#nekomatas make everything better

[mothmanssweetsucculentass]

ZZZ Headcanons

Help this game has taken over my free time I love these characters sm <3 Billy Soukaku and Ellen my beloved

Nicole: has a not so secret hobby of bedazzling anything and everything. It’s a real problem in the Cunning Hares apartment, nothing is safe from pink rhinestones and stickers

Anby: cracked at rhythm games to an alarming degree. Can do a 2 person extremely hard DDR song all by herself

Billy: I don’t know how they did it but they programmed an android with autism. Has his own version of a skincare routine which is basically just maintenance on all of his tiny mechanical parts. Can also gain power multiple ways, including solar power. The apartment complex where the Cunning Hares live had a blackout once and everyone used Billy as a personal charging port. Nicole promised to pay him in Starlight Knight merch.

Nekomata: cuts her own hair and offers to do it for other people. DO NOT trust her when she says she’s good at it

Grace: did gymnastics as a kid which is why she’s able to pull off a ton of backflips and flexible maneuvers in battle

Anton: uses actual cement to keep his hair spikes in shape. Koleda caught him in the act once and instead of chewing him out, she decided to apply some to her own hair and now they’re cement combover gang

Ben: is completely vegan and loves chilling at hot springs a lot. Still sleeps with stuffed animals btw

Koleda: I’m making it canon right now Koleda is trans and you can’t do shit about it. Also has welding as a hobby and made most of her accessories from scratch

Corin: when not in Victoria Housekeeping Co uniform, is a Jfashion junkie. I’m talking super dedicated Lolita fits, menhera inspired clothing, the whole shebang. She ofc designs a lot of her own stuff like her bear backpack and is also responsible for a lot of the accessories Victoria Housekeeping Co wears (Rina’s bows, Ellen’s shark jaw head and neckpieces, Lycaon’s eyepatch and tail straps). She also has a massive crush on Ellen and is too scared to admit it

Rina: has a fur allergy and can’t keep animals around. Which also means she’s allergic to Lycaon. She has to take so much Zyrtec before clocking in but has such a good poker face that Lycaon has no idea. Ellen knows tho

Lycaon: specifically wears the heeled boots and has his odd posture because he’s self conscious about his digitigrade legs, he thinks they’re unsightly for a butler of his standing to have. He also tries to encourage Ellen to wear a long maid dress like Rina does to hide her tail.

Ellen: coincidentally falls into a lot of shark stereotypes. She loves seafood, has to constantly be fidgeting or she feels like she’ll go mad, and the kicker, she gets frenzied around blood, or if the thing she’s fighting puts up a struggle. Corin accidentally cut her hand while repairing her saw blade once and both Lycaon and Rina could barely hold Ellen back once Corin began bleeding. Ellen feels awful for scaring the already timid girl. Corin secretly thought it was hot and would die on the spot if anyone knew that

Soukaku: despite being a huge foodie this girl cannot cook for shit. Is also physically cold to the touch and during the summer her coworkers will ask her to hold their drinks because they’ll stay cold. Soukaku always secretly sneaks sips every time they do this to her.

Miyabi: has the worst sleep schedule known to man. Sometimes you’ll find her awake at 3AM and conked out by 4PM, other times she goes to bed at 8PM and wakes up at 4AM. It’s inconsistent and irregular and a gamble trying to contact her outside of work because she might not even be awake

Harumasa: GAY GAY HOMOSEXUAL GAY. Also pretty cracked at chess and other strategy games. Is also a major old fashioned guy and doesn’t own a lot of modern technology. He’s not into retro or old stuff, he just doesn’t like new stuff

Yanagi: her glasses are fake. When she was younger she needed them, but her vision had naturally gotten better over the years, so she now wears contacts, but for some reason still insists on wearing her glasses. Loses them constantly during battle.

Lucy: even though she was forced to play piano as a kid, she really wanted to be a sporty girl and play stuff like soccer and baseball. Now she has the freedom to take part in the sports she likes and watch them surrounded by the people she likes

Piper: insanely picky eater to the point it drives Lucy up a wall. Is also picky about a lot of other things, like how different fabrics feel, different comfort levels of chairs and beds, girl is a complainer and will always find something to complain about

Lighter: has a side gig as a tattoo artist, has really stable hands too

Soldier 11: has 5 younger brothers, a younger sister, and 2 older siblings who she doesn’t see super often. Has divorced parents who also liked to adopt, which is why she has such a huge family. Her younger brothers love it when she comes home and plays secret agent military with them

Seth: can’t drive. That’s it send tweet.

Qingyi: is outwardly dismissive of meditation tricks and hacks and tips but utilizes that shit in private ALL the time.

Zhu Yuan: shares the vegetables she grows in her garden with all her neighbors. Is also a REALLY good cook to the point people have encouraged her to potentially consider a different career path

Jane Doe: the rat girl has pet rats go figure. But in all seriousness she’d die for her little guys. She has a white one named Cocaine and a brown one named Tobacco and a gray one named Crystal Meth. She thinks the names are hilarious and every time she introduces the rats to other people their facial expressions are priceless

[trendywaifus]

Okay,how Nicole demara with an S/O that loves taking care of her and helping her out with her business.

i’ll make this a hc!

— getting spoiled by you is an experience she grew to absolutely adore (she won’t admit that).

she’s looking at her nails, grumbling about how it’s time to get it done. the polish is peeling from her nails and it’s starting to annoy her. you gently grab her hand, bringing it up to your lips to kiss the pad of her fingers. nicole’s already red, pink lips parted with surprise as she verbally questions what you’re doing.

“ do you want me to pay for them, nicole? we can get them done today. “ you offer, kissing her pointed finger one more time before letting them go. secretly over the moon by your gesture, she shyly averts her lowered gaze to somewhere else that isn’t you.

“ y-yes, i would like to, (name). “ she trails off, stifling back a dopey smile on her face. she’s def gonna brag and show off later.

— when it comes to doing little side gigs like selling drinks, food, or whatever, you’re the one who’s prepping the items. nicole’s the one setting the prices. nekomata, and the other two are either doing their own thing or helping out in some way. for some reason, you sell the most between you and nicole and it annoys her. it annoys her because you’re very easy on the eyes, so people are naturally drawn to you and find the need to flirt with you while you’re trying to do business. you’re hers, damnit. does she have to stand by you so those pesky people can stop the funny business, buy her stuff, and go?

“ meow, it seems like they’re at it again.” nekomata comments, looking at the growing line of people waiting to buy a popsicle from you. nicole merely grumbles, quietly watching everything from afar as you politely hand the two women cold treats.

“ oh before we go, you have such a beautiful smile. are you single? “

“ no, i’m not. sorry. “

“ aw, well i hope to see you around, cutie! “

nicole’s brows twitch.

you wave goodbye at the two women before welcoming a group of men. one of the men shoves a guy from the back to the front, appearing awkward and fidgety. “ erm, can we all get a popsicle? is there a deal going on? “

“ mhm, since there’s like 5 of you. 5 for 10$. “

“ damn. 5 for 10$? “

“ u-um, i’ll take it, “ he stutters, digging in his beach short’s pocket for his wallet. he hands you a ten dollar bill and you give him the pack of popsicles.

“ al-also, i’ve been watching you—not like a stalker or anything! but like—“

“ meow? you totally sound like a stalker.” nekomata remarks, hearing the conversation closely. “ what? nekomata! what are they saying other there? i can hardly hear anything because of these damn seagulls!” nicole snarls, adjusting the visor on her head to block off the sun from her eyes.

“ the guy is hitting on (name), but, he’s. . not scoring. “

“ good! (name)’s is my partner, anyways! they better go search somewhere far away to find someone perfect like them, hmph! “

— i can imagine you and nicole being the best duo when it comes to collecting money from scamming clients.

the four, beaten up men kneels in fear as you tower over them with a smug smirk on your face.

“ so boys, “ nicole comes up behind you and rest a hand on your shoulder with her other hand on her hips, “ we now have an understanding, right? “

“ y-yes—yes! we do! please, no more! “ one of the men begged, clasping his hands together desperately.

“ good~ make sure you pony up the cash by tomorrow or we’ll make sure you won’t be able to piss straight for a month. “ nicole threatens, smirking menacingly at the men. they all let out noises of fear and nervously bobbed their heads.

with an arm wrapped loosely around her waist, you add on, “ you better listen to my girl, or i’ll make it two months for your goofy asses. “

[37-children-of-the-dreams]

A New Year’s sequel to this.

Since it was Caesar who invited the Cunning Hares to Christmas at the Outer Ring, then it was Nicole’s turn to invite the Sons of Calydon to New Year’s Eve celebrations!

She knew nothing will ever beat Billy’s performance during Christmas, with the decorations and the gifting and everything, but Nicole wanted to make this the best New Year’s celebration for the Sons of Calydon. She heard from Billy that New Year’s celebrations in the Outer Ring was not really celebrated as much by the past Calydonian members since Caesar’s father never cared much about the upcoming year due to thinking that it was just another year coming, but he at least let some of the old members celebrate just in case they wanted to.

“So did Caesar ever celebrated one?” Nekomata once asked.

“Of course!” Billy exclaimed. “Big Daddy and I didn’t want her to think like her father and not celebrate the new year. We wanted her to think that the next years will be better for her and everyone in the Outer Ring and celebrate it as a sign that she’ll make it better.”

And Nicole wanted her to keep celebrating the next years of her reign with new family and friends by her side. She had Anby and Nekomata distract Billy from her surprise plan as she sent individual letters to each member of the Sons of Calydon to celebrate with the Cunning Hares. All with a list on what to expect from her and the celebrations going on in New Eridu.

Nicole got all of their reply letters in one day via Lighter.

“Hope the city has something for all of us,” Lighter had said. “I want everyone to be happy since this will be my first happy New Year’s celebration.”

Nicole smiled. “I promise you that I, Nicole Demara, will deliver the best!”

They said nothing more as Lighter went back to the Outer Ring.

As Nicole waited for New Year’s Eve day, Anby and Nekomata ensured her that Billy had no idea that she invited them to celebrate the New Year. She wanted to surprise the android since it would be his first New Year’s with the Sons of Calydon in New Eridu.

“You think they will be here at night or next morning?” Anby asked.

“Well, who has the fastest bike?” Nicole wondered as she patted Amillion.

“Maybe Caesar or Lighter. Caesar because she’s the leader. Lighter because he’s their current Champion. But, shouldn’t they just use Steeltusk? It’s much easier in one truck than individual vehicles during this time of holiday.”

“I don’t think they care. It’s their first time having New Year’s here.”

Before Anby could come up with a rebuttal, Billy and Nekomata came into the room.

“Nekomata called the hotpot place and reserved the date for New Year’s!” Billy said. “Though, I didn’t know we wanted a huge feast. It’s enough to feed ten people.”

Nekomata looked nervous. She forgot that Billy was in the dark about the Sons of Calydon coming for the New Year’s celebration, but since he still had no idea, she thought she was in the clear.

“It’s New Year’s, Billy,” said Nicole. “Let’s celebrate the last day of this year with a big feast.”

“Aww, boss,” Billy cooed. “I can pay if you—”

“No! My treat. You did Christmas, it’s my turn.”

Before Billy could say anything, the revving of a motorcycle was heard.

A familiar motorcycle to Billy.

“Lighter?!” Billy screamed.

He ran out of their apartment and into the street ready to hug his successor. Nekomata, Anby, Amillion and Nicole were left dazed as he ran, but came to their senses and went outside to see the commotion. Billy was busy hugging and talking to Lighter for him to notice the girls and Amillion coming down to see them.

“I guess, it was Lighter was had the fastest bike,” Anby said.

“But that means the girls are just right behind!” Nekomata exclaimed.

As soon as Nekomata said it, the roar of one Steeltusk was heard.

The Sons of Calydon have arrived.

“What’s going on?” Billy asked.

“Happy New Year’s, Brother,” Lighter said. “Nicole invited us over to celebrate. We accepted, so you have your families here to celebrate.”

As soon as Caesar and Big Daddy came out of Steeltusk, Billy was shrieking with excitement and happiness as he hugged them. Nicole truly made this New Year’s celebration his favorite one to date. Piper, Burnice, Lucy and the little boars greeted Billy, Amillion and the girls with hugs and high fives as they wait for New Year’s morning.

Nicole finally let Billy on the plan as she asked everyone for their letters. She explained to everyone that New Eridu would have tons of parties and freebies for the New Year’s celebration and that she had an area ready for them to see the Bangboo Drop

“Technically, it’s near an abandoned building, but it’s the best I could do. I tried to get tickets near the drop area, but they were sold out in one day.”

“Well, we’re not that soft, Nicole,” Big Daddy said. “Unless the building is near demolition, it’s still going to host us.”

Nicole smiled as she kept talking about the plan.

Next morning on New Year’s Eve, everyone ate in Steeltusk as Burnice made both breakfast and drinks. They were all going to Sixth Street first to meet up with Wise and Belle to greet them for the New Year’s and then make their way around the city. They went on foot since Random Play was nearby and once they all saw the sign, Amillion and Red Mocus were already running to the door to tell the Random Play Bangboos Happy New Year’s.

Lighter ran after the happy Bangboos and almost smacked himself on Wise as Wise and Belle got out to celebrate their own New Year’s celebration. Lighter apologized and greeted the two Proxies as everyone else ran up to greet them.

“Happy New Year’s!” Billy said.

“Happy New Year to you guys too!” Belle smiled.

Everyone had a nice chat about their plans as they realized they were going to eat at the same restaurant for lunch and went together. The girls dragging Belle and leaving the boys and Big Daddy and Bangboos behind.

“Well, this is going to be a fun one,” Wise said.

At lunch, Nicole paid up front for everyone. No one went hungry as she went with the best New Year’s hotpot celebration meal. Caesar and Nekomata ate everything they could while Burnice and Lucy were talking about how wonderful the food was. Piper was happily talking to Anby and the boars about how they never celebrate New Year’s like this. Big Daddy and Billy were also talking about past New Year’s celebrations while Lighter listened and hoped that they can have this type of New Year’s celebration for a long time. Nicole was busy beaming at herself for such a good party that Belle and Wise had to remind her that she still had tonight to celebrate.

Which she did. After separating from the Proxies, they all went around New Eridu getting New Year’s items, freebies and taking pictures of all the celebrations going on. Lighter kept getting everyone freebies from shop owners he knew and had to ask Billy to help with the items. Lucy and the boats had to keep watch as someone who knew her father had saw her. Big Daddy lost count of how many pictures they had taken as night fell. Once it was dark, Nicole signaled to them that they had to go to the abandoned building in an hour as they finished getting the last freebies from every shop in the city.

The area she found was not that badly damaged and was surprisingly clean and safe. Almost like it was going to be rebuilt. As they all made their way to the top, they could clearly see the huge Bangboo light ornament that was to signal the end of the year.

“Over one million lights were made to make it,” Nicole mused. “It’s beautiful.”

“It truly is, I’ll say,” Billy agreed. “It’s crazy that we survived this year and are about to live another one in a few hours.”

“Let’s hope that we get to live and celebrate a hundred of these New Year’s,” Nekomata said as she watched the Bangboo light up.

“That will be hard for some people, but I hope so too,” Anby agreed.

Lighter looked at the Bangboo with a soft smile. He looked at the rest of the Sons of Calydon and prayed to whatever god was listening that he does get to celebrate more years with his new family.

Big Daddy also prayed for a long life with both the Sons of Calydon and the Cunning Hares. They deserve a long happy life for everything they went through together.

Caesar was busy smiling at everyone knowing that their smiles and future were what she wanted to protect for a lifetime.

As they waited for the drop, they went through their items and exchanged items if the other wanted it. Then, they heard the announcement of the Bangboo Drop.

Everyone went to the edge of the building as the Bangboo was being dropped. They all prayed for a good year and that they can do this again next year.

“10”

“9”

“8”

“7”

“6”

“Thanks for doing this Nicole,” Billy said.

“Always,” Nicole replied.

“5”

“4”

“3”

“2”

“Let’s have a great year tomorrow,” Nicole says.

“1!”

“Happy New Year’s!”

The Cunning Hares and Sons of Calydon were hopeful for the future. May they have a wonderful New Year.

[starguardianniom]

Stupid headcanons for Billy Kid from Zenless Zone Zero

I just thought the stupidest headcanons for Billy Kid and I'm gonna make it everyone else's problem, here goes:

Billy is immune to acid, in a mission he once got send in a huge vat of acid and then walked out of it completely fine, just without his clothes (they melted) and The Girls (he lost his grips on them when flying so they didn't take the acid bath with him). Hell, Billy is so immune that the acid actually cleaned him up and made him shine as if he had been polished, Nicole, Anby and Nekomata were half sobbing half laughing at the whole thing because they were so relieved that he was ok but also the stress of thinking him gone and then seeing he's fine and in better shape than before made them stress laughing, and also because Anby actually had made a joke about how if Billy would be thrown in acid he would actually get out of it in better shape and polished like a mirror like that one robot from one of her movies, only for her to regret it when she saw him go in the acid, and then being beyond shocked when Billy just came out looking exactly like she and her movie predicted. Billy was mostly mad that his clothes melted, do you know much he loved that jacket? But to Billy acid is like hot water to him, it will just make all his gear and system runs more smoothly because it will melt all the impurities away from his body, so he'll really end up cleaned like never before, oh and his hair also is completely fine too, yeah.

This goes hand in hand with headcanon number 1, if Billy can survive acid, he cannot stand the cold, and will actually frost all over if it's too cold, so he always wear several layers during winter, otherwise he literally won't be able to move, and it also freeze his system so he will be extremely slow to react and answer, Nicole and Anby learned it the hard way on their first winter with him, he was shocked too, though given he's always been living in the Outer Ring before where the whole palce is a desert all year long he quickly adapted, so he has several warm blankets and an heat fan. Also not recommended to try to lick him like kids try to lick something frozen, your tongue will get stuck on him to his utter embarassment, Anby learned it the hard way too.

Billy doesn't charge like other stuff do, when he goes to sleep, he actually stays offline for 8 hours straight afterwhat in sleep mode, so it's literally impossible to wake him up before he finished his 8 hour sleep, his system is locked that way, he's never been able to change it and the Cunning Hares have just accepted that if they get ambushed during the night they will have to defend Billy until morning. The girls tried everything to wake him up, not unlike the Sons of Calydon before, but yeah Billy can't be woken up before his 8 hours are over, so that's really annoying but after that he can toughen up the longest days without problem, and only needs sleep for his 8 hours. Sleep mode is his biggest weakness alongside the cold.

Billy doesn't hide his past because he's actually ashamed of it but because he's so infamous that if words got around about who he truly was he would be arrested immediatly the moment he's recognized by the police, so he doesn't want the Cunning Hares to go down with him so he keeps quiet and never talks about his true identity. He does remember his days in the Outer Ring fondly but also chose to leave it behind and adapt to a new environment purely for the challenge and because he got one good excuse in his old boss no longer being around, so he decided it was his time to try something new. Unlike Lycaon he hasn't changed at all deep down, he just hides it more, but he's just as ruthless as he was back in the day, it just so happens that he just prefers to follows the orders of whoever he lets be in charge of him and Nicole just happens to have more morals than his old boss, otherwise the Cunning Hares would be very infamous very fast with him doing anything in extreme ways to send the message, as he was fond of doing in the Outer Ring, which led to his infamy in the first place. This is the only reason why the siblings aren't in prison right now, otherwise Billy would have sold them out to the Police in the Prologue right there and then. To him it's pretty clear that Nicole is the "nice one" of the Cunning Hares but she is so cunning that he respects her for it and follows her around just because she impressed him that much with it. And given her morals are higher than his are, he doesn't tell her what he did because he's pretty sure she would fire him on the spot if she did (she wouldn't but he won't risk it) and he doesn't tell Anby because he knows that she'll eventually tell Nicole anyway given how she can never shut up about spoilers.

Billy is Quigyi's prototype older brother. He was made first because his creator wanted robot soldiers to fight wars so they could spare more human lives on their sides, and made Quigyi after using Billy's blueprints but made her more human looking to make her a spy, while Billy stayed more android looking as to be easier to identify on the battlefield. Billy and Quigyi pratically won the war by themselves, the former by being unstoppable on the battlefield and ending the army pretty much by himself and the latter by dismantling the other country's government and killing all the ones calling the shots. They were then hailed as war heroes and treated like royalty, until some accident happened that caused most people of their country to be wiped out, but because of their android nature they survived and later got separated because they wanted to do different things, on top of also having to lead different lives, since Billy couldn't integrate himself completely to society because he wasn't too human looking and also fighting was literally in his program so he couldn't stay away from any fighting for long less he goes insane while Quigyi could because she looked like one more and was build more for socialities more than fighting.

Billy's clothes are a nightmare to clean because his body gets dirty a lot with the oil he use and his body just making stains sometimes so his bill to the cleaner is always higher than Nicole's. He eventually just decided to buy several times the same clothes in the end and just changes them when they are too dirty or too much in tatters for him to continue wearing.

Billy is the best liar of the Cunning Hares, if he doesn't want to tell a secret, you'll never find out. This is the one thing Nicole trust him more than Anby for.

Billy can't swim, so if he gets stuck underwater, he won't drown, but he'll also be stuck at the bottom so he can just walk back until he gets out or jump out.

Billy acts childish because his true personality would scare the Cunning Hares, so he keeps his true nature a secret and just play pretend, but he actually ends up liking to play pretend, and if he acts scared sometimes, in reality he is listing everyone's position and scans around to check for any surprise, but sometimes he will just try to act like he got jumped on to check if the rest of the Cunning Hares are battle ready and sharp. See if they keep their wits. He's always doing little things like that to be sure that the Cunning Hares are ready for everything, he secretly trains them but they are too used to his antics to actually notice that he's putting on a show and actually is much more aware than they think.

Billy has a crush on Monica because he actually used to date her before she was a movie star, she was actually someone of the Sons of Calydon before she left and became a movie star and they dated briefly before that, so he really likes to watch her in her job and has bought everything that has her face on it and he is still so very proud of her. He let her go because she wanted to have a new life, he didn't want to leave his old boss behind, and when his old boss bit the dust, that's when he decided to go to New Eridu to try and seek her out, and when he learned that she was famous and stuff, he just decided to let her live her life in peace but also decided to keep supporting by being a fan, not knowing that Monica would take him back anytime the moment she knew he was in New Eridu.

[clownakai]

For @butter-pangcake's Yokai AU

and more specifically based on this post, I bring you the results of an entire day of procrastination <3 warning: may contain traces of scotchrye and the resident Cheshire Cat being a useless bisexual. Proceed with caution!

Summary:

Something is off about Shuuichi's self-appointed guide.

He should have paid more attention to those warnings of his.

Something is off about Shuuichi's self-appointed guide.

He cannot for the life of him put his finger on what it is, however, and so in the blink of an eye everything becomes suspicious.

The way he walks— just a tad too heavy, and while the kimono he's wearing obediently shifts and folds with each step, there's still something to it that has Shuuichi on edge.

Then there's the way he speaks: minutely slower than usual, as if he needed even more time to formulate his answers than he already does.

And again the way he looks at Shuuichi— eyes a bit too fixed, a bit too hungry, even for a great hunter. It makes the hairs at the back of Shuuichi's neck stand up and has his instincts going haywire: go invisible, they chant, as alluring as a siren's call. Vanish while you still can. He's able to ignore them for the most part, though. Being afraid of the Nekomata on a base animal level is hardly news to him, after all: he can't help it, just as Ryo can't help but wish to tear him apart, deep down underneath layers upon layers of iron-clad discipline and self-control.

But the thing is... Shuuichi doesn't recall being stared at quite this intensely before, and most certainly never for so long without interruption. And so this, too, goes into the ever-growing pile of things that feel off about Ryo.

The Nekomata's ears twitch as he adjusts his haori, then lazily bend forward. Shuuichi feels Ryo's shoulder delicately brush against his, the power his guide's body brims with crackling in tiny sparks all around the point of contact. He wonders, idly, if this is yet another custom among Yokai that he wasn't aware of.

"You're so quiet today, Tabibito-san," says Kei. His eyes, Shuuichi notes, are glittering much like one of his namesakes. He doesn't think they've ever done that before.

Rather than voicing any of his suspicions, Shuuichi shoots back, "I thought silent company was what you most appreciated, Nekomata-san." He turns partially as he speaks, hoping to get a better look at the Yokai's features, but Ryo is quick to take the reins and angle himself so that he's the one peering back at Shuuichi instead. He has merely moved a half-step ahead, but still that unsettling undercurrent is something Shuuichi can't shake off: it clings to the fur of his ears and crawls icily down his back and stiffens his tail into an uneasy line.

Worst of all, Kei smiles at him in lieu of answering, and Shuuichi sees sharp teeth in the curve of the Nekomata's mouth. Ah, he thinks, so that's how it is. More than a little disheartening, but how could anyone blame a Yokai as powerful and territorial as he knows Ryo to be for having had enough of nigh strangers prancing around his territory?

Still. Whichever instinct the Nekomata has elected to stop repressing, be it to destroy or to devour, is of little consequence: Shuuichi would rather get away with his life in either case. "Perhaps I should—" leave, he doesn't get to finish, because Ryo is right in his face all of a sudden, eyes half-lidded and that ever-growing, fanged smile stretching across his features.

"You can be quite silly sometimes," the Nekomata cuts him off for good when he tries to speak up again. His eyes shine like rubies in the waning daylight, and that's... that's... "Whatever gave you the impression that I'd want you to leave?"

Shuuichi swallows, then takes a step back. Sure enough, Kei follows suit with an inquisitive hum; the decorative beads woven into the fastening of the Yokai's haori clink together, and Shuuichi's traitorous ears flicker, betraying his agitation. He opens his mouth to reply, but Kei is faster: he brings a finger to his lips, and just like that Shuuichi's voice is gone— he's staring into the Nekomata's eyes, a bit hazy on what he's looking for but determined to find it in the swirling crimson. So determined, in fact, that he fails to register how Ryo's hand has moved again, lightning quick, and is now hovering near the neatly folded collar of his shirt, because he's so, so close to figuring out why his guide feels so—

Wrong.

"Oh, dear. It looks like we got interrupted." Ryo— not Ryo, this is so wrong— smiles wider. Confident— not confident: arrogant. Nothing like the Nekomata he met when he first stepped foot on Nihon's shores.

And then behind him, that exact same voice, only vaguely tinged with exasperation this time around. "Tabibito-san, what did I tell you about cats with one tail?"

To his credit, Shuuichi doesn't yelp. In fact, he needn't make a sound at all when he can embarrass himself just fine by briefly flickering out of existence from shock instead. He hears the imposter laugh, even that sound ever-so-slightly distorted and wrong, but then something cracks next to his head and the laughter turns into a piercing, agonized yowl. When he glances to the left, he gets why: Ryo may or may not have crushed the stranger's wrist with a single hand. Hm.

"Let go," they spit, which is about the time Shuuichi remembers how to move and steps away from between the two Yokai. In doing so, his eyes fall to the imposter's shadow, long and dark thanks to the setting sun, and he thinks that maybe that's why the stranger had meticulously kept themself up close and ahead of Shuuichi, always with the sunlight glaring straight at them: the silhouette they project on the ground writhes as if in pain, deformed and entirely too black to be anything but a door to the void itself. Most notably, it bears no resemblance whatsoever to Ryo's own shadow.

For his part, the Nekomata obliges with a flick of the wrist. The motion clearly aggravates whatever injury he inflicted on the imposter, who grits their teeth before taking a few steps back, melting into the last dregs of sunset-cast shade and disappearing altogether. That leaves Shuuichi alone with Ryo, and the Yokai wastes no time approaching him with the same air of barely contained exasperation as when he showed up unannounced.

"Did you not listen to a single word I said two nights ago?" Ryo huffs, meeting Shuuichi's confused gaze with a painfully knowing look. "Beware of Bakeneko, the one-tailed tricksters. I told you that."

Shuuichi, who most definitely cannot say 'I actually missed most of your explanations because I'd come down with a severe case of staring at your mouth', lets out a vaguely apologetic noise instead, because it's still infinitely better than telling the truth, and then he allows the Nekomata to run whatever inspection of his person he deems necessary. He doesn't feel any different than usual, which hopefully means he didn't get cursed or whatever it is that Bakeneko do to their prey, but he supposes one can never be too sure.

Kei's fingers reach Shuuichi's chin, gingerly tilting his head this and that way to check for... something, probably. "Did they manage to touch you?" he inquires. Shuuichi eventually shakes his head, albeit with a little difficulty, and the Nekomata's shoulders sag minutely. "Very well, then. I'll accompany you back to your settlement."

"Why?" Shuuichi tilts his head, although he easily falls into step next to Ryo when the other starts walking anyway. "I know the way, Kei-san."

The Yokai tsks. "That Bakeneko... Do you really think they've given up?"

"Ah. I suppose not."

He's not even sure why he'd want to protest the solution, really. Everything is back to normal, now. Ryo's steps, featherlight as they should be, the shifting of his kimono, his every word's measured cadence, the careful distance between them. And his eyes, dark on dark, steady blue. If Shuuichi were any less in control of himself, he'd probably start floating and flickering in and out of sight; as it is, he merely feels his body betraying him in the only other way it knows how— a deep, rumbling, mortifying purr, which he futilely hopes Kei won't notice amongst the mild chaos of the nightlife concert they're passing through.

As if on cue, the Nekomata tilts his head in Shuuichi's direction. "Tabibito-san, are you—"

"No," Shuuichi lies, as smooth as butter, and then imagines a kick hitting him square in the face. Or, better yet, one of Jodie's throwing knives.

Ryo blinks at him. One, two, three times, so very slow. And then he laughs— just an expertly simulated coughing fit, really, coupled with the barest hint of a wheeze in-between breaths. It's embarrassing and also the best thing Shuuichi has witnessed all week.

That's what he's bringing back tonight, he decides.

[falling-star-cygnus]

Actually here's another Billy angst idea just with him being a cyborg/robot, what if he glitches out and is out of commission for days maybe even weeks and then he powers on to see everyone's shocked faces

oml, this has been sitting in my inbox for FAR too long. -> i am so sorry TT^TT

side bar, i was just introduced to the wonderful WiseBilly and BillyBelle agenda, so maybe there will be some of that in the future :D -> not in this fic tho, in case shipping isn't your style

someone legit sent in an ask a few days ago asking me to tag my works with 'fanfiction' so that they could block them all 😀 bc 'they didn't want to block a million different fandom tabs' -> BUT THAT'S LITERALLY WHY I USE A 'KEEP READING' CUT. SO THAT IT'S BITESIZED TO SCROLL PAST 😭 Master List

Something was very

very

wrong.

Currently, it was 8:24 in the morning. Nearly an hour past the time Billy normally woke up. And almost excatly the time he knocked on Nicole's door each day to tell her breakfast was ready.

Nothing had crashed yet.

Or shattered. Or banged. Or 'thudded.' Or 'thwacked.'

No one had started yelling.

It was quiet.

Too quiet.

Nicole stared at the ceiling and ignored the growing worry in her gut. It was probably nothing, she conceded. He had used a lot of power yesterday, so... the android was probably just taking an easy morning. God knows he deserved it after everything that had been going on.

Maybe he had found a movie to share with Anby.

...yeah, right. The boss of the Cunning Hares' bursts into quiet giggles thinking about it. Those two couldn't share that old thing to save their lives. It's why the schedule was made.

Her alarm clock buzzes. 8:30.

He'd come knock any second now.

Annny second.

…

8:31 blips on to the alarm’s face.

8:32.

8:35.

Nicole can feel her limbs growing cold- despite the relatively comforting warmth of her bed- and it cements in her stomach like gum.

8:44.

She was being ridiculous.

8:50.

Just because the android wasn’t knocking didn’t mean anything was wrong. Billy wasn’t required to do so by any means, it was just a habit he had picked up to make sure they all ate.

8:52.

…but he did like his routines.

8:55.

Was he mad at her?

9:00.

Nicole throws herself out of bed decisively and slams open her door.

“Where’s Billy?”

He's not with Nekomata or Anby, from what the boss can tell from her survey of the room. The two smallest members of the Hares' were cuddled together on the couch. Which was frankly- adorable. In any other situation.

But she had an android to find.

"Billy hasn't come out of his room yet," Nekomata answers, looking somewhat weary of Nicole's warpath. Anby pauses next to her.

"Really? He hasn't?"

"E-eh?"

The cat thiren suddenly looks very uncomfortable as the Demara's pin her with twin stares.

"There was a rerun of a Starlight Knights special playing this morning, it's why I came to bother you," Anby continues, ignoring her former cuddle buddy's squawk of indignance as she moves to stand up.

"Wh- what? I thought you said you wanted to bond!"

"I can want two things."

"Anby!"

Nicole leaves them to their squabbling, striding towards the android's room with deliberate steps. It was far too early for this sort of worry, he better be fine in there-

His door isn't fully closed when she pushes on it. He didn't exactly have a 'room' like the other Hares' did- he didn't exactly need one- but it was sort of mutually agreed that the garage was his domain.

Billy wouldn't leave it open like this if he could help it- not when it could mean unwanted visitors got inside.

Maybe she had a valid reason to be worried...

Or maybe not.

The android is still plugged in and leaning against the wheel of their car, not a scratch on him. His eyes are slanted in as closed as they can get, and his signature red jacket is hung neatly off the ground.

He looked fine.

So-

Why wasn't he awake? Why would he miss an airing of his favorite franchise? Why couldn't the boss hear the familiar whirring and clicking he always gave off?

Something wasn't adding up.

Nicole is pressing her ear to his chest before she can even process she's moved.

The metal is cold as it bites into her cheek, and it's silent.

Anby and Nekomata peek through the doorway, for once taking due care to make their presence loud enough that Nicole can hear them approach. Probably for the best, the boss of the Cunning Hares' felt like a fraying thread about to snap.

There was a burn under her chest, nestled into her ribs like a hot coal she'd been forced into swallowing. Billy didn't move.

Calm down, she scolds herself, There's a perfectly reasonable explanation for this. He's not dead.

She hoped he wasn't dead.

Wordlessly- because she didn't trust herself to speak yet- Nicole begins checking his dormant form over. The other two join in with a silent nods towards each other.

Anby carefully tilts his head from side to side to examine his neck.

“Wires are fine here.”

There's no damage to his auditory processors either, or his faceplate, or any of the joints visible to them. And they resolutely refused to take his pants off. It didn't matter if he didn't have anything down there- maybe he did, they wouldn't know- that felt... too invasive.

Unless absolutely necessary, that was a bridge that would remain uncrossed.

"Oh-! There! His charging thingamajig!" Nekomata suddenly exclaims, somehow having weaseled her way behind Billy, "It's all burnt around the edges!"

"Burnt!?" Nicole all but flattens the thiren against the wheel as she takes a look for herself.

Sure enough, the silver metal around the cable was a charred black that flaked off onto her fingers. Hm.

The boss of the Cunning Hares finagles the cord out of the port, and yelps when Anby grabs the back of her shirt to fling her away. Nekomata lands next to her.

"Anby! What the hell-" the boss is cut off when she sees the white... powder? Paste? Thing that bubbles up out of the opening. It smells foul, whatever it is, and clings to her tongue in a way that makes her sick.

"That's battery acid," Anby explains, jaw tight in a way that was usually reserved for boss battles, "Given the burn marks, it's likely his battery fried itself and exploded. We shouldn't touch it barehanded."

Billy's battery had what.

"Exploded."

Oh, Nicole said that out loud.

"What do you mean exploded," she demands, getting up to her feet.

The smaller Demara throws a pair of latex gloves Nicole's way in lieu of answering. Out of all the Cunning Hares, Anby really was the only one who knew shit about batteries. Well- Billy did too, of course, but..

"It happens when they get too overrun with electricity. Considering that Billy used a lot of power yesterday, only to get accidentally tased by Phaethon right after, there's a 98.96% chance that he overloaded his battery by charging it. If we take care of it before it can corrode any of his wiring, we should be able to minimize the overall damage."

That... sort of made sense. Right. They had an objective now.

Nicole can feel her title as the boss settle over her like a second skin, clarity cutting through the haze of morning and worry like a cut from a blade. She knew what they had to do, now to execute it.

"Ok then," Nicole nods once, overcome with a false sense of confidence, "You're the expert, Anby, what do we need to do?"

For a moment, things don't seem so bleak. Everything was going to be fine, and Billy would be back to his rambunctious big-brother ways in no time.

They end up not having the means to replace the battery- or the skillset to open the android up and remove said battery- so...

"We can't take him to Grace," Nekomata insists, something like a shudder rolling it's way through her spine and tails, "She's so- so weird about him."

"Agreed." Anby nods, crossing her arms sagely, "Grace is out of the question. But we need to get this fixed somehow, and Belobog is the only group close enough that has the skillset we need."

Nicole couldn't help but agree. The last time they had interacted with the eccentric mechanic of Belobog Heavy Industries she had practically glued herself to the android's hip! It didn't matter how many times he had edged away- or downright hid behind one of the girls, she just kept coming on to him!

It didn't help that she also referred to Billy as an it at first; even if she took it in stride when the Hares' had corrected her. Swiftly and firmly corrected her. Anby style.

Billy was not an it.

"What about Phaethon," Nekomata pipes up, her tails moving in swishing waves, "they might know someone!"

"That's right!" Nicole snaps her fingers, and ruffles between the thiren's ears for her good work, "Our dear proxy is sure to have some better information."

In the spirit of fairness, she pats Anby's head too. The smaller Demara had been the one to point out the problem with the android's battery, after all.

Nicole looks to the downed member of their team.

And pats his head.

It felt... wrong, somehow, to leave him out when he was like this.

"Don't worry, Billy," the boss whispers, in some vain hope that it'll reach him, "We'll get you fixed up in no time."

.../^\...

Nicole doesn't realize how badly she'd miss this part of her routine until it was gone.

It'd been three weeks since Billy had gotten repaired.

Three weeks of waiting, three weeks devoid of Starlight Knight references, three weeks of radio silence.

By all accounts, it should be peaceful. But.. in the end, she just missed him. For all her scolding, it had never really been an issue to listen to him ramble. And his optimism always stopped anything from feeling too hopeless on a mission.

Anby had stopped doing the little braid in her hair, the same as she did when that scrapper had taken the android for parts, and even Nicole had stopped putting her own hair in it's little half-up half-down pigtails.

She'd had them even before Billy came barreling into her life, of course, but there had been numerous occasions where she simply felt too tired to want to deal with the hassle of taming her bedhead.

Two black strips of cloth sit innocuously on her nightstand.

"We have to meet up with that contractor today, remember Boss?" Billy had said one morning, as he began to brush through pink frizz- starting at the bottom and slowly worked his way up until it was all neat and shiny.

Nicole hadn't even realized what happened until her hair was already tied up with cute bunny ear bandanas and the android was clipping in her usual barrettes.

That was the moment that had won her over, she thinks privately, as she fiddles with an errant strand.

Her clock buzzes for 8:30.

Time for another quiet day...

knock, knock.

....huh?

The boss of the Cunning Hares throws herself out of bed, praying to whatever higher power that would listen that this wasn't some sort of cruel joke.

knock-

She flings the door open, with maybe too much desperation, but she can't really bring herself to care when-

"Oh- morning, Boss!"

"BILLY!"

Metal bites into her cheek as Nicole wraps her arms around his lanky build and squeezes until her arms ache. It hurts for a second and it's real, he's real, and he's warm, and he's loud. There's no stench of acid, or charcoal, just the dim whir and click of machinery under his plating.

"Boss-!?" the android startles, hands hovering uselessly around her back before settling gently on her shoulders, "did you.. have a bad dream?"

Something like that, she thinks.

And really, Nicole is more than willing to write it off that way.

bonus: *a few weeks later, after a taxing raid on their resident android* *Billy is sitting in the Remodelling Shop* Enzo, patting Billy's shoulder and wiping his hands clean: Battery's all good. Billy: uh... Boss? Is this really nec- Anby, Nicole, and Nekomata: Yes. Billy: ...okay.

[authorautumnbanks]

How To Tame A Sorcerer: Side Stories (18)

Main Story

Side Stories

"I am not pleased by these recent developments," Buyo meows as he stomps one paw on the floor. He wrinkles his nose. The problem with Megumi-kun's shadows is there is no sound to emphasize the slamming of his paws on the inky black floor. How is he to get his point across? The shikigami look at him and laugh. "This is no laughing matter! We must take control back before more of these... these eggs are created."

Why don't they see the writing on the wall? More shikigami is a terrible thing! Buyo eyes the vast darkness of Megumi-kun's shadows and huffs. Well, it is no wonder they cannot see the writing on the wall when there is no light in this place. Perhaps he should bring some kind of light with him? Brighten things up a little. Make it feel a little more alive.

"You don't like me?" Ryuren asks. His eyes widen and his jaw wobbles as though he is going to cry.

Buyo curls his lips back in slight disgust. There is something wrong about a dinosaur-like creature attempting to cry. A train wreck. A catastrophe waiting to happen. It is too much. It is disgusting. And frankly, he will have nightmares from the visual alone. "You are a strange, strange creature."

"Leave the baby alone," a rabbit says.

"He's upset because he can't talk," another rabbit says, falling onto its back and kicking its hind legs up with glee.

"And he's not a shikigami," the third rabbit points out. "Awwww, is the wittle Buyo jealous?"

"Stop laughing! This is serious! We are being overrun with these-these children! This is NOT a daycare."

Mahoraga sighs and crooks a finger at Ryuren. "Come here, little one." His palm is bigger than Ryuren's body. "If the cat continues to pester you, tell the priestess." Mahoraga pats the much smaller shikigami's head.

Everything comes to a stop. Tell the priestess? NO! They can't tell Kagome or she'll give him that stern look or worse, a talking to. No, he has to put a stop to this.

"This is between us, not Kagome," Buyo meows and then clears his throat. Damn hairballs are always clogging his throat. He should ask Megumi-kun to brush him later. "This does not require human intervention. This is between us demons and shikigami only!" Buyo lets out a mighty roar and then coughs. His body is overcome with tremors.

"Is he okay?" Ryuren asks.

"Buyo has not been keeping up with properly cleaning himself," the other cat shikigami, Shiro, says with a sniff. "At his age, he should know better, but he depends on Megumi-sama to do the work for him." Her small wings flutter behind her.

If he wasn't too busy hacking up a hairball, he'd give that kitten a piece of his mind. Buyo coughs one more time and then shakes his body. "Enough! I take care of myself plenty. Why—why, you shouldn't talk to me that way," he splutters. "I have been around longer than you and Megumi-kun and I have a special relationship that you could not comprehend!" How dare she try to turn the others against him! And after all he has done for her?

"Someone is jealous," the rabbits sing, wrapping their arms around one another and hopping in sync. "Jealous. Jealous. Oh, Buyo Jr. is jealous. The jealous of the jealous. That is Buyo Jrrrrrrr! A big ol' whiny nekomata." They clasp paws and go around in a circle, giggling. "Buyo Jr. is a big ol' whiney nekomata. Jealous. Jealous. Oh, he's soooo jealous."

"No one is jealous!" Buyo growls. "You, Shiro, are nothing more than a kitten. If it had not been for me, then you would have been gone. You can't even fly properly with those tiny wings."

Shiro blinks her large blue eyes. Her bottom lip pokes out.

Oh, meow's sake! Is she about to cry?

"Mahoraga-san!" Shiro cries. "Buyo is being so mean."

She cannot be serious! Those are such fake tears. No one would fall for that.

Mahoraga grunts and stands. Buyo tilts his head back and stands, too. He is not and will not be intimated by some overgrown wannabe divine general.

"That is enough," Mahoraga says, grabbing Buyo by his scuff. "Enough of your pity party. You are nothing more than a spoiled kitten."

Kitten! He is over three hundred centuries old! A kitten, he is not.

"How dare you! None of you have any self-preservation! You aren't even Megumi-kun's shikigami!"

"Why aren't you tamed?" Shiro asks.

Buyo rolls his eyes. What does that matter? Who cares? He takes a swipe at Mahoraga, but the general keeps him at arm's length. Hmph. Oversized general is lucky he is not in a murderous mood today or he would wipe his ass all over these shadows.

"Megumi has not tamed me. He must go through the ritual. None have tamed me."

"Oh." Shiro looks down at her feet and then up at Buyo. "It is nice of you to attend these meetings, still. Perhaps one day, Megumi-sama will tame you. You would be of great help against Sukuna."

Wait.

"Let me down!" Buyo meows. "I need to talk to the runt." When Mahoraga sets him down, Buyo flicks up his two tails and sticks his nose in the air. "Oi, you, dinosaur."

"It is Ryuren," the dinosaur shikigami corrects, ruffling his arm feathers.

"Ryuren," Buyo says, rolling his eyes. "You can talk to Megumi-kun, which is more than what Shiro can do."

"I can learn to talk." Shiro sniffs.

"Anyway," Buyo continues, because no one asked her for her opinion. "I need ya to give word to Megumi-kun about a plan."

"P-plan?" Ryuren's yellow eyes blink so much it gives Buyo whiplash. "What plan?"

Buyo holds up a paw. "First, stop blinking. Second, stop talking. Third, I am about to tell you the greatest plan of all plans."

"Oh, this should be good," a rabbit crackles.

"You think he'll hack up another fur ball?" another rabbit asks.

"I just hope the next shikigami is another canine," the wolf says. At that, Buyo snaps his fangs, but the wolf shikigami lays his head on his paws and yawns.

"Or something that is not a predator," the owl shikigami quips.

"You are a predator," the elephant says. "So, you just want another prey shikigami?"

"SILENCE!" Buyo bellows. "I am trying to explain the glorious plan. You keep it up and I will drop hints to Kagome-san that the next shikigami should be a mouse."

"That wasn't very nice," the third rabbit says. "What a meanie."

"A meanie poop," one rabbit says.

"A poopie kitty," another one crackles.

Buyo closes his eyes and paws at his face. Why must he be stuck with such idiots? "Can we focus for five seconds? Why is that so difficult?"

"You need to treat others how you want to be treated," the deer shikigami speaks up.

"No one invited you," Buyo mutters.

"I am just as a part of Megumi's shadows as you are."

"Anyway." Buyo rolls his eyes so hard they nearly pop out of his skull. "Back to the plan at hand. We have an immediate threat, and that is the abomination known as Sukuna. He must be stopped and then we will deal with the shikigami apocalypse."

"What do you propose?" Shiro asks, scooting closer to him. Buyo scoots away, but every time he moves away, this damn kitten moves even closer.

"Why are you touching me?"

"You're warm."

Buyo sighs. "As I was saying." He glares at Shiro before continuing. "We must put a stop to Sukuna. And Shiro, as much as it pains me to admit, has brought up a great point. You, Mahoraga, would give Megumi-kun an edge."

"Perhaps," Mahoraga says slowly, "but Megumi has not tamed me and Sukuna has already defeated me. He knows what to do now."

"He defeated you without a buff."

"Oh? You would share some of your energy with me?"

"I am a kind demon. Some would say the greatest."

"No one says that," one rabbit says.

"Some may call you a brat," another one says, elbowing the other rabbit in the side.

"The brattiest of all the brats! Buyo Jr. the bratty nekomata." The rabbits link arms again and kick their hind legs up. "The biggest brat of them all. Bratty, bratty, Buyo Jr."

"One day I will eat you," Buyo deadpans. He needs a hit of catnip to deal with these rabbits. "As I was saying, once again. Ryuren, you will tell Megumi-kun that it is time to tame Mahoraga... and the deer. Start with the deer. You can heal, right?"

The deer shikigami snorts. "Is water wet?"

"I don't...is this a trick question?"

"Of course I can heal."

Buyo squints. What happened to treating others how you want to be treated? "Why didn't you just say that? I was confirming that it was one of your abilities." Buro curls his top lip back. It is not as though he, Buyo, the greatest nekomata ever, concerned himself with what the ten shadow users could do. He got the information from the rabbits, and they are trickier than foxes, so naturally, like the smart demon he is, he asked simply to confirm.

None of them deserves his greatness. It is simply for Megumi-kun's sake that he puts up with them. Boosting their abilities with his demonic energy.

"Can we wrap this up?" Shiro questions, yawning. "I can't stay awake too much longer. I'm growing."

"Me too!" Ryuren chimes. "I'm gonna be as big as Mahoraga-san!"

Disgusting. Buyo grimaces and then musters the energy to continue. "Instruct Megumi-kun to tame the deer shikigami first, as it can heal him. I am not limited by his cursed energy and neither are you and Shiro, since you were born of Kagome-san's energy."

"So, we get to hit Deer with the one, two, three, four combo?" The rabbits smile and it is something made of nightmares. Their red eyes are unsettling.

"... Sure. We attack at once. And then we move to taming Mahoraga."

"Even so, at his current state, you think Megumi can tame me? I have fought stronger sorcerers, and he is not the strongest ten shadows user."

"Can others join in?"

"It would be invalid," Mahoraga quips. "So no, neither Gojo nor Sesshomaru could take part in helping Megumi to tame me."

"... Does Maki count?" Buyo asks weakly.

Mahoraga clamps his lips shut and leans back.

"Is that a, no?" Buyo walks over to Mahoraga and sits at his feet. He places a paw on his leg. "The zero cursed energy, Zenin. Does she count?"

Mahoraga taps his fingers on his knee and refuses to look at Buyo.

So, it's like that.

***

A/N: Wishing you an awesome week! Next side story will be the Accidental Multiverse and Teen Satoru is going to be jealous of Adult Satoru. No body take over for the Accidental verse.

Sorry I didn't update as frequently last week. It's been a little rough. Promise to get to everyone's questions this week.

Take care! Have a great Monday and make sure to drink plenty of water and get plenty of rest!

[aslongasimhereyoureinvincible]

haikyuu!! the dumpster battle ramblings

saw it earlier today and am going to see it again tomorow with a friend, am very Full Of Thoughts, if u dont wont spoilers for the movie well take this as your warning ig

okay first of all the sound direction, the sound direction was INSANELY good

this is absolutely a movie that needs to be experienced in cinema, the soundscape of tokyo gymnasium and the karasuno v nekoma match felt so vividly real it was like i was at an actual game

the soundtrack was great too, i mean it always is w/ hayashi yuuki

there were i think two tracks that used the leitmotif from 'above', good shit

the animation was also really great, overall it didnt look massively better than season 4 of the anime

which is fine, season 4 looked great imo (minus that outsourced episode)

but holy shit when the sakuga hit it hit HARD

tsukki and lev blocking, kageyama doing his thing, kenma and kuroo's quick, there were lots of really great sakuga moments

they also reused some shots from earlier on in the anime and idk maybe thats 'lazy' or whatever but i liked it, it was very nostalgic :')

they did re-animate and i think re-voice hinata and kenma's first meeting tho, framing it from kenma's POV, loved that

i think my favourite sakuga shot had to be hinata and kenma with the knives at each other's throats tho, that ate

not sure how i didnt know about this before hand but it made perfect sense to me when i saw studio trigger in the end credits, some of the sakuga, esp the blocking, had a bit of that trigger flair to it

so obviously they werent gonna fit in everything from the manga, and the movie definitely had kenma as its focus, but i think overall they did a decent job in picking and chosing what to cut

the one thing im annoyed about is the removal of old coach ukai and coach nekomata's backstory, i really i think it makes the handshake at the end of the game hit that much harder

other than that tho i dont think the movie suffered from not adapting everything in the manga, i mean obviously i wouldve LIKED it, but i dont think the movie NEEDED it to be a good movie

it very much felt like kenma was the main character of the movie, and the main focus, with kuroo and hinata as his deuteragonists

which i liked!!! i think framing the match from kenma's POV for the most part makes sense, and its fun to spend more time in outsider POVs of karasuno

rlly loved the adaptation of kuroo and kenma's childhood flashback, im pretty sure kaji yuuki voiced kid kenma too

watching their friendship grow and seeing them play togther now as high schoolers, AUGH RIGHT IN THE FEELS

theres also a montage of kid kuroo barging into kenma's room to demand they go play volleyball together that ends on kuroo doing so whilst kenma's changing/putting on trousers which was rlly funny and silly

the stuff with kuroo and tsukki was so good too

'thanks to everyone, occasionally it's fun', 'thank god i wasnt wrong', 'he's a man who walks ahead of me'

AUUUGHHHHHH IT WAS SO GOOD :')

the scene that completely stole my breath away though was kageyama setting the open toss to hinata

i know ive already lost my mind over the whole 'threat of trust' thing and truly, the inarizaki match goes insane with that concept i will always adore it

but holy shit that scene smacked me over the head, HARD, with the concept of 'setting as a love language'

i just... i literally dont even have words for it it was SO amazingly good, i legitimately teared up in the cinema

speaking of other great scenes;

'stay interesting, 'kay?'

OHHHHH GODDDDDDDDDD

they did it perfectly

the music and the soundscape completely cutting out, the background whiting out so its just kenma and the net, kaji yuuki's delivery of the line

it genuinely felt like something out of a horror movie, it was creepy, and unsettling, and PERFECT

also;

hinata's reaction after kenma collapses and says 'that was fun'

murase ayumu's delivery was so VISCERAL, dude got in that booth and CHEERED

you really felt hinata's sheer utter come through in that little scene, same with kuroo's incredulous laugh

the end of the match was slightly a mixed bag for me

on the good hand;

having done from kenma's first person POV was cool, i dont think haikyuu's ever really done that before, and it looked awesome

cutting back on the music and background soundscaping so we just focus on kenma's breathing and the sound of the ball/players jumping/shoes squeaking etc was a great way to really immerse the viewer in the scene, and put us inside kenma's head

on the bad hand;

it was anticlimatic, and i KNOW the whole point of the end of the match is that its anticlimatic,

but i had always imagined the scene with dramatic swelling music and the characters running frantically, only for it to all cut away when the ball slips and all you can hear is kenma's 'ah-' and there'd be a close-up of his facial expression

the stage play did a very similar thing and it worked EXTREMELY well imo

instead by doing it in the first person POV and already not having music it just,,, didnt feel quite as impactful as it shouldve imo??

like the match points for the seijoh, shiratorizawa, or inarizaki matches were done really dramatically

and i know the whole point is that the nekoma match is kinda an outlier in that it ends in that anticlimatic way with the ball slipping, and theres that big beat with hinata calling out 'nice serve' to tanaka before the realisation sets in that theyve won, but jusstttt

idk like it certainly wasnt BAD, i still DEEPLY DEEPLY enjoyed it, but just personally if i'd been the director i wouldve done it differently

also!! because it was from his first person POV we didnt get to see kenma's face on the 'idiot! the ball hasn't dropped yet!!!' line, which was pretty disapointing ngl i rlly love that scene how it is in the manga

ok enough complaining tho back to the infinite list of stuff i loved about the movie

the camera work! good god the camera work was so fucking cool

it really made the space of the gymnasium feel 3d and real, the way the camera would move over and through the net with the ball helped emphasise the physicality of the players and the court

i know jack shit about cinematography but yeah, after the sound design the camera work was prolly the best thing

the post credits scene was great!! daishou trying and failing to neg kuroo cracks me up every damn time

and the set up for the kamomedai match was so hype

speaking of; the very vague forshadowing for hinata's fever of him having flushed cheeks and not being all exhausted after the game like the others, auughhh my heartttt

if he isnt already, this movie will make kenma one of your top 5 haikyuu characters

seriously i love how they switched the perspective and framing so it was a bit more like kenma was the 'main character' of this match and hinata was the 'rival'

overall the movie was cool, creative, and a really clearly loving adaptation, im more than happy to be paying to see it again tmr lol

i'll probably have even more to say after seeing it a 2nd time so tune in for that ig

[tetsukuroos]

k.t | Take A Chance

Part 5. Maybe He's Not Too Bad

There used to be a time when seeing my name pop up every so often on my timeline was exciting. A new story after every game. Nekomata Izumi scores the final shot! Nekomata Izumi leads her team to victory! Now, after a year, seeing my name just makes her angry. It’s crazy how something could change so quickly, seeing my name spoken about with such greatness and pride, to then everything about me being tied to meltdowns and failures, and now with malicious undertones. 

I don’t remember when I started to care, having ignored the past two posts that included my name. I don’t remember when I found the time to check my phone amidst the training sessions with Nekoma or the attempts to hide from the Fukurodani team. I don’t remember when a casual glance at the time turned into hours of scrolling through a thousand responses, most of which called me a leech, a desperate bitch, a disgrace. All I could remember was why I tried to leave everything behind in the first place. Through the hair pulls and tears, I remembered why I tried to forget. The pain never got any better or any easier to manage, it only hurt even more that people wouldn’t let it go. They wouldn’t see past the one thing that happened, wouldn’t acknowledge who I once was or what I was once able to achieve. 

I ran a hand through my hair with far greater rigorousness than intended, letting out a choked sob at the throbbing pain circling my head as strands of my hair came out along with my fingers. I tried to turn the phone off, to turn it face down and leave the room, but I couldn’t. Every second I spent scrolling was because I couldn’t help myself. Curiosity fuelled my fire. 

Three short knocks tapped against my door and I tried to suck in a deep breath as the man on the other side called my name.  “Izumi? I’m coming in,” Kuroo said quietly. So softly that I couldn’t help but think it meant someone cared– couldn’t help but cry a little harder. 

“Go away Kuroo!” I yelled, voice strained, tone unforgivably weak. 

There was silence and I thought that maybe he had listened to me for once in his life, but then the doorknob turned and the door creaked open. My eyes widened, realising the state of myself and my head whipped to turn away from him, his reaction unreadable. I heard the door knob click as he closed the door behind him and soft footsteps padded forward shortly after. 

“What are you doing here?” I couldn’t help but shout, pressing the palms of my hands against my eyes, willing the tears to stop flowing. “Get out!”

“I’m not leaving,” He whispered. The bed dipped beside me, holding his weight up as he scooted an inch closer. “I just… wanted to make sure you’re okay.” 

“I asked you to leave!” I yelled, finally turning back to him. My hands acted on their own, pushing furiously at his chest. He didn’t budge, only flinching at the movement but regaining himself once I started crying harder. 

My head was pounding. As if someone was hitting my head with a brick a million times over. The tension in my shoulders was unbearable, holding the weight of a thousand thoughts and regrets. I widened my eyes when my hands came back to their original position, sobbing loudly into the corners of my arms. 

“I’m sorry–” I blubbered. “I didn’t mean to– I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Kuroo..” The inner corners of my eyes were on fire, burning as another tear fell right after the other. “Just please leave me alone, I want to be here alone.” 

“I don’t know you well enough to know what to say to make you feel better,” He said with a small grin. I looked up at him with furrowed eyebrows, scoffing at his response.

“What?” 

“But I’m going to sit here and wait for you. You can yell at me, you can hit me, you can swear and you can do whatever you need to. You can pretend that I’m one of those people that says shit but knows absolutely nothing about you.” He continued and I couldn’t keep my eyes off of him. Off of that gentle smile, the warmth of his eyes, the care in them. 

“But I’m going to wait. I’ll wait until you’re feeling better, and then I’ll leave.” 

Wait. Patience. The one thing I’ve always hoped for. The one thing I wish people would have done for me back then. I looked at him through the tears soaking my eyes, I sat through the silence he offered, waiting for a response. Just waiting. 

My head dropped, my chin touching my chest, and my body leaned forward, pressing my forehead against his chest. I let go of my lip, red and bruised from biting it, just wanting to cry. I just wanted to cry. The sobs came harder than before, ripped from my chest, and laid out on the floor. My stomach hurt, and cramped as I tried to catch my breath and my head began to feel light, as if someone was finally holding the bricks that slammed against me. 

And there he sat. With a soothing hand rubbing the back of my hand, he sat there and waited.  I don’t remember how much longer we were in the room. All I remember was that Kuroo waited until I was feeling better, and then he left. 

Masterlist | Next

ˋ°•*⁀➷ Take A Chance Synopsis

After a year in hiding, Izumi Nekomata is tasked with coaching the Nekoma High men's volleyball team after her father falls ill. Izumi reluctantly agrees despite her past with the sport and swallows her pride to fulfill her father's wishes.

Meeting the rowdy team and their charismatic captain, she is taught to love what she once lost and let go of what had been holding her back.

ˋ°•*⁀➷ Pairing

Kuroo Tetsurou x F! Reader

A/N: Took me a minute to post this because uni has finally started up again!

[lilimonarch]

Overthinking the Injury - Haikyu!! Oneshot

WC: ~4452

Yaku has been overthinking a little too much lately. His fencing performance has not been to par and he needs to redeem himself if they have any hope of qualifying for nationals. He has his strategies planned out and everything is going to according to plan! Well... until he hears a cracking sound on the strip and realizes it's from his ankle.

Or

Yaku sprains his ankle at a fencing meet but decides to keep going anyways.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/56901724

~

Yaku has been overthinking everything as of lately.

School was being more annoying than it should be, his fencing was not as good as it should be, and the Nekoma Men’s Fencing team was on a very annoying losing streak as of lately. If there is something Yaku hated more than his perfectly functional techniques not doing their job, it was losing, as a team. Of course, in preparations to hopefully break their losing streak, Nekoma was up against Nohebi Academy this weekend… with Coach Nekomata unavailable, and Kuroo was stressed.

This left the big three; Yaku, Kai, and Kuroo, in the locker room on Friday night with their captain pacing back and forth, overthinking everything almost as bad as Yaku was, at this point of the evening. “Guys what if I like… die,” Kuroo looks at his fellow third years, his squad, with a look of idiotic worry. “Who’s going to coach the second years and do all this work if I die?”

“Your vice-captain, me.” Kai sighs.

“You’re not going to die,” Yaku rolled his eyes, but deep down, anxiety was eating at him. He knew he was off his game, and if they continued this losing streak (half of which was Yaku’s fault, he swears it), he could kiss their shot at nationals goodbye. “Just don’t get injured between now and tomorrow, we beat Nohebi, and then all is right in the world.”

Kai shakes his head, locking up the room as the three of them exit and start to finally call it a night. “Yeah, we’ve just got to hold the fort down. We can last one competition without Coach. You got this, substitute coach Kuroo,” Kai gives a gentle punch at Kuroo, only feeding into Kuroo’s shenanigans.

“Damn… it sounds like I got demoted. Captain sounded way cooler!”

The three of them start to walk home, and Yaku notices his mind starting to wander. It wanders to their last meet the weekend prior against Fukurodani, losing an embarrassing 2-7, and much to everyone’s surprise, Yaku couldn’t snag a single bout. Sure, all his bouts were close, two 5-4 losses and a 5-3 loss against Bokuto, but that was terrible! He was considered one of Nekoma’s best, how did he manage to fumble all his bouts the week prior… that badly?

Practice this past week was not much better. He kept consistently losing to Kuroo, the only person who was much of a challenge on their team, and he even let Lev score two whole points on him. Lev! If Lev is even managing to score points on him, it must be a terrible practice.

It's just a slump, Yaku figures. He just needed to get his groove back and all would be right in the world. All he had to do was get it together, try a little harder, and not be the reason Nekoma did not qualify for nationals because of their regular season record.

“Yaku?”

Yaku shakes his head, and he realizes he is standing at the intersection where he is supposed to turn while the others continue forward. He was totally overthinking it all again. "Gosh, sorry guys. I must have zoned out. I’ll see y’all tomorrow,” he flashes a grin and starts to turn away but is stopped by a gentle tap on his shoulder. “What is it?”

“We got this,” Kuroo reminds him, giving a dorky thumbs up. “Nohebi? It’s lightwork. We got tomorrow in the bag.”

“Oh… right. Of course we do!”

~

This meet was far from being considered lightwork.

With Kuroo running from one end of the gym to the other to make sure all the sheets were filled out to each squad’s liking, and Kai being off making sure the blades passed weights, it left Yaku alone in his thoughts to overthink his strategies until it was time to face the Men’s Nohebi Academy Fencing team: Kuguri, Numai, and that bitch called Daishou.

Yaku stammers at the thoughts. No, be polite. It’s Kuguri, Numai, and Daishou. Just their captain.

Of course, Yaku was the first one on the strip, against the bitch.

He knew Nohebi Academy and Nekoma had their… rivalries, to put it lightly. Especially Daishou and Kuroo specifically, which extended to the rest of the main lineup. With Daishou being their captain and likely their best player, the feeling could be described as annoyed when Yaku figured he had to go first.

No matter, he’s fenced Daishou before, and beaten him. He’s got this.

The referee is about to start the clock. “On guard. Fencers ready? Fence!”

The first of many exchanges had begun and Yaku, finally, seemed to be getting his groove back. The first point was his! The second point was his! He was winning 2-0 in the first match of the day with no issues!

Maybe we do have this in the bag.

“On guard. Fencers ready? Fence!”

Out of the gate of this exchange, Daishou is practically charging at him. Yaku’s eyes widen in surprise as the sudden attack completely catches him off-guard, and Daishou scores his first point. Even beneath the mask, Yaku can vividly see the evil smirk from his opponent. Almost as if… he’s being mocked!

That bitch!

Okay… in and out. It’s just one point. We just have to go back to what we were doing before. It was working, no problem!

Yaku takes another deep breath, gets into position, and the next exchange begins. Strategic movements turn into attacks of desperation, as Daishou scores again and again. Here, the overthinking began again, because in theory, Yaku should be winning the match! He’s doing everything right and correct but Daishou can just run in and take points which should be rightfully his? Yaku was winning 2-0 before, how is he trailing 2-3 now?

“Yaku! Shake it off!” Kuroo shouted from the sidelines, Yaku nodding from underneath his helmet and banging the sides of his legs. He’s better than this, and with the way the match is going, he can’t afford to lose, especially not to Daishou.

It was eternally frustrating, watching his opponent rush in recklessly and still score those points. The worst part of it all, Yaku knew that was Daishou’s game, to bring his spirits low enough to where the bout would be lost, and he would be off his game for the rest of the match!

Daishou was taller, and would have point priority from the start, but Yaku was quicker. Sure, Daishou was good at offense, but Yaku was great at defense. All he had to do was retreat faster than Daishou could advance. All he had to do was use the open distance to hit that stupid blade and go in for the attack.

All he had to do was work a little harder.

“On guard.”

Yaku took a deep breath in, feeling the flow of his blood throughout his body, his presence anchored to the ground.

“Fencers ready?”

He extended his blade, bringing it back to position with the tip of the foil aimed for his opponent’s eye-level. He was not going to lose.

“Fence!”

As predicted, Daishou practically ran at him right out of the gate, but Yaku was prepared this time. His back foot retreated, followed by his front, repeated until he felt the space open up for him-

Crack!

It all happened too fast for Yaku to even understand what happened. One second, he was retreating on the strip, attempting to open the distance to prepare his parry-repost. The next, he had heard a crack-like noise from his left ankle before he came crumbling to the ground, his entire side hitting the gym floor with a bang.

He didn’t hear the halt! From the referee. He didn’t hear how the rest of the gym went silent. All Yaku felt was the instant throbbing in his ankle, the odd sensation not perfectly described as pain, but a numbness.

Yaku immediately went to sit up from where he was pathetically laying on the ground, going to clutch his ankle while he watched Kuroo jump up from his spot on the sidelines. “Yaku!” He shouted, rushing to his side with a spare hoodie in hand. “Don’t get up too quickly, okay? Does it hurt?”

Yaku looked up, still trying to formulate his words and compose himself after the adrenaline spike while Kuroo used the hoodie like a sling, lifting up Yaku’s ankle and elevating it as the referee neared the duo, Daishou standing at the other end of the trip with a look of almost concerned. “Do you need five minutes? We can call a medical timeout and…”

A medical timeout?

“We’ll take the five minutes,” Kuroo answered, the referee setting a clock for five minutes. While they waited for the athletic trainer to arrive, Yaku just sat there, acknowledging the growing awkward feeling in his ankle.

No, this can’t be happening! It’s just a little twist, I moved it wrong. It’s not actually sprained. Not now! Not like this!

“Yaku.”

He blinked a few times, looking up to see Kuroo lowering the makeshift sling, the medical trainer now standing between the two of them. “Hi, Yaku, let’s see what’s going on with you, okay? What happened?” She asked, and Yaku tightened his fists as he tried to form the words.

“I fell on it.”

On the inside, his brain was running a million miles an hour. He’s never needed a trainer before, he’s never missed a competition before, he’s never had to forfeit! What if he has to forfeit this match, what if he’s benched? There is nobody at his level who can replace him, they would be absolutely screwed! He could kiss their chance at nationals goodbye and it would be entirely his fault!

Oh my God, Kuroo was left in charge! The one meet where Kuroo was left in charge of the team, Yaku goes and gets injured! He’s screwed!

The trainer brought her hands to Yaku’s ankle, pressing down on an area he already felt swollen up, Yaku doing his best to suppress a wince at the awkwardness. That’s what worried him the most. It was not exactly pain; it was something else. He was not sure if not being able to feel the pain was a good thing or a bad thing. “On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad does it hurt?”

Seven.

“…Three?”

Again, it didn’t necessarily hurt. It was more an awkward feeling of his muscles being ripped apart on the inside, but maybe the pain was starting to set in. Yaku figured that it would be fine, he could still fence… right?

“I think you’re fine.”

Oh, thank God.

Slowly, Yaku got up on his feet, slightly staggering as he tried to stabilize his left foot again. His eyes move to the score on the strip, down 3-2. He hasn’t scored a point in over a minute. “You ready to go?” The referee asks him, ushering Kuroo back to the sides.

Yaku holds the helmet in his hands, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his chest and the continuing throbbing in his ankle. He looks at where Kuroo is sitting on the edge of his seat, a face of worry. Shifting his stance so his weight is balanced better, Yaku flashes a smile at his squad before turning to the director and giving them a thumbs up.

“Alright. On guard, fencers ready?”

It’s only the first bout, and Yaku hates how unsteady he feels on his feet. That being said, it was not as if he had better options. He would not be caught dead losing his only bout just to get injured.

Not yet at least.

“Fence!”

Once again, Daishou is practically charging at him with his blade far out leaving his body open. Yaku attempts to retreat once but feels this numbness start to grow, crouching down on instinct and stabbing up as Daishou does not have time to stop himself.

Two seconds and a sigh of relief later, the point is awarded to Yaku. He has to bite the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from outwardly wincing as he returns to the starting line of the strip, gripping his blade extra tight.

“Nice! Good job!”

“Way to go, Yaku! That’s how we do it!”

That’s the reason he did this. This sport was practically his everything… and he was plenty good at it too. The added bonus was watching that smirk wipe itself off of Daishou’s face. Yaku was back in this.

Back in it enough to win.

He wins. He watches as Daishou walks away in defeat, and the bouts continue on and Kunimi is easy enough to beat.

He wins again.

His ankle is getting worse.

Yaku keeps overthinking.

“Damn, you can’t be serious, why is it always on me?” Yaku rolls his eyes and groans at the realization that both Nekoma and Nohebi were completely tied 4-4, and the winner would be determined by this final bout; Yaku’s final bout. “Kuroo, how do you sell to Daishou? You said you were going to beat him 5-0!”

Kuroo huffs as he sits down on the bench with a huff as Kai helps Yaku hook into the machinery, sneaking worried glances while Kuroo rants about his damaged ego. “I don’t see you criticizing Kai for selling too!”

Yaku rolled his eyes, shifting his weight onto his good foot as he clipped the wires on. “Well at least he got points, Kuroo.”

“Okay… so it was bad. Just focus on your game, little guy.”

“Oh- you little…”

Kai gives Yaku a pat on the shoulder, Yaku wincing at the sudden increase of weight on him. “Are you okay?”

No.

Stop overthinking it. You’re fine.

“Yes,” Yaku forces a smile, even though his ankle is starting to kill him. “I’ll be okay.”

Yaku heads up to the strip, Nohebi’s anchor on the other end. He was taller and stronger, and a much more offensive player (as Nohebi does, Yaku can’t help he will always be a defender first). While the bout proves incredibly difficult at first, Yaku manages to get his footing with a healthy lead of 4-1.

It’s as if his past matches have come to hunt him when his ankle starts to throb.

It’s the desperation as his injury worsens to get that final point and get the hell off the strip.

Yaku will admit it later, it was a reckless first lunge forward which is the start of the change in pace. He stumbles a bit on the lunge, leaving his torso wide open for a counterattack from Numai.

Current score: 4-2.

“Shake it off! Focus!”

The next exchange begins, and Yaku is advancing further into the other side of the strip, holding his blade out in hopes of that final point. When Numai advances towards him, Yaku rushes in for an attack which is quickly parried as another hit lands in the center of his chest.

Current score: 4-3.

“Come on! Watch your distance!”

Yaku can feel the pressure building up, and the ache in his foot as he is practically limping back to the starting line of the strip. He can feel eyes looking down on him, as if he is weak.

He’s not weak. It’s just a slump.

His breath is shaky as he gets into position again, giving a nod to the referee to show that he is okay, he has to be. Once again, Yaku is rushing it, but so is Numai. The distance is closing in and the shouts of his teammates begging Yaku to get out of that battle, to reassess his options before going in again, go unheard.

The infighting continues, and Yaku is pushed down in hopes of getting a clean shot in the flurry of remises when he is aiming from a lower level. His back knee is touching the ground as Yaku desperately tries to hit something, anything to end the exchange.

Crack!

Yaku’s ankle twists the wrong way, feeling the bang as the side of his foot hits the floor.

The machine blares white, an off target from Yaku’s side.

Current score: 4-3.

Yaku shouts in agony before he falls to his knees, clenching his fists as he tries to catch his breath, the pain traveling from his foot up to his lower leg. His vision blurs from the pain as tears threaten to pour right in the middle of the strip. Yaku’s used up his only medical time out, he can’t back out now.

In the corner of his vision, he sees Kuroo jump up and call a timeout, the referee nodding before she can card him for the outburst. “Yaku, just breathe. Alright, I’m going to help you up and then we’re going to talk strategy,” Kuroo brings his hands to Yaku’s, slowly getting him back on his feet.

For the first time in ages, Yaku is genuinely doubting himself. His breath is heavy, beads of sweat are pouring down his forehead, and his hands are visibly shaking. “I’m so sorry, Kuroo,” he mutters, looking at his opponent across the strip. “I don’t think I got it.”

“Oh, shut up, you got this in the bag. Lightwork, remember?” Kuroo leans down a bit and forcibly lays his hands on each of Yaku’s shoulders, pushing weight down to stabilize him properly. “You got this. You’re the one who’s up, remember? Why the hell are you trying to force that last point when you’re winning and there’s only 15 seconds left? Especially on an injury, just play defense. Wait for him to mess up, he’s the one rushing for a point, not you.”

“Timeouts over, on guard?”

“You got this.”

Once again, Yaku is left alone on the strip.

His breath is shaking as Numai stands across the strip, getting back to where they stood before that unexpected pause. Behind the mask, Yaku watches as Numai flashes him a smile, genuine even.

Right, I’m up. I got this.

“Fencers ready?”

Play defense, Yaku. You’re good at defense, just do that.

“Fence!”

Immediately, Yaku holds his blade out, threatening a touch as he slowly retreats backwards, biting the inside of his cheek as his ankle throbs with ever step. 15… 14… 13… 12… There are only 11 seconds on the clock now as Numai cautiously tries to find the opening to tie the game.

Defense. Just play defense.

10 seconds left and Numai charges in with his blade too low. There! That’s the opportunity Yaku was waiting for! A quick tap on his blade and the tip is flying straight to the middle of Numai’s chest. The opening has never been clearer as the buzzer in the background goes off, glowing with a satisfying green.

“Touch left. Score is five to three, bout,” the referee finally lowers their hands signifying the end, and Yaku breathes a much-needed sigh of relief. Taking off his helmet, he brings it under his arm and goes to shake Numai’s hand.

They won! Losing streak? Eradicated. They won and nothing went wrong! Yaku is practically beaming as he makes it back to his teammates, but collapsing right into Kuroo’s waiting arms, his ankle absolutely doing him no favors.

Shit. Almost forgot about that part.

“Yeah, sit the hell down. We’re getting the trainer back, and you’re not getting on strip again for a while,” Kuroo sits Yaku down, Kai propping Yaku’s left leg on the rest of the bench.

“What? Kuroo, I swear I’m-” a shock of pain soars in his leg, and Yaku is immediately shut up. “But what about shaking hands? Signing scores?”

Kai shook his head, ruffling Yaku’s hair much to his dismay. “I got that. You don’t move a muscle,” the vice-captain nods before heading to the referee to do all the sportsmanlike activities while Kuroo runs to get the athletic trainer. It leaves Yaku alone to gather his thoughts, trying to take his mind off the never-ending pain in his ankle.

What if he’s out for longer because he pushed himself too hard?

What if he hadn’t, and they had lost? What if this was the deciding match before their win-loss record became too low and they were out of the running for nationals?

What if when he returns, he won’t be able to fence the same way he did before?

“Um… Yaku?”

Yaku blinks a few times before adjusting the ice on his ankle, looking around him to see the three players from Nohebi Academy surrounding him, Numai being the first to hold his hand out for a handshake which Yaku accepts. “Good game, hope the ankle is not too bad. I just came back from an injury; I know how much it sucks.”

“Yeah, thanks. Good game,” Yaku is typically the much more talkative one, but now, he can hardly muster the energy to do anything but briefly compliment his opponents and shake their hands before laying down across the bench, waiting for Kuroo to return, with Kai to keep him company.

He even shook Daishou’s hand. That really took a lot out of him.

“You really pushed yourself there, didn’t you?” Kai comments, sitting on the bench beside Yaku, taking an absentminded swig from his water bottle. Post-match fatigue was no joke, but that’s just Yaku overthinking it again. “We would’ve found someone to sub you in. I’m sure Yamamoto would’ve jumped at the idea of being on the main lineup and delivered…” he pauses. “Or were you overthinking everything again?”

Yaku’s face lifts up at the thought, glancing at Kai who had this all-knowing soft smile only someone like Kai could wear. “How did you…”

“It’s obvious. Both you and Kuroo were stressed out of your minds about this. Him more outwardly than you, but it’s pretty easy to see,” he chuckles, handing Yaku his water bottle.

“This means everything to him… and to me. I haven’t been doing the greatest at practice, I wanted to redeem myself!” Yaku sighs, bringing his hand to try and ease the pain in his ankle. “I’m usually so reliable, last week really shook me up. And now?”

“You like fencing, right?”

“Yeah! Of course!”

“Then remember that part first. It’s a sport, stop overthinking it. Sure, there are all the strategies, but you’re just a good fencer. It’ll get you out of your head,” Kai smiles, Yaku absentmindedly nodding at the advice before seeing Kuroo start to make his way back.

“Yaku! How are you doing, buddy? Hanging in there?” Kuroo jumps up from the side, the same athletic trainer from earlier arriving.

“Hanging in there is one way to put it.”

The trainer shoos the two other members of the varsity lineup to the side, repeating the same process as earlier in the day. “I want you to be honest this time when I ask if it hurts, okay?” She sighs, rather exasperated. If Yaku was not going to before, the glares from Kuroo and Kai are enough to keep him honest. The trainer moves her hands to the middle of the ankle, before Yaku immediately winces at the touch. “Yeah, sorry about that. It’s pretty swollen, definitely a sprain. I’m going to wrap it up for you, and I’m sure your lovely teammates can help with your stuff and making sure you don’t put any weight on that for a while.”

Yaku feels his heart sink. No weight on it, how is he supposed to train? “Any? But…”

“Don’t worry about that. We’ll make sure he stays off of it. Right, Kai?” Kuroo smiles and Kai nods, the trainer finishing the wrap and taking the ice away, giving a quick smile to the three of them before leaving them be.

“Guys, I swear I’m okay,” Yaku gives a nervous laughter, moving his foot down to the ground and attempting to get up, immediately being stopped by Kuroo.

Kuroo shakes his head, looking at how the rest of their team is doing at the meet. “No, Yaku. You’re deflecting. It’s fine, stop overthinking it. You’ll be back before you know it. If that’s not before next competition, that’s okay too. We’ll manage.”

Yaku looks at the sincere look from Kai, many nods of agreement from Kuroo, and lifts his leg back up to be elevated and lays against the bench. He brings his hand to cover his face as silent tears start to pour. “Yaku? Are you okay?” Kai asks.

“Of course I am! It’s just, the gym lights are bright. Pollen making my eyes water,” he chuckles, though the words come out in between sobs. Yaku can’t even tell why he is crying: if it’s the pain in his ankle, the constant overthinking, or everything finally settling in, and he did not actually fail his team.

He’ll be okay.

A few minutes go by and Yaku finally composes himself, sitting up and seeing the younger squad across the gym. He’s trying to get a good look at the strip, but there are too many people in the way and it’s hard to see from his current spot. “Guys, can we go watch the second year’s match?” Yaku asks, gesturing to his wrapped ankle.

Kuroo immediately grins, but instead of sling Yaku’s arms over his shoulder like expected, he goes down and swoops and Yaku up into his arms, carrying him easily. “Oh my gosh, Kuroo! What are you doing?” Yaku shouts, giving annoyed glances to both him and Kai, who is bursting with laughter on the sides.

“The trainer said no weight on it, I’m just doing my job and making sure of it,” Kuroo shrugs, carrying Yaku across the gym with Kai close behind, giggling relentlessly. “Just stop and relax. Who’s going to judge?”

Yaku huffed, but his shoulders sank, and he finally relaxed. Kuroo sat him down on the bleachers closer to where Kenma, Fukunaga, and Yamamoto were fencing. For the first time in a while, he wasn’t overthinking anything.

Maybe a break doesn’t sound too bad-

“Fuck. Guys, I think you actually have to prepare my funeral,” Kuroo exclaims slightly dramatically, curling up and covering his face. “I think I’m going to die.”

“Kuroo?” Kai turns at the captain’s antics. “What are you even talking about?”

“The one meet where Coach Nekomata leaves me in charge, our best player gets injured… and continues on an injury! On my watch! He’s going to kill me!” Kuroo shouts, groaning at the prospect.

“Yeah… shit. My bad, you’re actually screwed,” Yaku jokes, much to the annoyance of Kuroo.

“Not helping!” Kuroo huffs, leaving the other two laughing in the middle of the bout, Yaku’s smile going from ear to ear.

For real this time, maybe a break doesn’t sound too bad.

[mothmanssweetsucculentass]

Corin Wickes Headcanons

Yeah I’m doing Corin too, sue me

How’s that undiagnosed anxiety disorder treating you queen?

But in all seriousness she really should get that shit diagnosed

Unfortunately she can’t for one major reason: her parents

Corin is not only homeschooled, but currently lives with her parents who aren’t exactly the best people

I mean the girl literally apologizes for existing, her parents aren’t treating her right

Her parents applied to Victoria Housekeeping for her under the assumption it would teach her discipline and manners and whatnot

Within the first week of Corin being there, Lycaon realized what was going on between Corin and her parents and vowed to be a better, more caring role model for her

He has her working the most out of everyone else

A normal person would hate having such a busy work schedule but Corin loves having so much freedom at her job

She also enjoys the opportunity to be helpful, useful, and making a difference within the organization

Like? No one yells at her? Or insults her? Or is stuffy and stringent the way her parents are? Sure, being a maid entails certain kinds of rigidity and strictness, but to Corin, the way Victoria Housekeeping Co operates is the biggest breath of fresh air she’s had in her whole life

Corin is obviously not allowed to have weapons at home, so Lycaon lets her store her sawblade within one of the many safe houses their company owns. Just like how Lycaon gifted Ellen her shears, Corin’s sawblade is also a gift from him

She originally had it outfitted with the same ice technology his boots and Ellen’s shears have, but kept slipping on the ice it created, and also had a harder time sawing through things in her path from how slippery the ice made everything. So, with Lycaon’s permission, she removed the feature altogether and made it a normal saw.

You’d think a girl so frail and timid and the epitome of cringefail girlfail sopping wet cat would also be physically weak. You’d be wrong

I mean it’s already canon her and Ellen are the strongest when it comes to pure physical damage, as evident by Corin’s introduction in Nekomata’s quest, as well as the entirety of chapter 3.

Corin says it has something to do with genetics probably, something about her dad being a former performing strong man or something

Corin also internally explodes every time Ellen compliments her on her strength. It doesn’t happen a lot, but when it does, Corin loses it

Has the BIGGEST crush on Ellen and is 100% not normal about it

Like, hello? She’s a sheltered girl with strict parents who now gets to see arguably the coolest person ever (in her eyes) on a daily basis

Corin is even more nervous around Ellen than most people for obvious reasons

She also damn near had a heart attack when Ellen passed out in front of her the first time. She grabbed so many pillows, several water bottles, four different sport and energy drinks, several protein efficient snacks, and even had a first aid kit at the ready just in case

Ellen normally hates it when people get fussy over her passing out, but considering this was the first time Corin had seen it, and the fact Corin went overboard in trying to help, Ellen let it slide

Now whenever Ellen crashes, Corin is the first one to make sure she’s okay before carrying on with her work

Ellen also knows it’s Corin who leaves candy and lollipops on the pillow next to her for when she wakes back up

Corin has since stopped worrying about Ellen every time she crashes, but insists to the point of threatening others with her sawblade that she be the one to see to it that Ellen is comfortable

There was once an incident where Corin, distracted from Ellen walking into the room, cut her hand whilst repairing her sawblade. She then bore witness to both Lycaon and Rina holding a suddenly frenzied Ellen back, who was fixated on nothing but the blood dripping from Corin’s palm. Lycaon took Corin out of the room to attend to her injury once Rina was successfully able to knock Ellen unconscious.

Ellen spent the next week apologizing to Corin and explaining how her shark thiren instincts are hard to control. Corin accepted every apology, but frankly didn’t need one, because that incident was probably the most exhilarating thing to happen to her outside of hollow missions with the company

Ellen was fixated on nothing but her in that moment, which did wonders for Corin’s fragile nonexistent ego

Every time Ellen interacts with her in any capacity, Corin gets major butterflies

Ellen insists Corin doesn’t need to refer to her as “Miss Ellen” but Corin disagrees. Corin thinks Miss Ellen absolutely needs to be treated like royalty

Corin would quite literally die for Ellen. Corin fell for her, and she fell HARD

Corin keeps a small box under her bed full of trinkets she likes. So far the only occupants of said box are buttons from her first teddy bear, and the metal piece shaped like a bear that Ellen bit into shape for Corin

Ellen is indirectly to thank for Corin’s fashion sense as well. At one point the shark girl mentioned how the Victoria Housekeeping Co uniforms were “giving Lolita menhera Jfashion” to Lycaon in passing, causing Corin to look up the style on Inter Knot (on one of the work computers, no way her parents let her have one of her own) and falling in love with it immediately

Corin already had quite a bit of sewing experience having been taught home ec by her mother, so it was no surprise she picked up outfit and plushie making very easily

She’s responsible for a lot of the accessories the company wears on their uniforms. She enjoyed making the bows and jaw head and neck piece for Ellen the most. Obviously.

Ellen often rambles to Corin about school and work related stuff. Corin soon realizes that she’s the only one Ellen does this to.

“Why?” She’d ask Ellen at one point during one of their conversations. “You’re a good listener. Plus, you give better advice than Lycaon and Rina combined.”

How Ellen didn’t notice how red her face got in that moment, Corin has no idea

Lycaon often contracts Corin longer hours than need be. Corin insists she can work the full duration, but Lycaon always makes some excuse about having enough help already, and that she should just go on a break, and that he’d clock her out, etc etc

Lycaon you ain’t slick we all know you’re doing it so this girl can actually go out and do things she enjoys

Corin has no idea that that’s the actual case, but she’s certainly grateful with how much free time Lycaon allows her

When their schedules line up, Ellen even invites Corin out for boba or lunch with her friend group

Corin is almost always quiet during these meetings, not wanting to intrude on Ellen’s quality time with her friends, but to her utter shock, Ellen is constantly making sure Corin is included in the conversation

Corin, being the sheltered kid, also hasn’t tried enough things, so of course Ellen insists on getting her fun snacks and roping her into seeing a movie or going to an arcade with her friend group

Corin gets so wrapped up in it all that by the time she gets home, she misses it immensely

Work is always “good”, when her parents ask. They never press for details thankfully due to Corin and Lycaon both making up an excuse that maid work is private, there’s NDA stuff involved, blah blah blah

Eventually Corin is able to buy her own cell phone with her salary. Her parents don’t know about it.

Her parents don’t know a lot of things about her, including the fact she’s actually been able to experience a normal teenage girl’s life for awhile now

Lycaon always insists that if Corin ever feels her parents are too much, she’ll always have a permanent home in Victoria Housekeeping Co. Corin gets closer and closer to accepting that offer every day.

[gentlehousenicole]

Site Updates and Headcanons: v.1.6

UPDATE: Some of the following is considered outdated as of v.1.7

I usually do these for every phase/part of an update instead of doing a broad one for the update on the whole, but honestly v.1.6 was so dense and changed things so dramatically for the Cunning Hares there's no way I could have summarized it all in even two posts.

So this time I had Nicole react to things in rough real time to when I experienced them playing the game. I found that to work a lot better, especially with how things went this go-around, and that I also like that approach better for a role-play blog anyway.

Given that, my Nicole has already expressed her thoughts on most of the stuff that happened in v.1.6, and you can find them (caution for untagged spoilers) by digging back through my archive.

I wrote a "brief" recap under the jump though, for anyone who's followed these and wants my OOC thoughts in one place. I'll only be talking about the aspects that pertain to Nicole, but if you want my thoughts on the game as a whole as it is right now...Well, you know where to find me.

Before that though, here's a quick housekeeping rundown:

I've updated and rewritten basically everything in the About and Deep Database pages in lieu of what happened in v.1.6 and where I decided to take my verse's present status quo because of it. If you haven't read them in awhile (...or at all), you might want to now.

I took the link to Deep Database off the pinned post, as I felt it was misleading and confusing. You don't have to be a HoYo/ZZZ vet to read it, and in fact it might even make more sense if you're not. The link is still in the Menu dropdown box; though if you're having problems accessing it on mobile let me know and I'll put it back with some other link text.

OK with that sorted, as per Anton's bro, here there be spoilers.

Right, let's get “Echoes of Silver” out of the way right off the bat. This one hurt. The story leaves it ambiguous in its denouement - and it has to - but, especially since you start seeing Anby show up alone wearing her old uniform a lot afterwards, I interpret the end of Anby's agent story as depicting the breakup of the Cunning Hares as we've known them: What Anby does is such a flagrant betrayal of trust and disregard for the Love her teammates have for her, I can't see how their relationship could recover from it.

Given that, I'm having “The Price of Hope” explicitly depict Anby quitting Gentle House to become a solo freelancer carrying on the name and legacy of Silver Squadron. I am also having my verse show that this is a catastrophically stupid idea given how jaw-droppingly horrifying a concept Silver Squadron was (Anby's guilt and criticism of her past allegiances feel tokenistic and halfhearted to me), and because Anby's actions go behind the backs of her current team (and found family), hurting them quite badly as a result. Especially Nicole.

I want to stress, this is not a criticism of the game's writing in this case: “Echoes of Silver” is overall a well written story (if too wordy, heavy and emotionally intense for my sensitivities) that accurately depicts the central character making a string of unimaginably hurtful and destructive choices. The only thing I'm changing is following the implications it raises to their logical conclusions.

I especially like how, once they realize what she's done, Nicole and Nekomata give Anby back what she gave them by hiding the spy camera in the doll, which ensures Anby is unable to run away from Soldier 11 forever. An almost literal Trojan Horse, symbolizing how truly despicable and deceitful a relationship built on bad faith really is. This both showcases Nicole's true Cunning, while also conveying the maelstrom of emotions she must be feeling: One who was once a trusted friend and family member - indeed, one who Loved her - is now the enemy. As hurt as she is though, she does what she needs to do, teach her, and this is paralleled nicely with what Anby and Soldier 11 later end up having to do to Twiggy.

I've changed the timeline a bit and combined the destruction of Silver Squadron with that of Dennis', who got ascended by Nineveh in the Old Capital Metro Ruins. It just seemed silly to me to have two different formative incidents involving the Defense Force, the Old Capital Metro Ruins. Soldiers Zero and Nicole and not have them connected.

Anby is absolutely in Love with Soldier 11, though: They're the Doomed Yuri to go along with Lycaon and Hugo's Doomed Yaoi, and there's also the implication that Anby is abandoning her “current partner” (Nicole, despite the fact I see Anby's attraction to her as unrequited) to go back to her “ex”. This can also be paralleled with those who want to return to a Golden Age in Eridu that they've mythologized to the point they're misremembering it (though I may play with this, as I like the idea Eridu was really a utopia at first...But then stopped being so after a certain point) instead of working to keep building New Eridu.

Speaking of Nicole, as I always am, imagine how much worse this must feel for her, someone who, in another life, was so lonely it destroyed her. I see her being pretty shattered by Anby's betrayal and subsequent abandonment of Gentle House: the one thing that can break even the unflappable Nicole Demara is to break up her family. All of which is to say...

In the present setting of my verse, Nicole has rebuilt the Cunning Hares from those Anby left behind, and one new member...

Trigger's story is more a concern for @faethons (my IRL sister who plays Belle and Wise), but I'm so taken with her (and so distressed by “Echoes of Silver”) that Trigger's become the central figure in this moment of my personal verse going quite a bit canon divergent.

In my default verse (and I believe @faethons' too, as we share most of our headcanons) Trigger is not a member of Obol Squadron, and never has been. She retired from the Defense Force after the Fall of the Old Capital and the death of her squadmates (her team being called Eleusinian Squadron this time instead of Lyre Squadron, because the mythology allusions in the canon story are...quite bad, if I'm honest), and has worked as a wandering, nomadic gunslinger and Hollow Raider ever since.

Trigger visits Sixth Street not infrequently and is a big part of the siblings' lives. She has served with Soldier 11 before, but they are not as close as in canon, and much of her character arc involving Obol Squadron becoming her new family plays out with the residents of Sixth Street instead. This includes the Cunning Hares.

Trigger is particularly invested in looking after current and former Defense Force members, so she still gets heavily involved in “Echoes of Silver”, which plays out largely as it does in canon (with the key exceptions I outlined above). In fact, she's even more involved this time, because the culmination of that story is now about found families changing, healing and growing.

After Anby resigns from Gentle House, it is Trigger who takes her place (they even synergize together perfectly in-game, and these “New Cunning Hares” are my current main team), even to the point of settling down and moving into the Hares' apartment. As in canon, she always wanted a beautiful home where she can cheer people up and keep them safe. Trigger even begins a romantic relationship with Nicole, bonding over their shared life experiences, hardships, traumas, and desire to take care of people, especially each other. I quietly introduce this in a series of posts I've made over the past month or so. In this way, Trigger becomes the Light Mirror to Anby's Dark.

This is also all the more lyrical given it was Nineveh who changed Trigger's eyes, effectively blinding her.

I can and will write with Anbys and canon depictions of the Cunning Hares - I'll just treat it as an AU -but for my personal verse, to the extent I can say it, as of v.1.6 Gentle House is now Nicole, Trigger, Billy, Nekomata, Amillion and Bling, and I'll be writing from this “new normal” by default.

[greycappedjester]

Hi! Can we get more background on Asahi... I want to know what it was like for him growing up and also how he managed everything in Hogwarts along with Daichi and Iwaizumi. I find it all so fascinating!

Sure! Spoilers for third story so under cut

1.) I definitely think Asahi had a lot of lingering trauma/PTSD from getting attacked when he was three. It was at such a young age that I think it contributed a lot to his general nerves and belief that the world can be a very scary place or that moments of peace can change at any moment.

2.) That said, I think being around Noya who has such a "yeah, the world can change and surprise you...isn't that amazing" attitude has really helped Asahi cope a good bit and learn that not all surprises have to be scary. What attracts Asahi most to Noya is how much genuine wonder Noya has for the world (including the scary bits) that Asahi can't help but feel it, too. It makes him feel better....maybe he'll always view himself a bit as a monster; but, he's accepting Noya's view a bit more, too that monsters are wonderous, too.

3.) Asahi is genuinely amazed by Healing and always has held a strong admiration for it. I imagine he saw a lot of Healers as he was younger as I can't imagine the werewolf change was easy and he just thought it was amazing that tehy could heal things and make him feel better. He finds it incredible that he can do that, too, now and--even if he won't admit--he really goes above and beyond to be a great Healer. Nekomata is ecouraging him in a lot of St. Mungo internships. Asahi probably has already racked up a good number of volunteer hours during the summer there.

4.) Funny enough though, Asahi actually isn't sure he wants to work in a hospital. He's fine with internships and training, he just doesn't know if he wants to do it for a job there. But he knows he loves Healing and wants to be a Healer.....he's, um, not really sure where that leaves him and is still trying to figure that out.

5.) Asahi's roommates actually guessed the werewolf thing back in first year since it was so suspicious that Asahi was always gone and sick for the full moon. They then spent another couple months debating how and if they should even mention it to Asahi since they didn't want to freak him out. Daichi eventually did. Asahi did freak out and basically avoided them out of fear for a week before they got him to listen and tell him they were cool with it. His roommates are a very large reason why no one else has ever suspected Asahi even with his frequent absences around full moons. They cover for him well and have kept their pact never to tell anyone (Iwaizumi never even thought of mentioning it to Oikawa). Basically, that Gryffindor dorm aren't exactly close friends (they have their own friend groups for the most part) but they are ride-or-die when it comes to protecting each others' secrets.

[0fps]

zenless zone zero initial impressions! tldr; i'm having a BLAST

ough where to even start. i'll try to talk on things by category, but story-wise i basically made it to the part you meet the AI named fairy

i also consumed 0 beta content so i actually went into this pretty blind.

story/characters

i'm not really far at all to say whether the plot itself is good or bad, but god DAMN are the characters pulling their weight (in a great way)

i genuinely love the much more comedic/silly aspect they're going for here (especially since most of the previous gachas i've played are much more serious in tone), the public security guy just shouting a billion profanities at the beginning was hilarious

i'm glad they've started with a relatively small and focused cast, and each one has had a chance to shine and i genuinely love all of them so far lol, they're all so fun

i also love that the mcs really feel like their own characters that you just play through as opposed to self-inserts. i actually had a hard time picking which mc i wanted to be but i ended up picking wise (who i only just noticed has bags under his eyes?)

in terms of visuals, i LOVE how its a mix of comic-book styled story-telling (which are SO fun to read through, I really also love looking at all the illustrations, that alone makes the story infinitely more engaging) and animated cutscenes, and then your more generic visual novel-styled dialogue scenes

i very much appreciate that they let you rewatch the animated cutscenes (which is mostly just so you can replay the chapters but still) - now i don't have to be stressed about recording everything for giffing and eating up my storage! i do wish you could remove the subs though (maybe there is an option for it I didn't look too closely)

i will say, they don't really bother with the worldbuilding, they kind of just throw you into a situation and you pick up context as the game moves on. i actually prefer this from a story perspective, as its showing not telling (damn didn't know hyv could do that), and the main story itself is straightforward so far so i loved it there

BUT once we got "outside" the main story and started going through the "everyday gameplay" stuff it was just a lot and i do think we needed a bit more handholding lol. i only kind of knew what I was looking at or what things were because i've played hyv's other games. like the wishing system actually felt SUPER glossed over which was kind of surprising for a gacha game? like it didn't even make me WANT to pull (and i didn't)

edit: on the above point, i guess i didn't play far enough, they start gradually introducing things the more you progress, so it's fine i think lol

combat/gameplay

the combat feels awesome as expected, but it also feels a bit too button mash to win right now

particularly with all the character swapping i feel like i have no sense of what's going on and i just press buttons when the ui tells me to. sure it feels good but there's also no particular intent with it.

i also don't have a good sense of what triggers the chain attacks yet, right now it just feels like it happens when it happens

but i think it will become more intuitive as i get used to the combat and the difficulty arises, i was definitely already getting the hang of timing the character switch parry thing which is sooo satisfying to get

i also demo'd all the standard (?) characters and surprisingly rina was by far my favorite! god she feels SO incredibly smooth to play, i'm probably going for her first (haven't pulled for anything yet, i'm not spending ANY type of currency until i better understand what everything is)

runners ups were nekomata and grace, they were also super fun! koleda was probably my least favorite

i'm also a bit surprised how much i like the ranged characters, i think i might like them more than the melee ones which is a first for me. it might be both their speed and because when you're not super up close to the enemy all the time its easier to see the indicator to parry

the cunning hares trio are also all really fun to play, billy is probably my favorite he just zooms all over the place lol

music/audio

surprisingly i wasn't paying too much attention to it, but from what i did listen to it sounded perfectly suited for the environment. i do wish the battle music switched up more during the hollow dives though

there was one track that plays in the home base area that i ABSOLUTELY adored though, and i was excited to hear the track from the stock up web event lol

for the dub i usually switch to the mandarin dub but the english dub has actually been really fucking good? so i might actually stick with the english dub for this one

it also helps me because there's a lot of segments here where its hard to play and read what they're saying at the same time

graphics/performance/ui/mechanics

i'm surprised the game defaulted to 30fps, but it really feels like it runs like butter at 60fps. i did have to adjust quite a few settings though because i think some gave me a bit of motion sickness, but its all good now

game itself runs super well, i only experienced lag when i had a bunch of combo chains going on at once, but is more or less very smooth

my one gripe is how zoomed in the camera feels, i wish we could zoom out a bit more. kinda ties into why i think i like the ranged characters more

the UI also feels kind of unintuitive tbh, there's a LOT of stuff and a lot of menus and weird buttons for a lot of things and its just overwhelming. kinda feels like they leaned a bit too hard into trying to make things look "cool" and "unique" as opposed to what's "practical"

like for example maybe i'm just stupid but it took me way too long to figure out how to select characters for a party because its that sideways arrow thing on the right lol

[tina-19w]

Halloween parade (MonoShin Fic)

"Come on, Hitoshi. It will be an experience unlike any previous dates we've had before." Neito argued to him.

Hitoshi exhaled and made a grunt before nodding his head, agreeing to what the blond had laid out for him minutes before.

The two of them had had a heavy week as they had had to cover for two fellow agency members with their night patrols, in addition to the patrols they had in the mornings. Just that day they had had a chance to rest in the afternoon before going to their night shift.

They were both lying on the couch, Neito on top of it. Hitoshi was reading one of the horror novels he had bought last week while stroking the soft hair of his husband, who had interrupted him to explain the plan he had for their anniversary. 

After graduating from U.A., they were made the offer to accept them into the agency where they now worked as sidekicks with the possibility of later founding a secondary agency to the main one. The two boys had accepted immediately because it fit in with the life plans they had made in their senior year of high school. Their dating had begun in the middle of their sophomore year and had lasted three years before Neito had proposed to Hitoshi. Although they were very young they were obvious that they loved each other and wanted to live their whole lives together, so they got married in their twenties, after four years of relationship. At first, their parents did not agree because of their young age, but after a year of marriage, they had shown them that it had been a good decision. 

The following week, specifically on Friday, they were going to be two years old and Neito had persuaded Hitoshi to let him organize it. The blond loved making plans for various occasions so the purple-haired young man agreed. What the boy planned was a date at the amusement park they used to go to in their high school years. On those dates, Halloween was celebrated the whole month and there would be a parade just on Friday, what better place and time to go? Hitoshi loved everything related to the horror genre and Neito loved making her husband happy (and being called the best organizer.) The problem Hitoshi had been hesitant about was that Neito was easy to scare and not very resistant to the things Hitoshi saw. Every time they watched a horror movie together, Neito couldn't sleep for a week. The last time they had gone to a horror house he had fainted. But the hero would not give up and insisted that the more exposure the more endurance he would have. So far his theory has not come true.

"Are you sure you'll be comfortable, Nei? I don't want you to have to suffer through something like this. It's a date for both of us, not just me."

"Don't worry about me, mon violet. I have everything under control. Besides, you know I love going to that park because of that French café that has those delicious breads and those crepes you love to eat, the buttery ones, even if you refuse to accept them" Neito kissed him on the nose as he let out a giggle.

Hitoshi gave another grunt and without another word, continued with his reading and stroking that soft hair. He just hoped Neito wouldn't faint again if they decided to enter the horror house.

~°~°~|~~|~|~|~|~|

Neito felt fabulous about himself with his anniversary date plan. He always tried to organize events in grand style and without any unforeseen events, everything had to go perfectly even more so when it came to celebrating his marriage to the love of his life. He had to think a lot about certain problems that could arise and how to solve them. After asking for some favors from some colleagues and the help of his friends (and Hitoshi's friends, even if they were the boys of class A, although it pained him to admit it, it was worth it), Neito could say that everything would go according to the letter. 

At that moment the young couple was at the gates of the amusement park, disguised as the yōkai bakeneko and nekomata, with their masks and yukatas. Although Neito liked the French culture he also liked their culture, Hitoshi was happy with anything related to cats. Several people had complimented them on their costumes (feeding Neito's ego a little, but very little). It was the afternoon and they were both very excited to get on as many rides as they could. In the morning they had gone to their favorite restaurant, some of their closest friends had gone as well. They hadn't eaten anything afterwards, to avoid getting sick during the ride on the rides.

Neito liked rides where the attraction was speed and Hitoshi liked rides where the attraction was height. The tallest and fastest roller coaster was the favorite for both of them.

An hour before the parade started Neito pulled Hitoshi to the Ferris wheel, the taller young man rolled his eyes and asked him if they were going to do what a cliché date they did at the fair. Neito just smiled at him.

When their booth was at the highest point, the wheel stopped and Hitoshi asked him the same question again. Neito shut him up and told him to wait. A few minutes later something in the sky lit up. There were many drones with purple and yellow lights forming letters. Letters that touched Hitoshi's heart, bringing tears of emotion to his eyes. The letters said ‘Happy anniversary mon violet’. 

Neito would have to thank Bakugo and Kirishima for having achieved the exact colors he had asked for. The blond was feeling very happy. Seeing his blushing husband with a soft but sincere smile and slightly teary eyes told him that he had achieved his main goal. There was some cheering from the people below the game and in the other booths, even if they didn't know who they were cheering for.

The taciturn young man rushed at Neito, taking him by surprise. He hugged him tightly and kissed him after kiss on the face and then a long one on the lips. All the while murmuring I love you and thank you several times. Neito started to cry too from the emotion. Who would have thought that two of the most fearsome heroes for the villains were those two?

~°~°~|~~|~|~|~|~|

"We still have time to get into the last place we're missing." Neito let the other young man know. 

"Are you sure? We can just watch the parade," Hitoshi clarified to him.

"Sure as hell. I just need to go to the French cafe for a bite to eat and a drink. I need to have a bellyful of something if we're going into that place, to calm my nerves a bit,"

"I could also use one of those crepes..." muttered Hitoshi, taking her husband's hand as they made their way to the aforementioned place.

They both ordered the same drinks, a type of red fruit tea with coconut syrup and sugar decoration in the shape of two eyes. It was called witches' brew. Neito ordered a croissant filled with chocolate and Hitoshi his favorite butter crepe decorated with red jam and with more sugar eyes. Neito ordered another tea. He looked a little flushed and more smiling than ever. Hitoshi connected him to what had happened on the Ferris wheel.

When they arrived at the horror house Hitoshi was surprised not to see many people, the line was only about five people, all dressed from head to toe. Neito tugged on Hitoshi's arm excitedly and once they entered, Neito walked ahead. They passed through all the rooms and all the guys in costumes with no problems, Neito screaming but laughing afterward, hugging Hitoshi when someone disguised as a crazy guy with a chainsaw came out in front of them. But he didn't faint or feel bad, on the contrary, he looked very happy and excited. Just as they came out, the parade was starting. The people who made up the parade were leaving the same house of terror but through the entrance door.

Hitoshi hugged Neito before the blond ran after the parade. Ever since they had entered the terrifying attraction he had suspected that Neito was not quite normal and seeing him so excited and not scared only increased his suspicion. When he turned him around and kissed him he knew the truth.

"Neito, where the hell did you get alcohol from?" Hitoshi asked him. The blond was a little drunk. That explained how lively he was and how little fear had been incited in him by the people at the house of terror and the parade. 

"From the witches' brew," Neito whispered to him before chuckling and kissing him back.

"From the brew...but I drank that too and I'm sure it didn't have a drop of alcohol in it."

"Not yours, silly. Just mine. I told you I had everything under control," Neito kept whispering with his eyes a little closed. The alcohol had also calmed him down enough for the tiredness to finally catch up with him. This time Hitoshi laughed as he realized that his husband had somehow managed to convince the coffee barista to add alcohol to his tea. To his teas, since he had had two now that he remembered. He had indeed planned everything. I'm sure he had also planned for there not to be too many people at his favorite attraction.

"Let's sit down, Nei. Let's wait until we see the end of the parade and then we'll go home and sleep."

"But we can't sleep yet. I have something else planned when we get home" replied Neito in a spoiled child's voice. "Something that has to happen in our room but it's not sleeping" he gave a wink as he said the latter.

Hitoshi let out a laugh and whispered in the blond's ear, "If you manage to sober up before you get home maybe I'll also show you a little present I got you for the occasion".

Neito made a chuckle and replied in his ear, "Oh? I hope it matches the other costume I got." 

Hitoshi blushed again, pulling the blond to a bench that was close to where they were. Neito sat down next to him, resting his head on the purple-haired man's shoulder.

"I love you, my violet. I hope I have come up to your expectations this date."

"I love you too, Nei. It surpassed them by far, thank you for arranging it, although the important thing is that we both celebrated our marriage this way don't you think?"

"The love we celebrated every day, Hitoshi. But yes, I'd rather it was like this than going to a boring dinner in a fancy restaurant."

"Even if it was French food?"

"Mmm I might have accepted some year that, but yes, even if it was the delicious French food."

They stood in silence, watching as many people passed by after the parade in all kinds of costumes, both traditional and western.

"Nei, for the next time you want to have some cocktail themed to these dates, just tell me, we better go to some bar."

"Hahahaha maybe you're right this time, mon cher."

[falling-star-cygnus]

First time asking for a request...uhhh if you're still doing em. Have Billy angst of being trapped somewhere (my mental thought is under a building and some rubble keeping him pinned) and waiting for rescue, in a hollow. Make him wait a long time before help comes and debate morbidly what will kill him first: the corruption or the crushed body parts ;))

i am still doing requests!! honestly my inbox is always open to any kind of question, or thought, or request you want to share! -> i love interacting with you all, even if i don't respond right away

this is a great idea btw, yet another fantastic trope i wish was exploited more

im taking several liberties with the process of corruption :D -> brief references to Dismemberment in the beginning

All things considered, fighting an Ethereal inside a.. relatively small building was not their best idea. Neither was fighting four stories off the ground, but... well.

Nicole had taken on a client that had insisted on going with them- to make sure the Cunning Hares didn't 'pull the wool over his eyes' or whatever. Billy hadn't really listened to his tirade.

He probably should have, considering then he might've caught on to the fact that the client's Ether aptitude absolutely SUCKED.

Corruption was never a pretty thing to watch, sickening in the way stalagmite and geode petal like appendages forced their way through bone and skin and downright painful to hear the tortured wails that ripped through the air. Their former client clutches his- its?

"...Look.. if it'll make you feel better, I'll return it to you. Er- it's parts anyway."

-his newly orb shaped head and bashes it against floors and walls. Each crash spiderwebs across the feeble foundations and shakes the Hares up like a children's toys. The android's back hits the ledge of a window.

This wasn't good, if the fight lasted any longer it'd send all of them crashing down to their deaths. Billy couldn't even find stable enough footing to shoot! Which- normally wouldn't be too much of a problem, but he absolutely would not risk hitting the girls in this sardine can proximity.

He lines up a shot.

And is immediately knocked off center when Nekomata is flung towards him. Billy yelps and catches the small Thiren as softly he can, thankfully avoiding firing his gun directly into her back.

...that was going to keep him up later.

"ACk... sorry Billy," Nekomata yips out, leaping right back into the fray after getting steadied. Her cat paws navigate the crumbling floor deftly, even if her attacks don't do much damage.

None of their attacks did.

What the hell.... we need to get out. Billy takes aim once more.

"Billy!" Nicole scolds, struggling to keep her footing and bludgeon the Ethereal, "why aren't you doing anything!?"

"What? I'm trying, Boss!" he snaps back, uncharacteristically waspish in the face of their... situation, "do you want me to shoot one of you??"

Billy refocuses on the Ethereal as it lunges towards him, missing the way Nicole cringes and sputters out a cowed rebuttal. It- he was finally close enough that the android didn't have to worry about... less then friendly fire.

He slides into a dodge, lining up his shot just right as time seems to slow down and-!

The floor gives out under his foot.

The bullet goes wide, just barely glancing over the Ethereal's sickle like limbs. Thankfully it doesn't hit anybody, but Billy's head cracks into the edge that his foot fell into.

His vision sensors go white, blanking everything out in an awful burst of static.

The next thing he remembers is calloused- small- hands tugging at his jacket, raised voices, ringing, and then...

....ow..

Billy powers back on, very much against his will.

He doesn't remember powering off, ever, sure, but the bliss of unawareness had to be better than- whatever this was. His limbs hurt, and there's a crack over the right glass of his eye- and it hurts.

Heavy, heavy weight pins his lower torso down, and he can vaguely feel something stabbing between the plates of his stomach, but it's hard to make out what exactly it was in the dim surroundings.

Where was he anyway? Wasn't he just-

Awareness jackknifes through him.

The building. The building had crashed, the building had crashed and Billy was underneath it. The building had crashed and Billy had no idea if the girls had made it out okay. The building had crashed.

He could be rebuilt, if it came down to it, he could be repaired like nothing had ever happened, but their human skin couldn't. Circuitry sputters into a higher power under the wrecked metals of the android's body, a mimicry of the way a heart accelerates under stress.

The rubble refuses to budge no matter how much he scrabbles at it.

Not good... Billy thinks, giving the ground under him one final shove like it might dislodge the cement blanketed over him. The wires exposed on his arms spark in protest before deciding to fail entirely and send him back to the floor.

This had been... the worst mission the Hares' had taken.

How long had he been here already? How much longer did he have until he turned into an Ethereal? Billy had never been the best at sitting still, even when he was powered off- and he did even worse in cramped spaces. And now...

This was hell, the android was sure of it. A liminal space of torture just for him. He wanted to go back to being offline.

Why was he always getting the short end of the stick when it came to the Cunning Hares', anyway?

Billy swats that thought away as soon as it forms, feeling guilt settle into whatever was left of his wiring. It was a good thing that he took more blows than the others, he could handle it better.

He could be put back together better. Like nothing had ever happened. He could withstand Ether corruption longer, even if it made him feel sick and sluggish.

This was nothing.

...Are they even looking for me? A traitorous part of Billy's mind whispers. A seed that takes root.

But- of course they were! The android was an integral part of the team!

...wasn't he?

Green- like Anby's hoodie, or Nicole's eyes- flickers to life between the lines of his plating.

He was good firepower, at the very least. Even if Nekomata could hit twice as hard, twice as fast. Free labor? None of them really got paid to be a Cunning Hare.

...their- friend?

"Meeting Billy Kid increases my chances of survival by over 67.8%. I'm glad you're ok, Billy." "It wouldn't hurt him if he's wearing a thick sweater"

"Billy-!" Nicole had sounded worried... "Can't you be more like Nekomata?"

Metal creaks as black buds sprout between his joints.

The Cunning Hares' cared about him right? Sure- they didn't let him join in on hugs or affectionate leans or high fives, but that's just 'cuz he was metal! It was uncomfortable to touch his unyielding make.

That didn't really stop them from hitting him though, even if it didn't hurt. Much.

Physically.

...they weren't going to come for him.

The buds bloom into hauntingly pretty geometric flowers.