#so she's like 'well. i guess i'm pretty average.'
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mixelation ¡ 30 days ago
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I was reading through Tori and Minato’s tags and realized I don’t get how seals work. Went to read the wiki which explained almost nothing and now I’m several forum and reddit pages deep and idk what to believe anymore. Did they explain it somewhere in the manga or am I stupid
no, there's barely any canon explanation. we know minato was a master and that kushina taught him. there's a lot of chatter about the difference between fuinjutsu and a "jutsu shiki" (technique.... formula?), with the hiraishin markers being canonically referred as the latter rather than fuinjutsu, even though they appear to be.... seals. and a certain genre of fan will be an absolute ASSHOLE to you if you get these two concepts confused, even though canon does not explain either or what the difference is. also sometimes you have to draw a seal and sometimes you just slap your hand into something and the seal just happens. one time i was watching one of those videos that's just some guy explaining anime lore and he was like "i don't even know how [minato] did that." in a lot of fics fuinjutsu can do literally anything if you study enough
for tori, she does need to physically draw the seals. i have not decided anything about what "slap your hand down and make a seal" even IS because what the fuck, but i guess minato and kushina can do this so maybe mutagenicity!tori will learn eventually. but anyway, for the toriverse, fuinjutsu is a set of written instructions for moving around chakra within the defined area of your seal. i decided they can't do nature transformations, but otherwise they're basically just doing ninjutsu in written form. there's limits, like not being able to adjust the jutsu mid-execution like you would for normal ninjutsu. they are useful in that they can theoretically allow for finer control and therefore more complex jutsu than one might be able to perform in their body, but the cost is that they're harder & less intuitive to learn how to do and also a pain to set up. another advantage is that you can set one up and just walk away, which is why they're primarily used for suppressing/confining chakra, ninja, and tailed beats. the disadvantage here is that unless you do something extremely skilled and/or creative, the seal will eventually run out of chakra and then stop working. this is why tailed beasts have to go into people; jinchuriki are self-maintaining chakra batteries for the seal holding the tailed beast.
in the toriverse, hiraishin markers are technically seals but they're not the entire technique. they're little seals which are designed to simply indefinitely move the user's chakra around and nothing else. for a proper marker, the seal has to be "absolutely perfect," meaning it's 100% efficient in chakra use and never loses any chakra. designing something like requires an in depth understanding of individual level chakra properties-- not everyone's chakra functions exactly the same! minato had to develop a new type of marker that suited his own chakra and couldn't just copy tobirama's. this is one contributing factor to why more people don't just learn hiraishin. the other factor is that the technique itself is also hard: once you have your marker, you have to learn the jutsu to throw yourself through space to that marker.
for mutagenicity, i wanted tori and minato to have opposite approaches to hiraishin. minato is a genius so the technique side wasn't too difficult, but it took him a while and kushina's help to develop his marker. meanwhile tori just makes up similar markers for fun as practice, but she's not naturally good at ninjutsu so learning the technique is extremely challenging for her.
late game tori is ~scary~ in that she gets really good at working around a lot of perceived limitations of fuinjutsu, mostly because any actual ninja would just stop and use ninjutsu. tori can set up fuinjutsu on the fly and is good at working with unideal conditions, like drawing on uneven surfaces with substances that aren't ink. she figures out how to use chakra that isn't her own, including nonhuman chakra. she's really, really good at using fuinjutsu in ways people aren't used to having to deal with.
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eggmeralda ¡ 24 days ago
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I thought the october curse was gonna be skipped this year based on the fact I got a job on the first day but like. it turns out that was the bad luck disguising itself at good news and it's just another normal october
#i think a lot about how july 2020 was mediocre and july 2021 was one of the worst months of my life#and i made it known that i didn't trust july anymore. and it must've taken that as constructive criticism and my god it listened to me#bc then july 2022 was one of the best months of my life#and the two julys since have been pretty good as well#like that is so nice from july what a good friend#CANNOT say the same for october. like since 2014 every single one has been significantly terrible (except 2015 and maybe 2018)#2014 depressed. 2016 no friends depressed. 2017 giving nothing. 2019 dropped from what was a really good year#2020 like every mental illness known to man. 2021 All the horrors happening at once. 2022 the aromantic's worst nightmare#2023 was just awful#and then 2024's theme is having an absolutely miserable job after like 15 months of unemployment#i only get 3 days off and i can't even enjoy them bc i know what they're leading to#my shifts are too short to be allowed breaks but way too long for that to be comfortable#there've been times the day before a shift when i think about going and end up feeling nauseous and that's never even happened before lol#i get paid in like week apparently so i might try and wait until then but like#also the worst part is it's basically what i did when i was 17 (kitchen porter/assistant/whatever) so i keep comparing them#except there were parts of that job i enjoyed like the dishwasher and the cool shower looking tap and doing the plates and cutlery etc#and also the people i worked with. and the shifts weren't too bad. and i had a glorious hyperfixation#anyway this job is none of those things it's actually all the things i specifically disliked about the other one lol#i miss the dishwasher she was so cool. i miss the hyperfixation i had in 2017 (but when do i not)#but yeah i guess the only advantages of this job is I'll have money again and it's more motivation to look for another job#once again wishing i was 17 bc she wasn't happy and had no friends or aim in life but she listened to a lot of music so#idk why i always get addicted to 2017 nostalgia maybe bc it was such a mediocre year#like if i start wishing I was 13 or 15 or 19 or 22 I'm just gonna get depressed bc they were so good#but there's no reason for me to want to be 23 or 20 or 16 or 14 bc like. what is there to want about those#but 17 is so average it's like a low enough standard or something idk. anyway#ramble
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bokettochild ¡ 4 months ago
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Just saw the update!
So, first thoughts!
Gremlin Legend and Sky is something I am LIVING for. Sky's little look of approval as he stands between Wars and Legend after that little move is sending me!
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(Wild is not impressed)
I also really love that JoJo played with Warriors' cape/scarf being capable of doing that, which is a major risk btw, but I love that we see it's potential now!
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Like, Legend's timing is perfect (and I love that this confirms the Legend v. Wars dynamic we all love) especially considering Hyrule was literally talking about the same thing and you'd THINK Captain-War-Hero over here would be more cautious because of it (although the fact this implies Legend doesn't trigger Warriors danger sense is GREAT for the fluff fic writers like me!)
Time and Wars looking like disappointed parents though is brilliant
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(Warriors with messy hair is so funny to me, help)
The continued portrayal of Time being too harsh with the boys, all tense after what happened to Twilight, that's great. i'm glad the consequences of past events are following them, it really makes this all feel linear!
I also am ALL HERE for the boys finding their differences! Warriors and Wild both admitting to being new to dungeon crawling and the monsters involved is a great thing we've all been playing with in fics, but making it cannon feels like validation :)
Also, Warriors being defensive of that, and maybe a bit prickly about their judgement, I think it shows a lot of him. he's got his pride,a although he's learned to tame it. He's feeling a bit miffed to realize how different he is, but doesn't want them seeing him as lesser as well (although they never would). I can also hear him using a clipped military sort of tone when speaking here. It's just the way his words are selected and strung together that makes it seem he's being very to the point, direct, and cold in his tone, which really sells the whole difference between a soldier and the "average nobody" that the rest of them were (ironic, since he's trying to act like the difference isn't a big deal but only further accentuates it this way).
Twilight being pleased that Epona is fine and just enjoying a meal made me grin so big though. He's all worried for his girl but she is, quite literally, happy as a horse over there LOL
Also, this bit:
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recognition for Sky's right-handedness, my beloved! (JoJo is giving us all the easter eggs!)
The fact that the passage is too small to let them all fight though is a brilliant way of preventing some of our heavy hitters and more skilled heroes from being able to do anything though!
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I like how that gives us the chance to see Time one-shot the foe and also gives him the impression that the rest are maybe not skilled enough to do this alone. WE all know they are, but they're a handicap to each other right now, and it's only further cementing in his mind that they're not ready for all this, which will make his overbearing speech and the judgement he casts on them in combat all the more an issue.
I mean, we all know the hero's shade was like that, but JoJo has shown Time acting this way from the start
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(Deep Shadows P.2)
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(Likelike)
So I guess we're in for more of that now, and most likely someone (probably Legend, as it's usually him, or Wind, who is very aware of judgement from teh rest) is definitely going to have to call him on it soon, maybe in the dungeon. Will that lead to some bonding with Time where he has to admit he cares and worries about them as though they're his own? I hope so!
Anyways, all this to say, we really are seeing how much they struggle to work together, so hopefully this dungoen will teach them all how to do that better, as Time mentioned earlier
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(Dawn p.8)
Now, to finish it off!I would like to thank JoJo for giving us so many beautiful shots of Twi this time around. I'll admit it now, he's pretty darn fine <3
That said, I'm loving the Legend content too! i hope we get to see some more starring moments from him going forwards, what with him being the dungeon veteran and all! It's great seeing his childish/playful side these last few updates, but I'm really craving some veteran Legend right now >:)
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lowkeyrobin ¡ 4 months ago
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Hi could I request a Carlos De Vil x reader where maybe she is the daughter of Roger and Anita Radcliffe from 101 Dalmatians. Maybe it could be like an enemies to lovers situation but not necessarily enemies cause Carlos is such a sweetheart
IM SOBBING YES YES YESSSSSS ; also fair warning I only write gn / they/them readers so I keep everything pretty in the middle so everyone feels included haha ; but thank you so much for requesting! I hope you enjoy 🫶
CARLOS DE VIL ; a new story
summary ; yours and carlos' parents were enemies in their stories, but you and carlos, not so much
warnings ; language
track ; something new, tokio hotel
word count ; 1.6k
masterlist
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You knew the story of Cruella De Vil and your parents one hundred one dalmatians. It was told to you as a bedtime story every night you asked for it growing up. So, naturally, you'd grown a distaste for Cruella De Vil, and her son who'd you'd just found out existed, Carlos.
You never sported a fancy dress or a tux, considering you worked with dogs.
During the VK's second day in Auradon, their search for their next class led them past your little pasture of grass where you worked with and trained dogs. From Yorkies to German Shepherds, you had them all.
But you'd unfortunately caught their attention as they passed by, your loud shouting and jogging leading them to you. Mal opens the door, Carlos behind her shivering and shaking at the sight of dogs.
"What are you doing?!" He asks her
Mal rolls her eyes. "Seeing what they're doing with all these dogs"
The four approach you, nearly scaring the hell out of you with their bright hair and clothes. They'd snuck up on you while you had your back turned, in your defense.
"Oh, hello! You must be the new kids?"
Mal nods. "Mal, Maleficent's daughter"
She accepts your handshake as you introduce yourself. "Y/n. Rodger and Anita Radcliffe's kid. Y'know, Cruella De Vil and the dalmatians?" You chuckle
Mal, Evie, and Jay all look over at Carlos, practically pretzeling himself as he holds his arms to his chest, feet stuck together to make himself a smaller target for all the dogs.
"Evie, daughter of Evil Queen" The blue haired girl smiles.
"I'm Jay" The boy with the long hair flexes his muscles.
Mal snaps at Carlos.
"Uh- Carlos."
"Cruella De Vil's son" Mal smirks.
You blink, staring at the boy. "Uhm, so! Why are you guys here? Shouldn't you be in class?"
Mal shrugs. "We'll be fine. What's with all the dogs?" She asks, watching a pitbull nearly tackle you as it jumps on you.
You giggle, rubbing his back. "I train dogs" You answer, looking back up at her.
"At school?"
You shrug. "Better than on the street. Fairy Godmother allowed it cause I'm such an excellent student" You give them a fake smile, knowing your grades were fairly average, maybe just below. "But, it's either this or they get killed" You shrug, "I work with cats as well, but my friend Marie is mostly in charge of that"
"Let me guess..." The purple haired girl begins. "Marie, like those three little talking kittens?"
You nod. "You can play with them," you say, referring to the dogs, "I'm not gonna tattle on you for skipping, I couldn't care less."
Carlos shrieks, jumping onto Jay's shoulders quickly as a small dog attempts to jump on him, wanting attention. Your eyes quickly widen, looking up at him. You look back at Mal, curious as to why he was so jumpy.
"He'll tell you" She snickers, her and Evie walking off to play with one of the smaller dogs.
Jay shoves Carlos off his shoulders, leaving him cowering in fear to chase after one of the larger dogs. Carlos stands still, staring at you while the dogs bark and growl, playing with each other and with his friends.
"Why are you so scared of dogs?" You chuckle, picking a little Shitzu up, holding her in your arms.
"My mom told me that dogs are little demons that eat boys when they're bad" He answers quickly, the words falling out of his mouth. His eyes are running wild, trying to make sure none of the dogs approached him.
Your expression softens, realizing he's not some evil asshole that you'd thought he was at first. Christ, he wasn't gonna hurt these dogs, he couldn't even be within the same space as them.
"Well, your mom lied to you. These dogs are the nicest creatures on this Earth, they wouldn't ever think of purposefully hurting you, let alone think of eating you" You chuckle, scratching the ears of the dog in your arms.
A slightly wide eyed look appears on his face, like he couldn't believe that his mom would lie to him about that, especially so much to create a phobia. But, it made sense to him, she's lied before, she treated him like some servant to her.
"You wanna hold her?" You ask him, referring to the dog in your arms.
He quickly shakes his head no, still a little too scared to wanna face his fear. For all he knew, you could've been lying to him.
"That's fine," you softly smile, trying to make him feel comfortable. You could tell he was a bit less tense, but you tried keeping things calm for him. The audible laughter of his friends fills your ears, seeing them practically playing tag with a handful of the dogs. "You don't have dogs on the Isle, do you?"
He shakes his head again.
"Well, feel free to do as you please. I don't think your friends wanna leave anytime soon"
"I don't think so either"
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It'd been a while since your first encounter with the new VK's. But, you didn't think they were some delinquents with no hope for a future like others did, they were just misunderstood and needed a chance to succeed.
Carlos, by himself, had come down to your spot one afternoon.
You were occupied with brushing the shed fur off the longer haired dogs, working on a retriever when he entered.
"Hi" He shyly smiles.
You turn back to look at him. "Oh, hey, Carlos!" You smile. "What's up?"
"I don't think dogs are evil anymore"
"Good" You chuckle. "What changed your mind?"
He shrugs. "You"
You roll your eyes, turning back to the retriever to hide the fact your face was heating up.
"You need any help?"
You stop yourself, looking back at him. "If you'd like to"
He smiles, approaching you to help.
"Just hold her paws like this. She likes squirming"
"She's pretty"
"She's got a hell of a coat"
He jumps as the dog barks, wanting out of your grips.
"Calm down, it's almost over"
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Carlos was still kinda jumpy with dogs, even after he'd been on the tourney team for nearly a year. You, in honor of his growth with his exposure to his fear, decided to give him a dog to finish his exposure therapy. That was all his idea, you never thought for a second to try and force him to get along with dogs.
But, he wanted to be closer to you, which meant he'd have to get used to the dogs.
To be totally open and honest, he'd quickly developed a crush on you. Crush as in he was totally, completely in love with you.
He adored your soft smiles of encouragement and reassurance, how you were so kind and understanding, how you saw him for who he was. A lot of people assumed that he and his friends were pure evil, not thinking for a moment that maybe since they were raised by and to be villains, that they had things backwards but had grown into good people. You did that for him like how Ben did for Mal, how Doug did for Evie, how Lonnie did for Jay.
He just wanted to love you, to hold you close, and thank you for being truly you.
If he had to admit it, he'd be honest about how he was damn near mortified of you after hearing who your parents were, thinking that you were just like the retelling of your parents in his mother's stories. Thank God you'd exposed him to the true story and proved to him that you weren't some asshole.
He never expected to fall in love with you like this, your stories of the past told in the present, just a little backwards. How funny would it be to explain how your parents were rivals in the past and you'd fallen in love? How ironic.
He knew at least that your parents liked him, he was not planning on introducing you to his mother though, if that ever could've happened. The barrier still being up was the perfect excuse not to.
But, he desperately wanted to ask you a very specific question, something that could really make or break your relationship.
"Do you wanna go to the cotillion with me?"
"Sure" You shrug. "But, I do have a little surprise for you"
"Hm?"
You stop yourselves on the path in the woods. You whistle, causing a dog to sprint up to you from the woods. He stops at your feet, barking at his arrival. You smile, picking him up, handing him to Carlos.
Carlos, confused, looks up at you.
"His name is Dude. Don't ask about that. But he's yours. He needs a home, you're a pretty fit candidate" You smile
Carlos happily pouts. "Why are you?-"
"Because I can" You shrug. "And you've come a long way with your fear. I'm proud of you"
He scratches Dude's ears, a happy smile upon his face. "Thank you?"
"You're welcome"
"I still don't understand how or why you decided that I needed a dog, but I appreciate it"
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At the cotillion, you and Carlos, after Uma's final attack, dance in the pool of water together, soaking yourselves while Mal and Ben dance together. Evie and Doug and Jay and Lonnie do as well, eyeing yours and Carlos' looks at each other, like you had hearts in your eyes.
You both jump in the water, splashing each other with it purposefully.
"Stop!" Carlos laughs, picking up a cupped handful of water to splash your face.
"Oh, you're dead!" You giggle, doing the same to him.
"Watch out, lovebirds!" Mal laughs, running past you two as Ben chases her.
"Lovebirds?"
"Do not act oblivious." Evie rolls her eyes playfully. "Just kiss already"
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mkkk12345 ¡ 8 months ago
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Divus Crewel x Wife Reader How they met
Sorry this took so long to write, I was once again procrastinating lol Feel free to request situations (I write slowly and I’ll be pretty busy for the next while sadly, but please do request if you would like to! I'll do anyone in twst for the most part with your usual restrictions) (side note I got the names for the dogs from the 101 Dalmatians)
1.2K words
------
Oh how Crewel would come to regret what he had done that day, he really should have seen it coming. “Hey! Professor Crewel, tell us how you met your wife!”
This had all started when Crowley had approached him with a challenge. “If you manage to raise the class average of the first years to let's say~ 80 percent? I'll give you a raise! Am I not so incredibly generous? Hahahhahaaaa” He cawed to himself as Crewel walked away absolutely done with the crow mans shenanigans
Rolling his eyes he responds “I guess there is no harm in attempting it”
As an encouragement to study harder he had told his students that if they were able to raise the class average to 80 percent by the next semester he would allow them to ask one question about his personal life. Of course all of the students had jumped at the chance to glance into the oh so mysterious and strict teachers personal life.
And that is why we are here now.
Professor Divus Crewel, now being forced to tell the oh so embarrassing story of how he had met his lovely wife.
“Well it's not the worst question you lot could have asked. I would rather not share this story but if I must I will do so…”
—----
Divus was around 17 when he first met Y/N It was a bright and sunny day, the weather was perfect and it just so happened to be a long weekend, a rare opportunity to visit home in the Queendom of Roses.
It was also a perfect day to take his beloved pet dalmatian Perdita for a nice long walk in the nearby park for some long deserved bonding time.
When Crewel was home from NRC he would often take Perdita to the park. Whether it was actual exercise or for some relaxing time outside to sketch new fashion designs, Perdita never really minded. But today was different, the minute the pair stepped out of the door the spotted dog went bolting in the direction of the park. “Hey! Slow down girl, why on earth are you in such a rush today?!” he said, trying to keep all his sketching supplies from falling to the ground.
Luckily for young Divus, the dalmatian did eventually slow down once they reached the park. “You act as if no one has been bringing you to the park since I left for school.” he said exasperated from the impromptu run.
Soon after catching his breath Divus and his companion walked over to a nearby bench so the boy could start sketching, but right as he put his sketching equipment down there was another sudden tug on the lead and once again they were off “hey! Slow down! What has gotten into you toda-” CRASH he had been cut off suddenly, crashing into another person as Perdita and what seemed to be another dalmatian were running circles around the two very effectively tying the two together.
When he finally pried his eyes away from the dogs he finally realized the full situation he was in, tied up with a very beautiful young lady. “Oh my god I'm so sorry he doesn't usually act like this, Pongo would you stop that already?”
“Don't worry it was neither of our faults really, I guess these two have taken quite the interest in one another” he said as he pulled his arm out of the leashes to awkwardly scratch the back of his neck a blush forming on his face as he looked at a very interesting tree behind her.
“They've actually been like this for weeks!” she laughed as she finally met his eyes, “Oh you must be Divus! Your mother talks about you very often.” He was surprised, not only was this girl absolutely stunning but she already knew him. Although he would never admit it, he practically fell in love with her right then and there, the way she beamed with joy, the slight blush on her cheeks, her laugh even in the strangest of situations.
In an attempt to calm himself he averted his gaze again and began to untie him and his new developing crush from the entanglement of leashes they were trapped in “Oh you must have met mother while she was walking Perdita I do hope she didn't tell you anything embarrassing” a strained smirk appeared on his face, knowing how his mother liked to tell the most embarrassing stories of his childhood.
“Well I cant say she didn't say anything” she laughed softly again drawing Divus’s attention for a moment the blush on his face growing ever brighter.
Snapping out of his short trance he asked “Might I ask for your name then since you already know mine?” With blush remaining on the tips of ears he held out his hand like a gentleman, both with the intention to give her, her dogs leash back but also to lead her over to a bench so they could hopefully continue their conversation.
“Oh my apologies how rude of me, My name is Y/N nice to finally meet you.” She bashfully took both the leash and his hand, walking over to the bench.
“The pleasure is mine”
—-
“And whilst that was all happening I looked over to our dogs, only to find them looking at each other with what seemed to be a grin on their faces like they planned that all out.” Crewel sighed as he recalled how proud those little devils looked. “After quite a long conversation that ended up in me never actually starting a new sketch, we traded contact information and left the park.” he looked up at his students now regretting all his life decisions.
“And that is how I met my wife, now it seems like class is over, please leave quickly so I can question why I ever became a teacher in the first place.”
“But prof how did you ask her out?” “Yeah yeah! Who was the first one to confess!” “How did you propose????”
Frustrated crewel quickly answered “If I recall correctly you were all only given the privilege of asking one question, now if you don't stop pestering me I will be giving you even more homework.” a completely very unnoticable blush began to form on his face.
“Sorry sir!” Everyone shouted in unison, but on their way out the students did not miss the slightest hint of red that dusted their professor's cheeks as he pretended to sort through papers.
Once everyone had left and silence had fallen through the classroom a laughter could be heard coming from the Professors phone. “Awwwww darling, you retell that story so fondly~” Crewel sighed as he finally looked over at his phone
“I honestly can not believe I let you talk me into letting you listen to that.” he said with a hand firmly planted on his face covering any sign of pink that appeared.
“Consider it as repaying me for when I dropped those papers off for you. Now hurry home our two rascals of dogs are looking at me like I should thank them for getting us together.” she laughed nervously
“Yes yes honey see you soon” ending the call with a small smirk as he muttered “I should buy some more dog treats on the way back.”
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a-dauntless-daffodil ¡ 4 months ago
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The year charlie stops being goth. Vaggie almost drops her cause, she looks really cute in that suit, and now she's kinda bubbly and sweet and omg
well now look what you did
Charlie: "Okay, new year, new me, same old pick up line. It's.... TRUST FALL TIIIIIME!" (yeets self) "WHEEE!!"
Vaggie: (swooping as usual) "Charlie!?"
Charlie: "Huggles!"
Vaggie: "What- you-"
Charlie: "You said my naaaaamee~"
Vaggie: "I- I almost didn't who'd climbed the clocktower this year- You, seem different?"
Charlie: "Yep! It's the suit!"
Vaggie: "That's, that's not what I-"
Charlie: "I started wearing them after last extermination!"
Vaggie: "-why-?"
Charlie: "Because I like it. Do YOU like it?"
Vaggie: "I’m, more wondering about the rest of you. You’re, smiling.”
Charlie: “I’ve smiled before!”
Vaggie: “But you’re happy smiling?”
Charlie: “Of course I am! I’m happy to see you.”
Vaggie: “….”
Charlie: (giggles) "Are you blushing under your mask?"
Vaggie: "No!"
Charlie: "Caaaaan I steal your mask for a second and check~?"
Vaggie: "No."
Charlie: "Aw. But I've MISSED you."
Vaggie: "... princess… how many times have you fallen off of the tower today."
Charlie: (twining arms around vaggie and kicking up her heels) "Only this once, don't worry."
Vaggie: "I wasn't-"
Charlie: "I only jump when I know you'll be there to catch me!"
Vaggie: "No you don't. That first year you didn't even know I existed, and you still threw yourself off the roof. Pointlessly."
Charlie: "To be fair it would've been pretty pointy if I'd landed on the spiked railing ten floors down..."
Vaggie: "And you would've gotten back up from that with only bruises, miss Morningstar, it would have made a mess and hurt a little and that's it. Pointless."
Charlie: "I know~"
Vaggie: "It’s a waste of my time AND yours.”
Charlie: “I don’t think so? You could never be a waste of my t-”
Vaggie: “It is a waste! These stupid stunts are just you publicly protesting the extermination by trying to catch the eye of someone up in heaven!"
Charlie: "And I did, didn't I?"
Vaggie: "No you didn't and you never will-"
Charlie: "I caught you."
Vaggie: "..."
Charlie: "…everything you just said? I finally realized it last year. Took a while but, it finally clicked and, it kinda changed everything for me. You know?"
Vaggie: "No." (lands on clocktower) "I should go."
Charlie: (playing with vaggie's mask) "Why'd you catch me that first year, scary lady exorcist?"
Vaggie: "That's not my name."
Charlie: "You knew who I was. The fall wouldn't kill me."
Vaggie: "Do you want me to drop you."
Charlie: "Why did you care?"
Vaggie: "I don't care- I just didn't let you fall."
Charlie: "Why?"
Vaggie: "What do you mean why? I'm an exorcist, an angel not a demon. I'm here to punish the souls of sinners, not to- not to BE like them."
Charlie: "But you haven't been punishing them for years."
Vaggie: "Yes I have. By keeping you out of the way of my sisters-"
Charlie: "I looked you up in the registers of heaven since last time. They're public records, did you know? Anyone in hell can check how many sinners an angel's killed. It's a warning I guess, and you... You're one of the best killers the exorcists have, aren't you?"
Vaggie: "How could you look me up. You don't have my name and THOSE are most certainly NOT listed in hell."
Charlie: "The "winner's streak" tally board has a mug shot of each of you on it, along with your kill count. Finding you wasn't hard. Every exorcist's mask looks a little bit different and I've doodled yours often enough."
Vaggie: "You what?"
Charlie: "ARE you one of the best exorcists?"
Vaggie: "Yes. I average five hundred per cleansing. Clearly hunting down sinful souls isn't a problem for me."
Charlie: "Right. And how many sinners do you think I save every year?"
Vaggie: "I don't know."
Charlie: "If it was enough to matter, or even just ONE, do you think I would have stopped doing it long enough to have climbed heaven's tower in the first place?"
Vaggie: "What does that matter."
Charlie: "You aren't helping anyone kill sinners when you keep an eye on me like this."
Vaggie: "I would be out there with my sisters right now if it wasn't for you."
Charlie: "But you're not."
Vaggie: "And who's fault is that?"
Charlie: "Yours."
Vaggie: "Your highness, this is stupid-"
Charlie: "You don't like killing people, do you?"
Vaggie: "Like it? No. Who could… But sinners have earned it."
Charlie: "I don't think so. I don't you did either."
Vaggie: "Don't group me with them. I'm nothing like them and not suffering down here in hell."
Charlie: "You're in hell right now though."
Vaggie: "For ONE day and only out of duty, to protect heaven. Your dashing new bowtie is tied on too tight, princess, it's constructing the blood flow to your head."
Charlie: "No other angels ever come here, only exorcists."
Vaggie: "Of course no one else comes here why would anyone-"
Charlie: "So what did you do to land yourself the job murdering souls for all eternity?"
Vaggie: ".... I chose duty."
Charlie: "That's what I thought, but." (whispering) "You've been ignoring that duty and your spear the whole time we've been talking..."
Vaggie: (sighs) "What does any of that have do to with you putting on suit and bowtie, princess?"
Charlie: "A lot." (smiling) "You like talking with me. You like me."
Vaggie: "The new suit factors in here somewhere I'm sure."
Charlie: "It makes me feel more me!"
Vaggie: "Congratulations."
Charlie: "Like it?"
Vaggie: "There is no way that one well-fitted suit made you turn this happy."
Charlie: "Ohhhh, well-fitted huh?"
Vaggie: "I can see that much. Everyone can see that much."
Charlie: "But I don’t care and aren’t asking them! Do you like what I did with my hair too? Look, I can smooth it back now all suave- Aw don't look away! You really are blushing under there!"
Vaggie: "You're infuriating."
Charlie: (laughs) "Well! That's says more about YOU and YOUR taste in women than it does about me!"
Vaggie: "My taste in w- My WHAT?"
Charlie: "I think you're very tasty too, bi the way~"
Vaggie: "I- I'm setting you down now."
Charlie: "Emphasis on the BI!"
Vaggie: "Please stop clinging to me, princess, you've always been head and shoulders taller than me, this looks ridiculous-"
Charlie: "Ridiculous? I think we're cuuuuuuuute."
Vaggie: "My lieutenant won't think so if she sees me like this!"
Charlie: "Um, uh- If by lieutenant you mean that one extra angry exorcist with the fancy officer's sword who was glaring at us a while ago-"
Vaggie: "SHE WAS WHAT!?"
Charlie: "Thennnnn I think you're about fifteen minutes of demon princess cuddling to late to worry about it!"
Vaggie: "Shit!"
Charlie: "Don't worry about it! At least we have each other." (snuggles)
Vaggie: "No." (lets go)
Charlie: (still dangling off of her) "...did I mention I've got good upper body and core strength too? I mean, I don't USE it much, but-"
Vaggie: (SIGHS) (crosses arms hugging spear) (sits down)
Charlie: "-OH I'm in your lap now that's- Wow!!!"
Vaggie: "I’m not talking with you."
Charlie: "That's okay! You're more the cool and quiet type, I can talk for both of us!"
Vaggie: "Please. Don't."
Charlie: "If you meant that then you wouldn't have kept on catching and listening to me, year after year, even when I was being all goth and emo and snarky about it!"
Vaggie: "I was not listening."
Charlie: "What's the names of my goat childhood buddies slash demon plushies slash part time bodyguards?"
Vaggie: "You mean Razzle and Dazzle..?"
Charlie: "And their fav food??"
Vaggie: "Doughnuts."
Charlie: "HEH. You call THAT not listening?"
Vaggie: "Ugh."
Charlie: "Now let's see- You have a VERY nice lap but, can we move spear a liiiittle bit? It makes it kinda hard to cuddle-"
Vaggie: "No."
Charlie: "Skill issue, gotcha. I'll figure something out!"
Vaggie: (groans) (does absolutely nothing else to stop the cuddling)
202 notes ¡ View notes
immaturityofthomasastruc ¡ 1 year ago
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IOTA Reviews: Representation
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Oh, so NOW child abuse is bad. Could have fooled me last episode!
Let's get into the twenty-fifth episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fifth season: Representation
We start off with an English news report recapping the ending of “Revolution”, stating that Ms. Bustier is going to run for mayor, conveniently ignoring her attempted coup in “Collusion”. We also see that Gabriel and Tomoe are still uncomfortably focused on making Adrien and Kagami appear to be a couple in public, much to their dismay. While Kagami is visited by Argos (who once again sneaks up on her, like he usually does), Adrien realizes he can transform into his space form and see Marinette whenever he wants and transforms into Cat Noir, planning to reveal his identity to Marinette. Hey, did he even tell Ladybug about his sudden departure? Because it didn't go well the last time he left Paris without telling her (New York Special).
We then cut to Marinette right after the events of “Revolution”, going to the end of the year dance... even though when we saw Adrien and Kagami in London, the sun was still setting, and France's time zone is only about an hour later, meaning Adrien and Kagami must have flown there at ludicrous speed.
Meanwile, Argos and Kagami somehow got from London to Paris offscreen, and watch Marinette from afar, with Kagami revealing she knows she's Ladybug. They decide to tell Marinette that Felix knows who Monarch is in order to ensure his downfall. Nah, I'm just kidding. Here's the real reason they're coming to Marinette for help.
Kagami: My mother and Gabriel Agreste will never allow us to love each other freely. Only Ladybug can help us.
Yep, rather than prioritize the fact that Gabriel is endangering the citizens of Paris on a daily basis, Kagami is seriously more concerned about her relationship with her boyfriend being tampered with. This is like saying Lex Luthor is evil because he cheats on his taxes. Argos transforms back into Felix, and... oh, for the love of God... he disguises himself as Adrien in order to get closer to Marinette. You can't keep portraying Felix as this master of disguise if he only has ONE disguise!
Marinette sees “Adrien” and assumes he came back from London from her, assuming her boyfriend is much more active that the writers actually believe he is, so she tries to follow him while avoiding the guests at the party. Meanwhile, Gabriel and Tomoe learn their children are gone, so he goes to talk with Nathalie and—why the hell is she like that?
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Seriously, this has never been established as something that happens when someone uses the broken Peacock Miraculous. Why didn't this happen to Emilie? She looks pretty healthy in her little coffin, and I doubt Gabriel is an embalmer.
Anyway, after Nathalie once again reminds us that she hates Gabriel, but not enough to call the cops on him, Gabriel transforms into Monarch and immediately detransforms back in order to akumatize himself into Nightormentor.
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Nightormentor is a pretty average recolor of the Collector's design, which kind of makes sense, considering that Gabriel himself intended the Akuma for himself. The star pattern is okay, but there's not much I can really say. As for his powers, he's just another Sandboy, being able to force people to hallucinate their worse nightmares, only instead of a pillow, his weapon is a staff created from a pen containing the Akuma, with the Horse Miraculous' Voyage to boot. Why he didn't just give himself the same powers he gave Truth when he's trying to find Adrien is anyone's guess.
Cat Noir arrives at the Eiffel Tower to talk with Marinette, just as Nightormentor appears. The two fight, and after a few civilians get caught in the crossfire, Nightormentor escapes through Voyage. As Cat Noir heads to the Dupain-Cheng bakery at the advising of Max, Alya and Nino decide that the totally not useless Resistance should get involved.
While Marinette gives chase, Felix leads her into the school's art classroom, where he transforms into Argos and creates a Sentimonster using Kagami's ring. Felix and Kagami use the Sentimonster's power to do... uh... whatever the hell this is.
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Yeah, this is basically a flashback, but the animators probably blew their budget needed for the new models on Ms. Bustier's baby bump, so we're getting this instead, thanks to the Sentimonster Argos created. There are several scenes of Cat Noir and Nightormentor interspersed, but like what I did with Marinette's flashback in “Derision”, I'll give you the summary before I talk about my problems with this.
When Adrien's mother and aunt, Emilie and Amelie, were born, Emilie (who was born seven seconds early) was trusted with the family heirlooms, the two rings we first saw all the way back in “Felix”. Even though this meant she would inherit the family name, Emilie didn't really like doing... whatever the Graham de Vanily family wanted her to do, but Amelie did. Eventually, while studying abroad, Emilie met Gabriel, and the two fell in love. Before marrying Gabriel, Emilie gave up her role as the sole inheritor of the Graham de Vanily family's vague legacy, while Amelie married a man named Colt to please her parents. Both couples wanted children, but it's heavily implied that Emilie and Amelie were infertile, so their wishes weren't able to come true. Emilie finally managed to get a bun in the oven thanks to the Peacock Miraculous, but this made Colt jealous that he couldn't have a child. Out of the goodness of her heart, Emilie asked Gabriel to give the Peacock Miraculous to Colt, in exchange for letting the Gorilla guard Adrien in the future. Using his own jealousy as a source of power, Colt got Amelie pregnant, though at the cost of his health. Colt figured this was the price he had to pay for using “sorcery”, and used this as an excuse to treat Felix like a monster and ordered him around using the ring containing his Amok. Felix himself was unaware that he wasn't human until Colt accidentally broke the ring (which wasn't one of the two wedding rings used to control Adrien and was an entirely different ring containing Felix's Amok), which he stole as soon as Colt died. This is meant to explain why Felix decided to steal back the Peacock Miraculous, in order to save his life. Felix later met Kagami, and the two explain that they need “Someone like Ladybug” to help them.
Now if your only information about this episode is through my summary, it seems simple enough. For everyone else who actually saw this sequence in the episode itself, I'm guessing your thoughts were about the same as mine.
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Let's go over every problem I have with this scene, starting with...
#1: The Way Kagami and Felix Explain This
Let me just ask something: Why can't Felix just talk to Marinette about what he knows since he now knows she's Ladybug instead of telling her everything through this weird play? You can still tell Marinette all of this without your two-man show. In fact, why did Felix have to wait until he knew Marinette was Ladybug instead of just talking to her the next time he saw her? Yeah, you could argue it's easier this way, but like I've been saying since Season 4, Felix has had no excuse to wait this long to tell Ladybug about the fact that he knows who her greatest enemy is.
And why the hell is it presented this way? Why does Felix have to recontextualize the story of his family's history in the form of a play? Why turn it into a stereotypical fairy tale that leaves out the names of all the important people, like Emilie, Amelie, Colt (whose name I only learned through the transcript of this episode), and Gabriel? If it was like a hidden message Felix and Kagami wanted to convey to Marinette, that would make sense, but why do they have to be so cryptic when they're only putting this show on for one person? You could easily avoid a good chunk of the questions this raises if this was a show Felix and Kagami put on for the public that Marinette was able to learn the information from. Yeah, it still wouldn't explain why Felix can't just tell Marinette about who Gabriel really is, but at least it's something.
The way it all happens kind of reminds me of this scene from this old Halloween special I saw a lot as a kid, Scary Godmother: Halloween Spooktacular. In that scene, some of the kids act out a scene of this little girl's parents entrusting her with a flashlight to explain why she carries it around, in order to scare off any monsters she runs into, using the graveyard they were in as a makeshift set. This scene works a lot more because it's done in more of a tongue-in-cheek way, with some of the kids breaking character to boost their own egos (for example, the kid playing the mom comments about how responsible she is), and how one kid in particular gradually gets fed up with the whole thing. The scene does its job at delivering exposition in a way that isn't meant to be taken too seriously, and it's clear this is being done by some kids goofing around in-universe.
With this episode, it's clear that the writers want the audience to take this whole backstory seriously in spite of how absurd it all is. Seriously look at this.
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We are seriously expected to take this backstory seriously when it looks like some theater major's midterm project. The animators want it to look artsy and unique for the sake of making it look artsy and unique. Why does it look like a play these two put together themselves if they're supposedly using a Sentimonster's power to do it? If the unnamed Sentimonster's powers is how Marinette is seeing all this, why can't it actually be seen as a flashback? Was it always intended to be a handmade play that was changed to the product of a Sentimonster at the last minute?
I get that the animators probably wanted kids to pick up on the visuals of the play, but even then, it makes it hard to really stomach the serious themes this backstory brings up, like infertility and child abuse, with the way they're presented. Not only do Felix and Kagami all play the characters using these white jumpsuits and masks, they also do all the voices, meaning that the only “dialogue” we hear from Colt is delivered by Kagami putting on a deeper voice. Let me repeat that: the only times we hear Colt, the abusive parent and all around garbage human being, talk, it's done by a teenage girl trying to make her voice sound deeper.
But hey, maybe the goofy voice will be overshadowed by the nuanced depiction of child abuse, right? Right?
#2: The Portrayal of Colt and the Double Standards Regarding His Treatment of Felix
I have never seen a single show struggle this much to convey a lesson as simple as “Child abuse is bad”.
When it comes to the parents in this show, terrible parents like Gabriel, Audrey, and Tomoe are almost never held accountable for the way they treated their children. If the writers aren't claiming they really love their children deep down, they're either downplaying how cruel they are at best or playing their behavior for laughs at worst. But here we are, the penultimate episode of the fifth season, and we finally have a parent who is unambiguously treated as a terrible human being with no redeeming qualities... and I still have problems with this.
This flashback really goes out of its way to let the audience that Colt was a real piece of scum in life. He only wanted a child out of jealousy, used his Amok to force Felix to do whatever he wanted, was heavily implied to have physically beat him at times, and blamed him for his poor health on his deathbed when he was the one who wanted to use the Peacock in the first place. Now that I think about it, why did Colt even use the Peacock to create Felix instead of Emelie? Was the episode so determined to paint Colt as a bastard that he wanted to be the one to create Felix himself?
The point I'm trying to make is that the show doesn't really explain why Colt was like this. Why was he such an angry man who treated his only child like crap? I don't know, because all the show's telling me is that he was just a dick. He honestly feels more like a caricature than anything else. He's only as terrible of a person he is in order to make the audience sympathize with Felix. I'm not saying that what Felix went through was okay, but it has the same energy as scenes of Gabriel talking to Emilie's body. It's mostly there to make the audience sympathize with an antagonistic character in spite of all the things they've done.
What's really weird is that even though the whole point of this play is so Felix can tell Marinette Gabriel is Monarch, so what does Colt have to do with this? I'm not saying he's not worth mentioning, but it makes no sense for Felix to tell Marinette about his abusive father before he tells her about Gabriel. It feels more like Felix wants to find a way to excuse his actions before telling Marinette about Gabriel being Monarch. And remember when “Derision” made a big deal about Chloe's terrible parents not excusing her actions? Funny how that conveniently doesn't apply to Felix in this episode.
In fact, let's talk about the elephant in the room: The fact that this episode aired right after “Revolution”, an episode that literally said a character living under an abusive and controlling parent was a fitting punishment for her. HOW THE HELL IS THIS ANY DIFFERENT FROM THAT? If anything, this episode really shows the double standards this show has about child abuse, how the only way your situation can be taken seriously is if you're a “good victim”. Chloe's a “bad victim”, so she doesn't get any sympathy when her mother outright says she's going to take control of her life, yet when Colt actually takes control of Felix's life, we're supposed to sympathize with him now. Why am I supposed to feel bad for Felix now when you just told me I shouldn't feel bad for someone in a similar situation last episode?
In fact, one theory I have about this backstory is that it was intended to kill two birds with one stone, no pun intended. I believe that this episode wasn't just written to give us more insight into who Felix is as a character, but also to show the audience what “real” child abuse is like. As far as the show is concerned with Gabriel, Audrey, and Tomoe? They're not actually abusive parents, Colt is, so you should condemn his actions, and not those three. It's blatant double standards, which is nothing new for this show.
#3: The Way Amelie Just... Lets This All Happen
In my “Derision” review, I discussed how strange it was that so many people in Marinette's life did nothing to help her against Chloe, and the same thing applies here with Amelie.
This episode never really explains where Amelie was when Colt was abusing Felix, much less if she was even aware of it. At least with Marinette's parents, they didn't know because most of Marinette's suffering was at school. Amelie lives with Felix and Colt, so what's her excuse? She seriously didn't overhear Colt yelling at Felix or notice the orders Colt gave Felix? Was she just that ignorant to her child's suffering? Remember, this is supposed to be Felix's good parent.
In fact, does Amelie even know Felix is a Sentimonster? Yeah, “Emotion” established that Amelie knows Felix is Argos, but this episode doesn't really make it clear if she knows Felix is a Sentimonster or not. If it was clear Amelie knew nothing about what Felix really was, it would arguably make things easier to stomach, as she wouldn't know the power Colt had over him.
Instead, even though she's Felix's mother, the show doesn't really explain what she actually did when Colt was making Felix's life a living hell, especially since the flashback says that Amelie was forced to marry Colt, so you can't even say she was blinded by love here. Hell, I'm not even sure if Amelie knew the cause of Colt's untimely passing.
#4:This Doesn’t Really Do Much to Explain Felix’s Actions
Now before you say I'm being insensitive, let me make one thing clear: My issue isn't with the fact that this was done to get the audience to sympathize with Felix. The problem I have is that the backstory doesn't do enough to explain why Felix did the things he did.
Okay, Felix wants the Peacock Miraculous. Understandable, he doesn't want to die, so he has to do morally questionable things to preserve his life like betraying the only person capable of stopping the man who can kill him. What's less understandable is his plan to get the Peacock Miraculous from Gabriel. You'll notice that the backstory didn't mention Felix's first appearance, where he only stole the rings belonging to Amelie's family, and he didn't even think to look for the Peacock. Instead, it cuts from Felix realizing he's a Sentimonster to him striking a deal with Gabriel, not even mentioning that he gave Gabriel back one of the rings as part of the deal, which still makes no sense.
If Felix's goal from the start was to get the Peacock Miraculous, why did he bother stealing all of Marinette's Miraculous as a bargaining chip for the deal instead of the family ring? In fact, why did Felix even steal the ring and wait an entire season to trade it back to Gabriel for the Peacock a season later? And for someone who claims to care about Adrien, he really didn't see anything wrong with giving Gabriel one of the two rings capable of overriding his free will.
As a matter of fact, why the hell is Felix even so hostile towards Adrien? Why did he go out of his way to smear his reputation in his debut episode if all he wanted to do was make a bargain with Hawkmoth? In “Risk”, he mocked Adrien for how he talked, while Adrien himself was aware of how he made him look bad in front of his friends, and that's not even getting into how he made himself look like Adrien as part of his plan to betray Ladybug, which would have screwed him even more if Adrien wasn't already Cat Noir. For someone who claims he wants to protect him from Gabriel, Felix really doesn't care about his cousin all that much.
In fact, why does Felix even hate Gabriel at all? The show hinted that the two had a history, yet during the backstory, which I need to remind you, was told from Felix's perspective on the events, has a surprisingly generous portrayal of Gabriel. Did Felix know Gabriel was Hawkmoth/Shadowmoth/Monarch during his first appearance? Does Felix blame Gabriel for how Colt treated him growing up? Does Felix hate Gabriel for how he treats Adrien? Did Gabriel intend to get Colt sick in the first place? Seriously, what is Felix's deal with Gabriel?!
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How does a flashback organized by Felix himself do nothing to really explain why he did the things he did?
#5: The Fact That There Are STILL Several Unanswered Questions Here
For something meant to fill the audience in on several important topics, there are still so many questions about the history of the Agreste and Graham de Vanily families.
Other than the vague backstory about them being rich, we still know nothing about Emilie and Amelie other than them being rich and possibly infertile. We don't know if Amelie ever loved Colt, if she knew he was abusing Felix, or if she even knew if he used the Peacock to play god.
On a related note, why did Emilie and Gabriel decide to use the Peacock Miraculous to create a son instead of adopting? Scratch that, why did she specifically create a Sentimonster to give birth to like a normal baby? Was there some kind of Macbeth-esque guideline that Emilie had to give birth to a child in order for said child to get the inheritance? Did she use the ring to control Adrien like Gabriel does now? Seriously, this is the character the show's conflict is all based around, and we still know nothing about her other than the fact that she was nice.
This flashback just makes no sense, and is such a stupid and confusing way to deliver exposition.
Anyway, during all this, Cat Noir and Nightormentor are fighting, and for the third time this season, Cat Noir attempts to Cataclysm him someone, even when he had Nightormentor pinned down. Nightormentor breaks free and hits Cat Noir with his magic dust, causing him to hallucinate... Cat Blanc?
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Yeah, the script calls this form “Anticat”, but given how it looks like a reused Cat Blanc model coupled with the petrified people of Paris, this is clearly meant to bring Cat Blanc to mind. The problem is that NEITHER CAT NOIR OR NIGHTORMENTOR KNOW ABOUT THAT. Why would you remind audiences about an Akuma that technically never existed?
Better yet, is this what Cat Noir trying to his Cataclysm on people this past season (Destruction, Jubilation, Derision) has been building up to? The fear that he'll lose control? You could have fooled me, as he never really showed that much remorse for almost hurting people other than Monarch. Yeah, you could argue that because Nightormentor based his hallucinations off his victims' worst fears, but again, this fear had little to no buildup this season because Cat Noir never felt any guilt for Cataclysming Monarch after “Destruction”, and whenever tried to use his Cataclysm on other people, Cat Noir never really realized the weight of his actions. If you want to make a character arc about Cat Noir worrying about hurting people with his powers, go more into the guilt he feels for hurting Monarch and using that guilt to affect his actions. Don't just use some “Cat Blanc” nostalgia bait to convince the audience that there's been a character arc.
Nightormentor takes advantage of Cat Noir's emotional state to get his Miraculous, only for the Resistance to save Cat Noir by... throwing stuff at him. And this is how they defeat him. While Nino, Alya, Ivan, and Zoe distract Nightormentor, Kim and Max help Cat Noir focus, Cat Noir Cataclysms Nightormentor's baton.
Zoe traps the Akuma in a jar, Cat Noir doesn't take it, he heads off to detransform and confess to Marinette, only for the hallucination to still affect him since Ladybug didn't use Miraculous Ladybug to fix the damage, and even though he knows it's just a hallucination, he still uses it as a reason to not reveal his identity to Marinette, even after Ladybug de-evilizes the Akuma herself.
The episode ends with Gabriel and Tomoe locking Adrien and Kagami in these white rooms while under heavy surveillance to ensure they won't escape, vowing to start “Operation: Perfect Alliance”. Because these two like using the word “perfect” more than they like subjecting their children to what one of my anons referred to as “white torture”.
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Because that's a good way to keep your children under control: psychological torment.
Other than the stuff with Felix and Kagami, this episode was pretty dull.
There's just not much I can really say here. The plot was barebones, all Marinette did was listen to Felix and Kagami's story so the writers didn't have to involve any of them in the main conflict, and even Cat Noir confronting his akumatized father doesn't have a lot of weight to it because towards the end, it focuses more on Adrien's nightmare instead of his relationship with his father.
This episode is nothing more than a prologue for the final battle. It's only here to establish Adrien and Kagami's presence in London, Marinette learning Gabriel is Monarch, and even more setup for Gabriel and Tomoe's final plan. And trust me, the buildup will be far from worth it.
THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS... FELIX
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It's amazing. The only time this season Felix goes out of his way to actually help Ladybug, and he still screws it up. He abducted Kagami from her hotel in London without thinking of Tomoe hunting him down again when that was the entire plot of “Pretension”, only decided to tell Marinette he knows who Monarch is because he's getting in the way of his relationship with his girlfriend, did so in an unnecessarily convoluted way, and even though he made a big deal about not wanting to use Sentimonsters in his last appearance, he still used one to tell Marinette his life story instead of just saying “My uncle is Monarch”.
And if you think Felix will get a chance to truly redeem himself in the finale, think again, bucko. Other than a brief cameo, this is the last thing he'll do this season. Aren't you glad the writers made this character prominent for seven episodes over three seasons and did nothing else with him?
469 notes ¡ View notes
mulletmitsuya ¡ 11 months ago
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Tokyo revengers groupchat
Warnings: suggestive, swearing, 5th grade humour, an unknown femboy is mentioned, Takeomi is homophobic but no one cares, also this has the Sano's and everyone involved or close to them
Desc: Shin gets his first date in like 10 years. Also this is the final timeline but events don't exactly match up to canon so👍
Shinichiro: GUYS
Shinichiro: I'M GOING ON A DATE😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
Benkei: i don't care
Takeomi: congratulations. it's only been like 30 years
Wakasa: how many times have you started a conversation exactly like this? give up for all of our sakes. we're tired🙏
Takeomi: Shin there's nothing wrong with being single at your big age. it's not humiliating at all
Wakasa: aren't you single?😐
Shinichiro: screw you guys, actually ☹️
Benkei: emoji's are for children. stop using them. you're gonna frown? as a grown man? what's wrong with you
Shinichiro: what's wrong with frowning??
Shinichiro: YOU KNOW WHAT I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY A PRETTY GIRL ASKED ME ON A DATE
Shinichiro: we're meeting at a karaoke bar
Takeomi: if this happens to be real, do not drink
Takeomi: you get touchy when you're drunk and it's fucking weird😐
Wakasa: girls might think that's weird and creepy
Shinichiro: that was one time and i apologized
Takeomi: i don't give a fuck if you apologized you kissed me you fucking cunt
Takeomi: i don't even wanna talk about it i'm gonna vomit
Shinichiro: it was just a goodnight kiss. for the homies 😕
Wakasa: you stuck your tongue down his throat dude
Shinichiro: we were wearing socks so it was fine
Benkei: you just say shit
Shinchiro: you guys are ruining my vibe rn so i'm just gonna get ready for my date and the future love of my life
Shinchiro: she's so pretty i'm in love with her
Shinichiro: oh man i'm getting butterflies
Takeomi: send a pic
Shinchiro: you'll see her soon enough if things go well
Takeomi: guess i'm never seeing her
Sano affiliated groupchat
Inupi: idk a lot of us in here aren't Sano's and it kind of annoys me that this is what the groupchat's called
Mikey: get that stick out of your ass or leave like it's not that deep
Inupi: shut the fuck up you dwarf
Mikey: i'm the average height for a japanese male
Inupi: "i'm the average height for a japanese male🤓☝️"
Inupi: and no you're not. you're 5'3 and the average height is 5'7
Mikey: at least i have more than 3/4 of my face
Inupi: should you be saying that when you have a history of mutilating people's faces
Inupi: isn't that right Haruchiyo
Haruchiyo: kill yourself
Senju: girls, stop fighting
Emma: guys please not again
Draken: Inupi don't leave, Shinichiro wanted us here for something important so can we be civil for a few minutes
Inupi: whatever
Inupi: where is he anyway he said we should all be online cause of an emergency and he's not even here
Izana: are the old people here?
Takeomi: we're not old
Izana: ok grandpa
Kakucho: what's the emergency?
Benkei: fuck if we know
Wakasa: if i've come here to waste my time i'm gonna twist his dick off
Mikey: why do you want his dick in your hand🤨?
Wakasa: stop playing games Manjiro...
Benkei: is corporal punishment still legal
Mikey: i was kidding 😭
Mikey: also i'm a full grown adult so that would just be assault
Benkei: is assault still illegal
Emma: uh yes?
Benkei: i don't know why i asked because i'm going to do it anyway
Mikey: are your anger management classes even working💀?
Mikey: and lucky for me i'll be in Paris tmr for a fan meetup so😋
Shinchiro: hi guys
Wakasa: what do you want
Takeomi: i bet he fumbled
Mikey: fumbled what?
Takeomi: he had a date
Inupi: what's the emergency Shinichiro?
Shinchiro: i need you guys to answer these questions as quickly as possible
Shinichiro: what's a femboy??
Emma: now what does that have to do with the urgent emergency you told us you had?? i missed my pregnancy yoga classes for this? SHIN?
Senju: why is everything you do so unserious
Baji: Haruchiyo's a femboy
Haruchiyo: no the fuck i'm not you piece of shit
Mikey: you're not?
Haruchiyo: no??
Mikey: but you're pretty, and you look like a girl so?
Haruchiyo: no... but uh, thanks ig
Senju: girl stand up. this is embarrassing😕
Shinichiro: guys please this is serious i can't hide in the bathroom forever
Emma: what are you doing in the bathroom??
Shinichiro: i'm on my date right? so we're having a great time and we're singing and drinking and i tell her what a pretty girl she is and she says "girl?" and i'm like "yeah you're a pretty girl" and she says she's a femboy and i don't know what that means like what does "boy" have to do with anything so i went to the bathroom to ask you guys this question real quick because she said we're going to her apartment after this (!!!i think for sex!!!) but i'm just trying to clear up what she meant by the boy part
Baji: LMAOOOOOOO
Izana: it means "she" is a he
Izana: that's not a girl, it's a feminine presenting man. hence the description femboy
Mikey: I'M FUCKING CRYING 😭😭😭😭
Baji: can you even call yourself femboy when you're like in your 30's? that's a grown ass man
Takeomi: what's up with you and all these suspiciously gay situations
Wakasa: i think the universe is trying to tell you something
Benkei: how did you not know he was a guy
Shinichiro: because she's pretty! like a girl
Haruchiyo: *he's a guy
Shinichiro:
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Baji: why's the cat sad. that's fucked up
Kakucho: it's basically how Senju looks like a boy most of the time and Haruchiyo looks like a girl
Takeomi: how did you not see a bulge or something
Shinchiro: she's wearing a skirt
Mikey: *he
Wakasa: and nothing was swinging out?
Izana: what kind of question is this
Emma: stop being vulgar Waka-nii😐. this is such a stupid conversation
Wakasa: aren't you a grown woman tho i feel like you can handle me talking about dicks
Shinchiro: holy shit she's a he
Inupi: can we go now
Baji: a hole is a hole
Emma: Baji ew����
Takeomi: the difference between them is that one makes you gay because you're fucking a guy in the ass and the other one is normal
Baji: same difference
Takeomi: did you read what i just said
Mikey: he's illiterate
Baji: you can't insult me with a word i don't know the meaning of
Inupi: Shin what's the verdict?
Shinichiro: well...this is still a very pretty person so...
Takeomi: bro??
Shinichiro: is it that big of a deal tho?? i don't think it is
Shinichiro: yeah, this is fine
Shinichiro: is it all that gay if you're attracted to someone who looks like a woman?
Takeomi: if you're gonna fuck them, YES???
Benkei: he's lost it
Wakasa: i'm gonna need you to be sure about this because do you even know what to do? you're gonna embarrass yourself. you're not educated on gay sex at all
Baji: i can help with that
Draken: if i'm being honest i don't think you should take advice from anyone here at all
Baji: but i'm an expert
Mikey: we don't wanna know anything about what you and Chifuyu do 😐
Baji: yes you do
Inupi: google exists. just buy lube and condoms holy shit you guys are overcomplicating this so much
Mikey: of course you would know😒
Inupi: yeah i would know because i'm gay?? fucking idiot
Senju: are buttholes self lubricating? i can't be sure since i have constipation and my buttholes as dry as some tree bark
Haruchiyo: why would you tell us that
Takeomi: Senju watch how you talk. girls aren't suppose to say stuff like that
Senju: fine, next time i'll say anus to be more ladylike
Takeomi: and to answer your question, yes. because when you poop there's residue
Takeomi: you hear that Shin
Takeomi: shit in the ass
Takeomi: don't do this
Haruchiyo: you just told us you don't wipe your ass properly
Emma: i hate everyone here so bad omg
Draken: i think it's our cue to leave
Shinichiro: fuck it. i'm gonna do it
Shinichiro: thanks for the help guys! it is what it is at this point 😁
Shinichiro: bye!!
Mikey: i knew he'd eventually succumb to homosexuality
Takeomi: well since i'm homophobic i can't be his friend anymore
Benkei: no one cares
Benkei: Shinichiro successfully wasted our time once again
Benkei: i hope he gets an STD
Mikey: woah 😭
Emma: you're so fuckung dramatic😐
335 notes ¡ View notes
looooochie ¡ 3 months ago
Note
PLS WRITE ABT MARC BERNAL🛐
okay here
hate me // marc bernal
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requested: yes
word count: 849
a/n: FEEDING YALL AN IMAGINE AFTER A MONTH?
summary: the average case scenario of enemies to lovers, but one rainy afternoon makes a difference.
There was a heck lot of bad blood between you and Marc. You two hated eachother for as long you can remember.
And it was even worse when you were a Madridsta and he was well... You already know he's a Barça player. Marc never knew how you two collided but, he pretty much hates you.
~
You were getting your stuff from your locker and suddenly it closed. Then you feel someone grab your collar, he had a line tattoo on his arm.
You sigh, to see your enemy pinning you. "The fuck do you want with me Marc..?" you look up.
"I want you to put something else on. That jersey makes me sick as hell." Marc says. It was clear he didn't like your Madrid shirt.
"You don't get it estupido (stupid). You cant make me stop supporting Madrid. So, Hala. Madrid." you reply angrily. Marc scoffs and let's go of your shirt. Then the bell rings.
As Marc walks, he looks at you with a scowl. "I better not catch you wearing that shitty shirt ever again." he says. You also scoff and begin to walk towards class.
~
It was finally the end of school and you were walking home. Then, you felt something cold hit your head. Next thing you know, you felt that se feeling, but all over your body.
That meant, it was going to rain now. You started to run, and the rain started to get heavier and heavier by the second. There is a Blue, cover thing where you could sit down and take shelter or something..
You got to that place and sat down. Every part of you was drenched due to the rain water. You take your hoodie from your backpack to try and keep warm, and that was not wet.
Then, you hear some footsteps snd you look, to see it was him. It was none other than him, Marc Bernal. As Marc is walking, he sees you.
At first, he tried to ignore you by walking past you and acting like he didn't care. You were practically freezing. And you didn't expect Marc to care. He then suddenly stops and walks backwards, slightly looking at you.
"Hey loser. Are you okay?" he says in a playful tone. "Why the hell would you care, don't you hate me?" you scowl back, giving him a glare. "I do but, you don't look too okay there."
"What sort of thing possessed you- ah- ah- Achoo!" you say, but then you get interrupted by a sneeze. Marc sighs and takes off his hoodie and tosses it to you.
"Wh-what the.." you say as you look at the hoodie. "Look, I didn't do it because I felt like being nice, it's because you looked like you were getting sick." Marc scoffs again, with a little blush.
"Uhm.. thanks? I guess." "Don't mention it." He continues. Then Marc walks off. You were extremely confused right now.
Why on earth would your sworn enemy want to give you his hoodie Just, why? You just then sneeze again, so you put on the hoodie that Marc gave you. Oh my God, it even smells like him. But, the scent was awfully nice though.
~
Ever since that thing that happened between you and Marc, you began to start liking him. You always kept trying to deny it, but you just help it.
~
You were sitting in class, almost half asleep because it was THAT boring. "I'm going to get some whiteboard markers from the art room, there better not be any chaos." the teacher says, and she left the room.
It was silent for a few moments then, it slowly started to turn into a chaotic mess. In the midst of it all, Marc got something from his backpack, and got a pocky stick from it.
Then, he put it in his mouth and tapped you on the shoulder. "Hey loserface. You know how to play the pocky game right?" Marc says.
"Uhm yeah, why?" you ask him in response. "I wanna play with you and beat you to prove that I'm better than you." he replies, with a playful tone.
"Sure. I'd never back down from challenges." you reply, then you put the other side of the pocky stick in your mouth. The class fell silent and turned their attention towards you and Marc.
Your mouths began getting closer and closer to one another, and they were almost together. Then out the blue, Marc bites the stick and crashed his lips onto yours.
This was totally unexpected. Well, you liked Marc back too. So it wasn't really a suprise. He ran his fingers through your hair and you traced the tattoo on his arm.
You and him pull apart, looking at eachother, blushing. "Wow Marc.. that was.. Amazing." you say.
"Stupid girl! Quit being so cute!" Marc says, hugging you. "Is that so? More like you're the one who's being cute." you say as you hig him back. "Oh shut it!" Marc responds, still hugging you.
94 notes ¡ View notes
vex91 ¡ 4 months ago
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Ahn Yujin - Jealousy, jealousy
Pairing: Ahn Yujin x Female Reader (Highschool AU)
Fandom: IZ*ONE / IVE
Summary: You hated how perfect Ahn Yujin was or maybe you just hated her but only if you knew the hatred wasn't reciprocated then maybe you would realize stuff sooner.
A/N: Of course Yujin needs to be the first fic on this blog 🙂‍↕️
Part 2
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3rd's POV
Ahn Yujin.
She was the definition of perfection. Perfect grades, perfect looks, perfect personality, perfect friends and perfect family - it was so hard to find any bad thing about her.
You on the other hand weren't that. Your grades were average at best, you weren't as pretty as her, your personality was often talked about as annoying, you only had 2 friends for your whole life and your relationship with your parents was shitty.
You were jealous of her whole life and it only fueled your hatred.
"Y/N come here" You looked up at the sound of your best friend's voice. Smiling you walked over to her "Rei, you're unusually cheerful today. Something finally happened between you and Jiwon?" Rei slapped your shoulder at your remark and shushed you quickly since Jiwon was close by with her friends. Well Jiwon knew about Rei's crush on her so you didn't know what Rei wanted to hide exactly but it's her business.
"Are you coming to that party at Gaeul's house?" Your best friend asked causing you to raise an eyebrow until you realized what she was talking about.
"I don't know, all annoying people from our school are gonna be there" Rei rolled her eyes at your comment before shaking your arm "Come on, it's gonna be fun. Me and Jiwon are going" The thought of going to a where you would see Yujin's face and also third-wheeling your best friends wasn't the most tempting one but you could never say no when Rei made that face.
"Fine but you're the one explaining everything to my parents when they find out"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here she was - Ahn Yujin in all her glory having fun with her friends. Honestly you should've guessed that she was gonna be there since it was her best friend's party but you really tried not to think about her and destroy your mood. As long as she would stay away from you then the party won't be so bad, you just need to focus on your friends.
It's easier said than done because it seemed like wherever you went, she was right there too.
You tried to keep your cool but it was harder and harder until you couldn't hold it in anymore and you exploded on her when she finally approached you.
Her reaction wasn't what you expected, she was standing still and completely not affected by your harsh words. It even amused her as she kept looking at you with a small smirk.
"What?"
Yujin shrugged "Nothing much, you just look cute when you're trying to yell at me from down there" You became red at her words, so now she was making fun of your height? This girl was unbelievable.
"Why are you always so-"
"So in love with you?"
You quickly closed your mouth, your ears became red at her words. Out if everything you weren't expecting that but honestly it was Yujin, she couldn't have been serious.
"Stop joking around"
"I'm not. Remember when you got so angry at the fact I won that science contest and destroyed my project after? I kept the pieces because they remind me how cute you looked that day when you were so determined to win. Or when you pushed me into water during our school trip to the beach, your laugh when you were with your friends later stayed in my head. I love everything about you" During her whole speech you were silent, the whole time you thought that she hated you, just like you hated her but now you're finding out it wasn't like that?
"Do you really hate her though"
Rei's words kept coming back to you as you stared at Yujin but the moment was interrupted by your phone suddenly calling. You looked down and cursed when you saw your mom's name displayed on it.
"I need to go" You quickly said and tried to push past her but she quickly held your hand to stop you. Without another word she walked you out of the house and onto the cold streets. Before the cold could hit you though she put on her jacket on you.
"I'll walk you home" Yujin loudly announced and before you could protest she added "I don't take no as an answer. You can hate me later, right now you look like you can't be alone... at least in my eyes" The staring competition between you two continued until you gave up and led the way while Yujin quietly followed after you with her hands in her pockets.
The whole way home was spend in silence, the only sound that could be heard were the cars passing by from time to time. Yujin felt weird seeing you like that, you rarely kept yourself from making some snarky comments to her that made her day every time. Weird but Yujin just liked any sort of communication she had with you, even if it was you being angry with her.
It was clear it was because of your family, Yujin could feel the cold aura coming off of the house from miles away, it was far from the place you would want to come back to. And seeing you clenching your fists before going to the door assured her of that and Yujin immediately stopped you. She didn't want you to in there.
You looked up at her confused and Yujin only looked away embarrassed. She thought of what to say before muttering "I can walk you to Rei's house, I'm sure she's back home and would be happy to let you stay the night" It looked like the idea was tempting to you but the fear of your parents made you hesitate. Yujin squeezed your hand and let you think about it more and soon you only nodded.
At Rei's house your parents kept blowing your phones with calls and messages but you didn't really care at that moment when you could only look at Yujin's disappearing figure with mixed feelings.
What was that night?
123 notes ¡ View notes
shadowcatzone ¡ 1 year ago
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-furina coming to the worst possible, most wrong conclusion. A Neuvillette/SO short (f!reader)-
Recently, chief justice neuvillette seems to have found a new favorite cafĂŠ. He only ever goes there, when before, he used to visit different places, cafĂŠs and bakeries alike. The coffee tastes marvelous, he claims. They serve his favorite cakes. Unfortunately, that meant he would sometimes bring colleagues. Wriothesley claims it's the worst coffee he's ever had, and furina does like the cakes, but that's pretty much it. But the chief justice insists, it's the best cafĂŠ around. Then he smiles at the owner of the cafĂŠ, who served it to him. An average woman, to furina. But he smiles at SO as if she was the most beautiful woman he's ever seen. Ridiculous.
So furina calls upon a small gathering. "Wonderful, you all attended." "Aren't we missing the chief justice?" Wriothesley inquires. She sighs, shaking her head. "Oh, but it is ABOUT Neuvillette. So how could i possibly put him on the spot like this?" Ah. The other two exchange a glance - both wriothesley and clorinde can only guess where this was going without the chief justice keeping their archon in check. "Now, there's a very important topic at hand that i must warn you about." "Well, what is it?" Clorinde asks, almost not wanting to know.
"Alas, i have found out that our poor, innocent chief justice, is being drugged and poisoned!" Why. Why did they decide to be here. Wriothesley puts his face in his hand. "...And what made you think that?" "You've noticed it yourselves, haven't you? You yourself tried the coffee that woman makes. It's terrible! It must be poisoned! And she puts drugs into it to make sure that he'll come back! It's no wonder he has that strange, hazy look in his eyes whenever he looks her way," wriothesley wanted to keep her from getting into more trouble, but neuvillette, standing behind furina, presses a finger to his own lips to keep him from making his presence known. Ah, well. "And i'm sure she has some nefarious scheme going on to throw fontaine into utter chaos. Why else would she make sure THE chief justice returns to her pathetic little cafĂŠ? We need to immediately send guards over to watch and follow her every step, to find proof of her schemes and-" "-and then, surely," furina pales as she hears his voice, "you will drag her in front of the court, so i can show you - again - exactly why your false accusations don't hold up?" Well, neuvillette seems mildly annoyed, at the least.
"Please stay out of my private matters - it is far less likely that such a thing will happen to me, than it is for it to happen to you, mademoiselle focalors." Then he walks to exit the room, "i only came here to tell you that i will be late, as i am having dinner with the 'nefarious cafĂŠ owner' - if i find any drugs, i'll be sure to get them to you post-haste."
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loganwritesprobably ¡ 5 months ago
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First Meeting With.. Part Two
Part one | Part three | Part four
Content/Warnings: Feat Zoro, Robin and Luffy, GN!Reader, no Y/N, fluff
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He seemed a little different to the average guy that you saw around town. He was incredibly well built, and his strength showed not only in his physique but also how steady he was as he swung his swords. He was training, you assumed, though you couldn't guess what for. He turned as he swung another blade, and you caught sight of a previous injury that he'd sustained, taking away the use of his second eye. You wondered if he'd gotten it in a fight, and you found yourself hoping that he'd won.
You slipped away quickly, hoping that he'd still be there when you returned. You arrived home and grabbed a bottle, then filled it with cold water, before rushing back to where you'd previously seen the man. Thankfully, you'd managed to avoid your best friend who you lived with, who would've undoubtably asked questions about what you were doing and where you were going.
The man was there when you returned, now doing push ups. He was strong and steady, and for a moment you just stood there watching him. It didn't last for long though, as the man called out, apparently aware that you were there. "You're staring." It startled you slightly, as he hadn't once stopped doing his push ups nor turned to look at you. "Sorry. I uh- brought you some water. Thought you might need it." You replied, closing the distance between you with a slow approach, the cool bottle of water in hand. He stopped with his exercising after a few final pushes and stood, taking the bottle from you. He didn't speak for a long while, finishing the bottle at once then handing it back to you empty. "Thanks." He grunted, apparently not intending to say much more.
Unwilling to be stopped so easily, you introduced yourself. "I'm Zoro." He told you, and in that moment some awareness began to stir. "Like the strawhat?" "That's me." He confirmed, taking a few steps away from you to begin doing another exercise you weren't sure of the name of. What was he doing here alone? Or in your town at all? "That explains why you're so strong." You said instead of asking, because you figured it was probably none of your business and frankly you didn't want to know the answer. The strawhats seemed to do good, but they still caused chaos wherever they went. "Enjoying the view?" The swordsman asked with a smug grin after you began to stare again. You shook your head to distract yourself and softly laughed, a warm flush crossing your face. "Sorry." You apologised, because no matter how attractive he was, it was considered rude to stare. "No don't worry, you can stare as long as you want, pretty thing."
So you sat down, empty bottle still in hand, and you spent the afternoon mostly staring, but also occasionally exchanging some brief conversation. You weren't a complete animal after all.
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You'd seen some beautiful women in your life, but this woman was another level. She was refined, elegant and gorgeous. You were both in the library, browsing the book collection, at least initially. After a few minutes of being in the same space, you abandoned your search for a book in favour of passively observing the gorgeous woman a few rows away from you.
A hand popped up from the floor beside you, initially unseen, and another from the shelf beside you. At the same time, they both reached out, taking your mouth and a leg in their hold to prevent you making a sound and stop you from running. The woman turned to face you with a raised brow and a dangerous glint in her eye. Perfect.
She approached you slowly, casually, still looking at books on the shelves as she passed. She picked one up with ease, every movement delicate, and then she was beside you. "You've been looking a little too long. What do you want?" She asked, her voice soft but a threatening tone underlying her words. "You're stunning." You replied once the hand covering your mouth was moved. The woman faltered, and you introduced yourself. She looked at you for a long moment, suspicious, then released your ankle too. "Robin." She said, and you took that was her name. "A beautiful name for a beautiful woman." You said, though Robin didn't react. "Charming." She said however, as if she wasn't still glaring at you just a little. That was okay, you liked it when a woman you were interested in was a little bit mean.
She leaned in close to you, making you swallow harshly, only to take a book from behind you with a playful smirk and walk away. You had to see her again, and if you were lucky maybe she'd allow you to take her on a date.
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The guy couldn't have been too different in age to you, and he'd rushed into the restaurant like a tornado, knocking over a few chairs and almost a table, before taking a seat nearest to the counter. He talked animatedly with his companion - who looked like some sort of animal - talking loudly of food, mainly meat. You approached with an exasperated expression, but you remained professional. You introduced yourself, then asked what they'd like to eat. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy and I'm going to be the Pirate King!" The guy introduced, and you nodded sagely, wisely keeping your mouth closed. Though, he seemed to radiate the purest kind of joy and you figured there were worse candidates for the next pirate king. He ordered effectively one of everything, and you went away to tell the chef.
You returned to the counter, perching on a stool behind it to get off your sore feet, and did some people watching. That was the best part of your job. The Luffy guy was the most lively adult you'd ever encountered, everything he did was done with more energy than strictly needed but his companion seemed entirely unphased by it, likely used to his friend's behaviour. He was so interesting to watch, and you couldn't help it. His little friend was cute too. You slipped away to collect his food once it started coming out, delivering it to his small table in rounds.
Luffy had no trouble eating everything that was delivered to him, his companion having stopped after the one plate of food that he'd ordered for himself. You watched, though didn't neglect any other customers who needed food or arrived. One man who arrived was just a little too personal with you. He came in sometimes, not quite regularly but enough that you knew his face and name, and he liked to get just slightly too close, to be just a little too familiar, to touch just a little more than needed. You ignored it as best as you could, trying to remain as professional as possible.
Luffy seemed to notice, and he did not like it. You passed him on your way to the kitchen to put in the man's order, and when you left you had another round of food for Luffy. "Who's that guy?" He asked, entirely tactless, even pointing at the guy who'd just come in. "Just another customer." You said, setting plates down on his table gently, while his companion, who you'd discovered was named Chopper, stacked dirty ones so you could easily take them away. "I don't like him, and I don't like that you don't like him either." Luffy declared, and for a moment you just stared. You shook your head to dismiss your confusion, and then scooped up the dirty plates Chopper had stacked for you. "It's fine, honestly. He always pays." Because that was the main concern of your boss - if he pays for his food, nothing else matters.
When you returned from the kitchen again, having apologised to the kitchen porter for all the plates, the guy was at the counter rather than his table. "Hey gorgeous, still nobody at home keeping your bed home?" He asked, leaning just a little further over the counter than he needed to, just to get into your space. "Hey!" Luffy yelled, his arm stretching unnaturally to wrap around the guy's body and pull him away. The guy stumbled and almost fell, but just managed to stay steady. The two dissolved into an argument, and you could do nothing but watch. "He didn't like how the guy was treating you." Chopper explained after seeing your bewildered, and slightly alarmed, expression. You nodded mutely, turning to grab more plates of food when you needed to.
Luffy was done when you returned, and the man had gone back to his own table, bruised and face thunderous. You set down the fresh plates of food for Luffy, and he beamed at you. "He won't bother you anymore."
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maturemenoftvandfilms ¡ 5 months ago
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‘He Called It Jumbo’
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CHAPTER TWO: The Johnson Treatment
Back in the 60s, I served as an aide to Lyndon Baines Johnson, often referred to by his initials LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, U.S. representative and U.S. senator. Plus a philanderer of the highest order. Had a twenty year affair with one mistress, an illegitimate child with another mistress, and numerous brief affairs as well. And a few weeks ago, had me on his cock which calls "Jumbo." For obvious reasons.
Even after my encounter, President Johnson acted like nothing had happen and continued to rely on his bevy of babes referred to by the other his male aides as his harem. All of his secretaries, plus his two mistresses, got the Johnson Treatment. The Johnson Treatment you ask is when he'd corner someone, leaned his face into theirs and threatened, promised, flattered or cajoled, the person to give him what he wanted. This was the “Johnson Treatment.” Thanks in part to this tactic, Johnson would go on to become a powerful Senator and eventually President of the United States. Plus have a lot of sex.
And to give his wife, Lady Bird Johnson the illusion of being a faithful husband, he tasked the Secret Service with keeping his philandering from her. Even having a buzzer install to warn him when she's coming. Obviously, that didn't work as Lady Bird endured his behavior, with only occasional reprimands. One of which is having me work with him instead of one of his bevy of at secretaries.
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For several weeks, I was tasked with working extra hours, including nights and weekends with President Johnson. Although he was crude as the day is long, I would find myself admiring his tall, lanky, 56-year-old figure. And of course, Jumbo. Meanwhile, I suspected he might be horned up, not having access to his harem. The tension I was feeling was distracting and unwelcome.
Just then, standing beside me, President Johnson openly rummaged around in his groin in a most histrionic fashion possible. I could see his cock straining against the material of his pants and I admit, I started to get pretty hard. I guess it was because I was surprised (and aroused) that I stared too long, and he noticed. I looked up and he was looking right at me, smiling.
"Damn, I could really use a good blow job. I'm so tense. Best medicine I know of, right son?" President Johnson flatly said.
By now, President Johnson is towering over me, invading my personal space as I uncomfortably lean back, clenching my arms to my chest, mumbling something inconsequential in response.
"You like sucking cock. Don't you Davis?"
"Ugh, er, I guess so Mr. President…", my voice trails.
"Get on your knees boy. Your President needs you."
I quickly went down to my knees and watched in growing excitement as he unbuckled his pants and pulled out a semi-erect Jumbo. I took a hold of his shaft, took the tip into my mouth and sucked on it, running my tongue around it and running the tip of my tongue along his opening, tasting the first bitter sweet drops of pre-cum. I did this till he began to stroke the back of my head, I then opened my mouth a bit further and went down his shaft. The old man moaned as I firmly sucked on Jumbo, feeling it grow in my mouth, mushrooming out.
Fully erect he was above average length at 12 to 13 inches and slightly above average thickness. It had been months since I had been with anyone else and it felt so good to a cock in my mouth again. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the smell of his crotch and the wet sounds of my lips sucking an erect shaft. The sensation of that cock sliding almost out of my mouth then, back in till it touched the back of my throat was incredible.
“Hell, that feels wonderful.” He added as he suddenly reached down and grabbed me behind the head with his huge, weathered hands.
Then he started moving my mouth up and down his thick dick shaft as he fucked my mouth like he was fucking some pussy. I took his plunging dick and made love to it with my tongue as the old man repeatedly shoved it down my throat and pulled it quickly back out.
“Damn, this is hot! Shit your mouth is better than a pussy.” President Johnson called out excitedly as he fucked my mouth faster and faster.
I could hear him panting as I felt the head of his wonderful cock swell just before he tightened his grip and put it fully in my mouth and began to cum. I almost gagged as his cum splashed the back of my throat, I swallowed most of it but some dribbled down my chin.
"You really know how to suck a cock, boy. Didn't take you long at all to get me off." He said as he slid his cock in and out of my wanting mouth, finishing his orgasm.
I smiled up at him as I wiped his man cream off my chin. I continued to stroke him as he petted my hair.
"Stand up and take those pants off." He said as he pulled me up to my feet and smacked my ass.
I did as I was told and was standing naked from the waist down with my hands on the desk spreading my legs slightly. Then he slid his hands down to my round ass and squeezed it before getting behind me, gripping my hips and spreading my ass cheeks with his thumbs. He rubbed the head of Jumbo along my crack and especially my pale pink button of an asshole before I heard him spit into his hand. Then I felt the pressure as he pushed the head into my man pussy, stretching me as it slipped past my opening. I groaned half in pain half in pleasure as he pierced me with his cock.
"That's it. Let ol' Jumbo in." The old man said as he slowly pulled out till the head almost slipped out then thrust it smoothly half back in.
Each entry into me made me catch my breath and made my chest tight as his rhythm began to pick up speed, grunting with pleasure. I gasped out loud as I pushed back against his thrusts enjoying the sound of skin slapping together, and that hard dick pounding my ass. He fucked me with a desperate need as fast as he could for another ten minutes.
"Oh God, you're so fucking big! Fuck me damn it FUCK ME! Damn it, fuck my hole! Own it!"
Hearing that, spurred him to pump into me faster and harder, forcing more moans and gasps from me. "God yes! Fuck me Mr. President, Fuck me!"
President Johnson's rhythm became erratic, my dick was vibrating with excitement and my balls were tight to my body waiting to cum. Suddenly, he pulled out, pressed the head of Jumbo against my ass and came. The first stream of his cum bounced back to cover the head of his dick, he pressed his hot cock up and the next stream went up my back. The last stream went into my opened hole. President Johnson moved the head around smearing his cum on my skin before he slipped it back down to my sore hole. I had came without even touching my cock, but hadn't noticed while he fucked me.  
"Damn boy, that was better then any pussy I have ever fucked." He said still smoothly pumping my ass like he was working up to come again.
"Damn, Mr. President, how long can you go?" I said as he pushed that wonderful cock back in me as far as it could go, sending a shiver through my balls and up my dick and through my chest.
"With an ass this tight, I can go for a while longer. But as much as I love this, we better get cleaned up before Bird comes a looking." He said holding himself in me for a moment longer than with drew.
"But I will find a way to fuck you again. Count on it."
We got cleaned up and dressed just before Lady Bird came though the Oval Office door. Ben told him I was everything he was told I was and more. And they went outside and talked. President Johnson was a man of his word. Between his wife, virtually all of his secretaries, his two mistresses and I got the Johnson Treatment. Johnson was a sexual beast who'd screw anything that would crawl, basically. He was a horny old man.
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redxx95 ¡ 4 months ago
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Is Kurosawa really not Adachi's "type"?
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Surprise, this essay is Adachi-focused for once 😂
In my last essay (which you can find here) I mentioned how Kurosawa thinks Adachi has a type (as in, certain traits he finds attractive) which he believes he does not fall under. In this essay I'm not only going to prove him wrong but also really examine what Adachi's "type" even really is, because I think Kurosawa is somewhat of an unreliable narrator in this.
Kurosawa's assumption
First let's take a closer look at the traits Kurosawa names when he talks about Adachi's type. In Japanese, those are 青春系 (youthful-like, which got translated as "pure and innocent vibe") 清掃 (clean, translated as "delicate") and 優しい (kind) (panels are from ch 5.5 and 18.5)
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Does Kurosawa fit those traits? Well. Kinda. There's this one panel where Adachi sees him as "pure" and there's many instances where Kurosawa acts kind of childlike which one could describe as youthful/innocent, but it's not the most solid proof.
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"Clean" is an easier descriptor to prove though, since Adachi calls him that multiple times, albeit not exactly the same word in Japanese. (He uses 清潔 which translates to "clean" and, funnily enough, "pure" but in the sense of perfection rather than innocence.)
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And so is "kind", which is a core trait Adachi values about Kurosawa and even mentions it first when asked. (This is not super relevant but I also want to point out that the first character in Kurosawa's first name (優) is literally the kanji for "kind".)
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But if you actually check whether or not Adachi ever uses these words to describe Fujisaki himself, you'll find that the only one he uses at least once is "kind", and I could only find that in the japanese version. More on that later though.
What he never calls her though is pure, youthful, innocent or delicate.
Exploring Adachi's type
So now that we established that Kurosawa's assumption is kind of shaky, let's try to figure out what traits Adachi is actually attracted to, and whether or not those can be applied to Kurosawa. Our candidates who he has shown to be interested in are as follows:
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The middle school girl and the black haired woman from his nightmare/flashback, and Fujisaki.
That is… not a whole lot. Since we can basically immediately exclude the middle school girl, because we have only one panel to go off of, we're left with only two people to examine, but examine we shall nonetheless!
Let's start with the flashback woman. She does visually resemble Fujisaki quite a bit, but I believe the actual reason Adachi even considers her is because of this.
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She seems (at least initially) open-minded and is the only one putting a somewhat positive spin on men with no relationship experience. She's probably displayed this trait before and that might have been why Adachi got interested in the first place. And guess who else does that, who we know Adachi is definitely interested in.
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The way this is the whole reason he even realizes his feelings for Kurosawa is also very telling. I think that for him looks take a backseat in favor of personality. He's pointed out the conventional attractiveness of the women in Toyokawa before but he never shows any actual interest in them.
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Here he also points out their prettiness but is immediately scared off when he learns of their thoughts about him. The only one we see him actually interested in is Fujisaki, whose looks are more on the average side but whose thoughts never get nasty and insulting like the ones he hears from the pretty women. … which is also a thing he values about Kurosawa, and he even tells him that directly in ch 34 when they have their heart-to-heart pre-first time. And it's funny because in the beginning he does expect him to have a "nasty personality", probably because he's so used to good looking people being like that.
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In conclusion: The reason he likes the flashback woman is not because she has pretty long black hair but because she is not mean about other people's shortcomings, which can be applied to Kurosawa as well.
Now let's look at Fujisaki and all of her interactions with Adachi and see if we can find some more of those Parallels that we love so much on this blog.
Adachi mentions that Fujisaki is cute quite often.
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… which he also thinks of Kurosawa very often. There were honestly so many instances where Adachi finds him cute that I would reach the image limit on this post very quickly so have this one panel instead:
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Bonus: he also very much enjoys Kurosawa's smell.
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And since we're on the topic of "cute", I think a big reason why he finds her so cute is also that Fujisaki often asks Adachi for help, and as I mentioned in this essay, Adachi likes to feel needed.
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Which, again, very much applies to Kurosawa, too.
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Adachi also seems to appreciate that Fujisaki is a hard worker. (He doesn't know she's reading yaoi on company time though.)
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And once again, he states this to be something he likes about Kurosawa as well.
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Another descriptor he likes to use for her is "good". This often means "kind" in the japanese version, which I already elaborated on above. (For example in the panel below "nice" is "kind" in the original.) But there's also plenty of times he calls Kurosawa a "good guy" (i.e. "kind")
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I know I said before that visuals don't matter as much to him but these parallels are just too funny not to include. Flower backgrounds for the pretty people 💐
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Bonus Mari in here because I think it's cute how he blushes at her. Both Kurosawas are simply too much for this bisexual disaster man.
And apparently he's also just really into very shiny people.
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So now that I've really hammered my point home that Kurosawa is just as much Adachi's type as any of his other interests, let's think about why there's even such a discrepancy between what Kurosawa assumes and what actually is. I think it's because his only point of reference for Adachi's interest in romantic partners is Fujisaki. What he doesn't consider, however, is that Fujisaki never tried to put up a perfect front around Adachi the way he did. Adachi has had the chance to see Fujisaki fail and find that immediately endearing, whereas with Kurosawa he had to first get magic mind reading powers to get to that same point. At least they got there eventually 🫶
Ok I'm finally done rambling, this thing got way too long again 😩
Are YOU Adachi's type? 🫵 Tell me about it in the comments!
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bitterkarella ¡ 4 months ago
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Midnight Pals: Poltergeist
Steven Spielberg: submitted for the approval of the midnight society, I call this the tale of the poltergeist Spielberg: now unfortunately, i'm kinda committed to tell a different story over at space coven tonight Spielberg: so my good friend tobe hooper is gonna tell this one for me Tobe Hooper: it's actually pronounced toe-bee Spielberg: Spielberg: what
Tobe Hooper: so this is a story about an average suburban family who suddenly finds a ghost in their TV Spielberg: hey can i add something Hooper: steve you said i could tell it Spielberg: oh yeah yeah definitely Spielberg: i just have Spielberg: just a little suggestion
Spielberg: hey tobe Tobe Hooper: actually it's pronounced Toe-bee Spielberg: Spielberg: what Hooper: it's pronounced- Hooper: you know what, never mind, what's on your mind steve
Spielberg: can we put in some jokes Hooper: jokes? yeah sure i guess Spielberg: like, maybe a guy could fall off a bicycle Spielberg: ha ha ha Spielberg: or maybe Spielberg: ha ha ha Spielberg: spill beer on himself Spielberg: hoo hoo ha ha ha!
Hooper: so this family includes coach from coach Hooper: and a sexy mom in short shorts Edward Lee: nice Hooper: and a dog Dean Koontz: nice
Hooper: ok so imagine there's this really creepy sequence where the dog wanders through the sleeping house, the world silent but for the static from the television Spielberg: spooky! Spielberg: ok ok my turn Spielberg: next some kids use RC cars to make a fat guy fall off a bike Spielberg: ha ha ha ha ha! Spielberg: ha ha ha ha ha! Hooper:
Spielberg: c'mon, tobe! laugh! It's funny! Spielberg: look, tobe, we don't want this story to be TOO scary Hooper: but Spielberg: in fact, i think it would be really good if, anytime something scary happened, then something goofy could happen to immediately deflate the tension Spielberg: i think that would be great!
Tobe Hooper: steve i think our story could really delve into the discomfort around the growing omnipresence of the television in our lives Spielberg: what? who are we, david cronenberg? Spielberg: just wait a year, let videodrome deal with that shit Hooper: but Spielberg: look trust me people are gonna love this RC car gag
Hooper: so this family has a ghost in their house Spielberg: hey tobe can i interject just a little thing Hooper: uh Spielberg: this family also has a crap ton of star wars toys Spielberg: like, all the kids toys are star wars related Hooper: Hooper yeah ok whatever
Hooper: so the family hires these psychics to help get the ghosts Hooper: and they bring in this expert psychic Hooper: no introduction or nothing, she's just there King: what's her name? Hooper: no time for that!
Hooper: so now the ghost attacks the sexy mom Hooper: while she's wearing her oversized football jersey as a night shirt Piers Anthony: can we um Anthony: can we see her Anthony: can we see her um Anthony: you know Hooper: oh yeah Anthony: [pumping fist] YES!!!!
Hooper: so the house, in fact, was not clean Spielberg: hey tobe what if the beast looked like a big giant skull Spielberg: just huge Hooper: that's a little on the nose steve Spielberg: maybe like one of those giant Spirit superstore inflatable yard decorations
Hooper: i'm trying to build a scary atmosphere here steve! Hooper: and you're just goofing it up! Spielberg: i'm just trying to help Hooper: well, you're not helping! Hooper: if it was up to you, we'd just have skeletons blasting out of the ground all over the place like goddamn gophers! King: ooh that would rule! Poe: yeah interesting idea Koontz: i want to see that! Hooper: Hooper: you've got to be fucking kidding me
Hooper: you know what Hooper: who cares Hooper: who cares about anything Hooper: skeletons just start popping out of everything Hooper: you guys like that??? King: yeah that's great! Poe: it's good stuff Barker: nice Koontz: i like when the skeletons are there Lovecraft: its pretty scary! Hooper: Hooper: i'm done with you guys Hooper: DONE
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knightyoomyoui ¡ 4 months ago
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Jihyo x M/F Reader - "Just A Feeling"
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This book makes a return today! For this oneshot, I'm sorry if this one may be complicated to read since I didn't make any outline for it and kind of... weird to read too, especially for female readers out there. This one is actually intended to be only for male readers because I think the plot of this suits them better since the story came from my perspective as a guy and from a real-life experience I'm currently going through. Don't worry though, I still tried my best to make this applicable to everybody since I made some changes to make it gender neutral, plus there's opinions from some various featured female K-Pop idols as my characters that portray my real-life classmates here, which female readers might relate to. So yeah, basically what you're about to read here is based on a true story (except starting from the climax until the end, which I just made up from my imagination since I haven't confessed yet lol.) about my huge crush with this one genuine girl from our class. And oh, I've said it already that it's not gonna be a fluff right? It's not gonna be a tearjerker though but for the softies there, this might hurt. Don't worry though, I'm going to write a one-shot special on weekend that relies more on fluff. Finally saw something that inspired me to write, that's why. Heh.
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I was eating in our cafeteria along with my circle of friends in our room, talking about—well, guess what—sex education. We were trying our best to remain open-minded about the topic. Honestly, I don’t even have any idea why we would insert this topic to arrange a conversation in the middle of the public.
I know that these things should be taken seriously because they provide knowledge on how to establish a healthy sexual life in the future, but I just couldn’t help but feel a bit ashamed. Well, I wouldn’t be if only these girls would just lower their mouths whenever they'd ask or mention a term, especially when it’s too silly to hear.
I was afraid that others might hear us and lose appetite because of what we were discussing. I already made my move, providing a question pertaining to my curiosity and thankfully they answered me with the expected answer I wanted to know. That’s why I moved my head and roamed my eyes around to distract myself away from them since I don’t really find their current discussion interesting to me.
Looking around, there are many students along with us doing their own business mindfully. Eating together or alone in their respective spots and typing on the computer or writing notes as they review for their subject while on a break. Each was from different courses and grade levels, and of course we wouldn’t be the exception.
Some of our classmates too were on the another table, with them being formed together into their own circle they belong in. That is, until my eyes landed on her again as I check upon them. The girl with sharp jawline, boyish wild haircut, adorable with a touch of chic aura in her visual, and those big eyes I couldn’t avoid but to get sucked in whenever I get to be in contact with those shimmering pairs of hers.
The name of the girl I’m describing with much creativity and detail is Park Jihyo. She’s currently one of our brightest students in our class. If I’ll compare myself to her, well my intelligence is pretty below average and subpar to her attributes.
Whenever I glanced at her, I couldn’t help but pause and take a short time to admire what my sight was displaying for me. Just like today, she has that serious expression that I find both intimidating and… hot? Yeah, yeah, fine, you got me. I do think of her sometimes as a dominant or possessive girlfriend who loves to claim and tease, and I do get a bit intense and aroused just by thinking about it, especially when it fits her a lot along with her lean figure.
Damn it, you wouldn’t blame me. She literally is the embodiment of a girl crush that others would kneel on their knees for her. I may have not saw somebody like that, but oh I can’t just deny those words I’ve heard from the girls and guys on my room simping for her.
Setting aside to those qualities, I’ll make it plain and simple that she’s that beautiful in my eyes. I don’t care if I’m falling in love to a boisterous and fiery tomboy like Jihyo. Deep inside of that cool and boyish appearance of hers, I couldn’t count how many times I’ve encountered that soft girly demeanor she was hiding. That time when she squealed and raised both her fists in the air while looking appalled as the volleyball almost hit her face during our class in physical education would be my favorite.
She smiled again and laughed at whatever they were talking about, which is effectively contagious. She has that much effect on me already. Whenever her mood is, will be the same as mine. Guess I could say that’s how I could tell that I’m highly attached on her now.
I was so busy complimenting and being in awe of her that I almost responded too late when I saw Jihyo start to move her eyes around, and she went in the direction I was in. Just a little angle she shifted, and she would’ve caught my eyes staring at her, looking like it was attempting to hallucinate and connect to mine too.
But I was too weak for that, as always. I’m always weak for her. I pretend I didn’t just went to their side and busy admiring her as I returned to my friend’s discussion while my peripheral vision has unknown whether she felt like someone was stalking at her or as usual, nothing.
2 days later, we were waiting for the Calculus class to end because our professor has left us for some numerous problems to solve on the board and use it as an advantage to increase our points in recitation. He definitely might’ve went again to the mall and go eat samgyupsal again with his officemates at the faculty room that’s why we know we already have the freedom to be noisy and indulge on those differential equation as much as we want.
Our professor is busy grilling meat and stuffing wagyu meat in his mouth while us as his students were busy grilling our minds and stuffing numbers across the board.
While I was confidently sitting on my chair just watching my classmates go berserk on dribbling equations of their own since I already had my turn to have a recitation point, my female classmate named Miyeon invited me for a chat with her because mainly she’s bored.
We did chatter for any laughable random topics for like 10 minutes until I heard her enter a question that had me locked in on my seat.
“Say, YN. I noticed that you had shared so many sad posts about romance these days on Facebook. Are you heartbroken?” She asked me.
“Uhh… that? W-well, I just like those kind of posts. Nothing much.” I smiled fakely at her.
“You sure?” She stared at me. I just nodded and awkwardly removed my gaze at her as I act like I was trying to keep myself busy on my notes.
“You have a crush on someone, don’t you?”
I slowly turned around and my stupid self chose to rose my brows making myself shocked rather than meeting itself and show some confusion. Now I’m busted.
“H-how can you say so?”
“Wouldn’t most of the people around social media does that whenever they admire somebody and they just left to be… unwanted back?” She shared. “I’ve been through that, that’s why I know.”
I remained silent as I sighed. I glanced at Jihyo again, she was being recorded now by one of our close friends in the room as she explains the solution she wrote on the board. That’s what our professor instructed us to do so that he can acknowledge our points, is to sent him our video that we’re tackling about the equation we answered.
“There is, huh.” She confirmed. I was being too obvious already so with defeat, I just let her expose me more. “She’s in our class isn’t it?”
My eyes widened. My body trembled as she already made another guess but a more accurate one this time. Miyeon seems to be an observative type of person, and more untrained and horrible attempts of pretending that I contradict her guesses would just make me look dumber in front of her.
I sighed and chuckled at myself from getting caught. “Yeah. She is.”
“Woah!” She exclaimed. “So YN here also has a crush of his/her own here huh!” She teased me as she referred to me being another addition to those established “couples” in our room. Most of them were now officially together and others, well I don’t know but mostly I’ve learned these days that they already confessed and sadly, they were rejected but still remains to be a tough lover for them.
“Who’s your crush then?” I shushed her with my gesture, as there’s our classmates still sitting in front of us and they might hear us. I don’t want tk get humiliated more just by being put into a hot seat getting confronted who’s the girl i’m into these days.
“D-do you want me to give you a clue?” I asked, I wanted to play a game with her first she already caught me easily, now I want to test her this time.
“Oh sure, what is it?”
“Okay, hmm….” I hummed but I didn’t think that much because i already knew what I would give to her. “She’s a person.”
“Luh.” She reacted and whined. “Cmon, be serious!”
I just laughed at her befuddled response and think again, with all seriousness this time. “Okay, fine. She’s a social butterfly.”
“Ooohhh social butterfly…” Miyeon started to think. “There’s so many classmates of ours that are giddy to get close with others. Is it Jiyeon?”
“Nope. 19 left.” I said, crossing out one from the list of number of girls in our room.
“Aaaahhhh!” She screamed but jokingly, already panicking at just one guess. “Whooo?”
“Try more!”
“Aish, is it Julie?”
“Nope.”
“Ehhh?” She scratched her nape. “Next clue!”
“Okay fine, I’ll give you just three okay?” She nodded and readjusted her posture on her seat, she seemed very invested on knowing who my crush is. “The second one is… she’s smart.”
“Smart…” she began thinking again. “But most of us here are very good at anything.”
I smirked, feeling satisfied that I gave a mysterious clue for her more. “Is it Mina?”
“Nah.” I shook my head, but I admit in my thoughts that i almost fell for Mina once like back when we were freshman.
“Danielle?!” Miyeon’s eyes brightened as she thought she finally achieved the right answer. I shook my head and gave her an apologetic look, which shuts off the spark in her eyes instantly.
Miyeon pouted and lets out an even struggling look at me. “I’m starting to run out of ideas!”
“Miyeon you’ve only told me like… 5 of our classmates so far.”
“Fire the last clue!”
“Okay. The last one is that… you probably won’t expect her to be my crush.”
Her eyebrows lifted and hummed fascinatingly at me. “That just made things interesting. Won’t expect to be your crush? So it means it’s not actually your type but you just seem to get a liking on that person?”
“Hmm maybe?”
“Wait…” she paused that lasted a little bit longer than just few seconds. Her head raised and I wondered why her eyes softened as she slowly looked at me and pushed her head closer.
“What? You got the answer now?”
“YN… is it me?” Miyeon asked. She was staring at me with pure seriousness and jaw hanging slightly in surprise. I gasped as I was shocked at her answer. I know that she’s one of the girls around who is also pretty but still I didn’t expect that it really came out of her mouth, that she also considered herself too.
“N-no! It’s not you and Miyeon, you already have a boyfriend.”
“Yeah.” She agreed, understandably took my reason well. “But… it’s just a crush though, so…”
“Still no. I don’t fall in love to women who are already taken. I respect relationships and I don’t want to create conflicts for other people. Although, I admit that you’re beautiful.” I smiled at her. She returned the same and pushed my shoulder. “Wow, just like that huh?”
“I don’t know, you sound like you were urging me to say something nice to you atleast.”
“I wasn’t! B-but that doesn’t mean I won’t take your compliment at me.” She giggled. “Anyways, I pass. Cmon tell me who it is!”
I exhaled. To be fair, I wasn’t really up for sharing this with anybody. It’s not that I don’t want anybody to know because I don’t trust them, but I’m doing this rather to avoid the possibility that she may learn more about what I really feel for her from other people. I just want to be a complete secret admirer of her.
However, since I was already cornered by Miyeon, it seems like my plans have to undergo some changes. I feel a bit of pity for this girl because she has shared some of her stories with me, and I listened and kept them all to myself, just like she wanted to. Thatimplies that she views me as someone she can trust.
That’s why I felt obligated that I had to treat her in the same manner. I mean, Miyeon is one of the girls in our class that I find really pure and mature and who knows how to blend well when having fun with other people.
“Fine. You know I never really intended to tell this to others because for some reasons, I don’t want anybody to tease me, accidentally become obvious, or make others bother with what I’m facing at right now… but I do trust you Miyeon, you know that. And please let’s keep it to ourselves okay?”
“Oh don’t worry about me.” Miyeon then bounced on her seat with a large grin. “I’m so excited to know!”
“W-well… the girl that I’m-”
“What are you two up to?” My other classmate interrupted our conversation, looking at us as she twirled her body on the chair to go back and forth at us. I was surprised that we’re like able to be caught despite our distances being one vacant row from each other. Our voices aren’t even that loud.
Miyeon and I exchanged glances and she was controlling her laughter as she saw me looking nervous. “W-we’re just playing a game! He’s trying to make me identify who is-”
“Aahhhh wait, I think I know what you two are talking about.” Her eyes then shrinked and it went towards me who is blushing. She smirked and find my current state hilarious. “I’ve been seeing something about this one eh. I think I know who may that be.”
Both Miyeon and I were eager to know, especially me who is heavily related to the one she was talking about. About our conversation with Miyeon, she finally learn who that is and she was amused to know that she agrees at the clues I gave to her. She really didn’t expected that I’ll be admiring somebody like Jihyo and commented that it wasn’t visible to me all these time. She couldn’t blame me though for having a crush with Jihyo, as she revealed that she’s bisexual and she once had a crush on her too before she met her boyfriend.
Meanwhile, about our other classmate who is holding a thought that shares my secret. I wanted to know about it. Thankfully, both of us were walking home together since Nako which is her name, lives almost close to our neighborhood.
We were riding on a bus and we talked about what she said earlier. I had no choice but to reveal to her since I already did it to Miyeon and it’s going to be unfair if I don’t do it for her too. She might feel offended that I rather not to disclose it to her.
She learned and she laughed so hard that she was actually right which had me speechless. She found it interesting too just like Miyeon that I got to be in love with someone like Jihyo. Me on the other hand, has a huge “How?” question displayed on my head.
She only replied that it’s her guts that is telling her and even her didn’t expected that she would got it correct. What she said though did had me find it difficult to maintain my smile. “But really, for me I don’t see Jihyo being attracted to a guy/girl. It’s more possible that she’s rather into girls because of her looks, but she did told me one time what does she think of her gender and she only told me that it’s complicated. Will it still going to be okay for you knowing that your rivals when it comes to her were all female/male?”
She shared to me her observation and I got it immediately what her basis for that. I suddenly had Jihyo on my mind along with her tomboy look that can make girls crazy and gay for her. “I don’t know, I don’t mind it that much. They can all admire her for whatever they want. What matters to me more is Jihyo. Only her.” I just said nonchalantly to her, which she find a bit suspicious why I care less about it.
Whether by coincidence or not, more and more days have passed, and my other classmates that I’m close with are all girls. Have I mentioned that I’m comfortable and easy to befriend with girls rather than guys? I never had a sister in my life; that’s why I view them as my sister-like figures, but still, I know how to set my boundaries with them due to society’s common stereotype of seeing two opposite genders together.
They all also began to know my adoration for Jihyo, and they are either secretive or teaseful about it, and I find myself on the brink of danger whenever they do that on occasions that me and Jihyo would have an interaction together. Some examples I can give are when I, along with Nako and her, were discussing our anticipation of attending the concert of our favorite K-pop group this coming week.
I was expressing my loneliness to them rather because I wasn’t entirely sure if my parents would allow me to attend such a huge event like that and for me also to travel to a place that is very far away from our city. I was about to give up my hopes until a certain person simply boosted my faith again and not wanting to let me go that easily.
“You should go to that concert, YN! It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, you should not waste it!”
Jihyo spoke to me and she gave me that hopefulness and positivity. She knew I might need it for her and if that so then she’s damn right. I couldn’t ask for anything more than to hear a support and concern than from her.
And later that night, I tried to ask my parents about it, and shockingly, they allowed me to, as long as I had someone with me. Nako joined me, while Jihyo went with her sister. I got a little excited, thinking I was going to be with her too, but that’s just fine. At least, I still got some heart-bursting interaction with her on social media when we both exchanged heart reactions on our posts about our experience at the concert.
Another time I could give that one of the best things I would want to just happen forever in my life was when I got unexpectedly sick in the school, and what’s even more suck about the timing is that we were rehearsing for our roleplay performance in just 3 days.
Our director set me aside for now and gave me a time to recover but ofcourse the worry of me not being able to make it to the deadline struck a fear on him. I just lay down on one of the benches with all of my classmate’s bags around me. I tried to sleep but the pain in my head just won’t let me go in peace.
I was about to go to the clinic with no other option in mind because I didn’t actually want to go there because, um, yeah, call me a scaredy cat, but I’ve heard many times from some of the students, including my classmates, that our school nurse is a terror. She’s so strict that there’s no doubt that once she finds me, my temperature will be high. Since the pandemic happened, these medical professionals have been very careful for the past few years.
One positive detection and surely I’m gone for today. I just sighed defeatedly because I wanted to practice today and to see her ofcourse. I sat up and gave myself time to prepare myself as I might feel dizzy standing up, but then I heard some footsteps and felt arms wrapped around me.
“J-jihyo?” I exclaimed weakly. She must’ve felt my body trembled in shock as I found her beside me. She just looked at me and tightlipped.
“You’re going to the clinic now?”
“Yeah. I have to.”
“You can’t do it by yourself. Look how weak you look. Cmon, I’ll join you on your way there.”
“Y-you sure? B-but they might look for you and-
“I just finished rehearsing my part. My next one is three acts after, so they wouldn’t mind.” Jihyo said. “But it’s up to you, can you do it by yourself?”
“Actually, I really didn’t want to go home yet.” I said with sincerity of sadness on my voice.
“I know, but you have to.” Jihyo said to me. “Let’s go.”
We started walking, and I gave one last look at my classmates. I caught Miyeon, who saw me with Jihyo smiling at us, and I knew what that meant. We went together to the clinic, and I feel embarrassed that I had to make a girl wait for me outside, even though she didn’t mind me that much. The nurse wasn’t even that scary; she was rather strict, but in the sense that she’s doing it because she cares for the students’ health.
She found my fever weird because… hmm how can I say this, well it’s like my temperature risen due to hunger, dehydration and possibly some changes of temperature also to the places I’ve been at since she discovered that I don’t actually feel dizzy or aching on my head.
That’s why due to my determination to remain here, she dared me to atleast decrease my temperature by having a meal and lots of water on the canteen or else she’ll have to excuse me to my instructor.
I went out of the clinic, accepting the challenge and Jihyo was just there sitting and using her cellphone. She felt my presence reappeared and she greeted me. “How’s there?”
I repeated what the nurse told me. “Come on, let’s eat at the canteen first if that so.”
“Yeah.”
“My treat.”
“Wait, what?”
We stopped walking. “Why? What’s the problem?”
“N-nothing, I just… didn’t expect it.”
“Just don’t do anything for now. Since I accompanied you, let me just be like that today before we get back there.”
In my surprise, Jihyo wrapped her arm around my shoulders, giving me that bro-cuddle. I felt super shy and almost going to melt because of the skinship she’s doing to me. It’s ironic how her touch can beat the warm temperature running across my body.
She was the one who bought our food and drinks together and she returned to our place with it. We just took our meal quietly then short talks about our interests again, but it was still enough for me. I give some sneak glances at Jihyo on my side, observing her sipping that iced coffee while she busily scrolls down on her phone.
My body suddenly felt lighter and numb, I think my sickness didn’t even exist to worry myself as I was just busy admiring her all over again. Not gonna lie, this just had me spawning another idea to imagine being with her more. A date with her is something I’d definitely would love to have someday with her.
But again, I knew I have no chance.
The deadline came and we were going back to the clinic, but just then Jihyo offered me something. It’s a medicine on the palm of her hand.
“Take this, it’ll help more.”
“Jihyo, you might need it once you-”
“But I don’t have one and you are, that’s why you need it more than me.” Jihyo rejected. “Just take it.”
I didn’t object anymore and took it at ease from her. “Thanks, Jihyo.”
“No prob, now get in there and hopefully you’re fine now. I mean, you’re kinda sweating now too so yeah maybe you really needed some rest.” She said as she poked at my arm.
I nodded and I entered with confidence, I know that Jihyo helped me a lot today. Fortunately, we were right. My temperature returned to normal still very close on reaching that low fever. I exit and immediately thanked Jihyo again which she returned with her gummy smile that I always loved seeing from her.
It was our classmates’ break too from the rehearsal and they saw us together rejoining them. As usual, Nako and Miyeon were the ones leading the group of people who knows my crush for Jihyo and they teased me about it.
And speaking of group of people who knows about my love secret, a new one has been added. It happened through our chat in Instagram when somebody replied in my story featuring a movie quote about loving someone but being aware of the consequences which makes you rather think twice on pushing yourself to chase for her feelings.
That person is the guy Jihyo is mostly close with in our classroom. They are both smart, but this one is smarter and they get along easily because they share the same humor. He replied to me saying “Who is that girl huh?”
I didn’t tell him yet. We went for some few talks until I recalled our time on the mall earlier with our other classmates. “Hey, I hope you don’t mind joining your circle like earlier. Maybe you guys might find having me uncomfortable, I just wanted to keep my closeness with you guys as my classmates.”
“We’re cool, YN. Actually I like it even more that you’re trying.” He said. “However, I do seem it doesn’t apply for somebody.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think out of everyone we were with at the mall earlier, I didn’t even saw you like interact or go near at Jihyo.” He said. I almost dropped my phone in disbelief. He did noticed me being shy around Jihyo. Sensing that he’ll end up as one of them who is about to find out soon, I didn’t wait for it anymore and after some few hesitation, I made up my mind to do what I have to do. “Did you two had a fight or something?”
“Ahh, that?” I said. “Well actually there’s another reason why you guys might find me sticking along to your circle more.”
He reacted a wow emoji on my message. My heartbeat racing as I typed the letters of her name on the keyboard. After i sent it, I waited for his reaction and what had me was his long laughter.
“Ahhhh so that’s why!” I can hear his annoying laugh behind the phone. My head just bent in shame and laughed poorly at my idiotic self. I don’t know if revealing my crush for Jihyo is even a good or a bad idea to do it with this guy.
“So yeah, I said it to you now. And I did it because I trust you so please, don’t let her know. She doesn’t need to.” I pleaded to him.
“Faggot, don’t.” He then continued with another laughter. Now I just want to rub my face on the table. “Good luck tomorrow, I’m going to tease you a lot from now on.”
I knew it would happen. I gulped nervously and chuckled again imagining what would I expect starting tomorrow if things will go in a chaotic change for me now that people are starting to recognize me because of being an admirer to our fellow classmate.
I prepared myself before going to the campus. As I arrived there, Sehun, which is his name, immediately laughed at me as I approach them who are waiting for our professor to arrive since the classroom is still locked. I just laughed back and whined at him to stop doing it frequently or else Jihyo might find it suspicious and it may attract her attention.
Thankfully, he did listened. He was just like doing it in a manner that he tries his best to insert a joke referring to me but Jihyo and the rest won’t notice. Before we went home as our classes for today ended, he gave me a short advice that began to repeat for the few days to come or whenever we get to talk together.
“Make a move already.” He said. “Do it. She’s easy to get along with. Don’t be nervous.”
I know to myself that I’m trying, but I’m not doing that to impress myself. I stand at my reason still why I don’t have any plans to make an action on how to make her mine. He did say it with the same idea I was thinking for the past few months since I started to develop an attraction to Jihyo, so I just listened to him while keeping my feelings behind me.
But again, being the dorky admirer that I am, I find it difficult to do whenever my feet would bring me closer to me or when I’m standing next to her. I couldn’t acknowledge her presence in ease. It was stressful, and it raises my belief that I am indeed a hopeless romantic.
It continued for few months that my classmates would also ran out of energy to disturb me with their playful gestures on leading me to Jihyo. They slowly didn’t cared at all and it was kind of relieving at least that’s going back to normal now that I can just move around without anybody noticing me. That didn’t last long though when I was walking home with my classmates and two of my other female classmates named Jeewon and Karina asked me randomly when Jihyo got mentioned in our topic.
“You still have feelings for her?” Jeewon asked me.
“Yeah.” I admitted.
“How long do you have a crush on her?”
I remembered the date today and that exact date when I proclaimed myself that I am indeed catching feelings for Jihyo. “Almost a year now.”
Both of them woah-ed. Karina took the turn to ask me. “Why aren’t you doing anything yet? You’re almost reaching a year, that’s long enough already.”
I sighed and slumped my shoulders. “It doesn’t matter. I believe its better if she must not know. I don’t want her to end up with me anyway.” I said weakly as my mind replayed that time when I talked with my other classmate named Lia who lives at the direction where my home leads at, stating that she learned that Jihyo doesn’t have any interest on this love thingie and she prioritize her studies first. She didn’t deny the part though that she already had an experience of being in love with somebody. Based on her report, they almost became a couple back when they were in senior high school but sadly, it didn’t happened for unknown reason.
Jeewon and Karina aww-ed in pity for me being a fallen soldier who still remains loyal fo a girl who will never be aware of my feelings and be mine. They just expressed their opinion that a year or more might just be wasted and more painful to see somebody I’m loyal with get to be rather with someone else. That’s why they still wanted to push me to try atleast.
I just kept it in mind but I haven’t considered it yet. I did have another reason with me that i didn’t shared to them which added to my reasons why I should remain on the shadows. I recalled from my chat with Lia that she has speculations to her ex-boyfriend, which is Sehun that he is interested with Jihyo too.
She even enumerated to me her evidences she observed which became a reminiscence to the things Sehun once did for her when he was courting her.
“First, you see how he always places himself next to Jihyo. Second, he was frequently escorting her with his motorcycle, to take her home or go to somewhere else. He did that to me once, and that’s when he found out where I live in and now for sure he knows where Jihyo’s home too. Lastly, he can just easily get access on her things without a permission. He even carries her bag for himself!
Don’t you think those were still nothing for him? I’m telling you, he’s chasing for Jihyo’s feelings just like how he did to me and what makes me afraid is that he might also waste her heart just like how I ended up into. He’s a player!” She said with all frustrations and I calmed her down. It threw me back to my conversations with Sehun and that advice he gave me which he always say in repeat that I should “Make a move already”.
At first it was just a simple encouragement to me but now after hearing what Lia said, I felt like it was rather a challenge sent to me. That I should do something now or else he’ll be the one who’s gonna win in the end.
Well, for my response? I don’t even care. Let him have her if he wants. If there’s some sort a miracle that it happens, I swear to God that I hope he won’t hurt Jihyo or else,I may reconsider and I’ll be there in no time.
Speaking or miracle, the reason I said it like that is because Lia and I share the same idea: “Pfft he wouldn’t have a chance with her.” Lia said in a mocking tone. “Jihyo doesn’t want to get involved with such guys like him. He may be great at words but internally? He’s immature, way apart to Jihyo.”
“Hmmm so that’s why I’m getting a weird feeling whenever I see them together” I revealed that I actually do get jealous whenever I see them close. At the bench where they review together with their circle, At the canteen where they eat and laugh together. And… yeah when he instructed Jihyo to hug him when they were riding on his motorcycle.
I just tried to hide my face contorting as my heart swells in pain seeing them like that. I was gaslighting myself that maybe it was nothing and they’re close friends that’s why. Jihyo met Sehun early when we became freshman that’s why them being close isn’t surprising anymore.
Until Lia came to dispose those lies I’ve been saying to myself. “See! Even you can see it from them. Trust me, YN. Sehun is making a move on Jihyo. I was his ex, I know him better when he acts for love.”
A month later, those all allegations and rumors we have for Sehun along with my other friend and former classmate who shifted to another course named Arin who also told me that she caught Sehun with another girl eating together and drive away on his motorcycle near at their neighorhood. Arin was living near to Sehun’s house that’s why. Arin even added that when her eyes met against Sehun’s it looked like he caught in the act and just quickly greeted at her back before they left.
Unfortunately, Arin didn’t recognize the girl but she did told me that she was wearing a uniform that is not from our campus, planting a seed that the girl is from another campus that he is also close with.
Going back to what I was saying, those all rumors were ended and disposed away when one day, me and Sehun are sitting next to each other at our subject about Psychology since our surnames’ initials are right next to each other, with mine before his.
While we wait for our instructor, he pulls out his phone and typed something before he poked me and made me look at it. I looked at the message he sent, I read it and it says:
“You’re in danger, YN.”
I furrowed my brows at him. “Danger? For what?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “Boss is starting to speculate you.”
My eyes widened and my chest felt heavy immediately. His laugh got a bit louder but he stopped and typed again on his phone.
“Seriously? I-I mean, I’m not shocked since I knew it’s gonna happen. Secrets are meant to be unveiled-” I was just spitting nonsense now at this point, while I am heavily confused that she finally does began to notice me.
He presented his phone again. This time it says:
“Make a move already. Sungbin is almost at the end.” My brows deepened. Who the hell is Sungbin? I then asked it to him along with the question how did Jihyo suspected me, but instead he just said he will say about it more later.
That son of a bitch though left me hanging and getting eaten alive with all my curiosities for an entire day until I had enough waiting and I chatted him repeatedly about it while clearing up any misunderstandings that I’m not even expecting a lot or whatever. He finally responded and this is what he replied to me.
“Yup she shared it to me like, out of nowhere- she just asked. This is not what happened specifically, huh. This is just too long to read.
For her sake and yours. I don’t want to become your “middle man” even though you both are very distant to each other, got it?
After she approached me, she asked who do you like then ofcourse since you said before that you don’t want me to say it plus it’s not really my business so I just didn’t answered her.
But it looks like she didn’t really wanted to ask it then, I guess she got tired of waiting (just like you right now.) She then asked me directly if “Am I the one that YN likes?” and there, still with respect for you… I didn’t answered her. Not my story to tell.
But overall, just chill. No need to approach her about it anyway. Plus I don’t want to get involved if ever like “Sehun was the one who said it to you, doesn’t he?” Pass. I don’t want to get in trouble. There, make your move or don’t. It’s up to you. She's not thinking about it like actively, don’t worry. Maybe it just crossed her mind that time. So yeah, that’s your too long to read. Ciao.”
I thanked him and felt touched that he really did listen after all this time, and he became a man of his word for it. It’s still unknown though if he also harbored a crush on Jihyo, but during that time I did kind of notice that he wasn’t getting that much into contact with her that I might find jealous of. Maybe he gave up shortly and is now focusing on somebody else.
I learned afterwards that this is not the time that Jihyo starts to investigate her possible secret admirer, aka me. I confirmed from some of my classmates that Jihyo also asked them about it, and they also lied about it. I also feel like Jihyo is now also hiding a secret from me, as I found her following me whenever I take a spot somewhere else around the campus, yet still minus the talking.
I got nervous at the idea that maybe she’s testing or examining my antics if she can consider it that yeah I am getting shy around her because she’s my crush afterall. Realizing that she must have known now, I’m stuck if i really have to do it as there’s no more sense anymore if I have to continue being like this way.
I then hold on for few days until the time has come. I don’t know if this is such a huge coincidence or my classmates are pulling a prank on me. I did contacted them to confirm the location of our group study and the time which I quickly prepped up to head there.
But as I arrived there, I found Jihyo who is sitting alone and using her cellphone. It’s early in the morning and there’s not much students scattered around. It’s very quiet and peaceful but deep inside of me I feel like my emotions are going into war not knowing what I should do.
There’s no way out for me as I cannot leave anymore and Jihyo immediately saw me after she looked away at her phone. I had no choice but to come near at her while I try my best to compose myself. “Good morning.” She greeted me and I did the same.
“They’re still not here? I thought I’m already late that’s why I quickly went here.” I said, acting nonchalant and a bit confused.
“Same too. But since we’re here, let’s just wait for them.” I nodded and I instantly grabbed my things and took them out. From my peripheral vision, my senses are telling me that Jihyo is still observing me.
I don’t want to be weird so I silently plead that she stop, but as longer as we continue to be like this, I then realized that it was actually Jihyo who is becoming awkward between us. My patience couldn’t hold anymore as I see her blank face, I closed my notes and sighed heavily before I spoke the words I’ve never wanted to say.
“This is exactly what I’m talking about.” I said. Jihyo didn’t moved and stared at me, wondering what I’m talking about, so I proceeded with my words. “Making you uncomfortable and unhappy being around me, and it scares me. That’s what I’m being so hesitant for.”
I lowered my head, avoiding her gaze at me. What she said after made me lift up and put my attention to her as this is now something both she and I must discuss sincerely.
“So it’s me.” She finally comprehended what I’m trying the say.
“Always has been, Jihyo.” I confirmed, officially marking my confession to her and shattering my more than a year-length of being her secret admirer.
“And I just want to tell you right ahead that i’m very sorry.” I continued my heartfelt speech, wanting to make every thing clear for Jihyo. “We both know we ain’t that close or I don’t know, even be called as friends to have a normal conversation like this, and it’s my fault. It’s because of this deep infatuation- no screw that, I know for myself that this is indeed love I’ve been having on you that makes me act very awkward around you and trust me, I’m trying very very hard but I just cannot help it.”
“I do notice that I’m like the only one that you don’t get to interact with in the class.” Jihyo said. “Hearing that from you more, it did kind of hurt a litlle bit, you know. Seeing our classmates happy and comfortable talking with you, but I can’t have it the same as them. It did made me worried if I even did something bad to you. W-why does it have to be different when it comes to me?”
I frowned and took all of her rants with guilt. “I thought it was like that, but now I would just found out that’s all because you just… love me that much that you had to act like I’m non-existent?”
“I’m really sorry, Jihyo.” I muttered. “I have my reasons but it’s too many to say.”
“Then atleast enlighten me why do you have to set yourself away?”
“My fears and insecurities are not allowing me to, Jihyo.” My breathing is starting to get heavy as I sense the rising intensity of our confrontation. Jihyo was staring at me, puzzled. “It’s hard to escape. I’m scared that if you once knew, you will just ignore me because of it. That’s why I think not being close with you is much better because atleast I… I have nothing to lose more from you.”
Jihyo gulped and her expression turned into concern. She was about to move towards me but she hold on as I soon followed up what did she got taken aback from. My eyes swelled and a thin cold path started to drew from my cheek, and that’s when I touched it, a teardrop had escaped to present how much I’m struggling with this feeling.
“W-why are you doing this to yourself? Why do you need to hurt yourself more because of me?” Jihyo adjusted herself closer to me. Our eyes still ain’t leaving our staredown at each other. It deeply feels like i’m under interrogation right now that I have to defend and tell my side with all honesty.
“It’s just a feeling that I have.” I shrugged. “That i’m not the example of an ideal guy you would like to be with. I’ll just ruin whoever you are and we’ll end up being torn. Now you know why I didn’t want to confess to you because I’m not desperate for you to answer me back and tell me that you love me too. Maybe it’s better if you don’t.”
I was about to wipe my tears with my spare cloth but I was prevented by Jihyo herself who touched my hand and grabbed the cloth instead. Astounded, she damped it around my face and wiped my tears away.
“YN, please you don’t have to be harsh at yourself.” Jihyo sharpened her voice. I shook my head and tried to remove her hand.
“Don’t worry, it’ll end soon, when the time comes that my heart decides to stop.”
“AND IF I TELL YOU NOT TO?!” Jihyo suddenly yelled in front of me, slamming her fist at my shoulder. My eyes widened at her outburst. I went speechless, oblivious at the fact that I’ve been pushing her buttons further the more she hears me blabbering poisonous words at myself.
Her question rather, sounded suspicious. She returned her glare at me and she reached for my hand laying on my lap.
“I’ve had enough of hearing you hate yourself this much, you may not be fit on some of the qualities I want to the type of person I dream to be together with but I didn’t find everything about you horrible!” Jihyo complained. “And I am willing to get to know more about your capabilities, my standards weren’t even that high to be reach. I feel like it’s not right for me to be like that. If you hate yourself, then what about me? I don’t even think that anybody would fall for me who doesn’t even act accordingly to the gender norms this society has dictated upon.”
“Then I’m not one of them.” I said with confidence. “Initially, I never wanted to be in love again. But then I saw you and more time has passed, I couldn’t determine at first what my heart find you qualified to make me fall for you.
One year ago, I began as your secret admirer observing you from a far, and that’s where I started picking it all up. Many will find you rather handsome or a less attractive because of your boyish cut, tough posture, and antics that doesn’t suit you. But to me, I see different.
You’re uniquely beautiful and cute on your own that I couldn’t stand not to glance at your face for a second. I see this smart and mature woman that you would respect and willing to listen to every words she says attentively. God, you don’t how many times I imagine having you near me all the time just doing every ideas I could think to make you know how I’m deeply in love with everything about you. Just to make you feel special.
Jihyo, I love you because of how your authenticity shines through.”
After I enumerated all the signs that I find captivating from Jihyo and from how she shifted her gloomy mood into an uplifted state, smiling at the compliments I showered over her. She bit her lip and sighed as she looked away, thinking of something else for a while.
Jihyo then brought back her gaze and roamed it all around the sight of myself in front of her. “I really appreciated it a lot, YN. It did sounded sincere.” She nodded in which I mirrorred her. “We really can be friends, but this silly crush is pulling both you and I from each other.”
“S-so, you don’t-”
“No, wait it’s not like that!” Jihyo stopped me as she probably noticed that I misintepreted her. “I mean… you’re a cool guy and can you please stop ignoring me anymore? I-It really hurts when you only do that to me among the rest.” She begged with her softened dismayed tone as she pouted at me. I couldn’t care less anymore if I look like a tomato at how red my cheeks or face would appear from her cuteness.
“I won’t, I promise.” I assured her.
She sighed in relief. “Finally.”
Both sides became silent for a second before Jihyo proceeded again. “About your confession, I won’t reject you for now, YN.”
My hopes and dreams reignited and altered again with that single sentence that she said. I gasped and became overwhelmed at her response that I always thought after all these time that she would just nevermind and won’t take it seriously. “Please understand that my focus for now are on our studies, and you should be as well. I would also like to advice you to take care of yourself and use all of these time I will give for you to improve yourself and rebuild your self-esteem. I don’t want to see you being like this anymore, okay?”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I nodded at her as I listened attentively to her favor.
“Can you wait for me? I mean… if you can’t, w-well… if your heart gets tired of me, y-you can find someone new-”
“And what if I won’t?”
Jihyo considered my interruption and added a new suggestion. “Then how about I’ll wait for you to come back and you must do the same for me?”
“Deal.” We shook hands to seal it. As we slowed down the pace, I let out my gratitude for her. “Thank you for hearing my confession to you, Jihyo. You don’t know how light I feel now after I finally lift off this huge baggage I’m carrying inside of me for spending the entirety of the year admiring you which I thought that would be impossible.”
Jihyo slapped my arm and grinned. “Tss, it’s nothing. I want to also say thank you for speaking up to me about what you really feel for me and I appreciate it a lot, YN. All you had to do is to open up. Sometimes you just have to face your fears.”
We both smiled at each other and then burst out laughing afterwards to avoid getting ourselves trapped again in awkwardness. “There they are on the gate, we should start reviewing now.”
Jihyo began pulling out her things out of her bag and we opened our notes and papers. At this moment, we officially had a mutual understanding to remain being friends for now while we wait for the future to bring what we will end up to be.
3 YEARS LATER
Me and Jihyo were still friends until our last year level… while we couldn’t deny that the signs are still there in present. Today is our graduation day and we both received our certificates, declaring our successfully conclusion of almost becoming an engineer one step away.
As everyone were finally got called on the stage, awarded, and delivered their speeches, we were all commanded to throw our hats to the air and celebrate for ourselves of reaching this far for the best of our careers.
I went to my family and welcomed their greetings to me. I couldn’t help but to be emotional seeing them enveloping me into their embrace. I owe it all to their hardwork and dedication. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here where they want me to be, and now me as well too. I’ll bring them with me as my start to build my life to its improvement.
After having my moment with them, now I went to search after to the only person that matters more to me than everybody else out there. I reached the center of the auditorium, it was empty, and my feet decelerated as I finally saw who I am looking for.
Jihyo was there, now in her new bobbed haircut, looking even more fantastic in her graduation gown. She was holding her award as mine and we faced each other from the distance in the middle of such crowded place. She smiled at me and I did the same for her.
I started walking to approach her and so did she. We stood face to face and we exchanged chuckles at one another.
“We did it.”
“Yeah. Can’t believe it as well.”
We stared at each other. I saw her smile slowly shrink from being proud to affectionate.
“YN… d-did you wait for me?”
“I… I did.” I nodded and smiled, although it’s hard as I knew what we’re about to discuss about.
“I’m sorry.” Jihyo said me and she couldn’t help but to cry for me. “I’m sorry if I couldn’t do the same.” I heaved out a long sigh as I try to mask my devastation.
“But you helped me in other way possible.” I comforted her, not wanting to see her drag herself down just because she failed to last long in the deal we made years ago. “You changed me for the better, Jihyo. Even though that I do admit that my heart is… shattered into pieces right now but that’s what doesn’t matter here.”
“I also give credit on you for what I am now today. I became the best version of myself just like you wanted me to be.” I smiled at him, despite my lips twitching in bittersweet. “I would’ve like it much to apply it on showing how I love you so much, that after all these years I remained loyal for you, I never gave up, Jihyo. I thought we’re gonna be something more in the end but… I was right all along.”
“The likes of us weren’t meant to be together. I have finally accepted that.” I nodded which urged my tears to fall more. “Despite in the way from our darkest days when you often refuse to run away just for the love you tried to save, that’s how it is. Some things cannot be saved when its destined to die.”
I looked at Jihyo and I swayed some of the hair blocking her mesmerizing beauty even with the ruined mascaras and smeared eyeliner.
“You probably even came to see me and hear me say I did too.” She said while she hiccuped on her sobs.
“No, I just came up to meet you to tell you how lovely you are today and…” I paused as I reached for the medal that is hanging around my neck. “W-will you please tell me this too for the last time? Have I made you proud too as well?” I asked her as I remember all of the times she makes me proud seeing her achieving all of those accomplishments she’s receiving because of her academic performance. That’s what motivated me to do better on my studies so that someday, I can make her be proud of me too.
“I know for sure I cheered the loudest I can get when I watch you grab that award, YN.” She nodded and smiled at me while sniffing her tears.
I feel contented at her answer. She immediately pulled me closer to her, my first and the warmest hug I ever shared with her. She cried aloud on my shoulder and I just hummed ay her as I try to comfort her as much as I can.
“Forgive me, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, YN. I wish I didn’t loved you for me to hurt you this badly.”
“I can’t hate you, Jihyo. You just discovered where your heart truly settles.” I said to her. “Don’t blame yourself now, please let’s just be happy for ourselves. Can you do it for me?”
“Y-yes…” I felt her head move around my hold. I knew she can hear my heart still beating loud for her. How I wish she still the same, but when I looked into her eyes, she’s not even there anymore.
I smiled at her, not minding what’s going on around us. I focused on Jihyo only, she’s the most important of them all as usual. It’s no denying that I gave her all I had and for sure I’m willing to repeat it.
“So this is what it feels like.” I lastly said before I broke the hug between us and exchanged congratulations for our success. I watched her return back to her place, to where she belongs. She reunited with her new boyfriend while I left as I finally lose control of my emotions. I cried out loud, defeated and disoriented.
I can’t believe that its over for the both of us.
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