felt that way if I communicated my feelings more...”

“S/O, don’t blame yourself!” she cheerfully demanded. “If you have time to sulk in regret, you have time to change for the better! That’s what Master always told me! ...Or is that also wrong?” she second-guessed herself.

Her S/O laughed and swept her into a loving embrace. “No, that’s correct,” they said softly in her ear. “I’ll start changing now then... Tenko, I love you. I love your enthusiasm, your pep-talks, sensitive side, everything. You’re the only one for me.”

She almost completely melted in embarrassment right in their arms. “I l-love you too, S/O!” she determinedly declared, hoping the waver in her voice went unnoticed.

A few intimate seconds passed before they reluctantly pulled apart. Tenko fidgeted with her fingers. “I... I kind of feel bad for your classmate. I should go apologize.”

“Oh, ah, right. Haha, I’ll go with you.”

Himiko Yumeno

“S/O, are you ready for some more magic?!” Himiko asked with over-the-top enthusiasm.

“Himiko, that’s the sixth one in a row. Are you sure you’re not tired?” The magician’s mage’s S/O had been invited over to Himiko’s house after school and had since been bombarded by an onslaught of magic displays. Of course, they didn’t mind at all. In fact, they loved seeing Himiko so passionate, but it was a bit out of character. She usually complained about being out of MP after the first or second demonstration.

“Of course not. Today the planets are all aligned so I’m surging with magical power,” she matter-of-factly replied.

“Oh, uh, right.” Her S/O felt that such a phenomenon would’ve definitely made the headlines of hundreds of news networks, but they decided not to comment on it. “Himiko, you know what? We should have a quick break. Even with your boosted MP, a little intermission never hurts, right?”

“Nyeh...” The mage hesitated for a bit but ultimately nodded. “You’re right.”

Her S/O subtly breathed a sigh of relief. Even if Himiko felt as if she could take on the world right now, they still didn’t want her accidentally overexerting herself.

They settled down at the dining room table. The mage had practically deflated after plopping down on a chair, so her S/O found and boiled some tea themself. The two made light conversation, but mostly silently enjoyed each other’s company.

However, the moment they finished their tea, Himiko quickly shot up to her legs, wobbling a bit. “Time to continue the magic show!” she announced.

“Wait, s-slow down!” Her S/O swiftly scooped up the two cups and deposited them in the sink. “Himiko, I know you said that your MP’s all boosted, but are you sure that’s the only reason you’re doing so many demonstrations?” Planetary alignment or not, the mage had never shown so much enthusiasm before. Even when at official performances, she was never this excited.

“N-nyeh? What do you mean?” she stuttered.

“You usually start saying ‘It’s a pain...’ after just one trick,” they pointed out.

“Trick?”

“Er, sorry, I meant after one display of magic. My point still stands though.”

Himiko furrowed her brows in defiance. “I-I told you, the planets are all aligned today, s-so-”

“Himiko,” they chided. “Are you positive that’s the whole truth? I won’t be mad if it’s not.”

“I-I-I-I’m n-not lying! O-o-of c-course it’s...” The mage faltered. “F-fine, that might not the whole reason,” she slowly admitted.

“Oh.” Although her S/O knew something was up, they hadn’t expected Himiko to actually admit it. “So, uh, what is it?”

“It kinda has to do with this other girl,” she murmured. “Y’know, the tall, purple-haired one that’s super good at sports? She’s, like, on the track and swimming team.”

“Oh, yeah, I know that girl. What about her?”

“W-well, I kept on seeing her hang around you. I didn’t really care at first, but then I started noticing her always touching you, like jumping on you or using your lap as a pillow. And you weren’t pushing her away, either,” Himiko sulked.

“I... I’m sorry, I didn’t know that was bothering you. I’ll tell her to knock it off.” Her S/O awkwardly scratched the back of their neck. “But what does this have to do with you performing more magic lately?”

“When I saw how you kept on hanging out with her, it made me start to think that maybe... Maybe you preferred more athletic, energetic girls. You know, instead of people like me.”

“Himiko...”

“So I decided to try harder. I thought that if you were impressed by how hardworking I was, you w-wouldn’t-” She sniffled. “L-leave me for her.”

“H-Himiko, I’ll never leave you! I wouldn’t be dating you if I didn’t love you for who you are!” her S/O frantically reassured her.

“A-are you sure? I know it must be a pain to be in a relationship with me, s-since I don’t do much...”

“I’m positive. You’re all I’ll ever want and all I’ll ever need. Even if you think that your laziness is annoying, that’s what makes you, well, you. And I love all of you.”

Himiko finally let herself sob. She practically tackled her S/O in a hug, who scooped her into their arms bridal-style. Himiko clung to them and buried her face into their chest, blending together a mishmash of phrases.

“I-I’m sorry-” A hiccup. “I l-love you too, and I was just really scared, and I know I should’ve-”

“Shh, it’s okay, Himiko,” they softly consoled the bawling mage. “I know you must be exhausted, so let’s go sleep.”

Although other couples would think the two weird for literally sleeping on dates, Himiko and her S/O found nothing more comforting than cuddling until one or the other fell asleep by their side.

She stretched and yawned in response, shutting her eyes and tightening her squeeze on them.

Her S/O laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

＊ Mod Chiaki

#danganronpa #dangan ronpa #danganronpa imagines #danganronpa blog #danganronpa imagines blog #danganronpa fluff #danganronpa requests #dr imagines #drv3 #drv3 killing harmony #angie yonaga #tsumugi shirogane #tenko chabashira #himiko yumeno #mod chiaki

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shidiand · 6 years ago

Note

How do you imagine Tenco's Story ending in your head?

that is a GREAT but UNEXPECTED QUESTION freshlybaked "spider" bread and i'm really happy to have the opportunity to try and answer this ageless question that has burned within all of us in the tenco's story iv waiting room community since 2013. it is an incredible coincidence (or is it? 👀) that i was just talking to Risa about tenco's this (edit: yesterday) morning so i am extra double super in the mood to talk about Tenco's Story today. so excellent of a coincidence is this that i am tempted to refer you to them in case you wanted to hear their thoughts on the matter that would probably turn out super cool, but that is neither here nor there; let us talk Tenco's Story.

i of course must mention my unadvertised and modestly detailed commentary on tenco's i-iii at https://shidiand.tumblr.com/tencos, presenting slightly interesting facts in an unwieldy and difficult-to-use format, but as it dates back to june 2017, i want to take some time to understand my feelings about the series once more.

tenco's story is a series that has a lot of meaning to me.

i took on my current name of shidiand in november of 2013. i was still in 11th grade at the time, 4th year of high school, and a very socially isolated person. i should say i was introduced to touhou in 7th grade, 2010, so i was still working through a 3 years-strong phase of trying to simultaneously both find an outlet for and bottle up an endless wellspring of awkward weeaboo-gamer nerd energy at the time.

i had my first real foray onto the internet in 2010, tried out twitter, followed some RPers and other people who had Cool Touhou Usernames. didn't really go anywhere. i had maybe 50 followers, i dont really know the count but it was definitely a) double digits and b) pretty low. didn't know what to tweet about. didn't know how to hit it off with others. i think there was basically maybe only 3 other people i ever properly interacted with. oh shit i was playing league of legends at the time. oh my god. i really did play league of .. oh my god. let's move on.

aw shit im super digressing amn't i. well.

this is just how it goes when i write essays on tumblr.com.

i'm afraid you're just along for the ride at this point so please do your best to enjoy it.

i got kind of tired of twitter at the time because i didnt know what to do with it. didnt know how to interact with people and didnt find the people i was following interesting, so i ghosted on out of there by the end of 2012. didnt deactivate it until like 2015 but at that point that was just burning away my dark history. anyways. november 2013.

--im taking a lot of time here trawling through old files on my computer, my tumblr blog, notification emails still lying around in my gmail inbox from twitter, the dropbox i didn't actually use but it had several tenco's story pictures on it but i deleted them so this was useless, ... to trace the timeline of this story and im really seeing a lot of remnants of dark history here you know? did you know i wrote a letter to a girl i had a crush on valentine's day 2014, slipped it into her locker, and anxiously hung around nearby at lunchtime to see how she reacted at lunchtime? i certainly didn't, or at least i made darn ass sure to forget about this incredible virgin incident and not remember it, ever, until i came across the records of it that i thoughtfully preserved for the me of 5 years later today. ok well now i have to read the letter to see if it was as bad as it just sounded there brb

ok so the good news is that it was actually very focused on being positive and full of admiration for the cool things she did instead of being a confession letter so i am very glad i was able to be a respectful chad 5 years ago, but the bad news is that the jokes, the actual sentences i put together. oh my god. but i mean. well. at least i got the spirit. its certainly a step up from this other person in my grade, WEEABOO ANDREW, YOU MAY RECALL THIS STORY AND HIS NAME FROM PREVIOUS STORYTIMES, THE MAN THE MYTH THE LEGEND who came to school on halloween once cosplaying kirito from sword art online and got very possessive about people asking if they could hold his black replica plastic sword, and probably worse, dropped a "will you be my girlfriend" letter into the locker of my homie and fellow trombonist samantha, who was a little bit nerdy, hung out with the anime-likers who were actually sociable and fun to be around so you can imagine why weeaboo andrew was into her, which had i) a direct quotation from SAO chapter 16.5 (origin of the famous "glopping noise" line), and ii) a condom. jesus christ. i dont want to talk about this any more. next topic.

i also put this drawing of iku nagae and her skarmory (actually an albinoss from 18 DRAGONS) on the other side of the letter because it was the coolest thing i could think of drawing at the time. and i completely agree with 2014 me because it IS super fucking cool. hell fuckin yeah

https://shidiand.tumblr.com/post/76301993387/iku-nagae-ft-that-thing-that-supposedly-is-a

alright that was a fun little trip down memory lane but lets get back on track. november 2013. i started anew as shidiand. still awkward, still learning how to express myself and looking for my place among others. i followed some touhou bloggers, hung around r/touhou a lot as well. in december i got my first tablet for christmas, a wacom bamboo splash. i still use this thing! the usb cable disconnects if you bump it so i have to find just the perfect position to sit in whenever i want to draw, but its served me well. anyways. i was just starting to play around with digital art but i remember, probably just before new years, for some reason i wanted to find out more about tenshi hinanawi (i don't remember why. tenshi wasn't even one of my favourite characters at the time) so i went googling and right there on zerochan i found this:

https://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=23525572

this was during my dark souls phase so i just went BANANAS at the sight of this. this was literally the coolest image i had ever seen in my internet life. That image alone made me want to draw in hopes that I could make something as cool as that someday.

it wasn't immediately after but i soon discovered tenco's story, and it was love. kannnu was my very first artistic inspiration, and for a long time, my only one. i absolutely idolized them at the time. since then, ive found other artists to look up to, in a more healthy manner, but to this day i still look up to kannnu, still admire their work a lot.

i played around with drawing, followed the lives of people on tumblr, started reading touhou fanfiction, made a new twitter. i met a lot of new people along the way. some people i havent stuck with, some i cut ties with, and some people i still keep in contact with today. over those long 5 years of being shidiand, i found a name (i used to use shidian and then shid, but someone called me shidi once and i realized that was a lot better), how to reach out to others, how to express myself, places that i could feel included in. this is why i owe a blood debt to evelyn, who permitted me to kneel at her throne and was like "yea ok you can join my discord server u seem cool". evelyn, if you were confused by me ominously mentioning this blood debt/blood oath in a tumblr reply 1-2 years ago, this is the context. those 5 years were like a coming of age of sorts, that i never had when i was in high school.

and my love for tenco's story, that inspired me to draw that day, has been with me since almost the very beginning of my time as shidiand. from the beginning, i have always encouraged people to READ TENCO'S STORY, like the kin of those who cry PLAY MELTY or WATCH SYMPHOGEAR. i think my very first sidebar description was something akin to a prayer, written in very choral language, hoping for the day tenco's story iv was completed, ..., "meanwhile, furious shitposting". kannnu's work, finding delight in whatever they chose to draw, has been at my side, all along. my true mentor, my guiding moonlight...

so that's why i still to this day love tenco's story so much.

let's talk about tenco's story.

tenco's story is a story told through single pictures. the plot is vague, and details are sparse. dialogue is rare. we only know what has happened; we seldom know why. furthermore, there are many gaps between scenes that the reader is left to fill in for themselves; we see only snapshots that form an hazy outline of the events that occurred, and must imagine the rest. motivations and explanations fail me. but even with a barebones plot, tenco's story has themes, and if nothing else, those have to be carried through.

the main theme, of course, is journey and travel, but there are also other ideas, too. i actually think they start to change as the series goes on:

book i, where tenshi runs away from home, is about striking out on your own. it's a very fun and unpredictable journey, together with a friend.

book ii, where tenshi and iku are separated, forces tenshi to find and rely on companions of her own even more. but they do so, and they are able overcome hardships, and there is food and festival.

book iii marks a climax, reasserting tenshi's goal of finding the sword of hisou. i feel like the journey shifts from a travel (visiting) to a path forwards (making your way through). perhaps this is just something i get from knowing the locations from dark souls (Anor Londo, New Londo Ruins, the Great Hollow), but the locations start to give more of a sense of verticality, like they're emphasizing tenshi's climb to the summit. the hardships and enemies are the greatest they've been yet, and right when they near the top, tenshi and iku start to bleed. the book ends on an uncertain note.

if i had to describe the type of journey and travel that tenshi and iku undertake, there's this sense of wonder at discovering new places, wandering from vista to vista in delight, but also a sense of conquering, making it through a difficult patch. the sequence from pages 2-44 to 2-51, taken together, convey this sense of overcoming the best. it's one of my favourite parts. again, although the tone definitely starts to lean towards struggle in book iii, i think tenco's sense of wonder really is the heart of the series. there's no map of the world, no predicting where tenshi and iku will end up next. and through their travels, though they come across many enemies, they also find friends -- places of refuge, places full of life, people who will look after them for a few days, companions who will stay with them for the rest of the journey. at the end of book iii, we see a long haired tenshi with purple hair being impaled by the sword of hisou (3-33, see also this extra illustration that risa pointed out to me http://sinnnkai.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-195.html), and regular short haired tenshi continuing on her journey (3-42). if we ignore the out-of-story images where tenshi has the sword of hisou, tenshi has actually only ever used her sunlight blade (2-24, 3-26, etc), so i think that the long haired tenshi on 3-33 is a different person altogether. (if i had to guess, she might be the purple haired woman in the top left of https://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=35443328 as we have never seen that woman appear anywhere.) she probably has something to do with the flashbacks at the end of book ii and she might somehow be short-haired tenshi at the same time, but this is just speculation.

however, in 3-43, tenshi's hair is rather blue, so i don't know if this is the purple haired woman or not. if it is, tenshi is probably still fine and closing in on the summit, but if it isn't, then it's very worrying to see a picture of tenshi without any of her companions. it's very ominous.

meanwhile, iku, while climbing the red carpeted corridor, is stabbed, and disappears for a few pages. there's a black page, a shot of a shrine that strongly resembles the hakurei shrine, and a picture of iku standing behind someone in a tux, with the line "In the past, I was saved by the lady I was serving, you see?". and then iku wakes up in a field of flowers.

i think what this scene makes clear is a theme that has continued to appear and reappear throughout every book of "being saved, being aided by someone's kindness".

i think another theme that is implied and has to be addressed by this story of running away from home is "return". something im imagining is that the reason tenshi makes finding the sword of hisou her goal is because she wants to have something to prove herself with, to vindicate her when she comes home. but i don't think she needs to prove anything, and i ultimately think that she would be happier spending the rest of her life exploring.

so i think this should be what happens in the ending.

open on iku's journey, and give her a long sequence of travel without seeing tenshi. underline her newfound resolve. she climbs to the summit with albinoss, and finds the rest of tenshi's companions fallen. and in the last room is sword of hisou tenshi, who has lost herself, and it comes down to iku to bring her back. after a difficult battle, when both of them are on their last legs, iku is unable to stand any longer. but at this moment tenshi sees her companions struggling to get back up and reach her, and that's what brings her to her senses. and iku gets to see how many friends tenshi's been able to make on her own, and they finally and properly reunite. together, tenshi and iku carry each other out of the last room.

i don't think it's necessary to return to heaven. as a conclusion, dedicate some time to tenshi and iku travelling together. they're on their way back, revisiting old friends who helped them along the way, enjoying the journey. their last stop is the house of the elderly nawis (1-42). tenshi shows off the sword of hisou; she decided to keep it not as a trophy to show her family but as proof of the bonds of her companions. surrounded by friends, tenshi and iku decide to part ways with each other, knowing that the other will be alright. iku drifts among the clouds once more, and tenshi sets off for the horizon.

that's the plot that i'd write/just wrote. i don't really expect tenco's story iv to ever come out, though. i mentioned my first sidebar description earlier in this essay, but of course, you can see that it's been changed. 2 years ago, i read my hopeful prayer once more and was struck with a terrible melancholy, so now it reads this: "having come to terms with the fact that tenco's story iv will never be released, i can still live, knowing that the spirit of the journey will live on through kannnu's original works [...] meanwhile, furious shitposting".

on one level, tenco's story is a story, but in the process of following it, i came to think of the work itself as a journey too. you can constantly see kannnu's improvement between and even within each book. they have always drawn whatever they liked; what plot matters in the face of "I wanted to draw a beautiful sky." "I wanted to draw a fantastic battle." "I wanted to draw Dark Souls and Monster Hunter and Pokemon and Brave Fencer Musashi and Bokura no Taiyou and Touhou."

its not really kannnu's style to go back and tie up old ends. they just draw whatever makes them happy. so as i watch them continue to draw beautiful places and fantastic creatures, new characters heading out on journeys of their own or just enjoying their everyday lives, it's as if tenco's story never ended. the limits and consistency of that world ignored, and a new one springs up; in a way, the world of tenco's, which had such thin boundaries, just gets bigger.

but even so, having said all that, i still see them draw that short-haired tenshi from time to time. it makes me happy to see them remember tenco's story with such fondness. often crossing over with orion or roar or elweiss, you can see tenshi on another journey.

#tenco's story #freshlybakedspiderbread

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lostsummerdayz · 5 years ago

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Otakon 2019 In Review - The Language of Cosplay and Music

The legacy of famed artist, Nujabes, bridges two nations and two cultures together many years later

By. Nay Holland

Hello and good morning! Good afternoon! Good evening! Wherever you are reading this across all of the seven seas, or in the comfort of your own home, Lost Summer Dayz is here to bring you an exclusive report! A report none other than Otakon itself! This was my second time attending Otakon, with my first being way back in 2012, when it was still held in Baltimore.

There were several firsts for me the past weekend. It was my first time ever being inside Washington instead of passing through. Secondly, it was my first time attending the convention within the Washington venue. As such, I was coming into this convention, excited on what it would hold for me. For several reasons. Did Otakon live up to my hype that I had built up for it in my mind? We’ll find out now!

Our Otakon 2019 story begins earlier within the month of July, contrary to the day of travel. I had first heard the news of Otakon via a suggestion of the group I am affiliated with, the Geeks of the Round Table. What made me dead set on wanting to attend the event, however, were two major reasons.

The first reason was the Tribute to Nujabes concert and the chance to see quite possibly one of my favorite Japanese artists, MINMI. The second reason was to also meet my actual muse for getting me into Japanese music, Taku Takahashi. Everything else would have been a bonus, and the entire experience was indeed a giant love letter to the culture. But! I am getting way ahead of myself here!

Nessa and Leon from Pokemon Sword and Shield credit: bunsonbunscosplay

Knowing this, I’ve purchased the tickets to Otakon and VIP for the concert, and twiddled my thumbs waiting for this eventful weekend to arrive. Sure enough, on Thursday, July 25th, the morning did come. Meeting up with my fellow cohorts, we embarked on our bus ride to the event! At least, we would have, had the bus not arrived an hour late, thus making the trip a six hour trek. (The ride back was way more palatable, thankfully!)

The moment we arrived at Union Station we were greeted by panhandlers.

It was at that moment I realized, we never truly left New York after all.

Okay, so, D.C is different enough from NYC, but within the first thirty minutes of us walking to our hotel, I felt a sense of familiarity from the city. Aside from the White House that loomed in the distance, I grew accustomed to the city streets. It was just like walking through New York, but smaller. We’ve arrived at our hotel and once settled in, I departed to pick up my badge.

This was the main reason why I wanted to arrive at the con the day before the official first day. Thursday is considered to be “Day 0”, yet with the amount of staff assisting attendees, the abundance of cosplayers both inside and surrounding the venue, and the overall hustle bustle, one could easily assume that this was “Day 1” instead. There was so much activity that I stayed around for a few minutes after I had picked up my badge, just to take in the atmosphere. It was truly the calm before the storm.

Day 1, Friday. The gates were let wide open and Otakon commenced!

The Nujabes concert wasn’t until 8 and I had to be on the line by at most, 7, so I had about a good twelve or so hours to take in the Otakon experience. One of the first things I did was head to the game room, as per routine for any convention.

Ran by the lovely people at Tokyo Attack, the lineup for the arcade portion of the game room ranged from Gundam VS, to Dance Rush, DDR, Pump It Up, Sound Voltex, Nostalgia, Pop’n, Chunithm, BeatStream, and others. There wasn’t a IIDX machine once again, but with a star studded cast of niche Japanese rhythm games, I couldn’t complain.

I literally couldn’t believe they had IDZ. First time EVER seeing it in person!

At two, there was a Tekken tournament that I did participate in, that deserves a mention briefly!

Oh boy, here comes Nay a.k.a “Cereal K.” plugging in his Tekken experience at any event he goes to again!

Alisa from Tekken credit: sugarc0maa

In my defense, it wasn’t the main reason why I came to Otakon! Remember when I said “bonus”? This was the “bonus” albeit, I didn’t get too far in the tournament itself. I was one win away from top eight if that's any consolation, but, overall all who I played against were really good and I enjoyed my time hanging with my good friends in both the Tekken scene and the Otakon staff!

Annie from League of Legends credit: gbudnyjr

With still more time to kill before the Nujabes concert, I took more pictures of cosplayers throughout the convention. You’ll see pictures of them throughout the article spread across all three days, with their information underneath for you guys to check out! Part of the magic in attending conventions are the cosplayers. I’ve said this in my Castle Point article if you’d like to hear more of my thoughts, but, in a large scale convention like Otakon, you’ll never know who you might end up meeting.

One particular cosplayer however deserves a special mention. What started out as asking for a photo of her cosplay, due to the overall rarity of seeing a Tekken cosplay aside from the Alisa cosplayer in the tournament earlier that day, ended with a kindled friendship over the course of the weekend. Known as Kawaii Kiki Cosplay on Instagram and Facebook, Kiki has been cosplaying since 2013, yet has been attending Otakon since roughly 2009. I was able to sit down with her briefly to have a conversation as she was open and friendly to share her story with me.

Straight from the DMV area herself, her cosplay ventures began in 2013, when a Sailor Moon group cosplay was in need of a replacement senshi. She answered the call, and the rest was history. Being a graduate of the Art Institute, she’s able to utilize her academic knowledge into her cosplay for optimal effectiveness. For example, when I first met her on Friday she was cosplaying Asuka from Tekken. Being recently introduced to the Tekken series, she was able to capture the character well. As we spoke several attendees exclaimed in excitement as they, too, asked for her photo. It was these reactions, that made the cosplay worth it.

“Cosplay for me, is like one in costume wearing a Disney Princess outfit in Disney world for kids. I want my cosplay to enact a similar excitement for those who see me. I want to make others happy with who I’m cosplaying as,” she reflects.

It isn’t about how much you know about your cosplay, but rather, how much you are able to bring joy to others for wearing said cosplay.

There are some personal favorites that Kiki has in her arsenal, such as another Asuka cosplay she wore for the second day of Otakon. This Asuka was from Evangelion, with the outfit made to appear similar to Asuka’s Eva 02. Lastly, she carried around a stuffed version of the iconic Pen Pen along with her. Perhaps her most favorite cosplay and convention experience was her appearance in Blizzcon last year, when she cosplayed as Leah from Diablo 3. The excitement of being around those who enjoy the same medium as her, while also cosplaying as an important character from said game, was enough to enhance the experience for her.

If any of you guys reading this have the chance, please give her some love! She’s a really amazing cosplayer and woman to hang around with and it was my pleasure to talk with her. Follow her at Kawaii Kiki Cosplay!

To round up Day 1, we have the Tribute to Nujabes concert. From the beginning, the message was clear. It was not just an ode to a legendary man, but an ode to hip hop.

The MC EyeQ blessed the stage, following Maryland’s own Substantial, then Shing02.

Seeing Substantial and Shing02 live, performing songs that I had listened to since my high school years gave me a sense of euphoria. At the time, over ten years ago when I was a sophomore in high school, I would listen to Nujabes during my lunch breaks in school. This was back during a time when I still used the pen and paper to write. Lyrics, fiction, whatever came to mind. Listening to the backdrops that Nujabes laid out, with rappers such as Substantial and Shing02, who would bless that very stage, tuned out life’s many inconsistencies at the time.

Coping with my grandmother’s passing, failing classes due to woes back at home, and overall trying to get a grasp of my existence. His music, along with the lyrics of everyone on that stage, helped me get through high school. To see them live and perform was what my teenage self would have wanted. I felt like I was fifteen again.

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Being the opening act, EyeQ shuts it down while backed by DJ Okawari beats.

And then there was the final set. Adorned in an intricately designed kimono with long flowing hair comparable to a goddess herself, Minmi emerged basked in light. She took to the stage singing Shiki no Uta, the original ED to Samurai Champloo, and as the song ended, she shed her garment to reveal a flowing yellow tracksuit.

This was her way of saying “The gloves are coming off.” She had our attention, and we were under her spell for the next hour.

Performing some of her hits including Sumertime!!!, Hibiscus, and one of her recent singles, #Yacchaitai. Following these songs, the scene shifted once more as she pulled up a piano and started singing slower ballads. These included a cover of Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You,” Who’s Theme, and Sha Na Na. The last song was all the more powerful considering that Sha Na Na, originally a Dancehall classic, was sung in a ballad.

I’ve been a huge fan of MINMI for almost as long as I’ve been a fan of Nujabes and those who had graced the stage. She brings special mention because for a while, during my college years, I was growing accustomed to a new phase in my life. A new scenery in college, new friends, old ones moving from the city, long lasting relationships coming to a close, and overall I felt alone.

I first heard of MINMI through Samurai Champloo and a dear friend of mine who was unable to make it to Otakon with me, Devin Harris, had got me into her outside of the anime.

There’s this Japanese used book store called Book Off where I was able to find used CDs of hers, and since then I’ve been hooked. My knowledge of the Japanese language is limited, but, even through her music I could sense the energy and influence that Western music had on her. It was a different type of energy she brought with her, even hearing her as guest vocals on songs such as m-flo’s “Lotta Love.”

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MINMI performing her cover of Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You”

She can bring out the energy, but also allow her audience to cool down as well. She can be the hype of the party as well as the emotional support. Dedicating her final songs to the tragedy at Kyoto Animation, she made me feel a wide range of emotions. Very few musicians I’ve had the pleasure of listening to, have had the range that MINMI has.

For me to be able to have a chance to see her live was a treat. For me to meet her after the concert and tell her these things and more, was the icing on the cake.

Day 2 began with meeting quite possibly my biggest influence in Japanese music, Taku Takahashi. You may notice a pattern at this point, with Nujabes, Substantial, Shing02, and MINMI all being music of my adolescence, and Taku does not break away from this mold. Being a third of the trio of talented artists known as m-flo, m-flo as a group exposed me to music I would have never known existed outside of New York.

I was just thirteen at the time during middle school. I already felt like an outcast because my, then, budding tastes in anime and “nerd culture” caused me to be the odd one out. I was into DDR at the time, so I would join several online communities where we would talk about music from DDR. M-flo was one of the groups brought up. While technically not being in DDR at the time, their songs were featured in beatmania IIDX, a rhythm game I mentioned earlier. When IIDX was in its infancy, it was possible to link a IIDX machine and a DDR machine, known as “Club Versions,” to allow players to play IIDX songs on DDR machines. This was how I found out about m-flo.

I liked their style of hip hop and how familiar it sounded to me, despite the language barrier. From the beginning, they always had a style to blend Western Hip Hop with a local flavor to call it their own. They were one of the pioneers of the Japanese Hip Hop renaissance period, and I would be introduced during the tail end of it. Just as I was getting into m-flo, they were starting their “m-flo loves” series, in which their next three albums, Astromantic, Beat Space Nine, and Cosmicolor, would feature heavily on collaborators. One of these collaborators as I’ve also mentioned earlier, would be MINMI.

LSD ❤ ☆Taku Takahashi!

I’ve been an m-flo fan for a very long time. Not just as a group, but for their solo careers as well. From the rapper, VERBAL, being a consistent feature on Nujabes’ earlier works as L-Universe, his collaborations with Pharrell, and his fashion career. From the singer, Lisa, with her solo career and independent projects. Lastly, there’s Taku Takahashi himself.

Of the three I resonated with him the most, considering how many works he had become a part of over the years. From his works with House Nation, DJing, collaborations and remixes independently. To his recent features on IIDX and his musical works in anime which includes Panty and Stocking to his most recent being Carole and Tuesday. To list everything that these three had done independently as well as a group, would double the reading length of this article. Needless to say, to have a chance to meet one of the hardest working artists in the business, who started as an inspiration for my music tastes as well as learning more about Japanese culture, made me starstruck. Pun intended.

After meeting him, there was the Nujabes tribute panel to accompany the concert from the night before. Seeing everyone on the panel, most of whom I had met either the night before or a few hours prior and hearing their stories, left me with a deeper understanding on the influence that Nujabes had.

There was also a lot that I’ve learned involving some of the work that went into the songs for Samurai Champloo. Back on the subject of MINMI, the inspiration for “Who’s Theme” was more personal than I had initially thought.

I had always had speculation that “Who’s” was meant to be “Fuu’s,” as the main character in Samurai Champloo was arguably Fuu. Somewhere there was a loss in translation and Fuu was mistaken as Who due to the way Fuu sounds in the native tongue. She mentioned that the song was, indeed, “Fuu’s Theme,” but her inspiration for writing that song was putting herself in the character of Fuu.

There are some minor spoilers for Samurai Champloo here, but, Fuu’s goal in Samurai Champloo was to find a “samurai who smells of sunflowers.” Ultimately, the “sunflower samurai” was Fuu’s father, and the loss of her father was her driving force to find her against all odds.

MINMI read the script of Samurai Champloo and it instilled an emotion inside of her that she could relate to. The feeling of loss, the feeling of separation from one’s family. Feeling what Fuu felt, she used Fuu as a muse to write the song. This brings a new meaning to the song itself, as you can feel the words that are being said by her.

This was a point that everyone at the panel brought up. It was a question I’ve had since middle school, which was finally answered that very day.

“How can I, who does not know Japanese, appreciate the music? How can I, who does not know Korean, influence my musical choice for many years to come?”

Aside from Japanese music, I was also getting into Korean hip hop and R&B at that time as well. Despite the language barriers, when it comes to music, we all have an ability to feel an emotion. Happiness, sadness, it doesn’t matter what language it’s spoken. Music is a language we feel. Nujabes’ ear for music tastes, whether he wanted to go for the urban sound or a more traditional one, was an ear that understood the universal language of emotion. Everyone in that room, be it on the panel or as an attendee, had felt that language spoken to us in one way or another.

Later on that night, everything came full circle. I was able to go to the Otakon rave and see Taku perform his set. Remember when I said that MINMI was a collaborator with m-flo during their “loves” series? He had brought her out as a guest during his set and she performed the song she collaborated with m-flo, “Lotta Love,” live.

A vast majority of the crowd may have been introduced to her that night, but it was an energy that was felt. The music alone was enough to make everyone dance and have a good time, further answering my question. I left that night, no, I left that weekend in a state of content.

While I never had the chance to meet Nujabes when he was alive, he lives in in his music. He lives on in the memories of those he had worked with, those he has influenced, and those who listened to his music. I left D.C with a value that was priceless than any merch. Although the weekend came and went, the memories I made, the people I got to experience, and the stories I got to hear, will resonate with me for the rest of my life. Rest in Power, Jun Seba As a bonus, this was probably the hypest part of the night. Watching Shing02 and all who had performed, perform a cypher to Battlecry backed by Team Red Pro breaking. Blood was left on the stage that evening and it was a massacre of beats and lyrics.

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See you next year, Otakon!

#otakon #otakon2019 #nujabes #journalism #writer #article #anime #convention

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