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gluion · 1 year ago

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surrender to me ➵ kim sunwoo

fuck buddy!kim sunwoo x reader

you despise everything about him—detached, shy, a blind follower. if anything, being in the same room as him infuriates you. so how did a leader like you end up in this mess with him?

genre/warnings ➵ fuck buddies au, smut, afab reader (they/them pronouns, gendered terms are used), porn with little plot, dom!sunwoo, condescending and cocky sunwoo in contrast to his supposed shy nature, fingering, nipple play, a lot of hickeys, dirty talk!!! so much begging, he whines ONCE, he is also obsessed with the taste of you, degradation (uses terms like bitch, calls you pathetic), he is demanding & likes to make fun of you, calls you "Ms. Leader" a lot, a bit of aftercare in the end, yeji does interrupt the fun

word count ➵ 4k words

taglist ➵ @deoboyznet @kflixnet @blankjournal @winterchimez

a/n ➵ first time writing a oneshot that is less than 10k words and it has smut? and it's also my first time writing smut? and it's not my usual format of writing titles? be so for real moni. i don't even know if this counts as full-blown smut for you guys there is no p in v action. guys, this is truly the worst experience of my life. this writing experience has made me applaud smut writers because i feel like having to scream and laugh at myself. i didn't even fully read through this because i feel like i'm going to ram myself against the walls. anyway, thank you @haet-sal @snowflakewhispers @sungbeam and @cerescomets for the reassurance while i was writing! anyway, if people enjoy this, i can consider making this a series possibly! if you enjoyed this, always make sure to reblog (even if it's on your tbr </3)!

want to be part of my taglist? send me an ask! masterlist

God, you hate yourself for many reasons. Many knew you as the overachiever in your classes, one who will find themselves setting goals that should be unattainable in all ways. The same people found you the leader type, one who is determined to take charge of everything and anything. But most people, if not all, think of you as the hard-headed one—someone who will never waver from the choices set.

It did not matter what others thought. You could care less what these people had to say; it does not matter if they threw around nouns they felt encapsulated the image you present in school. If anything, they were doing you a favor for you can hope that it would remain.

But god would you hate for anyone to see you like this—to see you out of the powerful persona you had carefully curated.

You should not be doing this—definitely not with him. If anything, you hate him for so many reasons. He is the detached one in your class, one who never raises his hand nor finds the right answers to say when asked. Everyone knows him as the blind follower, one who will follow instructions but never provide any input on how things can improve. But most of all, people knew him as the shy one—someone who will not refute or refuse.

He infuriates you for he is not like you. God, you hate being in the same group as him—let alone being in the same room as him.

So why did you find yourself with your limbs tangled with his, all locked up in your very own room?

“God,” Sunwoo whispers against your lips. “I thought you said the last time would be the last.” His plump lips nip on your bottom one as his fingers find themselves on your buttons, popping them undone one by one.

And it should have been. You should not be doing this with him. Yet, you always find yourself ringing his phone again, and again, and again. Did you not respect yourself?

“It should’ve been.” With the way you grunt while you attempt to unbutton his shirt, he cannot help but chuckle. It is humorous—you say one thing and the complete opposite happens.

His lips leave yours as soon as he successfully gets rid of your button-up shirt. Once they find themselves in the sweet spot on your neck, you cannot help but moan at the sensation. “You always come back for more,” he says in between sucks. “Just admit that you like doing this with me, Ms. Leader.” Sunwoo’s mouth moves to your chest, right above where your heart should be. “You like to finally have someone in control over you.”

You never wanted to agree to that assumption. If anything, you crave to be in control of everything. That is how you go on with life—taking everything in your own hands under the safety blanket that everything shall go your way. But when his fingers glide against every part of your body, traversing you as if you are something to be explored, you almost cannot help but feel all resolve crumble.

“Come on.” Sunwoo nips on your skin, coloring your chest with wet bruises. “I just want to hear you say it. It’s not like I’ll ever tell on you.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

He chuckles at your words. “Like I said, I would never.” As soon as his eyes meet yours, you almost cannot help but cower under his stare. “I would never let anyone know of what you allow me to do to you.”

You wrap your arms around his neck and pull him in for another kiss. With your hands tugging on the strands of his hair, he lets out a small moan at the feeling. His lips remain locked with yours as he attempts to undo the rest of the buttons on his shirt. Noses bump against each other from how messy this whole thing is—not the kiss but everything about you two. God, why on Earth are you doing this again?

As soon as his lips part from yours, you notice how swollen they are from how much he has kissed you. You can only wish yours were not like his. When his buttons are fully undone, he decides to keep it on just to tease. And even with the small amount of skin he revealed, your eyes will never stop devouring him—the smirk that is evident on his lips seems to show that he knows that.

“You know, I would never let anyone know about this behavior of yours, Ms. Leader,” he says as he pushes you down against your bed. When he straddles you, he lets himself take in the sight of you—wide eyes that look up to him with desire. He brings his face close to the right side of your face so that his lips hover over your ear. “I want this to be something you reserve just for me.”

As his breath fans over the side of your way, you close your eyes in an attempt to calm every emotion coursing through your body. His hands find their place on your torso, letting his fingers draw shapes on each side. And when his hands slowly move further down, you arch your back so that he has full access to your bra clasp. His fingers carefully play with your bra strap, slightly tugging it and letting go so that it smacks against your skin. You do not hiss at the contact but relish it.

“Not gonna talk your shit like you always do, Ms. Leader?” The condescending tone of his makes you want to rip him into pieces. “You always seem to do that everywhere—except here,” he chuckles as he finally grabs onto your clasp.

“S–shut up.” Your eyes wander away from the man who knew your body too well than you could ever understand it. And as soon as he undoes the clasp, you feel his hands move to your shoulders. His fingers slowly move the bra straps away. “God, you don’t need to take forever.” Your impatient tone has him chuckling and shaking his head.

“I think I can do whatever I want. Did you not surrender all control to me?” When you do not say anything, he grabs your chin to make sure you face him. Now that your eyes are back on him, you notice the smirk that so badly infuriates you to the core. “Answer me.” You only frown at his demand.

“If you don’t answer me, I’ll walk out that door.” His threat should have been your window to end this mess after all. But god, you hate yourself.

“N–no, don’t leave.” Your plea has his eyes flicker down to your lips which hold a pout.

“Then say it—say that you surrender everything to me.”

How can you even say such words? You respect yourself. But under his gaze, you cannot help but follow. “I surrender myself to you.” The phrase falls out of your mouth pathetically. Sunwoo snickers at how ashamed you are. God, even you knew that you said it miserably.

“You think I’ll fuck you just like that? Who do you think I am?”

He is the pathetic one in group works, one who will accomplish tasks and never question your authority. He is the shy type, someone who will never speak up against you. And he is useless in everything that concerns you—but not this time.

“Fuck,” you mutter as you try to rip away from his stare. But when he keeps his firm grip on your chin, you know there is no way to get what you want unless you abide. “I’m all yours. Control me—use me in any way you want.”

And his laugh is just the sickest one you have ever heard. “Don’t demand me—beg for it.” His tone is sinister-like, one that makes you shiver. If you could control him like how you do with everything, you would never be in this position. And yet, you always found yourself succumbing to his demands.

You huff out a puff of air. “Please,” you make sure to prolong the ‘e’ sounds. With your eyes staring directly back into his that are clouded with desire. “Use me.”

And somehow, those three words had his resolve crumbling.

He goes in for another kiss, letting go of your chin as his hands go back to your bra. As soon as Sunwoo successfully removes it from you, your arms wrap around his neck. His fingers graze around the area where you so desperately needed him to touch. With your rushed kisses (and your attempt to press your chest against his), he can tell how impatient you are growing. And the moment his thumb brushes against your nipple, the moan you let out is grueling—almost embarrassing.

You hate how he starts to smile in the middle of him tasting your lips. God, you knew he would only grow cocky with it. As he continues, you can feel your pussy start to form a pool—one you hate to admit is caused by him. You never want to give him the pleasure of relishing his power over you.

But when he readjusts his knee to find its spot in between your legs, your lower body cannot help but move on its own. Your attempt to rub yourself against his clothed thigh is just a pathetic attempt to receive the pleasure you desperately seek. And when he shifts his thigh farther away from the clothed spot between your legs, you let out a whine.

“Ms. Leader,” he giggles after he parts his lips away from yours. “You have to be patient.” His narrow eyes hold yours as he lets his mouth trail down your neck, to your chest, until he reaches the area that is only centimeters away from where you needed him. And when you watch the way his tongue peeks out of his mouth to flick against your nipple, your eyes close in pleasure.

The ministrations continue. He would switch to your other boob just to give it the same amount of attention, but he always made sure that both nubs were stimulated—whether through his sucks or his hands.

Your eyes slowly open in a haze and you attempt to look down at the man who suckled on your chest. And the sight alone is enough to kill you—eyes closed as he is focused on nothing but your pleasure. The air in your lungs is knocked out. God, how did you even hook up with someone like him?

Somehow, he feels your eyes on him. As soon as his eyes flutter open to hold your gaze, he continues. And somehow, the sight is even hotter than before—his lips wrapped around your nipple as he looks right back at you. You do not even find it within yourself to break eye contact.

As soon as his lips leave your boob, he shoots you a smirk. “My sweet Leader, don’t you think this is funny?” His hand trails down to your stomach until it settles on the band of your skirt. When you feel his fingers pry their way under, you notice how they hook on both your skirt and panty. But he never drags them down. “That despite the title you carry around, you definitely don’t hold it when you’re with me—not when we’re alone.” He lets the bands snap against your waist and you let out a hiss at the contact.

“I think I should call you something more fitting, don’t you think?” The question hangs in the air. His hand trails down your skirt until it lands on the hem of it that rests on your lower thigh. “What about…” his fingers slowly slip under your skirt. “My baby?” He tilts his head to the side.

When he is met with silence, he chuckles. “How about my toy? Or what about…” his hands grip your thigh. “My bitch.” And you do not think twice when you let out a mewl. The satisfaction that paints his face is condescending—god, you hate him for it.

“Ms. Leader, I didn’t expect you for the degradation type.” He smiles as he brings his face back up to yours. His hands move up even further until it rests on the inside of your thigh. “But to be fair, I didn’t expect a lot of things from you.” It almost sounds like a diss on your skills in what you do, but you both knew that is not the case. “Just like how I didn’t expect to have you at my mercy that first night.”

When you feel him tug your underwear to the side, you feel the breath in your lungs get knocked out. And when you feel his fingers finally dip themselves in the part where you needed him since you first rang him up, you let out a whine. The way his eyes get wider is only a sign that he did not expect you to be as wet as you are. But his smile still remains as cocky as ever.

“You’re this wet?” He laughs in what sounds like disbelief. “I never knew how much of an effect I had on you.” He gives you another kiss as he lets his fingers leave your sopping cunt.

As you whine at the absence, he cannot help but smile. “Don’t worry, I’m not that mean.” And with a smile, he brings his fingers in the space between you two. The smell of your arousal is intoxicating for him but shameful for you—it is only proof that you are almost nothing without him.

But when you see his eyes look right into you as he shoves them in his mouth, you almost pass out. The sight of him with squinted eyes as he relishes the taste of you is addictive, but the whine that leaves him is everything.

“Oh god,” you whisper as you watch him lick his two fingers one by one. “You need to whine for me more.” The star-struck look on your face makes him smile. It is one he has never seen—he almost cannot believe he caused it.

As soon as his lips hover over your ear, he whispers, “I’ll whine for you if there’ll be a next time.” When he moves his head back to see your expression, it is one filled with anguish.

You do not want another next time—this cannot keep happening. But when you feel his hands finally tug both your skirt and panties down, all reasonable thoughts leave your mind. “Don’t think too much about what we have, Ms. Leader.” He presses his lips against your neck.

“Sunwoo, we can’t keep doing this,” you mutter as you feel your eyes shut close.

As soon as his hand rests on your exposed slit, he raises you a question, “Why not? I think we’re made for each other.” While he continues to suck on your skin, you can feel yourself pant. “I think that you need me more than I’ll ever need you.”

Before you know it, his fingers make their way into your pussy. And god, the moan you let out is confirmation to Sunwoo—you truly did need him in every way possible. “Ms. Leader, you say that you don’t want this, but the way you react to how I touch you proves otherwise.” He continues to plunge his fingers into you at a rate that provides you with just the right enough stimulation to keep you on the edge.

“How do you expect me to answer when your fingers are fucking me like this?” You manage to say in between breaths. “Do you think you could say no if I put my hands in your pants?” Your condescendingness only makes him laugh.

“I would never stop doing this with you.” His lips leave your neck before moving back to look at you whose eyes are on the verge of closing. “Plus, I would not be so cocky if I were you. I could leave you high and dry.” And when he notices the way you pout and whine at the idea, he chuckles. “But I wouldn’t do that to you.”

His fingers continues to assault your pussy—the rate they were going even faster. And he notices the way your breathing gets heavier. When you finally let your eyes shut close to focus on the pleasure, you let out a string of moans—ones he will only have the pleasure of hearing.

“Ms. Leader, look at how you crumble for me.” His lips find their place on yours. With the way he tugs on your lips as he fingers you unlike anyone else, you mewl in the middle of the kiss. His lips leave yours. “Just admit that you want me.”

When you shake your head with eyes still closed, he chuckles. And somehow, his fingers go at an even faster rate. God, you could feel the coil get tighter. “Oh fuck,” you whine. “Don’t stop.”

And he listens to you—he continues going at that rate. When you feel yourself on the edge, you try to move your hand to reach down for your clit. But he holds your arm in place. “Say you want me.”

Your eyes flutter open as you whine. “S–sunwoo, please. I’m so close, just let me cum.”

“And I’ll let you cum if you say you want me—that this will not be the last time.” His demanding gaze makes your brain go fuzzy. “Just one simple phrase and I’ll give you what you want.”

You wish you still had some rational thoughts in your head. But god, did you need to cum. “A–are you fucking kidding me?”

“I’m serious, Ms. Leader.” His tone sounds even more demanding than how you usually speak. “Don’t you want to cum?” And god, you want to.

His fingers don’t stop, but you still need that stimulation on the nub. Without a thought, you say, “Fuck it, I need you.” Your eyes flutter open and you attempt to move his hand down to rest on your boob. “God, Sunwoo, I need you. Please just let me cum.”

“Say this won’t be the last time.”

“Fuck, it won’t be the last time—I swear. Sunwoo, please I need to cum.” The way you beg makes Sunwoo lose all sense of self-control. And with that, his fingers played with your nipples while he continued to finger you. The combined sensations have your face contorted into pleasure.

And as soon as his thumb finds itself rubbing against your clit, the coil in your stomach gets tighter. “Oh god, Sunwoo.” The way you mewl out his name almost has him breaking right in front of you.

“God, you are so pathetic.” He chuckles as he moves his mouth back down to your neck. “I can’t believe everyone thinks you’re a leader—you do nothing but follow and beg.” Your pants are heavier. “You fucking need someone to surrender to—me.” The way he sucks on your neck, plays with your boobs, and assaults your pussy is like no other—the feeling cannot beat any achievement you have ever received.

And you feel yourself about to tip over the edge. With the way your walls tighten over his digits, you both knew you were about to cum. Your eyes flutter open as you look at the man whose eyes are zeroed in on your face. “S–sunwoo, I’m—”

“Cum for me.” He repeats that chant as he watches your face contort into different expressions. The pressure in your pussy is getting tighter. “Cum for me, you fucking bitch.” And just like that, the coil in you broke. As you were orgasming, he continued to finger you—letting you it ride out until you started to reach overstimulation territories

When he hears you whine as you attempt to push his hand away, he listens. Your breathing is heavy. And when you get a whiff of your arousal, your eyes flutter open, only to see that his fingers glisten with your release. When your eyes dart toward Sunwoo’s face, you notice his satisfied expression as he moves his three fingers apart to see the strings of your arousal.

“God, you’re so hot,” he says before popping them into his mouth. This time he does not whine, but his expression will always show how much he enjoys the taste of you.

Once his digits leave his mouth, your hands reach out toward the collar of his shirt. But before you can remove the top off of him, you hear your ringtone blast out. “Fuck.” You do not miss the way his expression switches into disappointment. “I’m sorry, I need to take this.” You do not hear him out as you fling your arm to your bedside table to grab your phone.

You answer the call without looking at the contact. “Hello?”

“Oh, sorry! Is now not a good time?” You hear Yeji’s voice on the other line. As you lock eyes with the man who is starting to button up his shirt, you let out a sigh.

“No, it’s fine. What’s up?”

Yeji lets out a sigh of relief. “We need some hands in fixing the welcoming banners for the exchange students.”

“What happened to the welcoming committee? Didn’t I leave Jisung in charge of that?” You frown as Sunwoo makes his way to your washroom. But when he quickly comes out with a wet towel, you cannot help but smile.

“Unfortunately for us, he is MIA,” she sighs. “That’s what we get for trusting a man to handle this.” The revelation should have made you mad, but when Sunwoo crouches in front of you to wipe off the mess between your legs, you feel yourself melt.

The moment you hiss at the sudden contact of the towel against your sensitive pussy, his eyes snap up toward you in worry. “Y/N? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine!” You quickly exclaim. “I’ll be there in 30. Just make sure to get as much done, I’ll leave you in charge for the time being.”

“Got it.” And with that, you hung up on her.

“Sorry, I forgot that you’re still sensitive,” he says as he lightly wipes off the remnants of cum.

You shake your head and say, “It’s okay.”

It is silent for a bit. You two usually do not know what to say during these times. As soon as he finishes cleaning you up, you take this as an opportunity to get off the bed and get some fresh clothes from your closet.

“I’m sorry for cutting this short,” you start off as you wear your underwear. “I would’ve told Yeji that I’m busy but they need me on campus to help out.” When you successfully wear your bra, you look at the man who came from the bathroom after washing up the towel.

“It’s fine, Ms. Leader is needed everywhere they go.” There he goes again calling you that.

You roll your eyes as you quickly grab some jeans. “I hate when you call me that.”

“But it’s what everyone calls you.”

A scoff leaves your mouth as you pop the button of your jeans close. “Yeah, but it’s annoying.” The moment you grab onto a clean graphic tee, you quickly put it over yourself. Your eyes land back on Sunwoo who only smirks. “What?”

“You’re going out like that?”

You find yourself frowning before asking, “What’s wrong?”

“I just didn’t know you wanted to present your hickeys to everyone on campus.” The moment he says that has your eyes widening in shock.

You quickly make your way to a mirror to see that your neck is littered with hickeys left by the man who now stands behind you. “Fuck.” As soon as you lock eyes with Sunwoo, you notice the satisfied expression on his face. “Hey, now is not the time to be proud of your work. I can’t go around like this!”

Once you spin around to face him, he only shrugs. “You’ll figure it out.” He grabs onto your arm and pulls you close to him. The moment his lips hover over your ear, he whispers, “I’ll see you for the next one.”

Before you could retort, his lips move to give you a peck on the cheek. You and Sunwoo were never the type to do such actions outside of sex. So when he moves away and sees your expression, he cannot help but chuckle. “Good luck, Ms. Leader.”

And just like that, he made his way out of your room. God, you should have broken this off.

if you enjoyed this, please reblog!

#zzoguri works #deoboyznet #kflixnet #bjnet #kim sunwoo #the boyz #the boyz x reader #kim sunwoo x reader #kim sunwoo smut #the boyz smut #the boyz imagines #kim sunwoo imagines #surrender to me

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aspiring-holistic-otaku · 2 years ago

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Season 2 Ramble#4 - A is for anime (solo reprise) ver.2

Hello Hello Hello and welcome to another episode of MM..MANGA, the podcast about getting more people into more manga.. Incidentally, as you may have guessed from the title, this episode isn’t about manga at all, as this month I focused on manga’s seemingly more popular younger sibling, anime.

Before we get into it, a couple house keeping matters/points of information:

Last season I had some friends on the cast cause I don’t really watch anime like that and different perspectives are invaluable when it comes to any media. Plus I really fw them and the more the merrier. Sadly I won’t be having them on this episode, as again, you probably guessed from the title. Reason being, we had fun and everything but back then a lot was going on, I was just moving in with my then girlfriend and for one reason or the other I didn't put in as much effort as I could have into quality assurance. I definitely had fun but I really think I did them a disservice attaching their names to some mish mash of a ramble.

Those guys are some of the coolest people I know, and I really wanted to solidly improve the quality of the cast before getting anyone else involved in my ramblings.

Anna, Asha, Adley, Ashina, thanks again for being on the cast. Shout out stevaughn and daniel as well for being there and bringing vibes, always a pleasure. And a huUUge shout out to katastrophe kat for letting us use her house as the location. This was during peak covid n everything so I know having a bunch of folks in your house to make a podcast of all things could not have been ideal, but you supported the homie when all he had to offer was vibes and pizza. Many many thanks, and I hope to have you all back on one day.

All that being said I'm still just a guy recording on his phone at his house so if you hear stuff like people, animals or vehicles that's just my environment, give thanks for hearing and give thanks for the world around you.

That’s housekeeping.

Now some points of information

Firstly, I’ve come to understand that when it comes to anime there are 4 main release formats:

- Theatre releases which are usually movies

- TV releases which are usually series

- Original Video Animations or OVA for short, which are either movies or series made specifically for home video releases like dvd, blu-ray, etc.

- Original Net Animations, ONAs, which are either movies or series released directly onto the internet.

…of course here in the west I think alot of us just call everything anime,, or at least nobody's ever asked me if I've watched such and such OVA or ONA…

Second point, the average length of any series mentioned here is 23 minutes unless otherwise stated.

Lastly, if you’re completely new to anime and don’t know where to find stuff, all the series mentioned are on 9anime, zoro.to or you can ask a weeb friend. You probably have one or two and they would likely love to share if you’re interested.. You can also try for movies on those sites but I personally recommend torrenting them. I’m generally an advocate for supporting creators where we can but some of this stuff just isn’t on streaming services and if we’re being really real we can probably chalk up any “losses” to Japan paying for their war crimes…

Alright. with that out the way, let’s get into it.

THIS episode's format is different from the usual, list of stuff consumed this month then stuff consumed before that,, this time it’s all stuff watched this month but split into series and then movies. Also the order isn’t any sort of ranking it’s just the order I happened to watch them in.

Again I haven’t really done too much anime and I already mentioned my fav older watches in Season 1’s Anime solo reprise.. Fairly certain that if i went with that format again It would pretty much be the same lists except most of what I watched that month would move into this month’s older top 5 or so. I also really didn’t want to have to try and balance between series and movies for a top 5 list,, or do any type of ranking tbh,, plus seeing as i haven’t watched all that much anime I feel like my perception’s bound to be changing rapidly at this point..

When I add more to the stack I'll probably make another list but for now you can check out that ramble or read the writeup if you're interested.

[SERIES]

- Gunsmith Cats (1995 OVA, 3 episodes, 30 minutes each)

Picked this up for the shits because I liked the name and wanted to see if it had any relevance to the plot,, plus I'd always seen some 90s anime lofi type beat gifs of it and that made it seem pretty cool. Only 3 episodes. 90 minutes total, and if there was going to be predictably gratuitous fan service then that seemed a fair and tolerable length.

Not bad,, pretty enjoyable even if you don't mind or just wanna see some pulp., As anilist user Wilza put it, girls + cars + guns = fun.

Personally though I prefer media I consume to look good, be enjoyable and also be filling in some way,, but I pretty much knew what I was going into, and again, 90 minutes total. Not a bad appetiser for a whole month of anime.

Spoiler alert. The only relevance the title had to the plot was the main characters owning a store with the same name.. A gun store… idk what I expected…

- Riding bean (1989 OVA, 45 minutes) & Bean bandit (2021 OVA, 8 minutes)

The 1989 Riding Bean is actually the parent of Gunsmith Cats and the 2021 Bean Bandit is supposed to be a kickstarter for a new anime,, if i’m understanding my google search results correctly….

The mc of Gunsmith Cats, Rally Vincent is the partner of the mc here, Bean Bandit. Mostly watched for the Gunsmith Cats relation and the fact that there was less than an hour total length between the two. Also the name, again, had a strange pull on me cause I just still can’t fathom that naming sense and needed to actually see what was up.

Unfortunately I can't say there's much worth mentioning,, The mc is supposed to be a badass courier that has a cool ass car and drives anywhere anyhow but with basically one episode and an advertisement, neither of which were spectacular in any fashion, I couldn't find myself picking up the anything they were putting down. My only real comments are; cool car ig, the main character's chin is insane, like google the guy, bean bandit,,, and it was nice to see Rally again but in a different style… ig…

I encourage everyone to evaluate stuff for themselves but… you can probably let this one pass you…

- Digital juice(2002 OVA, 6 episodes, 3 mins each)

Very cool anthology, no real relation between each episode besides an effort being made to transport you to a different, usually high fantasy world.

Not too much to say barring going into each of the 6 shorts but ain't nobody got the time for that + they were mad short fr. Not even 20 mins length total, so I feel like I literally can’t start speaking on any of them without just about spoiling it entirely.. I will say that I definitely enjoyed all of them though.. Like a 7 on average if I was pressed for a score...

Really diverse animation styles throughout and, at least for me, it was a pretty decent shakeup of my preconceptions as to what anime, meaning Japanese animation, looks like. Highly recommend if you're bored of the same old same old and want a quick shake up.

On that note, this is one of three cool looking unrelated anthologies I wanted to watch this month. Sweat Punch and Short Peace are the other two. If anyone can find them please send them my way.

- Sonny Boy (2021 tv series, 12 episodes)

Wasn’t expecting much going into this, if anything I was expecting some lord of the flies, kids slowly going insane and picking each other off type beat, but I was so off the mark and in the best of ways.

The gist of the story here is that a high school has drifted into another dimension and at the same time, some of the kids start developing powers. With that setup I don’t think you can blame me for thinking this was gonna be another pseudo death game type beat, plus the title Sonny Boy, literally gives nothing away about the show,, but as I said the show went in a completely different direction.

For the most part the students are actually working together to try and get home albeit in their little factions, each having their own ideas about how they should go about that. Their situation was anything but normal and shit never really hit the fan like i expected but shit definitely got weirder and weirder.. But keeping the kids actually behaving like normal kids for the most part was a pretty good choice as it was way easier to relate and empathize with stuff like a class spat leading to people being isolated or god complex student council members, rather than dudes killing each other over who gets the best part of a fucking deserted island or something like that yk?

On that note the cast was great, pretty brilliant actually. Loved pretty much all the dialogue and despite the heavy scifi setup, it was more slice of life leaning a bit into psychological. Kids being kids, they’re gonna have issues yk? Put em in a different dimension, give em powers, kids are still gonna have issues. I think the main thing, was trying to find the place where you belong and the journey to get there, but honestly there was so much going on, so much cool social and existential commentary before and after that became clear, it was phenomenal. All wrapped up in some of the most dope visual direction I’d ever seen in anime.

Definitely highly recommend, honestly feel like i must have missed when it was buzzing cause it’s just so good in every direction I can think of,, my last ditch attempt at selling it would be to say it’s like a cross of the magic school bus and doctor who.. I think watching this as early as I did in the month was a big driving force for me actually trying to watch a bunch more stuff and I'm super thankful…

- Bus gamer (2008 TV series, 3 episodes)

Series about death games are about a dime a dozen but usually an okay time.. You know what you're getting and sometimes they can actually be really good and if not, what's another gratuitous chainsaw massacre?

The story, as with most death games is pretty simple. Different corporations/businesses hire teams of three strangers to steal and protect each other's data for huge sums of money.. As opposed to just getting a safe or investing in tech.. who knows why rich people enjoy toying with the lives of poors.. In any case, outside the games I like the plot point of teams made of strangers as it usually makes it more interesting to see how they pull stuff off.

Just 3 episodes, not that good in any sense plainly speaking. Very abrupt ending as it's based on a cancelled manga so that should tell you… I will say it did have a few cool lines I saved for future use though.

In any case I wasn't expecting much going in, the name just intrigued me. idk even know how I chanced into this. I just saw the name and was just like “are they playing games on a bus? in transit? what's going on?” but no they just play the games wherever..

Very sick op and ed tho I’ll for sure give it that,, and yeah it wasn't great but as hanma yujiro said in Baki son of ogre, if you only consume the good your body will become vulnerable, you have to take the good and the bad in their share to become stronger.

- The Tatami Galaxy series

So so so so so good, and without powers or anything really, just pure brilliance. idek what else to say… Tbh after watching Sonny Boy I thought I’d be lucky to see another series even half as good but I was thankfully blessed with another masterpiece and I’m so grateful.

The Tatami Galaxy series is actually 3 different series and a movie. Not really clearly related in plot but moreso the characters and themes, with each series showing those off in their own way. All thankfully and wonderfully brilliant,, but 4 items is a lot to squeeze in without turning a ramble into a lecture so i’ll try to speak on the general first then brush on the differences of each.

At its core, tatami galaxy is a romantic comedy that we never truly get to see the fruit of as the mc's ceaseless cyclical efforts are barely enough to start up a conversation with a woman…. Felt my dude…. :’^)))

Our mc is a freshman college student hoping to have a rose coloured college life as he's wasted his highschool years, and to that end he tries to join a club for their social circle, and hopefully even find a girlfriend. Sadly for him, but pivotal to the plot, he fails miserably at finding the ever elusive ideal girl and even worse, finds himself with only one so called friend he could call close after two years.

Another common thing were the absolutely stunning visuals which were so beautifully dynamic, in so many ways, it doesn’t even make sense to start listing. (breathe)I think this worked really well with the anthological feel the series gives off as a whole, and even within each individual part. Like the visual direction was almost too perfect man like i know some folks just don’t do slice of life but fr just look at the thing man it’s so beautiful.

btw, having watched all of them I’d say you don’t have to watch any particular one to watch any of the others, or in any particular order. I just read the summaries and decided to watch it in the order i’m about to talk about them in and yes I’d recommend that order but it’s not any strict thing.

Tatami Galaxy (2010 tv series, 11 episodes)

I’d say this is the definitive main branch but again, not something I’d say you have to have to watch before the others.

Here we follow our mc as he thinks back on his past two years of college. Unsatisfying, living alone, and with only one so called friend who he blames for being the cause of his failure to grasp a rose coloured college life. I really liked the gimmick of the story telling where basically every episode he would decide he’s going to join some club for their social circle, find he didn’t like the club’s activities for some reason or the other, meet that same one friend, then end up wasting time for two years. This makes it so that at the end of pretty much every episode he finds himself in some dire social situation that makes getting friends, not to mention a girlfriend, virtually impossible. He curses his fate and wishes he joined a different club because then everything would be different and everything would be awesome, most of all he wouldn’t meet that one guy and he would definitely get a girlfriend. Then the next episode his college life starts all over again and he chooses a different club.

Personally I really love strange loops, and I just couldn’t believe how fun it was to watch the story progress even within said loop. All brilliantly wrapped up and I have to say the second to last episode is some of the greatest episodes of anything I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching.

Tatami Galaxy specials (2010 dvd, 3 episodes, 7 min each)

These are side stories that have virtually nothing to do with the main branch and if nothing else, just gave more screen time to a cast I was completely in love with by this time. I think it could also be first in your watch order if you don’t want to jump into 11 episodes of the main branch, or even in between episodes tbh, as it gives little tastes of the main cast and the kind of antics they get up to. Thankfully keeping the killer visuals I'd come to associate with the series. It was like they knew they already did everything right and just wanted to have some fun.

Tatami Time Machine Blues (2022 ONA, 6 episodes, 17 min each)

Same main cast, same main character having the same problems, but completely different like nothing from the main series ever happened,,, or was somewhere in between, time machines are involved so who knows man, such is life.

This was more on the nose actual time travel as the name implies, as opposed to the original’s recursive reminiscive storytelling,, The art was a little different than the first two i mentioned but the direction was still chef’s kiss. getting into the story of how and why they’re time travelling in the first place would spoil the wonderful ridiculousness of it all and despite everything I’m aware ramblings aren’t usually well received, so I simply highly recommend this..

Night is young, Walk on girl(breathe) (2017 movie, 1hr 30 mins)

This one is completely completely different from the rest as though they all balance the vantage points of the main cast reaaaaally well, this one actually has most of the story coming from the main heroine’s perspective which was reeeaaalllly cool to see after all this time. Also the art is again a little different from the rest but thankfully still with the same utterly beautiful yet playful charm.

I think I'm getting a little repetitive now and I have other things to get to so I won't even give the synopsis but just know, as with all the others, this shit is flames. Source: dude trust me.

Speaking generally on the series again, I loved how the main character’s narration was very like fast and clean cut, almost mechanical as opposed to how he and really the story were actually very whimsical and unstable. Fair warning, the dialogue could be very cutting emotionally and psychologically despite that whimsy, which almost always somehow managed to come from left field, but it all just blended so well, especially with the amazing visual direction. Also absolutely loved the main cast btw, from just their designs to their individual eccentric oddities,, easy 10/10 man

- Ayakashi: Japanese classic horror (2006 tv series, 11episodes)

Not a big horror fan in general, but I can’t deny enjoying the occasional dash of gore and body horror in my media, but something about Japanese horror, specifically their supernatural realm stuff has always been very appealing to me. The diversity, creativity and folklore usually present is just so wild it always makes me wonder, wtf are the Japanese on and how long have they been on it.

That being said this wasn't all that great but it was an anthology of 3 stories, max of four parts each so nothing dragged on too long for me to hate anything. On average the stories themselves weren't bad or anything, actually they were solid enough and to the point but the age in animation showed through in a way that made me feel like I was watching a homemade project or something. But on the other hand, as I'm getting older myself, it did give me a bit of nostalgia for the days of searching through YouTube videos for hours to watch one anime episode split into four parts just to find out they only had 2. Also I thought each story was better than the last tbh, ending with an amazing three parter called Bakeneko, which was just so much different and also better than the first two in every sense, it's almost hard to believe they're from the same series.

If i’m being honest, even though I really dig japanese horror in general I actually mostly watched this series to see that last story as it actually ended up getting its own series called mononoke the following year.. I knew they weren't related but as a completionist I like to complete things yk? For those wondering, no you don't have to watch this series or even the last part, Bakeneko, to watch and enjoy mononoke.

- Mononoke (2007 tv series, 12 episodes)

Technically a spinoff of the previous series but definitely stands out on its own.

Honestly went into this almost to hate watch, for two reasons. One, for the most part I'm a manga purist so my hater self was like "fuck all those fancy shmancy colors n shit, all you need is the good ol black and white and a good story". Secondly I'd never actually seen anyone talk about it outside of thirsting for the mc and aesthetic blogs posting the same few clips so I thought it would’ve just been eye candy, but just from what I saw in Bakeneko I knew I was wrong and was actually really excited to get into this.

The story here is that the mc is a "medicine man". Medicine man in quotes cause we never see this dude sell medicine and tbh it seems like wherever he goes people are about to be or already getting fucked.. But he calls himself a medicine man. Though in reality what he does is exorcise supernatural beings called mononoke. All together the show is split into five multi part stories, each focusing on a particular mononoke.

Now you might be thinking "ohhh brother, not more demon slayin". Trust me I get it man.. I get it… but it's different in that the mononoke are said to come into being because of the misfortune of humans, so they really focus more on solving the mystery of that first creation step for most of the story, rather than physically fighting demons,, which does happen but usually more to the climax of each part., I was expecting to find it getting more and more predictable with the same general outline for each; mc shows up, mononoke shows up, shit hits the fan, MC saves the day, different day, different mononoke. But every story felt so richly unique, less so because of the obviously different mononoke and underlying themes but moreso I think, because of the mix of lengths and pacing which made it hard for even the general layout I described to feel predictable.

The main character was honestly just too brilliant and pretty much everyone, in this very shuffled cast mind you, played their parts so well. Also I said what I said but the eye candy was there and cannot be understated. Loved the horror aspects of course, more creepy than scary though, and really most of the time, the most horrific things were the sequence of events that caused the mononoke to come into existence.

Also a movie should be coming out this year so that's another reason I decided to check this out.

- Yokohama Shopping Log/Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (1998 OVA, 2 episode, 29 minutes each) & it’s sequel, Yokohama Shopping Log: Quiet Country Cafe/Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Quiet Country Cafe) (2002 OVA, 2 episodes, 32 minutes each)

Actually read the manga just over 2 years ago when I was on a slice of life binge and really dug the vibe, was so strangely peaceful I really wanted to see it in motion.

There's no real story tbh, it's literally just vibes, as it comes from a slice of life subgenre called iyashikei, apparently meant to have a healing effect on audiences by showing characters in a calming environment, living out peaceful lives. There's no real grand happenings, but that's really the point. As anilist user c00kiemaster puts it. Finding peace in the mundane, seeing beauty in the damaged.

The setting is one of those very rare post apocalyptic ones that aren’t all sad and hopeless. a little melancholy but that's just the personal disposition of the mc, which makes how healing it is all the more wild.

The two parts cover different parts of the manga but you don't really need to see one to see the other, as I said the plot is minimal and it's more about the setting. They don't cover as much as the manga but I really enjoyed just hearing the wind and watching it blow over the fields, watching the waves crash here and there.. a lone engine revving up then hitting an abandoned road… and the soundtrack is just… so peaceful..

If you want to see stuff happen then this probably isn't for you but it's a great wind down.. The reason I watched it last… If you're trying to get cozy then this is it.

[MOVIES]

- Roujin Z

The plot here is that the ministry of health has developed a new machine to automatically take care of the elderly who can't do so themselves.. Generally a movie needs conflict, so needless to say that didn’t go quite as well as they planned.

This is a Katsuhiro Otomo movie. Fairly certain Otomo’s most popular, or at least his most commonly referenced movie is Akira, but he's also been involved in quite a few other films. I had the pleasure of watching a few anthologies he worked on last year; Robot Carnival, Meikyuu Monogatari and my personal favourite, Memories. These all pretty much stand toe to toe with Akira so I had pretty solid expectations heading into this and they were pretty well met.

Solid cast and great aesthetic as I think most anime fans do, or usually come to expect from Otomo, and also pretty funny. I don't think Otomo's comedy gets enough credit tbh, especially for pulling it off in these usually sci-fi, end of the world, high tension situations. If you check out his anthologies you’ll see he can be a pretty funny guy, and though Kaneda provided a bit of that in Akira, I’d definitely recommend checking out his other work, Stink Bomb, from the Memories anthology to really see what I mean.

- One Piece movies, Stampede and Red

Stampede was sort of cool because we got to see the worst generation all in one place again, though I don't really care for most of them, so it wasn't THAT cool to me. Honestly I find it hard to care for them when it's not like the main story, or even this movie seems to either. Cool looking main enemy with a simple mindset and characterization that plays their role. The only thing I didn't really like is this thing where the main baddie had some connection to Roger or is from that generation. Another movie that did this was One Piece movie Z.

Let me just put out there though that I liked it when they did it in the Strong World movie, because the antagonist there, Shiki, was actually canon and one of Roger's greatest rivals besides Whitebeard. So being the first movie post time skip, it really hit to see Luffy go head to head with someone like that, but also because of that,, pulling any other character from that era doesn't make much sense to me seeing as Luffy beat THE Golden Lion Shiki and has only gotten stronger since then. That being said I recognise Luffy's win over Shiki was a once in a lifetime ass pull but it's a movie you know,, cool once in a lifetime shit is kinda supposed to happen.. unlike his asspull win vs a certain Katakuri… which I'm evidently still salty about to this day.

One thing I really appreciated though was usopp's role in this movie. After spending 2 years on such island during the timeskip, being trained by a dude named Heracles, he's supposed to be a real yute now yk, but in the main series we haven't gotten it all that much.. Thankfully he was for really really real here, like all real ones know god usopp to be… also shout out warlord turned yonko genius buggy one time…

Red

Wasn't expecting much from this movie tbh. If you're a One Piece fan then you know Shanks is the biggest tease in franchise history, so despite all the ads and previews alluding to his supposed involvement, I knew he would show up for like 5 minutes, say a few words and maybe swing his sword once. Which was pretty on the mark,, but I didn't expect to love it as much as I did nonetheless. Probably the second most emotional one piece film after one piece movie 6: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island.

- Lupin III: The First

That might be a little hard to follow for folks who don’t know the character but his name is Arsené Lupin the third and the movie title is The First.

Gonna just go with the anilist description here and say the story centres on Lupin teaming up with a woman named Leticia to steal the Bresson Diary, a treasure that even the first generation Arsène Lupin could not steal., Simple heist plot but this shit was so damn cool, the craziest thing is that Lupin just looks like kinda dorky idk but he just so smooth with it. Not to be outshined by his gang that’s not quite a gang, all utterly killing their respective roles of sword, charm, gun and somehow funnily enough the law.

I had unreasonably high expectations heading into this tbh, firstly because of the crisp animation I'd seen in trailers. Secondly, because after watching my first lupin movie last year, the blood spray of goemon ishikawa, and being absolutely blown out of the water, I unreasonably expected them to easily produce another master class. Thankfully I was not disappointed in the least, all my expectations were far surpassed and I'm even more excited to watch the rest of the movies and get into the main series.

- Millennium actress

A Satoshi Kon movie. If his name doesn’t ring a bell his other movies, Perfect Blue and Paprika usually do for anime fans and regardless i’d recommend them.

The story here is that a documentary film maker is interviewing a legendary actress that disappeared at the height of her career. Like most Satoshi films I've seen till this point, it neatly blends the lines between illusion and reality but this is still the first normal Satoshi Kon movie I've seen until this point. Very touching and ironically down to earth given the intentional blurring of reality by the characters themselves. I definitely preferred this to both perfect blue and paprika, I think mostly because of how whimsical the fantasies of the characters were here, as opposed to the darker more dissective nature of Perfect Blue and Paprika. I mean those were pretty solid movies but I guess that’s how it usually goes? Like yh what a wicked and ironic comment bro, now try saying something true and beautiful… still solid movies but yh..

- Angel’s Egg

This was actually my 3rd attempt to watch this movie in like 4yrs. Still don't know what I watched so I couldn't even give you a real synopsis. And I still can't figure why it seems so highly rated.. I definitely get that it's aesthetically pleasing, Yoshitaka Amano having done the art. but there's like 10 lines of dialogue,, and sure there's some cool existential bits but that's like 3 out of the 10 lines. To each their own but man… idk…

- Tokyo godfathers

Another Satoshi Kon film, actually didn’t realise until I started it and saw the art and was like, “is this Satoshi?” And yh it was Satoshi.

The plot here is three homeless folks find an abandoned baby girl on Christmas eve and try to reunite her with her mother. No fantasy or anything really, just some very real shit, teared up and almost cried at one bit tbh. Brilliant visual direction as expected but I actually found the sound direction a bit odd idk,,. Still, it easily became my fav Satoshi Kon movie like half hour in.

And that’s it for stuff watched this month, much love and thanks if you're still here, I'm gonna ramble a little bit more after this but the main part of the episode is done now so,, love and peace and safe travels 🤞🏿

#just another day #mm..manga #writeup #A is for Anime #late but we're here!!!#check it out check it out!!#Spotify #lots of wind cause I ended up having to just go on my roof for some quiet

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bird-of-the-day · 2 years ago

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^image: By ALAN SCHMIERER - https://www.flickr.com/photos/sloalan/16935159393/, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57031708

Scaled Quail (Callipepla squamata)

The Scaled Quail, getting its wonderfully rhyming name from the scale-like feather patterns, is found in arid regions from the Southwestern United States to Central Mexico. Scaled Quails are opportunistic feeders and consume more grass seeds than other quail species. When they are disturbed, they hide in clumps of grass or in snakeweed.

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rlyc00l · 2 years ago

Note

Hi ! Your posts about Tales are very interesting, I was wondering if you were to make improvements to Rhys' character development, what would you change about the story or even write for him specifically? I was trying to think about it myself because I love fixing flaws in certain stories, but it's been a while since I last played so my memory isn't serving me well haha

okay first off, he and Zer0 fall in love and he moves in with them on Sanctuary and-

(Okay omg, I had a lot of thoughts about this, sorry if this turns into a wall of text. It’s also been awhile since I’ve last played through, so maybe Tales did a better job of some of this than I remember, but, yeah.) First off, a lot of the issues with Borderlands comes from writers who do not know their own themes. I think this is a case of scifi taking from older explicitly political scifi without actually understanding it, but still picking up a lot of the political elements with everything else. This doesn’t become SUPER apparent until BL3 (what with the Elon Musk gun and good guy corporations) but there’s elements of it within the other games (especially in Tales).

There’s other issues presented from the Telltale game format allowing people to resist Rhys having any character growth even when the story implies it, but I’m just going to ignore that here because playing like that requires Rhys to be unreasonably stupid (or, let’s just pretend these changes are for playing the better versions of Rhys).

Anyway, if we want to fix Rhys within Tales itself:

-In canon Rhys comes to Pandora already judgmental about people who live there, but he never actually seems to reckon with the fact that Pandora is how it is, with trash and bandits everywhere, specifically because of megacorporations exploiting the planet. Given that Fiona and Sasha are right there it would be really easy to have someone open his eyes about that instead of just “Hyperion and Atlas specifically were being evil”.

-Goes with the last point, but considering that Rhys has Jack in his head, there’s plenty of opportunity for Rhys to realize “oh part of all this evil stuff wasn’t even just Jack being abnormally monstrous, it’s just a normal part of getting super rich”. Like the eridium mining? (But again, the writers apparently did not realize this. I think they legit believed Rhys could have all that power and money without doing anything too horrible.)

-We need to throw out the Atlas deed. Either it doesn’t exist or, Rhys happens upon it after Helios’s fall, the ticket to his dreams, and rips it up, disillusioned (which would be a pretty good moment to demonstrate character growth). If Atlas needs to come back in BL3 it comes back it’s under another’s leadership. (Or, stupider, but we could still give Rhys Atlas but have him use its resources in a non-megacorporation-y way while still manufacturing guns???? Doesn’t really make any sense but IDK the whole “he has a piece of paper and now everyone in this ancap hellhole galaxy accepts his ownership of this corporation’s properties” thing is kind of nonsense. I don’t like this idea but this was kind of what I expected them to do with Rhys back in the day.)

-Seriously, just let Rhys lose–or at least don’t reward him tangibly before we’re in the Tales framing story. Make him kind of directionless and desperate (more reason to want to make amends with Fiona and open that Vault). By the end of the story make him actually go on his own path, with new goals than what he started with. He can be disillusioned with corporate life, but realize that his ambition and skills can be used elsewhere and he can still find fulfillment. (IDK a solid place to go with this, and IDK if it even needs one more than the implication that Rhys is going to figure things out and feels some optimism about it. Rhys obviously has a variety of useful skills and traits.)

You can also fix Rhys after Tales:

-Maybe Rhys tries to get Atlas running out of some misplaced sense of “After all I’ve been through and all the people who died because of my ambitions I can’t just throw this away”. It’s rough going and his heart isn’t really in it. Either he fails or something happens that makes him realize this isn’t the right path. -Let him LOSE in BL3. He escapes with his life and just hangs around Sanctuary and is really depressed and pathetic (but like, in a funny way). In the end he starts getting his shit together and finding a different path. -Or, dumbest option, just don’t put him in BL3 while putting Atlas there? Keep shit vague lol.

The main point I have is that Rhys as a character would be really benefitted by failure.

(For the record I don’t want Rhys to be a completely good and benevolent person in the end because that’s not very Borderlands and part of the reason I love Rhys is he’s a bit of an asshole.)

#I DIDN'T PROOFREAD THIS FORGIVE ME #there's a lot of little things too that could have an effect on Rhys's outlook too #like his bff's character growth or the horror of jack piloting his body (and the implications that Hyperion #put more in his head than he bargained for)#tftbl #not zerhys

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mercy-burning · 3 years ago

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Fake Fiancée - Part 3

Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!Reader Summary: Reader and Spencer write letters back and forth, both of them slowly starting to fall in deeper. Category: Smut (18+) Content Warnings: Strong language, sexual themes, masturbation (male and female), sexting, face sitting Word Count: 6.3k

PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4

MASTERLIST

NOTE: Hello!! Sorry this has been so long in the making, but for a while my inspiration for this story absolutely disappeared, and then I tried to think of how to bridge the previous chapters to the final one with absolutely no luck. And then I re-read Part 2 and got stuck on the letter, thus this chapter was born! I didn’t want to drag this miniseries out any longer than 4 parts, and the letter format combined with other inner monologuing and description really allowed me to do that in an interesting way that hopefully doesn’t feel rushed!

It was so much fun and very refreshing to write. I hope you like how it turned out!

Thank you all for being so patient while I get my shit together 😅 Love you guys! Enjoy 🥰

***

We've been sending letters back and forth for about a month now.

If I'm being honest, it took me about two weeks to decide whether or not I actually wanted to send one back, but could you blame me?

Here was this guy I couldn't stop thinking about after a one-night stand, only for him to catch me—months later at the same exact bar we'd met in—flirting with his friend. And then after our sexual encounter that night, all the things we said, the connection I thought we had, all of it...

He left it all behind the next morning, only to send me a letter in the mail.

I was pissed.

Sure, it was a nice letter, but the fact that he'd reduced what we had down to a piece of paper and scribbled ink had made me angrier than I cared to admit.

In retrospect, I may have overreacted.

Over time I started re-reading his words, and the more I thought about it all, the more I started to regret my anger. And more than anything, I just wanted to see him again. I couldn't stay mad at him, not when all I could picture was his pouty face and nervous hands. His sunbeam of a smile peeked through the clouds of my anger here and there, and the longer it settled, the more it bathed me in a warm light that should have made me happy. But all it did was make me long for him.

Once I'd actually started writing that first letter back, I wondered why I hadn't jumped on the opportunity in the first place. I mean, after all the cliché shit we'd experienced in our short relationship thus far, adding love letters to the mix was just as perfect as you could get, right?

Spencer,

I'm sorry it's taken me this long to finally write you back. Truthfully I wasn't sure I wanted to write you at all, but your letter kept drawing me back in. I couldn't stop re-reading it, imagining you sitting down somewhere and contemplating every word as you wrote them down. I wondered if you'd thrown out hundreds of pieces of paper after messing up when you could have just as well typed out a letter without wasting them.

And then by that point, all I could think about was just you.

I always pictured what your living room looks like, or your kitchen table, or your office, or wherever you sit down to write. I wondered if you looked like one of those hopeless writers in the movies that have a scruffy face, coffee stains on their white tee shirts, and messy hair that hasn't been washed in days due to lack of inspiration.

But in the end, the image that won out over all the others was just you as I remember.

I'm not going to lie, that image most of the time was your body above mine while I held my hand to your throat, but for the sake of romance I guess I should probably tell you what it was every other time— the outfit you were wearing the first time we met.

When I think of you, I think of your hand nervously clutching that beer bottle for dear life and the other one occasionally pushing your glasses up your nose. I think of your eyes every time they'd look away from me, probably to keep yourself from staring too long.

But the thing that always gets me the most is your smile— even when it comes in little flashes, after you've said something you probably thought was lame. You covered it up with that perfect smile.

I've dreamt of that smile nearly every night since I met you, and I wouldn't be opposed to seeing it in person again.

I'd love to meet you for dinner some time.

But since you did manage to "more or less abandon me twice now", I think it's only fair that you make it up to me first.

Make the next letter a good one, and we'll see what happens.

Yours, Y/N

P.S. I hope my handwriting is as pretty as you hoped. I'd hate to disappoint.

***

Y/N,

I'm incredibly grateful that you've given me a chance to redeem myself. Every night since I last saw you has also been spent wondering what your house looks like on the inside... What you looked like reading my letter (perhaps at your kitchen table?)

And this might sound silly, but I've also wondered what your bedroom looks like. You may be laughing at me, because I've been in your bedroom, but in my defense I was a bit preoccupied to really take notice of my surroundings— I was simply surrounded by you.

But since I've been to your home, I figured it was only fair that I invite you to mine, possibly for dinner. I don't know how to cook much— in fact I'm pretty awful at making anything that's not a can of Spaghetti-Os... But one of my co-workers is an excellent chef, and with a recipe from him and some practice under my belt, I'm sure I can pull it off.

But by "some" practice, I mean probably weeks or months of practice. So hopefully that gives you ample time to mull it over.

Perhaps in the meantime we can get to know each other through our letters. And who's to say, it might spare us the awkward "getting to know each other" stage of a first date. Though, pretty much every stage of every date is awkward for me, so it might not help at all.

Regardless, I'm very much looking forward to hearing from you again.

I do get called away for work quite often, however. So I apologize in advance if I can't get back to you as soon as I'd like.

But in any instance, you're still welcome to text message or call me. I know it isn't as romantic or personal as handwritten letters, but it's certainly practical.

Yours, Spencer.

P.S. Your handwriting is just as beautiful as I'd imagined it would be. And you could never disappoint me.

That being said, if you somehow decide that this letter wasn't up to your standards and reject my offer, I may just find myself in the deepest despair imaginable.

***

I was definitely way too in my head about this.

It was just a text. Sure, it was a risky text to send, but I had no doubt in my mind that it would be fine in the end.

So why was my stomach churning just thinking about sending it?

Some might have chalked it up to my fat ol' crush on Spencer, but I knew it ran deeper. It had to do at least a little with my history with Patrick... The man stood me up and sent divorce papers to my place of work rather than to my face... And as much as I liked to think I was completely over it, we'd been together for years, and it really did a number on me.

I didn't want to ruin this new thing with Spencer so badly that I was overthinking everything.

So even though I could see his face opening the text, my heart doing jumps at the mere thought of it, a bigger part of me worried that it would be a step too far in the wrong direction. I didn't want him to think I was only in this for... sexual reasons. Which, don't get me wrong, have been pretty damn great so far, but I really did want to get to know him and see where this went.

In the end I decided to hold off. I settled for something a little lighter.

Spencer,

Don't feel too bad about your cooking skills. I've been through my fair share of burnt frozen pizzas to know how you're feeling. So the fact that you've given yourself the opportunity to practice and learn a recipe just for me is extremely romantic, and I appreciate the thought.

I won't stop you from following through, though I'm telling you now that no amount of slaving away in the kitchen will make me change my mind about you. We could probably eat stale crackers on the floor and I'd still find you utterly fascinating.

Maybe that's a bit too extreme, but I hope you get my point.

Anyway, I'd love to come over for dinner some time. Whenever you think you're ready to show me those improved cooking skills, you just let me know and I'll happily make my way over.

In the meantime, I'm thinking of sending more with my letters. I don't want to give away too much, but I will say that I'm very crafty. And don't feel like you need to send anything in return, though I'll let you know if I ever change my mind.

Yours,

Y/N

***

In the bottom right corner of the letter, right next to her signature, was a red lipstick stain in the shape of... well, her lips. It was common sense to know that they were hers and no one else's, not just a stamp or a drawing, and rather her actual lip stain... But even without it, I would have been able to tell by their shape.

Was that pathetic?

I could hear her, picture her in front of me, hovering above me with red-painted lips in the shape of a smirk, visibly cooing as she called me names... I could feel the ghost of her fingertips trailing up my throat and tilting my chin up to look at her as she rocked her hips teasingly into mine...

The whine I let out truly was pathetic.

You pathetic, needy little thing, I could hear her say...

My hands clutched the paper so tightly I thought I'd tear it, but it didn't matter when all I could see while staring at it was her luscious, red lips... Her voice was right there in my ear, like she was really beside me, watching me...

Oh, God, what would she do if she saw me right now? Staring at her lipstick stained paper and subconsciously grinding down into my chair...

You pathetic, needy little thing...

My hips jolted with a small, broken shout of her name, and in no time the front of my pants were flooded with warmth. I felt her eyes burning into me from the void, sparking to life with amusement as her voice crept into the deep corners of my brain and whispered praises to me.

Ohh, what a good little whore... Getting off to the thought of me... That's it, sweet boy... Come for me...

By now my eyes had squeezed shut and the letter was crumpled in my hand, the other reaching down to add much-appreciated burning friction to my crotch as I rode out my orgasm. My whole body tensed and shuddered at every sensation, from Y/N's image behind my eyes to the sweet warmth that pooled in my underwear and soaked through onto my hand.

Holy mother of—

The next time I saw her, I was screwed. I wouldn't be able to keep a straight face. I'd surely go red the second I laid eyes on her, and she'd know right away what I was thinking and feeling.

Simply put, it scared and excited me at the same time.

She'd utterly and thoroughly wrecked me, and if she didn't already know it, she certainly would soon.

Y/N,

I'm not sure what you intend to send in addition to your letters, but if it's anything near the sentiment of your lip stain, then you might have to refrain in favor of my poor, fragile heart.

See, it aches for you. It's bad enough I think of you always, but the moment I saw the shape of your lips on that letter, my heart almost shot straight out of my chest. Maybe it was the familiar shape of your lips or the implications of its place next to your name, signed after the word 'yours', that sent me into a tailspin, but whatever the case...

I'm pretty sure I've completely fallen under your spell.

I suppose I should also tell you that my heart wasn't the only part of my body that came to life at your added signature. I assure you, it took no time at all for me to come undone at the thought of your lips pressing gently against the paper, imagining that they were instead pressing to my skin... I didn't even have to touch myself, really. It just happened. Because of you and you alone.

I hope that wasn't too forward, but I felt it necessary that you know just how much of an effect you have on me.

If I could see you again in a millisecond, it wouldn't be soon enough.

That being said, I am determined to spend as much time as possible to perfect this dish for our dinner. Because you deserve nothing but the best, even if you insist that you could settle for less.

It's the least I can do.

Yours, Spencer.

And a week and a half later, when I didn't get a letter back on time, I was sure I'd messed up for good.

My mind was racing a mile a minute, yelling at myself for even thinking for a second of being that detailed in a letter without any consent. Sure, she'd taken it a step up by signing off her letter with a kiss, but I'd been absolutely idiotic in telling her that I got off to it.

I was honestly well and truly prepared to show up at her house with a big bouquet of flowers and an apology so wordy and probably too long for anyone's liking, in hopes that she'd forgive me for making this huge mistake.

Thankfully, though, it wasn't needed.

My phone chimed as I was pacing, my lip near bloody with how hard I'd been chewing at it, and I saw an unknown number attached to a text message and photo attachment.

The photo wouldn't load (I would have to plug it into my laptop and transfer the image there to see it— a fact which always irked Penelope to the core), but with the sentences I saw above the file, I almost knew exactly what I'd find when I had the means to see it.

There. Now we're even... Who says text messages can't be romantic and personal? XXX, Y/N

I felt like Bambi as I scrambled to my laptop three rooms over, stumbling over weak legs with my phone clutched tightly in my hand. My heart raced faster than it ever had as I started everything up and retrieved the right cord for my phone. With a few shakes and stumbles here and there, I briefly entertained the idea of upgrading my phone.

I probably would have left the apartment to do it immediately after seeing her photo attachment, but the moment it loaded up on my screen, my brain and body lost all ability to function properly.

A familiar burn coursed through the lower half of my body and tightened my chest at the sight of her, open and exposed and... wet.

My laptop screen was completely taken over by the image of Y/N's pussy, visibly glistening and aroused. A manicured hand—her hand— was in frame as well, middle finger resting snugly between the supple skin of her wet lips.

The fact that I only tasted her once felt downright cruel.

I tried to imagine it again— my face buried between the softness of her thighs. As much as I wanted to lay her down and indulge myself as long as possible, taking all the time in the world to slowly devour her and truly explore her for myself, what ran through my mind then was something more in the vein of our dynamic thus far.

My mind wandered, specifically to a place where I was the one laying down as she sat down directly onto my face and gave me what she thought I deserved. My hands were tied to the bed, maybe handcuffed. All I knew was that I couldn't touch her, and it bothered me. So I whined, and every time the sound left my mouth, she would let up, lifting further out of reach and causing me to instinctively reach my head up to chase her.

You greedy little slut... Take what I give you...

Desperately seeking her approval, I told her I'd be good and rejoiced when she lowered herself down to me again, allowing me to me completely wrapped up in her once more. My tongue lapped and lapped, gathering as much of her as I could before she'd inevitably leave again.

But she never did.

Somehow I kept my quiet, even though it was extremely difficult, and ate her out like my life depended on it. She glided smoothly over my face, coating more than just my lips in her arousal, and it thrilled me to my very core.

Every time I breathed in I could smell her, every time she groaned out my name my stomach fluttered, and it wasn't long before she was clutching my hair, shaking above me while I drank her in and repressed my whines.

My hips were uncontrollable though, bucking up into nothing and begging for any type of stimulation.

But then suddenly it was there— Her hand, firmly wrapping around my dick and gliding over it beautifully with a slickness that she must have transferred from her pussy. I could still taste her as I cried out her name, her movements quickening with every second until—

I didn't even realize I was actually alone until my eyes opened, cum coating my hand, my heartbeat heavy and loud, and the laptop screen in front of me a shade darker signaling a long period of inactivity.

I'd done it again...

And now we most certainly were not even.

I glanced over at my phone—plugged into the laptop—and then down at my lap, and my stomach knotted as my next move rang clear as day.

***

I woke up the next morning to texts from Spencer, and my heart picked up speed, a gentle warmth blooming through my chest at the sight.

I thought maybe he'd thank me for the photo I'd sent. Maybe he'd return it with an influx of messages along the lines of Oh my god, Holy fuck I miss you, and the like.

But what I wasn't expecting was to see a photo in return, of his hand that I'd dreamt of nearly nightly, wrapped firmly around his cock and all of it completely covered in cum.

Below the photo were three messages in a row, and each one gave me more butterflies than the last.

Sorry for low quality. No smartphone.

Also sorry we're not even anymore.

But I'm not sorry I did it- you're too perfect to resist.

***

Dearest Y/N,

I'm sorry you haven't gotten a letter from me in a while. And I know we've kept in touch through texting and calling while I was swamped at work, though now that I have some time off, I'd love to write you again. As much as I enjoy our virtual conversations, I still find sending letters to be my preferred method of communication (only second to speaking with you in person, that is).

Which brings me to the main point I'm trying to make.

I want to see you again. In person. I'm not completely confident in my cooking ability yet, but if you wouldn't mind the potential of it tasting awful, I'd love to have you over. I promise you nothing but the best, and I know that's a high promise, especially considering I probably haven't sold you on the meal, but it's true.

I'd do anything to please you.

And I really do mean 'anything', I hope you understand that.

Yours, Spencer.

***

The thought of seeing him in person again after so long made my hands way shakier than I would have liked. It made no sense the longer I thought about it, because it was obvious that we liked each other, and seeing each other in person wouldn't be a problem. Because it'd never been a problem before.

It irked me.

Still, I knocked on his door and physically shook out my hands, praying I could keep my cool when he finally opened the door.

But I should have known better.

One second I was staring at a large plank of wood, and the next I was staring into frantic eyes, golden and sparkling just as I remembered, but with an added glimmer of fear that matched the shakiness of my hands.

I don't know how long we stood there, just staring at each other, but the longer we did, the more we relaxed. His fear was gone, and the shaking in my hands turned into a dull hum that longed to reach out for him.

Still, I refrained, settling on a simple, "Hey, pen pal..."

By the way he looked at me, silent as ever, I started to wonder if that was a stupid thing to lead with. So I opened my mouth to apologize, to say anything else, but he beat me to it.

"Y/N... I... H—Hi, you look... incredible."

"O—Oh, thanks... Thank you, yeah, I um... figured I should... dress up a little. I know we're not going out anywhere, but I thought it might be nice."

He doesn't need to know that, Y/N, stop talking!

I gave him a small smile and a nervous laugh in an attempt to stop myself, hating how I was so nervous around him.

Spencer didn't seem to mind, though. He let me in and closed the door behind me as I quickly glanced around his apartment. It was littered with greens and browns, books everywhere, and I'd never felt more at home.

"Is it, uh... What you expected?"

"Hmm?" I turned to meet him, his soft voice pulling me from my wandering eyes.

"My apartment."

"Oh! Yeah, it's very you... I love it."

The compliment had his cheeks turning pink, and there was nothing I wanted to do more than kiss them over and over again.

And just like that, once again we were caught just staring at each other. I didn't know what he was thinking, and honestly, I didn't know what I was thinking either. All I knew in that moment was that Spencer Reid was standing right in front of me, close enough to touch, and I wanted to give in.

I was so wrapped up in the idea of feeling him that I almost didn't hear him speak. I wouldn't have heard him at all had it not been for his lips moving.

"I'm sorry, I haven't started dinner yet..."

"That's okay," I reassured. Or, at least I tried to. Really, though, I think it sounded more like I was uninterested in what he was saying, my voice flat and lifeless as I continued to stare at him.

Suddenly we were closer, and I had to look up higher to see his face, butterflies swarming in my stomach at the way he looked down at me.

"You're sure?"

"Mhm."

"I can start it now if you're getting hungry."

Food isn't what I'm hungry for, is what I thought. I almost said it, too, because he was even closer now, his hands coming out to touch mine. If they were humming before, they were certainly blaring with life now, growing hot under his light touch. And it took everything I had not to look down, because it had been too damn long since I'd seen his hands in person, and I wanted them on me immediately.

He could tell, too. He could sense my urgency, feel the longing radiating off my presence, and I knew this because I could feel his, too. His eyes practically dared me to say what I was thinking, and so I did.

"Don't you dare."

It was hard to tell who moved in first, but it really didn't matter.

I was here, in his apartment, feeling his lips glide over mine with reckless abandon, and that's all that mattered.

His hands gripped my waist so tightly I would have thought he was trying to hold me in place, to make sure I wasn't ever going to leave his sight again. And if that was the case, I would have let him hold me there forever.

My hands, meanwhile, clutched at his hair, forcing myself closer and closer to him with every sharp tug. I reveled in the way he whined into my mouth with every little thing I did, whether it was a tug of the hair or a roll forward of the hips, or even a swipe of my tongue over his.

He was putty in my hands yet again, and just like every time before, it turned me into a fucking goner.

Being with Spencer wasn't like anything I'd ever known. And the only other thing I'd known was Patrick. He didn't want me, not really, and even though he was good to me in the beginning, it was never like this.

I didn't come over to his apartment with shaking hands. I didn't send him fucking love letters almost weekly, and I certainly didn't get kissed like this...

Spencer was drunk on me, and I wasn't any sober myself.

"That picture you sent me..." I mumbled over his lips, still keeping myself as close as I could while I got out what I needed to say. "Where did you take that?"

We kissed for a few more seconds, unable to stay apart, before he answered, his voice just as breathy and brimming with desperation as mine. "My office. Just down the hall."

I kissed him again, hard, and then pulled back to look him in the eyes. They widened when I said, "Show me."

He dragged me through the apartment on rushed legs, and I almost laughed at the urgency, only stopped by the realization that I was just as urgent. It occurred to me that perhaps my laughing at his urgency might just be a slight turn on for him, given our history with my playful degradation, but still I pulled back— Tonight felt... different.

It didn't feel like we were headed in the direction of me calling him my dirty little whore throughout the night, and it was something I was more than okay with. In fact, I welcomed it, excited to see where this new night would take us.

We ended up in his office, which remained more or less the same aesthetic as the rest of his place. In the middle sat a small desk with a laptop and some papers scattered about on it, accompanied by a tall floor lamp and a rolling desk chair.

"Where were you exactly?" I mused, gripping his hand tightly and buzzing at the way his fingers flexed against my own.

"In the chair... I pulled the photo up on my laptop."

"Right. No smartphone."

Spencer hummed in confirmation before dragging me along to the chair, and I fucking giggled as he plopped down and practically pulled me right on top of him, the chair rolling back a foot or two. I went down for a bright, messy kiss that ended with his hands clutching my ass over my skirt and my own cradling his face.

His growing bulge nudged right up into my inner thigh, and I groaned lightly in his mouth, my fingers dragging softly down his jaw and neck until I reached his shoulders.

"What were you thinking about?"

He raised his eyebrow, and I rocked my hips forward with a sly grin, hoping to get my point across. "When you were looking at my picture, in this very chair, what were you thinking about?"

Seeing his eyelids stutter and his tongue dart out at my movements sent a rush through me, and I moved my hips once more to emphasize my urgency.

"I... I thought about you... riding my face. You tied my hands..."

"Oh?" I sighed, rocking forward again and humming into his neck. "Well, that can definitely be arranged if you want it bad enough..."

"Please, Y/N, yes... Please..."

The need dripping from every syllable made it near impossible to breathe, and I was suddenly very inclined to give him everything he wanted. With or without the begging.

So I reluctantly peeled away from him and stood up on weak legs. Staring at Spencer as he sat there, leaning back in the chair with disheveled hair and obvious desire in his eyes, made it all the better when I took my panties off from under my skirt and motioned for him to come forward. "On your knees?"

I would have demanded it in any other situation, but I was feeling a bit more sweet this time around.

And he seemed grateful for it, sliding the chair back further and getting down in front of me. I reached out and played with his hair, trying my hardest to commit his beautiful face to memory. I wanted it burned there for the rest of time.

"Hands?"

Spencer offered his hands to me, and I hummed happily, doing my best to tie his hands together with a makeshift knot from my panties. It wasn't really tight or secure, but it was enough for him to whine as he set them in his lap.

He watched intently as I dropped my skirt—a bit redundant now, but I thought it'd be a nice way to get him more excited. Plus I wanted to see his face (or at lease what I could see of it while it was buried between my legs).

I stepped forward then, looking down at him with a smile while my hands reached out to comb through his hair. "You ready?"

"Uh huh."

The look in his eyes right before I came forward and hovered over his face almost made my come on the spot.

But as fun as that would have been, I was glad for the way my body held off and settled for a beautiful, burning increase of pleasure that dragged out the longer he swiped his tongue through my folds. Actually, I forgot for a moment that I was supposed to be moving, riding his face like he'd thought about.

I willed my eyes open and clutched Spencer's soft locks of hair beneath me, gently rolling my hips and grinding down further on his face. The groan he let out not only felt good against my skin, but it sounded like pure bliss, eliciting a small whimper of my own as I tightened my grip in his hair and rocked faster.

"God, I missed having your mouth on me, baby... You're... so good..."

The longer I spoke the more breathless I became, not because the words didn't come easily, but because I truly believed them to be true.

Spencer really was so fucking good, his tongue the most delicate, divine object of the universe as it drew out every ounce of delight from my body. I may have been the one above him, calling the shots and directing him where and how to please me, but he was the one who clung to my soul like static and politely guided me towards damnation.

I wasn't even sure of my surroundings to tell you the truth. As my body tensed and took me through one of the most blinding pleasures I'd experienced in weeks, My eyes were squeezed so tightly it's like I saw the universe. All I knew was Spencer's lips sucking my clit and my hands deeply rooted in his hair as I shouted incoherently, stars swirling around behind my eyelids.

Truly, for all I knew, we could have been in space. It wouldn't have made any difference.

But eventually it came to be too much. I was reaching a limit I didn't want to get to so quickly, and so I flashed my eyes open and tried to adjust to this brand new atmosphere, unweaving my fingers through pretty brown waves of hair and stepping back to assess the situation.

What I found was the most beautiful man I'd ever known, panting like he'd just ran a marathon and yet harboring the most intense joy and desire a person could hold. He was on his knees, bound hands writhing in his lap as he awaited further instruction and licked up as much of myself on his face as he could before I stopped him.

Under normal circumstances, I would have wanted to absolutely ruin him. That adoring, desperate look in his eye would have spurred me to more devious endeavors, but all I wanted in this moment was to make sure he was satisfied. I wanted to take care of him, to let him know that I longed to make him feel as worshipped and adored as he'd made me feel.

I got down to Spencer's level, quickly removing the fabric from his wrists and hauling him to his feet, where he now towered over me, still waiting for words to address and instruct him.

Instead, I leaned up with soft hands upon his cheeks and pulled him down to meet my lips in a kiss that changed the tone entirely. It was erotic still, of course, what with my arousal infiltrating my taste buds and eliciting a soft sigh from the both of us, but our urgency manifested in sweeter ways... Softer lips, gentle touches of the face, and an exchanging of breath that was so smooth and seamless it felt like we were floating on air.

I was finding it hard to breathe again, but it wasn't an issue in the slightest. In fact, there was nowhere else I'd rather have been than right there, kissing Spencer Reid like we had all the time in the world.

When the breathlessness was a little too much to bear, we pulled away, though only leaving just enough space to breathe. Our lips stayed briefly connected while we caught up, and his hands found their way to the sides of my face. The way they practically engulfed my whole head brought a brief smile to my lips as I finally gave him the words he was looking for.

"I'm so glad I met you," I whispered.

"Funny, I was just thinking the same thing."

We kissed each other again, naturally and with so much ease that I wondered how I had ever lived without him.

And then, as my hands slid gently down his chest, I felt it.

Something that felt very much like a ring attached to a necklace sat right where his heartbeat resided, and I knew exactly which ring it was.

"W—" I pulled back and circled the shape of it with my finger through the shirt, then looked up at him. "Is that what I think it is?"

Spencer looked briefly panicked, pulling away a little and fishing down the front of his shirt for the chain. "Oh... Um, yeah. I, um... I forgot to take it off, I'm sorry. I..."

"You... kept it?"

I observed the diamond as it laid flat on my palm, still attached to the chain and around his neck. Honestly, after all this time I figured he'd never found it or gotten rid of it, seeing as he never brought it up. And yet there it was, glittering in the palm of my hand as my other one presses firmly against Spencer's rapidly beating heart.

"Y—Yeah... It um... It was really the only physical thing I had to remember you—Well, at least until we started sending letters... And I guess I just... W—Wearing it has become such a habit that I forgot to take it off."

"You never take it off?"

I could tell he was nervous, and rightfully so given I wasn't really letting on how I was feeling about the whole thing.

Still, he answered my short question in such a small whisper I'd have thought he was trying not to get in trouble.

"No."

"Why?"

My words certainly weren't helping ease his anxieties, so I remained close, dropping the ring and focusing rather on his eyes. I softened the look in my own and glided my hands down to hold his. His fingers flexed against mine, squeezing them for dear life as he sighed out in relief and flashed me a soft smile.

"Because... I wanted you close to my heart."

With a smile that mirrored his eyes, full of enchantment and pure adoration for the person in front of me, I didn't use my brain and instead focused on what my heart was telling me, consequences be damned.

"I think I might love you..."

Spencer squeezed my hands tighter, that relief spreading out to all his features and brightening that beautiful smile.

"Funny... I was just thinking the same thing."

Our lips met once more, and I swear it was like nothing bad was ever going to happen for the rest of time.

I'd never felt that way. Not once with Patrick did my heart feel settled into place, even during the great parts of our relationship.

And now here I was, with a man who sent me love letters and kept every physical reminder of my existence, who kissed me like I was the most precious thing in the world and slowly mended my wounded heart.

He held me close the whole way to his bedroom and never let me go until the morning. Though, even then his arms outstretched towards me and his fingers flexed, needing to grab onto any part of me that he could find.

And as I was sure I always would, I welcomed him with open arms.

***

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warsofasoiaf · 4 years ago

Text

Writing Characters With Believable Military PTSD

I typically write these writing and worldbuilding essays from a dispassionate perspective, offering advice and context to prospective writers from as neutral a point of view as I can manage, with the goal being to present specific pieces of information and broader concepts that can hopefully improve writing and build creators’ confidence to bring their projects to fruition, whether that be writing, tabletop gaming, video game programming, or anything that suits their fancy. While writing this essay though, I struggled to maintain that perspective. Certainly, the importance of the topic to me was a factor, but ultimately, I saw impersonality just as a suboptimal presentation method for something so intensely personal. I do maintain some impartiality particularly in places where historical or academic context is called for, but in other respects I’ve opted for a different approach. Ultimately, this essay is a labor of love for me, love for those who suffer from military PTSD, love for those who love those who suffer from it, and love for writers who want to, in the way that they so choose, help those two other groups out. Thus, this is a different type of essay in certain segments than my usual fare; I hope the essay isn’t an unreadable chimera because of it.

This essay focuses on military-related PTSD. While there are some concepts that translate well into PTSD in the civilian sphere, there are unique elements that do not necessarily fit the mold in both directions, so for someone hoping to write a different form of PTSD, I would recommend finding other resources that could better suit your purposes. I also recommend using more than one source just in general, trauma is personal and so multiple sources can help provide a wide range of experiences to draw upon, which should hopefully improve any creative work.

And as a final introductory note, traumatic experiences are deeply personal. If you are using someone you know as a model for your writing, you owe it to that person to communicate exactly what you are doing and to ask their permission every step of the way. I consider it a request out of politeness to implore any author who uses someone else’s experiences to inform their writing in any capacity, but when it comes to the truly negative experiences in someone’s life, this rises higher from request to demand. You will ask someone before taking a negative experience from their own life and placing it into your creative works, and you will not hide anything about it from them. Receiving it is a great sign of trust. The opposite is a travesty, robbing someone of a piece of themselves and placing it upon display as a grotesque exhibit. And if that sounds ghoulish and macabre, it’s because it is, without hyperbole. Don’t do it.

Why Write PTSD?

What is the purpose of including PTSD in a creative work? There have been plenty of art therapy actions taken by those who suffer PTSD to create something from their condition, which can be as profound for those who do not have it as it is therapeutic for those that do, but why would someone include it in their creative works, and why is some no-name guy on the internet writing an essay offering tips as to how to do it better?

Certainly, one key element is that it’s real, and it happens. If art is to reflect upon reality, PTSD suffered by soldiers is one element of that, so art can reflect it, but what specifically about PTSD, as opposed to any other facet of existence? Author preference certainly plays a factor, but why would someone try to include something that is difficult to understand and difficult to portray? While everyone comes to their own reason, I think that a significant number of people are curious about what exactly goes on in the minds of someone suffering through PTSD, and creative works allow them a way to explore it, much the way fiction can explore scenarios and emotions that are either unlikely or unsafe to explore in reality. If that’s the case, then the purpose of this essay is rather simple, to make the PTSD examination more grounded in reality and thus a better reflection of it. But experiences are unique even if discernable patterns emerge, so in that sense, no essay created by an amateur writer with no psychological experience could be an authoritative take on reality, the nature of which would is far beyond the scope of this essay.

For my own part, I think that well-done creative works involving PTSD is meant to break down the isolation that it can cause in its wake. Veterans suffering may feel that they are alone, that their loved ones cannot understand them and the burden of trying to create that would simply push them away; better instead to have the imperfect bonds that they currently have than risk losing them entirely. For those who are on the outside looking in, isolation lurks there as well, a gulf that seems impossible to breach and possibly intrusive to even try. Creative works that depict PTSD can help create a sense that victims aren’t alone, that there are people that understand and can help without demeaning the sense of self-worth. Of course, another element would be to reduce the amount of poorly-done depictions of PTSD. Some creative works use PTSD as a backstory element, relegating a defining and important element of an individual’s life as an aside, or a minor problem that can be resolved with a good hug and a cry or a few nights with the right person. If a well-done creative work can help create a bridge and break down isolation, a poorly-done one can turn victims off, reinforcing the idea that no one understands and worse, no one cares. For others, it gives a completely altered sense of what PTSD is and what they could do to help, keeping them out, confusing them, or other counter-productive actions. In that sense, all the essay is to help build up those who are doing the heavy lifting. I’m not full of so much hubris as to think this is a profound piece of writing that will help others, but if creators are willing to try and do the hard work of building a bridge, I could at least try to help out and provide a wheelbarrow.

An Abbreviated Look At The Many Faces and Names of PTSD Throughout History

PTSD has been observed repeatedly throughout human history, even when it was poorly understood. This means that explorations of PTSD can be written in settings even if they did not have a distinctly modern understanding of neurology, trauma, or related matters. These historical contexts are also useful for worldbuilding a believable response in fictional settings and scenarios that don’t necessarily have a strict analogue in our own history. By providing this historical context, hopefully I can craft a broad-based sense of believable responses to characters with PTSD at a larger level.

In the time of Rome, it was understood by legionnaires that combat was a difficult endeavor, and so troops were typically on the front lines engaged in combat for short periods of time, to be rotated back for rest while others took their place. It was considered ideal, in these situations, to rotate troops that fought together back so that they could rest together. The immediate lesson is obvious, the Romans believed that it was vital for troops to take time to process what they had done and that was best served with quiet periods of rest not just to allow the adrenaline to dissipate (the "combat high"), but a chance for the mind to wrap itself around what the legionnaire had done. The Romans also recognized that camaraderie between fellow soldiers helped soldiers to cope, and this would be a running theme throughout history (and remains as such today). Soldiers were able to empathize with each other, and help each other through times of difficulty. This was not all sanguine, however, Roman legions depended on their strong formations, and a soldier that did not perform their duty could endanger the unit, and so shame in not fulfilling their duty was another means to keep soldiers in line. The idea of not letting down your fellow soldiers is a persistent refrain in coping with the traumas of war, and throughout history this idea has been used for both pleasant and unpleasant means of keeping soldiers in the fight.

In the Middle Ages, Geoffroi de Charny wrote extensively on the difficulties that knights could experience on the campaign trail in his Book of Chivalry. The book highlights the deprivation that knights suffered, from the bad food and poor sleep to the traumatic experience of combat to being away from family and friends to the loss of valued comrades to combat and infection; each of these is understood as a significant stressor that puts great strain on the mental health of soldiers up to today. De Charny recommended focusing on the knightly oaths of service, the needs of the mission of their liege, and the duty of the knight to serve as methods to help bolster the resolve of struggling knights. The book also mentions seeking counseling and guidance from priests or other confidants to help improve their mental health to see their mission through. This wasn’t universal, however. Some severely traumatized individuals were seen as simple cowards, and punished harshly for their perceived cowardice as antithetical to good virtue and to serve as an example.

World War I saw a sharp rise in the reported incidents of military-related PTSD and new understandings and misunderstandings. The rise in the number of soldiers caused a rise in cases of military PTSD, even though the term itself was not known at the time. Especially in the early phases of the war, many soldiers suffering from PTSD were thought to be malingering, pretending to have symptoms to avoid being sent to the front lines. The term “shell shock” was derived because it was believed that the concussive force of artillery bombardment caused brain damage as it rattled the skull or carbon monoxide fumes would damage the brain as they were inhaled, as a means to explain why soldiers could have physical responses such as slurred speech, lack of response to external stimuli, even nigh-on waking catatonia, despite not being hit by rifle rounds or shrapnel. This would later be replaced by the term “battle fatigue” when it became apparent that artillery bombardment was not a predicative indicator. Particularly as manpower shortages became more prevalent, PTSD-sufferers could be sent to firing squads as a means to cow other troops to not abandon their post. Other less fatal methods of shaming could occur, such as the designation “Lack of Moral Fibre,” an official brand of cowardice, as an attempt to shame the members into remembering their duty. As the war developed, and understanding grew, better methods of treatment were made, with rest and comfort provided to slight cases, strict troop rotations observed to rotate men to and from the front lines, and patients not being told that they were being evacuated for nervous breakdown to avoid cementing that idea in their mind. These lessons would continue into World War II, where the term “combat stress reaction” was adopted. While not always strenuously followed, regular rotations were adopted as standard policy. This was still not universal, plenty of units still relied upon bullying members into maintaining their post despite mental trauma.

The American military promotes a culture of competence and ability, particularly for the enlisted ranks, and that lends itself to the soldier viewing themselves in a starkly different fashion than a civilian. Often, a soldier sees the inability to cope with a traumatic experience as a personal failure stemming from the lack of mental fortitude. Owning up to such a lack of capability is tantamount to accepting that they are an inferior soldier, less capable than their fellows. This idea is commonly discussed, and should not be ignored, but it is far from the only reason. The military also possesses a strong culture of fraternity that obligates “Don’t be a fuckup,” is a powerful motivating force, and it leads plenty of members of the military to ignore traumatic experiences out of the perceived need not to put the burden on their squadmates. While most professional militaries stress that seeking mental health for trauma is not considered a sign of weakness, enlisted know that if they receive mental health counseling, it is entirely likely that someone will have to take their place in the meantime. That could potentially mean that another person, particularly in front-line units, are exposed to danger that they would otherwise not be exposed to, potentially exacerbating guilt if said person gets hurt or killed. This is even true in stateside units, plenty of soldiers don’t report for treatment because it would mean dumping work on their fellows, a negative aspect of unit fraternity. Plenty of veterans also simply never are screened for mental health treatment, and usually this lends to a mentality of “well, no one is asking, so I should be fine.” These taken together combine to a heartbreaking reality, oftentimes a modern veteran that seeks help for mental trauma has often coped silently for years, perhaps self-medicating with alcohol or off-label drug usage, and is typically very far along their own path comparatively. Others simply fall through the cracks, not being screened for mental disorders and so do not believe that anything is wrong; after all, if something was wrong, surely the doctors would notice it, right? The current schedule of deployments, which are duration-based and not mission-based, also make it hard for servicemembers to rationalize their experiences and equate them to the mission; there’s no sense of pairing suffering to objectives the way that de Charnay mentioned could help contextualize the deprivation and loss. These sorts of experiences make the soldier feel adrift, and their suffering pointless, which is discouraging on another level. It is one thing to suffer for a cause, it’s another not to know why, amplifying the feelings of powerlessness and furthering the isolation that they feel.

Pen to Page - The Characters and Their Responses

The presentation of PTSD within a character will depend largely on the point-of-view that the author creates. A character that suffers from PTSD depending on the presence of an internal or external point-of-view, will be vastly different experiences on page. Knowing this is essential, as this will determine how the story itself is presenting the disorder. Neither is necessarily more preferable than the other, and is largely a matter of the type of story being told and the personal preference of the author.

Internal perspectives will follow the character’s response from triggering event to immediate response. This allows the author to present a glimpse into what the character is experiencing. In these circumstances, remember that traumatic flashbacks are merely one of many experiences that an average sufferer of PTSD can endure. In a visual medium, flashbacks are time-effective methods to portray a character reliving portions of a traumatic experience, but other forms of media can have other tools. Traumatic flashbacks are not necessarily a direct reliving of an event from start to finish, individuals may instead feel sudden sharp pains of old injuries, be overwhelmed by still images of traumatic scenes or loud traumatic sounds. These can be linked to triggers that bring up the traumatic incident, such as a similar sight, sound, or smell. These moments of linkage are not necessarily experienced linearly or provide a clear sequence of events from start to finish (memory rarely is unless specifically prompted), and it may be to the author’s advantage to not portray them as such in order to communicate the difficulty in mental parsing that the character may be experiencing. Others might be more intrusive, such as violently deranged nightmares that prevent sleep. The author must try to strike a balance between portraying the experience realistically and portraying it logically that audience members can understand. The important thing about these memories is that they are intrusive, unwelcome, and quite stressful, so using techniques that jar the reader, such as the sudden intrusive image of a torn body, a burning vehicle, or another piece of the traumatic incident helps communicate the disorientation. Don't rely simply on shock therapy, it's not enough just to put viscera on the page. Once it is there, the next steps, how the character reacts, is crucial to a believable response.

When the character experiences something that triggers their PTSD, start to describe the stress response, begin rapidly shortening the sentences to simulate the synaptic activity, express the fight-flight-freeze response as the character reacts, using the tools of dramatic action to heighten tension and portraying the experience as something frightful and distinctly undesirable. The triggering incident brings back the fear, such as a pile of rubble on the side of the road being a potential IED location, or a loud firework recalling the initial moments of an enemy ambush. The trauma intrudes, and the character falls deep into the stress response, and now they react. How does this character react? By taking cover? By attacking the aggressor who so reminds them of the face of their enemy? Once the initial event starts, then the character continues to respond. Do they try to get to safety? Secure the area and eliminate the enemy? Eventually, the character likely recognizes their response is inappropriate. It wasn’t a gunshot, it was a car backfiring, the smell of copper isn’t the sight of a blown-apart comrade and the rank odor of blood, it’s just a jug of musty pennies. This fear will lead to control mechanisms where the victim realizes that their response is irrational. Frequently, the fear is still there, and it still struggles with control. This could heighten a feeling a powerlessness in the character as they try and fail to put the fear under control: "Yes, I know this isn’t real and there’s nothing to be afraid of, but I’m still shaking and I am still afraid!" It’s a horrifying logical track, a fear that the victim isn’t even in control of their thoughts - the one place that they should have control - and that they might always be this way. There’s no safety since even their thoughts aren’t safe. Despair might also follow, as the victim frantically asserts to regain control. Usually with time, the fear starts to lessen as the logical centers of the brain regain control, and the fear diminishes. Some times, the victim can't even really recall the exact crippling sense of fear when attempting to recall it, only that they were afraid and that it was deeply scary and awful, but the notion that it happened remains in their mind.

Control mechanisms are also important to developing a believable PTSD victim. Most sufferers dread the PTSD response and so actively avoid objects or situations that could potentially trigger. Someone who may have had to escape from a helicopter falling into the ocean may not like to be immersed in water. Someone who was hit by a hidden IED may swerve to avoid suspicious piles in the road. Someone buried under a collapsing ceiling may become claustrophobic. Thus, many characters with PTSD will be hypervigilant almost to the point of exhaustion, avoiding setting off the undesired response. This hypervigilance is mentally taxing; the character begins to become sluggish mentally as all their energy is squeezed out, leaving them struggling for even the simplest of rational thoughts. This mental fog can be translated onto the page in dramatic effect by adding paragraph length to even simple actions, bringing the reader along into the fog, laboriously seeing the character move to perform simple actions. Then, mix in a loss of a sense of purpose. They’re adrift, not exactly sure what they’re doing and barely aware of what’s happening, although they are thinking and functioning. In the character’s daily life, they are living their life using maximum effort to avoid triggering responses; this is another aspect of control that the character can use as an attempt to claw back some semblance of power in their own lives. Even control methods that aren’t necessarily healthy such as drinking themselves to pass out every night or abusing sleeping pills in an attempt to sleep due to their nightmares, are ways to attempt to regain a sense of normalcy and function. Don’t condescend to these characters and make them pathetic, that’s just another layer of cruelty, but showing the unhealthy coping mechanisms can demonstrate the difficulty that PTSD victims are feeling. Combined with an external perspective, the author can show the damage that these unhealthy actions are doing without casting the character as weak for not taking a different path.

External perspectives focus on the other characters and how they observe and react to the individual in question. Since the internal thought process of the character is not known, sudden reactions to an unknown trigger can be quite jarring for characters unaware, which can mirror real-life experiences that individuals can have with PTSD-sufferers. In these types of stories, the character’s reaction to the victim is paramount. PTSD in real life often evokes feelings of helplessness in loved ones when they simply cannot act to help, can evoke confusion, or anger and resentment. These reactions are powerful emotions with the ability to drive character work, and so external perspectives can be useful for telling a story about what it is like for loved ones who suffer in their own fashion. External perspectives can be used not just in describing triggering episodes, but in exploring how the character established coping mechanisms and how their loved ones react to them. Some mechanisms are distinctly unhealthy, such as alcohol or prescription drug abuse, complete withdrawal, or a refusal to drive vehicles, and these create stress and a feeling of helplessness in characters or can impel them to try and take action. Others can be healthy, and a moment of inspiration and joy for an external perspective could be sharing in that mechanism, demonstrating empathy and understanding which evokes strong pathos, and hopefully to friends of those who suffer from PTSD, a feeling that they too, are not alone.

As the character progresses, successes and failures can often be one of the most realistic and most important things to include within the work, since those consumers who have PTSD will see parts of themselves in the characters, which can build empathy and cut down on the feelings of isolation that many victims of PTSD feel. A character could, over the course of the story, begin weaning themselves off of their control mechanisms, have the feelings of panic subside as their logical sides more quickly assert control, replace unhealthy coping mechanisms with healthier ones, or other elements of character progression and growth. Contrarily, a character making progress could, after experiencing significant but unrelated stressors, backslide either into unhealthy coping mechanisms or be blindsided by another attack. This is a powerful fear for the victim, since it can cause them to think ‘all my progress, all my effort, and I am not free!’ This is often a great fear for PTSD users (people with depression often have the same feeling) that find methods of coping are no longer as effective, and the struggle is perceived as one that they’re ultimately doomed to failure. This feeling of inevitable failure can lead to self-harm and suicide as their avenue of success seems to burn to ash right as it was in their hands. More than one soldier suffering from PTSD has ended up concluding: “Fuck it, I can’t live like this,” as horrible as that is. Don’t be afraid to include setbacks and backsliding, those happen in reality, and can be one of the most isolating fears in their lives; if the goal of portraying PTSD accurately is to help remove that feeling of isolation, then content creators must not avoid these experiences. Success as well as failure are essential to PTSD in characters in stories, these elements moreso than any other, I believe, will transcend the medium and form a connection, fulfilling the objective we set out to include in the beginning paragraphs.

Coming Back to the Beginning

It might be counterintuitive at first glance to say “including military PTSD will probably mean it will be a long journey full of discouraging story beats that might make readers depressed,” because that’s definitely going to discourage some readers to do that. I don’t see it that way, though. The people that want to do it should go in knowing it’s going to be hard, and let that strengthen their resolve, and put the best creation they can forward. The opposite is also true. Not every prospective author has to want to include any number of difficult subjects in their works, and that’s perfectly fine. Content creators must be free to shape the craft that they so desire without the need to be obligated to tackle every difficult issue, and so no content creator should be thought of as lesser or inferior because they opt not to include it in their works. I think that’s honestly stronger than handling an important topic poorly, or even worse, frivolously. Neither should anyone think that a content creator not including PTSD in their works means that they don’t care about those who suffer from it or for those who care about them or who simply don’t care about the subject in general. That’s just a terrible way to treat someone, and in the end, this entire excursion was about the opposite

Ultimately, this essay is a chance not only to help improve creative works involving PTSD, but to reflect on the creative process. Those who still want to proceed, by all means, do so. Hopefully this essay will help you create something that can reach someone. If every piece of work that helps portray PTSD can reach someone somewhere and make things easier, even if ever so little, well then, that’s what it’s really all about.

Hoping everyone has a peaceful Memorial Day. Be good to each to other.

SLAL

#essays on writing and worldbuilding #ptsd

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inazumaeveryday · 2 years ago

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Day 13

At home

Kidou: Good morning, mar.

We’re playing against Biyuutei in the semi-finals of the regional qualifiers today.

Option 1

mar: It’ll be a piece of cake for you guys!

Kidou: Obviously. You can look forward to it.

Option 2

mar: Don’t let your guard down!

Kidou: Yeah, don’t worry.

Kidou: None of us in Teikoku have any intention of losing focus until our victory is assured.

Hakamada: Yuuto-sama, I found your student ID card in the hallway. You must have dropped it. Here you go.

Kidou: …………

Kidou: Focus!

Kidou: I can’t believe Endou told me I’m an idiot too…

No, wait. It must’ve been a dream.

Breakfast

Kidou: The match is this afternoon.

I shouldn’t eat too much… I need to be in top shape for morning practice.

Kidou’s room

Kidou: Alright… I’m sure I’ve got everything.

Are you ready to go too, mar?

In the car

Kidou: Biyuutei is not a weak team by any means. They’ve made it to the semi-finals, after all.

But they’re no match for Teikoku. They’re nowhere near being strong enough to compete with us.

Morning practice

Doumen: Biyuutei’s players kind of have a visual kei vibe~

Narukami: You think? But they don’t really look like they play music though.

I’d say they’re more like…

Kidou: Everyone, listen up. I’ll go over today’s training menu and the formation we’ll use in the match.

Doumen&Narukami: Okay!

At school

Class (Japanese)

Kidou: We’re going to manipulate the original copy of some historical works of literature today.

I’ll be wearing gloves, but I’m still nervous…

Break

Kidou: mar, how do you like studying at Teikoku? Are you starting to become familiar with everything?

I’m getting used to being with you too.

If you still have any questions, you can ask me.

Option 1

mar: I want to know more about your goggles!

Kidou: Oh, these? You could say it’s a kind of training to improve concentration.

When I put the goggles on, I can see the important parts of the game with more depth than I normally would.

For example, I can even predict where the ball is going to land.

I’m essentially intentionally limiting my field of vision to be able to visualize the entire playing field.

I’ve gotten so used to wearing them that I feel uneasy if I don’t have them on now.

Option 2

mar: I want to know more about your cape!

Kidou: Oh, my cape?

I just like the color red.

Wearing this cape fires me up. I feel like it boosts my fighting spirit.

Kidou: Well, I wasn’t expecting you to ask about simple things like this… But what do you think?

This cape and these goggles are like my trademark now.

Hehe… the captain of Teikoku is easily recognizable, isn’t he?

Kidou: I’m counting on you for today’s match, Gojou.

Gojou: Kukuku… Just leave it to me. I’ll crush them.

Kidou: Heh, alright.

Class (PE)

Kidou: When we first started doing clay target shooting, I could barely hit anything…

Now I can shoot the targets about 90% of the time.

The point system we use in class makes it easy to actually see how much progress we’ve made since the beginning.

Break

Sakuma: Kidou, we still can’t use Koutei Penguin no.2 in today’s match, can we…?

Kidou: Sorry, we still can’t use it yet.

Sakuma: Ugh... Alright. I want to be able to use it already, but I get it.

Class (math)

Kidou: Japan apparently had its own distinct kind of mathematics in the past.

People back then must have developed calculation skills on par with Western mathematics.

Break

Kidou: Banjou, your hair is so smooth and silky. The way it shines in the light makes it look like you have a halo… It’s beautiful.[1]

Banjou: Thank you so much… I’m very proud of it.

Kidou: It’s a shame that using Cyclone messes it up so much…

How about keeping the axis of your body in mind when you make that kick? It might even make it more powerful, too.

Banjou: I see… I’ll keep it in mind.

Class (English)

Kidou: We’re translating manga into English today.

If it’s a soccer manga… I’m confident I can translate everything perfectly without having to look anything up.

Lunch

Kidou: Genda, are you really fine eating that much right before the match?

Genda: Oh, don’t worry about it! I need to eat at least that much so I’m filled with energy. Anything less and I won’t be able to bring out my full strength!

Actually, Kidou, is it really okay for you to eat so little? Shouldn’t you eat more than that?

Kidou: …No, I’ll pass on that. I’m fine.

On the way to Biyuutei

Kageyama: This is the semi-finals of the regional qualifiers… Against Biyuutei, dominating the game should be an easy task for you all.

Show yourselves worthy of Teikoku’s name. Bring me an absolute victory.

Team: Yes, sir!

Kidou: The commander’s words always boost the team’s morale.

Just take a look at everyone’s faces. Don’t they look filled with confidence now?

Biyuutei[2]

Genda: What’s with that smell…?

Sakuma: Is it… perfume?

Kidou: I’ve heard some pro soccer players wear perfume, but…

Augh, it stinks.

Lucy: Oh my gosh, no way~! Is this caped four-eyes for real? You clearly don't know the first thing about etiquette!

Kidou: Hmph. You’re quite rude yourself.

Lucy: Oh? Wait, actually? Now that I’m looking a bit more closely…

You, are you actually a hottie? Come on, won’t you take off those glasses? Let me take a look at your face~

Kidou: Don’t touch me.

Doumen: Uegh~ All that perfume they’re wearing is making me sick… There’s such a thing as too much, you know~?

Henmi: How do you even concentrate with that smell… Maybe that’s actually why Ooedo lost to these guys?

David: How dare you! If you play with fire… you’ll get burned, you know!

Sakiyama: Hah! Burned? Are you kidding? As if you could even make us sweat!

Kidou: Heh… Don’t get into a fight now. Just show him during the match.

Kidou: I definitely won’t go easy on them this time.

During the match

mar: (What should I say…)

Option 1

mar: Yuuto-kun, do your best!

Kidou: Oh? They’re marking me…

Option 2

mar: Everyone, do your best!

Kidou: Well? What happened to burning us? I’m not feeling any heat!

mar: (What should I do? Biyuutei’s falling apart…!)

Option 1

mar: I’ve had enough… They don’t need to go that far…

Kidou: Heh… We’re done playing around now.

Option 2

mar: ............

Kidou: They’re the ones who got burned, in the end.

After the match

Kidou: The semi-finals are done! It’s finally time for the finals!

Genda: Those guys from Biyuutei worked harder than I thought in the first half. I didn’t expect them to put in that much effort.

Sakuma: Yeah… Looks like their strategy was to focus on Kidou and have several of their players mark him. Can’t say that really worked for them, though.

Kidou: There’s no way something like that would stop me.

Henmi: We still won, but… I don’t know how to feel about a sickening game like that.

Doumen: Oh, I just remembered… I swear, these guys kept talking about “glasses” this and “glasses” that! What’s with that?

Kidou: They must have been talking about Gojou.

Banjou: Now that you mention it… One of the guys from Biyuutei told me to give his contact information to “the guy with glasses”...

Gojou: Kukuku… So they’re trying to recruit me? I might be in trouble.

Kidou: Hehe…[3]

Club activities

Kidou: Looks like Occult lost to Shuuyou Meito.

Genda: Occult lost…?

Sakuma: But didn’t they train really hard after losing against Raimon?

I’m sure I read that they got significantly stronger after that…

Doumen: This is the first time I hear about Shuuyou Meito even having a soccer club!

Genda: It’s just like when we played against Raimon… We don’t have any information on this team at all.

Jimon: Raimon versus Shuuyou Meito, huh…

This year’s competition is one unexpected turn of events after another. We keep getting blindsided by first-timers.

Kidou: And Gouenji won’t be able to play since he’s injured.

I can’t say I know a lot about Shuuyou Meito, but can Raimon really beat them without their ace striker…?

In the car

Kidou: It’s been a long day… I’m a little tired.

I don’t have lessons with Kyougoku-sensei today, so I’ll just take it easy and rest…

At home

Kidou: Oh, I know. I’ll get a sports massage today.

The therapist I usually see is a former pro soccer player. He’s really good at what he does.

In the bath

Kidou: Sigh… Next, the finals…

Well, it’s only the finals of the regional qualifiers, though…

Kidou’s room

Kidou: I’ll be getting a massage later.

I’ll ask to make it as thorough as possible.

Later

Kidou: Beautiful lady? It feels a little like your heart is squeezing in pain…?

No… Not now. Well, alright, I got it… Bye.

…………

Kidou: Oh, hey. I feel so much better after getting that massage.

mar: (I’ve never heard Yuuto-kun say that kind of thing before…!)

Option 1

mar: Were you giving relationship advice to someone?

Kidou: …Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t have time for things like that.

Option 2

mar: Was it a love confession?

Kidou: …Sorry you had to hear that.

Kidou: It was actually Domon calling me to report on what Raimon did today.

They went to scout out Shuuyou Meito before their next match. Apparently, they hang out at some weird place called a maid café…

He was saying I absolutely had to go there at least once. I guess I’ll pay it a visit if I get the chance…

Now, back to what I was doing… I’ve been watching one of Shuuyou Meito’s previous games, but they don’t seem particularly motivated so far…

Hm? This is…

They’re cheating…! This team’s success in the tournament is a sick joke.

I don’t want Raimon to lose to guys who won’t play fair and square…!

…Not that I can waste time worrying about them. We have a test coming up.

How do you feel, mar? Confident you’ll do well?

If you’re not feeling fully ready for it, I can help you study.

I feel a little responsible since I’ve been dragging you all over for the past few days, so I’ll make an exception just this once.

I’m a strict teacher though, so you’d better brace yourself.

Kidou: Alright, time to sleep.

Goodnight, mar.

At night…

Kidou: …………

…the test…about…

I'm not sure if this is clear, but he's saying the shine of Banjou's hair forming a ring around his head looks like a halo. Like this! (click for a photo of it)

Biyuutei sounds like "beauty"

If it's not clear, the guy with glasses in question here is actually Kidou haha

#IM STILL ALIVE I SWEAR !!!!#i had a really busy week :'(#shoutout to kidou for cutting narukami off before he could say something that would get him cancelled

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perhaps-in-anotherdream · 3 years ago

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[CN] S2 Victor- Right Now Is The Time (Eng Translation)

⌚ Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for a company project that is yet to be released in the global server! ⌚

NOTE: This post features S2 Victor and MC, and takes place some time in between post-Chapter 4 and pre-Chapter 10. And it’s the 4th company project. However, it doesn’t contain any spoilers regarding the S2 storyline. I’ve listed the notable storyline mentions at the end of the post, so no worries about storyline spoilers! (◍•ᴗ•◍)

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[ SECTION 1 ]

The day before the show is officially about to be filmed, I’m setting up the apparatuses in the lobby of LFG.

The company’s new variety event “Right Now is The Time” is a workplace observation related reality show, filming the internship of five talented students working at LFG.

According to the script settings, they have to pass a number of tests with the aim of obtaining a formal offer.

In this process, we hope to be able to display young peoples’ ardent love towards life and strive towards improving themselves simultaneously.

The format of this show has been introduced via overseas. I have spent a long time in obtaining the copyright, and also spent quite a long time in convincing Victor to set the filming location at LFG.

Now that the progress is continuing without a flinch, and the filming is officially about to be started, I also can’t refrain from heaving a sigh of relief.

MC: Master, remember to take away all the wires from here when you leave later. Otherwise, the property owner will definitely say something when he sees them on his way to the office at 6 AM.

As I walk around in the construction site, I lower my head to reply to the messages in the group from time to time. Suddenly, as I turn my head, I almost bump into the person standing behind me head-on.

MC: Victor.... what are you doing here?

Victor pulls away from me slightly, sweeping his gaze at the several cameras hanging high up on the wall.

Victor: This is LFG. What do you mean what I’m doing here?

MC: ....No, that’s not what I meant. I mean, why are you still at the office now. It’s already one o’clock.

Victor: Just got finished. What have you got up here?

MC: It’s nothing. The master will be done in a moment. It certainly won’t affect your company’s regular work tomorrow.

Victor seems to be about to say something when an abrupt call pops up on my phone. I embarrassedly duck my head at him, and tap on the call button.

Anna: MC, are you still at LFG? We have just gone through the script, and kept feeling that we won’t be able to shoot so much in one day. We have to pick out some contents to delete.

Anna: How about you do a round trip to the office, and we go over it one last time?

MC: Okay. I’m also done here anyway. I’ll go back right now. Are you guys hungry? I could buy some late-night snacks and bring them up.

Anna: No need for late-night snacks. We will try to get it done within the shortest possible time.

MC: Alright. I’ll be at the office within half an hour.

I hang up the phone, and turn my head to look at Victor. Even before I can say anything, he opens his mouth immediately.

Victor: I’ll drive you to the office.

MC: It’s okay. I can go back on my own. It’s too late already. You’d better go back and rest.

Victor: You also know it yourself that it’s too late.

He stares at me for a couple of moments, and seems to sigh. Then he takes out the car key from his pocket, motioning me to walk towards the elevator.

Victor: I happen to be going to the airport. I’ll drop you off on the way.

Victor: I’ll be away on a business trip these two days. If you need anything, look for Goldman directly. He will help you in arranging it.

MC: OK. But....

Did he set off for going to the airport in the middle of the night, and is going to attend a meeting on the next day straight away? Although I’ve always known that his work intensity is like this....

Victor: But what?

I fish out a picture from my phone and send it to him, smiling at him jestingly.

MC: I’ve sent you a phone wallpaper.

There are only six words written on the black background with white characters: “Working-class people, working-class souls.”

[ Note: It’s actually sort of a running joke in Chinese “打工人, 打工魂” (dǎ gōng rén, dǎ gōng hún) about the distress of the working class people :(. It has a rhymed version of it in English, but I’m not going to mention it here cause I’m not sure if I should be typing the word haha~ ]

MC: Although I know you are a capitalist, but you are able to understand the spirit.

MC: CEO Victor~ mutual encouragement!

◇──◆──◇──◆──◇──◆──

[ SECTION 2 ]

Before Victor returns from the business trip, I specifically give him a call, wanting to arrange for one of the outstanding performing interns in the show to pick him up at the airport.

I really can’t bear to miss on a good filming material like this.

Victor is speechless on the phone for about 10 seconds before he finally sighs.

Victor: The audiences with little common sense would know that, it’s not within the turns of an intern to pick-up at the airport.

MC: Yes, yes, yes, it’s certainly not within the turns of an intern to pick-up the CEO at the airport. But CEO....

MC: You have great compassion towards considering the ratings of my shows. And you also know how important your appearance for this show is....

MC: You promised me, that you could make an appearance in the trailer for at least 3-5 seconds.

Victor: But according to my understanding of you, when you have a great amount of source materials, it’s impossible to have only 3-5 seconds.

MC: This is no surprise.

MC: You already knew this, and you still promised me. It’s clear that this 3-5 seconds is not the important point. The important point is making the appearance in the appropriate way.

MC: I think going with this pick-up method is very appropriate!

MC: Just be yourself. Whether you want to speak or not, what to say or how to say it, it’s all up to your pleasure, CEO Victor. Is this OK?

An almost inaudible sigh can be heard from Victor over the phone.

Victor: OK. I’ll arrive at 4 PM on the day after tomorrow. If you want to film the pick-up, make the arrangements in advance.

MC: The arrangements will certainly be made adequately for you! I’ll ask Goldman for the flight number.

Victor: Your tone sounds like you’re going to make arrangements with great fanfare.

MC: It’s just.... such as, since it’s a cameo, what kind of clothing and make-up....

Victor: No need.

MC: ....

MC: Yep, yep, yep. No need. CEO Victor will win the show as soon as he steps in front of the lens of the camera. We focus on the authenticity.

Victor: I still have matters to attend to. Let’s leave it here.

MC: You go ahead. I’ll get in touch with you the moment there is some progress!

Since I’ve received the special authority to shoot, I naturally arrange everything up frantically.

On the day of picking up at the airport, I sit in front of the monitor from beginning to the end, and stare at it from the first second Victor gets into the car to the final second. The result is beyond expectation—

Unexpectedly, he and the intern in charge of picking up hasn’t spoken a word.

The big brother in charge of filming laughs out loud as he looks at it: Playing this segment of 3-5 seconds would do it. Perhaps the audiences are going to feel like they are stuck in the frame.

MC: [ Talking to herself ] ....Victor wouldn’t be so stingy to really just give me a few seconds of materials, would he?

I wait until the filming clearance carrying great doubts, and is just intending to look for the intern in charge of picking up and ask a few questions, but that person disappears in the blink of an eye.

After a while, he comes over and finds me, additionally carrying a paper medicine bag in his hand.

Intern: Sister MC, CEO Victor spoke a few words with me after getting off the car. I felt his voice sounded a little hoarse. Would you like to send this to him?

MC: A little hoarse?

Intern: Mm, it felt like a cold. Luckily, we have also been on a project with CEO Victor in the past 2 days. Director Zhang said he even received an email from CEO Victor at 3 o’clock last night. The temperature difference in these two days was so huge and CEO Victor hasn’t rested well. So he might have caught a cold.

A wave of worry floats to my heart as I carry the medicine bag in my hand.

This person.... still doesn’t understand when he starts to feel unwell, nor does he know to make a sound about it.

◇──◆──◇──◆──◇──◆──

[ SECTION 3 ]

I knock on the door to Victor’s office, and there is no response for a long time.

This kind of situation is very rare. I feel a little worried, and twist the doorknob to push open a little crack.

Victor leans back in his chair, dozing off. I haven’t pushed the door too loudly, but it still wakes him up.

He straightens up his back, and reaches out his hand to pinch the space between his eyebrows as he looks at me.

I feel somewhat very bad, and simply walk straight over.

MC: ....Did I wake you up? The intern said your voice sounded a little hoarse. So he bought some medicines for you, and asked me to bring them to you.

MC: Are you OK?

I can’t help stepping forward, and reaching out my hand to place it on his forehead. He has just woken up, his reaction clearly hasn’t come over, and he doesn’t even frown almost subconsciously like ordinary times.

MC: Fortunately, it’s not a fever.

Victor adjusts his suit, picks up the cup, and takes only one sip before putting it down again.

Victor: It’s no big deal.

....His voice indeed is very hoarse, and one can tell it’s a cold just by hearing it.

I rummage through the bag of medicines, and inside are throat-smoothening lozenges, indigowoad roots, fever patches– everything needed is available. It can be clearly seen that the person who bought the medicines was considerate and very attentive.

— Someone might be able to take over the job from Goldman in the future.

I eye up his cup once again. Thinking that the water inside surely have gotten cold a long time ago, I smoothly tear open a bag of indigowoad roots right away, and give it to Victor to brew up.

He actually doesn’t refuse, lifts up the cup with his both hands, letting the warm steam rising from the cup to blow on his face.

It’s rare for me to see him with the appearance of being unable to lift up his spirits like this, and I truly can’t help but frown.

MC: Why is it that the first thing you do after getting off the plane is coming back to the office, and not give yourself even a day of sick leave?

Before Victor can say anything, his phone sitting on the table starts vibrating.

I look at the lock screen illuminated by the light. Surprisingly, it really is that picture of “Working-class people, working-class soul” I have given him earlier.

Victor ignores the phone, and lowers his head to drink two sips of the indigowoad roots.

Victor: There are two more meetings in the evening, and the time was fixed already a long time ago.

The implication is that, it’s not happening.

My very soul is shaken: When the capitalists work with all their might like this, what qualifications do I have to not make great efforts.

MC: ....If this segment of yours is included in the show, LFG’s stock price will have to rise by at least three limit ranges.

Victor casts his everyday speechless expression at me. Judging from this reaction, it must have gotten a little bit slower due to the dizzy state he has been in just a moment ago.

I set my heart down, and shove my both hands inside the pockets of my coat.

MC: If you’re all right, I’ll go on and continue to keep an eye on the progress. There are throat-smoothening lozenges in that medicine bag. Remember to take them if your throat feels uncomfortable.

Victor nods, and as soon as I turn my head, he picks up the phone.

MC: Remember—

I suddenly recall when I have walked to the door, and smile at him as I lean against the crack of the door.

MC: To drink plenty of hot water!

◇──◆──◇──◆──◇──◆──

[ SECTION 4 ]

Today’s filming goes on till 10 o’clock, and wraps up without a hitch.

I heard Goldman say that Victor’s meeting has also adjourned about at this same time. I buy some food for him and bring them over. As expected, he really hasn’t eaten again.

He is probably tired, and doesn’t hold it against my meddling in other people’s business, nor does he mock my poor order.

Just as I have set the four dishes on the coffee table, he then picks up the chopsticks on his own.

MC: Chicken, fish, less salt, less oil, and high protein.

MC: How’s this? This sick meal is still not bad, right? [1]

Without making any assessment, Victor picks up the rice, and tastes two bites in order to show his affirmation.

Victor: How’s the filming of the show coming along?

MC: Surprisingly good.

When the topic of the interns who participated in the filming of the show is raised, I don’t know how am I supposed to praise them.

MC: Kids nowadays can be extremely quick-witted. They learn things both fast and well, and are also very savvy about interpersonal relationships....

MC: Each one of them are standard template for the business elite.

MC: There is this one intern who came to LFG on the first day, and the department manager called him to write a summary on the conference....

MC: He said straightforwardly that he didn’t know how to do it, and requested for someone to teach him.

MC: And at that time, we were even talking about it encircling behind the monitor.

MC: If it were up to the conventional thinking, the audience surely would have thought that he’d be stifling, be scarlet red in the face and enter the conference room trembling in fear.

MC: In the end, not only did he not have any of those, but was even very frank with his approach. This kind of self-confidence is too rare.

Victor suddenly laughs while eating.

Victor: Do you think they are all just like you?

MC: ....What’s wrong with me!

Victor: Always preferring to buff your way out.

MC: Am not!

Even if I really have, it was also a long time ago. Things are very different now.

MC: Anyway, not....

Victor is still smiling. His smile makes me feel that these few clearly light and bland dishes must be very tasty indeed.

Victor: Considering your opinion, they all possibly will get the offer smoothly?

MC: Of course.

MC: Trust me. They are all excellent. You were able to attract such a group of youngsters towards LFG, and have made the profit!

MC: And also after the show is broadcast, it will be a good thing for LFG’s publicity aspect too.

MC: Didn’t you say earlier that LFG’s Strategic Development Department wants to set up an image of high professionalism in the public’s eyes?

Victor: Since you are this set on heart about LFG’s future, you should be brought along to future meetings of the Strategic Development Department.

Victor: And give you the title of external consultant.

MC: I’ll come if I’m given the wages.

Hearing him speak in a voice a little more hoarse than in the afternoon, I think and know as well that he has spoken a lot during the meetings again. I get up to pour him a cup of hot water.

Victor doesn’t say anything, and carefully eats the food. Not a moment later, my phone rings out abruptly.

Kiki: Boss— I’ve something to ask you. How many minutes in total is the pilot episode going to run?

MC: Half an hour or so, I think. Take a look at the source material in use.

MC: ....Are you still at the office? It’s already half past ten. Didn’t I say you can take an early break today to rest.

Kiki: Alright, I’ll go back immediately. Boss, you should call it an early night too.

Victor puts down the bowl and chopsticks, and leisurely wipes his lips while shooting me an alarming glance.

Victor: It’s so late already. You’re not off work either.

Victor: And you still call someone else a workaholic?

[ Note: The phrase used here is “人家” (rén jia) which can be translated to other people/someone else. But it’s also used to referring “oneself” as “people/someone.” So basically here, Victor is saying how MC calls him a workaholic LOL. Similar to how the “a certain someone” phrase is often used in their conversation. ]

◇──◆──◇──◆──◇──◆──

[ SECTION 5 ]

I stare at Victor, and sigh in a manner as though I want to say something but am hesitating.

MC: But I came here to bring you dinner in the spirit of dedication based on “It is everyone’s duty to take care of the Boss.”

MC: Did you just classify this as autonomous overtime activity?

I hold out my hand towards him.

MC: How about you pay for the overtime?

Victor shoots me a glance, and simply purses his lips with a faint smile.

Victor: I don’t know if I can afford to pay the charges of the gold medal producer.

I laugh along with him, and raise my eyebrows imitating the way he usually does.

MC: If you can’t afford to pay, I can give you a discount.

As we are talking, Kiki sends me a rough cut of the video that’s going to be used in the pilot. I place my phone on the coffee table, and turn it in an angle that both Victor and I can see.

MC: Just in time. Let’s have a little look at the clip of the show with dinner.

This segment happens to be the scene when the interns were being interviewed.

At first glance, they all appear to be business elites clad in suits and with boundless prospects. But the tension in between waiting during the intervals is entirely visible to the unaided eye.

....Also there was a young girl, as a result of being too keyed-up, she even decided to memorize a piece of English text to loosen up for a while.

I watch with keen interest, and Victor looks at my gaze with keen interest.

Their expression and state of affairs– immediately makes me evoke all of that scene in one go, that time back then, when I stood in front of Victor.

Victor: What’s on your mind that you’re so engrossed in watching?

MC: Don’t you have a sense of resonance? Weren’t you like this when you were young?

Just as expected, Victor gives an expression of “Of course not.”

....Is the world so enormously uneven?

Victor bores through two more segments anyway, and the video happens to be onto the time when the interns were receiving their written notice of the internship prepared by the program team.

MC: Yesterday Anna discussed with me that this pilot segment is intended for setting up the keynotes for the show, and in what pattern the character are written here is very important.

MC: What we are thinking about at the moment is— Beginning from here on out, may we all have a luminous and sparkling future ahead of us with boundless prospects.

MC: What do you think?

Victor has been titling his head to the side throughout as he listens to my words, showing no expression of evaluation.

Victor: About what exactly to do on your shows, don’t you usually ask for less of my specific opinions?

I tap pause on the video, and the frame rests on the glass window outside the LFG building, reflecting off the blue sky and white clouds.

MC: This time it’s different. This group of youngsters are from LFG.

MC: You’ve worked so hard in creating LFG to have a platform so bright and beautiful....

MC: Isn’t it just in the hope that even more people will find broader future here.

Victor’s gaze remains calm and collected, and a smile has been gracing the corners of his lips all along.

It’s already very late at night. Seeing that Victor has also had his fill, I tidy up the coffee table at once, get up and gesture at him.

MC: Let’s go CEO. Time to get off work.

MC: I’ll drive you home.

Victor is clearly taken aback for a moment.

Victor: You’ll drive me?

I nod boldly and self-righteously.

MC: Goldman got off work already at an earlier time, and also greeted me just before leaving. You’ve taken the cold medicine tonight. I’m driving, okay.

Victor: ....

◇──◆──◇──◆──◇──◆──

[ SECTION 6 ]

My car is parked directly opposite the elevator. As soon as Victor steps out of the elevator, he walks straight over to the backseat, pulls open the car door, and hops in without saying a word.

I fasten my seatbelt in the driver’s seat, and can’t help from glancing over at the back seat.

MC: CEO Victor, generally speaking.... at times like this, you should be taking the passenger seat.

Victor looks down at his phone without even lifting his head for a bit.

Victor: I’m not used to with sitting in the passenger seat. [2]

MC: ....Fine.

After all, he is the CEO. It makes sense that he has never sat in the passenger seat before.

I suddenly recall the app-based taxi guidance, and repeat them without missing a word.

MC: Our trip is about to begin. Please fasten your seatbelt. Is the temperature inside the car fairly appropriate?

This time, Victor lifts up his head to look at me, his eyes laced with very obvious confusion.

Evidently, the CEO has almost never taken a taxi either.

Overjoyed, I drive the car out of the parking lot, then immediately lower half the car window, letting the unrestrained sweet night breeze of spring to blow in.

Victor hasn’t said anything all the way, typing down messages on his phone from time to time.

Halfway through the journey, Victor puts the phone back in his pocket, leans back in the seat and looks outside window, laughing in a lazy manner as though soliloquizing.

Victor: You are the person I know, who very rarely let me set down my work to rest.

I think back carefully— in fact, that was not the case. It’s just not in his memory. *[ clutches chest ]*

But now, it really isn’t my habit to speak up too much to persuade him into something. He has his own principles and reasons for everything he does....

MC: You won’t listen even if I said so anyway.

MC: Also.... work is a very important thing to you. I can understand that.

Half the side of Victor’s face is reflected on the dark tinted car window, and his eyes are casted towards me in alarm, within which are reflected the gorgeous neon lights of the city.

Victor: Does work have to be a very important thing?

The lights of the street lamps fall on the asphalt road. This road, carpeted with light, seems so far away that it doesn’t have an end.

MC: Mm.... work is a very important thing.

MC: Work is akin to flights of steps. By stepping up and standing in an even higher place, you can then do the things you want to do more.

MC: Perhaps back then, the CEO of LFG has also been just like these group of youngsters. Clad in a suit, standing at the starting point, and then he walked on his way to this day.

In the rearview mirror, Victor locks eyes with me meaningfully. This is an expression I’m familiar with, an expression that represents his tacit understanding.

Victor: Earlier, did you want to have me attend the show’s press conference?

I pick up on the keynote, and hurriedly get my spirits up.

MC: You agreed!

Hearing my absolutely certain tone, Victor smiles faintly.

Victor: I haven’t said anything yet.

MC: I still have some of that sharp workplace acumen, and don’t need to be told everything by the CEO to get it right. I can understand the spirit on my own.

Victor doesn’t say anything anymore, and he lowers the car window too. Seeing the night breeze messing up the fringes in front of his forehead, I’ve originally wanted to speak up, and remind him that he’s unwell and should refrain from blowing the wind....

On a second thought I feel, the breeze is very comfortable and is worth blowing.

Especially after constantly running around for several days, and after finally ending a busy and tiring day.

It’s worth blowing a little breeze, and having a look at this resplendent city.

◇──◆──◇──◆──◇──◆──

[ SECTION 7]

The press conference has been arranged at a hotel under the banner of LFG. Victor has been invited to attend, and he sits in the VIP area off the stage.

I’ve arranged the sequence of process in advance. The only thing he needs to consider is that going up on the stage– next, saying a few words to make an official speech, and that will suffice.

But today’s situation is comparatively lively, and the reporters are clearly very interested in LFG itself as well.

As soon as Victor comes up on the stage, there is constant applause, and the “click-click-click” sound of taking photos nearly overpowers the clamors of the tide of people.

The host has tried several times to ask Victor, who has already finished his speech and is getting off the stage, but couldn’t find the appropriate opportunity to do so. Thereupon, I cast an inquiring glance.

I’ve just got up, wanting to stop the reporters, but Victor lifts up his hand— which means is that, it’s fine.

Victor invites the reporters to ask questions one by one— in a manner that, he is in a very good mood today, and nobody will be refused.

Reporter: CEO Victor, is there any serious consideration behind LFG choosing to collaborate with this kind workplace related variety show?

Victor: There aren’t any serious considerations. We simply feel that, every one of the employees working at LFG are excellent, and they are worthy of being seen by everyone.

Reporter: Excuse me, CEO Victor, do you have anything to say to these young people who have become a member of LFG?

After glancing at me faintly, Victor once again looks towards the press box, and opens his mouth unhurriedly, uttering the words that I have said in front of him before.

Victor: I hope that they will set sail on their journey from LFG, and have a luminous and sparkling future with boundless prospects.

When the applause rings out, I suddenly realize that– I, too, have apparently set sail on my journey clumsily under Victor’s wings, and then slowly walked on my way to this day.

Regardless of the time, the LFG he has created, the doors of this tremendous business empire is wide open to all dreams, waiting for young people, waiting for everyone.

The letters “LFG” have long since not only been the bearer of Victor’s expectations and prospects alone.

After walking through the entire sequence of events, the press conference is officially concluded.

As soon as the hotel brings up the wine and food for the buffet, I immediately offer my eager attention to Victor, busying myself with choosing the champagne to bring over to him.

MC: Is CEO Victor fairly satisfied with this press conference?

Victor takes the wine glass in my hand, and gently raises his hand to gesture at me.

Victor: This is your show, as long as the producer is satisfied with it– that will do.

From my peripheral vision, I catch a glimpse of the interns in the show being huddled together, taking selfies against the signature board at the doorway, and am instantly struck by an idea.

MC: Victor, why don’t you wish me a future with boundless prospects too, and give me a blessing for good luck.

With one hand in his pocket, Victor turns his head to look at me.

Victor: You’re already very luminous and sparkling. Do you still need to ask for this kind of blessing for good luck?

MC: The more the better.

A smear of smile hangs across the side of Victor’s lips, and he even mulls it over for a while.

Victor: In that case, I wish that you.... can always sparkle luminously, at all times.

I’m able to intuitively grasp a little bit of the implied meaning within his words. Accordingly, I draw closer to Victor.

MC: Just like you?

Victor slightly lowers his eyes to regard me, his gaze- carrying within them a smile lands on my face.

Victor: If you want to, you can.

◇──◆──◇

[ EXTRA TIDBITS: ]

[1] - MC is referring to the time Victor was in hospital in CH 4.

[2] - Victor mentions this event during the car tampering incident of CH 10, when MC told him that he’d get penalty for running the red light, and he replies with- that it’s fine cause he has a driver LOL.

──

#Fluffy goodness for the heart (*´ω｀*)#pardon my thousand screenshots >.<#mlqc cn #mlqc victor #mlqc li zeyan #mlqc spoilers #mr love victor #mldd victor #mlqc #mr love queen's choice #li zeyan #李泽言 #恋与制作人 #love and producer #mlqc s2 #mlqc season 2 #mlqc translations #The anon who asked for it- I hope you see this~ ♡

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sturchling · 4 years ago

Text

How MDC Actually Started

Got this idea from a post from @flufflepuffle296

It was so awesome, I had to write it out! Hope you like it! Let me know what you think!

Ever wonder how MDC was formed? This is the story of its formation, and why Marinette started the brand.

Nino had been miserable for several days now. He and Alya had just broken up. He had realized that Lila was lying about everything and tried to warn Alya. After all, Alya had been posting Lila’s lies on her blog without fact-checking. That could ruin Alya’s credibility and really damage her chances of becoming a journalist. He had pulled Alya aside after school one day to warn her privately. “Alya, you need to hear this. Lila has been lying to you; to all of us. You should pull down those interviews with her from your blog, they could hurt your reputation.” Alya got an irritated look on her face, “Nino, did Marinette get to you? Lila wouldn’t lie to us; we are all friends. How could you accuse Lila without any proof?” Nino, admittedly, got a little defensive at this comment, “What do you mean what proof do I have? What proof do you have that she is telling the truth? Proof is a two-way street, and you are a journalist. Where are your sources?” To say the conversation devolved from there would be an understatement. It ended with the young couple breaking up and more than a few tears being shed on both sides.

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For the next several days after the confrontation, Nino was miserable. He was taking the break up pretty hard. Eventually, his friends got tired of seeing him mope. Adrien, and Marinette invite him to a music festival that weekend, hoping it might get Nino out of his funk. They knew he had really wanted to go to this festival, and that he was a fan of several of the artists that were playing there. But when they got there, while Nino was enjoying himself, he couldn’t help but feel like a third wheel. Marinette was having a hard time hiding her crush, and Adrien was still being dense, but it felt like Nino had crashed a date. So, he made an excuse to the two and wondered off on his own. It was then that he met Emilia. They were both listening to the same person’s set and just started talking. The end of the festival felt like it came too quickly, but soon it was the end of the day and everyone had to leave. Nino and Emilia ended up exchanging phone numbers and promising to talk soon. Nino left the festival a lot happier than when he arrived.

--------------

Over the next several days, Nino’s mood continued to improve. He was constantly smiling and seemed to be much happier. He and Emilia had been texting everyday since the festival and had grown quite close. They were constantly texting, and anytime his phone went off with another text notification, his smile grew wider. This did not escape the class’ notice and they started hounding him for details. “Who is she?” “Where did you meet?” “What is she like?” Nino was very tight lipped about the whole thing. He did tell them that her name was Emilia and that she was very kind and really like music too. The class kept pestering him until one day he told them, “Since you dudes keep bugging me, me and Emilia are going on our first date.” Most of the class, except for Alya and Lila, got really excited hearing that. Alya was unhappy that her ex already had a new date, and Lila was ‘supporting her bestie’. The class pressed Nino for details and he revealed, “We are going to that little café near the Louvre at 3pm next Saturday.” The class was very happy for Nino and kept talking with him for the rest of the day.

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Adrien and Marinette were very excited for their friend. They also wanted to make sure that the date goes smoothly. They thought the best way to know how the date goes, is to be there themselves. They spent the rest of the week coming up with their plan. When Saturday came, Adrien and Marinette arrived at the café about ten minutes after Nino or Emilia sat down, and slipped into booth so that Nino had his back to them. They were far enough away that they hoped the couple wouldn’t notice them, but close enough that they could still hear what they were saying. What Adrien and Marinette hadn’t anticipated was the arrival of Luka. Luka walked into the café and immediately noticed Marinette and Adrien trying to be discrete. He walked over to their booth, and Marinette immediately dragged him down into the booth. She quietly explained the situation to Luka, and he decided to stay for the rest of the date as well.

--------------

That Monday, Nino came into the school and walked right up to Marinette and Adrien, who were talking with Luka in the courtyard. “Dudes! The date went great! We had such a fun time and we have a lot in common! We even decided to go on another date on Saturday. While Nino continues going on about his date, the three friends exchange eye contact. A silent pact was made right there, to continue their spying on Nino’s dates. So, the small group of three kept spying on Nino and Emilia during their dates.

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Eventually, someone became suspicious of their activities. But it wasn’t Nino or Emilia. It was Chloe. Chloe had noticed that Adrien kept disappearing every Saturday. She had no idea where he would be every single Saturday. They didn’t have school, there was no fencing on the weekends, and he didn’t have Chinese lessons on the weekend either. It couldn’t be photo shoots this often either. So, one Friday, Chloe stopped Adrien on his way to class and demanded to know what was going on. When Adrien filled her in on their weekly stalking of Nino and his girlfriend, Chloe was very interested and wanted to join the little group. And so, the group of spies now had their fourth member. The small group continued to stalk Nino and Emilia on all their dates. The group felt a little guilty about being so invasive, but this was incredibly entertaining. They were just happy they hadn’t been caught yet, because that would be embarrassing.

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Then, one weekend, Emilia arrived at the usual café before Nino. She had noticed that the same group had always been at the café for every single date she and Nino had been on. She had also noticed how much this group was desperate not to be seen by either of them. She approached them and asked, “What is going on? You guys are always here during our dates. What are you guys up to?” Que the group beginning to panic that they had been caught. They hadn’t thought up an excuse in case this happened and now they were regretting it. In her panic, Marinette managed to blurt out, “We’re starting a fashion business!” Emilia looked at them skeptically, “Really?” It was too late to stop now, so Marinette continued with the story, “Yes! I am the head designer, Chloe and Luka are the models and Adrien is going to do the PR!” Emilia didn’t look convinced at all.

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Emilia hadn’t bought their story about the fashion business. But she didn’t think they meant any harm, so she would just let it go. She turned to leave, only to stop as Nino arrived and walked over to Emilia and the small group. He seemed confused when he saw his friends, which he was. “Hi dudes. What are you all talking about?” Before the small group could answer, Emilia jumps in saying, “Oh, these guys are starting a fashion business.” Nino is a little surprised by that, but just says, “Cool. Can’t wait to see what you dudes come up with!” With that he takes Emilia by the hand and heads to their usual table.

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Now the small group was really panicking. They didn’t have many options right now. The first option is that they continue the lie and try to hide their real intentions. The second option is to admit to the spying and tell Nino what they had really been doing. Neither option sounded very appealing. But then, Chloe interjected, “Well, why not make the lie come true. We could actually start a fashion brand. Then we aren’t lying to Nino, and most importantly, he will never find out we were stalking him. Marinette could finally launch her fashion brand. We would all get some work experience, and if all goes well, we might even get some money out of the deal. If Marinette’s brand actually takes off, we could make a lot of money.” The group seemed very apprehensive about it, Marinette especially. But with a little more convincing from Chloe, the rest of the group agreed to give it a try. Marinette spoke up, “Wait, what should we call the brand?” Chloe just rolled her eyes, “That is obvious, we can use your initials. Way easier to make logos from initials.” Adrien says, “Yeah, that is a good idea Chloe. Her initials would be perfect. The brand can be called MDC.” Slowly, the other members of the group started to grin. Marinette looks at everyone and says, “So, everyone ready to launch MDC?”

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After that, MDC took off pretty quickly. With the daughter of the mayor of Paris and Adrien Agreste backing the brand, how could it not do well? It wasn’t until a few years later, that Nino found out how all of this had happened. It was during an interview with the small team that this whole story came out. After Marinette finished telling the long story, Chloe summed it up, “Essentially, this whole thing started because we were spying on a friend of ours’ on his date and his girlfriend cornered us one day. It made us all panic and then Marinette just blurted out that we were starting a fashion brand. So, we actually started one to keep Nino from finding out.” Nino and Emilia were sitting at Nino’s place watching the interview and they were shocked. This is the first they had heard about any of this. The couple got a good laugh out of the story. To think that MDC, a now major fashion brand, never would have been made if Emilia hadn’t cornered Marinette and made her panic. So, that is the story of the formation of MDC. It wasn’t a revenge plot or anything dramatic. It was simply the result of Marinette panicking. It was without a doubt the best result of any of Marinette’s panicked moments.

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thespoonisvictory · 4 years ago

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Please explain why Schlatt is the best character on the SMP.

(Alternatively, I would be really interested in hearing more about your dislike for Quackity's produced lore. Personally, I love it, so I'm really intrigued whenever someone says that they're not fond of it).

as much as I love schlatt, I think I'll answer the quackity question, because I've been meaning to.

first of all, I think I should clarify that I'm definitely biased, because my favorite streamers, outside of the dsmp universe, tend towards semi lore, or, at least, not whatever quackity's doing. I'm used to it, and people tend to not like change lol.

second of all, I really do like quackity's produced lore, but I don't like certain aspects of it, and find myself preferring semi lore in general. I don't think he should stop doing it so much as I think he should use it as an occasional technique rather than conveying near 100% of his story with it. big q is very talented and I commend him for taking such a bold approach, which I think pays off in some ways.

third, to me, semi lore is any lore that breaks the fourth wall in that it isn't trying to be something other than a minecraft stream, it's all in first person, and none of it is prerecorded. for example: most of wilbur's pogtopia streams are semi (or casual) lore to me, because he'll thank subs and joke with schlatt about getting techno a girlfriend, but it's still largely in canon.

anyway, in true jenny nicholson fashion, let's kick off with a numbered list.

1. this post, by patches, explains a bit of why the lore streams can get a bit disconcerting to me. the dsmp have always had a bit of charming awkwardness in their improv, because these are for the most part just Some Guys acting, and under the guise of a stream where it's just a Streamer Playing Minecraft, it fits. but the highly produced nature just- creates such a disparity between the quality of the cinematography and the acting that it's a little weird, y'know?

2. in some cases, semi lore allows for dread to be built in a unique way. during the exile arc, tommy would have lighthearted streamer jokes and bits, shout out subs, pretend like things were normal. he never acknowledges that his situation is messed up, that his condition is getting worse, that things are falling apart. it's a quiet, sinking, horror that creeps along over the course of weeks. it's important to the viewer that we are there every day to see the slow progress, to understand why tommy gets pushed so far down. besides the impracticality of 14 highly produced lore streams, you would lose a lot of the subtlety there.

the smp is such a unique medium in that the stream style itself is so telling. when tommy actively doesn't acknowledge what's happening, it makes the abuse that's occurring seem so much worse. when wilbur drops little hits about his depression or his plans in between lighthearted, ooc jokes, it lulls the audience into a false sense of security.

imagine a version of the 'forming las nevadas' story where quackity does it over the course of four nights. the slow realization of his manipulation tactics disguised by an unassuming stream format, because it's still quackity, joking around and laughing until he approaches the next person and he shifts into his 'persona'. when he finishes the conversation, we watch his face fall, his smile fade, as he walks back to an empty las nevadas. it would build hype, not to mention taking less work, and letting the audience see a bit more of quackity's humanity.

3. I mentioned it before, but it just straight up takes less time. I'm willing to wait, of course, but there's something to be said about the merits of pacing and being able to throw together a lore stream last minute. take, for example, tommy's death. it wouldn't have been nearly as impactful without the rushed, oddly somber flurry of livestreams that came after. jack didn't need a highly produced montage of him standing by tommy's grave as the seasons passed, of his planting flowers everyday. what turned out to be effective was just- him, walking around, coming to terms with his grief, completely silent for periods of time.

it was mourning. plain and simple, with no embellishment or evil villain music, shockingly earnest.

I don't think you could replicate that raw, undone feeling with a prerecorded, pre-produced, semi-movie. it feels like all of a sudden jack's pov was important enough that he had to stream, and there it was.

you could argue that this could be planned beforehand, but I think more often than not, that's a. not really feasible, and b. going to take away from the organic nature.

we all like candid shots, 'authentic' vlogs and influencers. to me, this is just one more extension of that rule.

4. under the same idea, you can make more. we spend more time with the streamers, and therefore the characters, and get to know their more human side. wilbur, for example, is deeply humanized by little things that you just couldn't really fit into a lore stream: his dynamic with niki, all his little moments of hesitation, his banter with tommy and his true love for l'manburg. who c!wilbur is is built up over hours and hours of comments and suggestions and one-off statements, and we just don't have time for that in quackity's lore. the transitions are snappy, filled with beautiful shots, but they don't allow for as much depth of character as that awkward little walk from place to place, that quiet monologue they do to themselves.

it's not impossible for you to do that, as with c!quackity and c!charlie serving as a 'morality pet', but at this risk of repeating myself endlessly, it's more earnest and organic in a sense.

5. last, I just really like multiple povs. one of my favorite bits from s1 is the fundy spy arc, because of how effectively multiple povs are used. streams where wilbur is deeply, deeply distraught over fundy's betrayal but thinks fundy doesn't care, while fundy is deeply, deeply distraught over wilbur's prior treatment of him but thinks he doesn't care. and you could watch both at the same time! quackity's pov isn't as personal when it uses third person, which is a bit sad because I think it's a unique aspect of livestreaming every perspective.

(I'm so sorry if this isn't coherent or makes any sense I'm very brain dead and tired from speedrunning three essays yesterday)

basically, I think quackity's lore style is good for big, grand events, occasionally. it's very cool to watch, definitely builds hype, and can make certain things easier, such as coordinating a bunch of people or doing special effects.

but for building a plot and establishing character dynamics, I really prefer semi/casual lore.

#asks #dream smp #dsmp analysis #dsmp meta #if this doesn't make sense I can clarify more lmao #also this is barely proof read #I'm so sorry

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gb-patch · 4 years ago

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Ask Answers: January 17th, 2021 (Part 1)

More ask answers! It’s gonna be a lot today, so we’re splitting it into two.

i love Cliff and Kyra's relationship so much ?? even though they had issues they managed to work things out and remain friends through the years! it's so refreshing over the narrative of people resenting each other after they break up.. im kind of curious tho , do they see each other strictly platonic now or is there still something lingering?

Aw, I’m glad to hear you like their relationship. Their feelings are very platonic now. Kyra views him as an ex and co-parent and then a friend as time goes on. Cliff does struggle not to think of her as still his family, even though he’s not romantically attracted anymore. But he’s knows it might be crossing a line to be that attached to a woman who divorced him and so he tries to let her just live her own life.

Can i ask just how tall Cove exactly is in Step 3? And will he be even TALLER in Step 4? My short heart cannot handle this. (Also this game is absolutely flawless and I haven't been able to stop thinking abt it since I played. Planning on getting the dlcs soon, y'all did SO WELL!!!!!!!!!)

Haha, thank you very much.

Step 1: 4'1 feet Step 2: 5'4 feet Step 3: 6'0 feet Step 4: 6'4 feet

Hey! So, I know Steam is having its fall sale/boxing day sale or something so i was wondering if you guys were gonna participate in that?? I was thinking of buying XOXO Droplets (the extended version) but i didnt want to do anything before there was a potential sale. May seem like an odd question, but I was genuinely curious. I can't wait to play the full game when i get it tho :D

I’m afraid we have some things we wanna fix in XOXO Droplets before really promoting it/pushing it with sales, so for now it won’t be participating in Steam sales. Hopefully we can update it soon.

Hello I'm still trying to get the CG for Step 2-3 and didn't see or get it when I told Cove of the deal in the Dinner moment like your guide says. I got the achievement but no CG. Is there another choice I'm suppsed to make after telling him?

Make sure you go back to the house with Cove after he leaves and don’t stay in your living room.

* don't be suspicious* *don't be suspicious* ...Hi, there's another way to pay for the Our Life +18 dlc besides Patreon? Patreon have very limited payment options and I've been struggling with the platform. Anyways, thanks for the amazing game I hope I could support any way ^u^

Haha, right now there isn’t anything specific, but once it’s finished in a few months we’ll look into other hosting sites.

do you think we can get another our life dlc plzzz i would pay so much for it <3 i want to see their life together when they have kids or pets or just live with the two of them and i really want them to adopt kids too since jamie is adopted :)

I’m afraid we likely won’t. As much as we love OL: B&A, we’ve gotta start putting our whole effort into new projects soon. Maybe someday we could come back and do special new content, but it’d be quite awhile after all the planned DLCs have released.

How do you delete a save file?

On PC or Mac you hover over a slot and hit the delete key, or you can go into the saved data folder and delete the files directly. On Android I’m afraid I don’t know. You can save over them with something else, though.

this is like. totally embarrassing and silly to ask but im dying here; i love cove so much i wanna climb that boy like a tree. so basically what im asking here is like. will the nsfw dlc have explicit stuff or is it more like an implied kinda situation? cuz i want some full on nsfw shit im so thirsty for cove and only this can satisfy me

It’s truly 18+ and explicit with nude art and straightforward descriptions of sexual acts. That’s why we can’t release it as part of the main game, haha. I’m glad you’re into Cove~

Hello! I've really been enjoying Our Life and am noticing some animation changes with the update! I just had a question though. In Step 2 we meet Jeremy but I was wondering if he was only meant to appear in Step 2 as a typical mean kid or is there more we don't know?

Jeremy is a horrible pill in Our Life, but he is also a beloved romance option as a teenager in our other game XOXO Droplets. His personality is quite different once he grows up more. I imagine Cove and the MC would be pretty surprised.

Hi! i absolutely adore our life so far and I can't wait to continue supporting the game with the upcoming dlc drops! i was just wondering if y'all were planning on uploading any art for steam icons/the steam point shop in general<3

Thank you! And we might. But we’re first trying to focus on making a new game update since there are still some improvements we have in mind.

I hope this question doesn’t come off weird but would Cove be the type of guy to memorize your period? I imagine he’d be the kind of best friend/boyfriend who would keep track of your cycle to support you during it or something like that

We’d be shy about it at first and avoid mentioning what he was doing, but he would try to keep track of it based on any insight the MC gave him. The longer you’re with him, the more it could be just a normal thing the two openly talked about.

Hi there, how often do you do auditions? I am a voice actor and would love to be part of a project ?

We usually have auditions two to three times a year. Our next planned casting call will be for side character in Our Life Step 4.

Are the 5 moments included in the Derek and Baxter DLCs different from the normal Step 2 and 3 DLC? And will they focus exclusively on Derek and Baxter respectively? I was a little confused when I read the DLC FAQ. Thanks!

Mostly they’ll be completely new Moments that star Derek or Baxter. Though, for example, Derek’s DLC will allow you to take him to the Soiree. If you go with Derek that will remove your ability to go with Cove in the Cove Step 2 DLC.

Sorry if you've already said this, but how will your character transfer over to the patreon exclusive NSFW DLC? Can it access your game memory or will you select traits your character showed and choices you made from a list?

It’s a standalone event that happens for MCs who are in a relationship with Cove and have been dating him for a while. Other details about the MC/their dynamic with Cove will just be picked in the event itself. It won’t try to take data from a specific save in the actual game.

I love your games, but currently only have an Android. When will you put your other games on android?

I don’t know. They might not able to be formatted for Android very well, unfortunately. We’ll see how much time we’ve got later this year to try figuring it out.

Thank you so much for all the questions :D

#ask #asked #our life #Our Life Beginnings & Always #ourlifeba #gb patch #gb patch games

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pineapple-lover-boy · 4 years ago

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Cursed Child Could’ve Been Better and Here’s Why:

Part 1?

Hate the Cursed Child. The play is a good play on its own but it doesn’t match up with Harry Potter as much as it should’ve, we all know this. But I want to present some ideas on why Delphini COULD have been the coolest villain ever and how she could work (plus a few extra improvements over all):

Main point against her is that Voldy couldn’t have children cause he split his soul. How about this: he could have children, but they end up having a fractured soul as well. They are sickly beings.

With the live potion conception, or as I like to call it “Merope r@ping Tom Riddle”: because of the love potion conception Voldy couldn’t feel love. That could work for Delphi too except to a less degree because she was most likely made from consent (Bellatrix would obviously say HELL YES and she definitely couldn’t sneak one on Voldy). She could still not understand love but she can kind of feel platonic/familial love, again, still not being able to understand it which can cause her to become overwhelmed and set up some sympathetic and angsty scenes for her

Voldy would never do the do, ever: Maybe not, but let’s remember that this is just fanfiction from two guys that JK signed off on. I could see him having a kid on the rarest occasion though. Having children only builds his future empire and if he still hasn’t won the wizarding world by the time they can do decent magic he’s at least got himself a new recruit. Plus we know and he knows that he’s strong, his magic is strong. Bellatrix’s magic is strong. This guy is basically magical H1tler so he is probably down for some experimentation between two very powerful wizards. And having a baby while in the middle of a war isn’t that far off. Literally every person in Harry’s year was born during a year when Voldy was obviously winning. And to have a child during the war as a safe goat isn’t a bad idea for someone like Voldy. Yes he is prideful and thinks that no one can defeat him but it was only a few years after he came back. Harry still defeated him as a baby through powers unknown to him. He may think he’s the best but there had to be at least one seed of doubt in his mind.

“What about the story? It’s trash, and Delphi only makes it worse!” I hear you say. Well here are some improvements I’ve thought of:

1. No time turners. JK specifically destroyed them for plot hole reasons. Cursed Child is a plot hole in itself while using them

2. Have it center around Delphi rebuilding her fathers empire instead of trying to bring him back. If Delphi is anything like her father then she’s smart enough to know that time travel only complicates things

3. Because of the live thing I mentioned before, have Delphi have some feelings. Yes her father couldn’t live and her mother was crazy, go off of that. Have her find out how dysfunctional they both were and have her ask herself “if they were so insane and failed, is it really smart for me to be doing this?” Have her feel something towards Albus and Scorpius, a sisterly feeling towards them. Have them convince her in the end that what she’s doing is wrong and have her completely brake down. Make her a relatable human being that just wants to make her parents proud because that was the only reason for her to be brought to that Earth.

4. Make it a book. Listen, having it as a play is fine but having it as a book first I feel fleshes out that characters more and then when we really know them we could have a play. Most plays are based off of books or movies because they want to see the characters break down in song or have the conversations in front of them but if you want to make the Harry Potter fans happy than please make it a book first. It doesn’t even need to be a series.

5. Let Harry be a loving father. Seriously. How could they mess this up? He was an abused child by his only guardians after his parents died. There’s no way in hell he’s gonna say something bad and then not immediately take it back. It’s ok to make him have mistakes and misunderstandings as a parent, after all they’re probably still suffering tons of trauma after 19 years, but to not have him feel sorry right at that moment is an insult to Harry and what he went through.

6. Keep Draco’s redemption arc. It was actually good. Probably the best thing in the play.

7. Show how the world is crumbling under Delphi’s destruction. Don’t go to alternate realities to show it, cause we know that they haven’t happened yet and can be fixed. It creates more tension because how is this going to be fixed? They’ve probably just finished making everything alright in the wizarding world and now it all goes to shit again. Show the desperation in the characters. Their want to get things right again. Not just some “oh no this is terrible! We have to fix it!” Type of stuff. That’s why a book is the best format, you can show these tiny details.

8. Stop the queer baiting.

9. Show how the older characters are still suffering from their trauma, in different degrees, and how they deal with that while taking care of children. Show them trying not to have ptsd flashbacks or panic attacks in front of their children, show it actually happening.

10. Don’t have Rose be a total asshole. Have her be a bit wary around Scorpius but ultimately trusting him because she trusts her cousins decision. Have have be the new Golden trip but in their own ways. Mesh the original trios ways into their own: Albus has the brave leader (like Harry), Scorpius as the heart but has still got plenty of brain (mesh of Ron and hermione), and have Rose be another strong and brave leader while also being a bit of the heart too. (Which can cause some tension between her and Albus cause they both want to lead). Also mesh some of the other characters too. Scorpius can be like Neville, unsure of himself and how brave he can be but having a moment of confidence where he knows he’s capable. Have Albus be be as open minded and spirited as Luna, let him have moments where people look at him weird for some less than logical ideas but him not caring. Have Rose be as competitive and fiery as her aunt, Ginny, don’t make her be snobbish but let her have a temper that makes people say “wow!” instead of rolling their eyes in annoyance. However these characters are portrayed, let them be similar to the multitude of trios in the second generation, but different enough that they are their own people.

That’s all I have for now. Please tell me any other ideas or critiques, I know there is a lot more. I genuinely think that they could’ve had the character of Delphini and made it work but they just made her a Great Value version of her father who uses unconventional methods of getting him back. I honestly loved the character of Delphini when I first read the script and I still do, she just needs to be fleshed out more and have a better story. Also having her be sick as a part of being birthed from a guy that had barely any soul could be and interesting plot point too. Her being unsure coupled with the fact that it’s hard for her to even live normally could contribute to the fact that she can’t keep on fighting anymore. Anyways, thanks for reading this, I know it’s long. And please tell me your thoughts!

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makeste · 4 years ago

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BnHA Chapter 286: VESTIGE ANTICS ARE A GO

Previously on BnHA: Deku was all “what’s the record for most consecutive bone breaks within the span of a single minute” and, without waiting for an answer, proceeded to unleash roughly 17 Smashes onto Tomura. Kacchan was all “THAT DOES IT, I’M TAKING THE REINS OF THIS SHITSHOW” and carried Endeavor and Shouto up to where the action was so Endeavor could hit Tomura with a Prominence Burn. AFO was all “Tomura would you rather burn to death or let me take over your body” and Tomura was all “...” and so AFO TOOK OVER and was all “STABBITY STABBITY” and used his Stabbing Quirk to do some Good Old Fashioned STABBIN’. First he stabbed Endeavor, and then he was all “hee and now I’m gonna stab Deku”, but Kacchan was all “SIR THAT’S MY EMOTIONAL SUPPORT RIVAL” and so he rushed on in AND GOT HIMSELF STABBED INSTEAD. And so basically THIS PAST WHOLE WEEK HAS BEEN A RIDE, LET ME TELL YOU.

Today on BnHA: Kacchan is all “sup Deku lemme just downplay how I totally took this fatal blow for you just now” before he dramatically passes out and is caught by Todoroki “BTDUBS I CAN FLY NOW” Shouto, who is also carrying his dad because the kids really are just doing it all, here. AllForRaki Tomura For One is all “HAHA BAKUGOU IS PRETTY DUMB”, at which point Deku just LOSES IT ENTIRELY and ASCENDS INTO A NEW PLANE OF FURY LIKE A LITTLE GREEN RAGE BUDDHA. But then like two seconds later Tomura is all “ANYWAY, SO” and FUCKING TOUCHES DEKU’S FACE, CAUSING THE TWO OF THEM TO ASTROPROJECT INTO THE FREAKY OFA/AFO MINDSCAPE BECAUSE THIS CHAPTER IS BANANAS. Vestige!AFO is all “reports of my demise were greatly exaggerated but aren’t you glad I saved your life though, Tomura”, while Tomura is all “!!” because he’s hopefully starting to get A Clue, and meanwhile Deku just stands there watching all “what the fuck.” The chapter ends with SHIMURA MCFUCKING NANA showing up all, “HI, I HEARD SOME BITCHES WERE TRYING TO HAVE A GIRL POWER ARC, AND THEY DIDN’T INVITE ME.” Go on, Nana. Give ‘em hell.

you guys. I’m not normally one to take pleasure in another human being’s misfortune. BUT THAT SAID, there are exceptions to every rule, and so let’s just say certain events have transpired early this morning which have PUT ME IN A VERY, LET’S JUST SAY, NOT-TERRIBLE MOOD which this chapter will hopefully improve upon!!

oh my god Deku’s one non-fucked-up eye that he still has control over is SO WIDE YOU GUYS

hmm I know I shouldn’t be all (゜▽゜) while the two of them are all (； ▼ Д ▼) (⁰ Д゜;) ... and yet here we are. btw I’m worried tumblr’s formatting will ruin those two emojis which I worked so hard to get just right so I’m gonna repost them on another line here just in case

(； ▼ Д ▼) (⁰ Д゜;) that’s them. Kacchan and Deku. my boys

HERE COMES THE CHEESY “JUST GOT STABBED BETTER PLAY IT OFF ALL COOL!!!” ONE LINER OH MY GOD

(ETA: really love how my son, with what for all he knows could be his dying breaths, decides that the absolute most important thing is to preserve his selfish asshole facade so as not to fuck up his status quo with his rival. “LOOKEE HERE I GOT MYSELF ALL STABBED AND SHIT FOR YOU, BUT I TOTALLY JUST DID IT BECAUSE I WAS TIRED OF YOU GETTING ALL THE COOL HERO MOMENTS” yeah, that’s right! SELFLESS MOTIVATIONS, WHAT ARE THOSE sob.

also tbh I’m glad they didn’t delve any further into their feelings right here and now because this really isn’t the place or time for it sadly. WE WILL JUST PUT THOSE ON HOLD UNTIL AFTER THE ARC ENDS, when they are all recovering from their various wounds and traumas and have time to catch up and have some long-overdue heart-to-hearts. it deserves its own chapter or two or three. maybe time to head back to Ground Beta once they’re healthy? “healthy” perhaps being a relative term given their current condition fjsdjkf.)

by the way it looks from here like only the ones through his torso and shoulder actually hit, so that’s something at least. WE’VE LOST ENOUGH LEGS TODAY. I need to conserve my remaining puns

MEANWHILE TOMURA IS HAVING A CRISIS

ARE YOU MAD AT YOUR EVIL DAD TOMURA. HE JUST WON’T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER WILL HE, THAT GUY

anyway so it looks like Kacchan might have caught a break here because AFO/Tomura is pulling the stabby quirk activation tendril things back out! rip, “Kacchan vs. Deku part 3″ theories

p.s. I got ALL CAUGHT UP IN THE DRAMA and thus glossed over the chapter title which is “one among us”! hmmm this is definitely AFO/OFA related, calling it now. ooh lord I am excited

NOW MY SON IS DRAMATICALLY FALLING

THE BLOOD FROM THE MOUTH OOF NOT GOOD AHHHH. DEKU’S FACE AHHHH. HIS BODY JUST WENT TOTALLY LIMP DID HE PASS OUT AHHHH. SOMEONE CATCH HIM!!

BY HIS FOOT, SHOUTO?!

well NOT EXACTLY THE MOST GRACEFUL THING I’VE EVER SEEN, but we’ll allow it because HOLY SHIT BOY. ARE YOU ALREADY CARRYING YOUR DAD ON TOP OF THAT?? HORIKOSHI PLEASE CONFIRM, IS TODOROKI MOTHERFUCKING SHOUTO FUCKING FLYING AROUND UNBALANCED AF ON HIS ONE FLAMEY LEG, CARRYING HIS 500 LB POP AND NOW HIS FLOPPY PASSED OUT BEST FRIEND AS WELL?!? HOLY SHIT TODO?!?!

LADIES AND GENTLEFRIENDS OF THE VILLAIN STANDOM, FEAR NOT, TOMURA’S HAIR IS THE FIRST THING THAT GREW BACK LOL

even before his eyeballs kfldkakjk. which, btw, how does he even know what’s going on right now? “this fight has shed a lot of useless blood” sdkmkjl okay well (1) WHOSE FAULT WAS THAT, AGAIN??, (2) SERIOUSLY THOUGH, HOW DOES HE EVEN KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING. DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHO YOU STABBED?? ARE YOU EFFECTIVELY BLIND FOR THE NEXT FEW SECONDS HERE, WHAT’S GOING ON, and lastly (3) I seriously can’t tell if this is AFO or Tomura talking right now. or are they going back and forth?? help this is so confusing

HEY

THE DISRESPECT. I’LL HAVE YOU KNOW KACCHAN ANGST IS NEVER USELESS!!

AND NOW HE’S BACK TO THE STABBING JFKJLKJLF I AM NOT TOO HAPPY WITH YOU RIGHT NOW MISTER

okay and now we’re cutting to some quick panels of the unconscious Aizawa, Gran, and Ryuukyuu, along with the “still conscious but in a very real sense might as well not be counted” Manual who is really having a day, that poor guy

anyway but then there’s also some dialogue boxes being all “if you act out of rage your power will respond accordingly, the most important part is to keep your head clear.” which I’m like 90% sure is Deku/OFA related, but honestly NOTHING ABOUT THIS CHAPTER IS CLEAR SO FAR YOU GUYS. except for the Shouto-is-a-badass part anyway

HMM YEP I’M GONNA GO WITH DEKU-RELATED

it must be a callback to some line I’m forgetting. maybe Lariat explaining Blackwhip to him that one time. probably should have been in italics if it was a flashback quote, but hey. anyways the point is Deku is absolutely, 100% following this advice to the letter (/s)

(ETA: yep I’m almost positive this is the same quote from chapter 213. “listen, when you use this power out of anger, it’ll really start working for you. what really matters is controlling your heart.” which is still one of the weirdest pieces of advice in the entire series, but basically I think he was just trying to tell him it’s okay to get mad, so long as it’s calmly mad. like, controlled fury, as opposed to this white-hot berserker nonsense he’s been running on as of late. anyways I do still love me some shounen rage all the same but Lariat has a point.)

...

it took me a minute to realize THOSE WERE DEKU’S EYES. holy --

AND ANOTHER MINUTE TO REALIZE THAT DEKU FUCKING GRABBED THE ACTIVATION TENDRIL WITH HIS BUSTED UP OFA HANDS AND BIT INTO IT WITH HIS RABID OFA JAWS AND SNAPPED THAT SHIT LIKE A FUCKING KITKAT KLJLKSJDLKJFLK WOOOOOOOO I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING BUT GODDAMN. POWER MOVE

(ETA: this is a two-page spread omg. I didn’t even realize at first. this scan ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT DO THIS BADASS PAGE ANY KIND OF JUSTICE but I can’t wait to see the real deal on Sunday holy shit.)

LMAO

DEKU RAGED SO HARD HE TURNED INTO AN ANGRY GHOST SONIC THE HEDGEHOG FKLSKG

(ETA: he actually looks a bit like the Vestiges/Kurogiri tbh.)

meanwhile Tomura basically has the exact same face I would have had in his position. yeah for real man. I don’t even know

p.s. WHEN will people learn to STOP INSULTING KACCHAN IN DEKU’S PRESENCE. WHEN, I ASK!!

WHAT IN THE CINNAMON TOAST FUCK

if this was a physical page I was holding I would have FLUNG THAT SHIT AWAY LIKE THERE WAS A SPIDER CRAWLING ON IT. WHAT THE FUCK

HOT DAMN. well uh. so that’s SUPER DISTURBING, what a lovely panel of Tomura’s melted face slowly growing back while his ears lag behind, and meanwhile that little scar that had been growing and growing and which at one point certain people (ME) thought might turn him into a BEAUTIFUL BUTTERLY instead RIPS HIS FACE IN HALF to reveal the KINDER EGG AFO SURPRISE UNDERNEATH AHHHHH TAKE IT BACK

THIS IS WHY YOU DON’T LET MAD SCIENTISTS PERFORM EXPERIMENTS ON YOU, KIDS. PSA. JUST SAY NO

-- NO!!!

HORIKOSHI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

fuck

oh my god. I almost would have rather cut away right after the Kacchan incident than freaking cut away NOW of all times, jesus. THAT’S JUST A BITCH MOVE, IS WHAT THAT IS. if we don’t cut back within the next three pages I SWEAR TO GOD

anyway so GUESS WHAT GIGANTOMACHIA’S DOING YOU GUYS. if you guessed “the exact same thing he was doing last time we saw him” then you are absolutely right, because it was actually PRETTY EASY TO GUESS

anyway but he says he detects “master’s scent”, except that there’s apparently two of them. interesting! one in Tartarus and one in Jakku, right? lol Horikoshi has burned me so many times already with his excruciatingly slow reveal of this that I’m not gonna hold my breath just yet, but I’ll get the hype train warmed up JUST IN CASE

okay so meanwhile in downtown Jakku, the heroes are handing off the civilians over to the police and rescue forces while they prepare to engage with “the villain”, by which I assume they mean Gigantomachia. does this mean Iida and Ochako are gonna fight Machia you guys omg

OOH!!!

“PLEASE INFORM THEM ON FOOT” well I know a certain SPEEDY BOI who would be PERFECT for that job oh my. make haste, Tenyar FastmLeggy

WAIT WHICH WAY ARE THEY HEADING

ARE THEY HEADING TOWARDS MACHIA OR TOWARDS DEKU AND AFO

so rather than answering my VERY PERTINENT question, Ochako is instead spending an entire page thinking about how their complete clusterfuck of a life keeps getting exponentially worse all the time! well but she’s not wrong though

NOW SHE’S ALL “GUYS...!” and, rather than explaining ANYTHING AT ALL, Horikoshi is again cutting back to THIS, OMG AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

(ETA: good thing Kacchan wasn’t awake to see his dramatic “I’ll just get myself impaled for Deku’s sake” plan result in this outcome ALL OF TWENTY SECONDS LATER smdh.)

I ACTUALLY PREFER MY DEKUS NON-CRUMBLED, THANKS. ALSO JUST ON A SIDE NOTE, POOR SHOUTO THOUGH. THE LAST NINETY SECONDS OR SO HAVE BEEN ENOUGH NIGHTMARE FUEL FOR A LIFETIME HAVEN’T THEY

so now he’s all “MIDORIYA!!!” because OF COURSE HE IS. his best friend just got impaled, and his dad too, and now he fully expects to see his other best friend crumble to dust right before his eyes holy shit. T R A U M A ™

-- !!!

somehow in the excitement of the moment I forgot his actual goal for a sec lol. meaning I instantaneously switched from HORRIFIED to GRINNING LIKE A MANIAC :D :D :D come on OFA time to show him what’s what

AND NOW WE’RE SWITCHING OVER TO EVERYONE’S FAVORITE TRIPPY DREAM LANDSCAPE FOR ADDITIONAL DRAMA, WELL OKAY

I’M ON BOARD WITH THIS, WHATEVER. also it’s becoming increasingly apparent that Deku is in fact nekkid underneath that mystical cloud bs, so let’s hope one of his remaining yet-to-be-unlocked quirks is a pants-conjuring quirk lulz

“this place...” yeah we all fucking know what this place is son, let’s get on with this. by my count we’ve only got four pages left so PLEASE BUDGET THEM WISELY

OH MY

holy shit. I have so many screaming thoughts about this lol but I just want to keep on reading lkjlkjlkjl okay I’ll come back later and edit them in, how’s that

OR MAYBE I’LL JUST RANT ABOUT THEM NOW GODDAMMIT

shit. okay let me just try and sum this up as quick as I can

so just in case it wasn’t already crystal clear, AFO’s soul being roommates with Tomura’s seems to be just about 100% confirmed now. good for you, All For One For All theory!! the “Kacchan loses his quirk” theory died so that you might live on in glory

AFO does seem to have almost fully taken control now. it looks like Tomura’s still fighting back, but AFO clearly has the upper hand now if their body language is any indication. Tomura on his knees with AFO calmly holding him down and ignoring his struggles... not looking too good for him at the moment

people seem to have somewhat lost sight of this in the midst of the great “heroes vs. villains Who Is Right Who Is Wrong What Are Morals” debate of 2020, but just a friendly reminder that AFO is in fact responsible for 100% of all of Tomura’s suffering from pretty much the moment he was born up till this very moment we’re now witnessing!! like, you can go ahead and blame Nana and Gran and The Complacent Apathy Of Hero Society and whatever the fuck else from here till Sunday, but All for One is the reason Kotarou was orphaned. All for One is almost certainly the reason why the seemingly quirkless Tenko suddenly just magically developed THE MOST FUCKED UP QUIRK OF ALL TIME at the worst possible moment. All for One is probably the reason why no one helped Traumatized Baby Tenko in the immediate aftermath (I can and likely will write a separate post about this in the near future). All for One is definitely the reason why no one helped Tenko at any point after that. All for One is the reason why Tenko grew up all fucked in the head (“HERE’S YOUR DEAD FAMILY’S HANDS, MERRY CHRISTMAS”), and the reason why he grew up blaming Heroes and Society rather than the sole person who was actually responsible who was literally standing right in front of him the entire time. and lastly, All for One is the reason why Tomura has now been manipulated into unknowingly sacrificing his own body and possibly even his mind. so THANKS A LOT FOR THAT. more like jerk for one amiright

basically what I’m trying to say is that Deku and Tomura are not actually enemies here, and they never have been. the two of them have a common enemy, and I’m convinced Tomura’s story is about him eventually coming to realize this. and this looks to be the first step towards that, for two reasons. one, because AFO is finally starting to out himself to Tomura as the rat bastard he has always been. and two, because Deku is catching a glimpse of this now for the very first time. up until now he didn’t have a damn clue lol. but this is now something for him to file away in the back of his mind, and perhaps follow up on at a later date, once all of this craziness finally subsides and he has some time to process

anyway, so that’s basically it! tl;dr AFO is the final villain and unless I’m very much mistaken, this scene is going to finally start to set that up. let’s read on!

OMG

NANA?!?

lKDSJFLKSHGLISHDOGIHOLRKL

NOOOOOO I can’t believe it fucking ended there I can’t fucking believe it, fuck everything

smdh. what a place to end it. didn’t confirm a damn thing. not even whose mental landscape all of this is actually taking place in! like, don’t mind me though Horikoshi, it’s not like THE FATE OF THE WORLD HINGES ON THIS QUESTION OR ANYTHING except oh wait it really kind of does. kljkj

but seriously. because if it’s Deku’s mind, it means that Tomura’s attempt to take his quirk wasn’t successful. but if it’s Tomura’s mind, though... well... hhhhhhkhfff

or it could be both, I guess. more of that “AFO and OFA are the same quirk and thus linked” goodness. oh man. anyways stay tuned for next week when Nana presumably helps Deku out with the rest of that black fog and also hopefully finds him some pants. or maybe Nana can just go fight AFO herself. a little payback for everything he’s done to her protege and to her grandson. either way I CAN’T WAIT omg. VESTIGE ANTICS ARE A GO

#bnha 286 #midoriya izuku #shigaraki tomura #all for one #bakugou katsuki #todoroki shouto #shimura nana #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha #never thought we'd be this close to getting to see nana punch afo in the face #please horikoshi I beg of you please let this happen #if this holds up next week pretty much every single lady of bnha will have gotten their chance to shine in this arc #well except for ochako #but things are looking up on that front too!#what a time to be alive

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remmushound · 4 years ago

Text

Bay/rise 25!! @brightlotusmoon @errorfreak88 @selfindulgenz

“COWABUNGA!”

That simple cry was all it took for the mutants and the soldiers they were locked in combat with to stop fighting. Their eyes searched a short while until they saw four more figures jumping from the rafters armed with sai, nunchaku, Bo, and odachi.

“My beautiful experiments!” Draxum gasped, then tossed Raph and Donnie aside like toys he was bored with.

The four mix-matched ninjas landed in a semi-decent formation, more for drama than any useful fighting technique. Cassandra saw Leo’s bewildered expression and took advantage of it to smack him over the head with the wooden part of her weapon before flipping away.

“Ah— what are you doing here?” Leo growled and rubbed his head.

“Saving you guys!” Leonardo shot back out of impulse, then quickly withdrew with a softer, “Uh— I— I think?”

“Draxum!”

Michelangelo squeaked and ran over to hug the yokai. Draxum grunted at the tight squeeze and his expression turned into a shamefaced, almost haunting look. He didn't seem to know what to do, not returning the hug but not quite pushing the box turtle away either.

“How’d you get here? You came to help us! Oh! I knew you would!” Michelangelo nuzzled into Draxum’s chest.

“Drax, daaaaaamn.” Leonardo whistled. “Looking Fine ~”

“Where’d you get the cool armor Drax?” Raphael asked excitedly.

“And more importantly, are they still producing them?” Donatello poked out from behind Raphael, “because I am interested!”

“I…” Baron Draxum brought his hands carefully to Michelangelo’s carapace, looking around at the gallery of other turtles and then to Cassandra who looked on with an almost heartbroken expression. Baron then snapped his attention back to Michelangelo, pulling his lips back in a snarl. “Don’t you dare touch me, vile traitor!”

Michelangelo looked up at Baron with wide, confused eyes. Draxum didn't let himself witness the sadness and heartbreak in them as he tossed Michelangelo hard.

“MIKEY!” The rise brothers all cried out at once.

Michelangelo didn't try to catch himself. He let the impact come full force. The crack of his carapace against stone almost seemed to break Draxum’s heart in two, but he didn’t let it show. His face remained stagnant.

“Now fight, worthless terrapins! Like I made you for!”

“Draxum…?” Michelangelo’s voice was softer than a whisper, mixed with a sniffle as tears fell from his eyes and trailed down his beak. For a few seconds of shock shared between all present, the only sound was heavy breathing and the steady trickle of tears as they fell to the cold stone.

The sound that broke the silence was a roar of pure rage as Raphael brought his fist down hard on Baron Draxum’s cheek and sent the yokai slamming into the far wall, leaving an indent where his body had collided. Draxum, stunned by the blow, could only watch in mounting horror as the snapping turtle roared once more, not unlike a dinosaur from an old movie. His eyes were glossed over white, frothy foam flying out of his mouth as his breaths came heavy and labored. Raphael dug his feet into the floor for a second before charging Draxum at an incredible speed.

Cassandra gasped. “Master!”

She was on Raphael’s trail the minute he started to charge. Her mind worked faster than a bumble bee, locking onto the bandages wrapped around the turtle's shell and remembering the damage her master had done to him. She angled her naginata to strike him in that same area for optimal damage, but her blade was intercepted by another.

“I got your back, Raph!” Leonardo locked his odachi with her bent naginats so neither of them could go anywhere.

Raph tried to charge back into the fray.

“Wait.” Leo held out his arm to stop Raph, “I wanna see something…”

Raph and Donnie reluctantly stood by their leader and watched the other turtles as they took on the yokai and the human general. Draxum overcame his shock in just enough time to launch himself out of Raphael’s war path. He didn't dare try to take on the snapper in his state— not hand-to-hand anyway. He grabbed the snapper’s legs with his vines to try and hold him back, but they were little more than a nuisance to Raphael who snapped them with ease.

Cassandra finally broke free of the stalemate with Leonardo by dropping suddenly and trying to ankle-swipe, but Leonardo was ready for her and flipped away into a quick recovery.

“Dang girl! You should totally join a circus!”

Leonardo ducked as Cassandra tried to swing at him, dodging the speeding attack with a slide that came natural to him. He turned his duck into a charge, slamming hard into Cassandra’s stomach to knock her off balance before speeding away from her attempted counterattack.

“You’d be great at the trapeze!”

Cassandra chased after him, trying to corral him into a corner. Leonardo didn't dare stop once he got his momentum going, and when it came time for what should have been an impact, he jumped and flipped off the wall, completely missing Cassandra. Unable to stop in time, Cassandra hit the wall rather hard. Leonardo already knew what was going to happen when he landed, and so he prepared for the ouch as his feet slid out from under him and he slammed into the hard stone.

“Ow. Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow!” He scrambled to his feet and sped away.

Leo whistled. “Good move on his part. Could improve his landing though.” Some small part of him simmered with jealousy at how easy the slider could manage the soldier that Leo himself could barely land a hit on.

When Cassandra shook off her mistake, she did just as Leonardo had expected and reared her weapon into the air while shouting, “You dare make a mockery of the Foot Clan?!”

Her question gave Donatello enough time to swoop past, while Cassandra’s eyes were still locked in a bloodlust against Leonardo, and he snatched the mystic orb from her belt.

“I’ll take that!”

Cassandra had to do a double take to figure out what had happened before she growled and changed her target to charge at Donatello.

“GIVE THAT BACK!”

Donatello was fast, but not as fast as Leonardo. The slider did a wide turn and zoomed past to side-check Cassandra and make her slip before she could reach his brother. Leonardo snatched the orb from Donatello, circling the warehouse once more.

“HEADS UP!”

He tossed the ball up to the platform where April watched, and the kunoichi dove to catch the speeding artifact, ignoring the pain still radiating through her as it landed safely in her hands.

Donatello was handling Cassandra okay enough, and so Leonardo's next target was his youngest brother.

“Miguel! We could really use your help out here!”

Michelangelo hadn’t moved from his stunned position, his eyes still glazed over with tears. “Draxum…”

Leonardo gave a nervous whine, his eyes shooting every which way to take in the current situation before he grabbed his brother’s hands and yanked him up, forcing him into focus.

“Come on, Mike, you know drill! Let’s knock that renegade out the rafters!”

Leonardo spun quick circles; he gripped Michelangelo hard as his brother's feet left the ground. Leonardo couldn’t get nearly as much force into the toss as Raphael could whenever they played the brother ball technique, so he had to rely on pure speed and luck. And he was the luckiest one out there! Leonardo went through the calculations in his mind, humming the countdown in Spanish until he got to uno and let Michelangelo fly.

“DON! BROTHER BALL!”

Draxum was too focused on the snapping Raphael to notice the speedball headed his way. His hooves found footing easily on the rafters, dancing between the beams with a perfect balance as he angled attacks downward. Michelangelo slammed into Draxum’s back with a solid clang of keratin and metal that sent both falling.

Donatello broke from his spar with Cassandra and ran forward for the recovery, holding the wooden staff high. Michelangelo popped out of his shell when the time was right and grabbed a hold of the staff, Donatello lifting him safely away from impacting the ground. Draxum, however, landed full force.

“Nice save, Don!” Leonardo whistled as he sped past, readying himself to jump right back into the battle.

Draxum knew when to call it quits, and now was the time. His vines pulled from the ground and created a pink rift, which he promptly grabbed Cassandra and heaved her through. Raphael attempted one last charge, but Draxum was already gone and so was the portal.

#BROTHER BALL #Michelangelo is heartbroken #writing this had me in tears 😭#hope you enjoy!!

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genesisrose74 · 4 years ago

Text

Believe It, Baby

AHH HELLO I LIVE!! I am so sorry about my lack of publishing content besides some general community posts as of late - I’ve probably said this before but school is a buttface sometimes :// I’ve been really enjoying the new episodes of Haikyuu so I decided to finish a self indulgent fic to try getting back on track! Kinda like how it worked out so here it is!! Yes, it is Hinata again, how did you freaking know???

Pairing: Hinata Shoyo x Fem!Reader

Words: 2122

*******

“I don’t believe it for a damn second.”

The ginger under scrutiny groans for what seemed the eighth time that day, shooting his friend an exasperated look as they walk into the practice gym. “I swear, Kageyama! She’s in the college preparatory class with Yachi!”

At this, said blonde turns her attention to the entering duo with a curious tilt of her head.

“What’s this about someone in my class?” she inquires politely.

Kageyama glances at Yachi. “Hinata says that he’s dating one of your classmates, which I say is a bunch of crap.”

“How many times do I have to tell you, Bakageyama? I’m her boyfriend!”

Tsukishima scoffs from across the gym.

“Sounds like someone had too vivid of a dream last night,” he jeers, Yamaguchi snickering beside him.

Even Tanaka and Noya doesn’t seem to believe the aspiring ace, the former clapping a hand on Hinata’s shoulder with a philosopher’s air about him.

“It’s alright to be single, little man. You don’t gotta go and make something up to look cool.”

Hinata huffs before shuffling to set up the court for practice, while Sugawara takes his position as mother crow by smacking the troublemaker second years upside the head.

“I for one believe you, Hinata,” the silver haired setter declares, smiling when the first year boy beams with happiness.

“Thank you, Suga-senpai! At least someone here does.”

“Mind telling us what she’s like?” Daichi chimes in.

Hinata’s grin blossoms even wider, and his gaze turns excited. “She’s amazing, and really smart, and super competitive! And she’s...also really pretty…” he trails off in embarrassment.

Suga gushes at his flustered state, ruffling his kouhai’s mop of orange hair. “Look at you, all affectionate. She must be special.”

Yachi follows up with a nod of agreement at Sugawara’s statement, joining Hinata on the court for set up.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what’s her name?” the manager in training questions.

When the middle blocker tells her proudly, the remaining first year boys all bust out in laughter.

“Yeah, I’ll believe it when I see it,” Yamaguchi guffaws. “Isn’t she like one of the smartest students in our grade?”

Hinata nods affirmatively, and Tsukishima shakes his head with a dry laugh. “Try picking a more believable person next time, Hinata. There’s barely even a chance that you’ve ever crossed paths with her before, let alone dated the girl.”

Yachi, on the other hand, takes a moment to ponder on Hinata’s words, not even close to giggling like the rest of her fellow first years.

“You know,” she mumbles to herself, “that’s honestly not that far of a stretch, considering how outgoing she is.”

The orange haired boy offers her a weary half-smile for at least thinking he had a shot with who he claimed, but made no further attempt to emphasize that he was in fact dating said girl. It was clear that nearly none of the team would believe him without solid proof.

Coach Ukai grabs the team’s attention, and from then on leads a rotation of digging drills to help improve everyone’s foundational abilities. This format of training continues for most of practice, such routines making it easier for some of the boys (namely Tsukishima) to laugh about Hinata’s “attempt'' at having a girlfriend in line. Said middle blocker remains in a pouty mood due to such circumstances, but decides to keep it quiet for the time being - lest he dig a bigger hole in which his teammates could tease him.

Soon enough, practice for the day is over, and the Karasuno boys organize their things in the club room before filtering outside. As Hinata waits outside for the rest of his team to come downstairs, the whole team planning on making a stop at Ukai’s store, his phone screen lights up with a soft chime.

Hi sunshine! Did your practice just finish?

The first year smiles, knowing that you must have snuck him a text during your student council meeting, and quickly opens his phone to type something back.

Hi angel!! Yeah, we’re gonna get something at Ukai’s rn

Hinata playfully raises an eyebrow at your fast response, the chat bubble popping up right away. Usually you’re pretty invested in your club meetings, so today’s must be a pretty boring topic.

Wanna save me a meat bun pretty please 🥺

If there’s an extra I will <3

:D hehe thank u love

Tanaka’s voice breaks the ginger’s focus from his texts, the second year shouting about food as he ushers the team towards the school exit. Hinata tosses his phone into his practice bag and catches up with the walking group, his mood significantly improved from just minutes ago.

*****

The town is basked in the soft glow of street lights as the team makes their way down the hill to Ukai’s, currently unaware of a presence in a sprint to get to them.

Your fellow Student Council members had shot a bewildered look in your direction as you scrambled to pack up and hustle out the classroom door. You ushered a quick goodbye to them before stuffing your phone in your skirt pocket, determined to surprise your boyfriend after the council meeting ended early.

Maybe you were starting to regret the idea of running in the god-awful flats Karasuno High enforced in their dress code, but you pushed past the irritation in favor of keeping pace. That meat bun wouldn’t stay hot forever, you reasoned, but in reality the opportunity to see your shining boyfriend truly drove your motivation.

After finally getting a glimpse of a large group near the base of the hill, a spark of victory flames in your heaving chest at your persistence. With a heavy sigh, however, you realize that your competitive ball of energy was likely at the head of the bunch, racing that setter with whom he always argues. Your plight was not over yet.

So, attempting to reign in your eagerness to see the ginger haired boy of your affections, you continue the path down the quite steep hill, this time using the art of determined speed walking. The soles of those forsaken flats on your feet would not be forgiving if you started running again, anyways.

When you finally manage to close in on the team, Sugawara is the first to notice you, observing for a moment before nudging Daichi on his right. The Karasuno captain looks confusedly at his vice captain, the latter’s eyes holding a parent-like intuition.

“I think that’s her,” the silver haired third year murmurs, nodding his head in your direction as you make your way closer.

“Who’s her?” Daichi whispers back, and Suga looks like he’s about to karate chop him in the side.

“Hinata’s girlfriend, Dai!” he hisses. “Look at who she’s focused on.”

Daichi follows your gaze to find the little decoy first year at the end of it, causing him to raise an eyebrow in surprise. “So he really wasn’t pulling Kageyama’s leg.”

The two third years of Karasuno watch you with great interest as you inch your way to the front of their group, more of the boys taking note of your presence with the passing moments.

The only few who don’t seem to notice are the gaggle of first years in the front, many of whom are bickering with each other. Yachi is the only one in your grade to see you as she walks beside Kiyoko, and you give her a small wave before putting a finger to your lips. All she can do in response is nod, mouth slightly agape at the fact that you even acknowledged her in the midst of your pursuits.

“-If there’s an extra bun in the bag today I call dibs!”

“And since when have I ever listened to you, pipsqueak?”

“Who’re you calling pipsqueak, you giraffe!?”

You have to conceal your chuckle at the group’s antics. You’d been told a handful about the first years known as Hinata’s teammates, but had yet to formally meet them due to your consistently busy schedule. Today, you felt it was about time for that to change.

Yamaguchi picks up on you, followed quickly by Tsukkishima when his freckle-faced best friend notifies him with a tap on the shoulder. Even Kageyama, who somehow managed to get into yet another argument with Hinata, slows his banter as he gazes at you, completely bewildered.

The last person left in the dark is - of course - none other than your dumbass of a boyfriend.

“Why did you get so quiet all of a sudden?” the aspiring ace inquires. “It’s ‘cause you realized that I would win the argument anyways, huh?”

The boy jumps when he feels you sidle up next to him, brushing your arm against his own.

“Yes, sunshine, that’s surely the reason.”

The first year whips his head to face your playful smirk, before practically launching himself into you and trapping you in a bear hug.

“You surprised me!” he exclaims with a giddish grin, nuzzling into your figure.

“That was kind of my plan,” you laugh. “Student council meeting ended early, so here I am.”

Hinata didn’t seem to want to let go of you any time soon, so you resorted to taking his face in your hands and pecking his cheeks.

“You gonna introduce me or not, silly?”

The middle blocker was blushing like crazy at this point, reddening with the realization that his entire team was a current audience to the little show taking place.

“Guys, this is my girlfriend,” he gestures to you awkwardly, and you couldn’t hide the small smile that curls on your lips. “You’ve probably seen her with the Student Council before.”

You wave enthusiastically to the team, many of whom are still recovering from the newly confirmed discovery (namely, some very skeptical first years).

“So, he wasn’t joking?” Yamaguchi spoke up, eyes wide with disbelief.

“Aw yeah, Hinata!” Tanaka whistled, “Sorry that I ever underestimated you!”

“Good job, Shoyo!” Nishinoya affirms, jumping on his second year best friend in excitement. “She’s a cutie too!”

The first year squeezes your midsection tighter to your surprise, seeing as his face was practically steaming from previous team comments.

“She is cute,” he mumbles, and the unexpected statement elicits a laugh from your lips.

You tap the ginger’s nose playfully, bringing his attention to your content smile. The sight of it causes him to grin right back giddily, momentarily forgetting the larger group beside him once more. “Saved me a meat bun, Sho?”

He was like this whenever at the other’s house or on a date: mushy, cuddly, affectionate, the whole nine yards of fluffiness. Public spaces involving acquaintances, however, was a bit of a different story, as Hinata got very easily flustered in front of teasing friends. Even without meeting the other team members of Karasuno before, it was quite obvious.

“I always manage to when you ask,” he responds proudly, although a faint frown briefly appears on his features for a moment, “but Tsukishima’s being a bit of a jerk about it today.”

The blond in question sends his fellow middle blocker a look of annoyance, before his expression melts into a cheshire grin as he turns to you.

“Just didn’t want him eating too much, that’s all,” he explains. “Overindulgence isn’t a great habit for athletes, you know. But since you’re actually here and not a figment of Hinata’s imagination, that’s absolutely fine with me.”

“Hey! You saying I’m a pig or something?” the first year pipes up with a glare.

Tsukki smirks. “Or something.”

Sugawara steps in to lessen the obvious tensions between your feral ginger and the smug beanpole, giving them both a deathly glare that practically screamed, ‘don’t make me whoop your asses in front of a student council member’.

You giggled at the team’s dynamic, one that clearly resembled a rambunctious family on their nightly outing together. It really was just as you had imagined the first time your boyfriend described it to you - with maybe a bit more emphasis on the rambunctious than you had previously inferred. But it was actually quite enjoyable to be around.

As the group finally started on their way again after your surprise introduction, Hinata came up beside you once more with a curious glint in his eyes.

“What are you smiling all giddishly about?” he inquires, head tilted a fraction.

You can’t help but chuckle a bit at the question. “I just really enjoy being around your team is all.”

The aspiring ace of Karasuno interlocks his fingers with yours as you stroll along together down the street, his teammates in tow as they observe the situation before them with some remaining bewilderment.

“Good, cause I think they might like you too.”

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