#oh and also tatara...

[three-eyed-rabbit]

2024....yay!?

Hoping to actually get some stuff done this year

Such as.

Feeling more comfortable posting my art/thoughts

Actually having fun with my life!

starting to write more oc fanfic

Getting my relationship more stable...hmm maybe grounded is a better way to put it

Start seeing a new therapist

Actually make friends that care about me

And also finish up my stupid game?

Actually interact with people on Tumblr

Find a better job

[tatatatatara]

It was this exact moment that I stop shipping Etora

[itsuki-minamy]

"K – LETTER STORY"

RED: "DEAR MY FUTURE SELF"

Translation: Naru-kun Raws: Ridia

Write a letter to your future self!

Anna watched the television program, which featured a scene from an elementary school classroom, without even thinking about it. Anna has never been to school. She is a Strain who has a powerful sensory ability, so she spent her days being a victim of experiments in a facility, and just the other day, she was rescued by the Red King Suoh Mikoto from "Homura" and came here.

On television, children write their questions and hopes for their future.

"Sounds interesting. Let's try it."

Totsuka, who was watching the same TV on the other side, smiled and said that.

When Totsuka thinks about it, he acts quickly. The reason he is a man of many interests is that he immediately does anything he has the slightest desire to try. Totsuka bought stationery and an envelope and gave them to Anna. Anna obediently accepted it.

"In how many years will you write to Anna?"

When Totsuka asked her, she thought silently. Anna's adult self was now too far away for her. For Anna, who has lived a tumultuous life from a young age and has just arrived in "Homura", the future seems to be within her reach...

"Five years from now?"

"That's great. Five years from now, Anna will probably be in high school."

He didn't think that Anna, who didn't even go to elementary school, would be able to attend high school, but he nodded slightly.

"What about you, Tatara?"

"Yes, I guess I should write too!"

After saying that, Anna watched Totsuka go down to the bar, then he went to his room and took a pen.

"Here, King, write something too."

"What do you mean?"

"Everything is fine. As long as it is written in your own handwriting, it is fine."

When Anna went down to the bar, she heard loud voices. Totsuka is about to give Suoh a pen while he drinks at the counter, and Kusanagi is polishing a glass and tidying up.

"If you can't think of anything to write, just sign it. Oh, I can think of an interesting King signature that I think would sell well."

"Don't sell, don't sell. What are you talking about?"

While she was there, Totsuka noticed her and greeted her.

"Anna, were you able to write the letter?"

She nodded and approached Totsuka.

"Did you write a letter to yourself, Tatara?"

"Eh? I didn't write it to myself. What I, or rather we wrote, was a letter to the future Anna."

Totsuka picked up the paper from the counter and held it up with the back facing Anna.

"Hey, we write too!"

Yata, who was sitting on the couch, raised his fist and said that happily. Kamamoto also shook his belly and laughed.

"It's like a message and it's fun."

"I made sure Saruhiko writes too!"

"You are very persistent, Misaki."

Totsuka folded the paper that seemed to have everyone's messages written on it and said, "Will you let me put them with yours?" and pointed to Anna's envelope containing a letter addressed to her future self.

Suoh watched the scene without thinking.

+++++++++++

"It's letter from the past."

When they got home from school, Kusanagi said that and handed an envelope to Anna.

Anna was stunned for a moment, then immediately remembered that event from five years ago. At that point, she entrusted the envelope to Kusanagi, who laughed and said, "I agree to deliver the letter in five years."

She accepted it gently and opened the seal.

[I don't know what to say to my future self, so I'll write down my current feelings, no matter what happens in the future, I'm glad I got Mikoto's red. I'm glad I came to this red place. That is what I think.]

That's what was written on the paper in childish and clumsy characters.

A lot has happened since then. Suoh and Totsuka are no longer there. Anna became the "King" who inherited the red of Suoh, and she also chose to part with the red by destroying the Slate.

Even so, she never felt any regret that betrayed her feelings when she wrote that letter. She also took out another piece of paper. There were messages written with various letters.

[How is the future Anna? Are you having a fun life? Anna is smart and she can do anything, so I hope you can do whatever you want. LOVE! Tatara Totsuka.]

[I'm sure Anna will be a wonderful big sister in five years. If you have any problems, please tell me in the future. I will always support you. Izumo Kusanagi.]

[Have you started laughing and talking? I don't know much about you yet, but I'm sure we'll be good friends in five years. Be careful! Yata.]

[Anna, have you grown up? You're probably still growing, so eat plenty! I'll tell you about any delicious restaurant! Rikio Kamamoto.]

[You don't have to deal with idiots forever. Fushimi.]

Looking at the letters on the paper, Anna's mouth went slack and she could almost hear his voice.

In the corner of the notebook, Suoh's name was written in a slightly deformed font, probably forced to write by Totsuka. With the same letter on that side,

[Live as you want.]

That was there.

Anna's expression looked like she was crying and laughing when she heard those words from someone who had lived the life he wanted and then passed away.

"It's okay. I'm living my life the way I want."

[eltheabberation]

ya know i've gotta ask seiakimon for the bingo

I LOVE THEM ACK <333

Ok uhh fuck how do I talk about them without my brain turning to mush uhh warning for incoherent rambling

okay so the end of the anteiku raid. I have reread that part of the arc so many times cause <33 Like Akira's worried about Amon so Seidou runs off while lamenting how he always watched her from the side and never could really confront his feelings for her and then he finds Amon and then he sees that he's injured and when Tatara shows up Amon tries to tell him to run away cause Amon doesn't want to lose anyone else he cares about but Seidou refuses because he says he's a ghoul investigator and he became a ghoul investigator to protect the people he cares about (his family) right so it also makes sense that he would bring it up here because he's also trying to do that he's trying to protect both Amon and also Akira to an extent because he knows she cares about him and he just wants them to be happy and oh god this whole sentence is an entire paragraph. Anyway Seidou gets chomped and AKIRAS REFLECTED IN HIS EYES BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH HES DYING HES THINKING ABOUT HER. Oh and also the way Amon SCREAMS when Seidou gets "killed." He literally throws away the very very tiny amount of regard he had for his own life and goes in to try and kill Tatara despite literally having lost an arm and also presumably a lot of blood.

Okay uh then we have Rushima which HOLY SHIT. They all tried to kill/save each other which is kinda funny but also SJFSFSFKJL. FUCKING. Okay and Seidou tells Akira that he wanted her to see him as a hero and then Akira calls him a killer ghoul but okay in my head she's not just telling him that she's also trying to convince herself of that and that killing him really is the only option or maybe I'm looking too far into this ANYWAY. And then Amon comes out to save both of them because he cares about both of them and he also closes his kakugan whenever it's in Akira's view because he's scared of her seeing him as a monster or something. And also even though Seidou's killed a ton of people and is probably considered a monster even by ghoul standards Amon's still like "oh he deserves a second chance." Okay buddy. AND THEN THE SCENE WHERE AKIRA SHIELDS SEIDOU BECAUSE DEEP DOWN SHE ALWAYS CARED ABOUT HIM AND SKJLHFIU:OIS:DJH And then Amon protects them to make sure Akira and Seidou get away safely and ACK

Also uh they go on a date that one time :) And Amon is too busy eating skewers to fully notice the extent of the chaos around him :) Ok my brain is mush now there's so much more to talk about but I lost like 12 out of 15 braincells while writing this which is probably nothing compared to the amount anyone who had the misfortune of reading this lost. Anyway uh if you can't tell uh I like this ship :>

[ladychiffa]

Overprotected

Chitose Fujinomiya’s thoughts || Chitose/Eiji || Chitose/Ichiban || Infinite Wealth spoilers

Read this on AO3

“Chitose, darling! How are you doing?”

“Fine, mom.”

“Oh, dear, why is it always ‘fine’ with you? Tell me what’s going on, how’s your day been so far…”

“It’s been… fine, mom.”

It hadn’t. The last couple of weeks had been the worst in Chitose Fujinomiya’s life. And the one she had been blaming for this was herself.

“Well, darling, you see,” mom said, and Chitose got the sense that the woman was uncomfortable even talking about this to her daughter. “I’ve been contacted by the dean’s office a few hours ago. They say you haven’t been attending your classes recently. They tried to reach out to you but had no luck. Are you okay, sweetheart? Is there any trouble?”

“No, I’ve just… I’ve been quite sick recently. Decided it was better to stay at home and focus on healing…”

“Oh, gosh! You should definitely see a doctor!..”

“It’s okay, mom. It’s just a bad, bad flu. I’m fine, just need a couple more days.”

Mom’s voice subdued at the end of the line.

“Well, if you say so…”

Chitose was lying. Physically, she was rather fine. However, ever since meeting Ichiban Kasuga, she started viewing the last three years of her life as a fever dream.

It all started with a simple DM. “Hey, Tatara! I've been a huge fan of yours ever since that exposé of the Fujinomiya business. Can we chat?” How easy it would have been to say no! “Do not chat with strangers on the internet,” her mom always said. But Chitose felt lonely. Upset. Invisible to her own family. So she tapped “Respond.” And only now did she realize this had been the biggest mistake of her life.

“Chitose, darling… You can talk to me. You know this, right?”

No, she couldn’t. She had made this mistake enough times in her life to know the true meaning of these words. If she were to let anyone in her family in on the truth, it would backfire instantly. No pocket money, no freedom to move around the city, no sympathy whatsoever. And a ton of accusations. “You’re a grown-up woman, you shouldn’t trust some stranger you barely know!” Yeah, she already knew this pretty damn well.

“Yes, mom… I’ve gotta go. I’ll call you later…”

“You’ve gotta go where?” Mom's voice got louder. “You’re sick, where are you heading?”

“To bed, mom, to bed,” said Chitose rubbing her forehead as her brain felt like splitting in half. “Bye.”

“Hope to see you soon, darling,” a confused voice said from the speaker of a trendy smartphone.

Chitose swiftly pressed the red icon and lowered the hand on top of her knees. She wouldn’t want to see her mom. She wouldn’t want to see anybody.

It was starting out too well. Chitchats after every stream. Praises, and flattery, and all the gaudy understanding a twenty-three-year-old girl may want. In no time, she found herself shivering at every DM beep. Day after day, all she’d been looking forward to was crawling under her blanket and reading what her mysterious follower had to say.

His profile barely had anything. There was a nickname, an edgy picture, and the interest: drama and exposé videos. That was it. Soon Chitose found herself lacking the means to feed her imagination. So she turned to the internet. She entered the nickname into a search engine and dove deep into the abyss of useless info. On page six, she found an account on another social media website. It had the same nickname and profile picture. But that wasn't all. There was also the age (twenty-nine at the time) and more old profile pics. Scrolling through them one after the other, Chitose found one that caught her eye. A dark room, a window lit by the streetlights outside, and a grim silhouette of a man standing sideways. The most striking was that, unlike all the other profile images, this one looked less quality, as if not appropriated from the net but taken on someone’s cheap smartphone.

Can one fall in love with a single grim profile picture? Chitose didn’t know. If only she had a friend to ask! But she was all alone, staring at a dim silhouette of a man on the little phone screen night after night. And it did feel like falling. As if she had lost her footing and was crashing down with no landing in sight. And then… then she got the message.

“Shall we meet?”

Her palms got sweaty in an instant. Her mind, confused between the images of a gleeful meetup and the scolding she’d get for going out without permission, was in a state of utter shock. Without even realizing what she was doing, Chitose typed, “Yes.”

She remembered entering the café they chose together. There were five tables, and all of them were occupied by different men. But for Chitose one glance was enough to send shivers down her spine. She knew it was him. It was the same old silhouette she was used to seeing on her screen. Disheveled hair, an oversized T-shirt, scruffy stubble and a cheeky smile on his handsome face. Barely feeling her toes, Chitose made a few steps towards the table. And was met with a blank stare of these deep brown eyes.

”Can I help you?” the man of her dreams asked quietly.

“Yeah…” she uttered in confusion. “I’m… Tatara Hisoka. We’ve agreed to meet here…”

She noticed a spark of curiosity in his eyes. He scanned her appearance in one thorough gaze, skimming her look from the short black hair to the sweatshirt and baggy jeans, vaguely smiled, and said to her face:

”I didn't expect you being this… It’s nice finally meeting you, Tatara-chan!”

Only recently had she remembered this first phrase. For years, she had been suppressing this moment in her memory. Trying to forget she was never what he wanted. And almost succeeding.

He introduced himself almost instantly. Eiji Mitamura. In person, he had no intention to hide his face or his name. This was what got her hooked on. For the first time, she had someone totally honest with her. And she felt that she could be honest with him. What a mistake…

It became their secret. Meetings in tiny cafés. Them sharing channel design and content ideas. Innocent chat at first, it swiftly turned into actual videos. Chitose was grateful for Eiji’s input. His ideas were bringing in hundreds and thousands of viewers. Numbers she couldn’t even dream of just recently. And, naturally, she was too excited to notice what actually mattered.

Eiji liked it hot. The new character design he brought for Tatara was a lot more revealing than her original drawings. He always had a quip on Chitose’s looks. Her hair being short was too boyish, her sweatshirts being huge were too ugly, her coy attitude wasn’t steamy enough. She was never enough. And that was what changed her.

She was used to thinking it was for the good. She was becoming a better person. Less repressed, more open-minded. Thinking critically. Turning into a woman she would admire. A strong one, the one to never be manipulated, never be pushed over by anyone, including her family. Funny… Isn’t this exactly who she became to him? Just a pushover, a puppet he would ventriloquize from?

But she didn’t notice. She was in love. With the dim image on the avatar, with the silhouette at the café table, with the quiet laughter and loud anger. And she hid it as well as she could. Meaning… it was painfully obvious. Her trying to seize his attention. Her grasping at straws to make him like her. For months, she would be giving herself up, little by little, thinking that she was being smart, and strategic, and doing everything to win him over. Little did she realize: it was his plan all along. To tease her, to make her betray herself, to make her easy to string along. And that first kiss in the dark alleyway at midnight… it wasn’t her winning. It was him accepting her as his voluntary slave.

It had always been bittersweet. Those sacred kisses no one would see. Those careless words that would make her shiver. That night she called her mom lying that she was staying for a sleepover at a friend’s house while half-naked on the floor in Eiji’s apartment with him running his fingers down her chest. It felt off, but she couldn’t put her finger on why. So she decided to focus on what felt sweet and ignore the bitter.

Chitose didn’t expect what would come next. One day, she spent almost eight hours DMing Eiji with no response. On the verge of tears, she finally saw a new message: “I’m sorry, baby, I’m in Hawaii. Don’t know when I’ll be back. Don’t miss me too much!” Soon, she realized that she did. She could almost sense his absence. The emptiness where he used to be. Chitose was quite used to her life feeling empty. But for the first time, no amount of online videos was able to cover it.

Eiji would fly in and out of Japan every now and then, leaving Chitose feeling like she herself was switching between two different countries: one with him in it and one without. And, little by little, the second one started to consume the other. Even when Eiji was in town, he had no time to see her. No time for chatting. No time to answer her DMs. No time to even open them sometimes. Chitose tried asking her mom of what this might even mean, but the suspicion in her eyes made Chitose stop questioning. She didn’t want mom to find out. Or, maybe, she didn’t want to know how deeply off these relationships actually were.

Chitose never cared much for her studies, to be honest. There was never a purpose to it. Just… having a degree would be nice for a promising young lady. She was attending classes and passing exams in order to simply be busy. Only when Eiji once again left for Hawaii she found a motive to get better at studying. No, it wasn’t an unexpected urge for knowledge. It was an exchange program she found in one of the many leaflets passed around the campus.

How proud of herself she was when she got accepted! It was as if all the hard work she put into it was paying off. Chitose imagined herself arriving at the Honolulu airport, calling Eiji’s number…

He didn’t pick up. Didn’t read her message. Utterly confused, she arrived at her dorm with other exchange students. She didn’t feel victorious. It was as if the finish line she was running towards and almost reached was getting further and further away.

Chitose raised her head, put the phone on the nightstand, and went to the bathroom. A tiny room with a shower, a toilet, a sink and a mirror above it. It was the latter that caught her attention. Or was it the image of a confused girl reflected there?

A glance in the mirror reminded Chitose of how she started to realize how wrong this whole thing was. She was standing right there with a phone pressed to her ear, listening to Eiji’s voice begging her to fetch something from the house of some old lady. “Please, I have no time to explain, just do what I’m asking you.” It was off. Eiji never needed her help. He was never asking her for anything. Especially anything illegal. And this venture seemed totally against the law. But the suspicion wasn’t enough for Chitose to refuse. She nodded, put the phone down, and ran off looking for a taxi.

Everything was going fine. She sneaked into the house, started flipping through stuff, trying to find anything that resembled the necklace Eiji described… and then she heard a door knock. There was someone outside. Someone out there to catch her. Panic went up Chitose’s throat. She couldn’t even breathe. She knew – now she was going to jail. What a fitting end to her stupidity…

She had to calm down. She forced herself to inhale, slowly filling her lungs with air. Then, she briefly exhaled and ran downstairs. Whoever was there, she was going to find her way out of this. After all, she was actually smart. And witty. And quite hot, if this comes in handy.

When she entered the hallway, she almost froze in fear. The uninvited guest… she recalled his image immediately. A yakuza. A former yakuza, to be completely frank. But still… When Eiji brought her that expose, she wasn’t actually betting on it doing well. But the video went viral in just a couple of hours. Chitose was over the moon when she saw the viewer count. She never expected the man in question to show up on her doorstep. Well, it wasn’t her doorstep, but nevertheless… It took her courage to smile at him, and nod, and keep talking as if everything was normal. Inside, Chitose was full of fear and panic.

When the man went to the bathroom, she instantly grabbed her phone and called the number on the speed dial. A familiar voice responded:

“How’s it going? Have you found it?”

“No!” Chitose whispered hastily. “I don’t know what happened… That yakuza from the video last month – he’s here somehow! I don’t know what to do!..”

“It’s okay,” Eiji didn’t sound troubled at all. “Do something to him. You’re good at martial arts, aren’t you? Just knock him out!”

“This musclehead?” Chitose’s eyes went wide. “There’s no way, he’s… huge!”

“Oh, come on!” The man was clearly annoyed. “Check the kitchen out. The old hag must have sleeping pills somewhere. Just drug him! And then drop him off somewhere…”

“Eiji… can’t you just come and help me? I don’t know how I would drug him…”

“I can’t,” he sounded dead-set on this. “Too busy.”

“Eiji, please!” Chitose started begging. “I‘ve never wanted this! Please, you have to help me!”

“Fine,” said Eiji reluctantly. “I’ll be there in two hours. Knock him out.”

“Eiji…”

But he had already hung up. Chitose sighed in frustration and ran to the kitchen.

Drugging Ichiban was much easier than she expected. He had no suspicion whatsoever. On the opposite: he was very open, and lively, and funny… It took strength for Chitose to not get charmed instantly. And, when he finally collapsed from all the pills and alcohol, she could rest easy and think.

This felt off. Digging through stuff in some else’s house. Lying her way out of being discovered doing this. Feeding sleeping pills to a stranger. She never wanted any part in this. Her only hope was Eiji arriving in time. So when the front door screeched again, Chitose ran to it as if her life depended on it.

“Is he unconscious?”

“Yes…”

“Good.”

Eiji didn’t seem okay. He could barely move his feet, pressing his shoulder against the wall and slowly making one step at a time. Chitose’s heart went out to him. If only she knew he was so unwell, she wouldn’t have called him.

“I’m sorry I made you come all the way here. Are you alright? Is there anything…”

“I’m fine,” responded Eiji with annoyance. “Where is he? We need to get rid of the guy.”

“He’s… in the backyard…”

Swearing through his teeth and stumbling, Eiji headed across the room. Chitose followed him, trying to decide if she could offer him her shoulder to lean on. The man was coping pretty well. It even seemed that every next step was getting less shaky than the previous one.

Eiji left the house and approached the guy lying face down on the porch. Barely maintaining the balance, he kicked the man on the ribs. The ex-yakuza was unresponsive.

“You fucking moron,” she heard Eiji’s voice. “Your rush to get here just ruined everything for me.”

“What do we do now?” Chitose asked nervously.

“Help me over here…”

Eiji sat down and tried to lift Ichiban from the floor. But the guy was way too big for him to handle, especially considering the tremble in Eiji’s legs. Chitose dashed towards him and grabbed Ichiban under the other shoulder. Together, they managed to lift the man from the ground. Still swaying, Eiji made a couple of steps towards the ocean…

“Where are we taking him?” Chitose asked, hoping her partner had a plan.

“We’ll drop him into the water,” Eiji replied, barely standing. “In this state, we won’t even wake up before his lungs fill up…”

Chitose froze at her spot. No way. Yeah, this Ichiban was a yakuza with a terrifyingly huge build, he was a dangerous man to be around. But just the few minutes they spent together were enough for Chitose to truly believe: he hadn’t deserved such a cruel fate.

“What’s wrong, Chitose?” Eiji turned his head and graced her with an annoyed glance.

“I can’t,” she said, unable to make a single step towards the water.

Eiji turned his body towards her, almost dropping Ichiban back to the ground. His angry stare made Chitose wish she had never picked up her phone that day.

“And what’s your suggestion, Miss Help-me-Eiji-I-don’t-know-what-to-do?”

Indeed. Wasn’t it her who begged for him to come and solve this? Now things were different. She wasn’t ready for every solution Eiji could come up with. So she had to make her own choice.

In the end, she actually convinced him to help her undress the man and drop him out on a public beach, hoping for him to get arrested and sent to jail. It took Eiji quite some time to consider this alternative, but he agreed, finding it much more promising.

“This idiot is lucky. If we keep an eye on him, we may even find what we’re looking for.”

Chitose was happy to agree. She never wanted blood on her hands. Especially the blood of a relatively nice guy who had done nothing to hurt her.

This was almost two weeks ago. It was then that she started to get the sense that something was wrong. And now… she knew exactly what.

But back then, she didn’t have all the intel. She only had what Eiji was willing to share. For the first time in their relationship, he seemed to be truly interested in her help. His instructions to Chitose were extremely hard to follow. She had to infiltrate Barracudas’ main office and get as much info on this Akane lady as possible. At first, Chitose thought that he was joking. It wasn’t an easy fit to sneak into a place guarded by one of the most fearsome mafia groups on the island. But when Eiji leaned towards her from the driver’s seat of his car and graced her cheek with his warm breath, Chitose felt her knees trembling.

“Please, Tatara-chan. Be a nice girl for me.”

A single kiss on the cheek sealed the deal. Now she was ready to die just to get a speck of his approval. Stupid, stupid girl… At least now she understood this.

She made it. She actually got into the heart of Barracudas’ operations. She would never share with anyone what she had to go through. There was no minute she felt safe. Not with Barracuda officers, not with Dwight, not even alone in the room he gave her. Scooping through the headquarters, she was finding more information about the situation with Akane. But nothing she saw there was as surprising as the appearance of Ichiban Kasuga.

His personality deeply shook her. At first, she naturally expected him to get furious, to harm her or let his two buddies do it for him. But he was… calm. Good-willing. Even stopped this Tomizawa guy from getting at her with his nosy questions. He offered his help in getting out, with just a simple expectation of guiding them through the building. Chitose had every doubt in his sincerity at first. But soon… soon she saw something she couldn’t forget or ignore. She saw the real Kasuga.

He was kind to everyone. Generous. He always tried to understand, not judge. It was as if, for him, there were no bad people in the world – there were just those he wasn’t on the same page with yet. This criminal named Ichiban Kasuga was everything the good guy Eiji never was. For her or for anyone.

Chitose fell hard. Once again, she found herself in love with her own perceived image of a human. But this time, this image wasn’t an avatar, it was real. A real, breathing human being she barely knew anything about. Every flaw she saw in him was turning into a hidden gem. He wasn’t stupid, he was honest. He wasn’t immature, he was energetic. The height and build she once found terrifying were now the reasons she found it hard to fall asleep at night. Just a thought of these big, strong arms holding her tight and pressing closer to this sculpted chest was enough for Chitose to elicit a barely audible moan. “Chi-chan,” said his imaginary voice in her head. No one ever called her that. It was weird at first, but soon she couldn’t get enough.

She felt that she needed to calm herself down. A relationship between an heiress of a wealthy family and an ex-yakuza was destined to head nowhere. With Eiji there was at least an illusion of a happily ever-after. With Ichiban there was nothing. He was old enough to be her dad, for god’s sake! Chitose had heard of the term “daddy issues” before, but only after watching Ichiban dive headlong into the ocean waves was she ready to admit she had some of her own.

Ichiban gave her everything she would never get from Eiji. Honesty. Acceptance. Approval. Sympathy. Wisdom, if one could call it this way. And what did she give him in return? Chitose sighed, looking pitifully at her image in the mirror.

Happiness just couldn’t last forever. Chitose realized this when she looked at the video platform profile she created for the clip of Ichiban. There were views, and likes, and comments. And a DM. Just one DM with a familiar avatar.

“Missed me much, Chitose?”

Of course, it was Eiji. He had been keeping an eye on them and now decided to join in. A humble smile, a clean look, a wheelchair… He looked so different from what Chitose was used to. But the core was the same. And she started seeing it as clear as day.

This was the moment Chitose finally realized what she’d lost because of Eiji. He gave her confidence, just to take it back whenever he needed to. He gave her strength, but only for it to be used in his interest. But what he’d taken altogether was the innocence and the faith in humankind. He even took Tatara, her alter-ego, and made it his puppet. She didn’t know this world was so cruel until she met Eiji. And she might have never known without him. But now it was too late to change a thing.

She betrayed Kasuga. She should have exposed Eiji from the very beginning, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. Recalling the list of consequences he promised her for treason, Chitose felt trapped. Her heart was ripping in half every second she was in the same room with Eiji. And when she finally shook the feeling off, it was too late to make things right.

“Ei-chan…” Kasuga said, looking at Eiji in confusion. In an instant, Chitose found herself barely seeing anything through a thick layer of tears.

Ei-chan… Even when the man betrayed him, putting his mother in danger, Kasuga couldn’t bring himself to hate the bastard. He looked confused, not saddened or furious. And for Chitose this was the last straw.

She would never be able to look Ichiban Kasuga in the eye. Knowing what she did to him. Again, and again, and again… She felt like the worst kind of person ever existing. A traitor to everything she believed to be good and admirable. A foolish girl played by someone bigger and better at the game. So, so much better…

Chitose lowered her gaze, so hard it was to keep staring at what she’d become. She used to be so different from this version of herself. She valued honesty over the facade, comfort over looks. She used to wear clothes because she liked them and not because they made her waist look unrealistically thin. She used to be so comfortable with short hair instead of these annoying braids…

The last thought truly caught her attention. She remembered that first meeting with Eiji, that first look of his, and those first words:

”I didn't expect you being this…”

Now she knew what they meant. These were the words that made her change herself. Her image, her life, everything around her. Including these long braided strands, she couldn’t keep her eyes off.

Chitose’s fingers combed through her hair almost intuitively. A second – and she dug the very tips into the intricate braiding on the side. She freed her hair and combed through it once again. And then her hand reached out to the scissors on the shelf. Strand after strand, the long pitch-black hair started falling into the sink, taking away the persona Eiji had been imposing over her own for so long…

When Chitose was done, the girl in the mirror truly seemed like a different person. A grown-up woman, but with a soft flair of the innocence she used to possess. Her eyes were glistening with tears of grief and happiness. She was finally free. Her mind was free of the ideas Eiji had installed. Her image in the mirror was free from his influence. It was Chitose’s turn, and she would be the one to show: she was no longer afraid of Eiji. That time was gone. Now she was stronger and wiser. And not for Eiji’s benefit.

“I’m sorry, mom,” Chitose said out loud. “I will tell you everything one day. But let me have just one more chance to become myself. I will be wiser this time. I promise.”

[one-vivid-judgment]

Hi hi! Finding out that their s/o works at a maid cafe, and out of curiosity visiting it. With Nanba, Tomi and Eiji please <3 Thanks!

Posting an older request tonight! Not posting requests chronologically do be like this sometimes, but in any case!

Yu Nanba

Honestly, you are not too sure how he’s going to react. You’re sure he wouldn’t get mad, but it would still be kind of awkward to go up to him and say “Hey, so I work at a maid cafe! Wanna drop by one of these days?” It’s mostly because you know Nanba and you’re not sure if that would be his type of environment that you kept it quiet for so long.

But alas, of course you two went for drinks one day and you had one too many and spilled the beans. And honestly? It wasn’t even that awkward—or maybe you were just too plastered to remember. In any case, Nanba just kind of... “oh, cool”-ed you. It was definitely the alcohol that had his ears red, definitely not the thought of you in a maid dress.

Okay, fine, maybe it was the thought of you in a maid dress. And of course Saeko got him to spill the beans when she saw him spacing out, and of course she found out where you work and brought Nanba with her. And maybe Adachi and Ichi also tagged along. Nanba is not really mad though, he’s got to admit he was kind of curious—and not just about the dress! You didn’t have to make a show out of drawing his name and a heart with ketchup on his omurice though. It was cute as hell, sure, but think about all the teasing the poor man will have to endure from Saeko, Adachi and Ichiban!

Eric Tomizawa

Chill as fuck when you tell him. “Oh, cool” yet again, but he does get curious about how it all works and starts asking questions sooner rather than later. Is it allowed to ask the girls for their numbers? Oh, it’s not? Damn. Hey, is there alcohol in the menu? Oh no, no reason, just wanted to know! Honestly, he’s not slick at all. Please, ask him straight up if he wants to come by one day, put an end to this torture, he’s very uncool.

Sure, he’s picked up clients at maid cafes before, but it’s never been the sort of scene he was drawn to. Way too cutesy—the food looks damn adorable and he’s got nothing against the cute girls, but if he has to pick, he’d rather go to a bar. The kind who doesn’t want to touch the food because it looks too cute to eat, really.

If someone asks if he gets giggly like a fucking teenager when he sees you making hearts and other cutesy gestures at the clients (but specially at him, of course), he will deny it, obviously. Again, he’s not slick. He’s very uncool, actually. You can tell he’s internally screaming. Honestly, the dress and the thigh highs and the cat ears are an afterthought, it’s the cute gestures that get him.

Eiji Mitamura

You can tell it’s not something he’s thrilled about. Probably, he thinks about all the men that must be asking for your number every day, ogling you, maybe even trying to touch you. Yeah, he doesn’t like that. He would very much like seeing you on that dress though—he came up with the new Tatara design, he 100% likes it hot.

How he found out where you work, you don’t know. He just drops by one day with the biggest smile on his face and charms his way inside. Your coworkers love him, but he only ever wants you to serve his table. He orders a lot to make sure you spend as much time as possible with him. He’s not shy about it, either.

If any other guy dares get flirty or handsy with you, he’s calling you over just to be petty. “Sorry, she’s busy. Go ask for someone else,” or something along those lines, he’ll say with the most infuriating, shit-eating grin. He can get plenty handsy himself after that. That maid dress is gonna see a lot.

[captain-astors]

🥺 thankyew... (replying to the tags of your reblog)

Then back at u, what are some AU/aesthetic that u think HouTata will fit in?

Oh joyous! Apologies that this took a moment to get to, I was brainstorming

Obligational dungeon meshi AU, I think I could see Houji as a designated noble Canary (one of these elves without the ear-notches, like the girl on the far right, if you don't know their job is just clearing out/inspecting dungeons when they reach a point of danger.)

Houji's division has had a lot of ingrained bias in the form of constant criticism about the "susceptibility of short-lived races to demons"

However some number of years back, Houji was assigned to clear out to clear out and kill a tallman dungeon master (Yan) who, no doubt was completely off the rails and in a state of mind that could not be reasoned with, summoning horrific monsters at every turn, but nevertheless Houji couldn't ignore how his motives and descent made perfect sense, they weren't completely different creatures at all.

So years later, when Houji is assigned to another dungeon and realizes this is the younger brother of that same tallman, recognizing from the copies of friends and family that Yan kept within his dungeon, even as Tatara slaughters his friends, Houji can't help but desperately try to save him from the madness of the dungeon.

But he's still ready to kill him if the world needs it.

Also I think the two criminal canaries with their notched ears under Houji's command should be Mutsuki and Takizawa

(Fun fact, I considered sketching this but the concept of twink Houji shaved two years off my lifespan, maybe he's a half-elf who got a lot of those tallman genes for his build or something)

Additionally I think it would be funny to put them in twst, not as students but as teachers. Houji teaches history or something at their rival school Royal Sword Academy and Tatara teaches the same subject at Night Raven College. They despise eachother but both of their students have already picked up on the tension and are betting on when the day will come where one of their arguments at the school competitions will turn into making out. Little do they know, it already has occasionally, just not publicly yet.

Aesthetic-wise, Film noir detective flick anyone? Bitter rivals where one of them was the culprit the whole time and the other knows that but is just trying to prove it? That sounds kind of like Death Note premise-wise actually... oh well, that does work.

Canon-based AU but Juuzou is added to both of their legions of "children", but simultaneously. He got assigned to Houji's division and thought it would be funny to go undercover as a ghoul because he knows how to smell and behave like one that just doesn't like to use his Kagune, and instead uses a quinque like Tomoe. Both of them grow fond of him simultaneously which becomes very awkward when all three get into a fight. Shinohara would have a heart attack if he knew his son had gained two more dads and they all sort of want to kill eachother. Do you see my vision. AU where Tatara is a dragon and Houji is a knight do whatever you want with that.

[ipsen]

Blank Canvas 20

THE FINAL CHAPTER!!!! VERY EXCITED AND THANKS ALL FOR READING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Read on AO3. content warning: sexual content Summary: The world keeps changing. Word Count: 6536 Chapter 19 Master Post

“After nearly a decade of victims, the Torso— revealed to be longtime taxi driver Karao Saeki— is dead. His body was found in a river in the 17th ward, stabbed to death by an unknown assailant with his eyes pried out of his skull. The Washuu Task Force is unable to determine anything else at the time of reporting.

“In addition, tapes of Saeki communicating with Kousei Kaiko, CEO of Kaiko Industries, have surfaced from a raid of his home. The details will have to wait, however, as sorting out the relevant tapes will take some time, or so claims Koutarou Amon, a lawyer and one of the survivors of the Priest’s orphanage.

“In other news, Sen Takatsuki is holding a press conference today to announce her new work: a graphic novel in collaboration with an unknown artist…”

———

“Listen, Sauce,” Hide stared at Haise from the living room, “I think the suit is more than enough.”

“I-I know!” Haise was still in the bathroom, his hands full of gel and his gaze boring a hole into their mirror. “I just— I should make an effort for this! It’s a press conference for the book— er, comic— no, I mean—!” He sighed. “You know what I mean; it’s important!”

“If you say so!” Hide put up his hands in defense. “Frankly, you look ridiculous, but that’s just me.”

“Hina did this for me for Red Tongues! I-It works!”

“Cool! Still ridiculous.”

Touka’s laugh rang from the pantry.

“T-Touka!”

A month had passed since the incident with the Torso, making it December. After another week’s worth of recovery, Haise was discharged from Taiwa, and he and Sen finally finished their work: The Folly of the Hierophants. Sen asked him multiple times if it was too on the nose, but he reminded her that people don’t know about V like she did.

To kick things off, Shiono and Shoeisha arranged a press conference for the day. It would be Haise and Sen’s first public appearance together, so they had to make it count. At least, that’s what Haise thought of the whole thing.

Not only that, but the news of Kaiko Industries’ possible connection to the Torso was being spread like wildfire; once the story hit the shelves, it was going to fan those flames.

“That’s the idea, at least,” Sen had told him. “But you know the public; a little too stupid for their own good. There’s a brilliant mind among them every now and then, sure, but plucking them out from the masses is always troublesome.” He remembered her looking him up and down then. “Sometimes, though, it’s worth it.”

The memory made him shiver, but it also reinforced his resolve. He had to make sure he was presentable for her sake.

After ten more minutes, he shut the bathroom door, making some minor adjustments to his hair, which he had slicked back. To accompany it, he was wearing a simple black suit and matching tie— the only ‘fancy’ thing in his possession. Hopefully, it would be enough.

Touka peeked out from the kitchen, a peeled banana in her hand. “Wow,” she whistled. “Not bad.”

“Meh,” Hide said. “I still think the hair’s too much. None of that signature Sauce floof, y’know?”

She smacked him lightly on the head. “I think the effort will be appreciated.”

“Thank you, Touka,” Haise said, nodding at her in approval. “I think so, too.”

“Gasp! Is our boy being sassy with me?” Hide’s mouth hung open, a hand on his chest. “You hang out with that Sen girl too much, young man! Respect your roommate!”

Haise laughed. “Sorry, sorry… Maybe it’s the nerves.”

“Oh, yeah; this thing’s gonna be on TV, huh?” Hide fetched the remote. “When was it, again?”

“This afternoon, but you don’t have to watch it; Chie must have something for you to do, especially with the other news that’s been going on.”

The two of them, as its collectors, were also overseeing its distribution with Tatara and the rest of Chì Shé, which was apparently more than a theater company.

Hide waved him off. “She wants a bit of a challenge, at least for today.”

It was weird to Haise that Hide was part of an underground effort to collect information on V. Though, given Chie’s ‘job’, it wasn't exactly weird, but the fact that Hide had worked in close contact with Sen right under Haise’s nose was baffling. He had discovered a side of his best friend that he would have never found out about thanks to— wait a second.

“Hide, did you know about Sen’s connection to…” he gestured vaguely— “everything when you signed me up for my job?”

His roommate looked over, confused. “What?”

Touka rolled her eyes. “C’mon, don’t be stupid. If you two were working together on V stuff, then wouldn’t that mean you knew each other?”

“Oh, that? No, we were working anonymously through Chie,” he explained. “Very sensitive information, y’know, and remember the part where I travel the world? Don’t want people knowing my face or name, right? We actually only figured each other out because I signed you up!”

Touka snickered. “So it was sheer dumb luck?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Hide shook his head. “I’m never gonna live this down, am I?”

“That’s right.” She ruffled his hair with a smirk. “Looks like Mr. Nagachika’s finally cracked, Sasaki.”

Hide opened his mouth to retort, but stopped when he saw Haise smiling. “Don’t do me like this, man.”

“Sorry, sorry…” Haise waved his hand about in a poor attempt at stifling laughter. “It’s just nice to know that even you’re human, Hide.”

“Uh, duh? I am extremely human! I have the proper circuit boards and everything!”

Haise laughed again, then headed for the door. “I gotta go now before I’m late. See you later!”

“I’m still right about the hair, by the way!” Hide called just before the door shut.

—

After a few ID check-ins with some vaguely familiar guards, Haise found his way into the back room of the building the conference was held at. Sen was waiting for him there, and she was beautiful. She wore a black turtleneck shirt, a blue flared skirt with gold patterning near the hem below her knees, and a cardigan faintly patterned with tiger lilies. Her hair was bound in a single ponytail gathered on one of her shoulders.

“Well, well, well; someone’s dressed up,” she commented upon seeing him arrive.

Haise rubbed his neck. “I-It is a conference, right?” He showed himself off a bit, albeit hesitantly. “Do you… like it?”

“Hm…”

She came up to him and studied him. Her eyes roamed his body, and at some points, he wondered if she was mentally undressing him. He didn’t mind the idea, and was rather used to it now, but he still swallowed while she adjusted his tie and brushed his shoulder. She smelled good, he idly noted, but that was always true.

“And lastly—” she reached up and roughly messed with his hair, ruining a half-hour’s worth of work — “there! Perfect.”

“H-Hey, I worked hard on that…!” he protested, even though he was laughing.

“You don’t have the face for it, sadly.” Sen shrugged and smiled. “I prefer you like this: all wild and messy.”

His spiteful side wanted to punch Hide the next time he saw him.

“Well, in that case—” Haise took her hair tie, making her breath hitch, and gently pulled it off— “that makes two of us.”

Her hair spilled over her shoulders, and she instantly turned scarlet. Recovering quickly, though, she pushed him with a chuckle.

Just then, Shiono appeared from the front. “Oh, Sasaki! Great timing; they just finished getting ready. You can come up whenever you’re ready.”

She fanned out her freshly loosened hair. “Oh, joy… Ready, Haise?”

He felt his stomach churn at the reminder of reality. “Not really, no…”

“Oh, hush— you’ll be fine.” She linked their arms together to reassure him. It worked… sort of. “Smile at the cameras, speak only when spoken to, and try to look straight ahead as much as you can, ‘kay?”

He nodded stiffly. “O-Okay…”

Even with those instructions, the flash of a camera as soon as they stepped out nearly blindsided him. Meanwhile, Sen smiled with familiar grace and practiced ease at the small crowd. He tried to copy her by waving himself, even though he was mostly squinting at the lights that were already beginning to hurt his eyes. He wished his glasses offered protection; this was gonna get bad fast.

There was nowhere to sit, which he expected, but Haise’s stomach sank to the floor when he thought of how long this might take. Combined with the sheer amount of people here, he was cruelly reminded that he was, in fact, dating a celebrity.

Sen took her spot at half of the mics on the table, while he positioned himself next to her at the other half, hands clasped behind his back. Hopefully, he didn’t look ridiculous, though the mere thought of that probably made it true. It was also kinda hot in here; was anyone else hot?

“Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting so many of you,” Sen said once it was silent, chuckling fakely. It snapped him back to attention. “The last time I saw nearly as many was for the announcement of The Black Goat’s Egg!”

Haise actually recalled the event. He had skipped class that day to watch it on TV, since it was in the middle of the day, once Hide assured him a hundred times that he’d get Haise the required notes and papers. Sen had dressed up far more fancily for that than this one, and now that he actually knew her (in more ways than one), he felt that she’d done herself a disservice.

A few more pictures were snapped, and he swore most of them were of him. It made sense, in a way; he was a novelty, or maybe an anomaly, in Sen’s otherwise lone wolf career.

That said, neither her clothes from that day nor the cameras were his main concern. His main concern was, still, the length of the previous presentation. As an avid reader, he hadn’t minded and wanted to pick her mind apart until it was laid out before him in all its glory, but now that he was standing with her as her equal, he found himself dreading the next two hours of his life. And that wasn’t even factoring in the fact this was televised.

“Well, before we get into questions—” Sen’s voice brought Haise back down to earth, as always— “I’d like to say a few words about the creation of this book.

“Firstly, I apologize to anyone willing to read my scribbles for the wait. Once The Hanged Man’s MacGuffin released, I found that my next idea simply wasn’t taking the form I wanted it to. All of the ideas were there, but the moment they left my mind, it turned into garbage, even by my standards!”

A smile and even a few laughs rumbled through the crowd. She was so good at this, Haise thought while playing with the cuff of his jacket. Maybe he wouldn’t have to do anything but stand here, but that also made him feel bad. It also sounded a little tedious.

“A week became a month and a month became a year, yet the page was still blank. And so, my editor, Shiono, suggested I try to turn it into a graphic novel. He said the new format might be inspiring. And so, after much searching, I chose this one: Haise Sasaki!”

At his name, he visibly coughed and tried his best to smile and bow. “H-Hello! I’m… I’m Haise Sasaki, and it’s… it’s such an honor to work with S— Ms. Takatsuki on her first graphic novel!”

It was probably best that he left out the fact that this was also his first graphic novel, and his first officially published work.

Sen, however, had other plans. “I wanted someone with as little experience as me with this sort of thing, but I also wanted someone who was very familiar with the style of my written works. I was very lucky that Haise here—” he flinched when she aggressively pronounced his first name, to the point that he had to adjust his glasses— “checked both boxes and more! He was able to color the canvas where I couldn’t, and the result will be released with the new year.”

She smiled at him, and he caught the familiar glint of affection in her eyes. He returned it with his own, like it was their little secret.

“Now, let’s get to questions.”

The first question was for Sen, and it was probably the most obvious one. “Ms. Takatsuki, what was your source of inspiration for this story?”

“Oh, the usual,” she replied with a knowing smile. “I’ll just say that it’s surprising what you find when you go where people don’t want you to go. I encourage you all to do the same. Experience life and adventure, then maybe you might find what you’re looking for.”

The second one was also for Sen. “Ms. Takatsuki, what were some of the unique challenges presented to you with the graphic novel format?”

The third one? “Ms. Takatsuki—” Yep. Sen.

“Ms. Takatsuki…”

“Ms. Takatsuki!”

For the next hour or so, Sen was pestered over and over by interviewers who were more content with treading familiar ground than taking a chance with a picturesque newbie. Though Haise was partially relieved that there wasn’t much attention on himself, there was a rare instance of irritation welling within him for Sen’s sake, and the way her fake smile widened with each new, more boring question told him she felt the same way. They were supposed to be partners— equals— yet no one was treating them as such.

And then— “Mr. Sasaki?”

He nearly jumped out of his skin. “Y-Yeah?! Er, sorry!” He cleared his throat, suffering some laughs. “Yes?”

This interviewer was younger, and looked a bit more timid than the others. Still, they were the first to take a chance on him. “Could you… Could you tell us what it’s like working with Ms. Takatsuki?”

The silence weighed heavy while the world waited for his answer. “W-Well…”

Sen was looking at him too, with that glimmering, curious gaze of hers. He felt his mouth go dry at the sight.

“Ms. Takatsuki is…”

What could he say that wouldn’t embarrass her? Public opinion wasn’t anything like talking to Hide or Touka; he couldn’t exactly be honest about the whole thing without raising some brows. Then again, this work was going to help connect the families of V to the likes of Donato and Saeki, so really, what was he even worried about?

“She’s amazing,” he said with full sincerity. “And I think you’ll enjoy what we’ve created together.”

Some time was taken for everyone to jot down his answer, and he wondered if he had been too brief. He also felt Sen’s eyes on him, but from the corner of his gaze, he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. He did, however, manage to catch her eye twitch when the next person stood, and begged for her attention. She must have thought her reprieve would last longer.

“Yes?” There was a slight sharpness to her voice.

“What are your thoughts on the ongoing investigation of Kaiko Industries and the Torso?”

A new type of silence settled in: anticipation. What did Sen Takatsuki think about the whole thing? Considering the messages and discussions around her work, it was just the type of thing she wrote and advocated for. Would she continue the pattern?

Some of the audience, particularly the older individuals, looked perturbed by the question. Perhaps they were people who disliked attaching real life events and politics to Sen’s works, who disliked the very idea of entwining the horrors of reality with the reliefs provided by fiction. Haise couldn’t understand that perspective. Art was influenced by real life, was it not? Stories about crime and punishment, corruption and exposure— were those not inherently political? It was like those people wished to drain the story of all life by ignoring its very real connotations.

He looked at her now, and saw she was smiling knowingly. 

“They’ll get what they deserve,” she said simply.

—

“Agh, I wish I could’ve said more!!” Sen, sitting in the passenger’s seat of Shiono’s car, complained.

The conference concluded without a hitch. After questions, Haise and Sen were asked for extra photos, and they revealed the title of the book as well. Shiono was driving them out now, helping them keep a low profile.

Haise, seated at the back of the car, tilted his head. “Why didn’t you?”

“I like writing, that’s all.” He heard the smile in her voice. “It’d be a waste to face an inconvenience with ‘controversy’.”

“You’re such a sap, Sen,” Shiono commented, chuckling.

“Oh, can it.” But she laughed anyway. “Maybe I am, so what?”

“Well, I think it’s charming. Right, Sasaki?”

She shot Haise a playful glare. “Don’t you start.”

He shrugged. “I thought you preferred the truth, Sen.”

Puffing up her cheeks, she reached over the seat to poke him, and he prepared to defend himself, laughing all the while. However, she couldn’t reach, so she just sank back into her seat and huffed.

“You two are unbelievable,” she muttered.

Shiono cackled. “We just get you, kiddo, and you hate it!”

Haise smiled. They did, didn’t they? Not only that, she believed them too. Shiono was understandable; he was her father, and he’d had nothing but a positive impact on her life. Haise was a bit more surprising, looking back. Seven short months, and now Sen Takatsuki trusted him completely? It felt like a dream.

Then again, he recognized himself in her words, and she recognized herself in his art. They were mirrors, two sides of the same coin; it would be weirder if they didn’t understand each other. Maybe it was that fact that pushed her to hire him in the first place.

Shiono and Sen had begun a new conversation, steered more toward the intricacies of marketing. Haise noted that he would be drawing a few extra pieces of promotional work to assist, but before he could formulate an idea, Shiono changed the subject.

“Do you two have plans for dinner?” he asked

“Uh…” Haise wracked his brain. “I-I don’t—”

“I’ve got a few ideas.” Sen turned over to him, smiling. “Remember? You were gonna cook something at my place.”

Haise was confused at first, but swallowed his question. His chin itched wildly as he responded: “Y-Yeah, I remember…”

It must not have been a very good performance, because she playfully rolled her eyes and faced forward.

Shiono whistled as he turned a corner leading to the 6th ward. “You really snagged a good one, kiddo. A cook? Absolutely crazy.”

She smirked. “I know.”

———

Haise didn’t even get the chance to admire Sen’s apartment before she locked the door, leapt into his arms, and crashed their lips together.

He gasped at the sudden contact as it stoked a flame inside of him. He scooped one hand beneath Sen to hold her steady, while the other groped at her ass. When he found a wall to pin her to, she grunted in approval.

“Is this okay…?” she breathed, tilting his head back and kissing his neck.

They hadn’t done this since he woke up in the hospital, and it only now dawned on Haise that that meant it had been a whole month. “Yes…” he gasped desperately, making a sound between a hiss and a moan when he felt her teeth pinch his skin. “Yes, yes…”

Perhaps that month— a bit more, if they were counting the days before he was kidnapped— had been why this felt a little clumsy. The way Sen was mindlessly biting his neck more than kissing it, the way when she found his mouth again, their teeth accidentally clacked, making them laugh— it was like the resort all over again.

Her tongue briefly swiped across his palate, then she bit gently on his bottom lip and tugged far harder. He let out a throaty sigh, leaning with the force, but he made sure to cradle her head so she didn’t hit the wall. Meanwhile, his hands hiked up either side of her skirt, pressing against her tights in  a vain attempt to feel the skin beneath.

Sen broke their kiss to catch her breath. “Tear them,” she said, loosening his tie and unbuttoning his jacket.

Haise helped himself out of the clothing. “What?”

“I mean it—” she let out a sigh when his tongue found the inside of her cheek, chasing the sensation— “Tear them, pry them apart.”

His head was too fuzzy to protest, so instead, after setting her down, he yanked down her skirt, letting it pool on the floor around her feet. Then, he got on his knees and quickly pulled down her tights.

“Haise—!” she began, even as she kicked them off. “I told you to—”

He planted his face into her exposed bush. The effect was immediate as she threw her head back and nearly collapsed on him.

“Fuck—!” she gasped.

He stopped immediately. “You okay?”

He didn’t need to see her glare. “Keep going.”

No complaints there. He followed the pitch and volume of her cries, flicking her clit and teasing her entrance with his tongue. Offhandedly, he remembered some awkward videos Hide had sent him once upon a time, and was almost ashamed at how much he was relying on them now. He was also upset they were working.

She tasted wonderful, though— a cross between sour, sweet, and satisfying. Or maybe those were the hormones talking. Either way, he needed more of her, even if that meant blocking the majority of his airways. He also took one of his fingers and spread her lower lips, massaging them as he sucked her entrance.

Her hands enthusiastically carded his hair, tangling themselves in the black locks, as he lapped up everything that came out of her, wasting nothing. In the meantime, his pants tightened more and more with each lick, cry, and squeeze.

“Bedroom…” Sen managed, half-delirious. “Bedroom, now…”

Haise obeyed her command, removing his face from between her legs and gathering her up in his arms.

“Holy shit…” She clung to him as he carried her over toward the door that he assumed was her bedroom. She planted a few lazy kisses on his cheek and spread open his unbuttoned shirt to access his shoulder. “Wow…”

He nearly tripped on the way there, and she squealed with laughter. “Sorry, sorry,” he said, laughing too.

“It’s fine…” She kissed him, loved him. “Careful, though; don’t get hurt…”

“I won’t.” He relished the feeling of her lips. “Promise…”

He finally identified the bed— a fittingly red color, he vaguely noted— in the dim light of evening, and let Sen fall against the mattress. She grunted at the impact, but the feverish grin on her face told him everything he needed to know. He shed his shirt, tossing it carelessly on the ground, and made to climb on top of her and continue.

“Ah, ah, ah.”

He found his path impeded by her bare foot against his abdomen. It barely hovered over the tent in his pants, teasing it with the ghost of touch. She sat up, more composed now, and far more controlling.

“The pants too.”

He glanced down past it, then took a few steps back. His hands fiddled with the belt, eager to continue—

“Slowly, Haise.”

She crossed one leg over, making a show of it. The display only made him harder, and the way that she teased him by barely lifting a finger— beautiful torture. And she knew it, too. She knew by the sultry sound of her voice, traveling across the room to caress his ears. She knew by the thin string weaving itself into his skin, gently pulling him every which way and encouraging him to obey. A siren’s tapestry, in other words, and one he succumbed to gladly.

She mirrored his actions with her shirt and bra, and there was a flush to her face that told him there was a touch of regret to her orders. She stared hard at his erection the entire time, not looking away for a second. He wasn’t any better; his eyes hungrily roamed her hair, her face, her hips, her stomach, and her breasts, each area with its own, equally tantalizing aspects.

Once Haise stepped out of the pool made of his pants, Sen’s impatience broke out to save them both. In a surprising show of strength, she seized him by the waist and dragged him on top of her, pinning herself between his body and the mattress and trapping him between her legs. Haise propped himself up on an elbow to not completely crush her, but he liked the heat of their chests pressed flush together, and indulged himself as much as he could.

While their tongues danced their familiar dance, Sen’s hand ran up and down his length through his boxers, and he grinded helplessly against the motion until it slipped in to feel the real deal. The other massaged the back of his head, making him shudder.

Meanwhile, his hand found her ass, squeezing as hard as he could without hurting her. She liked the pain, to a degree; at first, he’d been hesitant to comply with her demands, even after her demonstrations at the resort. However, after everything that had happened lately, he disregarded those doubts and gave it his all, and the cry she gave into his mouth was worth it.

She stopped stroking him and tugged on his waistband. Haise didn’t think twice and helped her expose him to open air. He came up for air from her mouth and reached for the nearby drawer, intent on finding the condoms.

However, Sen’s hand clamped around his wrist, cutting him short. He looked back in confusion. “Sen—” even as the request formed itself on his lips, he wanted to stop himself— “we shouldn’t—”

“I want to,” she interrupted, and her grip tightened. “I’m on the pill, you know. The condoms were always more of a precaution.”

He swallowed. Tantalizing curiosity prickled his neck and made him twitch. “But…”

“I want to feel you, Haise.” There was a shine to her eyes that was desperate, pleading. “Please…”

It was so tempting; more than once, it had crossed his mind to ask if she wanted to try this. But he didn’t know anything about her situation regarding birth control, and then to risk something that would only really cause her pain was enough to still his tongue. In hindsight, he should have just asked.

He nodded slightly, then nodded again. “Okay… You’re sure?”

“I wouldn’t be asking if I wasn’t.” She gave an encouraging smile.

Yeah, that was pretty stupid. Still— “If you change your mind, I’ll stop.”

She rolled her eyes. “I know.”

He stroked himself a few times to make sure he was ready, staring into her eyes the entire time. The resolve in her jade irises didn’t diminish in any way. When he moved to position himself, she spread her legs.

“Go on.” She shuddered as his head teased her entrance, which was soaked with her juices. It was more than enough.

Haise easily pressed into her, then saw stars.

It felt completely different from using a condom. Skin against skin, with nothing in between. A fire, no longer restrained, finally allowed to roar and consume everything it could get its hands on. It was such an incredible feeling that Haise nearly came on the spot. Sen seemed to feel it too, moaning and squirming like never before.

“Hah… Sen…”

“Haise… Haise…!”

For all that they read and learned from books, their vocabulary was reduced to unintelligible sounds and the other’s name as Haise moved inside her. It was an addicting sensation; he had a feeling he wouldn’t want to go back to condoms.

Sen seemed to be thinking the same. Her mouth hung open slightly, and her eyes were lidded with pleasure, vaguely focused in his direction. Even the slightest movement made her shiver beneath him. She was ethereal to him, his perfect imperfect person. The many images he had of Sen Takatsuki, the author, paled in comparison to Sen Takatsuki, the person; she got mad, she had moments of sorrow, she grinned and cackled when she was happy, and she was sometimes a bit too arrogant for her own good.

She was so unbelievably human.

He loved it.

He loved her.

Haise captured her lips again, trying to get as close to melting into her as he could. She eagerly reciprocated by wrapping her arms around his neck. He drank her like someone dying of thirst, and she opened herself to him, letting herself be drained.

The tenderness was short-lived. His pace sped up, and their voices grew in volume. Eventually, there was nothing left but Sen’s cries, his gasps, the slapping of their hips, and the feeling that he was going to cum soon. He tried to slow down, hoping to prolong the ecstasy for even a second longer, and busied himself by dragging his mouth over one of her nipples. She arched her back in approval and pulled him closer with her arms.

It wasn’t enough, not by a longshot.

“S-Sen…” he panted, shivering and twitching prematurely. “I’m gonna—”

“Inside me,” she whispered, begged. “Please…!”

It was that plea that gave him the push he needed. He slammed their hips together, burying himself as deep as he could, and spilled into her without a second thought. The rush from filling her up instead of a condom made him desperately sink his teeth into her shoulder. She cried out, a mix of pain and pleasure, tightening her legs around his waist and pushing him further into the area. He filled her for what felt like hours— a perfect, euphoric moment frozen in time, filled with their mixing sweat and breath.

Sen’s lips found the shell of his ear. “I love you,” she whispered, kissing it— a gentle gesture, helping him relax in the blissful tension.

He kissed the bruise he’d made in return. “I love you too.” He did so again, harder. “So much…”

It didn’t end there, though.

After catching their breath, she pulled him into the bathroom. Their first bath with each other took three times as long as a bath without. Haise memorized the image of Sen’s body slick with water and soap.

When she reached for the kettle in the kitchen to prepare tea, he grabbed it for her with one hand, while the other found her breast and squeezed a gasp out of her. The kettle was never put on heat, let alone filled. A sweaty imprint of her torso found itself on her counter, though.

Again and again and again, it seemed neither of them could be satisfied, but when the sun finally dipped below the horizon, they collapsed onto Sen’s bed, finally spent.

Sen was the first to break the pattern of noises: “Holy fuck…”

Haise, who felt like he was going to faint any second, could only say, “Uh huh.”

She struggled to her feet, her skin glistening in with sweat under the few hints of light in the room. “Tea? For… whew… for real, this time.”

He agreed with that sentiment. “I… I’d like that…”

Still, the way her bare hips swayed as she left the room, a trail of what he knew was a mixture of their fluids slowly trickling down her leg, made him think she wanted more. He was too out of it to take her up on it, unfortunately, so he just followed her.

Now that he wasn’t fucking her senseless, Haise finally had the opportunity to actually look at her apartment. The first thing he noticed wasn’t the patio overlooking the ward, the small couch and television, or the shiny metal fridge and kitchen.

No, the first thing he saw were the books.

Tons of them, crammed into shelves that lined the walls, and when there wasn’t enough space on those, they were piled on or around them in differing piles. After a while, though, the shelves stopped, and there were just piles shoved out of the way.

“Wow…” he said, drifting toward the nearest shelf-pile. “You have so many!”

Sen looked over from the kitchen. He tried not to ogle her bare chest. “It’s my actual collection. You like it?”

It really was nothing compared to their office. “‘Like it’? I-I love it!” Despite that, he stopped himself before he touched anything. “Er, may I?”

She gestured freely, smiling. “What’s mine is yours. I just hope there’s something here that lovely little brain of yours hasn’t devoured yet.”

He flushed. “We’ll have to see.”

While she got the kettle out, he examined her shelf— one of them, at least— with more interest. It was an expansion of the ones from their office, no longer restrained by a single space, and like their office, the books were vaguely organized by themes. The morals of war, bullshit politics, complications in criminal investigation, the horror of existence itself…

“What did you think of the conference, by the way?” Sen asked, coming up next to him. “Your first one, right?”

“Yeah…” Haise, far too engrossed in her collection, had to pause and think. “I guess… it was a little dull.”

She laughed. “They usually are.” She found a book and haphazardly paged through it. “Especially if you’re the one doing most of the talking.”

“I’m sorry; I—”

“No unnecessary apologies, remember?” Sen put the book away in a completely different spot and kept searching.

Haise pushed back this time and looked at her. “I meant that I’m sorry for you. You shouldn’t have to go through that and get your time wasted, even if it’s important to spread word.”

She found another book and met his gaze. “Thank you, but… It wasn’t all bad.”

His brow raised. “You sure? You were being bombarded by questions, and you looked—”

“Tired, yes.” She dropped the book without even opening it, and it toppled over a nearby stack. “And irritated, and bored, and a bit disgusted, too. But you were there, so that counted for something.”

It brought a smile to his face. “Sen, I—”

She cut him off. “You called me amazing. Did you mean that?”

He looked away, as if they weren’t completely naked in front of each other and covered in red marks courtesy of the other. “Y-You already know the answer, so—”

“I want to hear you say it.” Her other hand cupped his cheek, making him face her. “Tell me, go on.”

He was immediately sucked into her gaze. “Yeah…”

“Yeah, what?”

His hand settled on her waist. “Yeah, I… I think you’re amazing.”

She stood on her tippy toes and kissed him. “Good. I’m glad. Not so bad, right?”

Still humiliating. “Right…”

She glanced at the shelf again. “Did you find something, by the way?”

He followed her eyes, then spotted something familiar. He took out the book and showed it to her with a smile: Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. “Maybe.”

Sen shook her head, smiling. “Wouldn’t you rather read something new?”

“I-It’s a good story!” he defended. “Besides, it’s a, um, nice reminder of everything… How far we’ve come since we first read it, for instance.”

He was no longer a protagonist of a novel, dancing on the strings designed by the authors of his fate. No, he was the author now, drawing his own path to the future. Him and Sen both; they would chart their own course, speak their own words.

“You’re so sentimental,” she said, right as the kettle let out a hissing noise.

Haise decided to put the book on the counter for later. Sen handed him his cup of tea after a while, and they raised their cups together in a small toast. The silence in the air— and the smell of sex too— was enjoyed for a few minutes. The two of them, every so often, stole a glance at the other.

“What?” an amused Sen asked when she caught him.

Haise tried to hide behind his cup. “N-Nothing…”

“Tell me!”

His face turned a dark red. “Just admiring you…”

She rolled her eyes, but she wasn’t faring much better. “Charmer.”

More silence, more time to think, reflect. So much had changed since the coffee shop. Kazuichi Public Park, the White Blades, Cochlea, the resort, and then…

“What do you think will happen to V?” Haise asked, the thought occurring. “Torso’s dead, but he wasn’t the source of the problem…”

Sen shrugged. “Who knows? We’re attacking a very tightly wound organization. They’ve worked their way into nearly every aspect of everyday life, and many people have lived and died under their control without even knowing. The first leak won’t change anything overnight, so we have to keep fighting.”

His brow furrowed. “You have more information?”

“Of course we do!” She took a smug sip of her tea. “You don’t release information as you obtain it, otherwise your adversaries figure out your strategy and kill you. Better to hoard things and trickle it through a funnel, then watch the foundations collapse.”

He chuckled. “I didn’t think about that. That’s smart.”

“It was Hide’s idea.” She waved him off. “Thank him when you see him.”

“You helped him, didn’t you? You and Chie; don’t count yourself out like that.”

“I guess so.”

“Sen.”

“Alright, alright!” She put up a hand in defense. “Thank you, Haise, for acknowledging my contribution.”

They both laugh at that, hearty and full and bare. It was nice, and Haise treasured the sound.

“We kinda did this backwards, didn’t we?” Sen said suddenly, circling the rim of her cup.

“‘Backwards’?” he repeated.

“Usually you spend some time together with someone before having sex at their apartment.” She shrugged. “That’s all.”

“Oh…” He chuckled. “I guess so.”

She tilted her head, amused. “Just a guess?”

“Well… Who decides what’s ‘forwards’ and ‘backwards’ with this kind of thing?” He took a sip of his tea. “We decide our own paths. We’re, ultimately, the authors of our own story, right?”

Though the interview at the shop had sort of fallen into his lap, Haise had chosen to draw in the first place. He had chosen to go to that coffee shop, chosen to accept that job, and chosen to go to that resort.

Perhaps there were obstacles in the way. His mother, his aunt, the complications of his career choice, Rize, and the Torso were some of them, but his choices had granted him weapons to defeat them. Sen, Hide, Touka, and everyone else that he had befriended over the years came to his aid. In choosing them, they had chosen him in return. And that was life, at the end of the day:

Choose and be chosen. Over and over until the end.

Sen’s smile was as soft as velvet. “How inspiring.”

———

The End

THANKS FOR STICKING WITH ME TO THE END

[lisutarid-a]

[Gakuen K] Totsuka Tatara Route Translation

Hotpot boss

LIST OF CHAPTERS

[Translation under the cut]

Kusanagi: Yaaah, only a few hours left in this year, huh? Yata-chan, last spurt of cleaning. I'm counting on you.

Yata: Yup! Kamamoto, how are you doing?

Kamamoto: Everything is going well! Oh, Totsuka-san and the others are walking towards us from the other side of the street.

Yata: Ah, what's he carrying? Oi, no way!

Saya: Hello, everyone.

Totsuka: Yaaah, looks like you're busy cleaning up.

Kusanagi: The two of you are shopping together, huh? I'm glad you guys get along so well.

Totsuka: Right? I've got "that stuff". The rehersal was also perfect, so stay tuned.

Kusanagi: As for me, I'd like to ask you to go easy on me…. Well, sit wherever you don't get in the way of the cleaning.

Saya: What do you mean by "that stuff"?

Totsuka: It's a hot-pot set. Didn't we buy the ingredients earlier?

Saya: …But Kusanagi-san looked displeased about it.

Totsuka: Is that so? It looked like a big smile to me.

Totsuka: He told to sit, but there's still time before night. Maybe I'll also help with cleaning.

Saya: Me too then. I'll go sweep the entrance.

Saya: Ah, Yata-kun and Kamamoto-kun.

Kamamoto: Yata-san, tonight we're gonna have hotpot, hotpot! I'm looking forward to it.

Yata: Is that so? I'm not really.

Kamamoto: Eh, you don't like hotpot?

Yata: That's not the case, I eat it just fine. …But, it's New year's Eve hotpot, right?

Kamamoto: It is?

Yata: That's why it's complicated. Aaah-uuh…

Saya: (Complicated. What does it mean…?)

Totsuka: Attention! The 52nd National High School HotPot Championship is going to be held now!

Saya: Hotpot Championship…?

Kusanagi: It's finally started…

Totsuka: New year's Eve Hotpot…This is the perfect meal to end the year. The heart, culture and art of Japan…

Totsuka: This pot is filled with all kinds of blessings. It is no exaggeration to call it a microcosm!

Kusanagi: That's a huge exaggeration. If you're going to praise it that much, the pot would feel uncomfortable too.

Mikoto: Let's eat.

Totsuka: We can't, King. It's not boiled yet.

Totsuka: I'll manage this microcosm myself even though I'm not very good at it. I'll bring you the best taste, so just follow my instructions properly.

Yata: Here it comes, The Hotpot Boss….!

Saya: Hotpot boss…you mean, Totsuka-senpai?

Kamamoto: That's right. Totsuka-san has a terrible obsession with pots.

Kusanagi: I'm not going anywhere near it…Oh, Mikoto was about to attack.

Totsuka: King, it's not ready yet.

Mikoto: I'm hungry.

Totsuka: If you're starving, eat a salad.

Mikoto: …I think it's ready to eat now.

Totsuka: One minute left. I'm not giving up on this one.

Mikoto: …

Saya: (He talked down Suoh-senpai…!)

Yata: The Invincible Hotpot Boss…

Kusanagi: I think it's about time, Totsuka.

Totsuka: I guess so. Everyone, give me the plates.

Mikoto: What a pain.

Totsuka: King! I'll get it for you, wait!

Mikoto: If I leave it to you, idiot, it'll be full of vegetables.

Totsuka: If I let King do what he wants, he just gonna take only the meat.

Totsuka: Meat is a public property. Since it's required by antitrust law, I have to divide it fairly.

Totsuka: So just wait quietly, King.

Mikoto: …Tsk. I can't helped it.

Saya: (So the reason why everyone seemed to hate it, was because of this…)

Totsuka: Okay, this is for Yata.

Yata: What the hell if this! There is only chinese cabbage here!

Totsuka: It's not true. There is also a little peace of meat too.

Yata: Oh, for real! It's so small! Smaller than an eraser!

Totsuka: First, warm up your stomach with vegetables. The main course will be afterwards.

Totsuka: Fufu. Enjoy your last dinner of the year, everyone!

[Prev chapter][Next chapter]

[clockworkowl]

Don’t read under the cut if you haven’t gotten to at least chapter 13 (and moreso for the hidden portion the finale chapter) of Infinite Wealth, I am venting about some things which are spoilers for character interactions at the very least. you have now been warned.

So, I haven’t finished the game yet (should soon I’m finishing up stuff with the Yokohama crew before heading for the obligatory siege of the Millennium Tower ) but I’m still really angry at Kiryu for how he left things with 3Jima. Like really, really angry.

(And to be fair, I was really enjoying Kiryu this game until the bucket list where the further Date went to try to help, the more I too wanted to slug Kiryu (even though, as usual, I 💯 understand exactly what Kiryu was thinking whenever he made a choice or said a thing that made me scream at the screen. This section of the game did really hammer home to me the extent to which I see parallels in my own tragic backstory and how that makes me identify with Kiryu and thus why I get so mad at his decisions in every game. I mean, I kind of knew this before, but he’s more introspective in the bucket list book and hearing my own thoughts on certain events in my life mirrored back has been a little ‘oh…’ ) so this isn’t the only thing that’s frustrated me to watch (but damn was Akiyama’s punch so satisfying. He was all of us in that moment.)

(Do not unhide the next part if you didn’t finish the Date part of the the bucket list and aren’t up to the finale my rant is more specific here about events)

>!What the fuck was with him agreeing to not even talk to or interact with the Ichigang after the mission on top of telling Daidoji he won’t talk to Date again either? How can the Daidoji possibly care that much anymore, at that point chapter-wise the cat is well and truly out of the bag thanks to Tatara channel (so also how does he think that like Haruka et al don’t know he’s alive still? There was video of him on the fucking national news while reporters, who clearly aren’t good at reporting or critical thinking, spout a bunch of completely wrong accusations about his motives.!<

I’m sure I’ll vent further on this but it’s been stewing in me since the chapter, because usually even though we barely get any Majima the little we do get makes me happy, but that was just upsetting on all fronts. The funny thing is, it’s the one and only time in the nearly 20 years since Kiryu first got out of prison that Majima has ever said ‘no’ (though it’s mostly Daigo who says no)

[ciaossu-imagines]

Prompt 2, number 8, for your fave character! Thanks

Thank you so much for the request, my gorgeous anon! The thing with me is that I don't really have an solid favourites - they always change and I can find something interesting or likeable about most characters so I gave you the ones I am loving at the moment and, since you didn't specify a fandom, I hope you don't mind I did it for all my fandoms!

Prompt 2, Number 8: Is the house decorated for the holidays? What is their favourite holiday dish?

Katekyo Hitman Reborn

While Haru doesn't normally celebrate Christmas, I feel like if she was given a chance to, she would definitely go all out. Absolutely, insanely overboard, actually! Her house would have so many lights, inflatable decorations, lawn ornaments, wreaths at the door, trees in the yard done up as Christmas trees, a sound system playing Christmas carols for all to hear - anything she could decorate with, she would. The result could probably be seen from outer space! It's over the top but just incredibly fun and she enjoys it so much! I feel she probably has a sleigh decoration and makes herself a Santa costume so that she can go sit out in it at nights to wave to the children with a ho-ho-ho! As for the Christmas meal, she'd be a big fan of all the sides, which would mostly have Japanese twists to them, but nothing beats white rice for her.

Eyeshield 21!

Hiruma hates Christmas. Just saying but it's definitely not his choice of holidays. He doesn't care about the holiday; the only thing on his mind is the Christmas Bowl. This is not a holiday, this is time for football, so fuck off you fucks and concentrate on football!! He wouldn't decorate unless he absolutely has to - the blinking lights and over the top inflatables kind of annoy him; he doesn't see the appeal, despite his general over-the-topness! For Christmas dinner, he definitely follows the fried chicken Japanese trend.

Mob Psycho 100

Mob has never celebrated Christmas before but he would find the holiday novel and interesting. He'd probably enjoy decorating but would keep things very low-key, maybe do up a small tree and hang some garlands or tinsel but it would definitely be very minimal but still pretty decorations. For Christmas meals, if he had the chance to eat a traditional meal, I feel he would try everything and enjoy most of it, though he'd hate gravy.

K Project

I feel like Tatara would have gotten really into Christmas at one point, especially because of the strong ties with family togetherness and joy and peace it has. He would've insisted and set up everything for all of his HOMRA family to get together and decorate the bar. Tinsel, lights, garlands, and of course a little tree in a corner with an angel to put on top of it - he personally lifts Anna up so she can place it on top of the tree. If he can, he tries to arrange Christmas supper for everyone at the bar too, making it a potluck so that everyone can have fun contributing to the meal. He brings dessert, a sponge cake he learned to make when he got interested in baking and that he has Anna help him make.

One Punch Man

Saitama doesn't really care about Christmas. He doesn't decorate but he's not against decorations. He finds them pretty and would like looking at them. He also doesn't eat anything special that day but loves when people invite him to their Christmas meals because he is poor and free food is free food!

Saiyuki

Gojyo barely decorates his house outside of the Christmas season. Until Hakkai came along, it was sparsely furnished and very messy. He wouldn't even think to decorate it for Christmas, especially as Christmas was never something he would ever have experienced growing up, even if it was commonly celebrated. Seeing everything all nicely decorated for Christmas would actually make him feel a little depressed somehow and he tends to avoid all Christmas festivities or events or meals.

Ronin Warriors

Rowan hates Christmas. Why, oh why, does everyone insist on getting up at the ass-crack of dawn to celebrate it? This boy wants and needs and loves his sleep and he'll be a very grumpy boy Christmas morning and in the days leading up to it, though he tries. He wouldn't decorate but would try to help out others decorating if they asked and actually has a somewhat artistic, though avant-garde, knack for it. The Christmas supper, though? Now that's something he can get behind. He's a huge eater but his favourite part is pie at the end, pumpkin if he can get it, with lots of whipped cream on top.

Nanbaka

Nico is a huge child. While he never got to experience Christmas in his childhood, when he finally got to celebrate it, he would be beyond excited and happy and would approach it with his usual enthusiasm and energy! He's really into making as many of the decorations as he can with his cell-mates and excels at paper-chains and popcorn strings, spending hours happily making them and no matter how childish or messy the end result looks, he thinks it's the most beautiful thing in the world. As for the Christmas meal, he likes cranberry sauce but only if it's on the sweet side, and makes sure to save room for second helpings of dessert!

GetBackers

Ban considers decorating for Christmas to be a huge waste of money. Money he doesn't have anyway, thank you very much. He is a huge Grinch, refusing to have anything to do with Christmas and the only reason he tolerates the holiday season is because the GetBackers tend to see an uptick in cases around that time.

Bleach

I love this picture that, at some point in his very long life, probably shortly after living in the human world, Kisuke got really interested in Christmas and that he has all these retro, plastic Christmas decorations and the tackiest flocked fake Christmas tree and just the most outrageous decorations that he still busts out...always in July. Never actually at Christmas. Just to fuck with people. He'll even spread out a whole Christmas feast around that time, just because he can, with his favourite dish being just boring mashed potatoes, or so he claims.

Bungo Stray Dogs

Odasaku never cared about Christmas until the kids came into his life. But once they did, he wanted nothing more than to make Christmas special for them. He decorates, though meagerly, with a lot of the decorations being crafts he does with the kids, paper snowflakes and little ornaments to put on the table-top tree he could afford for them. He treats them all to fried chicken on Christmas and never has it tasted better to him than at those moments.

Servamp

Tsubaki would get really into Christmas and find it just the best thing ever. At least for a little bit...the man is flighty as anything. While he had that intense interest, he would definitely decorate every square inch of the apartment with whatever he possibly could. Ornaments, stockings, a tree, nutcrackers, wreaths, signs, candles - if it looked commercially tacky and Christmassy, it's right up his alley! He would also definitely have Christmas carols on a loop constantly while celebrating and decorating. And while it might not be traditionally Christmas, he wants inari sushi for his Christmas meal!

Mystic Messenger

Being Catholic, I feel like Saeyoung, while not going outrageous with the decorations, would definitely have a nativity set that is very well taken care of and displayed as prominently as he can. The rest of the decorations are mismatched but kind of charming because of it, just things that caught his fancy. He'll put more effort into decorating, though everything will still be very mismatched and chaotic, once Saeran comes to live with him. As for the meal, for most Christmases, it was junk food and it's still what he'll prefer.

Ikemen Revolution

Okay, but Jonah definitely grew up with Christmas being a huge thing. Lots of gifts and Christmas parties, lots of Christmas treats, and the place decorated like something out of a Christmas card. I definitely think he insists on decorating for Christmas. Just not himself. There are people to do that for him or so his upbringing taught him. He'd honestly have absolutely no idea how to decorate for Christmas. Not the faintest clue. But he supervises the decorating like a very finicky, picky boss! As for the meal, he's only waiting for dessert and hopes it has strawberries!

Obey Me!

Okay, let's be real here - Diavolo would absolutely adore getting to try a human Christmas and would go over the top with it. While he might not get to do all the decorating himself, he'd definitely want everything decorated like he'd seen in all the research he'd done on a human Christmas and he'd definitely try to make time to at least dress the tree with the others, though he'd break more ornaments than he put on in his excitement. As for the meal, Barbatos is a wonderful cook and there's no part of it he doesn't enjoy, especially since his Christmas meal will be shared with Lucifer, Barbatos and all his other precious people.

Class of the Titans

Herry was raised by his grandmother on the farm and their Christmases were very 'down-home' and rustic as a result. A lot of the decorations were from natural resources, like pine wreaths and garlands, pinecones and hand-made salt dough ornaments that gave Herry many happy hours making as he grew up. He likes the Christmas lights and all the fun, fancy decorations but the simpler, country Christmases are the ones he enjoys most and will yearn for and choose to replicate. As for the meal, other than avoiding cranberry sauce, he's eating all of it that he can but special mention goes to the fresh-baked rolls used to sop up the gravy on his plate. He can polish off almost a full batch all by himself.

Disney's Ultimate Spider-Man

It's shown that Flash grew up in a rather poor family and I really don't think their house was decorated very thoroughly when he was growing up. They did up the tree and put the stockings underneath of it with the few gifts his parents could afford but little else was done. As such, I don't think he decorates a lot for Christmas but it is really, really important for him to decorate even a small tree and getting it just right can sometimes take him hours but it's very much a labour of love. As for the meal, he's a ham fan over turkey any day but if turkey is the only way to go, someone give him the legs. Dark meat over white any day!

X-Men: Evolution

Kurt loves Christmas but rarely got to participate publicly in Christmas growing up because of his mutant looks. He sticks to his German heritage and the German's Christmas traditions mostly, though he does embrace some more American ones. He's very big on Advent calendars and Christmas angels. As far as the meal goes, he eats well but his favourite Christmas treat is actually not part of the meal itself but part of the holiday season. He's definitely a sucker for good lebkuchen!

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer

I feel like Sean is really used to big Christmases growing up with the pack. Brannoc always decorated and I feel like his children, but especially Brid and Sean, keep doing that even after Brannoc passes. Sean tends to like to go over the top in his decorations - the more lights or the more decorations, the better to him. He gets a childlike joy out of Christmas, no matter how old he is, and loves to deck out the place, especially for the younger members of the pack. I could definitely see him donning a Santa suit for the younger members of the pack and handing out gifts to them all, making them laugh and really having a ball with it. As far as the meal goes, this is no small meal. It's been canonically stated that weres eat and eat a lot. The sideboards are threatening to break under the sheer weight of all the food and Sean stuffs himself on everything and anything, excluding the carrots which he hates. The Christmas meal isn't a proper Christmas feast if you don't have to unbutton your pants and go lay down afterwards, in his opinion.

The Outsiders

I really love the idea that, though very poor, the Curtis' always have a Christmas. It might be a very small Christmas, meager by most standards, but they all appreciate it and do love the holiday and do their best to decorate for it and to get each other gifts. The decorations are cheap-looking or crude but honestly, they have so much sentimental value to all the boys, but especially Darry, as they are all remnants from when their parents were alive and Darry remembers making some of the ornaments with his parents or his brothers more than Soda or Pony do. As for meals, while it's definitely not a feast by any standards, the boys do their best to eat well that day. Darry cooks the bird and does his best but gravy is where he definitely shines and that's his favourite, especially the next day on hot sandwiches made from leftovers.

[three-eyed-rabbit]

So who's your hyperfixation as of late?

Just curious...

Image made with picrew,not my art

[tatatatatara]

I like to think that the Chi She Lian existed at least one generation prior to Yan and Tatara. Like their mother ran it with an iron fist or something.

Also, I think Tatara knows how to sew because his coat is really unique and he's probably ruining a lot of them when he's fighting. He refuses to wear normal clothes so he keeps making those white coats by hand.

Oh yeah I like to think Chi She Lian is a family thing too, considering how unique their fire breathing ability is! I have this weird headcanon that the first Chi She Lian leader was killed brutally (like uh they hanged him on a pole and left him there to starve him and expose him to the sun since quinque weren't invented yet) so his younger brother took over and made Chi She Lian a powerful and vengeful organisation.

I like the idea of a powerful mama. Like she took over after the death of her husband, or there wasn't any male heir. Either way, she was very strong-willed, disciplined and managed to revive Chi She Lian. Then Yan took over and brought CSL to his height of glory.

For the second headcanon, I think Tatara is super good at sewing and stain removal since he wears white all the time. I believe he was a really independent kid who didn't want to bother Yan and decided to learn all these mundane things so he can do them by himself (and for Yan too).

It's also higly possible that he made his coats by himself because in the earlier days he didn't wear them. Oh he would be so pissed off when someone makes them dirty lol. Even though he can wash it, he would still make a fuss about it because he is grumpy and like to take things on people.

[canadianlucifer]

1, 4, 6 and 14 for takizawa!

Tysm for this, this entire reply is going to pretty much just be Takizawa because he is my poor little meow meow!

1. (Hands you a free card to ramble about whatever for your favorite character/ship)

Toss up between hidekane and seiakimon but I’m gonna go with seiakimon bc there are So Many Thoughts with these three. Akira and her two ghoul boyfriends

Obviously Takizawa need So Much Therapy before any romance stuff can happen so we’re gonna assume he’s been getting the help he needs for this (and so have Akira and Amon honestly, they’re not completely insane but they’ve got problems too).

SEIAKIMON COULD HAVE BEEN SO SO GOOD.

Taki was the only one who truly saw Akira as Akira. People in the academy chalked up her success to the fact that both her parents were investigators and didn’t acknowledge the work she herself put in. Everyone saw her as a product of her parents except Takizawa. He competed with her, not her parents and that’s why Akira liked him. He saw her as a bitch because he was jealous of her natural talent and how she often got more opportunities than him in the CCG, she got to go on missions while he was stuck in the office even though they were equally talented. And don’t even get me started on them only ever seeing each other from the side and the first time they truly look straight at each other is when Akira throws away her life career to protect Taki and lays her heart bare to him, telling him about how she tried to live up to everyone’s expectations but failed and how she never stopped thinking about him, wondering if she had just stopped him at the Owl Execution Operation. That shit hurted.

Of course we’ve also got the canon Akira and Amon, they work alright but need some more development. I really think Ishida has no clue how to write romance, every single one just comes out of left field, most prominently Yoriko and Takeomi. “Hey, haven’t seen you in a long time, nice to see you again. Anyway, you make good bread, wanna get married?” ????????

And with the right development, Amon and Taki would work well too. Amon’s closeted bi ass learning that it’s okay to be queer (thanks Donato for instilling religious trauma into this himbo /s).

In conclusion: Akira has two hands.

4. What character do you (the asker) remind me of?

I don’t really know why but Mutsuki kinda! No idea what my brain is doing at any moment in time

6. What’s your favorite piece of TG fan content you’ve made?

Hmm, I haven’t made much recently do NOT ask about my 2015 era art lmfao but I’d have to say this meme, it just fits the dude so well lmao

He's a little silly.

14. Song you associate with (character/ship)

Oh dear here we go.

So Mother Mother makes some AMAZING songs and I could write an essay on how every song in Oh My <3 fits him, but besides that, I think Control by Halsey fits Takizawa quite well!

“They send me away to find them a fortune” getting sent to fight and kill the Owl

“I sat alone, in bed till the morning I'm crying, "They're coming for me"” being scared outta his wits and writing “I DON’T WANT TO DIE” on his will

“I paced around for hours on empty I jumped at the slightest of sounds” post Kano trauma

“I'm well acquainted with villains that live in my head” listening and giving into his ghoul side

“And all the kids cried out, "Please stop, you're scaring me" I can't help this awful energy God damn right, you should be scared of me Who is in control?” Taking control over his own life and becoming a terrifying monster of a ghoul and killing Tatara while his former coworkers watch on in fear.

Gasoline works really well too!

[eltheabberation]

001 houji and yan? or if you'd prefer, i'll revert back to my usual seiakiramon ask. or both if you want to?

yayyy yanhouji :D

when I started shipping it if I did:

I never could really get behind any houji ships cause this man was so chronically single to me and then this ship just popped into my head one day and I just went “huh that’s neat.” and then people started posting about it and then I actually started shipping it

my thoughts:

Haha imagine you’re supposed to kill something but you start being attracted to it and form somewhat of a relationship and then you kill it anyway and then you realize you genuinely fell in love with them but they’re already dead and their blood is on your hands would that be fucked up or what

oh and also imagine falling in love with the guy who’s goal is to kill you and everyone you care about that’d be pretty fucked up too

What makes me happy about them:

The tragedy of it all <3

What makes me sad about them:

the fact that 99% of their relationship is headcanon because we get like zero canon info on this two and even less on their interactions

things done in fanfic that annoys me:

What fanfic

things I look for in fanfic:

fanfic that exists

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: 

Houji with Tatara maybe?? Idk I can’t really see this two with anyone else (not that there’s many other options like name ONE yan ship other than this one)

My happily ever after for them:

Tatara kills Houji and he and Yan can burn in hell together <3

who is the big spoon/little spoon:

They cuddle facing each other because you should never turn your back on the enemy

what is their favourite non-sexual activity:

I feel like they just like being in each other's presence, either talking or just sitting silently. They don't get to see each other much outside of battle, so they both really just like being near the other, even if they'd never admit it

Tysm for the ask!! Hope ur doing good Rin <3

[yostresswritinggirl]

The history of daishō sword pairings from oldest to latest is (1) tachi and tantō, (2) katana and wakizashi, and (3) short and long katana. So three generations worth if we instead have each smith their own daishō. There’s more on the topic but it was rather expensive for a samurai to have a daishō forged by the same sword smith so it’s very much a status symbol (and spiritual as swords in general are believed to fend off evil spirits). There’s good info for brainrots.

Niwa has the unawakened potential of a main character. I have spoken it into existence. Anyway, if neither Kazuha nor Scara ended up with the swords, they could be the rewards on a hidden quest. A branch from the Tatara Tales one. And having the swords during the festival will summon the yokai spirits. Scara would forge a katana and wakizashi for his proposal to puppet reader. Kazuha will probably forge if or when he proposes.

Speaking of modern au, I was watching more on sword smithing to try and most of the smiths couldn’t live on the salary of only smithing swords. However, as the number of smiths dwindle, the prices will increase as quality, art, and culture factor into those high prices. I did play with the idea that Scara was adopted by Niwa and reader when he was a child.

Niwa’s lover dies no matter what path we take so dumping more trauma is fine. It’s for Scara’s character development! And he has to get his third betrayal anyway. Oh, after becoming the Wanderer with all his memories, he may have gone back to Tatarasuna to make a grave for Niwa and reader. Pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to find their remains for a proper burial (excluding the route where reader married into the Kaedehara clan).

Here’s the song for the Kabukimono phase here.

Bloom anon

Ohhhhhhh okay okay, so tanto for Niwa's lover, wakizashi for kintsugi, and short katana for Kazuha although iirc he did get a sword from his story quest - either way I like to imagine his partner to be a sword user who can actually fight by his side. With that in mind, I wonder if besides the proposal and protection, they offer these swords too as an oath to vanquish their evil if they act up -

Like "I trust you with this sword in my presence and to use it against me when I become irredeemable" kind of love, the trust and death do us part

I got the blueprint of the Nagamasa in Tatarasuna so it would most likely be there. Or maybe they can find a story about Niwa's proposal forge and use that as basis for their forging in the future too! Either way, it sounds nice, especially Kazuha when he forges his own like he's embracing his family's tradition again and accepting his name thru that

Also yes, I approve the adoption because that's how I would set up Kintsugi modern. I wonder if that could be Wanderer's story quest, meeting him in Tatarasuna and seeing him set up the graves, maybe his story quest would be him talking about Niwa and his lover huehue

Oh what a cute song too aww