#the thing is just my personal beef with figure skating

[youjustwaitsunshine]

genuinely considering getting tickets for the 2026 winter olympics over the italian skaters

[wonopia]

THE PHOTOBOOTH | 003. HIS BRILLIANT IDEA

[WC] . 1700 prev ! mlist ! next

it had been about 2 weeks since she’d been tutoring him, and there were several times where she just didn't want nor need to show up.

it started off with simple introductions- and it was true, he is the photobooth guy.

“sunghoon, right?” misaki asked with a clear expression of uncomfort, hands squeezing together in her lap.

he nodded solemnly, “heard your name was choi misaki from jay,” he admitted.

she let out a heavy sigh before turning to him, “let’s get this over with shall we? i heard you were really bad at english and in return your going to teach me a few tips on photography..”

“wait.”

“let me finish please,” misaki said softly, he nodded once again while silencing himself, “i’ve also heard that you have been tutored by many before me, and that the only reason that i’m here and they are not is because of your absence.”

he looked away once she mentioned his previous tutors.

“are you going to say why or do i have to ask?”

sunghoon hesitantly turned to her, “i don’t have time for tutoring,” he said plainly with a straight face although misaki grew more confused.

“i’m sorry, what?”

“i dedicate my free time to figure skating, i can’t waste any time dilly dallying about english exams when i could be on the ice- improving on things i should already be good at.”

for starters, he didn't seem like the type of person to just skip school.

“i’m sure you understand although.. you seem like the type of person that would stick close to their studies,” he mumbled lowly, glancing outside of the glass door, “many people envy you for your high marks and no social life.”

“i know for a fact people don’t talk about me,” misaki retorted, “did you really ask around? i mean we had only just met today not to mention me seeing you, a couple days ago, at the mall.”

“nope,” sunghoon laughed dryly, not nearly sincere as you'd expected it to be, “sara is very fond of you, i guess you have beef with my sister.. such a shame.”

“it’s funny that you're here with me for tutoring, has the thought of asking your sister to teach you english not crossed your mind?” she scoffed.

“which reminds me,” he smirked as if a bulb sparked in his head, “i have some practicing to do.”

she raised an eyebrow at his antics, “with what, your vocab or your skates?”

“my skates!” he smiled proudly, “glad that you knew. see you in the halls,” he waved picking up his bag to head for the door before spinning around to look at her, “unless you’re a fan, i have a game soon and it’d be so funny if i saw you there.”

misaki scoffed, “i am not a fan.”

“bye choi,” and with that he left.

not even half an hour had gone by that they had been in the study room. if you didn’t guess it already, he hadn’t shown up to any of their study sessions which meant misaki wasn’t getting paid. unfortunately, she had already sent her resignation letter to her manager at jamba juice so she’s literally jobless.

with him not checking clocks at the library that meant there was no guarantee that his english was improving.

and yes it has been about a week and a half since their first study session. so much for tutoring when he was just going to waste her time.

“there’s only one thing to do,” wonyoung sighed.

both wonyoung and beomgyu were at misaki’s house squished onto her bed while she laid on her rug.

“and what’s that?” misaki questioned.

beomgyu smiled at her gleaming expression, “glad you asked, let’s go to the car, shall we?”

“and we shall,” wonyoung jumped, hopping off the bed before grabbing her hung jacket and out the bedroom door. beomgyu following right behind her.

“come on, slow poke!”

misaki groaned as she got up to follow the two. when she got into the car, her two best friends were already bickering about something, misa slipping in the backseat.

it wasn’t until they pulled up into the parking lot of the arena did she realize where they were going.

“hey, hey, hey, what are we doing here?” misa exclaimed, peeking her head between they’re shoulders.

“going to plan Z,” wonie sighed heavily while setting the car in park.

“c’mon the competition just started,” beomgyu urged, “plus this is my first time at a figure skating competition!”

he got out of the car, walking to the sidewalk, “gyu is clearly excited.”

wonie chuckled, “that makes two of us. let’s go.”

the competition had started once they found a nice seat in the crowd as the first couple contestants performed, misa never realized how beautiful ice skating was.

it never crossed her mind since it fell in the category of sports- all of which she doesnt care about.

“dang, they’re really good, sunghoon must be nervous,” wonyoung pointed out, it was until a performer slid foward onto the ice, “gosh, that looks like it hurt.”

“i wonder how many times he’d competed already,” misa butted in.

“probably a bunch, he’s a total ladies man,” beomgyu added leaning back in his seat, “oh hey, isn’t that jay and his friends over there?”

the three best friends attempted to squint across the stadium to point out the blurry figures.

meanwhile on the opposite side of the arena, “sunghoon’s as calm as always,” jay mumbled.

“heeseung hyung, you are so dumb,” jungwon sighed, shaking his head before sipping his red slurpy.

“excuse me?” hee asked looking up from his phone, the younger one gesturing to the device in his hand.

“how could you ask him if he’s nervous?” won rolled his eyes, attempting to bring his attention back to the performer.

“well if he let's it out maybe he’ll feel better.”

it wasn't long before it was sunghoon's turn. he stepped onto the ice and you could already tell that he’s used to it. he took off his jacket, revealing a white long sleeved shirt with the back slightly cut as a design.

he skated around the rink a couple times to warm up before the mega microphone echoed his name along all the speakers. shortly after you could hear some fangirl's yelling his name loudly that it echoed in the stadium.

sunghoon smiled awkwardly before circling to be in the center of the rink. almost immediately, he had started his performance.

his moves were neat and looked effortless, even though misa didn’t understand figure skating at all, she knew how beautiful the sport was.

in a way, sunghoon perfected his dance the way he would dance it. as someone who doesn’t know how to ice skate not one bit, misa was purely impressed- she knew sunghoon had a talent for this but she never truly knew how well matched he was with the sport.

she never knew how much time and effort he put into this dance for it to become a work of art. she would never say this to his face but he did very well even with his poor attitude towards school versus his attitude for this sport, he has quite a lot of passion for it.

“sunghoon must be very hard working towards figure skating,” wonyoung spoke up, “he did great.”

the competition was over and sunghoon was ranked second overall.

“figure skating is such a beautiful sport,” misa commented.

“well if you’re really interested in it, you should join a skating class,” beomgyu said before laughing at the thought of her on the ice, “nevermind, i could never picture you ice skating.”

they were walking to the entrance of the building. it was until beomgyu stopped them.

“hey, where are we going?” beomgyu immediately snapped his fingers, guiding misa to the direction of sunghoon.

“go,” he shooed her.

“wait what do i even-“

“just get him to do a study block with you!” wonie whispered/yelled but before she could remark something back the two exited the building.

misa continued to walk to the stairs, at the bottom she could see sunghoon waving off his friends along the rim of the rink with a silver medal around his neck.

misaki assumed it was his family that left first leaving sunghoon to recollect his stuff, including many of the stuffed animals that were given to him as gifts.

she sighed while walking down to him. the cold air swallowing her whole, a shiver running down her spine causing her to bring her arms over her chest as she approached her fairly tall classmate.

he looked up at the feeling of someone’s eyes on him, surprised to see her standing a few feet away from him.

“no way,” he laughed with a teasing smile on his face, “you truly are a fan!”

she glared at the boy, rolling her eyes before leaning against the wall of the rink, “congrats on second place.”

almost his whole expression changed as he looked down at his medal, “not as best as first though.”

“at least you got ranked,” she shot back.

he nodded slowly bringing himself to sit down. sunghoon scanned the arena to see it nearly emptied.

“let me guess.. you’re here to convince me to go to tutoring.”

“would you believe me if i said no?” she asked, testing her limits as a grin tugged at her mouth.

he chuckled at her response while shaking his head. the air became thick as he thought more into it.

“i’m planning on the flunking english,” he confessed, “i barely passed english last year and plus having a tutor is really embarrassing.”

misa sighed in defeat like she was unsatisfied, and she was genuinely disappointed that he said no to the study block before she could even ask.

she stared at the floor in deep thought. sunghoon stood up to face her completely, and misaki stared at him due to the sudden change in aura.

“what happened?” she asked.

“i have the most brilliant idea!”

she looked at him examining his weird behavior, a little skeptical, “um okay.. what is it?”

“let’s date.”

note: time to lock in yall, the tea is gon spill.

© wonopia 2024

open TAGLIST. @coffeeprincejaehyun @hoonatic @i03jae

[ravenbloodshot]

Jungwon + Sunghoon Relationship Dynamic Reading.....

Dynamic

This isn't the kind of connection in which if the group disbanded (or when) these two would still talk. Their personalities are incompatible and both are still holding onto grudges/hard feelings for things that has happened in the past

These two have fought before and lowkey are still fighting. You guys know when you fight with someone but you don't truly reslive the conflict and your still angry about the situation, it's not like you and the person is still openly arguing but the fighting hasn't truly ended. That's how it is with these two

Both are pretty immature and petty especially if they feel the other has done something wrong and not themself. So neither one is taking that high road to apologize and squash the beef. Both probably fear being the one that's wrong and at fault in this connection

They don't trust each other and don't ever talk about anything deep just superficial things or work things.

Jungwons view of Sunghoon

Jungwon thinks he's very controlling and dictatorial. "It's my way or the highway" type of person. Also, sees him as a person that is too stubborn and can't let things go easily, constantly bringing up situations from the past

Jungwon thinks he places his career/money over him and the group. Like a person focused on himself but also a person that encourages the others to focus on themself as well and less on the group. Like if members were arguing he would probably be like "if you two were doing your own thing and more worried about yourselves you wouldn't have anything to argue about, now would you?" I don't think Jungwon likes this about Sunghoon

Jungwon does respect his grind and the faith Sunghoon has in himself. Jungwon may really admire that Sunghoon could have had a career in figure skating but sacrificed it all for his idol dream and actually made it into reality

Sunghoon view of Jungwon

Yeah guys. Sunghoon does not like him. For Jungwon he also doesn't like Sunghoon but i do sense more of a secret admiration from Jungwon to Sunghoon

Sunghoon doesn't trust Jungwon. Thinks he's a gossiper that doesn't care about what he shares of others situations

Sunghoon feels betrayed by him and likely doesn't believe Jungwon could ever regain his trust. I don't think he sees him as a good leader, thinks he's quite manipulative and controlling. Sees him as a person that gets drunk on power

Sunghoon thinks he's someone that views his actions as more generous and heroic than they really are. Like a person that has a "main character syndrome".

[bcbdrums]

🍊 Who’s a character you don’t write for that often, but keep meaning to write for more?

🍍 What kind of AUs do you like? Are there any AUs you hate or just generally have beef with?

I'll answer for Soul Eater since you're a SE pal. ^^

🍊 Who’s a character you don’t write for that often, but keep meaning to write for more?

Considering I only write for Spirit and Stein.... 😅 I have ideas for all of the characters, actually. I suppose though...hmm... I need to take a genuine stab at Marie. I keep putting her off in my brain. Also Lord Death; I have a huge series of stories outlined where he's the main character and I've written exactly....zero. And also Sid and Naigus, and Azusa. There's a lot of dynamics I'd like to explore there. I know that isn't one character... 😅 But the thing in SE is that it's all about those relationships. So you can't really have just one. And yes oh yes, someday I will also write about Excalibur.

🍍 What kind of AUs do you like? Are there any AUs you hate or just generally have beef with?

Soooooooooooo....... Here's the thing..... Even tho I just posted an 8K AU the other day.... AU's are very much not my thing.💀 (My gosh that fic was so hard to write, for this reason.) I like canon fic, canon compliant fic... Prequels, sequels, missing parts of canon... New tales within... As long as it all fits. I even have trouble with things that are a stretch of canon, you know? I simply...have a preference. I want more of what I fell in love with, not someone's re-imagining. That said... I can get into AU's if they strike the right chord. A lovely one on AO3 right now for example is called "Are You Dead Or Are You Sleeping?" and I've also outlined a figure skating/ice hockey AU story based on the this and this stunning artwork! I once wrote an AU that turned the two humans into a vampire and a dryad and put them in a fantasy setting. WAY out of my comfort zone! I've also written AU death fics cuz, angst. I guess.... For me, there has to be something specific worth exploring in an AU that strikes my particular interest. Death fics hit a very particular set of emotions in a way only death fics can, for example. There's no formula to determining what I'm gonna like or dislike, I'm afraid. Basically just, the AU would either have to have a desperately clever plot, or hit the emotions in just the right way to appeal to me. I, uh.... I'm not really one for fix-it fics or canon rewrites. (A certain person is reading this right now and is possibly/probably in shock...) If I'm in a fandom you can be assured I love its canon. Doesn't mean I can't view a thing critically. But yeah, the whole fix-it/rewrite is one thing I pretty much never go in for... (Don't worry certain person I am still invested in and will love yours!) There are definitely AU things I like less... Usually just... The general...putting characters in another setting, thing. Like if I were to put all of Soul Eater into Star Trek, as an example. Uh... Changing the race/gender of all the characters doesn't appeal to me. But really, it's hard to answer what kind of AU's I dislike since I shy away from AU so strongly. Most/all AU? I'm really a canon-only type of person. All that said.... I am still very willing and have read things outside my preferences, either if desperate for The Fictional Character™️ or if a friend has asked. And I have found enjoyment in some AU's!

[fantastic-rambles]

Fandom: Sk8 the Infinity

Characters: Ainosuke Shindo, Tadashi Kikuchi

Warnings: None?

Word Count: 1.9k

Summary: When Tadashi wakes up in Ainosuke's body and finds the other man in his own, they both have no choice but to navigate their lives as each other until they find a way to return things to normal. Ainosuke is thrilled... and Tadashi far less so. [Year of the OTP 2023 @yearoftheotpevent. November: life changes]

- - - - - - - - - -

“I don’t like this.”

“Your opinion is duly noted.”

“I mean it. I have a reputation to protect!”

“Yes, I understand that.”

“Why don’t we just take today off?”

“This is for the sake of your reputation. ADAM’s never backed down from a challenge.”

“Yes, but this isn’t like the chambers. You can’t fool everyone, especially Cherry and Joe.”

“It’s just a beef.”

“Skating’s never just anything, Tadashi! That’s what you still don’t understand!” Ainosuke wailed, as dramatic as ever as they argued in the car. Tadashi sighed as he checked his reflection in the rearview mirror: ADAM’s overstyled hair felt strange, and he’d spent the whole ride keeping his head off the headrest to avoid messing it up. He wasn’t sure what the other man was so upset about, either: he’d spent years watching Ainosuke skate and develop his style, studying it both in person and through the eyes of cameras, and he had more confidence in his ability to pull this off than his master’s politicking.

It wasn’t as though he had to announce a tournament or anything, either: it was just a race against an upstart challenger. Tadashi had gone through the usual procedures to vet the newcomer to ensure that he wouldn’t be a liability, and everything else seemed to be in good order. Or was it…

“Ah, did you want to race him yourself?” he asked. After all, the newcomer had been good enough for ADAM to have accepted his challenge in the first place, though nobody thought the other man could actually win, but he could at least bring a breath of fresh air to it all. “Well, I suppose we could come up with a pretense… how about this? ‘In order to earn the right to face me, you have to defeat one of my capmen first…’”

It was the sort of overly dramatic performance that Tadashi thought Ainosuke would like, and the other man straightened up in the passenger seat at the suggestion, his eyes widening… before he caught himself and leaned back against the seat, sulking again.

“But what’s the point if I can’t skate as myself?” he demanded, and Tadashi smiled wryly: so his suspicions had been correct. But there was nothing that they could do about it until their condition resolved, so perhaps this could be the incentive they needed to get Ainosuke to take it a little more seriously.

“Then how about this? After we shut down for tonight, we can have a race, just the two of us. And then we’ll get back to work on figuring out how to get things back to normal so you can skate with everyone else again.”

“You’d do that, for me?”

He’d do far more than that for Ainosuke, but it was better for both of them if his master didn’t realize just how far he would go to make him happy. So Tadashi just nodded, watching his own face split into a too-wide grin again.

“Alright! Let’s do this, then!”

Ainosuke hopped out of the car, and Tadashi waited patiently for him to run around to the other side, pulling the door open for him. With quiet thanks, he stepped out of the car, taking a moment to make sure ADAM’s cape wasn’t tangled before entering the course to cheers. The spotlight that he’d programmed followed his progress as he climbed the hill to where his opponent was waiting impatiently, and he tried to ignore the drone hovering a little too close for comfort.

“Took you long enough. I thought you’d gotten cold feet—I was ‘bout ready to leave,” the other man shot at him, and Tadashi smirked.

“Me, miss this? Perish the thought. Admittedly, I’m used to rather better fare, but beggars can’t be choosers. I do hope that you can entertain me for at least a few minutes.”

“Tch. In a few minutes, I’ll be the king of this dirt pit, so let’s get going already.”

“Of course, of course. But first… how much of a handicap would you like? Two minutes? Three?”

“I don’t need a damn handicap!”

“Mmmm…” Tadashi looked the other man over, broadcasting skepticism through the tilt of his head and the relaxed posture of his body while the crowd hooted and hollered. “Well, your funeral.”

After kicking ADAM’s board up to his hand, Tadashi strode over to the starting line, leaving the other man to catch up to him. While his opponent took a crouching position, ready to kick off, Tadashi glanced over at him again, still at his ease.

“Last chance.”

“Fuck you!”

As the buzzer went off, Tadashi sighed in mock disappointment while the other man sprang into action, starting the headlong fall down the course. Since he’d joined “S,” he’d done a few races before challenging ADAM, so he had some familiarity with the track, which meant Tadashi didn’t need to give him an allowance for that. But it was also important for ADAM to win effortlessly despite coming from behind, so he couldn’t wait too long, either.

As he counted off the seconds in his head, he played to the crowd—staying away from Cherry and Joe who might be able to pick him out as an imposter, but chatting and making idle banter with some of the audience. And when he judged that the time was right, he whipped around, sprinting for the board that he’d left at the starting line to kick it forward before hopping on.

Until he caught up, speed was the name of the game, so Tadashi zipped down the track, showcasing the speed of a longboard and taking the turns almost recklessly. Vaguely, he was aware of the cheers of the crowd, but he blocked them out as he skated sharply, just waiting for the moment that he caught sight of the other man.

He saw a pale, startled face looking back at him, and he pushed himself a little more, sighing internally as he prepared himself for the theatrics.

"Come on, you're boring me," he taunted as he slid alongside his opponent, knocking against the other man playfully. ADAM had sworn off the Love Hug and Full-Swing Kiss against those who couldn't handle them, but more standard rough play was permissible—especially when it was reciprocated in kind. Tadashi swerved to easily avoid the wild punch that came back toward him, grinning as he then cut in front of the other man. As the gap widened, he began to dance on the board, drawing a roar from the crowd before he twisted around as though he was going to pull off ADAM's signature trick… but he brought the nose of the board down gently, keeping most of his downhill momentum as he mirrored his opponent's moves, blocking him from passing him.

"Is this all you've got?" Tadashi called out, seeing anger and frustration cross his opponent's face. He felt a little bad about it, but it was the sort of thing that ADAM would do… and it did make him feel a little happy, as well. He could see why his master enjoyed this sort of thing, being able to show off his skills and be applauded for it: there was just something liberating about not being himself, especially after the long day and the fake smiles.

As the other man cut to the left, Tadashi let him pass so that he could start a new chase, toying with the man the way ADAM did by swerving dangerously close and sometimes cutting across his path again, keeping the race close until they reached the factory.

Only then did he pull ahead, the narrower space limiting his ability to pull off any particularly noteworthy tricks. Even so, he managed to fit in a rail slide and catch a bit of air before he slid over the finish line with a comfortable lead. The roar of the crowd was suddenly deafening as they screamed ADAM's name, and being the center of attention without any distractions was somewhat disconcerting to him. But he continued to smile as he kicked up his board, catching it in one hand and swinging it up to rest on his shoulder in one smooth move as he turned to his opponent.

"Well, it was a good effort, but you'll need to do better than that if you want to challenge me again," Tadashi sighed in mock disappointment: after all, ADAM probably would want to face off, if only for the novelty, whenever they managed to get their bodies back. The other man wasn't good enough to present a real challenge—but then again, most people weren't. But his master could still have fun, even so, and Tadashi didn’t want to deny him that.

“Yeah, just you wait! I’ll be back!” the other man declared like some sort of two-bit villain, pointing at him before stalking away. Immediately, the crowd pressed closer, and Tadashi tried to humor them until it got to be too much for him and he managed to charm his way out of their grasp. But as he stepped outside for a breath of the cooler night air, a hand wrapped around his wrist.

He moved instantly, his free hand grabbing the other person’s upper arm and starting to tug them over his hip to throw them to the ground and break their grip… before he recognized the green bomber jacket and red baseball cap. When he let go, Ainosuke stumbled another step toward him, so he had to catch him, making sure he had his feet under him before letting go again.

“I’m sorry, I was distracted,” he apologized, wincing as his master shoved him up against the factory wall. But rather than a slap, warm lips pressed against his, and Tadashi stared into bright green eyes, startled.

“Don’t apologize. You were amazing,” Ainosuke whispered back before leaning in to kiss him again. “Don’t you dare hold back on me when we’re skating together: I want to see you like that, always.”

Hands fisted into his hair, and Tadashi spared a brief thought for how they’d have to restyle it, but as the other man’s kisses grew more demanding, he responded, kissing him back gently as his hands rested against Ainosuke’s back.

And then they were suddenly nestled in slightly rough hair, hardened by hair products, and the arms around his waist pulled him in closer. Panting slightly, Tadashi broke away, looking into dancing red eyes and a bright grin that looked far more natural than any he’d worn all day.

“Do you think another kiss will switch us again?” ADAM teased, leaning in while Tadashi turned away so that his lips only pressed against his cheek.

“I’d rather not risk it,” he replied dryly. ADAM chuckled before letting him go, running a gloved hand through his slightly mussed hair.

“Well, in that case, my adoring public awaits. But I’m still expecting a good race with you, later. Ta-ta~~~!”

“Wait! Your hair—”

But ADAM just brushed Tadashi’s hand aside, shaking his head.

“I like it this way.”

Before Tadashi could protest further, ADAM ducked back into the factory, and Tadashi’s hand rose to cover his face, feeling the slight warmth of his cheeks. When he could look up again, a glow caught his eye, and he stepped over to a pile of crates lined up against the wall, picking up the tablet that was displaying the current race. With a sigh, he headed back toward the car, keeping an eye on the cameras while turning on his earpiece to listen to the chatter of the other capmen as they kept everything running smoothly, even in his virtual absence.

After all, his work wasn’t done yet.

[onlyxxbutmymindisolder]

Make It Three - Sk8 the Infinity fanfic, part 3/4

Of all the obstacles to enacting our plan, training was only the second toughest; the most exhausting thing was tracking down a certain slippery secretary who was in charge of Adam’s schedule. 

See, a challenge just wasn’t as fun when it was only the two competing parties involved. Having an audience brought a new kind of high to racing, and it also tended to make Adam a lot more amiable. So Kaoru and I searched high and low, and finally got lucky finding Tadashi at a skate shop near the Shindo family’s estate. At first I assumed he was taking Adam’s board for a tune-up, but he’d brought his own board. Weirdly, for all of his involvement in our skateboarding hobby, I had neither known nor assumed that Tadashi himself was a skater.

He was… less than enthused to see us, understandably. And once we told him what we were there for, I could see his headache growing. 

“You want me… to schedule S for next week,” he said, rubbing his temples. We were all in a quiet alley behind the skate shop, so he didn’t beat around the subject or his annoyance with it. “So that you can challenge Adam to a beef.”

“Yep,” I confirmed. “Next week would be best, but whenever you can make it happen, make it happen.”

“We know something’s wrong with Adam,” Kaoru joined in. “We think this might be the key to figuring out why he’s acting so odd lately.”

“Unless you know what he’s not telling us?” I suggested. Tadashi drew further into himself, and I took a step forward to compensate. “Tadashi, man, come on. Level with us. We’re his friends, and you must consider him a friend too seeing as you’re risking your job for him all the time. We want to help him, and we need all the assistance we can get. Anything you could tell us… it could end up making a huge difference in what we’re able to do.”

Tadashi looked me up and down, maybe trying to decide if trusting me was worth the risk. Finally, he sighed. “Everything that goes on in the Shindo household is strictly confidential. I cannot say anything about my time there or what Adam’s like when he’s at home. What I can say is-” he looked me in the eyes, “I think your plan is the best chance we have at saving him right now.”

“Is it that bad?” Kaoru asked, looking a little confused by his wording.

“If he continues like this, it could have serious consequences for his future.” Tadashi glanced off to the side. “...More than anything, I want Adam to be happy. So wait here.” He went to the back door of the skate shop, then paused. “Better yet. Leave this alley the way we came in, and follow the main street uptown. About five blocks from here, there’s a skate park. I’ll join you when I have my board.”

Kaoru and I shared a look. Tadashi usually held us at arm’s length, so this was a surprise. But we did as we were told, following his directions and stopping at the skate park. It was an out-of-the-way place, tucked between several large commercial buildings. The equipment was old but sturdy. It was quiet there, perfect for an introverted person like Tadashi. I wondered how often he visited.

Tadashi got there a few minutes after we did, his board all fixed and ready to go. I waved at him from where I was sitting on the rails. “So, what are we doing?”

He walked past me and set his board down at the base of a ramp. “You said you needed any help you could get to beat Adam. So I’m going to teach you how to skate like him.”

The rest of the afternoon was a blur. Tadashi worked us like dogs until the sun was starting to set and the sky turned orange. He showed us moves we had never heard of, much less tried; he picked and prodded at our forms until we could appear on a cover of SKATE FAN weekly. He gave us a breakdown, piece by piece, of what made Adam’s skating so uniquely unpredictable. And the most amazing thing was that he did it all without ever mentioning where he learned to skate like that. Had he skated with Adam before? By the end of the spontaneous training session, I was too tired to ask. Tadashi looked at his watch and announced that he had to be getting back. He left without a goodbye, his final words being, “Make sure your boards are in good shape.”

Well, mine was brand new. So at least I had that covered.

—

Three days later, Kaoru and I both received notes announcing that S was on for next week - Tadashi worked fast. We were both excited, but also kinda nervous. For all our bravado, the fact remained that neither of us had ever beaten Adam in a race. We didn’t know anybody who had. The day of judgment arrived quickly, and we jittered onto the bus hoping that the long ride would calm our nerves - though, not so much so that we weren’t sharp for the race.

To my surprise, our usual meeting place was absolutely crammed with people. In previous competitions we’d hosted maybe a few dozen, but now? I wondered if Adam had made good on his dream of inviting a hundred people. We’d have to stagger the races, or we all wouldn’t fit on one road. Scanning the crowd, I nudged Kaoru. “Hey. Do you see him?”

“Not yet,” he said. 

“How many people’d he invite?” I wondered.

“Too many,” Kaoru said, frowning. “I hope all of them were careful coming in here. We don’t need the police showing up.”

“That would kind of suck,” I agreed.

You’d think a guy like Adam would be easy to spot, blue hair and dramatic posturing and all that. But we struggled to find him in the crowd. Finally, I heard a familiar, lilting voice; Adam was standing on a rock monologuing to a crowd of groupies. I elbowed my way through and waved at him. “Hey! Big crowd tonight.”

He beamed when he saw Kaoru and I and hopped off the rock, heading over to us. “I was wondering when you would arrive! Some people got over-excited and arrived early, so I was explaining to them the history of our beloved S. Can you believe it? Eighty-seven skaters from all over the island came to visit us. Eighty-seven!”

“I was wondering how many there were,” I said, at the same time as Kaoru said, “Adam, we need to talk.”

Adam hummed. “Of course! Although, we’re planning to start soon, so do make it quick.” He paused, and his eyes narrowed. “Although… I hope this isn’t the same thing you ‘needed to talk’ to me about a month ago? I believe I made my position clear on that.”

“It, uh… No, it’s not really the same thing,” I said, sweating a little. I had no idea how Adam would react to our proposal. If he said no…

“Kojiro and I want to challenge you to a beef,” Kaoru butted in. 

Adam’s smile returned. “Oh, I see. Are you both feeling the competitive mood? See, I told you-” he spread his arms out, “-the more people, the better! All these passionate hearts coming together at one location… Oh. But what are we betting?”

“A secret,” I answered. “Adam, we want to know what’s on your mind.”

He tilted his head. “An interesting choice. What has you so curious that you’re challenging me to a beef to get it?”

I took a deep breath, and looked to make sure there was nobody listening in. “Look,” I said, lowering my voice, “We know there’s something going on with you. And we get there’s a lot of stuff you can’t tell us because of the way your life works, but… Both Kaoru and I want to support you in any way we can. So, if we can beat you in this next race, you have to tell us what’s bothering you.”

Adam stared at me for a long moment, his face unreadable. I braced myself for whatever he would say next, but all he asked was, “...And what are you betting?”

“Whatever you want,” Kaoru said. “You get to decide what you want in exchange if we lose. Although, we’re not going to,” he added.

Adam eyed us both. “Whatever I want from you…” He looked away for a moment. “Another race, then. I call the time and place, and you have to show up.”

I was surprised, but then again, why was I? Adam didn’t need money or stuff. All he wanted in the world was to skate to his heart’s content, and we were his preferred racing buddies. “It’s a bet, then,” I said, holding my hand out for him to shake. “See you on the track.”

Adam shook my hand, echoing what I had said, and wandered off towards the start line. I still wasn’t sure how this was going to go, but at least he didn’t turn the idea down entirely.

We all took our positions at the start line - there was me, Kaoru, Adam, and four or five others. The signal lights began counting from four, three, two, one - and with the blare of a horn, the race was on.

Within the first few turns, those who knew the track were sorted from those who didn’t. Skaters were a daring bunch, but like anybody else, we tended to be cautious around things that were new to us. Some of the newbies slowed down too much for the first sharp curve or dragged their feet on the steep downhill stretches while the more experienced racers pulled ahead. As for me, I was gunning for full speed. Adam never slowed down.

I practically rode the back wheels of his board through the first quarter of the course. Several times I thought I might be able to pass him, but each time he blocked me or used some trick to put more space between us. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Kaoru, too, was struggling to pass him. He glanced at me, and in that moment I could feel our competitive spirits ignite - wasn’t this how we’d always done things? Fighting each other to be first, whether it be past a finish line or past a friend. Silently, each one of us swore that he was going to be the one to win this race today. And so, our nerves disappeared and the competition finally began.

I grabbed a tree branch to help me swing around a sharp corner, nearly knocking into Adam as I did so. Kaoru did a perfect slide around the outside of the same bend, turning 180 without losing a bit of momentum. For a second we had practically sandwiched him between us, but then he slipped away. No matter. We would get him at the next turn, or the next, or the next… Every time, we got just a little closer. The fronts of our boards made a three point line - we were in a tie with Adam. All we needed was another second’s gain…

That was when we saw it coming up. The site of our ultimate trump card, something so freaking cool I had even agreed to practice it with Carla for a day.

I just hoped my board wouldn’t break.

We were heading down a steep stretch that broke into a v-turn about twenty feet from the start. Normally, I would have to slow down in order to make the turn; the slope of the road lent me too much speed to turn around safely. But this time, I leaned into the slope, gaining on Adam who was a few feet in front of me. The wall ahead got closer. It was in just a few seconds - I’d be right in position -

I pushed forward and jumped with my board, hurtling past Adam. Time froze for a split second as I met his eyes midair; I think that was the first time I’d seen him visibly surprised before. He automatically pulled back, me having crossed his path right as he was supposed to turn. Then my wheels hit the wall and I pushed off a second time, propelling myself onto the next leg of the track with incredible force. It was a new move Tadashi had suggested, saying my strong legs made it a stunt only I could do.

It worked. I stuck the landing and left Adam in the dust, Kaoru joining me a few seconds later. Adam had stopped so abruptly that he’d have to kick off again, meaning we got at least a few seconds of free gain - a lead we’d work our asses off to keep. We were approaching the interior mine soon, the final part of the racetrack.

We passed through the tunnel entrance, and the rough dirt road gave way to rusty metal walkways suspended by twisted wires. I didn’t need to look behind me to know that Adam was there. A few seconds after Kaoru and I came in, I could hear the sound of a third board clanging onto the floor. I ignored it, jumping over a broken section onto the next one, and trying to keep my balance as it shifted beneath my weight. I glanced over at one of the parallel walkways and saw that Adam was gaining on me. 

“Damn it,” I muttered. “Just a little longer, come on…” We were so close. So, so close. And just as Kaoru and I were nearing the finish line, Adam decided to hop the railing and fling himself onto our walkway.

I yelled in surprise as the floor tilted beneath my feet, instinctively grabbing onto the railing to keep from falling over. That didn’t help me when it swayed back, and my board slid out from under my feet. Thankfully, it hit the railing and didn’t move. I looked back to see Adam, teeth gritted and board tucked under one arm, hauling himself up onto the path. “Are you insane?” I shouted. He didn’t answer.

Everyone made a mad scramble to regain their footing and get back on their board. I shoved off the railing to gain speed; I could see Adam’s blue hair out of the corner of my eye. I threw all of my weight into the board, hoping it would be enough to carry me down…

…And a few seconds later, I crossed the finish line.

I looked beside me and saw Kaoru, exhausted, and Adam, not looking at either of us. Which one of us had finished first? That seemed to be what the crowd was trying to figure out. People were jostling each other, holding up phones to compare videos and arguing loudly. In the end, nobody had any idea who won that race. We counted it as a tie.

As everyone walked back to the starting point, I tried to approach Adam. “Hey. That was a crazy move back there-”

“Anything goes in S,” Adam replied, cutting me off. “My actions were fair, and you lost.”

“We didn’t lose. We tied with you,” said Kaoru, who had joined us.

“First time we ever did it, too,” I said, trying to lighten the mood. “I wouldn’t call that a loss.”

Adam still didn’t make eye contact. “You didn’t win, and if you don’t win a challenge then you lost it. Does that not make sense?”

“If that’s how we’re putting it, you lost too,” Kaoru said.

Adam stopped walking, and we were forced to stop with him. “Maybe that’s true,” he said. He slowly looked between Kaoru and I. “You know, I once considered skateboarding to be something I loved. Now I see - for me, skating itself is love. To have somebody to share your love with… It’s a blessing. One couldn’t help but be jealous.”

He sounded sad, though I couldn’t tell why. I was about to ask him when a shout echoed from uphill: “Cops! The cops are here!”

My heart stopped dead in my chest. “What?” I said, but panic was already spreading through the crowd. We all scattered in different directions, fleeing to anywhere but the main road. Kaoru grabbed my wrist and dragged me along with him.

“Why the hell are there cops here?” I asked.

“Too. Many. Damn. People,” he replied through gritted teeth. “Someone must’ve seen something and reported us.”

“Fuuuuuuck,” I groaned. “D’you think they’ll shut this place down?”

“That is - literally the least of our worries right now,” Kaoru panted. “Also, do you see Adam anywhere?”

I looked around. “Wasn’t he just-”

“When I grabbed you he wasn’t there. I thought I saw him go this way.”

“Hope he did. It makes sense.” I recognized this path. It was the one that had led us here for the first time many months ago. Things had changed so much since then…

We ran for at least half an hour, slowing down at the fringes of the city. Lots of places out there were quiet or abandoned at night; before we found Crazy Rock, that was where we’d group up with other skaters to race and practice our tricks. There was a bus stop a couple blocks down that ran pretty late into the night. I was crossing my fingers that it was still open, when I heard a noise.

I stopped, nudging Kaoru. “You hear that?”

He froze for a second, probably thinking I meant the cops (my bad), but then furrowed his brow. “It sounds like…”

“Adam, has to be. Plus another guy. C’mon, let’s go look.”

We followed the sounds of animated conversation, which led us to an empty parking structure. I saw Tadashi first, whose expression showed more emotion than I’d ever seen from him; he was desperately trying to get the attention of Adam, who was leaning against a concrete pillar. I strained to hear what they were saying.

“...is going to find out now, if he hasn’t already! Mr. Ain- Adam, your father sees your actions as a threat to the family legacy. He’s going to be furious about this. If the police had any inkling you were there-”

“But they won’t. I’m telling you, people - including Father - are more oblivious than you think. It’s not going to change anything, so why keep me from my fun?”

Tadashi wrung his hands. “Adam… I’ve done everything I can to keep your father off your tracks. But I can’t delay the inevitable. Please, I know it’s my fault you’re in this position, but quitting skating would be the best possible thing for you and your-”

“Quitting skating?” Adam almost doubled over with laughter, his voice sounding like it was about to break. “Tadashi! Have you forgotten everything? My life, my family, our relationship, us?”

“There isn’t-” Tadashi looked at his shoes. “Adam, you are the heir to a rich and powerful family. I’m your father’s secretary. Our worlds are completely separate, and need to stay that way.

“They don’t have to.” Adam’s voice became softer. “All those other people at the track are nothing like me, and yet for a night every month we share the same space, breathe the same air, compete with the same flame in our hearts… You could join me so easily, Tadashi. You could win against anyone there, even me.” He pushed off the wall, closing the gap between him and Tadashi, and held out a hand. “Why don’t you? I think, deep down… You want to.”

For a split second, Tadashi considered it. One hand drifted forward just a centimeter. Then, he crushed it into a fist and forced it down at his side. “What I want doesn’t matter. If the past meant anything to you, Adam, go home. Put your skateboard away. Live a good life.” He turned away. “I’ll leave the alarm system deactivated for you.”

And then he left. Adam stood there for what seemed like forever, staring off into the distance. Then he came to his senses, pulled his hood up, and started on his walk home.

Kaoru and I watched until he left the parking garage. We knew we had to leave, but breaking the silence would mean confronting everything we had just witnessed and trying to make sense out of it. That was a lot of information, and I still got the feeling we were missing a lot. 

Adam was a mysterious guy who hated talking about his life outside of skating. I thought I understood that - for me too, the track was a place to forget all my worries and mess around with my friends. Having serious conversations would drag down the mood, right? But despite that, I believed I truly knew who Adam was. He was dramatic, sometimes arrogant, super excitable when talking about skating, adventurous, a little crazy - and he trusted me. He held Kaoru and I in higher regard than anyone else. What else did I need to know about him?

With that belief, I’d made a challenge to try to pry into his life, thinking he could tell Kaoru and I anything if he really wanted to. 

I pried myself off the wall and started walking towards the bus station.

“Where are you going?” Kaoru asked.

“Home,” I replied. “You coming?”

He didn’t budge from his spot. “Shouldn’t we go after him?”

“I don’t know. Right now, I don’t think we can do anything for him.”

“We can’t just leave him.”

“And what would you say if you caught up to him?”

Silence. “...I’ll think of something.” Kaoru turned and began walking in the direction Adam had gone.

“Kaoru.” He ignored me. “Kaoru!” He broke into a slight jog. “Kaoru! Damn it, you’re stubborn!” I said, half-muttering the last part. “There are still cops out! If we keep him out any later, we increase the risk of him getting in trouble! You’re the logical one - figure that out!”

He stopped, but didn’t turn around to look at me. I figured he was coming up with a smart remark, so I stayed quiet to let him have his piece. A few minutes passed. Nothing. 

“Kaoru?” I called.

“Shut up.” If there had been any traffic on the road outside, I might not have been able to hear his reply.

“You’re worried about him. I am too,” I said. “...I’m really fucking worried about him.”

“Shut the fuck up.” Swearing didn’t make him sound any less heartbroken.

“Let’s go home,” I murmured. “We can talk about it tomorrow, figure something out. But right now the best thing we can do is let him be.”

I waited at the garage entrance as he made his way back, and didn’t comment when he wiped his face with his sleeve. We walked to the bus stop together, rode back, and finally said goodnight when I got off at a stop near my house.

[rek1s-headband]

hi! figured i’d drop a request for you :))! Maybe some general bf hcs for reki and langa? Just in general how they would be as a boyfriend or how they would act in a relationship?

Hi!! Thank you so much for your request, I’ve been excited to do one of these. I hope you enjoy it!

➯ random boyfriend headcannons

➯ characters: Reki Kyan and Langa Hasegawa x gn reader

➯ warnings: none! Just some fluff for these two boys:)

Reki:

-Literally the most enthusiastic person you’ve ever seen. He’d be happy to just sit in silence with you because come on, it’s YOU. There’s no one he’d rather be wasting the hours away with.

-Your biggest hype man, EVER. You post something on Instagram? Get ready for a flood of comments, all from him. You could put your phone down for two minutes after posting, and you’ll come back to 99+ notifications of just reki commenting along the lines of “woah suddenly I’m on one knee” “DAMNNNN” and many, many more.

-Never leave your phone unattended around him. He won’t snoop, but be prepared to come back to your camera roll flooded with just zoomed in pictures of his face, his mouth, his eye, ANYWHERE. Mf is spamming your whole phone with pictures of him for you to come back to.

-He has to always be touching you in some way. Whether it’s holding your hand, your waist, a casual arm around your shoulder, there has to be something. He’ll put his hand on your ass sometimes while you walk in public.

-Honestly doesn’t even think PDA is anything out of the ordinary. Like, you’re his s/o??? Yes you’re in his lap, yes you’re in the middle of the skatepark, so what? You’re his, and he’s happy he can make everyone aware of that.

-I saw a post on here that said he would peel stickers off fruit and stick them to peoples’ foreheads, and I fully stand by this. However, it doesn’t just stop at fruit stickers. Anything remotely sticky, whether it’s tags from clothes, tape from a food box, even random sequins and bits of glitter he finds around, it’s immediately being stuck to some part of your face.

-Loves casual dates. Stopping by food stalls, browsing in clothes and game stores for a few hours, and skating around with you until it’s time to go home is a dream for him. Be prepared for day-long dates, because he will clear his entire schedule just to spend the day with you.

-His family adores you. His mother is always goading him to bring you over more, complaining that she misses her "honorary son/daughter/child". His sisters love you too. Any time you come over there’s immediately three tiny bodies shooting at you, grabbing you by the waist and dragging you over to wherever they’re playing. Reki tries to drag you away, wanting to have you for himself, but you always try and stay for at least five or ten minutes. Secretly, he loves that you get along so well with his siblings, going soft at the thought of how you would act with children of your own.

-He loves playing video games with you. Sitting in his lap, the two of you could spend hours switching from game to game. One minute you could be burning down a village in Minecraft, the next complaining while Reki whoops your ass in Mario Kart. His mom brings you food for your breaks between games, and she’ll even stay for a few minutes to talk to you while Reki shifts underneath you, glowing red from embarassment.

-If you can’t skate, he would beg to teach you. If you accept, he goes all out. He’ll make you your own customised board just for practicing, making sure it’s absolutely perfert for you to learn on. But if you can skate, get ready for endless races and competitions to see who can nail a new trick the quickest.

-Adores when you come to S to support him. He loves looking into the crowd and seeing you there cheering him on before he goes into a beef. If he wins, he’ll race over to where you are in the crowd, picking you up and spinning you around, kissing you without a care in the world. However, if he loses he’s thankful you’re always there to pick him back up and make him feel better afterwards.

-Loves cleaning you up after a big fall, kissing your bruises and cuts better. He’ll carefully wrap each injury with care, telling you how brave you are, no matter how small the cut. Secretly, he loves when you baby him after he falls himself. Seeing you wipe away the blood from a new cut and place a small plaster on it with such tenderness melts his heart in a way only you could.

-Speaking of plasters, this man has one for every occasion. Princesses, pirates, aliens, cats, dogs, sparkles, stripes, you name it, he’s got it.

-The type to sneak you out at two in the morning to get a slushee with him. Honestly, he’s up so late making boards for people he just has no perception of time.

-Spams your phone with TikToks or other funny things that reminds him of you. It could be a very specific thing, or a flower or cloud. If he thinks of you when he sees it(which is fairly often), it gets sent to you.

-Talks with his hands a lot. He’s a very expressive talker, so when he’s telling you a story it feels like you’re right there in the story with him.

-Please just kiss him. His cheeks, his forehead, his hand, his shoulder, his temples, his lips. Anywhere, he’ll melt under you. Mf is touch starved to the max.

-Always knows how to make you laugh. His laugh is infectious, it could get you out of your darkest moods.

-Sleeps with his head on your chest, and one hand in your shirt little perv.

-His social media is like a SHRINE for you. His highlights, his posts, his stories, EVERYWHERE. He’s just so proud to be able to call you his that he wants the whole world to know.

-Kisses in the rain while you run home, skateboards in your hands after the weather forecast failed you once again. He’s just so happy in the moment that he can’t contain himself, so he’s pulling you into him in the pouring rain, kissing you hard while your hair gets drenched.

-You don’t need to steal his clothes, he will literally give them to you because “you just look so cute wearing them”. Occasionally, he’ll take one of your hoodies, and even if it doesn’t exactly fit him, he’ll still keep it near him while he sleeps so he can keep your scent close to him.

Langa:

-This man is so oblivious to obvious hints, but still manages to pick up on the smallest of details? It’s incredible, honestly. He could describe the exact colour of your eyes with the most insane detail, but he still won’t notice when you try and hint that you like him in the first place!

-You two have a bit more of a low-key relationship, but you’ll make your usual appearance in his Instagram posts, or on his Snapchat story with a casual caption like a simple heart, or “my love<3”

-Not very big on PDA, not because he doesn’t like it, but because he doesn’t think of it. However, when he does feel like he’s being too physically distant, he’ll link pinkies with you as you walk along, or rest his head on your shoulder while you watch a video on your phone.

-His mom adores you, which is why Langa despises bringing you to his house. You always seem to leave with seven of his baby photos from his time snowboarding in Canada, a new recipe from his mother that you complimented, another one of his hoodies, and more miscellaneous stuff that you don’t even know how it ended up in your bag. He has a little shelf in your room specifically for this random stuff, and he always adds to the collection when he comes to your house. He’ll leave a keyring, a small toy, a Polaroid, anything honestly.

-Loves dates that you can experience. The movies, aquariums, museums and the zoo are common dates for the two of you to go on, but other than that, he adores going skateboarding with you. He’s been improving, and he loves when you notice little things he’s been picking up on, whether it be a new trick or simply how he balances himself on the board.

-Adores old Disney movies. Yall will binge a ton of them in one day, having full-blown musicals in Langa’s living room. When any of the romantic songs come on, like “So this is Love” from Cinderella, Langa will stand up and offer his hand to you, as the two of you waltz around his sitting room, humming the tune of the song.

-Study dates are frequent with the two of you. If you happen to stay up late studying and fall asleep on each other, his mother will cover the two of you with a blanket, tidying some of your books and leaving with a smile, happy with the knowledge you were making her son the happiest he’s been in quite a while.

-Slow dancing in the kitchen while you cook is a regular. When a particularly sappy love song comes on while he stirs the pot, he’ll turn around and hold you close to him, twirling you around the kitchen.

-Reki constantly jokes that he is a third wheel, poking fun at the two of you, Cherry and Joe, and Shadow and “his little girlfriend back at the flower shop”. He’ll hang out of Miya, whining about them having to stick together since they’re the only two “lone wolves”. He’ll usually get a well-earned thump into the back of the head from Miya, but it’s still funny to watch the whole thing go down.

-Tends to be shy when giving you clothes, so instead of asking you to wear them he’ll leave them out in places he knows you’ll find them, or he’ll come up behind you and plop it in your lap, murmuring about how cute it would look on you.

-Please do this man’s makeup. He will sit so still for you, waiting patiently while you dab eyeshadow at his eyes, trying not to blink so you don’t mess up his mascara. He’ll sit there mesmerised for a few minutes, taking in how he looks, and simply whisper “you do this every day?”

-Evem though he’s not a very openly affectionate person, he is stuck to your hip behind closed doors. He’ll lie in your lap for hours, staring up at you while you mess with his hair, pulling it into little plaits and pigtails.

-I can’t even describe how the two of you sleep. It’s simply a mass of limbs, and no one knows exactly what belongs to who. Somehow one of yall will end up upside down, and-why is Langa on the floor??

-He could talk about his time in Canada for hours, and you’d just lie on his chest and listen to him. Every once in a while he’ll look down at you to see if you’re still listening, and his heart will melt a little every time he sees you staring back up at him, eyes wide with interest.

-This man NEVER gets jealous. You’d literally have to cling to another man for it to click in his brain that Oh. He doesn’t like that.

-He’s not big on texting, but if you call him he will stay on that call with you for hours, even after the two of you fall asleep.

-Whenever he falls(which is quite often), you’ll always have plasters on hand to help fix him up. He always flushes bright red when you kiss his cuts better, and never knows just what to do with himself afterwards.

-When he skates against tough opponents, you’ll always give him a kiss for good luck. Of course, this doesn’t stop you worrying, but you know Langa wouldn’t go out of his way to get injured. And if he does, well, at least he’ll have you there to kiss his bruises better.

[tommybaholland]

dating him would include…

since i’ve already written versions of this for reki and joe, i thought i’d just write some for the other boys as well! should we do langa or tadashi next?? 

featuring: cherry

between joe and cherry, if you’re dating one of them, you’re like the luckiest person in the world because they’ve both got so much going for them

cherry is very intelligent and created his unique business of AI calligraphy and obviously, he’s very pretty

you would probably start off as enemies of some sort but there’s hidden admiration between the both of you

you would always be bickering, much like he and joe do but you kinda liked it when he would pick a fight with you or vice versus

you just enjoyed starting something with him and seem him get all riled up and smirking as he threw it back at you

once you finally figured out that this was more than just friendly competition, it did get awkward

like how were you supposed to start liking each other after fighting all this time?? apparently it was possible

he couldn’t imagine being nice to you honestly so the last thing he wanted to do was ask you out

he decided he would take you to S since you were always wondering what he did late at night

he of course had a beef planned for that night because he wouldn’t just take you there for nothing and watch a bunch of other dudes skate

you complained almost the entire way there on the back of his bike, he nearly regretted the whole thing but you quieted down once you entered the abandoned mine

watching him compete in the beef also had your mouth catching flies

you almost couldn’t watch all of it because some of the stunts he rode through seemed impossible but of course cherry always had his calculations to help him

he won the beef and you caught yourself cheering for him as he crossed the finish line

he rode up to you as you acted unimpressed, flatly congratulating him 

“that’s just talent, my dear.” 

your relationship developed at a slow and steady pace as you continued to go out together

you were both actually pretty shy and somewhat awkward but you had good chemistry and vibes with one another

it wasn’t until your fourth date that you kissed after having dinner at one of his favorite classy restaurants where he brought you to a quiet shrine, moonlight lighting the way for you

“even though you may get on my nerves, i’ve wanted to do that for a long time now.” 

you catch yourself smiling like an idiot all over again

he treats you like an absolute queen or king, reminding you over and over that his goal is to make you happy as that’s what you deserve

starting off tonight with some sk8! requests are welcome...

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[murasakispace]

Adam/Shindo Ainosuke X Male Reader

Author's note : Adam needs a bit of love, don't you think? A little love that doesn't imply to hurt Tadashi. It doesn't prevent that it is certainly crap. English is not my main language and it must be awful.

Warnings : NSFW, spanking, degradation and all the BDSM pack.

You were a newcomer, a rookie here. In S. You had the time to watch the local legends fall from their safe sky on the large screens. The most incredible was the race against Langa. Well... You were still wondering if his name was really Langa. Maybe you misunderstood, hidden in your shadows. First Joe, then Cherry and finally Adam. You had to admit their style was eclectic. Even them had to learn again. They were believing themselves as gods because they were the founders of a clandestin course. It made you shrug a little while you were observing them.

People were people. Here, in S, freedom was at its most powerful. A place were no one could say, order to someone something he doesn't want to do. Everything was ruled by skateboard and the people's talent. You were quite happy of that. Because of an accident years ago in mountains with your motorbike while you were heading to the summit so as to practice snowboard. You had the ambition to reach the Winter Olympic Games in half-pipe. You fell from a cliff and you miraculously landed meters below with broken ribs instead of your backbone.

During years you suffered and your dream of medals in the Olympic Games was gone, vanished into the air. Your well-known recklessness almost hurried you in your grave. In the hospital, you spent the last three years to reeducate with an omnipresent pain in your back, anger against the people who had forgotten you when you would have given them your soul if they asked for it an ended alone. You nearly lost your mind when you woke up from coma and nothing appeared in front of you. You weren't able to see anymore. Time went by and you found yourself offered the chance to remedy to your blindness. But it doomed you to wear particular sunglasses every day of your life. A little cost considering what you've been through.

You suffered. You were still aching but less than these last month. Moreover you felt better each day passing. Only eternal scars remain. And to be here in S got you like you were free as much as before your accident. And you would thank Adam for this. Yet, you meant nothing, watching the same scenes which were playing in front of your eyes.

You were sitting on your motorbike far behind the last people composing the crowds ahead of you. Actually, the last time you came at S was when Adam had been defeated. Since then, you weren't coming as often as you should now. Everything was more peaceful and Adam abandoned this bad habit to smash people in the face with his own skateboard. Of course, the blue-haired show-off would never stop to make his little shows and big entrances. You don't think that one day his "hey bitches and bros and non-binary hoes" would leave your mind so easily.

Yet, even if you admired Adam as an remarkable skater, you wouldn't prevent yourself to hate him for everything he was aside all of it. He was "in love" as he told to anyone who would like to hear it with his partners of race. It was nothing like love. You didn't know how you manage to not go through the crowds to slap him right in the face. He didn't understand. He wouldn't anyway. Love is sweet, a fluttering sentiment which set upside-down your guts and your soul. It wasn't how you remembered this wonderful thing.

Anyways, Adam had been defeated by a rookie that you had the power to crush on a snowboard. Even if he was talented, had he the talent of someone able to go in the Olympic Games? You didn't think so. You had yourself a modified board. And right now before the attended race between two opponents, you were as if you were playing on the half-pipe near the start of the race.

You were jumping even higher than this little rookie and executing figures in air that were turning sick some of the people gathered in your audience. You were hearing the slight gasps of awe coming from several girls watching them. Even Langa applaused you in the distance with an annoying smile. That little group comprehending Shadow, Reki, Langa, Miya and the others was sincerely uselessly noisy. Though, they were sometimes giving you back a smile you had long forgotten it was existing. But you didn't care anymore. You were busy with your "switched back flip with nose grab" and to make people applause even louder around you.

They were kind and cute because even if the trick wasn't so hard, doing it on a skateboard was something else. And it earned you the nickname of Eagle in S. You were impressive to say the least and people were clearly stunned. What you didn't expect was to attract the boss' attention here. Adam. Actually, his little grieves left you as if you were like marble.

Not only was he sticking to you but he also was quite insisting in his behavior. You didn't like him at all. It may have been the second or the third night that you came on the half-pipe of S. No one challenged you that time. You just shrugged your shoulders and were going on the way to leave this place. The pressure, the people gathered here, the races and the clear lack of delicacy from them made you get away from here. A sort of repulsion ordered you to go away. A skatepark would be big enough to allow you to do the same show for any passerby. After all what was the point of tiring yourself by skating if no one could applause for your demonstration of pure talent. And today, several nights after Adam's defeat, you were leaving S for good this time. It has no point for you to stay.

Yet, Adam didn't want the same. He was observing you before Langa. So he caught you up while lights were dancing around him.

"Mmh... What a wonderful little bird I see here. Don't be scared my dove, I'm not going to bite you." Adam said both loudly and sensually, thus it made crowds look in the same moment towards you.

A heavy silence has just fallen onto the crowds. You have heard the wheels of Adam's skateboard behind you. And he came, leaving his hand on your hips, getting you closer and closer to him. You could feel his hands roaming and doing delicate circles on the fabric of your clothes. Such an intimate action while you could almost feel his head rest on your shoulder. He made a little comment about your scent. Does this man have really no shame ?

"Aren't you tired of your own bullshit, Adam? Losing once wasn't enough to bring humility in you?" you snapped back while the man gazed at you.

"Never, my sweet, stubborn little dove" Ainosuke whispered in your ear while his hands were circling around your waists.

His sweet, gentle, poisonous tone was near to give you shivers. You weren't able to discern within yourself if it was a sort of trespassing desire that was boiling in you or a fire of rage and the deep will to smash him with your skateboard. Probably both. Let's agree on the fact that this man was a living invitation to luxury and rough love. You were just a little smaller than him but strong enough to make him comply and kneel in front of you like a slut. You clicked your tongue and forcefully escaped from Adam's treacherous embrace.

"Alright Eagle. I challenge you into a beef" Adam called behind you.

"Carry on" You answered back while the crowds become immediately silent were watching you with great interest.

"A race. You and me. Right now. The loser become the slave of his opponent." Adam added with his usual disturbing smile.

For one of the first times since you were coming in S, it was one of your first beefs. Moreover, with the boss of all that mess. And finally, it involved something hidden behind all of this display. And you liked it. Why not enjoying fully the race and the aftermath. You used the back extremity of your skateboard you hit Adam in the belly and making him move backwards. You were almost ecstatic. You walked calmly until the start line, put lightly your skateboard on the ground and set your foot on the deck while you were waiting for Adam to come. Obviously, he made his way towards you.

"Mmh... I'll enjoy to turn you upside down after this race" Adam sensually whispered.

"Your self-confidence will kill you one day, filthy man" you replied with a dry tone.

"Let's say that now that I've lost my Eve, the only person in S having my attention is you my little dove. Be ready, I'm not going to be easy on you"

These last sentences would the death of you. His magma-like voice was burning your insides. How can someone warm you up so efficiently? That was a mystery. But you liked it. Adam was well-known to be kinky. You hated a little yourself at that time. You were falling for an insane guy who is now targeting you. Obviously, it was not in a romantic way. Yet, Adam remained a reachable fanstasm. And you were apparently one of his. The green fire came rapidly, thus the start of the race.

Adam became fastly the first. You forgot about everything and just tried to have fun. You were skating as if your board was a part of yourself, dodging rocks and Adam's attack. You knew very well that he didn't change that much after his first defeat here. He even did his little thing of holding you close to him with the sort of horns on his skateboard.

" I love the movement of your hips, so agile, so smooth, I can't prevent myself to wonder what it will feel like to love you fully until you will ache for attention under my touch. You are a snowboarder too, right?" Adam asked more or less.

"You could say that. But I'm not like that kid. I prefer half-pipes. Besides, you have really no shame, haven't you? Anyways, goodbye."

You increased your speed and left Adam behind. You were jumping the cliffs where the turns formed the shape of a snake with the lights in the night. While you were flying, you were shining with more and more complicated figures and graceful landings, making you significantly ahead of the blue-haired holy creature named Adam. He managed very quickly to catch you up. A little smile was playing on your lips. That was funny to see him a little bit in difficulty.

You were provoking him. That was unbelievable and remarkably bold of you to do so. You annoying smile was allowing to build desire and longing in Adam's heart. He was the king and yet, a little dove was playing with him shamelessly. Adam was so mesmerized by your own race that he barely realized he was in the factory. The screams of the people gathered in there dragged him from his thoughts. He saw you fly until the finish line and cross it. You win against him. A huge silent welcomed him.

"One of the first things you have not to lose when you run is your own concentration. I don't know what happened to you but it doesn't prevent that you weren't really skating. So for the beef, I cancel the slave thing." You declared when Adam went towards you.

You turned your back to him and headed to your motorbike followed by the blue-haired man. You didn't want to stay any longer. Adam's footsteps were soft behind yours.

"How can you cancel the slave thing, as you called it?" Adam demanded.

Seeing that he didn't have any answer, Adam reached you to catch your shoulder and make you turn to look at him.

"Because I'm the winner" you responded with a threatening tone.

"So having me doesn't interest you?" Adam questioned with a spark of deception.

"I didn't say that" you replied with a playful half-smile crossing your lips.

You were surrounded by darkness and no one cared anymore about you. For the people, you were remedying with your little issues about the beef. Nothing very interesting for them. Your hand climbed Adam's tensed thigh before going backwards to his ass and caressing it shamelessly. You heard the man getting a heavier breath and mumbling sinner sentences in your ear. You didn't even move when he came closer to enjoy the caress.

"Adam... You are such a slut... Look at you, you sound like a virgin discovering sex" You told with an incredible amount of heat on your voice.

You left your fingers coming down on his half-hard dick and rub it lightly. Just enough to give shivers to the man.

"Horny, aren't we?" you carried on while Adam was melting under your touch.

It was only simple caresses yet the man in front of you was letting himself go as if you were escaping and he won't have anymore opportunities to have you so close.

"More" demanded Adam while he has finally what he wanted so hard.

But you stopped here, creating frustration in the man.

"There's a love hotel down Crazy Rock. Come with your Grim Reaper costume." You requested with an overbearing tone.

Adam ordered to Tadashi who wasn't present in S that night to bring him to this place and the black clothes he was wearing against Langa. Once arrived in the building, he headed towards the receptionist who led him until the room. The space was dark and very classical for a love hotel but it was enough to arouse Adam. He felt as if your hands were still on him while he was changing his red costume. The memory of your hands trailing down his back to reach his ass and caressing it shamelessly was still unbelievably strong in his mind. Then he felt the touch join his cock, gently but still enough to make surrender to your touch. He desired you so much right now. Once he wore his Grim Reaper clothes, he laid down the mattress. He let himself go to the warmth he was feeling. He already wanted you so hard. He thought he was still dreaming when he felt the sudden touch of your hand on his neck.

"Ready to cum due to a shameless imagination. What a dirty little pet we have here. Were you planning to touch while you would wait for me? " You whispered in Adam's ear, getting him to have goosebumps.

Your fingers went down along his spine then reached the start of his ass. You were riding him from behind, each of your legs apart Ainosuke's body. You spanked his cheeks violently when you see you wouldn't get your answer, making the man moaning of both pain and pleasure.

"Use your tongue. You still have one, right?" you picked up after this unwanted silence.

"Yes" mumbled the submitted man.

"Louder. I don't hear you."you commanded.

"Yes"

He was speaking at the volume you wanted to listen. Loudly but not enough to disturb people out there.

"Better" you acknowledged with a neutral tone.

You got away from the position you have over Ainosuke. You were looking for the bad you brought with you. In the corner of your eye, you remarked the presence of a mirror. It could be useful but not now. You were secretly impatient to play with the king of S. You glanced at him and couldn't prevent a half-smile on your face. His hips were slightly higher than what would be normal. The blue-haired man was aching for your touch. Unhappily, it seemed sometimes you weren't as mean as some of masters with their human pet when it comes to tough, rough and painful but delicious sex. Well... It didn't matter actually. Your beautiful puppy lying on the mattress would love it anyway. You sincerely enjoyed the fact that this natural dominant male was completely under your control.

"Get up and kneel. Be rid of your clothes and keep your eyes on the wall. If you look at me I leave you here, tied and with a toy in your ass until you faint. Is that clear?" You ordered with a severe voice.

You didn't get any answer immediately.

"Yes". You heard behind you.

"Yes who?" You added.

"Yes Master" Adam ended while he just worked to be in his knees over the blankets.

The man got rid of his suit not so quickly. The fabric was comfortable and smooth, suiting perfectly his body. The memory of your touch was almost disappearing with him leaving aside all the clothes. He ended naked on the bed, his pale skin revealed to the air. He kept his eyes locked on the wall and he didn't have any access to the mirror to watch what you were doing. He only heard some noises somewhere behind him. Adam was shivering litghtly because of anticipation. He didn't want you to be kind with him. The rougher the better. Anyways, love and pain were both the faces of a coin, right? He submits but you serve.

Ainosuke felt your hand climbing along his leg and rest a few seconds on his thigh. You slided a lubed toy in his hole. You went as deeply as you could without bruising you pet and without leaving without any sensations. His insides were slightly stretched enough to emphasize the rubbing which you started from a few feets away.

You had the time to change in a black leathery pants and high boots, all black, with an open shirt lazily flying along your sides. After that, you were just watching Ainosuke's nakedness from behind. He was well-shaped. You couldn't say more. And this beautiful insane man was craving for your attention. You knew the effect the toy had. The more Adam was holding back his moan, the more the toy is going to make him lose his mind. You knew very well that the man had a certain endurance. Yet, it had no effect when the right points within his body were touched and loved.

You were still gentle. You could be more cruel and less careful about your little pet. Adam knew it very well. He was sure he looked like a little virgin taking pleasure for the first time but the thing inside of him suppressed all of his strength. He was grunting and moaning like a whore and he loved it. But it wasn't enough. It wasn't you.

"More..." Breathed the man while his whole body was totally shaking.

"More? Really?" you asked while you were enjoying the frustration on Adam's face and the red hue on his cheeks.

"Inside me... Touch me..."you went to caress Ainosuke's naked ass before spanking it another time.

"You have no permission to cum, dirty pet. I'll punish you otherwise."you warned with a threatening tone in your voice.

The heat was slightly consuming the blue-haired man and pleasure was way too heavy for him, almost choking sometimes. You would be the death of him if it carried on.

"Please..."Adam silently begged while you were heading to an armchair not far away from the display in front of you.

Were you sadistic? Probably. You had one of your legs hanging on the side of your seat and watching Ainosuke fighting the destroying pleasure inside of him. You were so desirable. No one would ever say the contrary. It was only the start for your adorable pet. But it wasn't enough for you.

"Come here." You commanded with a monotonous but commanding tone in your voice.

You saw Adam moving to reach you. He stumbled on the few meters he had to make to come at you. He knelt in front of you but it sounded more like he wasn't able to carry his own weigh. He was looking up at you with eyes tainted of pleasure. He caressed your legs as any good cat would do to please his master and get some food or any touch. Your hand reached his chin and you lift it without any delicacy. A few more and Adam was going to surrender and leaving himself being overwhelmed by pleasure. His red eyes were blurry and full of lust and you locked yours on his. Your hand went in his hair and you brought him closer to you.

"Take it. And do it well, slut" you requested with an overbearing tone.

You felt shaking hands roaming over your leather pants and undo the belts resting on your hips. His fingers freed your half-hard dick but he was too slow.

"Faster" you ordered.

Adam put his finger on the skin of your shaft, then his lips. You hardly held back a grunt of pleasure while you were feeling his hot mouth around your cock. That was divine but not enough. You settled your fingers in Ainosuke's hair and pulled it closer.

"Come on, slut"

The blue-haired man wasn't slow but it wasn't fast enough and it frustrated you. You ordered him for more speed and he did it. Adam was all focus on your pleasure, worshipping you with his tongue and his lips. It was warm inside his mouth. You wanted to dirty your sub with your seeds and make him feel like a doll in your hands. Besides, you increased the speed of the toy inside Adam's ass. He was fighting tou bring you pleasure and not to cum. His whole body must ache but you didn't really care. You wanted more. You helped a little Ainosuke with his movements. His tongue was caressing you shamelessly, and he was all focused on you. You were almost fucking his throat.

"You are really a whore my pet. Worse than a dog in heat. Loot at you"

You led his eyes to the mirror not far from you. Adam moaned when he saw the image of himself. The red hue on his cheeks while he was taking your cock into his mouth. The sight was mesmerizing. Then, lower, the pre-sperm was dripping from his own sex. Adam wasn't able to suffer it anymore and the last image had been the death of his limits and he cummed lankily on the ground. His muscles all tensed relaxed in a few seconds. He spilled his white liquid everywhere at the bottom of the armchair while he was moaning with your shaft still in his throat.

You raised your hand and gave him an echoing slap which made the blue-haired man fall on his back, covered of his dirty sperm. You perceived Adam hard cock raising between his legs.

"Kinky whore. You are not even able to handle it, right? Such a disobedient little puppy. You'll be punished, you know that, aren't you?" you threatened with a sweet voice, penetrating under Ainosuke's flesh.

You were watching your pet getting up from his position on the ground.

"Be happy that I'm not going to order you to lick it, silly kitten. On the bed, now. Twenty whiplash, and if you are not obedient, I'll double that number. Understood?"

"Please Master, no!" Adam surprisingly begged with and hoarse voice to you.

"This is the cost for your insolence and disobedience. It could be a hundred so take what I allow you" You replied without any softness.

You gave the order to your dog to be astride on the bed, on all four. Adam settled over the blankets and stayed still. The man heard you get the tool in your hand. And without telling him, he felt a painful burn on his ass, followed by your hand which rubbed it. Ainosuke heard himself grunt to the sudden soothing caress.

"It was the first. I won't be that kind after. Count them. At any mistake, It'll be thirty"

You blowed him again and your sub was counting but it was painful and red traces were appearing on his skin. You weren't soft with him and appreciated his delicious reactions of suffering and adoration. The toy was still in his ass, driving him crazy from both inside and outside. Adam wasn't able to keep up anymore and at the end on the punishment, he fell over the blankets, naked, full of shame, pleasure and love. He was crying due to the overwhelming amount of feelings. His shaft was so hard that it was painful and he wanted freedom from you. His pants were perceptible in the silence of the room. The blue-haired man felt your hand on his ribcage and forcefully turn him on his back.

He saw climb over the mattress and settle near him. Your finger roamed over your pet's belly and touch his nipples, making him shiver and grunt. Your softness was welcome for Adam. His body was aching due to tension and slaps but pleasure was still present in his blood and adrenaline was keeping him conscious. Suddenly, the toy Ainosuke had in his ass had a different movement, more intense, more rubbing and making him moan loudly.

"Did you seriously think it was ended?" you questioned with a playful tone. "No. Of course not".

You got up and put yourself in a riding way. You pushed your shaft inside Adam's mouth and start to fuck his throat again. Fingers curling down the sheets and becoming white. Your sub was testifying of this pleasure. And you were too. Your hips were getting faster and faster and Adam's eyes were rolling backwards while pleasure was burning him. You were silently moaning and keeping your features still but it was hard when your little pet's tongue was that agile and smart to find the areas able to make you shudder. It felt like eternity till you finally cummed inside of Ainosuke's mouth. Your sub swallowed everything and as a reward you ordered him to change of position and to rest on his belly. You removed the toy from his ass and caressed it softly.

"Master..." called quietly Adam.

"Mmh?" you responded with distance in your behavior towards him.

"Please. Fuck me." begged silently the man.

Where was Adam, the king of S, almost undefeated? Where was the show-off, the insane guy? You knew very well where he was. He was subdued to every of your desire now, drunken by pain and pleasure, knocked by envy. He wanted you in the simplest way. The incubus became the innocent virgin and you were his master. Nothing was left from the skater man that you met at the nightfall. He was just a body aching for softness after a hardship, pleading for quietness now. And more sincere than he never had been until tonight. He needed you.

"Please Master..." whispered again Adam.

But his begging stopped when Adam felt your dick against his hole. A slight moan escaped from him and you started to bury yourself in him. His insides were warm and comfortable but so tight. The rubbing was divine and you could help yourself but start to fuck his ass very slowly to push him to worship you. Adam had his hips hanging a little in air as you were thrusting to give you both an amazing amount of pleasure.

"P-Please Master... More..." moaned Adam while you were almost hitting his ass.

It was so nice to see the man so submitted to his needs coming from you. You couldn't help yourself but started to thrust more and more quickly and fastly. The sound of your flesh against each other was echoing in the room and you liked it. You got rougher and rougher but it was still nice and finally, you let yourself be. You felt Adam's hole tightening around your shaft for the second time. Your hands slide down his hips to find his own sex so as to apply languid caresses. It was too much for him and his muscled yet thin body sank on the bed and you followed him in his climax not long after him.

You were panting heavily and your pet was actually nearly fainting. You took him into a warm embrace and rubbed his skin to soothe him. You didn't have the time for a real aftercare because he fell asleep immediately. You would wait him to take a needed shower. For the time that you had, you left him be.

Adam had been a wonderful sub. You were happy. But you didn't have the intention to stay with him. If he wanted you, then maybe you should have a more serious and deeper conversation. But now, it wasn't what you wanted.

[kudouusagi]

Animage June Utsumi Interview (Part 1)

You can become happy through skating!

—In our last interview, we talked about how you were living an active skate life, Director Utsumi.

Utsumi: Is that so? (lol)

—How has your skate life been after that?

Utsumi: Right now we're working on retakes of the series for the package version, so I'm looking forward to being able to lift the ban after that. Until then skating is banned (lol).

—Is that because it's dangerous since you could get hurt?

Utsumi: That's right. There was a time once before where I got injured and couldn't work on the storyboard for a whole week, and so now there is a ban on skating for all of the animator staff. So I just have to hold out a little longer.

—Are you planning to reward yourself for having finished your first TV series, like buying yourself a new board or something?

Utsumi: Ahh, I'd like to. I want a longboard like ADAM!

—A longboard, huh?

Utsumi: Depending on how you want to use them, the shape of the board and the wheels are different. For dancing skating you need a longboard. Doesn't ADAM's dancing interest you? (lol)

—Did it make you want to try dancing too?

Utsumi: It's not really from watching ADAM, though (lol). When I was searching for reference videos (to use for ADAM's skating), watching the men's dynamic dance steps made me feel like dancing skating was really cool. Also, the videos of the girls dancing were really cute. I want to try it too.

—Since you're in the middle of doing the retakes for the package version, do you feel like that's something you have the time to think about now that the broadcast is over?

Utsumi: That's right, it's all about how we feel about it.

—After the TV series ended, what sort of reaction did you have?

Utsumi: There were things that went well and things we struggled with. The former includes the beef scenes. The 3DCG backgrounds are part of that too, and it also includes when we had the animators dance, since it really moved me because the scenes we were able to make using those actions turned out better that I imagined. On the other hand, those skating scenes were a lot of work for the animators and so there were times where it was really tough. For me personally, I just drew the storyboard. I'm now reflecting on it...... thinking if there were ways I could have made it a little less intensive for them.

—How has the response to this series been? Have you gotten reactions from the fans?

Utsumi: Yes. Among the staff, we never thought we would get this type of reaction so it's been really encouraging. As we got closer to the final episode it got harder and harder for us, and by getting responses from everyone we knew we had to try our hardest for the people watching this and looking forward to it. The reason we had the strength to make it to the end was really because of everyone watching.

—Were there any reactions that made you really happy?

Utsumi: Episodes 4 and 5. When things are hard, it's like getting reactions from people purifies us...... (lol). There are a lot of times when there's a really difficult shot, but it passes by in only a few seconds. That can't be helped, so for me to be able to say "I'm happy" about how it turned out, that makes me really happy.

—As the series progressed, the amount of fanart on social media kept increasing, didn't it?

Utsumi: When it first started it didn't get talked about much, so I was worried that "no one will draw pictures for this, will they?" but then I got to see more and more pictures being drawn, and so I've never felt this happy while making anything before. I was trying to hold in my happiness every day (lol).

—On the other hand, were there any reactions that surprised you?

Utsumi: The reaction to ADAM. People thought he was scary in episode 4. But it seems like since then everyone has figured out ADAM's way of having fun (lol). But I am happy that everyone was able to feel the same fear that Reki felt through the screen.

—Combined with Koyasu (Takehito)'s acting, it felt like his weirdness kept escalating (lol).

Utsumi: After his first appearance we had to keep increasing it. We kept searching for different ways to do it. We'd say "Since we did that last time, we have to go even further next time." Including how he would show up. Episodes 3 and 4 were his first appearance, so it was grand like a king, in episode 5 he pulled out the red carpet. In episode 7 he dove out of a helicopter, in episode 8 he popped out of the stage...... we couldn't think of anything further after that (lol).

—You felt like you had to make his appearance scenes more powerful every time?

Utsumi: That's right, since he's the star of the "S" world (lol). As we made the screenplay, everyone searched their hardest to find better ways for him to make his appearance (lol).

—How was your first time working with BONES?

Utsumi: It was my first time working with the Bones producer, Suzuki (Mari)-san and she really loved this series and became really passionate about it with me which made me really happy. I think it was because she was able to speak to the staff with so much enthusiasm that we were able to gather so many amazing animators.

—Just looking at who was in the end credits I could feel the excellence.

Utsumi: It was all hands on deck for the final episode.....!

—Is there anyone else at Bones who really helped you out?

Utsumi: The 3D team at bones who created the amazing 3DCG backgrounds for the beefs. Since it was our first time working together, I was wondering what kind of 3D they would make, but they made such cool 3D scenes that it made me think "maybe we don't even need characters anymore!?" (lol). However, since the characters are 2D I was worried they wouldn't blend into the scene and look like they're floating. Since the characters being placed on the 3D background will always be flat in comparison. But the 3DCG supervisor, Andou (Yota)-san made adjustments so that even though they're flat, they don't look like they're floating and so that's how we ended up with the final product.

—That's reassuring.

Utsumi: Andou-san really helped us out. The place where they always skate, crazy rock, was always planned to be 3DCG but on top of that he did the cityscape in the op where Reki and Langa are skating, and he even made the new course in episode 12 so I'm so grateful to him.

—Is there anything you focused on when you thought about changing the last course for the last beef between ADAM and Langa?

Utsumi: Since ADAM's mood suddenly changes, I wanted the final stage to be worthy of the final episode. Since the base color of the course had been a warm, orange color up until then, and I wanted to show that it was completely changed we used cool, purple colors, but since ADAM and Langa's are both colored blue, we had to make sure they didn't blend into the background, so the color designer, Gatou (Yukari)-san fine tuned the colors.

—I think that dark atmosphere made the difficulty of the last battle stand out that much more.

Utsumi: In order for the atmosphere to match ADAM who was like a grim reaper, it was necessary.

—Actually, the love hug is amazing, but the full swing kiss is more like just a plain old attack (lol). Rather than a race it's more like a battle

Utsumi: Well I didn't want this series to just be about normal races...... (lol). I even told them to make it say "race battles" in the PV. Though, there is an actual skating move that the full swing kiss is based off of.

—There is!? Is it one where you get off the board, swing it around, and get right back on it?

Utsumi: That's right. That is a real skateboarding trick. That's why his movements before he turns around, when he kicks the board to flip it up, were based on real movements when we drew them, but then exaggerated them for anime. So when he gets off the board it's just like the actual trick. So it could be called "just plain violence" but...... (lol). The turn is just a little exaggerated (lol).

—There's so many tricks in skateboarding, isn't there?

Utsumi: skating is infinite ☆

—The music for the last beef, it was a special song for that scene too, wasn't it?

Utsumi: I requested theme songs to be written for the characters who have a lot of beef scenes, Reki, Langa, and ADAM, so they could be played during the beef scenes for them. It's just, while ADAM had a dedicated song for the beef scenes, I ordered one with lyrics just for when ADAM transforms in the last episode.

—How did you go about ordering it?

Utsumi: I had Takahashi (Ryo)-san, who was also in charge of ADAM's normal background music, make it. But when I first listened to the rough draft, I thought it was very pretty. I told him, "Please make it more broken and strange sounding" and so that's how the final song came to be. It doesn't have any of the entertainer feelings it had up until then, it's a song for a grim reaper, but it's sad and it's like it’s desperately crying out for something, that's how it represents ADAM at the end. I thought Takahashi-san wrote a really great song.

[ozzy-bozzy]

tried to find rules but didn't find them so I'm so sorry if I'm messing something up!!!! But I was wondering if I could ask for headcanons for a reader that's reki's childhood best friend? And she's now langa's friend too? She doesn't skate but she loves them to pieces lol thank you :3

oh! dont worry theres no rules lol, I've had this blog for quite awhile and a lot of things needed to be redone so rn theres no rules, really. Now's y'all's chance to go wild before I say no :)

also I hope you like this it was fun! precious little bois

——————————————

-First off I hope you’re ready for Reki to be obsessed with you

-He will always be clinging to you

-You are the first person he thinks of when he wants to show you something

-Especially when it’s a new skate trick he wants to figure out

-He’ll almost knock you over because he ran over to show you this new video he found

-You guys are often found attached at the hip, being one of the only people who sees how much effort and passion Reki puts into skating

-Usually, you’re hanging out on his bed playing on your phone while he looked for a new board design to make

-His mom will bring you guys snacks

-His little sisters love you and the two of you team up to bring so much chaos to his world

-He’s tried to get you to try skating, but it never really was your thing

-“Aww, come one please!!” “Reki, I already told you I would rather see you slip and fall on your ass instead of falling myself” “Fine, be like that.”

-Reki is prone to pouting you cant change my mind

-When Langa comes around, he sees you two as the same person

-You’re their little support team, the one who makes sure they have plenty of snacks and drinks, you always seem to have a first aid kit on hand, and although you may not skate you’ve picked up on things from Reki, giving them little tips and advice you think might help

-Langa’s snowboarding skills really amaze you too

-Always asking him questions about Canada and what it was like snowboarding for most of his life

-He tends to ask you more questions about Japan, Reki stopped being helpful awhile ago

-Always the one to cheer for them the loudest when one of them gets sucked into a beef (which is way more often than you would like to admit)

-You definitely have lost your voice on multiple occasions from cheering them on

-They appreciate it more than they could or would tell you

-Nothing brings you more happiness than when the three of you are hanging out and just enjoying time together.

[extorchic]

TOP 5 SK8 Episodes

So I got tagged by @akira-cr to make this list, it took some time but I think I've sorted out my mind, thank you for considering me 😊. Now here comes the list, sorry if it's supposd to be objective, but I'm gonna let my heart out over here (It's gonna be a long post and I'm not gonna cut it ):

NUMBER 5 - Episode 6 - Steamy Mystery Skating?! (A.K.A. The beach episode 🏊‍♂️)

Well this is supposed to be "breather" episode, and it's basically the one that sold the series to me. I like how fun and chill this episode is, although it does (further) foreshadow Reki's insecurity issues. The music is of course SUBLIME! "Seize the Moment" is probably my favorite insert song of all time! (it's been present in Reki's beefs as well, but here it really reflects the fun nature of his character and the show overall). And of coruse, FANSERVICE, not so much in how the boys were in swimsuits (though I gotta admit Reki does look good in them), but on the RENGA interactions!

That hug gave me life! How Langa was worried 24/7 about Reki being injured, at the end when they skated together to escape from the Bantu! I gotta admit that I have some mixed feelings about the implications of Reki being attracted to the faceless girl (I mean, Bi rep is very important too), but I guess my shipping side was just as jelaous as Langa was supposed to be (according to the fans LOL).

NUMBER 4 - Episode 11 - King vs. Nobody (A.K.A. Reki rising! ✨🌺🌞⚙️)

Reki is, without a doubt, my favorite character. He doesn't need to win, he doesn't need to be super flashy while skating, he just needs to be himself. He's been through a lot, many people (including me) have felt tremendously related to him, and seeing him in this episode is just satisfying. With his issues behind, with a promise to skate with Langa after he wins and no longer fearful, Reki rematches against Adam; and the way he does is fantastic! Taking advantage of his creativity, observative skills and mechanical knowledge on skateboarding, he faces up against the main boss and manages to not only endure his violent ways (which were gruelling to see, TBH), but also SOUNDLY HUMILIATE HIM in front of the whole S Community!

Yes, Adam, the "God of S", in the ground covered in mud by a boy almost everyone dissmissed! It was really sunshine through rainfall! I must also add how much I liked to see his renewed relationship with Langa, how much they treasure their company after patching up. I want to elaborate on this in its own post but I personally see that their interactions from this point on are more, I don't know, tender, caring, still playful but not in an entirely comedic way. The way they see each other is also deeper, anyway, it's just what I see.

NUMBER 3 - A DRAW: Episode 8 - The Fated Tournament! and Episode 9 - We Were Special Back Then (A.K.A. The month in which I was in an emotional crisis because of anime sk8t3r b0is 🍎🐍😭🛹❄🍵🌸 )

This is the point in which I got into the show, and the fandom (Yeah, haven't been around for too long). At this point the show wasn't the same, and I realized it when I caught up. Though there were some cool skating scenes in these episodes, the events that caught my attention were outside the road (Yeah, this was no longer just a skateboard anime, it's a whole lot more). Though I had been mainly focusing on Reki and Langa, I really liked having more backstory related to Joe, Cherry, Adam and Tadashi. Seeing how Adam went through a terrible childhood, convoluted teeange years to culminate in an adult with too much power for his own good and a twisted sense of "love", along with some extremely serious psychological issues was very interesting.

I acknowldge him as a complex villain, but that DOES NOT justify what he did to Cherry. This only proves that just because we know his backstory, we don't have to sympathize with him (Adam's just such a terrible person). On the RENGA side, we see Reki avoiding Langa after their rift, and how this affected both. We have Langa's sadness increase scene after scene, as well as his passion for skating dwindling as progressively. Reki on the other hand, just falls deeper and deeper in his depression, but also being unable to stop thinking about Langa, and he ends up going to S to see the latter's match against Joe. It's hard to see whether there's envy, jelaousness, frustration, admiration, pining or fear of being left behind in his mind. It must have been hard for a 17 y/o.

Reki also defends Langa from people speaking behind his back and shouting his name during the race boosts Langa's performance tremendously. This culminates on Reki realizing that the thing he actually wanted was to skate alongside Langa, not on the side, not as support, but together, he just couldn't. There's also the scene which may or may not confirm that Langa's feelings for Reki are more than just friendship! (Felt represented, for reals).

NUMBER 2 - Episode 7 - We Don't Balance Out (A.K.A. This was supposed to be a fun show!😭⛈️💔️)

I wrote a lot about the episodes in the previous spot, but this is the one that flipped the tables, the game-changer, and the one that hit closer home. It is a sad episode, no races there, it's just here for us to see how the circumstances affect the characters. It was hard to see how Reki, who at this point had been nothing but supportive and proud of Langa, starts to see him flying farther from him. Is it jealousness? Dissatisfaction? Is it fear of loneliness? Adbandoment issues? Is it feeling inferior? Frustration? Not being able to improve? Admiration? Care?

And on top of that a broken promise. I just can't imagine how hard is it for a 17 y/o to deal with all of those conflicting issues in his head, as well as the toxic competitive environment on the "S Community". This just came to show that he wasn't just the excitable, goofy sidekick character, he goes deeper than that, and makes him relatable. We also see a deconstruction of the cool, aloof prodigious character in Langa, as he just can't comprehend what's going on with Reki, and he's hurt by it, but still needs to figure out his own ambitions and desries. This leads to the emotional conclusion of the episode (which in turn left me in the aforementioned 4-week-long emotional crisis, thank you)

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Episode 12 - Our Infinity! - The race was cool, the Renga hug gave me life and everyone had a happy ending

Episode 5 - Passionate Dancing Night! - Despite the beef between Langa and Adam being cool, we start to see Reki worrying about Langa and opening up to him, further deepening their bond.

Episode 2 - Awesome for the First Time! - There's just something special about sharing something you're passionate about with someone else. Watching Reki teaching Langa the basics of skateboarding was heartwarming

NUMBER 1 - Episode 10 - DAP Not Needing Words

After 4 weeks waiting, the anticipation for this episode was gargantuan. Reki's depression was hitting its lowest point, bordering in self-harm, and hurting others as well. Langa continues to look for Reki after seeing him briefly at the hospital while visiting Shadow and we get to see this loving scene where he watches videos of Reki learining how to skate. After confronting Tadashi and realizing that he loves skating because it's fun, he returns home to find out that Langa had been waiting for him but left shortly before he arrived.

This leads to a heartful reunion, where words can't express their feelings, so they resort to do their thing, to skate, and that's where the feelings flow. This is when Langa tells Reki how he admires him tremendously and Reki understands that Langa'll be there by his side, and leaves his fears behind. With a mutual desire to skate together infinetely and a new dap, they rekindle their bond. People watched this show for different reasons, and though I like the skateboarding aspect because it looks cool, my interest leans more on the relationship aspect, and Reki and Langa's is so deep and intimate, and I liked seeing it grow from zero through different hardships (in other words, in all of the years I've been in a fandom, I had never shipped any other pair like these two, I needed to say that).

So I guess it's time to tag some people:

@pico-sour, @sleebycryptid, @elizabethslee, @itsamole, @kaorucherry, @blueflame97, @trieizieme, @tardiskitten, @lady-pendragon-9

So, if you've read until this point, thank you very much (I know it's not supposed to, but this post is yet again a very long "I love Renga" one, but it's what my heart wanted me to write 😅). I'd love to see people other than the ones I tagged showing their lists 😃

[mermaidsirennikita]

Regarding your post about Yuzuru and Nathan:

NBC talks about this HUGE rivalry between those two to the point where they don’t even stand each other. When it’s the contrary, those two have immense amounts of respect for one another and the media doesn’t portray that friendship. I didn’t even know Nathan said some incredible things about Yuzu after the short program because NBC didn’t show that. Also Johnny Weir and Tara being the biggest hypocrites ever, they spent almost all night hyping up Yuzuru, the moment he made a mistake they switched on him (they’ve done it with others as well). And yes they way they portray Yuzuru as basically being wrong for being more flamboyant when you have Johnny a gay man on your commentary team is disgusting. I had to watch the stream with no commentary on Peacock, I got so tired of those 3 talking.

Completely agree. Cards on the table, as I'm sure anyone could tell based off my posts, I am a Yuzuru fan. I prefer his style, I think he's probably the GOAT (or in contention to be the GOAT), he seems like a nice person, and I was devastated by the short program. But I also think that Nathan is an incredible skater, even if his approach and style is not my taste, and if he deserves the gold medal after his long program, he deserves the gold medal. (I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't rooting for Shoma to do something crazy and get it, but what can I say, I've loved Yuzu and Shoma for a while.). I don't think there's any ill will between Nathan and Yuzu. They're human, and I'm sure they can both get frustrated when things don't go their way, but they both work hard, they push each other, and they are great, great skaters. There's also, imo, a level of generational shit with regards to their skating? Yuzu is honestly getting to a point where even if everything works perfectly, Nathan is about 5 years younger than him, and in this sport that matters a lot. Yuzu brought the sport to a point where Nathan would be expected to reach a certain level to beat him--he broke through barriers that brought it to another level. In an ideal world, I'd always love to see a clean Yuzu vs. a clean Nathan but unfortunately that basically never happens lmao, and them's the breaks. In terms of sportsmanship, I've never seen anything truly unsportsmanly from Yuzu and Nathan towards each other, and that's the way it should be.

Now... Johnny and Tara lmao. Listen. NBC commentary is trash, and while I won't deny that Johnny and Tara have the technical credibility to be commentators, the way they approach commentary is awful. Sometimes I wonder if Johnny has a personal beef with Yuzu--I know that back in the day he made at least one costume for him, and I'm like ??? Did he not like your costumes??? What happened???

I actually love old videos of Johnny skating--I think he was incredible to watch. But it's a bit tainted now knowing that he's a part of this team pushing this narrative about what a male figure skater should be, when Johnny was instrumental in redefining, for many people, what a male figure skater should be. I'm not saying he has this moral obligation as a gay man, that's not on him. It's just hard to reconcile, I guess. In hindsight it does make sense as he was very "hmm hmm hmmmmmmm" silent about the controversy regarding gay athletes going to Russia during the Sochi Olympics (never mind him being a self-described ~Russophile~ and how that figured into it). I get the vibe that he's very about his bag first and principles second, which... whatever, that's his right, but when it plays into this fake rivalry and the gendered nature of it... I just don't love it.

The reality is that with a sport like skating... There's a lot of subjectiveness involved, and narrative pushing does matter. And at the end of the day, even when there is a big difference between the way two competitors performed one night because one made mistakes and the other didn't--you lose nothing by just... not being shitty about them. All of these people worked really fucking hard to get to where they are, and at the end of the day, all of them are eventually going to be retired and much of the impact they have on the sport will be determined by legacy. Nathan would be very unlikely to be where he is today if Yuzu hadn't gotten where he did before him, and Yuzu wouldn't have gotten where he is if Plushenko hadn't done that before him, and so on and so on and so on.

[overlyobsessivefangirl]

Since some of the dust has settled I am going to share my probably untrue Sk8 headcanon/theory that I created while watching the finale for the first time.

Maybe I'm just dumb but when Adam told the tailor what occasion the suit was for I could not figure it out until about half-way through the race. And when I did "realize" what he said I came to the conclusion that Adam said the special occasion was a death not a funeral.

My first line of reasoning is the tailor's reaction.

I personally feel like saying the event was a funeral wouldn't warrant this kind of reaction. Funerals happen all the time and it's natural to want to wear something nice. But if someone told you the special event they needed a suit for was a death, that would raise some serious alarm bells and would deserve a face like that. The words "my funeral" would as well but that's my next point.

While we don't hear what Adam says we do get a clear shot of him mouthing the words.

I don't really speak Japanese but from what little understanding I do have the sentence "my funeral" would translate as "boku no [insert Japanese word for funeral]" (PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG) I watched his mouth and it doesn't look like he says "boku" his go to word for "I". I even tied to see if "ore" or "watashi" would fit but they don't really either and I doubt Adam would use either when I've only heard him use "boku". Leading into my next point, if he had said "my death" there would be the same problem, but it doesn't need to be clarified as his death to be a concerning statement.

I don't think he expected Langa to die but was probably aware it was a possibility and knew he could be seriously injured. I personally feel that the death he was talking about would be metaphorical. Like I said I came to this conclusion half-way through the race when I realized that no matter the outcome Adam knew he would lose something important. If Adam had won the race he knew that he would almost certainly have to give up on the idea of an Eve ever existing and be forced to stay alone, at least in his own mind.

This is what he says, clearly heartbroken, when he realizes that Langa is no longer skating with him and thinks he has ended up like all the other potential Eves he had had before. Langa was the best Eve candidate he had seen in all his years and figured that if Langa couldn't be his Eve then no one would be able to. I also suspect that he didn't think this race would be won by a small margin, if Langa had met the same end as all the other Eves like Adam expected then that would mean Langa was injured during the race and left unable to skate. This would undoubtedly mark Langa as another failure and the end of Adam's search for his match.

Moving on to what would happen if Adam lost. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Adam is overdramatic enough that he would think losing is akin to dying for him. Delving deeper into that though, S is the one place where Adam feels free. He tells Langa that while skating he can forget "ordinary life", and we are all well aware that Ainosuke's life was far from ideal. Losing that by losing the beef could definitely be seen as the death of his freedom and one joy. Then, right before Adam gets the flashbacks of him and Tadashi he says something very telling.

He's almost certainly had this belief for awhile but was probably slammed with it after nearly losing to Reki and being completely ignored by the crowd and even laughed at when he fell. Adam is the "Ai no Matador", love is undeniably important to him and he even still had a heart on his reaper costume and board. If Langa beat him then pre-flashback Adam could easily come to the conclusion that even in S now he will no longer be acknowledged or loved. Once again, S and skating are two of the most important things to Adam and to lose them both would be crushing, leading to the death of Adam and leaving only Ainosuke. No matter the end of the race he thought he would be losing something dear to him.

My next few points are kind of stupid but I'm including them anyways. Adam was obviously going for a grim reaper aesthetic; he had the cloak, the scythe, a coffin shaped board, and a mask of bones. My reaper knowledge is admittedly rusty but from what I gather, they aren't dead and aren't what kills people. The grim reaper collects your soul at the moment of death, so there would be no reason for it to be at a funeral. There's also the finish line.

The beef ended with a grave but it didn't start with one. I'm gonna get super metaphorical here so I apologize but, with a grave at the end and reaper Adam at the beginning the track could symbolise the passing on from life to death (or something). If Adam had won then Langa would have been "reaped" on the track and therefor now metaphorically dead. If Adam had lost then that grave would be marking the final end of the Adam persona having died when Langa crossed the finish line or got an unpassable lead.

Now for me weakest piece of evidence yet.

This line implies the action of dying and not the mourning or burial. Since the race really is anyone's game until the end this random audience member helped to finalize my dumb idea.

If you read this far thank you for reading my ramble and feel free to burn or critisize me for not realizing what was apparently super obvious to everyone else.

[bsd-elle]

Thoughts on the SK8 The Infinity Episode 12

So the final episode just aired. And I’m having majoorrr mixed feelings.

This show was truly something that kept me going, with it’s story, animation and the whole found family thing. I have loved this show from the beginning and I will till the end.

But as a lot of people in the fandom I do have some strong opinions on the finale

First off, I just want to say that everyone is allowed to have their own opinion but please do not send hate or any negative energy to studio Bones and Hiroko Utsumi. They have worked incredibly hard on this series. In fact I put them on a pedestal for giving us something so poignant and wonderful during such trying times. I looked forward every Saturday to watch the new episode and that feeling, that rush while watching it, never changed throughout the show’s run!!

Now on to my thoughts on the finale.

1. Shipping

I saw many people in the fandom criticizing the studio for queerbaiting. Now I can definitely not give an accurate perspective on this, as I am not part of the LGBTQIA community, though I am a strong ally.

Let’s talk about the main ships: Renga and Matchablossom

Renga: In my opinion they’re pretty much canon. All the hints, the loving looks, Langa jumping to hug Reki, Langa basically saying Reki is his happiness, Reki wanting to skate beside Langa (Infinitely). In my eyes, they’re canon.

Of course it would’ve been amazing to have a canon queer relationship, but we have no idea what happens behind closed doors. The rules in Japan, unfortunately are totally different from other progressive countries. As someone who lives in a country where they just decriminalized gay marriage, seeing canon queer relationships is honestly rare.

I think they did whatever they could to show that Renga is canon.

I mean come on, Langa basically said he liked Reki in episode 8

I think it would be very very cool and progressive to have a them outwardly admit to it, but we know both these dumbasses never finish their sentences. lol

I’m happy with the way their relationship evolved.

Matchablossom: I honestly can’t give a clear reasoning to this, because personally I don’t ship them. But the thing is, they could be canon, who knows?

I mean everyone was talking about how Joe went out with 2 girls in the end sequence and because of that they aren’t canon. But by that logic we couldn’t ship them from the beginning, since Joe kissed girls in the first episode.

I mean I totally headcanon that Joe is a bisexual king, so that means he could be hanging out them girls while still majorly crushing on Cherry.

Who knows, maybe Joe brought the girls to Cherry’s signing on purpose to make him jealous. Lol

Let your imagination run wild, people. It’s up to your own perspective. I personally don’t ship them, but I don’t think it’s queerbaiting when you pretty much have several hints to them caring deeply (love) about each other.

2. Story

This is where the critiquing comes.

One of the main reasons why I loved and still love Sk8 was one, obviously because of Renga and two because I absolutely loved the story.

From eps 1-11 the story was so compelling and written in such a fantastic way. Every week I’d have some assumptions and every time it would completely blow my mind.

In particular ep 10. When I originally saw the title “Dap not needing words” I was so worried.

They need to talk, they have to communicate. But wow, that episode was just phenomenal, if you guys want me to make a review on each episode I would be happy to, I have so much to say.

Sure, ep 10,11 was wayyy too rushed, but I just know it’s because they had to fit a lot of story in such a little time period. If they had maybe 24 episodes, they would’ve knocked it out of the park.

Either way I had no complaints.

My issue with ep 12 is the beef: Adam Vs Snow

I thought animation wise and as a beef it was really impactful (similar to Reki Vs Adam)

But why God, why did they give Adam a redemption

I’m sorry but he doesn’t deserve it.

I knew for a fact that as much as I wanted Adam to go to jail (so badly), I knew it wouldn’t happen. That was just not possible (in my eyes). I thought they would take a page from Fugou Keiji: Balance Unlimited, where his family (those evil ass aunts) and send them to jail (for clear mental, physical abuse and who knows what else), and Adam would go in isolation somewhere.

There he could properly heal from his trauma and abuse, work through it, heal his relationship with Tadashi and just work to be better.

There was a part of me that expected the show to end with a typical “oh we’re all friends and everything is forgiven” bullshit and I prayyedd that wouldn’t happen

But boy was I wrong

Why did they try to sympathize with him?!?

I get it, he’s clearly had severe trauma and abuse, and he uses skateboarding and entering the “zone” to get away from his terrible reality.

But why did they have Langa say this to him??

“Skating is fun because you can do it with your friends!”

It’s sweet that he’s trying to teach Adam what Reki taught him, but this implies that Adam is his friend. Or atleast that’s what he wants

“hey, you’re a crazy monster and you assaulted my friends (boyfriend), but I still wanna skate with you, cause it’s fun with friends”

I’m sorry, in what universe is this.. your friend?

Your actual friend, Langa, who taught you everything you know, who’s been with you from the start, he has been attacked and traumatized multiple times by Adam. Not to mention several other people.

I could’ve accepted it if they used the line

“Don’t ever end up on your own”

That makes more sense in this context, it’s like saying “hey you evil monster, you’re crazy but don’t end up alone, treasure the people in your life”

I think that implies more on the sense that Adam has to figure shit out on his own, by himself. Not with Langa and the people he’s assaulted.

Then it would make atleast a bit more sense to heal Tadashi and Adam’s relationship.

You just cannot build up a character like Adam, for 12 episodes and then completely forgo that for the sake of “friendship”, that just makes no sense

Not to mention, Kirako the detective, the fact that she worked so hard and got absolutely nothing, is preposterous.

That whole thing put a really bad taste in my mouth.

Also, during the beef, like I mentioned, Langa basically implies that they should have fun because they’re skating with friends.

This basically just throws out Langa’s friendship with Reki.

I mean Reki was so badly hurt and injured after their beef, both the times.

Yes, he did have a lot of fun and that was the point of ep 10, 11 to show Reki that he didn’t have to skate to be the best (like no one ever wass.. dun dun dun. If you know that reference, here’s a chocolate) he skated to have fun(even though in my eyes, he’s the best)

Ep 12 was that arc for Langa, for him to realize he also skated to have fun.

But when you’re condoning and encouraging Adam, idkk.. it just rubbed me the wrong way.

I didn’t like it at all. They made him into a gag character in the end scene, which is literally the opposite of what he’s been pictured for the past 11 episodes.

3. Side characters

Shadow did not deserve that in any way whatsover.

He was completely glossed over. I thought his injury would be a pivotal plot point for improving his relationship with the manager, but they just used it as a way to remove him from the tournament

Tadashi, babyy, that’s Stockholm syndrome

When I saw that dog comment:

Godd... he deserves so muchhh moree..

So, overall the finale, honestly disappointed me. But my love for sk8 is everlasting and the finale will never change that

4. Future

Hopefully, and I pray for this

A season 2, movie, OVA or anything tbh.

There’s so much potential

Reki and Langa go to Canada, they visit Oliver’s grave, Langa teaches Reki snowboarding

Kirako finally arresting Adam

Tadashi becoming true friends with Langa, Reki and the gang

Shadow getting the love he deserves

Matchablossom canon

Renga canon

Miya getting the apology he deserves

But whatever it is, Sk8 the Infinity owns my heart and I don’t know what I’m going to do with my life.

Other than reading Renga fanfiction

[jenanigans1207]

Cheer For You |Renga|

Okay I had to start with the suggestion for Gold Rush and Renga by @transparentadvice because I’ve had this song on my own personal Renga playlist since the very beginning so it seemed like the right place to start! 

All of these TSwift inspired ficlets will also be up on Ao3 and instagram if that’s anyone’s cup of tea over Tumblr. And please, feel free to continue suggesting them to me! I plan to use them for warm ups/on days when I don’t have a lot of time to write/a break between other fics I’m working on! Otherwise, please enjoy where my brain goes when I listen to Gold Rush and think of Renga <3

--

I don’t like a gold rush, gold rush

I don’t like anticipating my face in a red flush

I don’t like that anyone would die to feel your touch

Everybody wants you, everybody wonders what it would be like to love you

The first time Reki had taken Langa to S, everyone had stared at him, whispered about him, pointed him out.

Back then, it had been because he was a rookie who taped his feet to a skateboard and somehow won against Shadow. Back then it was because he was a newcomer, he was interesting and unusual. Back then, when they talked about him, they called him Rookie, they didn’t know anything about him— but they wanted to.

Now when Reki and Langa go to S, everyone greets Snow, claps him on the shoulder, asks him how he’s been. They say his name like they own it, like some part of Langa is theirs to lay claim to. When they go to S, it’s no longer Reki and Langa, it’s Snow and that redhead. Reki sees it, too, the way people completely gloss over his existence, the way they cut in between him and Langa for their chance to talk to Snow. Langa has become a celebrity at S, a coveted desire. Everyone wants to get to know him, to talk to him, to call him theirs. The girls fawn over him, batting their eyelashes and reaching out to touch him on the arm.

It makes Reki sick.

Because none of these people actually know Langa. This person they think they know, this version of Langa that has been made up entirely in their minds is not who Langa really is, and Reki is the only one who knows that. Reki is the only one who has put bandaids on Langa’s scraped up hands, the only one who was there the first time Langa nailed an ollie and his face lit up so brightly, Reki couldn’t even see the sun anymore. Reki was the one who was there for every milestone, every injury, even that near death experience before Langa had learned how to stop.

If anyone had a right to lay claim to Langa, it was Reki.

He wouldn’t, of course. Because Langa was his own person and nobody could actually claim him but also because they were best friends and Langa didn’t think of him that way. Langa had no problem thanking the people at S, or pausing to talk to them when they wanted some his time. He answered their questions in the same blasé way that he did most things, as if he didn’t realize exactly how much the other people were getting out of this.

And Reki— well, Reki just stepped aside, made room for these strangers and shoved his hands in his pockets while he waited for the conversations to end. Sometimes he wandered away to get a drink, or to hit the half pipe and try to work off some restless energy. But the more well known Langa became, the harder it became for Reki to get rid of that negative energy and the less he found that he wanted to touch his board at all.

Eventually he settled for just continuing on, just leaving Langa to his long line of adoring fans. He kept his board tucked under his arm as he crossed the rocky threshold, refusing to look over his shoulder at Langa and the girls who were currently pressing into his sides. He refused to acknowledge the sick feeling swirling in his stomach, refused to consider why there was pressure building behind his eyes. It’s not like it mattered, it’s not like this was any different than any other time they had come here. At some point, Reki just had to get used to it.

At some point, he had to recognize that Langa wasn’t just his best friend anymore, wasn’t just the person he—

At some point, Reki had to recognize that other people felt the same way for Langa. Worse than that, eventually Langa was going to return those feelings for one of those people. One of those pretty girls who were consistent and determined would surely find their way past the gates of his heart and suddenly they’d get to see all the sides of him that had been reserved for Reki only.

Just the thought alone makes Reki want to do something reckless.

He tells himself it’s because he wants everyone else to look at him the way they look at Langa, because he wants everyone else to see that he has talents, too. Deep in the darkest corners of his heart, he knows it’s because he wants Langa to stop looking at other people. He wants Langa to look at him again instead.

And really, he shouldn’t be surprised that everything in his life revolves around Langa like that. Everywhere they go, everything seems to revolve around Langa. From the new kid at school to the hot transfer student, from the rookie at S to the god of the track— Langa was at the center of everything in Reki’s life. And he was at the center of Reki’s heart, too, no matter how terrible of a situation that actually was.

Reki throws his board down at the starting line. He’s not up against anybody, there’s no official beefs running tonight. The track is simply open to everyone and Reki figures he can make do with that. He’d love to be running a beef instead, to have something else taking up that space in his mind that was currently occupied with thoughts of Langa leaving him behind, thoughts of Langa suddenly forgetting who he is and starting to simply think of him as that redhead, too. He knows Langa would never do it, but the mind is a fickle mistress and she likes to play games with Reki anyways.

With one push, Reki’s off. He plants his feet on the board and crouches low to get as much speed behind him as he can. Maybe he can outrun his daunting thoughts if he goes fast enough. It’s not likely to work, but there’s only one way to find out. Faces he pass blur as he goes by and whatever people are shouting at him has no meaning. He can’t make out their words and he doesn’t even try to, suspecting that he doesn’t want to hear what they have to say anyways.

The first corner comes into view and Reki’s going too fast. He knows he’s going too fast, knows that he won’t be able to make this without some serious luck— or a serious injury.

Cheering suddenly erupts around Reki and he hears the sound of a second set of wheels on the ground a moment before the sharpest part of the corner hits. Reki has no time to look, no time to pay attention to what’s going on as he shift his weight and tries his hardest to keep in contact with his board at all time. He turns, leans, his hand slides against the gravel on the ground to try and keep him upright— he’s almost there, he can see the straight away just ahead of him, can feel his board starting to level out under his feet. The board wobbles underneath him, his arm shakes as he leans onto his hand. He can feel his foot slipping towards the edge of the board and he's not sure he's going to make it. Each second feels like the board is getting further out from underneath him and his speed is still too much. He just needs to hold on, just keep his grip or else he's going to go tumbling and there was no good outcome if that happened.  Just a little bit more, just the tiniest bit—

He made it. The ground is flat beneath him and Reki is able to slide his foot back to the center of his board, pulling it closer to him again so he can try and go back upright. Reki straightens himself up on his board, breathing a sigh of relief as he tries to find his balance again. Another round of applause breaks out and Reki’s just about to wonder what it’s possibly for when he hears that second set of wheels again and a hand closes around his wrist.

Really, Reki doesn’t have to look to know that it’s Langa, but he does anyways. He looks because he’s always loved the way Langa looks when he’s skating the S track, the wind blowing the longer edges of his hair back, his eyes bright with pure enjoyment. He loves watching the determination on Langa's face, the natural way he moves on his board. There's something so intoxicating about it, Reki would gladly watch it every single night if he could. This time, though, there’s a frown pulling at the corner of Langa’s mouth as he tugs on Reki’s arm and starts to slow them both to a stop.

Reki doesn’t want to stop, he doesn’t want to let go of this feeling he has. Reki doesn't want to give his insecurities a chance to catch back up to him. But he does, running off the edge of the track and hopping off his board, taking a few stumbling steps as he does. “What?”

“That was reckless.” Langa says immediately, and he’s right up in front of Reki again, that frown deep. “You took that corner way too fast.”

“I’m fine.” Reki holds his arms out to either side as if to demonstrate his point. “Nothing to worry about.”

What he doesn't say is that Langa must've taken that corner nearly as fast to have caught up with Reki the way he did. What he doesn't say is that Langa shouldn't doubt his skills because the truth is that he doubts his own skills and he understands why Langa would, too.

“Reki.” Langa's expression is stern and entirely unamused. His cheeks are flushed a pale pink and it's not the usual color they turn when he's been racing. It's the color they turn in the rare instance that he's frustrated with something and in this case, it appears that he's frustrated with Reki.

With a sigh, Reki concedes Langa’s point, hoping to just get back on his board, to get away from this moment. “Okay, it was a bit fast. But I really am fine so it’s not a big deal.”

There’s a certain slant to Langa’s eyebrows that Reki can’t quite decipher and the fact that he’s not completely sure what Langa is going to say next makes him feel like his blood is freezing in his veins, Are they already shifting this far apart?

“You don’t need their approval,” Langa says and for Reki, it seems to come completely out of left field. Mostly because Reki had thought he'd been doing a better job hiding his thoughts, covering the way he was feeling.

He'd been trying his hardest to keep a straight face all these weeks, to act like nothing bothered him. Because there was no reason for Reki to put that burden on Langa, no reason for him to make Langa feel bad for things that were out of his control. What good could possibly come from Langa knowing that his popularity felt like needles under Reki's skin, stabbing away at his heart? Reki already knew the answer: nothing good could come from that.

“That’s not why I was doing it.” Reki answers, and it’s absolutely the truth. Even if he has no intention of elaborating on it any further, no intention of telling Langa that ultimately, what everyone else thinks of him doesn’t matter as long as Langa keeps looking at him. “Besides, you do reckless things all the time, you have no room to talk.”

Langa pauses for a second and then reaches out to grab Reki’s wrist again. “I was worried you’d get hurt.”

“I get hurt all the time.” Reki tries to dismiss immediately. He means it as something lighthearted to dispel the steadily growing tension but there’s enough truth to the statement that it catches in his throat as he says it and makes Langa’s frown deepen.

“If you get hurt, I can’t skate with you.”

The words strum a chord on Reki’s heart and he tries not to let it show. He swallows around the lump that’s quickly forming in his throat and tries to make his voice sound steadier than he feels. “So? You have plenty of other people to skate with. Everyone here would kill to skate against you.”

Reki feels the exact moment that Langa’s grip on his wrist tightens and he has a brief flash of panic that Langa is going to let him go, going to agree with what he’d just said and drop the issue. Langa doesn’t. Instead, he slides his hand down further, fingers ghosting over the sensitive skin right at the inside of Reki’s wrist, before he has his hand wrapped around Reki’s, squeezing it tightly.

“I don’t want to skate with them,” Langa says earnestly and there’s so much raw truth in his words, Reki is almost knocked off his feet. “I want to skate with you. It only matters if it’s you.”

“They cheer for you.” Reki stares down at their connected hands, the dam of emotions dangerously close to crumbling. He can already feel some of it beginning to leak.

“So?” Langa tugs on Reki’s hand so he stumbles a tiny step forwards. They’re almost chest to chest now, so close that Reki can practically feel Langa breathing. “I only cheer for you.”

That gets Reki to whip his head up, to search Langa’s blue eyes for some hidden meaning, for some way to explain that as anything other than the admission that it sounds like. He finds nothing,

“Langa—“

“Reki.” Langa’s hand shifts again so that his fingers are threaded between Reki’s and Reki finds that he’s holding his breath. “I don’t care what everyone else says or how wrong they are about your talent. It’s only fun if it’s with you.”

Reki huffs out a nervous laugh, glancing away from Langa’s eyes. “That almost sounds like a confession.”

“It is.”

The world slows to a stop around Reki as he slowly turns back to look up at Langa. Langa, who has always been by his side. Langa, who looks after him when he gets injured. Langa, who always finds his way back to Reki, no matter how many times the crowd tries to come between them. Langa, who has never left Reki behind, never picked anyone or anything over Reki.

The dawning realization is like the break of sun on a new day, casting light and chasing out shadows. All of the bitterness Reki had felt when he’d seen those girls flirting with Langa is gone, all of the insecurities he had about Langa wanting someone else have completely dissipated as he looks into Langa’s unsure expression and realizes that Langa has just bared his heart to Reki and is waiting for a response.

“I don’t care about what anyone else says, even though they’re right about your talent.” Reki replies slowly and he finally gets to watch as Langa’s frown turns into the barest hint of an exasperated smile. “It’s only fun if it’s with you.”

Langa leans the tiniest bit closer. “Is that a confession?”

“It is.” Reki breathes, finally holding Langa’s hand back, using that point of contact to drag Langa down into a kiss right there on the side of S where everyone could see.

He gets to feel the moment Langa’s exasperated smile turns into a full-fledged grin against his lips, gets to feel Langa huff out a quiet laugh as his other hand finds it’s way to Reki’s hoodie and drags him the last bit forward. And just like that, everything Reki has been worried about is completely gone, kissed away by Langa.

Everyone may want to know what it’s like to love Langa and be loved in return, but only Reki gets to.