#japan sinks spoilers

[aibari]

there is a scene in the second episode of japan sinks 2020 that’s clearly meant to be deeply upsetting and emotional

but the comedic timing is INCREDIBLE? like do you ever watch a death scene and have a full breakdown about it because you are laughing too hard

[sincerelyyuu]

"in the end, it's still you." p3. • gojo satoru & geto suguru

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ synopsis: after you made your decision to leave your jujutsu sorcerer life behind, you find yourself longing for what once was and risking more than what you bargained for. ➼ pairing: gojo satoru x fem!reader, geto suguru x fem!reader ➼ content/warnings: sfw, endless amounts of angst, sprinkles of fluff, heavy jujutsu kaisen 0 film spoilers, heartbreak, regret, unrequited love, death, blood, pet names, sorcerer!reader ➼ wc: 5.4K words ➼ a/n: this is the final part of this little angst series of mine. thank you so much to everyone for the amount of love you've given these three. as always, likes and reblogs are appreciated ♡ ➼ part one, part two, part three

Today was the day.  Suguru had coined it as the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons where he intended on releasing thousands of curses across Japan, focusing the epicenters of the attack in Shinjuku and Kyoto.

To say that your life had drastically changed over the last few years would be an understatement. Finding refuge in a grand temple located far away from the eyes of Tokyo, Suguru built himself a cult following. He spent his days collecting money from his loyal followers while also exorcising curses from non-sorcerers who sought him out, deeming him as a god for his “cleansing” talents.

Within this time, your days were simpler. Instead of waking up to the dread of having to fight curse after curse, you spent your time focusing on the little things that brought you joy. You started a little garden that was lush with a variety of flowers and greenery. Thanks to the seclusion of your new home, it made stargazing look something straight out of a fantasy, the night sky always twinkling with millions of stars. With all the extra time, you had many opportunities to curl up with a good book without having to worry about another mission.

Since that fateful night in the village, Nanako and Mimiko became attached to your hip. You became the mother figure they’ve always dreamt of. You loved the girls like your own, spending the majority of your time nurturing them from toddlerhood into the beautiful teens they were now. You were living the simple life you envisioned back in your teen years. 

You knew when you left your old life behind that life would be different. Change was inevitable. You just didn’t expect for it to manifest in the man you ran away with.

Suguru took care of you exceptionally well. He made sure you were well fed and gifted you with the prettiest clothes, occasionally leaving small tokens of appreciation for you for embarking on this journey with him. Whatever you heart desired, it was in your hands no sooner than you can think of it. More importantly, no matter how busy he was, he always found time to keep you company. You, as well as the twins, remained his main priority. His beautiful girls.

You watched Suguru slowly become consumed with the idea of jujutsu sorcerers being the superior race. On the outside, he put up an amiable persona in front of normal humans who came to him for guidance in order to collect their curses. On the inside, he loathed their very existence, finding their presence alone to be unbearable and swearing they filled the air surrounding him with a disgusting stench. 

Monkeys, he would call them. You hated the term. 

He had come to you in the kitchen one day with the biggest grin on his face. It was the happiest you’ve ever seen him in your entire time of knowing him. Pouring yourself a glass of water from the faucet, you leaned your back against the edge of the sink in interest.

“The time has finally come!” he proclaimed as he walked up to you, hands behind his head in a relaxed manner.

“Oh?” you raised an eyebrow at him in curiosity. “And what time may that be?”

“My sources tell me that there is an interesting first year student by the name of Okkotsu Yuta at Tokyo High. He is cursed by a special grade spirit by the name of Orimoto Rika,” Suguru goes on to explain.

You felt an unsettling feeling in your stomach, not liking where this conversation was going. You hummed in response and raised the glass to your lips which he took as his cue to go on.

“I plan on retrieving her. The power she holds is the exact thing we need to put an end to every non-sorcerer in existence,” he sighed happily at what he believed was the light at the end of the tunnel.

Frowning, you replied, “...And how exactly do you plan to do that, Sugu?”

“By killing anyone that gets in my way starting with Tokyo Jujutsu High.”

The glass of water immediately slipped from your hands, seconds away from shattering onto the floor if not for Suguru’s incredible reflexes. Placing the still full cup on the counter, he observed the immense shock displayed in your eyes at his declaration. You wished that he was just pulling your leg and that he wasn’t really considering taking on such a risky and incredibly dangerous task. But a man of his word, you knew better than anyone that when Suguru said anything, he truly meant it.

“Geto Suguru,” his name leaving your lips in a slow drawl, “What in the actual fuck are you talking about?”

Leaning against the counter next to you, he crossed his arms and closed his eyes in thought. “It’s simple really. I will unleash the thousands of curses that I’ve meticulously collected over this past decade into the city. Two cities, in fact. While they send their forces to try and save as many pathetic monkeys as they can, I’ll go after the Okkotsu boy. If he decides not to join our side, that’s fine. I’ll just kill him for Rika instead.”

The more you listened to him explain in detail his plan, the more you found yourself looking at a complete stranger. This couldn’t possibly be the kind Suguru that you’ve known throughout your teens and entire twenties. 

Had you really known him at all?

The incredulous look of concern and flash of fear across your face must have been hard to take in because Suguru’s demeanor immediately took on a more serious stance. 

“(y/n),” he started to say your name and reached for your hand. This time, it was his turn to be shocked when you immediately yanked your hand away from his as if his touch burned you. 

“Don’t,” you demand, taking a step away from him as you felt your blood begin to boil. “What the hell, Suguru?”

The man sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose at your hostile reaction, “I had a feeling you’d react like this.”

You scoffed at his reply, “Did you honestly expect for me to just be peachy about this idea? You’re talking about murdering millions of people! This isn’t what I agreed to when I decided to go on the run with you.”

“I was very upfront with you about my goals. I don’t know why you’re acting like this is something new,” Suguru argued, not liking the tone of your voice. “You made the big girl decision to come with me. Don’t tell me you’re regretting it now?”

You clenched your jaw at his audacity. “You didn’t give me a choice! I’m not the one who decided to go on a murderous killing spree at seventeen on a mission we were both assigned to,” you retorted in exasperation.

“But I stayed with you because I care about you, Suguru. If I didn’t, why would I leave my entire life behind to be here with you now?” you asked, feeling the anger in your veins shift to deep hurt. “You forget that I sacrificed a lot, too. Excuse me if I don’t agree with every choice you make along the way, especially this one.”

Running his hand through his dark locks, Suguru exhaled deeply. He rarely fought with you and he hated every minute you were anything less than happy with him. He angled his body to face you once more and placed his strong hands on your shoulders. When you didn’t instantly pull away from him, he tugged you closer to him and wrapped his arms around your shoulders.

“I’m sorry. I didn't forget how much you’ve sacrificed to be with me and I’m eternally grateful every day I see your face. I know this situation hasn’t been completely fair for you and I only have myself to blame for that,” he apologized sincerely.

“That being said, I’ve made my final decision. I won’t ask you to fight on the front lines nor do I expect you to do anything you don’t want to. You can stay here without needing to get involved or lift a finger. The decision is yours.”

Back to the present, you couldn’t shake the premonition that something really bad was going to happen. Your anxiety in your heart refused to dissipate with the uncertainty of what's to come looming over you. You hated this. You hated how this is what it all came down to. 

You made it clear to Suguru that you weren’t going to take any innocent lives. However, you refused to sit still and play the waiting game while everyone was out fighting for their lives. Naturally, you set your heart on protecting your girls.

“Nanako, Mimiko,” you said to your phone via video chat, “Are you girls doing okay?”

“Everything is good so far, (y/n)-sama,” Nanako replied back and adjusted her phone so that she and her sister fit into one frame. “Where are you? Geto-sama said you’d be here.”

You responded, “I’m here. Just standing out of sight but still keeping an eye on you.”

Standing atop of some miscellaneous office building, you observed the large curse that housed the twins safely inside its mouth. You focused on manipulating your cursed energy to lower it to extreme minute levels in order to hide your presence, blending it with the large amount of cursed energy permeating in the air. Doing so made it difficult to pinpoint your exact location. 

“How come you aren’t here directly with us?” Mimiko questioned, feeling slightly anxious but relieved to see your face even if it was through a screen.

You paused, taking a few seconds to think before answering carefully, “It’s complicated.”

How do you exactly tell them that the reason you were hiding to begin with was because you were hiding from the man of the hour?

Gojo Satoru.

You would be lying if you said a part of you didn’t long to see him. You did everything in your power to cut all ties with the strongest sorcerer a decade ago, although it hurt more than anything. You didn’t know if you could ever face him again, especially not now considering the circumstances with Suguru’s plot. 

Did he even want to see you?

A pair of sweet voices called out to you and snapped you out of your thoughts. Looking back at your phone, you saw the looks of anticipation on the twins’ faces.

“Sorry, what did you girls say?” you sheepishly asked.

Nanako pouted adorably, repeating their question, “We asked if we could go to that crepe shop on Takeshita Street with you. Geto-sama promised he’d take us last time but it was closed by the time we got there.”

Chuckling, you nodded to their request. “Of course. When this is all over, we’ll take a girls trip together.”

“Promise?” they said in unison, holding their pinkies up to the screen.

You held your own pinky up and lightly tapped it against your phone. “I promise.”

On the other end, you heard Nanako’s notification sound go off. “They said they’re stepping up the plan and telling us to engage,” she informed you.

Biting your lip in apprehension, you sighed. “Please be careful, you two. Do not hesitate to call me immediately if something happens. Do you understand? I'll catch up with you in a few.”

The pair nodded, holding up their pinkies for emphasis promising you of their safety. Just as you were about to hang up the call, their soft voices caught your ears.

“(y/n)-sama?”

“Yes, my loves?” you answered with concern in your eyes watching them fidget nervously.

“I love you.”

You felt your heart squeeze at the declaration, warmth spreading in your chest as you smiled fondly at the two. They looked at you shyly with pink cheeks looking slightly embarrassed after voicing their affection together. When did they grow up so fast from the little five year olds they once were when you first met them?

“I love you, too. Both of you. See you soon,” you reciprocated, blowing a kiss to the camera.

The twins mirrored the gesture before hanging up. Focusing your eyes back to the curse they were inside, its mouth opened to reveal your precious girls. You waved goodbye to them despite them not being able to see you. Just as you were about to trail them, that unsettling feeling increased tenfold in your stomach. Something was wrong. 

Suguru.

You dialed his number on your phone, pressing it to your ear only for the call to go straight to voicemail. This only made your anxiety worse. He never missed a call from you. Wracking your brain on where he could be, his previous words echoed in your mind.

“I’ll go after the Okkotsu boy. If he decides not to join our side, that’s fine. I’ll just kill him for Rika instead.”

Cursing under your breath, your legs began moving on their own.

Run faster.

You repeated the two words in your head like a mantra as you weaved through alleyways and every shortcut you could remember. Your lungs burned with the intensity of it demanding oxygen, but you refused to slow down the pace of your sprint. You were determined to make it back to Tokyo Jujutsu High.

You had to make it to Suguru.

Scanning the black veil that you knew Suguru had casted over the school, you managed to locate a hole that was made by something, or rather someone, else. Slipping through the opening, you finally stepped foot onto the grounds that you once called your home. You hurriedly followed the trails of blood and wreckage of what looked to be the after effects of a lethal fight. 

You nearly collapsed as you felt the ground quake beneath your feet, the force of it catching you off guard. The air felt electrified with the sheer amount of cursed energy surrounding you. It terrified you. Despite your fear, you steeled yourself and ran towards where you felt the cursed energy was strongest. 

Careening around another corner, you were relieved to see the backside of the man you were searching for. However, your relief was short-lived when you looked just beyond his figure down the path to see a young teenage boy. 

There was no mistaking him as Okkotsu Yuta with his special grade curse Rika suspended beside him protectively and looking every bit as deadly as you heard. He was exchanging words with her that you couldn’t hear from where you stood. You saw the way Yuta  intimately held her monstrous frame close to his face. The interaction was so full of tenderness and devotion, the kind that would risk it all in the name of love.

But that’s when you realized what was happening. He was sacrificing himself to Rika to release the limit on her cursed energy.

Hearing Rika passionately declare her love for Yuta, you looked in horror as she began gathering all of her raw cursed energy in full force. Flashes of purple and pink coalesced into one massive deadly black orb, a symbol of Rika’s eternal love for him.

And it was aimed directly at Suguru.

“SUGURU!”

You didn’t even hear yourself scream for him, your voice coming out in terror-stricken screech. It was like your body went into overdrive. In your moment of panic, you didn’t have time to think or feel, only running towards him with your heart beating loudly in your ears. 

For Suguru, it all happened so quickly. 

The moment he heard your voice, he whipped his head to you with eyes widened in alarm. You weren’t supposed to be here. He needed to figure out a way to get you as far away as possible from Rika. 

Time almost stopped for the next few seconds.

There was a flash and a strong hand that shoved Suguru’s body back from where he was positioned. A waft of a familiar perfume. The feeling of soft tresses tickling his cheek. A blinding blue glow. He realized too late that it was you moving at an supersonic speed to stand in front of him, safeguarding him as you channeled all of your cursed energy to brace and harden your body for impact.

Then, Rika charged.

Destruction. Suguru’s curses were no match to the power of Rika’s concentrated cursed energy beam. Her attack left devastation in its wake, buildings blown down to their bare infrastructures, dust and debris clouding the pinkened sky, and a deep crater of the battlefield permanently indented into the ground.

For a moment, all you felt was searing pain enveloping your body. You didn’t even register the way Suguru seized you by the waist, jerking you away as he made a narrow escape with you just a second away from death’s door. Your vision faded to black as you closed your eyes.

When you next opened your eyes, the first thing you saw was the back of Suguru’s head. He was carrying you on his back, your arms around his neck and your body swaying in small jerky motions as he limped down the pathway with growing difficulty.

Good. He had made it, you thought to yourself in ease.

‘Made it’ was an understatement. The man was officially missing his entire right arm, the same arm he used to safely pull you away from Rika. Long black hair haphazardly let down, black yukata torn in half to reveal his bare toned torso, right eye swollen shut. He was lucky to have gotten away with just this. 

He was only this lucky because of you. You had taken Rika’s attack head on. Even with you using your cursed energy as a shield, it wasn’t enough to stop the negative repercussions. Your injuries were severe. The strength of Rika’s blow left a gaping hole in the center of your chest a hair’s away from your heart, feeling sharp pains with every shallow breath you took. You could feel yourself bleeding out onto Suguru’s back, soaking his robe with crimson. Unable to feel any sensations in your legs, you suspected you were paralyzed from the waist down. 

“Suguru,” your raspy voice croaked out.

“You finally opened those eyes, pretty girl. You had me worried for a moment there,” Suguru chuckled quietly.

The two of you fell into a calm silence, only the sounds of Suguru’s footsteps and your ragged breathing to be heard. You wanted to ask him so many questions. Where did Yuta and Rika go? What happens now? No matter how hard you tried to focus on moving your mouth you simply couldn’t, not having the strength to do so. Suguru was the first to break the silence.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” he said tiredly. His haggard face looked absolutely spent with his voice coming out no louder than a murmur. Only loud enough just for you to hear the regret and guilt in his speech.

You chuckled weakly, “Can you really say you were surprised?”

Suguru sighed in defeat, “I suppose not. Although I would have preferred if you had stayed with our girls. Now look at you.”

“That’s not very ‘Thank you for saving my life’ of you, Sugu,” you huffed, gently pinching his cheek in retaliation causing him to laugh lightly.

You felt your heart swell seeing Suguru smile and banter with you so freely. It reminded you of your earlier days back in high school when it was just you, him, and Satoru.

Satoru.

As you leaned your head on Suguru’s good shoulder, your mind drifted to the snowy haired man. It always did. You often wondered if he had changed much since you last saw him. Was he still that confident man that would give his all for the world? The same man that would have burned the world for you? What would your life be like if you had decided to go back to him that day in Shinjuku? So many questions that you would never have answers for. You knew that when you left Satoru that day, you had left your heart with him too. 

If only you had the chance to tell him you loved him in person.

Feeling something rise in your chest, you were only able to squeeze Suguru’s shoulder in warning before you leaned to the side to vomit blood, the bodily fluid coming out in a viscous consistency. By the time you were done, you felt extremely weak. Your head felt fuzzy and the severe pain in your chest was beginning to subside the more you bled out. 

“I’m dying, Suguru.”

Suguru’s grip on you faltered for a quick second before hoisting you upright on his back once more. He already knew it. He knew you were dying by the faraway look in your eyes and the way you could barely keep them open. You were losing too much blood too quickly. He had exhausted his cursed energy supply on Rika, only having the physical energy to carry you through pure willpower.

“Do you regret running away with me now?” he asks solemnly, slowing his pace down to not rock you too much.

You shook your head, “I don’t. I promised you that I would be there for you until the end.”

“Thank you for keeping your promise,” he expressed genuinely.

When you didn’t say anything else, he turned his head slightly to see you with your eyes closed. He momentarily panicked before he was consoled by the rise and fall of your back that indicated you were still here.

“(y/n)?” he calls, looking straight ahead and walking with no real destination in mind. You hummed in response to let him know you were listening.

“I love you.”

Despite living the last ten years of his life with you, this was the first time he had verbally expressed those three words to you, opting to show his affections for you through actions. But in your dying moments, he needed you to hear just how much he loved you, even if he knew you would never say them back the same way he meant it.

“I know. I always knew,” You smiled guiltily. “I do love you, Suguru. You’re always going to be my best friend. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I couldn’t reciprocate your feelings no matter how hard I tried.”

Suguru nudged his head against yours in a comforting manner. He whispered, “It’s okay. I still love you regardless.”

Feeling exhaustion settle in your bones, you could barely fight the growing heaviness of your eye lids and a sense of calm lulling your senses. Resting your chin on Suguru’s shoulder, he felt your faint breath fan against his neck.

“Sugu,” the nickname sounding so painfully loving on your lips, “I’m sleepy.”

Suguru couldn’t bring himself to watch you die, staring straight ahead so you wouldn’t see the tears pooling in his eyes.

“Sleep, baby. I got you.”

With that, your eyes closed as you took your last breath, your arms around his neck slipping to fall at his sides.

Trudging down the narrow alleyway, Suguru shifted your frame to his front in order to rest your head against his hard chest. Your body was still warm as Suguru held you tighter against him, albeit a bit awkwardly considering the effects of the battle left him with only one arm. You looked so peaceful. If anyone didn’t know any better, they would have assumed you were just in a deep sleep. Only, you were forever in a dream that you would never wake up from. 

Suguru felt like a failure. Despite his elaborate plan, he was unsuccessful in securing the special grade curse Rika from Okkotsu Yuta. Experiencing her power first hand, she was truly extraordinary. If he had gotten her, there would be no need to sneak around swallowing curses. He would have had the power to change the world like he wanted.

You wouldn’t have had to die for him.

If only he had a little more time. Hearing footsteps approaching him, Suguru smiled at the familiar presence. With great effort, Suguru carefully lowered you and himself against the wall and held you close.

“You’re late, Satoru,” he announced, his words devoid of any real malice. “To think you’d be the one here at my end. Is my family safe?

“Every last one of them managed to escape,” the special grade sorcerer replied in monotone.

Except you. Satoru took in your lifeless form that was brutally beaten and bloodied by what he assumed was the aftermath of Rika. Your hair was longer than when he last saw you in Shinjuku ten years ago. Your delicate hands that used to hold onto his so dearly were now battered. Bruises adorned your face, crimson from your wounds beginning to dry against your skin.  Even after all these years of not seeing you, even in this state, you were still beautiful to him.

“Unlike you, I’m a kind man. You sent those two assuming I’d defeat them, didn’t you? To set Okkotsu off?” Suguru questioned the male, referring to the panda and cursed speech user.

Satoru answered, “I trusted that a man as principled as you wouldn’t kill off young sorcerers without a reason.”

Suguru tiredly smiled at his words. “Trust, huh? I didn’t think I still had any of that left.”

Gaze hardening, Satoru coldly responded, “I also trusted you to keep her safe.”

He knew he was being hypocritical. He spent years trying to seek you out and to bring you home. Once he did, he even considered quitting the sorcerer life to give you the normal life you wanted. Yet you didn’t want to be found and made it incredibly difficult to track you (and naturally Suguru.) The fact you survived this far to begin with was with Suguru’s help, which is more than what he had done. At least Suguru was able to give you some form of happiness. Although he never gave up looking for you, Satoru knew he should have done more to protect you. 

And now he has to live with the fact that he couldn’t bring you back home anymore.

“It was always you, you know that?”

Tearing his eyes away from your lifeless form, Satoru wordlessly looked at his best friend who had a ghost of a smile on his lips.

“All of these years away, there wasn’t a day that she didn’t think about you. No matter how hard I tried to get her to reciprocate my love, to open her heart to me, her heart was always set on you,” Suguru admitted bittersweetly.

Satoru could only stand there stunned at the revelation. If Suguru was telling the truth, had you always loved him the way he loved you? Flashbacks of you played back in his mind like an old movie. 

The way you would tenderly treat his wounds after he went a little too hard after a mission…

“I swear to god, Toru, you better not come back looking like this again,” you sighed, lightly dabbing the soaked cotton ball of antibiotic on the small gash on his forehead.

“You mean looking this good~?” he smirks, flexing his bicep proudly. Only for his bottom lip to jut out into a pout at the way you playfully roll your eyes at him, not exactly denying his words but also not wanting to feed that big ego of his.

Turning around to grab a clean bandage for his wound, he misses the way a light pink hue blooms across your cheeks.

…making him a bento box of his favorite foods after scolding him for skipping meals…

“Oh?” Satoru chirps, “What do we have here?”

He watched you unravel the prettily wrapped package to reveal the lunch you had prepared for him. Based on the smell alone, he knew you had made his favorite. “A little birdie told me you skipped breakfast this morning,” you sighed.

“Did this birdie happen to be a six foot three tall man with a man bun? What a snitch,” he sighed dramatically.

Tsking, you pushed the bento closer to him. “Don’t be mean. Eat before the food gets cold or else the last hour and a half of me cooking would go to waste.”

Didn’t you just come back from a mission this morning? The thought crossed his mind as he considered how tired you must be but still mustered the energy to cook for him. The delusional side of him imagined if this was what it would be like if you were his pretty little wife.

Grinning, he takes a bite of the food and savors the delicious flavor that hits his taste buds. “Thank you, sweets.”

…and leaving little cute messages in his notebooks to read during class.

Hearing his sensei drone on about something related to cursed energy, Satoru leaned back in his chair with his head tilted back in a silent groan. He swore this boring class had a higher chance of killing him than dealing with a special grade curse. Feeling someone kick his shoe from under his desk, Satoru looked over next to him to see Suguru giving him a disapproving look, gesturing with a nod to the sensei to pay attention. Satoru merely stuck his tongue out at him causing his best friend to roll his eyes. To be fair, he was equally as bored but someone had to pay attention to take notes, right?

Leaning on his hand, he aimlessly flicked through the pages of his notebook, the pages mostly bare since he rarely took notes. Satoru’s interest quirked when his eyes landed on an adorable doodle of a kitty cat wearing black round glasses much like the ones he wore. Beside it was a little speech bubble written in your handwriting that said, “You got this, Toru! I’ll always be here to support you ^o^.”

Chuckling, Satoru turned his head to find you sitting a few desks away from him. Unlike him, you were completely engrossed in the lesson and taking notes like the good student you were. You had your hair tucked behind your ear as you gnawed on your lower lip in concentration. All Satoru could think was… ‘pretty.’

Feeling eyes on the back of your head, you scanned your surroundings before making direct eye contact with Satoru. Despite being caught red handed staring at you, Satoru shot you a flirty wink, snickering at the way you gaped at him in shock. He made a gesture of him pretending to be on the verge of falling asleep, feeling his heart palpitate at the way you couldn’t help but giggle at him.

The next class, he found another doodle in his notebook of that same little Gojo kitty along with the words, “All eyes up front instead of me, Mr. Gojo >.<.”

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. How could he have been so blind? 

Or, maybe, he did see all of the signs. Perhaps he chose to actively ignore them because he knew getting involved with you would only put you in danger. He was okay with admiring you from a distance if it meant keeping you safe.

But if he knew things would end up this way, he wished he spent all this time telling you he loved you instead.

“Do you have any last words?” Satoru offered, feeling his heart aching at what was next to come.

Looking to the sky in resignation, a peaceful look graced Suguru’s face. “I never held any hatred for those in Jujutsu High. I just couldn’t wear a heartfelt smile in this world.”

“But she made it worthwhile,” he continued, his voice lowering in remorse as he studied your tranquil face, ingraining every little detail that he loved about you in his mind. “I don’t regret taking her with me. My only regret is not being able to give her the life she deserved.”

Suguru cradled your face in his hand and leaned down to kiss your forehead tenderly, his lips lingering on your skin for the last time. He didn’t react when he heard heavy footsteps draw near.

Satoru brought himself closer to the two people he cherished most in his life. Crouching down so that he was eye level, he reached out to brush the hair away from your lids, wishing so desperately for you to open them so that he could look into those eyes that he first fell in love with. Just as Suguru did, he pressed his lips to your temple, feeling a tear slip from his eye.

Goodbye, my sweet girl. To the only girl I will ever love.

🏷️: @urcutetozier @sad-darksoul @alisoncdariel @paprikaquinn @jjk174 divider credit: @/saradika-graphics

[fumekara]

ALL THE THINGS I HAVE DONE (Part 2)

SatoSugu x Gn reader 

Plot: Your relationship with the strongest sorcerers in Japan was falling apart after they yelled at you and broke your heart. 

n/a: English is not my first language, there will be a final part of this writing experiment, I am not very satisfied with how it came out. 

Tw: A lot of angst, season 2 spoilers, mention of sex, polyamorous relationship, mention of the death of one's pet, the reader has a cat, in this version Geto is a sorcerer. 

If you are sensitive to mourning for your pets, do not interact with this fic. 

WC: 1.9K

Click here for part 1

You had lain down and held Nuko in your arms the night you found him under the bed in the guest room and, without your noticing, you had fallen asleep, but no one seemed to care, Sutoru and Suguru had not come to wake you up to join them. 

You were sure they were still angry with you for what had happened the night before and you didn't want to think about it, since you now had another problem to deal with, Nuko's. 

He wasn't well, not at all, you could see it from the way he was lying on himself, the way he avoided moving and the way he occasionally meowed as if to warn you that he was still alive, for now. 

You stroked his back and he let you, after all he couldn't do much. 

Suddenly you heard the sound of approaching footsteps in your room. Immediately you rolled onto your back and pretended to be asleep.

When Suguru and Satoru entered your room, trying to make as little noise as possible, Nuko lifted his head as if to find out who was interrupting your fake sleep.   

You felt their weight sink into the bed when they sat beside you and then you felt a hand gently stroking your back.

"Y/N?" Satoru called you in a low voice. You didn't answer hoping that would be enough to convince them to leave you alone.

"We know you're not sleeping," Suguru said as he approached you from the other side of the bed, being careful not to crush Nuko with his weight. 

"How did you know?" you asked resigned by the fact that it was now useless to pretend.

"Your breathing was too irregular, that's not what you do when you sleep. We know better by now after so long sleeping together." you heard Sato chuckle as he rested his head on your shoulder. He was uncertain of the movement because he was afraid you would reject him because of what happened yesterday, but when you didn't he kept to your side. 

Suguru who was in front of you removed a lock of hair from your face very gently, as if you were made of glass, the same gesture you had made to him yesterday, and it broke his heart when he thought back to how badly he had treated you after you had given him a taste of your love. 

You reached out your hand again, but not to return the affection of the two men beside you, but to stroke your cat again, who was taking quick, heavy breaths.

"He's sick" you broke the silence.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Satoru looking at Nuko.

"I don't know, but he doesn't eat, breathes poorly and sleeps all day." You rolled onto your back and the white-haired man pulled away from you to give you space.

"Is that why you didn't sleep with us last night? Or even because of what happened yesterday?" asked Suguru worriedly, but you had a hunch he was using it as an excuse to criticise you. 

"What do you mean, that I use my cat being sick as an excuse not to sleep with you?" you asked without hiding your irritation.

"I didn't mean that, we're just worried." 

"Really?, so why didn't you come to wake me up if you care so much?" you sat up and so did they. "Don't pretend you care so much, I know you don't" you spat, by now you had a feeling you didn't care what they thought anymore, not after the words they said to you last time. 

"Y/N, we do care about you. We came here to apologize to you," Satoru told you, trying to find the right words to keep you from getting angry. 

"We went too far yesterday, Y/N, we shouldn't have treated you that way" Suguru picked you up and made you rest your head on his chest and shortly afterwards Satoru joined in the hug "We are sincerely sorry for what happened".

You felt the strong urge to cry and let them wrap their arms around you, but part of you did not believe their words. By now it seemed to you that they were only pretending to really love you. All you had been thinking about for weeks was how you felt like the third wheel in your relationship, as if they were only with you for convenience, because you were fun for them and not because they cared about you. 

The way they talked to each other, cuddled and had fun without you had started to make you feel insecure about your role in the relationship with Suguru and Satoru, even though those moments made you suspect that they didn't really need you, it still remained an assumption. But you also suspected that they were more aloof and impatient with you in a different way than between the two of them, and yesterday's discussion and the fact that they didn't want you with them in bed seemed to have awakened in you the confirmation of your worries. 

"How many times do we have to go through this again?" you said trying to hide the urge to cry "Now you apologize, but I know it will happen again in the future."

They looked at each other not believing your words.

"What do you mean, sweetheart?" asked Suguru. 

Then you confessed: "I am not part of this relationship.". 

"Yes, you're part of it, we love you Y/N," Satoru told her by taking her chin mat so she could look straight into your blue eyes "I know what we said to you was mean, but you mustn't think we don't love you just because we had a fight once. We..." 

"It's not just that" you interrupt him "I watch how you treat each other and you don't do it the same way you treat me. It's not the first time you've made me feel clingy, when you often do things as if I'm not there, when you change the subject as soon as I butt into the conversation or when you get nervous about the smallest things I do." you continued "I feel like that all the time, when we're together, when we talk to each other, even when we make love I feel like I'm just a fun for you, not someone you love."

After you opened up to them, your boyfriends stared at you, not believing what you had just told them. They were not sure what had made you doubt the love they both had for each other, but they thought back to the fact that the two of them had known each other longer than you, worked together and always together had faced so many problems and dark pasts that, although they had hurt them deeply, they had learnt to face them together and, no matter how hard you had tried to support them, as they had supported each other in the darkest moments of their lives. You were not to blame, they were simply part of a world of which you were not and could not be a part. 

Together they faced the death of Haibara and Riko and both shared the scars that had been inflicted on them by Toji Fushiguro. For years they supported each other and loved each other unconditionally, sharing everything with each other, everything they loved most, including you. 

They loved you, really loved you, but they knew that they had both shared something in their experience as sorcerers that had allowed them to strengthen their bond and their love, but they had left you behind.

They both did not know what to say because they knew that was the truth. The only thing they felt able to do was to hold you in their arms again, this time with more strength, with more affection, as if they did not want to let you go. Their faces were buried in you, Suguru in your back and Satoru's in your shoulder, and you heard them crying. 

"I have to take Nuko to the vet. But I think there's not much to do with him," you said, letting a silent tear slide down your cheek.

"Let us take you," Satoru told you, holding you tightly, rubbing his head in the crook of your neck.

"No, I need to be alone," your voice broke. By now you knew you had lost the boys you had fallen in love with and you just wanted to run away.

By now you could no longer contain the tears that fell uninterruptedly from your eyes, they let you go, and as you left the room carrying Nuko with you, you heard their sobs and your heart broke. 

______________

And now here you were, in the driveway of your backyard sitting on the seat of your car holding Nuko's yellow collar. 

You had been there for fifteen minutes already, but you hadn't yet made up your mind to get out and go into the house; you didn't know how you would face Satoru and Suguru. You were afraid that after all you had confessed to them before you left them alone in tears it would be the final turning point that would end your relationship. You didn't want to hurt them, just the thought of making them cry made you feel bad, you loved them, you loved them so much and you would probably separate. 

You took a couple of deep breaths and got out of the car. 

After entering the house you closed the door and took off your shoes still holding the collar. 

You had been out of the house all day and by now everyone must have gone to sleep. The house was silent and shrouded completely in darkness except for a light coming from the kitchen. 

As you silently entered you saw Suguru and Satoru sitting on either side of the dining table who, as soon as they noticed your presence, although you could glimpse tiredness and sadness in their eyes, tried to show you their best smile. 

They had been waiting for you.

They both extinguished their smiles when you approached them pointing out the traces of crying on your face, and only then did they realize that you had returned alone. 

You sat by Suguru's side with Satoru facing you and placed Nuko's collar on the table, letting them know that your cat was gone forever. Suddenly you felt tears fill your eyes again.

"Oh love, come here," Suguru hugged you, while Satoru got up from his chair to join you and do the same. You stayed like that for you don't know how long, despite everything that had happened, they were there for you at that moment, just as you were always there for them when they needed you. They let you cry and vent, hugging you as if to protect you from all the evil in the world. 

At one point you felt your body lift off the ground, you didn't know if it was Satoru or Suguru holding you, but you buried your tearful face in his neck as he carried you to the bedroom. 

They laid you in the middle of the bed and held you close all night, even when you all fell asleep together. 

Perhaps there was still hope between you, perhaps all was not lost.  

Click here for the final part

Tag: @tatahungry

[izvmimi]

cw: spoilers. after timeskip. selfship-coded. reader has a defined quirk. hurt/comfort.

As strong as the bond between any high school class can be (even yours, arguably more a small superpowered militia than a group of hopeful freshmen in far over their heads and strong enough to make it through the other end anyway), paths diverge as people follow their dreams, even if they will all forever call UA their home. 

It’s fitting that Izuku Midoriya, indisputably the most affected by the trauma of the meta war has kept UA as home base, and settling into his new career as teacher has remained both expected and fulfilling, even if poorly introspective onlookers would think otherwise. He is the heart of what it means to be a hero and that is to inspire the present and the future, and carry on the lessons of the past.

He is also your heart, you muse, as you find him sitting at your kitchen table, poring over graded essays, the red ink from his excessively lengthy corrections and comments practically jumping off the paper it’s scribbled on. You set down your work bag and attempt to sneak up behind him, but even if he’s focused and still, he’s always sharp, setting his pen down to turn around and greet you with a kiss.

“Hey, you’re later than usual, so I just let myself in, is that okay?” he asks. You nod, moving over to wash your hands in the sink quickly, then coming back around to pull a chair next to him. 

You’ve wanted to ask him to just move in together for months now, especially since now you spend more time at each other’s places than you do your own separate ones, but something about the proposition has felt wrong, rushed maybe. It’s been just a little over a year since you moved back to Japan after your fellowship overseas, and while you’ve remained in a varying level of contact the whole time since graduation, the flux of things has changed significantly instead of settling normally. For one, confessing an unrelenting affection that was kept mostly secret since high school had changed the trajectory of your lives, finding ways to incorporate seeing each other without fanfare between your busy post-grad education and his UA courses, then finally a year of long distance had made it difficult to ever feel like things had been truly steady.

“I wouldn’t have given you a code or key if not, silly,” you remind him. He smiles, and you glance over at the last assignment he’s corrected, and grimace. 

“You know if Aizawa had given me this many comments on an essay, I wouldn’t have shown up the next day, Izuku,” you remind him. He laughs, as you take the paper and read his feedback, mind spinning.

“I mean, no kid’s ever cried yet. I try to be nice.”

He is nice, you think, realizing that not a single word in the practical novel he’s scribbled in the margins of the brief constructed response can be misconstrued as disappointed or demanding. 

In fact, you would have cried tears of joy reading this. 

“How was the clinic?” he asks over the turn of another page.

“The most darling kid who didn’t have a Quirk manifest yet at age 5 showed up with worried parents with too much money on their hands.” You twist your mouth to the side. 

Izuku doesn’t look up as he says, “Oh, that’s too bad.”

There’s a pang of discomfort in your chest for a split second, but he doesn’t say anything else, scribbling a series of checkmarks and x’s, the quick scritch of his pen a little louder and resounding.

Izuku was meant to be Quirkless and is happy being Quirkless yet again, his mission fulfilled and the world better for it - even if sometimes only marginally so - but you know he yearns for the ability to be back on the field, with the same restlessness All Might once recounted feeling once he’d retired to teach as well. It’s evident in the way Izuku stays up a little too late reading/watching the news at every level, and how much of his free time he coordinates to a similarly intense training program at the crack of dawn, and the fact that even now he bristles at the implication of Quirklessness as a disability.

Everyone can be a hero. He was the greatest of them all - is, in fact, and not just your personal one, but his own personal world has shrunk. Documentaries, videos, people’s memories will not change that the fact that he’s far bigger than the quiet life he lives.

Now he’s relegated to cheering his friends on, day in and day out, and preparing a path for the youth to surpass him, something he is willing to do, but you know perhaps the timing is a bit too early for someone who shines as brightly as him. 

You rest your head on his shoulder. I love you, you could say out loud, I love you, and the world loves you, for you even more than what you did and what you represent, but it doesn’t help and Izuku cannot help sometimes interpreting your love as pity.

“What do you want for dinner?” you ask instead, keeping your voice as gentle as possible.

He turns to kiss your forehead. “I’m good with anything.”

You hate that no matter what you ask, big or small, he’ll always say this, and decide you’ll order his favorite food instead.

—

Years ago, when Mei contacted you out of the blue while you were ass deep in your medical school finals, asking you if you remembered the last time you’d used your Quirk on Izuku Midoriya, you had immediately assumed she had officially gone insane. It had been greater than five years since you’d last had a normal conversation with her at all, if even that could be considered normal, and you hadn’t had a need to use your Quirk on Izuku since the meta war.

“I know it’s a long shot but I need to know if you still remember-”

“I do,” you answered quickly, then immediately your face warmed at the admission. You can’t help that your Quirk gives you near perfect memory of people by their neuronal diagram, but something about it feels stalkerish when you still think of him affectionately, and not just as someone you’ve once healed. It also doesn’t help what the circumstances were when you’d healed him… but that would be a concern and memory for later.

“How can I help?”

Katsuki rolled his eyes visibly at you when you showed up to Hatsume’s lab the very next day but the animosity between you two has been a running schtick for years and you responded in jest. Using Hatsume’s program to redraw each neuronal connection from memory and adjusting for differences related to age was your greatest contribution to Izuku’s suit, small sums of money to contribute to the class pot whenever you could spare them the other.

There was always a little pang of jealousy that Katsuki could always offer up more money than you could, which once you’d confided to him by late night phone call days before All Might came back to Japan, he’d remind you,

“I’m just trying to beat your boyfriend in a fair fight, don’t make this about you.”

Katsuki’s rash way of speaking has always intuitively comforted you in just this way. It brings a smile to your face, and you offer him a word of thanks, anyway.

“He doesn’t know, does he? I know you like to run your mouth.” 

Katsuki can’t see you roll your eyes. “He’s none the wiser, don’t worry.”

“Good.” 

—

Izuku sends you a daily good morning message, and you’ve rarely beaten him to the punch, but this morning, you offer him a phone call as you make your way to the center of the city to work. All Might is coming back today and will present his suit to him then, the fruit of all your joint labors, and you were practically unable to sleep due to the excitement. Part of you agonized over whether or not you should try to be with him in the moment, but this is a moment to be kept between them, mentor and mentee.

“How are you feeling this morning, Izuku?” you ask, hoping the pants of your speedwalk (late to work as usual), don’t concern him through the phone.

“Weirdly enough, excited. There’s a feeling I can’t quite place, a good one,” he starts, and your grin is ear to ear.

Hours later, you get an excited text and one of the happiest phone calls you’ve ever received, and your heart is full to bursting.

—

“It’s fine, you don’t have to fuss over me,” Izuku insists, and you pout. There’s one stubborn emerald curl that won’t right itself in your opinion, and he’ll be on set for an interview in just a few minutes - the first since returning to active hero work - but he holds your fingers in his hand and pulls them to his lips instead.

“It’s okay. Don’t be nervous on my behalf,” he reminds you as he kisses them. His eyes are kind and relaxing, and you let out a deep breath, biting your lower lip. “I’ve got this, I promise.”

“Fine.”

“I love you,” he reminds you. “Thank you for always being by my side.”

You nod, as his assistant whisks him away, and he steps back into the spotlight, where he’s always belonged.

[aretheyqueer]

List of Canonically Trans/gnc Characters

My own list in this post is anime, manga, games mostly but in the spreadsheet you can add anything.

Following my tierlist of them, I realized I should make a public list so theyre not just kept in my head, since I spent quite a while finding these characters. If you want to watch/play anything with trans or gnc characters, you can use this list.

They range from good rep to bad, characters viewed as "traps" or not taken seriously to ones that the whole fandom understands is trans. I've added trigger warnings to the characters and fandoms I know can be triggering. I've also put certain names in bold to show that they're a main character, but i've only watched a few on this list so some are missing.

I would add trigger warnings for "bury your gays" and similar tropes, but I want to avoid spoilers. Maybe you can look it up first if you're worried. I've tried to exclude characters that are referred to as hermaphrodites.

The "crossdressers" section obviously includes some spoilers.

Enjoy :D

Transfem

Alice Arisuin from Chivalry of a Failed Knight (Prefers feminine name and terms but doesn't care too much).

Arachne from Angel Sanctuary

Arashi Narukami from Ensemble Stars

Astolfo from the Fate/Grand series

Leonardo Da Vinci from the Fate/Grand series (unsure)

Cassandra Igarashi from The Wicked + The Divine

Dahlia Carpenter from Carole & Tuesday

Victoria October from Batman

Elendira the Crimsonnail from Trigun Stampede

Giselle Gewelle from Bleach (The fandom is very transphobic)

Grell from Black Butler (Unnecessarily debated)

Hana from Tokyo Godfathers

Okasan from Tokyo Godfathers (Could be a drag queen)

Hibari Oozora from Stop!! Hibari-kun!

Isabella Yamamoto from Paradise Kiss

Kanamori from Heaven's Design Team

Kano Ienaga from Golden Kamuy

Kaoru Anesagi from IDOLiSH7

Kaoru Hanase from Tamako Market (Speculated to be a trans woman)

Kenji Hikiishi from My Hero Academia

Kikinojo from One Piece

Mariandale/Marian from Ixion Saga DT

Mizuki Akiyama from Project Sekai (Heavily implied)

Momoko from Shangri-La

Kikyou Motoki from Itazura Na Kiss

Nao from Skip and Loafer

Nathan Seymour from Tiger & Bunny

Perfuma from She-Ra and the Princesses of power

Petrichor from Saga

Ruka Urushibara from Steins;Gate (Transphobic fandom)

Saber from the Fate/Grand series

Stephanie from Majutsushi Orphen

Ushiyama from All Worlds Alliance

Hiroyuki Yoshida from Wandering Son

Shuuichi Nitori from Wandering Son

Yuujirou Shiratori from The Highschool Life of a Fudanshi

Transmasc

Hachiro from Gintama

Kite from Japan Sinks: 2020

Kusuo Saiki from The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. (Turned himself into a boy when he was in the womb, otherwise never mentioned)

Ryo Watari from Boys Run the Riot

Shou Fujita from Stars Align (Very minor character)

Tooru Mutsuki from Tokyo Ghoul:re

Yamato from One Piece

Yawara Chatora from My Hero Academia

Yoshino Takatsuki from Wandering Son

Nonbinary

Anne Faulkner from Paradox Live

Asra from The Arcana

Alucard from Hellsing Ultimate (genderfluid)

Chaos from Hades

Berg Katze from Gatchaman Crowds (androgynous)

O. D. from Gatchaman Crowds

Daishikyou from Gintama

Chevalier D'Eon from Fate/Grand series

Enkidu/Lancer from Fate/Grand series (Inherently no gender/sex)

Double Trouble from She-Ra and the Princesses of power

Envy from Fullmetal Alchemist (can transform into any gender)

Francois from Dr. Stone

Halara Nightmare from Master Detective Archives: Rain Code

Hange from Attack on titan (Fandom mostly refers to them as female)

Ivankov Emporio from One Piece (i'm not sure what they identify as)

Juniper from Xenoblade Chronicles

Kaoruko Someya from Okane ga Nai (Okama)

Kimera from Kimera (nb or transfem)

Kyuubei Yagyuu (Born female, raised male so has an unconventional relationship with gender)

Vanitas of the Blue Moon from The Case Study of Vanitas

Milo Belladonna from Monster Prom

Mogumo from Love Me For Who I Am

Najimi Osana from Komi can't communicate (Unknown gender)

Nakuru Akizuki from Cardcaptor Sakura (Sexless, identifies as female)

Nico from Tokyo Ghoul (Okama)

Opera from Marimashita! Iruma-kun

Orochimaru from Naruto

Ryuuji Ayukawa from Blue Period (Unsure, can be gnc/transfem/nonbinary)

Satan from Devilman

Shion Zaiden from RWBY

Someone (yes thats their name) from Shimanami Tasogare

Xanthe Zhou from Prime Earth

Yuuta Asuka from Stars Align

Intersex

Asuka Ran from Devilman Lady

Luca Esposito from Asra Lost in Space (identifies as male)

Desmond from Carole & Tuesday (Became intersex due to universe stuff but is at peace with this)

Megumi Yoshikawa from Princess Princess (Raised male before she found out she was genetically female, decides to live as a girl)

Richard III from Requiem of the Rose King (Struggles with his intersexuality, feels his body and him are unloveable)

Yoite from Nabari no Ou (Lives as male but they're unsure of their gender)

Crossdressers

Aki from Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi

Azumi Agonoske from Gintama

Buzam A. Calessa from Vandread

Ferris from Re:Zero (I've heard that the novel version is transfem)

Haruhi Fujioka from Ouran high school host club (Nonbinary coded)

Ranka/Ryouji Fujioka from Ouran high school host club (Drag queen)

Hatsuka Suzushiro from Call of the Night

Hazumu Osaragi from Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl

Kurako from Kuragehime

Naoto Shirogane from Persona 4 (The reveal can be triggering)

Chihiro Fujisaki from Danganronpa (The reveal can be very triggering - I recommend looking it up first if you're worried.)

Nuriko from Fushigi Yuugi (Unsure)

Rui Ninomiya from Gatchaman (May be transfem)

Cis characters that are gnc

Haruka Tenou from Sailor Moon

Kaoru Orihara from Oniisama e... (not sure what gender)

Kashima Yuu from Monthly Girl's Nozaki-kun

Complicated

Angela from Black Butler (Changes form)

Berg Katse from Gatchaman (Changes form)

Fushi from To Your Eternity (Can change into female but presents masc)

Ginshu from Amatsuki (Raised male, turned genderless, dressed feminine. Idk their gender identity)

Inazuma from One Piece (Can present as both male and female, okama)

Izana Shinatose from Knights of Sidonia (Genderless to female due to universe rules)

Kou Seiya from Sailor Moon: Sailor Stars (Has a male and female form, I think)

Mahiro Oyama from Onimai: I'm Now Your Sister! (Was turned into a girl against his will)

Mermaid Sisters from Carole & Tuesday (I don't know, man...)

Natsuru Senou from Kämpfer (Transformed into a woman)

Shi Qingxuan from Heaven Officials Blessing (Can transform)

Ranma Saotome from Ranma (Changes between them)

Hinata Tachibana from Life with an Ordinary Guy who Reincarnated into a Total Fantasy Knockout (Gets transformed into a girl, goes on a quest to get their original body back)

--------

If you see anyone missing, feel free to let me know if I should add them. Input on who is a main character, triggering themes and offensive characters can be commented or sent to me.

[suguru-getos]

| Aftermath | Keigo Takami x f!TherapistReader |

-> chapter one

summary: hawks who has just lost his quirk in the war & coping with his life as a quirkless man, decides to finally listen to his own self & seek therapy. why did he choose a quirkless therapist? maybe to seek solidarity— or maybe, he hoped you’d not judge him.

warnings: therapy, childhood!trauma, bnha!spoilers, mentions of inner child healing, keigo talks about his childhood, mentions of toxic!parenting, cocky!kei as always.

a/n: don't mind me giving my comfort character and my loml some healing lmaooo <33 i had sm fun writing this istg it made my heart warm. this is a slow burn fic, and the reader is a self-insert on some points because i can get self indulgent tehee!!

You wandered aimlessly, looking around the suite-like cabin and then down the skyline. Tokyo was always beautiful, even now when winters had just started to greet. There was a foggy blanket of clouds covering the labyrinth of buildings and you could never get over it. With your next client, it was obvious your thoughts were along the lines of… an Angel flying out in the skies keeping everyone safe, now reduced to someone without wings. Still an Angel though, but that's what you think. Maybe he doesn't.

You grimly sighed when your eyes wandered at the clock, there were still 30 minutes to your appointment, normally… someone like you would never get the opportunity to deal with heroes so popular. Hawks was a no show after the war, people thought he had died. People thought he left Japan for good. Though a faint glimmer of hope always made you want to believe he's still around. To your surprise when he was your client, you felt a knot on your stomach churn with anticipation and excitement.

You sat on your velvety chair, the lights dim and comfortable to the modernized architecture of your office. You gulped, opening his file and looking at the passport photograph of him. The scar he got in one of the fights in which a villain named Dabi publicized his kill was there, siren eyes staring into your very soul were there. How could you even try to open up someone who looks so ethereal and so threatening at the same time. You feel just as nervous as your first time, the personality that Hawks carries eating away at you slowly. You shook your head, jerking the thoughts away. Be professional, he is a client and you're doing your job.

If you hadn't been so dazed by your favorite hero and your crush; you were quite a number yourself. Cut-throat, not afraid to walk the talk, stern, fierce, kind and disciplined. People respect you and you command it when they don't. Not afraid to force someone to bend the knee if they indulge in animosity with you. It's just… Hawks was someone you admired oh-so-much! You had his merch and posters after all. Not that he would get to know that, oh no. That'd never happen.

Takami Keigo, 26, Born on December 28th. Blood group B+, MBTI-> ENTP, Schooling and training and everything was blank. Difficult, this would be a difficult case to deal with.

How did you fangirl over him? Well, that's perhaps for another day.

"Excuse me, Ma'am. He's here." Your assistant opened the door with a knock and you felt your stomach sink, biting your lip nervously and clearing your throat to gain composure.

"Hey there doc!" there he was, with his magical grin and long palms raised up to his eye level as he waved. Wearing denims and a loose fitted white T-Shirt. Casual, cute, confident.

"Oh hello Hawks!" You manifested the same energy, greeting him respectfully by standing up and bowing a little. "Jeez, can't get rid of the name yet huh?" He chuckles, though your mind has already starting to process if it was a fake one, the carefully crafted hero chuckle or was he genuinely this chill.

"I don't think so, whether or not you do hero work, you own the name." you responded with a smile, ushering him to take his seat. Oh he manspreads, leaning back and getting comfortable. Makes you wonder if he can see through the cracks of your personality just as you're trying to see in his. Who will unfold who first…

You closed the client book you had, looking into the beautiful goldens of his eyes and making eye contact. "So, I know the first session is usually the most awkward one. People try to get to know their shrink before letting themselves to open up." You glanced, and Hawks looked like he would devour you whole. He looked invested in your words, not in a faking concentration way… in a 'I will listen to what you have to say' way.

"Allow me to share some stuff about myself then, my name is Y/N. I am a therapist good morning. Apart from that, I like to participate in various hobbies like kickboxing, journalling, playing games, spending time with my cat, yada yada. I am an INTJ, I think MBTI has started taking the same wavelength in Japan as Korea huh? Everyone's obsessed with em' I think."

"Well" Hawks clicked his tongue, clearly unamused by your introduction, it was brief and curt. Not a fair deal for someone who will unravel him… then again, you are his therapist, not vice versa.

"I think so too, do you know, a lot of the fans pretend to be INTJs because they tend to be compatible with ENTPs?" He chuckled, rolling his eyes. God he does know everything… there was a whole article about this. "We could do the quiz together if you have your concerns." "Shyeah- no, I don't. Just sharin' yknow?" he winked, noticing how you nervously pressed your legs together. He was wearing Killian's Angel Share, and Bad Boy… one of your favorite scents & the effects were almost affecting you almost at a subconscious level.

"Mkay, gotcha! So, anyways… I don't want to force you to open up, take your time in it. Let's start simple. How are you?" You asked Hawks, and for a moment, the barest of seconds, you could see his eyes turn to a void. "Yeah, good, never been better you know? Vacationing now that I have a sick ton of money with practically nothin' to do. Ain't gonna waste it otherwise by being depressed."

You clicked your tongue, oh he would not open up huh? Well, not that you expected this to be an easy ride either. "Yeah, of course. Money does help… helps everyone. At the end of the day I'm sitting on this chair to be paid a hefty by you." You hum, crossing your legs and getting comfortable too. This would be a fierce mental war already. From the determination of a hero and from a healer who's been sought out by the same hero.

"Then again, it isn't everything."

Oh except if you could tell that to childhood Hawks, it was… it was everything. His eyes pale with the answer a little. "Led a very comfortable life haven't you?" He smirked, giving you a miniscule opening.

"Yeah, luckily." You responded, smiling… "Clearly you haven't."

Hawks stood silent at that, and that was an answer enough.

"You were a rich kid since you started your agency, was this your teens or childhood?" Before Hawks could decipher, the session had already begun.

"Well, I was the viral news subject after they found out I was Thief Takami's son." He raised a brow, and you nodded. "Shitty murderer dad, mum?" You felt bad on being so professional, but you also felt Hawks would push you away if you were too kind. Some people have stopped treating him as a person ever since All for One had taken his quirk away.

"Mum was well, absent, mentally." He responded, and shrugged. "Dad was abusive, used to beat me up as a child and mum was too engrossed in her own shit I suppose. Happy for her that she has a new life with a new husband and new kids." It was amusing how Hawks didn't sound salty about it… it could only mean detachment to the finest. A befitting coping mechanism.

"You didn't have to go through that, I'm guessing if I needed to ever, talk to baby Hawks, I can't have a childhood photograph?" You glanced hopefully. "Nah, not a single childhood photograph. Dad was too paranoid of things and mum didn't care."

"We usually uh, have this exercise you know? That you'd keep a picture of your childhood self at your bathroom mirror and remember who you're talking about whenever you feel self-doubt." You smiled, looking into his eyes with empathy but no pity.

"Well, too bad." He chuckled, embarrassed and definitely not liking this emotion.

"Who cares at the end of the day, it's just the first few years of your life." He responded again balming his own thoughts more so than talking to you.

"Yeah, but every phase of our life is important. When your father abused you, hit you, didn't you feel enraged? Or scared? Or both?" You bit your lip, trying to mentally detach as much as possible.

"I felt nothing. I just wanted to not end up like them. If I was as angry as him, then I would become like him. Even my childhood self knew I'm better than that." There was pride in his eyes when he said so.

"True, yes, however… no expectations from your mum to save you?" Hawks shook his head no, shrugging. "She'd get beaten up too."

You nodded, not writing anything down on the paper just yet.

"Alright, I want you to do something for me." He raised a brow when you said that, "I don't want us to traverse further until you try doing this, mkay?" You grinned, "Imagine someone coming to your home, breaking the door at the moment of your abuse, that someone is you. The big, pro hero, you. Then, I'd like you to hold little Keigo's hand, and take him out. How about that?"

Hawks gave you an expression which was a mixture of 'How absurd' and 'Interesting'.

"Do that for me, and do that as many times and in as many scenarios you feel like you needed to be protected. You needed to be healed from." You coo softly… meanwhile Hawks' brain lagged at you saying 'Little Keigo'. So far he thought you didn't know his name… despite it being telecasted worldwide. No, you just refer to old Keigo as Hawks, but little Keigo isn't Hawks… he's just Keigo.

Was he reading too much into this? Would you soon bridge the gap between little Keigo and Hawks? Would you call him Keigo too?

The alarm clock chimed, time was over. You glanced at it and then back at him. "Well, guess you wouldn't be bored anymore, of me." "Hey, give yourself some credit little Shrink." he winked, smirking, "You're really good at this, can't wait to see you next time." "Don't come until you don't do what I asked." "Sure thing jeez."

With that, he left, and you could almost kill yourself at the way you tried to imagine little Hawks in pain. No, attaching to clients is the biggest NO. Yet, you can't help but feel positive tingles at the thought of him doing that little exercise and telling you about it.

Until next time, Keigo Takami.

[thr0wnawayy]

Where Are They At?: A look into a Post Liberation World

Hey y'all. This post serves as an overview/in sight into MHA's world post Liberation War.

Unlike my previous posts these will be written from an "outside" perspective. Another thing I should note is in regards to the movies (can also apply to the LN):

Taken from my notes: (Movies aren't canon but the characters and settings are [ WHM being the exception due to fitting in the vanilla TL) -Thr0wnawayy

The Shimano family had their island home ruined in the wake of the PLW.

After the heroes used the villains as cannon fodder and warped them across Japan(and co), the Shimano's found themselves at a loss.

1. Villains had quite literally fallen out of the sky

2. The battles they fought were inescapable due to having no safe way off the island.

Most of the island had been rendered inhospitable in the aftermath.

With nowhere to go* the entire community fell apart. The Shimano's fled to America to start a new life, meeting the Tsuyoshi's along the way.

Their story is one of many, those who could afford it left the country for good. Becoming known as the "Seekers" (In Australia they're called Roosties, in Otheon they are called Sköll)

_______________________________________

Without getting too much into spoilers, here's some world news:

Nedzu's pressuring only lead to greater resentment from aiding countries.

The amount of favours Nedzu had to cash in was astronomical and this led to the country sinking further into debt due to acquiring interest, with Japan now owing the various countries debt money.

Stars and Stripes Death will be seen as the equivalent of a second pearl habour by the US (and yes, history has been preserved well enough for MHA's America to remember that.)

Further contributing to America's hate of Japan was the fact that when the (Endeavor-Dabi) drought hit the west coast, the other nations had no resources left to extend. Not for the US and not for themselves, with the effort to rebuild Japan having drained their finances (even with the cut corners).

Thus souring the HPSC's/Japan's relations further with the world stage, worse still, most of the buildings were temporary (being meant to be redone or renovated), not structurally stable and meant to be lived in for 2-5 years at best.

U.A was especially a victim of this, with repairs having been rushed in time for graduation (which further tightened UA's spending). Over-all It was a rush job and corners had to be cut to meet deadlines

Uraraka Construction and many other companies had their reputations rise and fall seemingly over night (though this wont happen until 1A reaches their 3rd year).

In the aftermath of the war, single parent families and orphan rates have skyrocketed.

Midoriya's weather changing punch fucked up the meteorologist's data, no one could have seen the drought coming.

Not all the footage recorded by the businesses course was used (approved) for the broadcast

*if you thought the rebuilding efforts were bad in the mainland, then it was practically nonexistent for the islanders, being the most neglected group besides quirkless individuals.

It should be noted that Monoma was the one to create the portals using Kurogiri's quirk, however he lacked both the experience and fine control necessary for accuracy. Hence why some of the portals were in the sky, this also contributed to the random placement of the portals.

Although only Gigantomachia and The Sludge Villain were put under Shinso's mindcontrol, the general belief of the public is that all the villains were influenced rather than disoriented and panicked.

[liminal-station]

MODCAT’S HALLOWEEN SPECIL

Happy Halloween, people of Earth! Today is a day of costumes, candy, and booping, apparently. And for the last few days, I’ve been working on a treat to give to all of you!

I deal with the multiverse a lot on this blog, so I’ve seen my fair share of differences and oddities. For instance, did you know there’s a world where the Subway Bosses aren’t Pokemon characters, but are actually characters from a Tim Burton film? In the film, Ingo dies and enters the afterlife, where he is selected by the ferryman Charon to take his place. He uses his power to travel back to the world of the living and reunite with Emmet, setting the stage for a macabre adventure between worlds.

Eeeeexcept that’s not actually a universe I or the Liminal Twins have been to. It’s an AU I’ve had in the works for around a year now, titled Psychopomp and Circumstance. I’m excited to release the first chapter once it’s completed, but for now, I’ve got a tasting portion for you to sink your teeth into, with a special guest appearance by the ghost with the most, if you know what I mean~

Word count: 3663

Content warnings: frequent death mentions, detached body parts (cartoony), mild swearing, kicking a horse, insects inside someone

Spoilers for Beetlejuice 1 and 2

Enjoy! And remember… don’t say his name three times.

Amongst the dead, only two men have the power to travel to the world of the living whenever they please and be seen by living humans. One is the psychopomp, appointed by Charon himself and given the sacred task of escorting the dead to their resting place. The other, the afterworld’s most wanted criminal. The man was easy to find, but hard to catch; simply saying his name aloud thrice was all it took to invoke him, but he obeyed no law but his own. In his hundreds of years of undeath, he had become a master of dark magic, with the power to warp reality itself in the blink of an eye. Not even the living were immune to his cruel and unusual machinations. The dead all knew him by name, but few dared to speak it.

It had been a few weeks since Ingo Vanderbilt’s tragic death. After being chosen to take over as the official psychopomp, he returned to Earth to reunite with his brother, Emmet, and show him the truth of life and death. Since that day, Emmet made a habit of visiting the afterworld as his brother's official plus-one. He was nowhere near used to the macabre and unsettling nature of the place, but he found that death wasn’t all that different from life, and he was, of course, grateful to have his twin brother back.

The two of them were headed to meet up with one of Ingo’s new acquaintances, a woman named Irida who was a great warlord in ancient Japan. Emmet was still quite a bit bewildered that his brother held such a high rank in the afterlife, but proud of him nonetheless. As they walked through the winding cobblestone streets, Emmet following the light of his brother’s lantern, Ingo spotted a wall of posters illuminated by a skull-shaped street lamp. Emmet didn’t even notice Ingo had stopped until he heard the sound of paper ripping.

“Uh… Ingo? Why exactly are you taking down that poster?”

Ingo ripped the poster into unreadable scraps with his skeletal hands, and tossed them to the howling wind.

“We cannot have that fiend advertising his “services”. Not on my watch.” Ingo began to tear off a few more of the posters, letting them fall to the ground. Curious, Emmet picked up one of the posters…

TROUBLED BY THE LIVING? Exor-cise YOUR right to rest in peace! Call the afterlife’s leading bio-exorcist TODAY toll-free!

Commercial - Residential - Industrial

BETELGEUSE BETELGEUSE BETELGEUSE

“Ingo, you have to be overreacting. Sure, this could be a scam, but you should really deal with that through the proper channels!”

“You don’t understand”, Ingo said as his half-rotten head turned a perfect 180 degrees to look at his brother. “That man is a danger to both the dead AND the living. That “bio-exorcism” gig is just his way to open the door… and once that door is open, he is uncontrollable. He can even bring direct harm to the living…”

Emmet’s eyebrows shot up. “H-he can hurt the living? I thought that was forbidden!”

“It is. But he knows the laws from front to back, and he knows exactly how to bend them. If some poor soul happened to summon him, the entire afterworld could be in danger.”

Emmet looked down at the flier again. It even had a section detailing this man’s “romantic” services… ew. But Emmet simply couldn’t see how something like this could be the work of an immortal dark mage…

“If he really is a danger to ghost-anity, I’m sure the authorities are already looking for him. Besides, how is anyone supposed to get a hold of him, anyway? There’s no phone number to be seen anywhere in this entire advertisement! Just the word “Betelgeuse” over and over…”

“Emmet, I am warning you from the bottom of my cold, unbeating heart to NOT say that name. If you say it three times in a row…”

“Okay, okay! I will conduct my safety checks, you can trust me…”

As the twins continued to walk through the twisted streets, paved with chunks of gravestone and dead grass, Emmet couldn’t shake the thought of that name. Every time Ingo would take down one of the advertisements, he would glance down at the scraps and repeat that accursed name in his head. He was used to Ingo haunting the station, but for his mind to be haunted was a totally different experience.

“Quite a few beetles out today…” Ingo remarked offhandedly as he felt the crunch of a beetle under his boot. Beetle… could it be? Was this some sort of sign? Emmet tried his best to keep his composure, but he began to wonder… What would happen? What would truly happen if he gave in and summoned the bio-exorcist? He was not even sure what services he would need, or what he would be paying in, but the thought was almost demonically tantalizing, and the sensation only grew with every second. He began mouthing the word silently… Betelgeuse. Beetle-Juice. It felt… right, somehow. It was as if he was born to say that name.

“Emmet? Earth to Emmet!”

Emmet quickly snapped out of his own thought spiral.

“Uh- yeah. I-I’m okay.”

Ingo looked incredibly worried. “You froze in the middle of the sidewalk… are you getting tired? Do you not want to meet Irida? Both are quite okay, I promise.”

Emmet shook his head, his mind still filled with thoughts. “N-no, it’s just… I-I’ll be alright, brother.”

Ingo placed his cold hands on his brother's shoulders. “You are clearly not. Is it the temperature? Us dead folk can withstand the cold, but you’re still alive. Do you want to wear my coat?”

A beetle fluttered past and landed on Ingo’s arm. That small event, a single insect, was all it took for Emmet to finally break.

“B-Buh… Buh…”

“Emmet?!? Don’t worry, I’ll get you back to the world of the living. Just remain calm!”

“Buh… Beetlejuice…”

Ingo took a step back. “E-Emmet? You’ll be okay, we-“

“Beetlejuice.” Emmet was set in his ways. He didn’t even look at his brother. Ingo tried desperately to make his brother reconsider, but he feared it was already too late.

“Brother! Please, you must change your track! You don’t understand what this could do! You could be putting us both in danger!

But Emmet did not hesitate. He couldn’t live without knowing. The curiosity gnawed at his very soul, pushing him forward, forcing that last word out of his mouth. He tossed aside his fears, and proclaimed:

“BEETLEJUICE!”

The ground began to shake as the sky clouded over, flashing with green lightning and booming thunder. The twins held on tight to their hats as the wind quickly sped up, on the verge of becoming a hurricane. To Emmet, it felt as though the world had started spinning, spinning, spinning…

And then, it stopped. Emmet steadied himself, allowing his racing heart to slow down. The twins found themselves standing in what appeared to be a small call center, staffed entirely by men with shrunken heads who answered call after call despite all their mouths being sewn shut.

“Ingo? Uh… where are we?”

“I don’t care where we are. We have to get out.” He hoisted up the Stygian Lantern, the ancient artifact bestowed upon him by Charon that granted him the ability to travel anywhere in seconds…

“Huh? Where did the lantern go?!”

The lantern, the source of Ingos power, was nowhere to be found. He began to panic, knowing he was utterly powerless without it and had no means of escape or self-defense.

“Looking for this?”, said a voice that sounded like it had been smoking a pack a day for the past hundred years. The twins turned to face a man sitting at the desk who definitely hadn’t been there moments before. His legs were crossed with his feet resting on the desk, and he dangled the lantern above his head, his sunken eyes going over every detail.

“Been meaning to get my hands on this puppy. Thanks for dropping it off, boys!”

“You will give that back this instant!” Ingo proclaimed, standing his ground even in this unfamiliar place. “That lantern is mine and mine alone! Only I can wield it!”

“Hm… nah.” Instead of standing up, Beetlejuice simply floated out of his seat casually. “With this little doohickey, I’ll finally be able to get around that “saying my name three times” rule. And then I can visit Lydia whenever I want.”

Emmet finally chimed in, nervously asking “Uh… who’s Lydia?”

“Who’s Lydia?! Only the most beautiful, kind-hearted, angelic woman I’ve met in 500 years! I simply can’t imagine after-living without her…” Sad music began to play from everywhere at once, as if the air itself turned into pure song. “But she rejected me BOTH times I tried to force her to marry me!”

“Um… that doesn’t exactly seem consensual, Mister Juice, sir…” Emmet stammered.

“You’re doing all this… because of a CRUSH?! An UNREQUITED one at that?!? Ugh… you will hand the Stygian Lantern back NOW.”

Beetlejuice simply cackled, filling the air with the disgusting stench of his breath. “Last time I checked, the guy with the lantern makes the rules… and the guy with the lantern is ME. Sayonara, fuckers.”

With a raise of his hairy eyebrow, a trapdoor in the floor opened up, or rather, manifested on the spot. The brothers Vanderbilt held onto each other's hands as they fell, eventually landing on a sand dune. Emmet coughed up sand, meanwhile Ingo didn’t need to as it passed right through his exposed, organless ribcage.

“Where are we now?” Emmet asked. Ingo tried to speak, but was interrupted by a booming roar. Something big was rustling underneath the surface, encircling them…

Suddenly, it burst up from underground in a cloud of desert sand. The twins were face to face with a sandworm, the apex predator of Saturn’s moon. It opened its massive, fanged mouth full of stalactite-sized teeth, revealing a second head within, both salivating at the sight of their next meal.

“INGO?! WHAT DO WE DO?!?”

“It should be obvious… WE RUN!!!”

The two bolted away, rushing through the sandy canyon of the alien planet. Ingo held Emmet’s hand as they ran, dragging him along since Ingo didn’t have lungs to run out of breath with. The beast swam in and out of the sand as it hunted them down, snaking in a zig-zag pattern to gain speed. Its jaws were so close, Emmet could nearly feel its breath on the back of his neck.

The twins spotted a strangely-shaped rock and immediately crouched down behind it, keeping as quiet as they possibly could. Ingo’s heart would be pounding out of his chest, if he had a heart or a chest. The sandworm continued to scan the area, using its heat-sensitive vision to hunt down ghosts, its favorite prey. Emmet held his breath, trying to make himself as small as possible, while Ingo contemplated how the hell they were going to get out of this. He knew he would simply be digested and pop back up in the afterworld, but that wasn’t an option since Emmet was still alive. Suddenly, the trapdoor opened up again, and a hand reached down from the hole in the sky.

“Grab my hand!”

It was Irida! Ingo and Emmet knew they had no time to question how she had found them. They waited until the worm dove back under the sand, and when it did they ran as fast as they could back to the trapdoor. Unfortunately, the worm could sense something hot and cold nearby, and went right back to the chase.

“Emmet, it’s too high up! How are we going to reach?!”

Emmet tried to think, although his mind was mainly focused on survival.

“I’ve got it! You can detach your limbs, right? Take off your arm! I’ll hold onto your leg, don’t worry!”

“On it!” Ingo grabbed onto his right shoulder with his left hand, and ripped it out at the base. Emmet was still amazed that he felt no pain whatsoever from doing that. Holding his detached arm in his other hand, he was able to reach up to take Irida’s hand. She pulled them up with all her strength, luckily avoiding the sandworm’s jaws just in time. The trapdoor shut behind them and fused back into the floorboards as Beetlejuice’s magic wore off. Emmet collapsed on the ground, huffing shallow breaths and trying to come out of survival mode.

“Thank you kindly, Lady Irida…”, Ingo said as he dusted sand off his uniform. “How is it that you found us, anyway?”

“You’re never late to ANYTHING. I knew something had to be up. And, of course, I could hear your brother screaming from a mile away.”

Emmet nervously scratched the back of his neck. “Must have been loud, then…”

With a moment to think clearly finally, he realized this whole situation wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t said those three little words. Both the world of the living and the world of the dead were in danger now because of him. Ingo knew his brother well, and he could tell when Emmet was receding into his own head. He sat down next to his brother, reattached his arm, and put it around his brother.

“Emmet, this isn’t your fault.”

“It is.” Emmet couldn’t even bring himself to look at his brother. “Your lantern… it’s gone. And it’s my fault. I-I don’t even know what I was thinking, I… I felt like I had to. I was so stupid… I should just go home.”

“Emmet… wait, I hear something. Would you… would you sit still for a moment?”

That snapped Emmet out of it just a little bit. “Uh… sure? What are you-“

He froze when he felt Ingo’s bony fingers digging inside his ear. He reached deep inside Emmet’s ear canal and pulled out a small, chittering beetle. “Here it is. I had a feeling.”

“Would you look at that…” Irida chimed in.

“See, it’s not your fault at all, Emmet. You just didn’t notice a bug in your ear. It was probably compelling you to summon Beetlejuice. I didn’t know he got into the mind control business…”

Emmet was utterly stunned, and decently traumatized as well. He had a bug in him… a BUG in his EAR. An entire BEETLE. He would never be clean again, no matter how much he bathed… The beetle fluttered up into the air, neon green wings shimmering as it left a trail of clearly magical residue behind it.

“Hold on a moment… you said the lantern is gone? It’s tied to your very soul, is it not? Why can’t you simply… call it back to you?” Irida questioned.

“Believe me, Lady Irida, I’ve tried. But this is Beetlejuice we’re talking about. His power even rivals Charon’s, dare I say…”

“Oh, him? Back in my time, he was known as quite the fearsome yokai, known for granting wishes in exchange for releasing chaos into people’s houses. It seems like he hasn’t changed much in the 200 years since… and if there’s anything I know about him, it’s that he can’t be allowed to keep your lantern!”

“W-well, technically it’s Charon’s lantern, I’m simply-“

Emmet suddenly had another idea. “I am Emmet. I suspect that if we follow the bug, it could lead us back to Beetlejuice!”

Ingo didn’t seem to mind that his brother interrupted him. “Emmet, once again, you are a genius! And if he’s piloting my ghost train…” He shudders, imagining that horrid scene. “…we could hijack it before he crosses the Styx!”

Irida stepped forward. “If it’s a train you’re after, you’ll need my horse. Not to worry, spirit horses always find their way back to their pastures!”

She put two fingers in her mouth and let out a whistle at a frequency only spirit horses could hear. That kind of summoning technique took many years to master, but Irida made it look easy. The galloping of its hooves could be heard from far in the distance, and it phased through the wall and into the room at the command of its master.

“Hop on. We’re losing moonlight, as Adaman would say. I hate it when he says that…” Ingo and Emmet sat behind Irida on the ethereal steed, and together they set off to take the lantern back once and for all.

A ghostly mist billowed from the smokestack of the Ghost Train as it rapidly approached the River Styx. Beetlejuice, dressed in a black-and-white striped conductors uniform, drove the train straight through the city streets, cackling all the way as it phased in and out of houses. Irida, Ingo and Emmet followed the smoke on horseback, Irida frequently commanding the horse to go faster with a kick to the ribcage. Ingo knew they were fast approaching the Styx, and while he trusted Irida and her 200 years of experience, he feared there may be no hope. They began to catch up just as the train left the city, and the three could see the river drawing closer. Beetlejuice hit the gas while a clone of him shoveled bones into the fire.

“Ingo! Emmet! You’re going to have to jump!”

“JUMP?!?” Emmet yelped. “If we miss, I’ll drown in the Styx!”

“Brother, I’m afraid we have no better option…”

Emmet’s done much more daring things than this. At least, that’s what he kept repeating in his head to calm his nerves. Just as the Ghost Train began to cross the river, the twins leapt off the horse. Ingo grabbed hold of the back of the train, and managed to catch Emmet’s hand. He hoisted Emmet across just before his arm came out of its socket. Again, Emmet had to catch his breath. This was certainly a night he wouldn’t forget for a long time…

Ingo turned to his brother. “You sneak in and get this train to stop before it reaches the threshold. Don't worry, I’ve designed the controls to be pretty intuitive. I’ll keep him distracted and try to get the lantern out of his hands.”

“Y-you’re sure about this? …okay. Trains are what I know best, after all!” Emmet broke into the train and made his way to the front, while Ingo used the attached ladder to climb up to the roof. The rumbling and shaking of the train was like second nature to him, even in death.

“Beetlejuice! I know you can hear me, you foul thing. We’re going to settle this like men, not creatures of the night.”

Beetlejuice peeked up from a hatch at the front of the train. “Damn hobos, trying to dodge fares again- huh? It’s YOU?! I sent you all the way to Titan, how did- you know what? Nevermind.” He hopped up to join Ingo on the roof, brandishing the stolen lantern with a toothy, yellow grin. “You want your toy back so bad? Hahaha…”

His laugh grew from a gentle chuckle to a maniacal cackle, and his stature began to grow as well. The bones in his arms cracked and snapped as they began to curl into spirals. His conductor's hat transformed before Ingo’s eyes into a carousel of sorts, with all manner of beasts spinning around his head, and the lantern spinning along with them, dangling from a hook.

“COME AND GET IT!!”

Ingo couldn't do much in the way of damage without his lantern, which could turn into a scythe in a burst of otherworldly flame. All he could do was dodge Beetlejuice’s hammer-hands and hope Emmet could stop the train in time. Ingo tried to scale his attacker’s massive arms and reach for the lantern himself, but a single sweeping strike reduced him to a pile of flesh and bones. All the while, Beetlejuice couldn’t contain his sadistic laughter.

Suddenly, the wheels started to spark. Just as the light of the threshold between worlds was drawing closer, the train ground to a halt!

“WHAT’S THE HOLD UP?! KEEP SHOVELING! PULL EVERY LEVER YOU CAN!!”

“No can do, Mister Juice. None of this was in our arrangement. In fact, did we even discuss an arrangement in the first place? As far as I can tell, this is fraud.”

“HEY, NO WAY! YOU DON’T KNOW THE RULES OF THE AFTERLIFE, FLESHY!”

“But I know the rules of the subway. And criminals aren’t allowed on the train. Beetlejuice…”

“DON’T DO WHAT I THINK YOU’RE GONNA DO, KID.”

“Beetlejuice…”

“WHAT IS IT YOU WANT? MONEY, FAME, LOVE? COME ON, I’M DOUBLE-DYIN’ HERE!! PLEASE, DON’T-“

“Beetlejuice.”

And with that, the summoning spell was broken. Beetlejuice exploded into a cloud of confetti and Halloween candy like some sort of undead piñata, and the lantern fell right into Ingo’s armless hand. Emmet climbed up to help put his brother back together.

“Thank you, Emmet. Thank you very much. I should have never said anything about those advertisements in the first place…”

“Come on, don’t thank me. I had to fix my mistake. And nothing was going to stop me from helping my brother… even if he’s dead. ESPECIALLY when he’s dead.”

“…I suppose you’re right. We’ll have to make plans with Irida another night, then… if she forgives us for all the trouble.”

“Heh, you can say that again…” He looked towards the light streaming from the other side of the veil between worlds. “That's pretty bright. Must be close to morning, right?”

“Well, we’re already here.” Ingo stood up straight and tall, donning the professionalism of a conductor. “I suppose I should be taking you back now and beginning the day’s work. You deserve a nice, long shower, anyway.”

Emmet shivered. “I doubt I’ll ever feel clean again…”

The twins shared a heart laugh as the train slowly started up again. Emmet took his seat inside, but a feeling crept up his spine that he couldn’t shake. A feeling that he hadn’t seen the last of Beetlejuice…

[kyndaris]

Defying Fate's Design

Where to start with Final Fantasy XVI? The game first released in June 2023, right on the heals of Diablo IV. Already drowning in games, I put it on the back burner until some time I could actually sink in the prerequisite hours needed to see it to completion. All the while, the friends around me were singing the game's praises for how dark and gritty the storyline was. Was it any wonder I stumbled upon the odd spoiler or two?

Not that I care about spoilers.

Just because I know something will happen doesn't mean I know how it exactly plays out. It's far more interesting for me to see how the writers navigate the characters from plot point A to plot point B and then later D.

Enter the slower half of 2024. Although there was still a plethora of games I needed to get through, I was able to finally sit down and play through Final Fantasy XVI. And all before bleachpanda was able to do the same with Final Fantasy XV. Heck, I still think she's midway through her replay of Final Fantasy XIII because she's been sidetracked by her endless number of otomes. A fact I was unable to escape during our trip abroad in Japan.

Final Fantasy XVI (or FF16 for short) puts players in the shoes of one Clive Rosfield, eldest son of the Rosfield family who rule over the Duchy of Rosaria. Despite being the firstborn child, Clive is not to inherit the Ducal throne. Rather, the honour would go to his brother, Joshua, as he was the one to awaken as the Dominant for the Phoenix. Though such situations could lead to enmity between family members, there is no bad blood between the brothers. Clive is satisfied to be Joshua's shield, vowing to protect his younger brother by any means at his disposal.

Everything changes at Phoenix Gate.

Betrayed by their allies, the Ducal forces are destroyed by agents from Sanbreque. During the attack, Joshua primes as Phoenix. Losing control of his Eikon, he wreaks havoc on both allies and enemies until a second Dominant of Fire emerges in the confusion and seemingly kills the phoenix. In the aftermath, Clive is found alive by the Sanbreque forces, as well as his mother. Instead of being executed, he is branded as a bearer and forced to fight on the front lines for the next thirteen years.

Sent on a mission to kill Shiva's dominant, Clive and his assassin allies skirt along the battlefield before finding an opportune moment to attack. Before Clive lands the killing blow, Clive recognises as his old childhood friend, Jill. After slaying his previous compatriots, Clive, with the help of deus ex machina, Cidolfus Telamon and a suddenly adult Torgal (who had just been a pup - how is that a dog/wolf can live to thirteen and still seem like a puppy? Also, did Cid never name the dog/wolf he found? They've been together for quite a while) escape. Still intent on finding the person who had killed his brother, Clive isn't initially interested in joining Cid's cause although he is sympathetic as a whole to the plight of the Bearers.

Cid, of course, helps our erstwhile hero. It isn't long before Clive later learns the truth: that the second Eikon on that fateful day was Ifrit and that he is the Dominant. Broken by the revelation, Clive is barely hanging onto his sanity. Until he hears word of a Dominant of Fire still very much alive. He figures: if his brother is dead and he is the second Dominant of Fire, who is this third figure?

Wishing to uncover the truth, Clive and Jill travel to Rosaria and down into the depths of Phoenix Gate. There, they learn some truths. Filled with new resolve, Clive and Jill decide to join in Cid's quest to atone for the sins they had committed by freeing Bearers from their oppression. They do this by destroying the Mothercrystals, and by wiping out magic, so that all can live and die by their own choice.

Together, they infiltrate Sanbreque's capital, Oriflamme, and manage to destroy the Mothercrystal. Within the crystal, however, is a being called Ultima. Ultima manages to mortally wound Cid before attempting to possess Clive. Joshua, revealing he managed to survive the events of Phoenix Gate, interrupts and manages to trap the being within himself.

Five years pass before Clive resumes his quest to destroy the Mothercrystals. Systematically, he manages to take them and the Eikons guiding them down - absorbing their powers along the way. Why can Clive take the powers of others? Why, he is Mythos, a vessel for Ultima to inhabit in order to cast a spell to resurrect the remnants of his race. Even if humans are completely wiped out.

We soon learn that it was Ultima, through Barnabas - the King of Waloed - who managed to orchestrate the political unrest plaguing the world of Valisthea. In so doing, he kept them focused not on the plight of the world but rather their own squabbles for diminishing resources. Much like in Game of Thrones, for which FF16 takes inspiration, many of the leaders of the various nations are focused more on collating power than the imminent threat of the Blight.

FF16 culminates in a final battle atop Origin with Ultima - first as a three-pronged attack with Bahamut, Phoenix and Ifrit, before Clive takes on Ultima solo in the heart of the final Mothercrystal where he demonstrates the strength of his will due to the bonds he shares with his friends.

Honestly, if there were three themes FF16 wanted to get across, they were: oppression, climate change and friendship.

But while the oppression could be solved by simply taking away the very reason why the Bearers were special (ala the Mutants from the X-men series), the modern day ramifications are vastly different. If we could simply fix the quirk of fate of being born a certain race by removing magic, things would be much simpler. Unfortunately, there is no easy solution for the cycles of hatred that has been left to ferment for centuries. Nor can we make all people equal by destroying some gemstones.

Imagine the power to make everyone, oh, I don't know, white, simply because there was a crystal plonked in the desert?

The bigger message, though, I felt FF16 was telling, was that of climate change. I feel like it was summed up best in a quote from Joshua as he opined to the heavens with his guardian, Jote, beside him: A blessing that leads to damnation or freedom that leads to deprivation. It seems especially poignant considering how our modern day world is so dependent on so many comforts like electricity. And while we are taking steps to move away from our reliance on fossil fuels, the companies behind them would rather we all swelter in a bleak future than admit the inconvenient truth that continual use of something so readily apparent will only lead to our destruction.

It is the hubris of man to think that 'we' won't be affected, or think too closely on the short term rather than the future.

Ultima, too, could be likened to capitalist corporations who care little for the workers slaving away to assist in the company's goals. To him, humans are disposable. That they have freewill is the greatest sin because they are no longer subservient subjects willing to sacrifice themselves for his benefit (and yes, I know Ultima probably isn't a him per se but I'm simply using the pronoun as an easy shorthand).

In the end, Ultima is a cruel god. One Clive must need take down if there is any hope in saving the world.

And he manages to do so.

These themes are further explored in the two DLC fort he game: Echoes of the Fallen and The Rising Tide. As it took me quite a while to actually get started, I was able to play through both of them before I finally gave Ultima his comeuppance with a deft punch to the face. An ending that was more humorous than cathartic.

It is my humble opinion that the game's focus on 'dark and gritty' somewhat took away from what could have been an even better game. Much like Forspoken, I felt the game was under-saturated. There could have been more contrast and a bit more colour to the world. I would have also liked to have heard a completed Chocobo theme melody.

In the pursuit of trying to be a 'serious' game, FF16 also failed to insert in any meaningful minigames that could alleviate the doom and gloom of the plot.

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the story. But most Final Fantasy games are pretty dark if you consider their actual ramifications: from Final Fantasy VI to Final Fantasy XIII. That doesn't preclude them from having their lighter moments to add some much needed levity. Although, Gav is quite able to do it pretty well. A solid character that Gav.

Speaking of characters, I loved the cast of FF16, although I did find the chemistry between Jill and Clive a little stilted. I was much more invested in the romance between Dion and Terence (although I wouldn't have minded some Dion and Joshua, or Joshua and Mid. Heck, even Clive and Cid would have been pretty steamy). But my absolute favourite character would have to go to Torgal. Our frostwolf with magical abilities and can live up to, at least, 18.

Although, he doesn't hold a candle to Ambrosia. How old can chocobos get up to anyway? Enquiring minds need to know.

Oh, and uncle Byron Rosfield is GREAT too. He's so unserious! And the way Clive managed to convince his uncle who he was!

Combat-wise, FF16 shines. While Clive can party up with the other characters, they simply feel like tag-alongs with Clive doing most of the heavy lifting. At least they can't get knocked out (which is a definite plus)! But what I liked most about the combat was how it was tied into the story.

New abilities Clive obtains are linked to the Eikons he absorbs. And they all play differently. While Titan is focused on defence, Bahamut is all about charging up that Megaflare to do extensive area-of-effect damage. Shiva, meanwhile, has the ability to freeze enemies - giving Clive some breathing room to think before Phoenix sees him rushing in to deliver the final blow.

In the end, I ended up with a loadout that made use of Ramuh's Judgement, Garuda's ability to quickly whittle down the stagger gauge and Titan's block ability to keep both myself alive while also dealing as much damage as I could possibly. Perhaps I should have traded in Odin's Zantetsuken for more carnage but a lot of the story boss battles also traded normal blow-by-blow battles with more cinematic clashes. Something that was quite awe-inspiring when it came to the fight with Titan and Bahamut but could not find the same heights in later boss battles with Ultima and Odin.

Overall, my time with FF16 was astounding. Yes, some of the cutscenes were a little longer than necessary as they talked about politics, but I didn't mind given it's one of my favourite genres to read. And I also appreciated how early Ultima made his appearance. This was no final boss skulking in the shadows that jumped out right at the end without any explanation (well, he kinda was but I'll give the writers of FF16 a pass on that). The message, too, the game is trying to convey is relevant and current.

And I can't forget the accents!

I love me the various different UK accents! Xenoblade did it and now Final Fantasy is jumping on the trend!

Should a Final Fantasy XVII ever come out, I'd be interested to see the direction of where Square-Enix takes their next entry. I'm sure it'll revolve around taking down a God somehow (it almost always is) and our protagonist will pull through with the power of FRIENDSHIP! But it's the setting that I'm much more excited to see and explore.

I've certainly enjoyed this diversion into high fantasy with elements of political struggle. And honestly? I'd like to see more. Suppose that's why Final Fantasy Tactics tickled my fancy and why I'm hoping for more from the DioField Chronicle. Certainly, I want to know more about the Continent - the other piece of Valisthea that was never explored and where Harpocrates III, Charon and a few other characters hailed from.

If ever there should be a spin-off, I would be very glad to see what else the world of Valisthea has to offer. Or even how our characters navigate the new world they find themselves in.

There are, after all, so many unanswered questions. Like, if Clive did resurrect Joshua in the end, how did he reach shore without possibly drowning? He wasn't on the beach with Clive as his big brother turned to stone.

Or, how old can Torgal get? How do the people adapt to the sudden loss of magic?

Are there still monsters?

Does Gav take on the mantle of 'Cid the Outlaw?' Do the people in the Hideaway stop hiding and actually lead the people to a brighter tomorrow with their technology? Will Mid ever get her flying machine to work?

So many questions, so little time.

Before I go, though, dear reader, I'd like to leave off with another quote from the game. One that I think speaks to many: People need dreams to chase, especially in a world like this one.

[freevoidman]

Please talk about your P3 R cutscene issues cause I have issues with them too and I'm betting you have the same ones.

LMAO I am ALSO betting it's the same as mine but I'll go into it nonetheless.

For lack of a better way to word it: I think the changes made to cutscenes--either by cutting them entirely or changing them from 2D animation from the original to the in-engine 3D ones in P3R--makes the game lose a lot of its artistic direction and the general "vibe" that the original game had.

To avoid going into spoiler territory: let's look at the first cutscene from P3FES, and compare that to it's equivalent in P3R.

First thing of note here is its chaotic nature. There is rarely a single shot that lasts for more than a few seconds. Either we cut away entirely (such as Yukari transitioning to Makoto abruptly) or something interrupts the action (the running sink briefly having a moment of static). There is a sense of chaos, the inability to focus, and inherent confusion throughout the entire first cutscene. Even at the end, when we have a point of focus in Pharos and Mitsuru, the camera still cuts, dynamic action is happening, and--most importantly for Pharos--the more "unreal" actions seem more believable. We, the audience, don't see or fully understand how he teleports around the room, why the contract vanishes, the growing of shadows as he vanishes. These are deliberate shots that are really only believable in this animated cutscene style.

A lot of things are also left up for interpretation--where are we going? Why is this girl attempting to shoot herself? Why is there suddenly a butterfly, and why does our music get louder when we see it? Is this what the protagonist is imagining while he listens to music, or is it meant to be more metaphorical to the audience? These are questions that, most notably, are left unanswered and unsaid in this first cutscene. There's a level of trust with the conveyance of information: this is what you're seeing, right now, you'll learn more later.

All of this is also carried and conveyed impressively well with its sound design. The scenes in Iwatodai are chaotically loud, multiple voices overlapping--you can catch snippets of conversation, not the full picture. We occasionally have the opening verse of Burn My Dread - Last Battle interjecting as the protagonist walks through the streets, but it's muffled through his speakers. As Yukari gets closer and closer to pulling the trigger, we only hear the section of lyrics that says "burn my dread", a constantly repeating lyric that adds a palpable sensation of terror as we, an unaware audience, believe we're about to see a suicide as the city goes on, oblivious, outside the dorm. It's a terrifying scene that really makes you worried about what comes next, especially when the first person you meet in the dorm is Yukari, who nearly pulls that same gun on you at the end.

I also want to point out stylistic approach in terms of shading--or lackthereof. This is something that modern persona games decided to ditch (I guess with rising standards in animation? idk man) but I think it's insanely great in Persona 3. Having these flat colors with minimal, if any shading is a stand-out detail, it makes everything feel flat and unreal.

This cutscene is chaotic, it is uncanny, it is uncomfortable. And that's what makes it so great. Persona 3 plays with uncomfortable themes, imagery, and its whole premise is based on an hour of suspended time, where shadows roam Japan and cause havoc that no common person can explain or understand. It is the perfect way to convey that general feeling Persona 3 carries with it.

Now, let's look at the equivalent in Persona 3 Reload.

The first thing you'll notice is the length. The opening cutscene for P3R, despite containing the same general "stuff" as P3FES, is half the length of the prior game's. This is because, once you leave the train station, the game transitions into proper gameplay, giving you control as you walk through Iwatodai to reach the dorm. In other words, everything after the dark hour initiates in the original cutscene is completely scrapped. Pharos' introduction and general teleportation weirdness, your introduction to Yukari threatening you, Mitsuru's introduction--ALL OF THAT becomes in-engine 3D. That is much less engaging and interesting! You lose all the power of those crazy camera angles, Pharos' teleportation and odd behavior becomes really sloppily executed 3D nonsense that you SEE HAPPEN, and the panic Yukari (and you, the player) feel during your first meeting is robbed.

But I digress, what else is different? Well, for one thing, there's consistent through-lines throughout the cutscene. The moon transitions quickly into a tap real, which transitions into a crosswalk with you, the protagonist, as the only colorful dot to keep an eye on. There's no loud, pumping music to hype you up or freak you out anymore, in fact, Iwatodai and Tatsumi Port Island don't feel as chaotic and crowded as a populous city should. The conversations people are having are muffled and less distinct, the audio direction in general is a lot weaker and absolutely pulls its punches when it comes to building audience suspension. There's no sudden cut of music when the Dark Hour kicks in as your speakers die--the silence was already there, the station was already empty, nothing really feels changed except the lighting (which is accompanied by a goofy sound effect, come on). That same sense of confusion is completely lost.

Instead of brief still shots of everyone moving through a crowded space, there's plenty of room for the protagonist to move. That lack of connection doesn't feel misplaced because your in a crowded city, it instead feels like you're walking through a somewhat subdued city totally fine. It doesn't carry that same disconnected feeling--in fact, it feels absurdly normal when, in the original first cutscene, you felt out of place and wrong. Also, the new shots of pedestrians are boring. Why the hell am I watching a bunch of idiots crouched on the ground and one of them falls over while everyone laughs? Why am I looking at a dog walking lady? If you're going to include these kinds of shots, why not include, idk... some of the social link people here?

Then we have... Yukari. Oh dear Yukari they fucked you up. For one thing, no sudden cuts away to increase tension! We stick with her the whole time for a measly twenty seconds and see everything resolved in one go. They also, most damningly, made Yukari talk. Now, I have no problem with Yukari in general, but in the original we had no idea what her intent was with putting the evoker to her head. Obviously, we assume suicide, but there's a palpable tension to the action when there's nothing but her panting, alone, with a sink running in the background as we hear "BURN MY DREAD" repeated over and over as she gets closer and closer to pulling the trigger. Now, as she talks, that tension is robbed, especially during her last line. "No way, I can't do it!" is completely unnecessary when we see her fall to her knees.

After that though... there's really nothing to this cutscene. There's no music, no tension, it really feels like a lot of nothing--which is a MAJOR problem when this is your opening impression. P3FES says "come on, you're in for something crazy and unique" while throwing you into the deep end of interpretation and artistic weirdness. P3R is scared and has to hold your hand as it says "Come on, here's a normal introduction, the crazy comes later" while striping the original of its teeth. It's weaker and a lot less fun to watch.

There's really never been a stronger opening for Persona 3 than the original's cutscene--hell, I would argue Persona in general hasn't had a stronger opening cutscene since. Even 5's lacked palpable tension.

Which is super depressing? Like, seriously, I'm not going to touch upon later cutscenes (both bc spoilers and, come on, we'll be here all week if I get into it), but October is FILLED with problems on an artistic level. I think the P3FES's Orpheus/Thanatos awakening is far more graphic and terrifying than P3R's Maya engine cutscene. I can't even begin to understand why Mitsuru's dad got a dedicated 2D cutscene explaining what Kirijo Corp. was doing back in the day when, iirc, the original just had Mitsuru explaining it. Cutscene direction in P3R is, at best, lacking at multiple points when stacked against is predecessor or, at worst, just feel bad and empty and, arguably, sometimes unnecessary.

[thelazyhermits]

I've been doing a lot more thinking about Playful Land now that I've completed the event. I'll share my thoughts underneath the cut.

Now that I've read through the whole event, I gotta say it ranks the lowest out of all the Halloween events since I wasn't a fan of the writing at some points. Like it wasn't the worst thing ever, but it definitely isn't one of the best events imo

Even before reading the whole event, I wasn't a huge fan cause I saw spoilers about the ending since I wasn't fond of how they ended the event, and I still stand by that after actually reading the ending.

I just can't get over Fellow/Gidel sailing off into the sunset on a sinking ship. That's so stupid. Are y'all trying to drown? 😂

I also really didn't like how the conflict portion of the event was done and how more focus was on the subject of how great school is rather than the literal international human trafficking ring that apparently exists in this world. The way everything was resolved was just unsatisfying, not to mention stupid when you think they almost sank the ship they were riding on lol

Anyway, what I hate most of all is how Jack and Leona were handled in the event.

As a Jack stan, his OOC-ness drives me crazy. My boy would not skip school to go to an amusement park, regardless of what Fellow's UM is capable of. You cannot convince me that Fellow's UM was strong enough to overpower Jack's hardworking mentality and his dislike for slacking. No weak UM can beat his stubborness, which is in a league of its own lol

The event had Jack go to the park cause he "promised" Fellow that he would, even though Jack technically made no such promise. Fellow was the one who forced the use of the word "promise."

That was such a weak excuse to get Jack involved in this event. As if Jack would care about a promise that was forced on him to the point that he'd be willing to break other far more important rules to keep that promise.

They also did Leona dirty by having him eventually get influenced by Fellow's UM, even though Fellow himself admited that his UM doesn't work on people who are wary of him and have their guards up, which is a category Leona perfectly fits into.

It just did not make any sense to me for Leona to be affected like everyone else since he never let his guard down. He never trusted Fellow.

The writers really made Leona look like an idiot in this event, and that can sadly be said about pretty much all the characters.

They did Ace/Ortho so dirty in that scene where they get turned into puppets. Yuu's sons are not that dumb 😭

Honestly, I had actually considered not even doing a fic for this event since, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I would have to make my Yuu a reckless idiot to have her not take action after first meeting Fellow to ensure no one went to Playful Land.

And Yuu could easily put an end to things early on by snitching to Trein/Crowley.

Because, as soon as she meets Fellow, Yuu would know he's a dangerous guy, like the adults from Japan's underworld. She knows he's not just a regular conman. He's the kind of dangerous one who will take more than just whatever's in your pockets, so obviously, she wouldn't want her friends anywhere near someone like that.

However, after giving it some more thought, I realized there's a way around this. I would just have to make it so Yuu isn't a part of that first meeting with Fellow cause she didn't go to that basketball game, maybe cause she's doing errands for Crowley.

If she doesn't see Fellow for herself, Yuu wouldn't know just how dangerous he is. She'll still think he's a conman after hearing about him from Grim, of course, but she wouldn't immediately think he's a serious threat.

She would only realize that when she finally meets him at the same time as the third year students after chasing after Grim/Ace. So it's entirely possible to have the event happen by going that route.

However, I can't think of a good reason/explanation for Jack/Leona being in the event, so I might just not include them, which pains me since they're two of my favorite characters and I love them.

But I just can't write Jack being so OOC by having him willingly skipping school for an amusement park, and if Jack doesn't go, Leona has no reason to get involved since he showed up in canon to stop Jack from going to Playful Land.

It's possible I'll eventually think of a way to include Jack/Leona without making them OOC, but for now, I'm thinking that won't happen.

Thankfully, I'm in no hurry to write a fic for this particular event, so I've got plenty of time to think about it lol

[beanxiv]

denki and a f!reader at the beach together!! (i made this vague on purpose, for you to have room for creativity!! i just want t'see y/n on a beach date with denki)

brighter than the sun ; denki kaminari ✩࿐

summary: you and denki spend some well-deserved time together at the beach

warnings: ends kind of abruptly, cliche, suggestive-ish, established relationship, aged up characters, use of petnames (baby, babe), like .2 seconds of play-fighting,

the sun sure was doing its job today, in fact, it was doing more than it needed to. it was unnecessarily hot on this pretty august day.

and what do you do when it gets unnecessarily hot on a pretty august day? you hop into denki's black and yellow acura nsx and speed to one of japan's gorgeous beaches. (but not really though, you're both heroes who really don't need a speeding ticket to stir up the press.)

and there you are now, lying on your stomach across a towel chargebolt themed because denki loves when you sport his merch.

you're currently basking in the sun's heat, letting its rays sink into your back, denki on the other hand is still splashing around in the ocean.

sooner or later denki is climbing back up the sand to you. water drips off the solid planes of his torso. you watch shamelessly as drops of water slide off his pecs and down between his abs.

"hey, hot stuff." denki winks like he's hitting on you after just having met you. "like what you see?"

"mhm," you sit up a bit, leaning on your elbows. denki sits on his own towel and rubs your back with his cold, wet hands. upon contact with his freezing palm you jump, "denki! your hands are so cold..."

the blonde chuckles, "sorry baby, lemme give you an apology kiss."

something tells you he did this on purpose just to get a kiss.

but, it was a win-win situation for you too so, "m'kay, c'mere then."

you sit up fully and pull denki in by the lightning bolt necklace you gifted him during your u.a days. before you could even lean in denki's lips catch yours swiftly in a salty kiss. denki knows you can taste the sea salt on his lips and to further tease you, his tongue darts out to lick the corner of your top lip. at this you giggle against his lips and denki swears he felt his heart skip and fly out of his chest.

he'd rip it out and give it to you himself if he could.

finally, you break away for air and denki lies back on the towel, his chest rising and falling in quick breaths and a wild grin on his face, brighter than the sun. "man... i'll never stop needing to kiss you."

"alright, cornball." you jest, lightly hitting his stomach, his abs flexing against your touch.

"hey, not cool!" he jumps up from his position, standing over you. in one quick swoop he picks you up and throws you over his shoulder like you weigh nothing. he can bench twice your weight and more. if you think you're heavy— hell, your weight was denki's warm-up.

"denki! if you don't put me down, i swear to—"

too late. denki was already running down the beach. jumping over waves while you beg him not to do what you knew he would. toss you right into the freezing waves.

you shriek out a line of curses against the piercing cold, pulling your head up over the blue-green water. standing at your full height the water reaches your waist. the cold lasts mere seconds but you pretend to shiver just to make denki feel bad.

spoiler alert: he felt no remorse. he cups your cheeks and kisses the tip of your nose and presses another salty kiss to your lips. you lean into his touch only for his grip on your face to (gently) tighten and he just shoves you back underwater like the monster he is.

he pulls you back up just as your face is about to go under and you punch him in the gut, "you're such a bully, denki! what if i drowned?"

"but i pulled you back up, babe." denki rubs the spot that you punched half-heartedly, "no need to worry about danger while 'm with ya."

"there you go, being corny again." you dodge his attempt to grab you again with a gasp. "i'm just kidding, baby! i love you sooo much! nothing you say could ever be corny!"

your blonde boyfriend straightens up, hands planted on his hips and chest puffed out in pride. "that's what i like t'hear! who's your favorite hero?"

at this you scoff, already making your way back up the sand. "i'm my favorite hero, duh."

"other than you!" denki follows, rolling his eyes.

"hmm..." you decide to tease him. "i dunno... midoriya's climbing up the ranks really quick, yeah? and bakugou has always been pretty strong. and kirishima's making a name for himself too now, so i'm not sure, maybe—"

"alright! i get it." denki mutters

"just kidding, baby," a teasing grin climbs up your face, you drape yourself over denki's broad chest. "you've always been my number one, so don't worry."

denki cocks a brow at that, albeit wrapping his arms around your form. "oh? who's being corny now?"

you groan, "can we just never have a nice moment?"

"you started it??" denki looks confounded at your accusation.

"what is this, preschool? take responsibility, denki. doesn't matter who started it, you encouraged it, didn't you?" you fight to keep stern look and keep back the laugh threatening to spill out of your lips.

denki's mouth hangs open now, "alright, sorry mom."

"i'll hit you," you half-heartedly threaten.

denki tightens his hold on you (as if you'd leave his embrace in the first place.) "can't do that if y'can't move."

you lean further into his touch, "you're a brat."

denki laughs, kissing the crown of your head. "yes, but i'm your brat."

©beanxiv — all rights reserved. copying, reposting, translating, and modifying in any platform or by any means is not allowed.

[izvmimi]

cw: spoilers for the end of dr. stone! smut near the end. minors dni. angst at the beginning. reader implied to not be from japan.

Your subtle gift of premonition truly never fails you, and you realize so once more when you're crowded around Senku's laboratory with the remainder of Yuzuriha and Taiju's closest wedding guests and staring up at the monstrous contraption Senku is designating as a time machine.

While the remainder of the party is in curious astonishment, the uneasy feeling that's been sitting heavily in your chest since the morning of the wedding only solidifies further. 

Now you know why you woke up sick to your stomach on what should be a happy day.

Tsukasa stands close to you, pensive as always, thinking before he adds his own commentary, ever so careful with his words. There's a small smile on his face, and you read that as awe and amusement at Senku's relentless pursuit of scientific advancement; something he had once tried to suppress, he's come to appreciate, and while you'd normally be pleased with how far he's come in that respect, in this very moment it feels like a betrayal. 

A time machine would change everything.

Truly everything, and the selfish part of you scorns it. 

Tsukasa finds your hand besides him, still mulling over the details as Senku explains his roadmap to the group, and squeezes it gently without looking. Your corsage of pink flowers brushes against the sleeve of his suit, and you watch a few petals fall. Suddenly you are far too overwhelmed, and would much rather run of the room, but when you see hope warm Tsukasa's brown eyes, you hold in your unease as best you can. 

"Senku really is amazing, isn't he?" you say through a smile that should come easier than it does. Tsukasa hasn't turned to return your smile yet, still watching the machine, eyes wide. 

"He really is."

---

That evening, Tsukasa in his contrarily roundabout but very direct way of speaking, reaffirms his intention to marry you someday. In a small way, you might as well be married - you're inseparable, you live together with Mirai who calls you big sister and means it every single time, and he makes you feel his love every time he holds you in the dark, and presses deep into you, relishing in the sound of his name as it falls off his lips.

Something big if you want it. Something small will also suffice. Something that makes everything even more real, he says to you, pressing his face into the crook of your neck. Pillow talk should make you feel warm, warm as the liquid seeping between your legs. Warm as his arms. Warm as the sensation of his tongue in your mouth, on your skin. 

"Tsukasa," you finally speak up in the dark.

He pulls you closer, and you pause before the words bubble up inside you and force their way out -

"I don't want to lose you."

A lamp flickers on and Tsukasa takes in your tear-stained face with as much alarm allotted for someone so naturally stoic. His palm takes your cheek and rubs it gently, the other arm pulling you in closer to press against him. Your face buries into his chest, and there you let yourself really cry.

He lets you tremble in his embrace for a few more moments, pressing soft kisses to the top of your head. He has no idea what you're talking about, because how can he when you've remained in your head all day?

Once your sniffles have slowed, he pulls back so that he can look at you in the eyes again, making sure you're still within an arm's reach.

"How can you lose me when I've never left?" he asks. 

You swallow, and then decide if you must sound awful, now is the time.

"Without de-petrification, there's no way we would have met."

Tsukasa tenses for a moment, which makes your heart sink, but then he pulls you closer, then on top of him. Sliding upwards so that his back is propped up by the headboard, he strokes your forehead. He mulls the thought over for a moment, and you look up into his beautiful face, your heart pounding in anticipation. 

"I'd find you," he says, confidently, and you're stunned practically silent. Simple as that.

You blink for a moment, surprised by his answer, then find your face growing hot.

"What do you mean, 'you'd find me'? We lived on the opposite sides of the world? You would have been famous and I just... some girl with some normal job, and-"

He kisses you again to interrupt you, then presses his forehead to yours.

"Trust me. I'd find you."

You can feel your breath halt and he smiles.

"You don't believe me, do you?" he says. His gaze is soft, and he grins wider, confident, flipping you over so that he's over top of you. You can feel your face growing hot again but for a different reason now. Sucking in a breath, you wrinkle your nose.

"Were you gonna pluck me from my grad school classroom?" you ask him.

"If I must," he says. He kisses your neck, then parts your legs to wrap them around his waist. Your eyelashes flutter.

"Unrealistic," you reply. 

"I'd find you," he says again. His fingers intertwine with yours as he rubs against your center. You sigh, but he's taken all of the worry out of you and replaced it with playful jest. He's so good at this, the way he validates your fears, but doesn't allow you to feel afraid because he lacks that fear, and is always strong enough, good enough, brave enough to protect you. Even from yourself.

"Would you send me special signals through MMA's greatest knockouts montages on Youtube?"

This time he actually laughs, falling back on his heels.

"Yes," he answers. "Whatever it takes."

He's hard again, and the heavy thickness slaps on your pubic bone, and you tense, your heartbeat quickening, your mouth drying in want. He runs his hand through his hair to free the strands sticking to his face before he descends on you again, the other hand gripping the base of his cock to line up with your entrance.

He blows air from his nose, then pulls one of your legs over his shoulder. His teeth flash at you - he is your perfect, sweet, confident love of your life, and all of your worries cease.

"You should be less worried about universes where we don't meet and more concerned about the fact that you can't escape me in any timeline."

He fills you up, your back arching as his hands grip around your waist.

"You're always mine to love."

[unicornsvsglitter]

I just rewatched japan sinks with some friends and I have so many thoughts on that show. In just ten episodes this show manages to be absolutely devastating and make me cry… twice, but also leave me with a weird sense of hope and closure that’s hard to find.

1. Everyone who has seen the show either loves it, hates it, or didn’t finish it. Which I’m not one to dis peoples options, but the main reason people don’t like the show makes zero sense. The main criticism I’ve seen is that it kills off too many characters. But like… it’s a show literally about japan sinking, are you surprised that it’s a tragedy where lots of people die??? I mean I was a bit shocked, but I thought the show was going to be about more of a metaphorical japan sinking (like maybe some sort of political unrest) not a literal one, but simply reading the show’s description would have made me realize I was wrong.

2. Disability representation. They had every opportunity to kill of Onodera and just say he died because that’s what happens when you effectively in the apocalypse and mostly paralyzed, but the main group, specifically Kite it like fuck it, no man left behind, idc if I’m putting my life in the line for this dude who can’t walk, talk, or move anything other then his fingers and toes, he’s one of us and god damn it, he’s not dying on my watch. There were 2 main scene where it was almost set up to kill him, but the didn’t. In a show that, once again, as far as there characters are concerned takes place during the apocalypse, had everyone going out of there way to take care of the disabled character and saw him as just as important as everyone else.

3. Trans representation. I love so much that Kite is trans and they don’t really make a big deal about it. It is never explicitly said, and only shown in one scene. He’s just (I think, if I’m remembering correctly) the top YouTuber in Japan, a complete and total badass, many children’s role model, who also just so happens to be trans. There’s a few other examples of lowkey queerness in the show, but Kite is the biggest example.

4. (Major spoiler warning) To me, I think the big appeal of the show is it has just the right amount of hurt comfort. Other then the dad, every major character death has a reason, and for lack of a better term accomplished something. Like Koga has one of the most devastating deaths I’ve seen animated, and one of only two scene in a show that has ever made me cry, but he dies 1) while doing what he loves and 2) while saving a memory disk that is used later on to help rebuild Japan. The mom is another example is the moms death. Her death is the only other scene in a show to make me cry and 1) once again, she died doing what she loves and 2) she died to save her children. She went fuck it, imma die anyway, might as well have one last hurrah and be a total badass.

I have many more thoughts on this show that I may post at a later date, but these are the big ones.

[swordshapedleaves]

Just finished Shoshimin: How to Become Ordinary last night and damn was that a smart and beautiful show. It's like, what if Sherlock and Moriarty were childhood friends in suburban Japan? The production on this one was absolutely gorgeous start to finish. They did this very fun thing where they would show the characters in detailed metaphorical landscapes rather then where they actually were. So many anime set their scenes in simplistic locations so they can cut costs and this show consistently did the opposite.

Vague spoilers under the cut but if you enjoy mysteries at all you should absolutely give this one a shot

I love the mysteries the kids solve and the equal gravitas with which the show portrays them. The case of how someone made perfect hot cocoa without getting the sink wet is handled with the same weight as a kidnapping.

And this plays perfectly into our main character and is core flaw. He's a boy who thinks, rather than one who feels or acts. So even when there's real stakes, all he can ever do is solve the puzzle. The emotional core of the story, the clever fox who is friends with the wolf, wraps up in a way that is deliciously unsatisfying. It's bittersweet in a way that I really appreciate. Our heroes do not overcome their flaws.

The last episode ends with a last minute cliffhanger and a second season has already been announced. I can't wait to see what these two get up to next.

[lydianotdeetz]

My thoughts on an author

Recently I finished a book by one of my favorite authors 太宰 治(Osamu Dazai). The book is called "斜陽" (The Setting Sun) and it is the third book I've read by this author, the first one being 人間失格(No Longer Human) which is his most popular publishing so far and the second one being 道化の華(The Flowers of Buffoonery). Although Osamu died 75 years ago, his writing still touched a sensitive string of my heart. Much of his writing deals with disparity, hopes, and losses.

Spoilers about No Longer Human and The Setting Sun ahead

In the book No Longer Human, the protagonist Oba Yozo slowly descents into despair, his longing for (and the failure to achieve) fulfillment after a life filled with trauma eventually overtakes him and he attempts suicide and fails. One quote from that book still haunts me to this day:

“Now I have neither happiness nor unhappiness. Everything passes. That is the one and only thing that I have thought resembled a truth in the society of human beings where I have dwelled up to now as in a burning hell. Everything passes.”

The book explores the deepest corner of humanity, the length a desperate man will go just to find a sense of contentment, the protagonist Oba Yozo grew up in an environment full of abuse, which leads to him wanting resolution to these trauma, but that same trauma that sent him on this journey is also his burden, his stone of Sisyphus. He tries over and over again, from pursuing art to joining political groups, from becoming a surrogate father to a young girl to meeting and eventually dating someone. But no matter how hard he tries, something has to go wrong and I think that is what's so terrifying and so genius about this book. Osamu depicts in detail how a man who is clearly suffering tries to escape the quicksand that has trapped him, only to sink deeper and deeper into it. Much like Camus's absurd hero, Oba suffers because he has witnessed the absurdity of life, and he rejects it, he defies that absurdity, only for the absurd to embrace him and pull him into a a burning hell.

The second book I want to talk about today is The Setting Sun, same author and theme, but the method Osamu uses is dramatically different. In the book The Setting Sun, the protagonist is a young Japanese woman who was born into a noble family before World War 2 and the story follows how her family declines after the Japanese's surrender in 1945. Written only two years after the war, it reflects the general sentiment of the Japanese people at the time, it is a sense of loss, that they no longer know what to do. Osamu shows that emotion is a very unique way, he uses symbolism and critiques. In the book, a widely used symbol is Snakes, "In Japan, snakes have traditionally been revered as a god, a messenger of a god, or a creature that brings a divine curse when a snake is harmed or a particular natural site is disturbed." (Sasaki et al.) In the story, the protagonist Kazuko burns a pile of snake eggs which starts a series of calamities that eventually lead to the death of her mother, her brother, and her family. The entire time, the protagonist is powerless, she made a mistake, burning the snake eggs, and all of a sudden her life is falling apart, she is being punished by god, and all she can do is sit there and watch, watch as her family is forced to sell their house, watch as their new house almost burnt down and watch as her mother dies of tuberculosis. Much akin to Oba, she tries to stop the chains of disaster so many times to no avail. The story's theme is clear, "No matter how hard you try, you will never escape your past, you will face the consequence of every action you do, no matter how small you think the action was." Osamu uses these symbols to show not only the decline of Kazuko's family but also the dwindling of Japanese society. Osamu does not hide the crimes of the Japanese army during the war and by using symbolism he makes his points incredibly clear: "The Japanese people will face the consequences of imperialism and the horrid crimes they have committed to other nations."

I think about Osamu a lot, many of his books seem to be semi-autobiographical, meaning that they took inspiration from real events in Osamu's life. According to Osamu Dazai's Life and Literary by Kazuo Nohara, Osamu's father died of lung cancer just a month before he attended junior high school. This caused him to fall into a deep depression which caused him to attempt suicide in 1935, which he failed at. He then became addicted to morphine and was sent to a mental institution in 1936. His entire life, alike his characters is a constant downward spiral with only brief moments of peace, he found solace in literature as he battles depression. Writing over 75 works in 20 years. many of them, although short are filled to the brim of his thoughts and ideals but it was not enough. On June 13th, 1948, Osamu Dazai, along with his lover Tomie Yamazaki drowned themselves in the Tamagawa Canel. Many have speculated that this event was foreshadowed by Osamu himself in No Longer Human when the Protagonist tried to drown himself with his lover in the ocean.

Overall, I think what attracted me the most about Osamu is his candidness, how he is so honest about his emotions and ideas, and how he is not afraid of using incredibly heavy topics to convey his mind. He was a mistreated man and I hope he finds peace in heaven.

Work Cited:

Sasaki, Kiyoshi, et al. “ENDANGERED TRADITIONAL BELIEFS in JAPAN: INFLUENCES on SNAKE CONSERVATION.” Herpetological Conservation and Biology, vol. 5, no. 3, 26 Aug. 2009, pp. 474–485. Accessed 6 May 2024.

野原, 一夫 (1998). 太宰治生涯と文学 . 筑摩書房. . Accessed 6 May 2024.