#these are Yen's boys and she loves them very much no matter how dumb they can be.

[comfyswitcherblanketfort]

please please a part 2 of that gamer!geralt au, them doing something like Q&A

Nonie, I hope you know what you signed up for. This got out of hand lmao. like 2.4k of Q&A kind of out of hand. 

Warnings: swearing, talk of drinking to excess, kinda spicy questions, lil kisses, idk how but I meant for this to be goofy and horny and it got kinda soft? what’s new?

____________

“Holy shit,” Geralt sat staring at his phone as he mindlessly stirred pasta.

“I swear to god, if you found a way to burn noodles-” Jaskier turned away from the blender to wave a wooden spoon covered in pesto puree.

Geralt shook his head and held his phone up to him, scrolling through the replies to a tweet as he did, going on for ages as Jaskier’s jaw slowly got closer to the floor.

“What are those for?!”

“I put up a poll for a boyfriend Q&A or a game review and not a single person has voted for the game review.” Geralt was still scrolling through questions people wanted answered as he watched Jaskier’s face go from shock to confusion to a smug grin. 

“They love me,” he sang, kicking his heel up as he turned back to the pasta sauce.

Geralt rolled his eyes and started screenshotting some of the less invasive questions, shaking his head and muttering, “Course they do.”

-

Geralt pressed record, waited a moment, and heaved a dramatic, long-suffering sigh, “You guys literally didn’t even give me a choice on this one,” he reached off frame and scruffed Jaskier, plopping him down on the couch with him. 

Jaskier didn’t stay where he was put for even a moment, using his momentum to bounce up onto Geralt’s lap with a shit-eating grin, “Oh? Are we rolling?”

Geralt dropped his forehead to Jaskier’s shoulder, stifling a laugh, “This is gonna be a long one.”

“Yeah, it is,” Jask agreed, then turned to the camera, stroking Geralt’s hair, “My fans want more!”

“OH-kay,” Geralt manhandled Jaskier to sit next to him which earned him a pout and a leg draped over his lap as he continued his intro, “I’ve got a bunch of questions from twitter. I didn’t even have to confirm which video we would do, you guys just went straight for the kill. I picked a few, Jask picked a few, neither of us knows which ones the other picked.” he turned to see Jaskier wiggle his eyebrows at the camera, “Why am I thinking you picked the raunchy ones?”

The brunet pretended to be offended before he smirked, “Only a few.”

Geralt rolled his eyes. “Of course,” he nudged Jask with his shoulder and opened up his phone to his screenshots, “Okay! First up is AdamSandlersBitch, nice name. They asked what Jaskier’s favorite gaming console and game to play is.” he turned to Jaksier with raised eyebrows.

His boyfriend cringed, “My.. my phone? I don’t know? I play a lot of Candy Crush while I listen to podcasts?”

Geralt smiled sweetly, “Wait what about Stardew Valley? I thought you started that?”

“I did!” Jaskier brightened up for a moment before he deflated again, “But I got confused and then the ADHD made me bake cookies.”

“Those were good cookies. I’ll play with you if you want?” Geralt’s normal ‘streamer dude’ persona melted away while he played with the rips on Jaskier’s jeans. 

Jask leaned forward and kissed his temple, “I’d love that.” 

Geralt blushed, even after years, Jaskier’s affection still caught him off guard. 

“Mkay! My turn!” Jaskier flashed his devilish grin and read, in his most obnoxious voice, “Dwn2Clwn said ‘do you two live together? Have you said ‘i love you’? And who tops?’”

Geralt’s mouth twisted into an upside-down U as he stared at Jaskier in muted surprise, “Honestly, not as bad as I expected.”

Jaskier looped his arm around Geralt’s, “I’m starting off easy.”

Geralt let his mock-disapproving gaze linger just a bit before he answered, “The living together is kind of new-like a few months. This one said ‘I love you’ on, what? The fourth date? Fifth?”

“Fourth.”

“No, it was the fifth, Eskel locked himself out on the fourth. Remember?”

“Shit you’re right,” Jaskier gave the camera a stern look, “In my defense, we’d been friends for a good four years before this. I wasn’t just confessing my love to a tinder date - though I have done that before.”

Geralt nodded, “That was very amusing.”

Jaskier tapped his nose, “Don’t avoid the last part, darling.”

Geralt huffed and stared down the camera, and, in the most matter of fact tone possible, said, “We switch. Compromise, folks. Can’t have one person doing all the work all the time.”

Jaskier nodded sagely, patting Geralt's chest, “We got a pow-”

Geralt clamped his hand over Jaskier’s mouth, 100% sure he was going to say ‘power bottom pillow princess’, “Nope. I’ll get demonetized for that.”

“But not who tops?” Jaskier asked through Geralt’s fingers.

He just shrugged, “I don’t make the rules.”

Jaskier tapped his phone and raised his eyebrows, telling him to move to the next question. 

“Mis- Mischanication? Shit I hope I said that right, Mischanication asked, ‘would you ever get a pet together?’ We did! Her name is Roach and she’s a little shit! I told Jaskier not to feed her, but he did, now we have the snuggliest, crankiest cat I’ve ever met!” 

Jaskier had gotten up to pluck Roach from her perch on the windowsill when Geralt had read the question and plopped down with her as Geralt finished his proud speech, “She’s not a little shit! She’s just delicate! Isn’t that right, darling?”

Geralt scratched under her chin and cooed, “You are a nasty little dragon baby, aren't you?! Just a little garbage child! Yes, you are. We love the tiny demon beast.”

“Geralt!”

He snickered and kissed Jaskier’s hair, “Next question, love.”

Jaskier grumbled something about positive reinforcement as Roach scampered back to her cat tree and he unlocked his phone for his next tweet, “This darling wants to remain anonymous,” Geralt gave him some serious side-eye at that, “they said ‘I think I’m in love with the flower twink, where can I find one of my own?’”

Geralt frowned at the camera and pulled Jaskier onto his lap, holding him close and snuggling into his chest, almost growling, “Hands off.”

Jaskier giggled, brushing Geralt’s hair out of his face as he talked to the camera, “You heard the man. Unfortunately, I was not mass-produced and I’ve been spoken for.”

Geralt looked up at him with what could only be called suspicious puppy eyes, “You picked that one just to sit in my lap didn’t you?”

“Yes. And because I want to change my socials to ‘flower twink’.” 

“Do it,” Geralt kept Jaskier on his lap as he swiped to his next question, “Eggsfuckingsuck - heh, my dad hates eggs- Eggsfuckingsuck says, ‘what is the most embarrassing thing you’ve caught each other doing/saying?’ Oh boy, do I have a story for you!”

"Oh I couldn't say the thing but you can tell this story!?" 

"...you have a point... Check my insta stories. I'll put it there after I post this." 

Jaskier nodded, ever so pleased, and turned to the camera, "Our dear Yennefer of sorceryglammour once beat Geralt at trivia night when the theme was 'video games'." 

“We did shots before we went to the bar and she goaded me and Lambert into a chugging competition before the round started. I’m telling you, she planned this. Yen is ruthless.” Geralt desperately tried to justify his defeat but Jaskier was having none of it. 

“She’s mostly harmless, plus I have video evidence from that night. You weren’t that far gone.”

“Pull it up! Let’s settle it.”

Jaskier patted Geralt’s head like one would a toddler, “I’d have to get my old laptop out. Later, darling.”

Geralt had a smug look on his face, “That means he doesn’t have it anymore.”

“Next question!” Jaskier squeaked, not at all changing the subject. 

Geralt shrugged, “If you admit I won that one.”

“It’s not a competition!” Jaskier laughed, looking down at him with that stupidly smitten look on his face.

“Hmmm…” Geralt tilted his chin up defiantly, “if you say so.”

Jaskier kissed him, lingering a little bit more than could be considered chaste, “I do.” 

Geralt looked up at him, batting his eyelashes, “Fine then, next question.”

Jaskier handed him his phone and he read it off leaning his head on Jaskier’s shoulder, “CountryBumpkin42 asked if we play any instruments. I play the recorder very poorly, but Jask plays everything.”

“Not everything, but yes, I could cover a Trans Siberian Orchestra song if I had a pedalboard with enough loop settings.” Jaskier preened. 

“And more,” Geralt added, counting on his fingers as he spoke, “In this house alone he has two pianos, three different types of guitars, a drumset, a violin and fiddle, a flute and piccilo, an oboe, a mandolin, a lute, bongos, saxophone, clarinet, tambourine, trumpet, and xylophone. Did I get them all?”

Jaskier glanced from side to side with a guilty look, “Ah… no, I bought a bass sax that showed up last night.”

“Oh, did Thursday at 3 decide they wanted to switch after all?”

“Yeah! She got the third chair as a freshman on a loaner instrument! I’m very proud!”

Geralt seemed to remember they were recording and turned back to the camera, “J teaches music at the university and does private lessons.” 

“It’s how I can afford such a pretty trophy boyfriend,” Jaskier teased, ruffling Geralt’s hair and earning a little chuckle.

“Mkay, what do you have next?”

Jaskier smoothed Gearalt’s hair back down as he read the next question, “3R4108F6!J asks if we have any cute nicknames for each other.”

Geralt’s eyebrows nearly flew past his hairline, “J has a new one for me almost every day.”

“Its true,” Jaskier nodded, “I am a slut for cute nicknames. This morning was Ger Bear, one of my faves. I called him Thumbs for a bit, I lovingly call him Dumb Fuck rather often.”

“And he is Dip Shit, it’s balanced. I usually just shorten names? Jask or J is usually it, right?” Geralt asked, shifting so Jaskier was sitting on the couch between his legs and they were both turned out toward the camera but very much still cuddling. 

“And when I’m being childish I get Alfie. But Geralt is much more deliberate and specific with his nicknames. It’s a bit of a friendship level up when he uses nicknames.”

Geralt frowned at him, “I do that?”

Jaskier giggled, “You never noticed?”

He tilted his head, giving Jaskier a quizzical look, “Not at all.”

Jaskier cupped Geralt’s cheek, “You’re so cute.”

Geralt blushed again, leaning into the touch just a tad, “Who’s turn is it?”

“Yours,” Jaskier hummed, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. 

“Okay,” Geralt blushed even more, “I had this one as an alternate, but uh, Yen asked what we’d name our first kid?” 

Jaskier leaned into Geralt’s shoulder and hummed as he thought for a moment, “I always like Blake or Spencer, but I seem to remember you saying something about old world traditional names?”

Geralt nodded, absentmindedly running his fingers up and down Jaskier’s arm, “My grandma was hoping each of us boys would be a girl and wanted mum to name us Cirilla every time. I quite like it, but I’m rather open as long as I don’t know someone with the name. I really like Eric?” 

“Oo, I like Eric.”

“But you like the neutral names.”

“I do, but it’s your hypothetical kiddo too.”

Geralt gave him a little squeeze, “There’s time for that later. What’s your next one?”

Jaskier snorted when he looked at his phone, “What are your guys’ love languages?”

Geralt just looked down at Jask, completely entangled in his arms, then up to the camera, “I’m gonna hazard a guess at physical touch.” 

“Yeah, I think that’s a safe bet,” Jaskier giggled, “I haven’t taken the quiz in years, but I was that and gifts.”

“Oh, yeah. Physical touch and words of affirmation. I got like a 0 on acts of service and gifts, but I really like giving gifts.” 

“Mhm, yes you do,” Jaksier wiggled his eyebrows, then turned to the camera, “I also had no idea you could have different giving and receiving languages till I met this one.”

Geralt nodded then turned to him with a slight frown, “you know I really thought your questions were going to be more graphic.”

“Oh, honey I saved the best for last,” Jaskier winked. 

“Fuck me,” Geralt grumbled before reading off his last question, “Cali852 asked what we did for Pride.”

Jaskier’s eyes lit up, “Oh Pride was fun. We watched the parade, of course, then Yen did our makeup and… and where did we go after that?”

Geralt looked like he’d been waiting for this, “We went to a club, where you ordered three kamakazis, knocked them all back, danced for twenty minutes, then I took you home.”

“N-no… we went to the beach, didn’t we?”

“That was the year before. We were going to go to the drag show at our regular bar too, but someone had just finished grading finals and went a little too hard.” 

Jaskier grinned, “Speaking of finals, time for the last question. I had a different one in mind but if the thing I cant say from earlier would get this demonetized then that defintitelyi would. So we’re going with ‘what is the wackest placy y’all banged?’”

Geralt snorted, “Shit who knows anymore?”

“Well there was the boat?”

“Or the train?”

“Nah, too standard. What about the cabin?”

“Heh, no I think your o-”

“I don’t have tenure darling,” It was Jaskier’s turn to slap his hands over Geralt’s mouth, “The answer is a dilapidated structure my parents still try to call a cabin out in the foothills.”

Geralt laughed and pulled his hand away, “Okay, that can be the answer.”

“Is that it? Now we just say bye?” Jaskier looked between Geralt and the camera.

Geralt shrugged, “Yeah. You wanna say the thing?”

Jaskier wiggled with a little pride and excitement, “Don’t forget to like and subscribe! Bye Fuckers!”

They both waved for a couple seconds before Geralt got up and turned the camera off. He popped out the memory card and was going to immediately start loading it onto his computer but Jask hooked his finger through a belt loop as he walked past and tugged him back down. 

“I’m tired. Snuggle with me.” 

Geralt hummed, “We just snuggled that whole time.”

Jaskier heaved a dramatic sigh, “I know and this is exhausting. I don’t know how you talk to a camera all day.”

Geralt stretched to set the chip on top of his laptop before collapsing back on top of Jaskier who had stretched the length of the couch, “Are you making fun of me?” he teased. 

Jaskier cupped his face between his hands and pulled him up for a deep kiss, “Oh never.” 

[writteninkat]

i - your grandma must have been strong

word count: 2,007

"I'll spend forever wondering if you knew I was enchanted to meet you."

index

You zipped your last luggage closed, huffing tiredly as you stood up. You looked around you- your empty room, your plain, pink walls that were once decorated with many posters and pictures, your floor that was once covered by a big fluffy white rug and some clothes and stuffed toys.

You sigh, smiling. You were surely going to miss this place. Your back tingles as you turn around to see your mother leaning on the door frame, looking at you with sad eyes.

"Do you have to go?" Her voice is soft and calming- it always has been. She's the only person who could ever calm you down especially when your father left the two of you to work at the Heroes Association in Japan.

"I want to be able to protect people. Children, women, the elderly... I wanna be someone people can depend on. Someone you can depend on." You place a hand on her arm which she covers with her own, he warm palm along with her soft smile about to send you to tears.

She nods, walking inside your room to help with your baggage. "The movers just finished loading up your other stuff. All we need is your excess baggage." She pushes the luggage towards the door, you mirroring her actions.

She cups both of your cheeks, looking you at you with adoring, glassy eyes. It's your first time being separated from your mother in you sixteen years of existence. The two have always been attached to the hip, you traveled everywhere together, even as the two of you had constant arguments you could never stay mad at each other for too long.

She was the only one you had.

"Stay safe in Japan, okay? If your father gave you a hard time, call me. I'll pick you up no matter what time it is, no matter where you are. I love you." She kisses your forehead and you finally let your tears fall as you wrap your hands around her thing wrists.

"I love you so much mom." You sob, hanging your head as your mother wrapped her arms around you. You hear a voice of a woman through the speakers, telling you your flight was taking off in a few minutes.

You quickly give your mother a kiss on the cheek before letting one of your guards assist you with your bags. You waved good bye to your mom and soon after, your trusted body guard.

You were on your way to Japan, to a new life, a new school, new friends and hopefully to reach your new goal: to prove yourself worthy of becoming a hero without your father's help.

You walk towards the giant gates of UA, taking a deep breath before finally taking a step inside the campus. Your heart thumped on your chest nervously as your palms began to prespire. You kept your eyes forward, not wanting to do anything with the teens around you as your only goal was to pass the entrance exam. You walked inside the building you were lead to, taking a seat at the very back in fear of attracting any unwanted attention.

"What's up UA candidates?! Thanks for tuning into me your school DJ! Just as your application said, today you will be conducting your exams in seven different locations! Your location has been assigned to you in the paper you were given." The loud blond man with long hair swept way to the back of his head announced, making you click your tongue. Not to be a mood buster, but isn't he being a little too loud?

You take the piece of paper he was talking about, eyes lower to read the letter that's written on it. Test Location: Battle Center C.

"Excuse me sir but I have a question." Your eyes fall to a purple-headed boy with glasses whose hand is raised. The blond teacher acknowledges him and he begins talking about how there are four villains in the paper you were given and not only three.

He then begins running his mouth about how a minor mistake such as this would be an embarrassment for a school such as UA. You scoff, muttering something about having a stick up his ass.

After the teacher ended his speech, you along with the other students began piling out of the room and to your designated battle centers. As you enter your specified location, you take out the black leather gloves from your pocket, wearing them. You clenched and unclenched your hands to make sure that it fit you well.

"Hey grandma." An unfamiliar voice catches your attention, unfortunately for you the rude nickname was directed towards you.

"Grandma?" You raise a brow, unsure what he meant by it.

"You white hair reminds me of my grandma's." He snickers, pointing at the white streaks of hair you have beside either sides of your face as a few other students chuckling behind him. He looks plain, very, very boring. "Why don't you give up on this exam, grandma? Your knees may start hurting."

The signal went off and the robots began moving behind you. As you kept a straight face, your hands begin glowing a blinding white light as a black with blue and silver accent claymore appears in your hands. You run to your left, applying your speed quirk as you ran towards the gigantic robots, swinging your sword vertically.

The slash creates the same blinding white light, the robots, the buildings and concrete ground that the light touches all disintegrating into nothing. You speed into the other robots, stealing the targets of other students as you accumulated your points. Once you finish and only a few robots are left, you return to your spot to where the plain-looking boy along with his little friends were still standing at, jaws hanging eyes blown wide.

"You grandma must have been very strong."

"I got in." You say into your phone and you hear your mother squeal in delight from the other end of the line. A smile breaks into your face and you feel your phone vibrate, signaling a new notification. As you pull your phone away to see what it is, your eyes widen in surprise as you read your notification banner.

'Mom' sent you $100.

"Mom what the heck is the money for?" You chuckle. "I'm not there with you but I want you to celebrate getting into UA. So go use the money and spoil yourself."

"Mom you don't have to-"

"Okay, mom mode off. I demand you go and award yourself eith the money I sent you." Your mom's tone switches from soft and caring to cold and demanding, making you chuckle. "That doesn't suit you at all." You laugh, you can practically /hear/ your mom pout at the other line.

"Okay, okay. I'll do as you say. Thank you, mom. I love you."

"I love you more my baby."

The call ends and you change out of your usual sweats and oversized tee. You put on a black spaghetti strap and high-wasted mom jeans. You hoop in a black belt and fold the ankles of your pants to show your white sock inside your checkered vans. You finish the look with medium-sized hoop earrings and a oversized red zip-up jacket which you leave unzipped with one shoulder hanging off.

You step out of your apartment, pocketing your keys and taking a deep breath in. Japan is just so beautiful, the scenery, the buildings, even the weather was perfect. You strut down your apartment building, scrolling through your phone as you searched for cafes nearby. It was a five minute walk of calm and relaxing vibes. You step into the cafe, eyes darting around the adorable cottage-core aesthetic it had going.

"Hey my name is Mio. What can I get for you this lovely afternoon?" The cashier beams brightly, your day becoming better and better with every move you make. "I'll have a strawberry shortcake as well as a strawberr frappe with extra foam, strawberry syrup and strawberries." You beam back at her and she takes your order with a bright smile, tapoing away on the computer's screen.

"Does your life depend on strawberries or something?" A rough and deep voice asks behind you, causing you to turn around. Once you do, your eyes widen at the sight of a young blond with vermilion eyes. He looked around your age.

"I like strawberries. Is it that big of a sin?" You ask, soft smile across your face as you cross your arms together. The guy had such piercing eyes, those red orbs looked like they could trap you in them forever.

"Not what I'm saying, but if you're that much of a strawberry fan, I recommend their strawberry pop tarts." His eyes drop to the display fridge beside you and your eyes follow his, landing on the adorable little tarts with red jam on top of them.

Just as you were about to order them, the cashier speaks up. "Your total is 1,500 yen." She smiles brightly, making you pout. You didn't want to cause more trouble for her seeing as your bill has already been printed by the machine.

You scan their QR code, paying virtually as she hands you your buzzer. "We'll give you a signal whrn your order is ready. You can find a seat and wait there thank you!"

You turn around at the blond who's looking at you expectantly, "I guess I'll have to try your recommendation some other time." You smile at him, walking off to the table catering two chairs. It was seated at the far back of the cafe, away from the many customers the cafe had.

You began scrolling through your social media, liking the posts of your past classmates and chuckling at some memes you saw.

A plate full of the same tarts with red jam is placed on your white table and you didn't have to look to see who it was. "Is this you way of flirting with me, rubies?" You ask, looking up at him with a teasing, smug smile. His face contorts into annoyance, "Hah? Flirting with you?" He scoffs, "Not a chance. And who're you calling rubies?"

"Your eyes remind me of rubies. They're pretty."

The blond's face relaxes and you push the seat across from you, silently telling him to sit down. He does as 'told', huffing as he watches you pick of a tart and bring it over to your lips. You bite on it, eyes widening as the flavor explodes in your mouth. It tastes sweet but not the sickeningly sweet kind, it's soft soft in the inside and lightly crunchy on the outside.

"You look like you just ate food made by gods." He chuckles, "You look dumb."

"But it really does taste so good!" You've never felt this much excitement since you found out you got into UA. And that speaks a lot given that you've only ever felt this kind of feeling with your mom.

"I should have bought the entire stock if I knew you liked it that much." Your heart skipped at his words. What is this feeling? You felt nervous all of a sudden, you can barely contain your smile and somehow, you didn't want to go home yet. This is a very new feeling for you. It's kind of... scary.

"I'm L/n."

Idiot. Stop it.

"L/n Y/n." You extend your hand towards him which he looks at for a few moments before taking. You shake both of your hands with a soft smile, your thoughts going haywire at how soft his palms feel.

"Bakugou. Katsuki Bakugou."

You pull your hand away, finishing the last piece of strawberry pop tart on your plate before your buzzer turns on. You pick it up, standing up. "Thanks for the tarts. See you around, rubies."

"Call me that one more time and I'll blow your face up."

You snicker, smirking. "Whatever you say, rubies."

[yukichilovesbakugo]

Within Reach

Bakugo Katsuki x Reader

Chapter 4

Warnings: Cursing, Mild Violence

Master list

"So what I'm trying to say is that I like you. Will you go out with me?" A boy from general studies bowed aggressively at you. Apparently a lot of students had watched the quirk test and that was when this boy first saw you. He told you it was love at first sight. And because of that, he decided to confess to you.... in front of your classroom.... with everyone watching. A long sigh escaped you.

"I'm sorry. I can't return your feelings. I think it's best that you give up." You turned to leave.

"B-but!" He stuttered, trying to stop you. You glared back at him.

"Just leave, you're being annoying." And with that you went back into the classroom. Everyone stared as you sat down and opened a book. That was when a girl approached you.

"Y/n, right?" Your eyes landed on a floating uniform and a cute pink girl. You nodded.

"Don't you think you were a bit harsh on him?" Pinky spoke hesitantly, almost as if she was afraid. A soft sigh left your lips.

"Not really. Take a look for yourself." You pointed to the door. The two went to investigate to see the boy was smiling.

"Ah~! She was so cold." He was in bliss. The two were shocked to see that. They turned back to you.

"It's always been like that. I try to be nice but they end up pushing it. When I snap, they always get happy. It's a little weird, considering they don't actually know me."

"So you're the perfect image of a Hinedere, huh?" The three of you turned to see the small grape thing. "They like an icey mean chick that has a totally cute face." There was a long pause before you spoke.

"You're the perverted thing that was staring at all the girls yesterday." You saw him flinch and smiled mentally.

"What!? That's so gross." They squealed as they glared at him.

"I suggest you keep your distance. Women can be pretty violent against perverts like you. It would be a shame if the school had to fill a spot in this class so early in the year." You smirked at him. He ended up retreating.

"Oi, who was that just now in the hall?" You watched as the blonde took his seat next to you.

"I think he said his name was...." You paused and tilted your head trying to remember. "Harato Masashi, from Business studies."

"It was Haruto Masahiro, from General studies." Ashido shook her head. You shrugged your shoulders then turned back to Bakugo.

"Anyways, he was here to ask me out." You leaned on your arms. He was taking his books out of his bag.

"So...... what'd you say?" He ended up muttering the sentence.

"I turned him down." Your sigh rang out. After a brief second, you turned to him and meet his ruby eyes. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason." He leaned on his own arm and turned away from you, hiding his face.

"Oh? Okay, I guess." You turned back to your book. It seemed like everytime you started to read, something was going to interrupt you.

"Y-Y-Y/n?" You peered up at the green haired boy.

"What do you want, mouse?" He flinched a bit.

"C-can I speak with you?" You closed your book and sighed. After standing up, you grabbed his shoulder and teleported to the end of the hallway outside your classroom.

"What?"

"Oh, um. I didn't want there to be misunderstandings about my quirk and stuff." He seemed to be fidgeting a lot.

"Don't worry. There's no misunderstanding. I know exactly what happened." You let out a soft smirk, eyes emotionless. He flinched once again at your words.

"W-what do you mean?" He started to panic. This confirmed what you already knew. Your smirk dropped and your eyes stared at the ground.

"If it bugs you, just bring up my name to that man, All Might, he'll probably tell you. But other than that, don't worry about it. I don't really care about it and I'm not going to spread it around." You looked up to see him as pale as a ghost. A soft chuckle escaped. "Stop shaking, mouse. It's okay. I knew about it long before I meet you." You paused for a moment. "And, if you ever need someone to talk to about it, I'll lend my ear." You teleported back to the classroom, a small smile still on your lips. This lit a fire in a certain ash blond. But why, he wondered. Knowing that you had just finished talking with Deku didn't help. Soon, class started.

°•°•°•°

At lunch, you were somewhat surprised that some of your classmates approached you. They were the red head with sharp teeth, pinky, elbows, and the yellow haired pervert.

"Hey, Y/n, do you wanna eat lunch with us?" The red head smiled brightly. Part of you didn't really want to out of shyness, but you convinced yourself it couldn't hurt. You nodded then got up to walk with them. On the way, you couldn't help but notice how many guys were staring at you. It made you feel a little weird. Once you guys got some food, you sat down and ate.

"So, is it true you went to middle school with the angry boy?" The pink girl broke the silence. You nodded.

"Both him and the mouse...., I mean Midoriya, have been in the same class as me since our first year of middle school. Though, I didn't really talk to them until the middle of our third year." You took a bite of your soup.

"Do you get along with them?" Elbows leaned forward.

"Well, I guess so." Your head tilted a bit. "We don't fight, but we aren't really friend either. The mou- Midoriya is scared of me and Bakugo doesn't particularly like me."

"Really, but he seemed so over protective around you." Kaminari started and crossed his arms. "He glared at me when I talked to you yesterday and he gave the guy from this morning an even nastier look." You paused and looked at him.

"Really? That's news to me. Most of the time he won't even look me in the eye and it's hard to hold a conversation with him." You watched as the group of friends exchanged glances.

"So why do you want to be a hero?" Kirishima decided to change the subject.

"Well, my reason is a bit complicated. What about you?" This seemed to do the trick. You were no longer then center of attention. You guys chatted happily for a while until there was an uproar in the center of the lunch room. There, stood two boys you didn't recognize. A tall, platinum blond boy stood with a soaked uniform while a shorter, black haired boy was shaking and apologizing. The blond looked furious. He was yelling at the other and held up his hand to strike him. Without thinking, you teleported in between them. A loud slap rang out as the room got quite. The left side of your face stung. You slowly lifted your head and made eye contact with the blond, emotionless.

"I don't think there is any need to hit him. He is apologizing to you for something that was clearly an accident." The boys face twisted.

"Shut up and stay out of it, bitch. He should pay for ruining my uniform!" This boy was obviously a Yankee before coming to this school. You dug in your pocket and pulled out your wallet. After reaching into it, you took out 10,000 yen.

"Here, this should pay for a new uniform. Now please stop causing a ruckus." His face seemed to turn to the sound of your voice. With the back of his hand, he slapped the money and wallet out of your grasp.

"I didn't mean literally you dumb bitch! Now get out of my way!" He went to push you aside with his arm, but you were quick and grabbed it. With him in your grasp, you twisted. He now kneeled before you, screaming in pain. "WHAT THE HELL!? CUT IT OUT!!"

"Stop causing problems and leave." You said sternly. When you let go, he stumbled off. After a sigh, you picked up your wallet and money.

"T-thank you so much!!" The black haired boy gave a deep bow, then looked up at you.

"Don't worry about it. Just stop causing a scene and carry on." He caught  a glimpse of your soft smile. You shuffled your way back to your tray, grabbed it, then set it at the collection window. You made your way back to the classroom, leaving your new friends behind.

°•°•°•°

You could never look him in the eye. No matter how hard you tried, hatred plagued you in his presence, and Bakugo could tell. He noticed as soon as the number one hero walked in the door, you looked at him with disgust. However, he also noticed your internal conflict. The way you tried to shake away your feeling. Or the way you looked at the desk with guilt. When the hero called you up to grab your costume, he studied your reactions. You avoid eye contact at all cost and you always had a glare in your eye. When you went to grab the case, you did so quickly and avoided touching him. You were quick to get away from him. After all the cases were handed out, you guys were dismissed to change. On your way to the locker rooms, Bakugo pulled you aside.

"Hey," the boy cornered you against the wall of an empty hall way. "Why do you hate All Might?" Your eyes shifted down as you pulled the case close to your body.

"I... don't."

"Bull shit. Don't lie to me." He glared at you. Unexpectedly to him, you took on a sad expression.

"What I mean is that I don't want to hate him." The boy was surprised, to say the least. He didn't really understand what you meant by that.

"But you do despite that? Why?"

"Because," The case began to shake in your hands, your grip tightened. It became harder to control your breathing "I can't forgive him." Before the blonde could ask any more questions, you dissapeared before his eye. He wasn't really mad, as he expected you to do that right away.

When you entered the locker room, most of the girls already had their costumes out. You quickly follow. After pulling out the red and white fabric, you sighed. You don't know how you let your grandpa talk you in to this, even if you did change the design a bit. He convinced you to wear your shrine maiden outfit..... sorta. Unlike you shrine one, you hero costume consists of the sorts version of the red pants you wore. Your white top was very mush like the one at the shrine, except it exposed you shoulder and had larger red stitches. You then slid on a pair of white thigh highs with matching stitches. After sliding on the sandles that actually stayed on amazingly, you threw you hair up and left with the others. You had to change the design to make it easier to fight, but you also used it as a chance to add a cute flare. Needless to say you were happy. As everyone started to step on to ground beta, they began to exchange complements. You tried your best to stay away from the spot light, but unfortunately Kirishima and his friends walked up to you. They complimented you and you could feel your cheeks turn a little pink. While you guys talked, the explosive boy walked up to the group. He eyed your costumes, trying to form the right words. You turned and caught his eyes, stares holding for a moment. He clicked his tongue and hide his face with his bangs.

"I like your other one better." He mentally smacked himself. He told himself that he was supposed to say something snarky.  When you went to answer him, a different voice sounded. You turned to see the mouse.

"Y/n-chan, your costumes is really cute. Almost like your other one." He smiled at you. With a faint smile of your own, you spoke.

"Yeah, the old fart tried to get me to wear that one, but it was to hard to move in. As a compromise, I only made a few changes." You scratched the back of your head, then eyed the blond. He was now staring at the green haired boy with the desire to hurt him. Midoriya noticed and immediately retreated. You, however, sighed loudly.

"Bakugo, I think your costume looks cool." You tried distracting him, with little success, or so you though. As All Might started class, Bakugo kept his nasty glare, but on the inside he felt weird. Almost as if he was..... happy that you said that. He quickly shook his head and turned his attention.

Tag list: @maisyyx @gayverlinq @loxbbg

[yoursummerfrost]

Ask meme time! Pick three fics you have written, post a favorite section of each and explain why it is your favorite. Then, pass it on!

How could you ask me to choose between my children?! :P This is fun, though, thank you! I’ll pick three fics that have gotten less traffic compared to my others :) Going under the cut ‘cause it’s kinda long!

from my bones, wrapped around you:

"Mazikeen," Lucifer calls. Maze bites the inside of her cheek and walks back out into the living room. Everyone is sitting on the couch except for Eve—who's hovering near the piano where Maze left her—and Lucifer, at the bar. "At least let me pour you a drink, before you go?"

Maze swallows, looking at all of them. Linda is smiling at her. Trixie's in Chloe's lap, holding a glass of chocolate milk.

Lucifer gestures with her favorite bottle of scotch.

"Okay," she says, and slides onto a stool to watch him pour.

There's quiet conversation behind them; someone talks about calling Ella and Dan. Lucifer slides the glass into her hand and she can't think of drinking it.

"I worried about you, while I was gone," he tells her. "I hoped you were well."

She swirls the scotch around, watching how it reflects the light. "It doesn't really matter how I was."

"I've no idea what you mean," he says.

"I'm supposed to live in the moment, right?" Maze finally takes a drink, rolling the sting around on her tongue. "Benefits of being soulless."

"Mazikeen," Lucifer says, and his voice cracks with something she has to chase down her throat. "I've never lost sleep over your soul. But I care very much about your heart."

Maze's second thought is of the balcony. How she could jump off of it, and he'd use those wings that once upon a time he made her hack off to catch her. Her third thought is about glass, and how it breaks.

Her first thought is, You're home.

Maze chugs the rest of her scotch and tells him, "Make the next one a double."

It’s hard to pick one snippet from this fic, because there were so many little moments where I wanted this reflection of soullessness to weave itself together. Ultimately I went with the culmination, which is this interaction between Maze and Lucifer. These are two people who went from being all each other had to drifting apart while they tried to grow. And now, trying to navigate this horrible mess of lingering loyalty and growing resentment, Lucifer reaches out with this peace offering--pouring her a drink, which is a refrain from the show.

Throughout the fic, Maze has been grappling with her lack of a soul. Rivers told her that she had one, Amenadiel suggested she could grow one. Eve is fixated on the freedom that being soulless brings. And Lucifer, who stood with her in Hell and abandoned her on Earth, says this: it doesn’t matter how you were created, or what you were born with. I see who you’ve become. 

from truth (like blood under fingernails):

"You didn't fool me," Dan argues. "I know you."

"No," Lucifer says, "you don't."

Dan takes another step forward. "I do."

"I'm the Devil!"

Dan throws his hands up and snaps, "I know," and Lucifer snarls, "Do you?" and his face is gone, charred and blistering like it's been peeled off under a blowtorch, and—

Dan thinks, Did you do that, too? and—

He understands, suddenly. The mutilated wings he can't touch and the nauseous fear that curls up and hisses in his own belly and the fucking horror of what can you make out of this?

"It won't work," he says, and takes a gnarled hand up in his own. "I'm so fucking tired of running away, Lucifer. I won't do it again."

Lucifer's face flickers back into place. He says, "I don't understand."

Dan swallows. He looks down, traces a careful finger over the ring on Lucifer's hand. "You can't push me away because you're scared. I won't let you."

"You need to leave," Lucifer insists.

"Tell me you don't want me," Dan says. He looks up, meets the confusion in Lucifer's eyes. "You never lie, right? If you can tell me that you don't fucking want me—that you don't want me here—I'll go."

Lucifer's lips purse. He laughs, softly, this beautiful wide-eyed thing spreading across his face. Dan always wants to touch the space between his eyebrows when he looks like that—the gentle furrow of them.

"You still owe me a favor," Lucifer says.

Dan frowns, a little amused. "I… yeah, I do."

"And you'd do anything?" Lucifer asks. "Whatever I asked of you?"

"Of course." Dan reaches as Lucifer pulls his hand away. "Luce, I don't understand."

Lucifer smiles and cups Dan's cheek with the hand and kisses him, chaste and gentle and with the faintest taste of salt even though Dan can't remember him crying, and he feels as all-encompassing as he always does right up until he pulls away.

"Leave me."

Dan opens his eyes, feeling— "What?"

"Pay me my due," Lucifer says, gently. "And leave me."

Hoo, boy. First of all, this fic was supposed to be like 16k of enemies to lovers hate sex, and then it wasn’t. But the penultimate scene is my favorite because of the way we finally see Dan and Lucifer’s hangups smashing against each other--Dan is always running, and Lucifer is always pushing people away. But Dan is finally ready to be brave, and he quite literally sees Lucifer at his worst and wants to stay anyway. So he uses Lucifer’s Devil-ness against him, and gives him an ultimatum to force his hand.

And Lucifer’s response has a lot of layers: at first, he’s genuinely trying to push Dan away with his Devil face. But then there’s a shift that we don’t necessarily understand until the finale scene. For most of the fic, Lucifer has been hanging this favor that Dan owes him over Dan’s head; it’s been in a pretty light-hearted way for Dan, who can’t think of much he wouldn’t do for Lucifer. But for Lucifer, who cares so deeply about free will--who Fell for it, the idea of having that control over Dan was unthinkable. So Lucifer cashes in the favor by forcing Dan to leave him, which is the one thing Dan wouldn’t do of his own free will--thus simultaneously exercising Lucifer’s power over Dan and freeing him from it. 

from a heart i couldn’t silence:

"I miss pigeons," says Julian. "I mean, some would say seagulls are effectively the pigeons of the coast, but there's subtleties. Pigeons have a humbleness to them that I can respect—seagulls think they're better than us."

Yen barks out a laugh before she can stop herself. "That's the most incomprehensible pile of bullshit I've ever heard."

"It's not!" Julian insists. "You know I'm right, Yennefer."

Yen rolls her eyes and looks over at Ciri; she's smiling now, her hands still wringing her sweatshirt while she talks to the group.

"... I never thanked you, you know," Julian says abruptly.

Yen shifts uncomfortably. "For what, not failing you? It was for my own benefit—I couldn't risk you retaking my fucking class. I would've killed you and prison isn't in my five year plan."

Julian says, "For Geralt."

Yennefer loathes playing dumb. It's beneath her in every way. She asks, "What about him?"

"There was a month and a half period where I got really into playing 'Jolene' on guitar," Julian answers.

Yen's nostrils flare. "I don't want to play six degrees of separation with your brain right now, Julian."

She can tell it hits too hard by the way his posture changes. She doesn't apologize.

"I know that if you'd asked him not to, he wouldn't have ever…" Julian trails off, but she'll grant him that measure of obscurity. "I mean, I just—I know it makes you uncomfortable. You don't really like me. And I love him more than pretty much anything and… thank you, for that."

What do you love more? Yen wonders. Says nothing about it or anything else that could lead the point of a dagger to somewhere soft.

Remarkably, a crab skitters across the wooden walkway and into the brackish water of the creek.

Julian says, "Forget I said anything," at the same exact time Yen tells him, "It was the way he smiled at you."

"I'm sorry?" Julian asks.

"People like you and I," Yen says slowly, "learned how to be greedy. Geralt doesn't want loudly, or often. He's convinced he isn't made for it."

Julian says softly, "I know."

"And he smiled at you," Yen says, "like he wanted to be wrong."

Look, this scene isn’t even really the point of the fic, so much as it’s setting up for a story like 3 or 4 fics later in the series, but I’m low-key deeply obsessed with yennskier and I just really love this dynamic for them. This mutual dislike that morphs into begrudging respect, and slowly they uncover how similar they are in key ways? I eat that shit up. Also, they’re having this interaction coming off of some joint protectiveness over Ciri, which is also my shit. 

[ko-fanatic]

To Be A Princess: Sleeping Beauty Awakes (part two)

Rating: Teen and up

Fandom: Ouran High School Host Club, Princess Jellyfish AU (sort of)

Character(s): Kyoya Ootori, Haruhi Fujioka, Tamaki Suoh

Pairing(s): (Eventual) KyoHaru, Past TamaHaru

Trigger Warnings: None

Summary: Haruhi had done a lot of dumb things for cute girls, but this really topped all of them.

Other parts in this series: Part one

Taking care of a living animal was a big responsibility that should be thought out thoroughly. It shouldn’t be rushed into, and there were a lot of variables to consider – especially if you had a roommate, who in turn had a big, dumb animal of his own. After all, Antoinette was about as well-trained as her owner, which was to say not very. It didn’t help that Haruhi liked to plan things out ahead of time and wasn’t someone who appreciated reckless spontaneity.

So why the hell did she suggest keeping the cat at her shared apartment? Perhaps it was the way that the girl she didn’t even know was so honestly… saddened by the whole thing. Haruhi liked to think she was strong and didn’t let others’ emotions sway her, but Tamaki’s puppy dog eyes had been successful far too many times for her to truly believe that anymore.

It didn’t help that the girl was so stupidly adorable. Tall, much taller than she was, but it didn’t seem to stop her from dressing like… that. All pink bows and white lace, so oddly young and adorable, even if it should be overwhelmingly saccharine. She could only focus on the tremble of her dew-glossed lower lip and the long eyelashes that hid behind her sunglasses. Fuck, she was gay for those sorts of girls. Innocent and sweet.

However, the answer definitely wasn’t to take in a cat! She didn’t have the first clue of how to deal with a kitten, especially one who was sick. The vet gave her and the girl some advice, of course, but she certainly wasn’t an expert. At least there was google, right? Still, she couldn’t get over the girl’s quiet shushes and coos as the kitten mewled, holding it so gently.

The worst thing was that, after the vet visit was over with and the girl – people just call me Kyo – was about twenty thousand yen out of pocket, she took her to the apartment she shared with her idiot friend. A stranger. Not only that, but she ended up falling asleep before Kyo left, the girl so enamoured with the little kitten – what do you think of calling her Noir? – that she just let her keep playing with the cat until all too late at night. In her bedroom.

She groaned, realising what a gay dumbass she was. A good sign, however, was the soft snores that seemed to emanate from the small pile of blankets and pillows on the floor. Noir had sat herself on top of the little nest rather happily, but the noises were definitely human.

That was when her eyes strayed to the dress that was hung over the back of her desk chair, and her face instantly flushed. Of course, Kyo would never be able to sleep in that dress, but still. She didn’t expect that, even if she was just even more pissed at herself for not even thinking about it for a second. Like she apparently didn’t think a single thing through the previous day.

Noir leaped off the bundle of blankets, the bell on her new collar tinkling lightly, and it seemed Kyo was awake now. Not only that, but Haruhi was just staring at her like a creep. She decided to scoop the cat up in her arms, at least appearing to look preoccupied with something else, but another surprise was piled on top of the large pile already forming on her shoulders.

Kyo sat up, the blankets pooling at their waist, and Haruhi was stunned. Now she looked, she could see the blonde wig carefully laid out on her desk, and Kyo’s was black and cropped short. Not only that, but there was something… distinctly masculine about their torso. Completely flat, the barest hint of their ribcage through their skin, and she couldn’t stop staring.

All Kyo seemed to do was blink slowly, lazily, obviously still half asleep. It didn’t seem to clink, rubbing the sleep from their eyes and yawning. Haruhi couldn’t take her eyes off them, surprised speechless, and when Kyo’s eyes met her own it all seemed to connect in their mind.

They gasped, pulling the blanket up to their chin, their eyes wide and terrified. Like Haruhi was in some way a threat.

“I…” They started but didn’t finish. After all, Haruhi didn’t know what to say, and she was basically a bystander to this. She wasn’t the half-naked one in this situation, “I should… go get dressed. Excuse me.”

They pushed themselves up from the floor, about to snatch the dress up once more when the next contrived, awful coincidence burst through the door, warbling her name at the top of his lungs and carrying a tray of breakfast. Tamaki stopped dead, however, when confronted with Kyo in their underwear, hair mussed, and turned an almost comedic shade of red. Of all days for him not to have the morning shift, why this one?!

“Oh! Uh, sorry! I didn’t know Haruhi had someone in bed- Over! I mean over!” Tamaki babbled, arms waving dramatically, “I’m just her roommate! Nothing going on between us, dude. I mean, we used to go out but that didn’t work out… I’m nothing to worry about though! I’ve got a girlfriend!”

When he finally stopped talking, leaving the room in awkward silence, Haruhi was ready to strangle him. Normal people don’t spill like that to total strangers, although Tamaki never handled embarrassment well. At all. Kyo seemed incredibly embarrassed as well, a flush forming on their face that could rival Tamaki’s, although that was probably partially due to how pale they were…

“Tamaki, thanks for making breakfast, but can you…” She made a vague shooing gesture with her hand, and Tamaki instantly nodded in understanding, all but sprinting out of her room and slamming the door behind him. She let out a sigh, turning away from Kyo so they could pull the dress on once more without a stranger staring at their nearly-naked body, “Sorry about him. When he gets nervous, he just keeps talking. In fact, he never seems to shut up, if I’m honest.”

“Oh, it’s… It’s fine,” Kyo answered almost breathlessly, sounding a little flustered, “I’m clothed now, so you don’t have to keep looking away. Thank you for that, anyway… Sorry, this is awkward, and I’m just running my mouth now too – maybe it’s contagious.”

She chuckled, turning to look at Kyo once more and giving them a smirk. Noir also seemed to have had enough of her company, as she jumped off her lap to go pester her actual owner.

“So… Considering we have a cat together, can I ask your full name? Pronouns?” She inquired, hoping that she looked the slightest bit encouraging and open, not wanting to scare them off. After all, if she had to look after the cat, she’d rather know a little more about this person.

“Kyoya. Kyoya Ootori,” They began, shoulders tense and curling in on themselves a little more, “You don’t have to pretend you didn’t see… Didn’t notice I’m a boy. Man.”

“A body’s just a body,” She shrugged, cutting him off before he could work himself up anymore, “You can’t tell from that, especially as that wasn’t really your choice. I mean, my dad presents as a girl more often than not, but he still likes masculine pronouns? So, you do you.”

Kyoya scooped the cat up, holding her close to his chest. Not like a toy, not how Tamaki would pick Antoinette up as he baby talked her, but it also had the same sort of energy as a child hugging a stuffed toy in search of comfort. Their lips brushed the cat’s soft, black fur as they thought on what she said, turning it over in their mind.

“I just go for the masculine,” He stated after a moment or two, his tone brusque and almost as if he was trying to convince himself. Still, she’d go along with it if that’s what he was most comfortable with – far be it for her to comment, “So, uh. Your ex-boyfriend lives with you, huh?”

“You aren’t that great at small talk, are you?” She teased, “It’s not as awkward as it sounds, honestly. He’s a good guy. I love him as a friend, but I don’t think I was in love with him, you know?”

Kyoya nodded, perching on the edge of the desk. A silence fell between them like a blanket of snow, soft yet cold, and Haruhi wasn’t sure what to say. She could see that Kyoya was thinking, too stuck in his head to really talk to her, and she wondered if he was always like that. Was he an introvert, or was it the odd situation they’d managed to stumble into? Not that it mattered either way, but he seemed different to how he was yesterday.

“Your roommate saw me, and I don’t have any other clothes,” He groaned all of a sudden, face hiding in Noel’s fur. She furrowed her brows, trying to think why that would be an issue, but almost slapped herself when she realised what he meant. The dress. He was self-conscious about dressing that way in front of a relative stranger who knew he was biologically male.

“Well, Tamaki wouldn’t care,” She tried to assure, gaze following him as he wondered around the room, seeming to scan and catalogue every inch as he pulled the wig back on his head, “He’s a good guy, I promise. He wouldn’t be a jerk about that stuff…”

It seemed to fall on deaf ears, however, as next thing she knew the odd boy opened the window, climbing out onto the old, rickety fire escape. She just gaped after him for a moment, too shocked to say anything as that poofy skirt was squeezed through the gap in the window.

“Are you crazy?!” She demanded, rushing towards the window, “That thing’s rusted through, you’re gonna fall! Just use the door like a normal person!”

He kept climbing down, ignoring her for the moment. She had to admire how dexterous he was, climbing down those thin ladders without tripping or tearing the elaborate dress. It was quick, too; like he was afraid to be caught, which she supposed made sense. It barely took any time before his feet were back on the ground, and he was smirking up to her.

“I do this all the time,” He called up to her, waving before he turned his back, disappearing out into the main street. Not for the first time that day, a single thought was on her mind.

What the hell did I get myself into?

[themattress]

Everything wrong with the series heroines’ scenes in Kingdom Hearts III

Because it is legit fascinating how horrendously sexist this game’s writing is.

SCENE: Kairi and Lea, post-Twilight Town

- "I'm training to become a Keyblade wielder like you".  Right off the bat, we have something wrong. Kairi apparently needs formal Keyblade training in order to be a “real Keyblade wielder’ like Sora and Riku. Except that Sora and Riku didn’t receive formal Keyblade training - it was just fine and dandy for them to pick up a Keyblade, start slinging it, and become a master at it through their adventures. But a GIRL doing the same? Oh no, we can’t have that!

- "That's right. No more waiting for you to come back from your adventures. I want to get out there and do my part to help."  This is bullshit, because this was a development that Kairi already made in KH2! Seriously, talk to her before entering the door to Kingdom Hearts and she outright said “I’m tired of waiting, from now on where one of us goes the other follows!” and the epilogue is framed as if Sora, Riku and Kairi will be going on an adventure together now. But then Nomura and Oka decided “NAAAAH!”, retconned this in BBS’ secret ending by having Kairi meekly agree to just wait behind for Sora and Riku again, and are continuing this degradation of her character here, where she only steps up when Yen Sid calls for her to.

- "I'll admit I was a little scared of him at first, but I've gotten to know him better. All he ever wanted was to help his friend. Honestly, it's hard not to like him." Fuck this. Axel didn’t want to help his friend, Axel wanted to help himself. Roxas, the friend he betrayed, made him feel like he had a heart. Axel wanted that feeling back, and was willing to harm Kairi and Sora to get it back. He was a selfish bastard, and this whitewashing of his character in order to pander to his popularity is disgusting, especially when at the expense of his past victim. The line given to her of “It’s hard not to like him” is especially wretch-inducing. I sure as Hell don’t like him!

- "It won't be easy, but I hope you'll remain the happy and cheerful Sora I know. There's no heart your smile can't reach." Schmaltzy, forced SoKai crap right here. Remember how good and subtle the writing in the original KH was? Where all Kairi needed to say was “Sora, don’t ever change” and that said SO MUCH about her character and her relationship with him?

- "But I won't send it. It's more for me. I just like talking to Sora, even if it's on paper." OK, now you’re just making Kairi and her feelings for Sora look pathetic. In KH2, when she couldn’t remember Sora, she still sent him a letter in a bottle that she wrote, having faith that it would reach him. And now I’m expected to believe she’s too shy to send a letter to Sora now?

- "You're sweat, Lea." God, I think I’m going to be sick!

- "Don't hold back, Lea. Promise?" A contrived line in order to use Kairi for Xion-related angst for Lea to go through. By that same token, Xion is also being used for a man’s development.

- "Call me Axel from now on."  This is so fucked up! A girl tells the older man who once kidnapped her that she’s not comfortable with his constant apologies. The man doesn’t respectfully stop, he instead tells his former kidnap victim that he’ll only stop doing this thing that makes her uncomfortable “one one condition” - that she begin calling him by the name she knew him by when he kidnapped her! WTF!? In what universe is this appropriate!?

SCENE: Aqua and the two Ansems, post-Monstropolis

- "Don't need it!" And thus begins Aqua’s degradation into a joke in this game - she attacks a powerful Heartless without her Keyblade, and shockingly is owned in two seconds flat and turned into a Darkling. There’s being brave, and then there’s being dumb. This...is dumb.

SCENE: Kairi and Lea, post-The Caribbean.

- "Now that she's a part of me again, I figured all was right. But she can't look at this forest, feel the wind on her face, none of it. And if she could, it would be different for her. Her time was short, but she lived it, and that makes it hers. What right did I have to take those feelings and experiences back? They don't belong to me. Nothing's as it should be. Not for her or Roxas."  FUCK THIS. This pisses me off so much. I loved the happy ending of KH2, including for Roxas and Namine. But now it’s been retconned so that it wasn’t a happy ending, that they didn’t retain their individuality from within Sora and Kairi despite what was clearly said and shown in KH2′s ending, and it’s a terrible fate that they must be “saved” from to end their “hurt”. And Kairi is now blaming herself for it - “what right did I have to take those feelings and experiences back”? Oh, I don’t know - maybe you had a right because Namine wanted it and fucking extended her hand to you so that she could rejoin with you!? Remember that!? I guess not, since otherwise the game would remember that it was said/shown that Namine would still exist and be able to experience things and keep hold of her own feelings and experiences. But that might create lots of bonding scenes between Kairi and Namine, and we can’t have that, can we? This series is all about the MALE bonding!

- "Well, you don't have to worry alone anymore, Axel." GAAAAAAAH!!!

SCENE: Anti-Aqua in the Realm of Darkness

- Just...everything. From Anti-Aqua being treated as a villain that must be defeated rather than reasoned with even when the entire breaking speech she gives to Mickey is objectively true and well-deserved, from Sora needing to beat the shit out of her in order to save her, and from the hollow “you’re home” callback to the KH2 ending, with Sora in place of Kairi (are they going for a Sora/Aqua pedophilia ship tease here?) and Kairi herself nowhere in sight, not being a part of rescuing Aqua despite being allegedly her counterpart in the Destiny Trio. At the end of KH2 and even at the end of this game’s opening FMV, we had Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald and Goofy. Thus, Kairi’s absence is glaring (and not for the last time!)

SCENE: Castle Oblivion becomes Land of Departure again

- "Ven's expecting me. I promised to wake him. Said I'd be right back, but I'm not even close. I'm in for an earful." But Ven’s heart wasn’t in his body when you promised that! Why would he remember that promise or be expecting anything from you!? And the way you’re phrasing it (”in for an earful”) makes it sound as if you’re the child and he’s the adult! What the Hell!?

- "Why? Your heart never found its way home?" Did Sora really not tell her!?

- "Sorry, but you've seen me too weak, too often. Now it's my turn to shine." Where to begin? This notorious line is woodenly delivered right before a fight with Vanitas where Aqua is playable. She is saying it to Sora, basically admitting that this is a matter of ego and that she wants to show off in front of him (again, creepy pedophilic ship vibes here). Also, “you’ve seen me too weak, too often”? He literally just met you, and you were pretty damn strong when fighting him as Anti-Aqua! And after the playable fight is over, Vanitas blasts at Ven, Aqua jumps in front of the blast and has time to deflect it with her Keyblade or barrier magic...but she doesn’t, gets knocked out, and has to be saved by Sora and Ven. Weak!

- "Good morning, Ven." Wow, such an emotional reunion! (That’s sarcasm, btw.)

SCENE: Gathering at Yen Sid's Tower before the final battle

- Again, everything. Aqua and Kairi’s interaction is pathetically brief and only revolves around “Hey, remember when we met in BBS? That was a thing.” Plus bringing up the bullshit retcon of Aqua enchanting Kairi’s necklace, Mickey somehow not having pieced together that the little girl was Kairi until now, Lea whining that this talk is taking time away from him and his narcissistic entitlement complex, and more “Roxas and Namine need to be saved” crap.

SCENE: Land of Departure at night

- "It's like I've been part of some big adventure." This scene features Aqua and Ventus. But it’s only about Ventus, and his X connections. Aqua is nothing but a springboard for him.

SCENE: Paopu Tree on Destiny Islands

- "I want to be a part of your life no matter what. That's all." Except that Kairi already IS a part of Sora’s life no matter what. This has been true since the events of the original KH, where she inhabited his heart. The paopu sharing was never meant to be a literal thing to happen when it was conceived, it was symbolic, it was smart writing. This is dumb, and forced.

- "Let me keep you safe." This line isn’t going to have much payoff. In fact, between this and her dialogue in her letter at the very start, it’s sounding a lot like many a poor unfortunate shonen heroine who will pay lip service to getting stronger and helping the boys, and then ultimately proves useless when it comes down to it. Three guesses as to where this is going.

SCENE: Terranort appears

- EVERYTHING. The sheer incompetence displayed by Aqua and Kairi in this scene must be seen to be believed. Both of them have Keyblades, and neither of them use them. Unreal.

SCENE: Kairi brings Sora back

- "The light in the darkness. It was you. You're the one who kept me from fading away." Get it!? Because it’s like the first KH! Where Kairi was the light in the darkness who kept Sora from fading as a Heartless! And the scenery and music is literally straight from the scene where she showed him the memory of her grandmother’s story! ‘Member that fantastic scene? ‘Member? ‘MEMBER? Isn’t this coming full circle? Isn’t this poignant? (No. It’s not.)

- "I feel strong with you, Kairi." This line right here shows the big problem with Kairi in this game - she has nothing to offer for herself, she only has something to offer Sora. She is used for Sora’s role and development, as he says: to make him strong, all while she stays weak. 

SCENE: The Finale

- EVERY FUCKING THING. Larxene implies she was only part of the Organization because of her feelings for a man.  Aqua gets beaten by Terranort and has to be saved by Terra (which on it’s own wouldn’t be so bad, seeing as Sora and Ven are in the same boat, but it’s her last battle in the game after having lost all the other ones and she loses AGAIN). Kairi, after just half a battle as a party member, gets beaten by Xion and then kidnapped by Xemnas. Xion, who only shows up now, is again used as a prop for Lea, then gets beaten down by Xemnas and needs to be saved by Roxas, and then is a pitifully weak party member in the battle against Saix while Roxas is overpowered. Kairi is fucking killed by Xehanort in order to give Sora “proper motivation” and thus achieve his goal, meaning Kairi was more useful to the villain than to the heroes. Xion does nothing but say an out-of-left-field line about something she shouldn’t possibly know. Aqua is basically told by Eraqus that she shouldn’t have been named Master and that Terra should have (”Take care of them” - Eraqus to Terra about Aqua and Ven). Namine only shows up in the last seconds of the game, without any dialogue. And for the final slap in the face, Kairi is resurrected offscreen, only to lose Sora as a result of it.

Amazing. Literally every scene featuring these girls had something to demean them in it. KH3 is the absolute embodiment of the KH series’ woman problem. Hardcore fans can deny it all they want, they can accuse me of being a stupid hater or a killjoy or an SJW or what-have-you, but they cannot change the truth. And the truth is that Tetsuya Nomura is a sexist hack.

[peculiarmindset]

Contest Between Idiots

*I love contests ;)

"Go! Go! Go!" Takao and Kise cheered as they watched the two aces from Touou and Serin stuff their faces with a load of Maji burgers.

Most of the Generation of Miracles (plus Kagami, Momoi and Takao) had planned that day to get together to play basketball and just hang out. Unfortunately, Murasakibara couldn't make it due to a heavy snow storm in Akita and Kasamatsu (Kise's boyfriend) was too busy doing his project for one of his college courses.

After playing some games, they decided to take a break and have lunch. But during lunch, Aomine and Kagami once again had gotten into a heated argument about who could eat the most burgers. So after Momoi and Kuroko came back with more food (about 100 burgers) and with Kise and Takao as referees, the two aces began their competition.

"And the winner is....Kagamicchi!!!" Kise cheered, waving a napkin in the air.

"Yosha! You totally owe me 2000 yen Aomine!" Takao hooted. Aomine groaned as he swallowed the last bite of his burger while Kagami looked triumphant.

"I ulp-win, Ahomine!" Kagami boasted, swallowing a burp.

When Aomine opened his own mouth a large belch came out. BuuuUUUUURRRPP! Aomine sighed as he rubbed his stomach. "Whatever, if we had gotten the teriyaki burgers instead, I would have won hands down. I'm still better in basketball though. Urrrp!" He let out another burp.

"As if-urrrppp!" Kagami blushed as a burp ended up escaping him.

"Ew! You guys are disgusting!" Kise made a face, throwing a napkin at Aomine.

Takao on the other hand was laughing his butt off. "Hahahahaha! You guys should hear Shin-chan's burps- now THOSE are epic!"

"TAKAO!" Midorima shouted, giving his partner a deadly glare.

"Sorry, Shin-chan." Though Takao didn't look apologetic whatsoever.

BuuuuurrrrrpppPPPP! Letting out another belch and avoiding the hit that Kise aimed at him, Aomine grinned at Kagami. "Hey Bakagami, why don't we have another competition? Whoever can burp the most wins."

Kagami rolled his eyes. "No-urrp, freaking way Aho."

Buuurrrpp! "Oh, come on princess. Scared?" Aomine smirked as he quickly reached over and pushed his hand hard into Kagami's stomach.

As soon as his belly was pressed, a humongous belch pushed out of Kagami. BUUUUUURRRRRPPPPP! Kagami could feel his face heat up as everyone turned to look at him. Avoiding their gazes, he snarled at Aomine. "Quit it, you bastard!"

Aomine merely took a sip of his soda and frowned when he realized it was empty. "Damn, we're gonna need more soda for this. Hey, can one of you guys buy twenty cans of sodas for us?"

Momoi shot up in her seat and pointed angrily at her boyfriend. "No way Dai-chan! We already had to pay for the burgers for your stupid contest- me and even poor Tetsu-kun had to pay some of the bill from our own pockets to afford it!"

Aomine made a face at her as he crumpled the empty cup in his hand. Then suddenly an idea hit him.

Giving a bit of an evil smile, Aomine shifted his bottom off to the side and let out a huge fart.

BRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTT!

Aomine gave a boastful look as everyone else looked at him with either mortification or disgust (though Takao who was laughing his head off).

"DAI-CHAN!" Momoi yelled, horrified by her boyfriend's actions.

Aomine merely smiled innocently back. "What? This way we don't need to buy anything- we can use whatever we already ate as fuel."

"To think that your behavior could get even more wretched." Midorima scoffed, rolling his eyes at him. Akashi was just looking at the other table as if an interesting play was showing.

Kagami squawked in disgust. "No fucking way am I doing this!"

Aomine snorted. "You're so pathetic- you're just scared that I'll beat you."

Kuroko put down his drink as looked at his boyfriend blankly. "Taiga-kun, if you join the contest I won't sleep with you for a week."

Kagami choked at that. "I WASN'T EVEN PLANNING ON JOINING IN!"

Aomine tsked as he knew that Kagami definitely wouldn't join in now with Kuroko's threat in the air. Not only was he feeling bored but with the fifty burgers in his stomach, he was honestly feeling very gassy at that moment. Feeling bitter about losing the eating contest, he figured winning a farting contest would cheer him up.

Looking around for someone to challenge Aomine crossed them out one by one- Kagami? No, that pathetic baka. Kuroko? No, he couldn't even imagine the shadow farting. Momoi? No, she'll kill him for even asking. Midorima? No, that tsundere prick. Takao? Maybe, but he was now talking to Midorima and he was looking a bit busy. Akashi? HELL NO.

Aomine grinned as he realized that there was one last person on the list. He knew that this person was just as competitive as him and he would LOVE to see the little princess doing something so 'gross-like'.

"Hey Kise? What about you?" Aomine suggested.

Kise looked at the other in disbelief. "Me? Farting with you? That's gross Aominecchi!!!"

Aomine rolled his eyes. "You'll be farting against me. Come on, how much of a pansy are you?"

Kise screeched. "I'm not a pansy!"

Aomine snorted. "Yeah you are. What? Your royal blondness can't even man up and even let out a mere fart?" To that, Aomine accompanied it with a small fart of his own. *Prrrt!*

Kise coughed at that. "No way! I'm not joining you! You're so disgusting!"

"Wimp." Aomine sneered.

"I'm not!" Kise wailed.

"Pansy."

"Quit it!"

"Princess."

"Stop!"

"Delicate little flower."

"AOMINECCHI!"

Aomine smirked as he lightly sang out, "I guess you're too scared since you know I'd beat you anyway since I'm way more manlier than you and I AM the better basketball player..."

Kise looked angry as he slammed his hands on the table as he shot up. "FINE THEN! I'LL JOIN YOUR DUMB CONTEST AND BEAT YOU!"

Aomine grinned at the huffing Kise as the others just sighed.

"That idiot fell for it." Midorima sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

"Yup. He fell for Aomine's trap." Takao perked up, interested in the turn of events.

Akashi chuckled as he took a sip of his drink. "Let's just leave them alone and just watch what they'll do for now."

"Dai-chan, you stupid big idiot!" Momoi muttered as she shook her head in exasperation. Kuroko just kept quiet as he watched the events fold in front of him.

"Okay, let's make this the 'Whoever can fart the most' contest. So we'll take turns. We only have 1 minute for each turn to produce something. If you run out of time, you lose. And the fart has to be audible enough for everyone to hear- no silent but deadly's. The loser has to do one thing the winner tells them to do- no matter what. And, ah!" Aomine hit his fist on his hand as he gave Kise a wicked smile. "If someone accidentally shits their pants, that's an automatic disqualification and that counts as a lost."

Kise gagged. "You're disgusting!"

Kagami made a face at that as he got up. "No way am I sitting here with you two while you do this."

"I'll time each turn!" Takao offered, already searching his bag for his cellphone for a timer.

"You are all idiots." Midorima muttered under his breath.

Kise and Aomine sat across from each other as the others watched from the other table (they wanted to be as far away as they could be).

Kise's face was red as he thought about what he was about to do. He couldn't believe he was going to do something so...GROSS! He was suddenly very grateful that his boyfriend couldn't make it to their outing that day- he would never be able to live with himself if he showed Kasamatsu this side of him!

Even though Kise really didn't want to fart in front of everyone, Kise couldn't help but want to win since he wanted to beat Aomine and also be able to make the tanned man to do anything he wanted. Also, he was not a wimp or pansy or princess or even a flower!

Feeling his belly gurgle, Kise knew that he would be able to....let something out. Since he was a part-time model he usually ate very healthily. So when he had the rare chance to eat fast food, it usually made him gassy.

After flipping a coin, it was decided that Aomine would go first.

Takao held up his phone as he grinned at them widely (He was so excited when his boyfriend asked him if he wanted to come and hang out with his Teiko friends. He wanted to find out how the generation of miracles spent their private time together and was stoked that they acted just like any other immature teenagers). "Okay! We will start this contest with Aomine! One, two, three...GO!" And with that, the hawk boy hit the start button.

Aomine grinned as he gave an audible grunt and let out a large fart.

Brrrrraaaaaappppppppppp!...

Momoi scoffed in disgust as the others now turned to Kise for his turn.

Kise's heated up as he could feel everyone's stare. He could feel his hands shake a bit.

"Kise! Ten more seconds!" Takao called a warning out to him when he still did nothing.

Aomine barked out a laugh. "Are you serious? I guess I'll be the victor after just one round, huh?"

Kise glared at the brunette and took a deep breath. Thankfully, the nerves in his stomach was actually helping him in this situation.

Prrrrtttttttttttt!...

Kise could feel everyone's shocked look as he let out his hissing but audible fart. Cheeks blazing red, Kise looked defiantly back at Aomine.

The tanned man grinned back. "I'm impressed. Okay, let's do this for real now."

From there, they both spent the next five minutes exchanging gas at each other. The others just watched the pair from their table. Midorima and Momoi looked disgusted (though Momoi was secretly rooting for her boyfriend despite being mad at him). Takao, Akashi, Kagami, and Kuroko were looking intrigued at the contest (they even started to make bets with one another- Kuroko and Akashi betted on Kise while Takao and surprisingly Kagami betted on Aomine).

At almost ten minutes, Aomine and Kise were still going strong.

PPPRRRRTTTTTT!....

Aomine wriggled his eyebrows at Kise.

Bbbbbbbbbbrrrrrrtttttttttt!

Kise humphed back, having farted so much that any awkwardness that he once had was totally gone now.

BrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRTTTTT!!!

Aomine panted as he pushed out yet another fart. At the fifteen minute mark, instead of becoming more faint his farts became more and more wetter.

Brrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaappppppp!...

Aomine was now forcefully pushing out his farts. He could feel the gas bubbling in his stomach and with his last few farts, he knew he would have to go to the toilet after the contest.

PPPPRRRRRTTTTTTTT!!!!!

Kise grunted as that last fart took a bit of pushing out of him. When he started to lightly rub his stomach with his hand in order to stir more gas to push out, Aomine saw this and grinned.

"What? Having a hard time there?" Aomine said condescendingly as he pushed out yet another wet fart.

BrrrrrrrpPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!

Kise stuck his tongue out at Aomine. "No way! I have plenty more to push out!" The blond then proceeded to give a grunt.

BBBBBBBRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!

Kise panted as that was his largest fart yet. Even Aomine looked at him in astonishment before pushing out another fart of his own.

During their contest, the others were talking amongst themselves as they were still watching the duo.

"Urgh, I'm starting to smell them from here." Midorima groaned as he cupped his hand over his nose.

"Yeah you're right." Takao wrinkled his nose; he was still timing the contest.

"No offense Kuroko, Akashi, but even though I can't stand that guy I have to admit that Ahomine would win the contest." Kagami told them.

"That's right. Dai-chan's farts are getting louder and louder while Ki-chan's are starting to become more faint." Momoi agreed (she had joined the bet as well).

Kuroko shrugged his shoulder. "It's because Aomine-kun's gas is becoming stronger that I'm sure that Kise-kun will win."

Kagami frowned. "That makes no sense."

Akashi merely kept quiet as he now observed the other two who was still competing with one another.

At the almost fifteen minute mark, Aomine was sweating quite a bit at this point. The last few farts he had let go were getting quite wet sounding and at one point he thought something more than gas had come out. But instead of listening to the warning his body was giving him, he decided to ignore it and keep pushing on- he was gonna win dammit!

Ppppprrrrrrttttttttt!

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrtttttttttt!

Pppppppprrrrrrrrrrrtttttt!

BRRRRRPPP-!

Aomine silently gasped as he cut his last fart short. He swore that something more than gas had poked out just then. Looking at the others, he was relieved that none of them noticed his panic.

He knew it was only a matter of time where he would have to take a dump soon, but as he looked up to see Kise struggling to push out his fart Aomine figured that he just had to push out just a few more farts and then he would win.

Kise rubbed his stomach as he let go another of his farts. He was starting to run out of gas and soon he would have to excuse himself to use the restroom. But Kise decided to keep going since he knew that he still had a little more left in him.

It was once again Aomine's turn at the twenty minute mark. But instead of just letting one fly automatically, Aomine had to stall a bit. He could feel something in his ass turtleheading and he was really worried that something solid would come out instead. As he thought of a way to fart without having an accident, the time began to wheedle down.

"Aomine! Fifteen seconds!" Takao called out as a warning.

Kise grinned, seeing the panicked look on his opponent's face. "What's wrong Aominecchi? Ran out already?"

Pissed off, Aomine flipped Kise off before barking out a laugh. "Hell no. This will be the biggest fart yet- get ready to lose Kise!" Forgetting his worried, Aomine then spread his legs out a bit and bent his knees. He grunted loudly and pushed.

Unfortunately, that was the wrong thing for him

BRRRRRAAAAAAAPPPPPPPP-SPLAT!

Everyone froze and stared at Aomine.

Aomine had the look of shock present on his face. When he had pushed, all the gas came out and in his bent position, he could feel more than gas leave him.

With the slimy feeling in his shorts, Aomine groaned as he held his stomach. Cursing, Aomine sent a smug Kise a dark glare before rushing off to the toilets before even more came out.

The others watched as Aomine ran away, with a brown stain visible on the back of his shorts.

They were all silent for a minute before Momoi groaned, "That idiot. He's lucky that he has an extra pair of clothes here."

Midorima scoffed before fanning the air with his scented-tissue. "Oha-Asa did say that Virgos ranked last today."

Takao was laughing hysterically as he closed his phone- the truth was, he was actually filming the entire contest as he was timing them. He wondered who he should send the video to.

Kagami was laughing just as much as Takao was, "That Aho totally deserves to shit his pants!"

Kuroko sighed as he shook his head. "I knew this would happen. With how strong his flatulence became, it was only a matter of time before an accident occurred."

Akashi only smiled as he counted his winnings.

Kise was jumping up and down in happiness. He won! He WON! He had finally beaten Aomine at something (yes, it was in farting but at least it was SOMETHING!)

Momoi watched Kise doing a little happy dance before asking him, "Ne, Ki-chan? What will you ask Dai-chan to do since you won?"

Kise stopped dancing as he gave her a wink. "Aominecchi is not allowed to look at anything related to porn for the next 2 months! I was going to let it be forever but I had to be realistic here."

Momoi sparkled at that. It was no secret how much she hated her boyfriend's MaiMai collection. "Good thinking, Ki-chan!"

Kise grinned before he suddenly grimaced. He held his stomach as it started to cramp. He couldn't help but release a fart to lessen the pain.

BRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTTTT!...

Kise panted as he flushed a bit. "Ah, excuse me!"

Midorima raised an eyebrow at that. "Now you finally decide to show some manners?"

*Prrrrttttt* Kise giggled at Midorima even as a smaller fart came out of him. "Sorry guys, I gotta head to the restroom for a bit. I don't wanna end up like Aominecchi!" Before he could leave, Momoi stopped him for a moment.

"Ah! Ki-chan, can you bring Dai-chan his change of clothes since you're going?" Momoi asked. Kise nodded and took the clothes. Waving his hand, Kise jogged away to the restroom, giving out little toots along the way.

Kise had beaten Aomine in a farting contest. And it felt good in more ways than one.

(=^w^=)**************************

As soon as Kise entered the restroom, he immediately wanted to go out. It smelled like a sewage dump with rotten eggs. The only thing stopping Kise was he himself was going to add to the stink soon, his bottom already pushing out a now wetter pre-poop fart.

The restroom was pretty small with only three stalls. Hearing wet fart noises and splashes from the middle stall, Kise automatically knew where Aomine was.

Hurrying towards the stall, Kise knocked on the door. Aomine groaned loudly and shouted, "This stall is obviously-mph...Ahh! It's busy, bastard! Go use another toilet!"

Kise coughed once at the smell before calling out, "Aominecchi! Momoi gave me your spare clothes for you to change into."

"Ah, Kise?" Aomine paused for a moment before letting out a loud grunt. *Prrrrrttttttttttttt!* "Ugh, yeah thanks for the clothes. Just slip them under the stall, will ya?"

"Okay!" Kise chirped and he lowered the bundle the clothes under the stall. As he did this, Kise accidentally caught a glimpse at Aomine's pants and boxers that were pooled around the others ankles. The blond couldn't help but grimace as he saw the brown mess.

Feeling his own stomach rumbling dangerously, Kise rushed to the next stall on the right to Aomine. Very glad that he was wearing his basketball shorts and didn't have to deal with any buttons or zippers, Kise shoved his shorts and boxers down in time for him to explode.

Kise gasped loudly in relief, as wave after wave of poop rushed out of him. Aomine, who could obviously hear him from the next stall, paused in his own crapping to shoot a glance at his right in disbelief.

"My god, Kise. Never again will I see you the same way again." Aomine shook his head, moaning as another log dropped out.

Kise laughed at that. "Yeah, I think that goes for everyone here-Ah!" He groaned as a wet fart left him.

BBBBBRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAPPPPPP!...

"Dammit! I can't-urghhh....believe I lost!" Aomine yelled.

Kise couldn't help but grin. "I guess I'm more manlier than you, ne Aomine?"

Aomine snorted. "As if."

The both of them spent the next fifteen minutes pushing out all the excrement from their bodies.  (The other park goers who was unfortunate to enter the restroom quickly went out due to the disgusting smell and noise).

When Kise let out the last splutter of his poop, he sighed as he felt that he was finally empty. As he began to wipe himself up, Aomine unfortunately was still going strong (the fifty burgers he ate prior was definitely coming back with a vengeance).

When Kise exited the stall and washed his hands in the sink, he turned to leave the restroom. But as he headed out, he turned back inside and sang out teasingly, "Ah! And Aominecchi! Since I won our contest, you have do to do any one thing I tell you to do. So, for the next two months you're not allowed to even LOOK at anything related to porn- Momoicchi has even agreed to make sure you won't. Bye-Bye!"

Kise grinned very widely as he heard Aomine's wail of despair as he exited the restroom.

All in all, it was a good day.

(=^w^=)**************************

TWO WEEKS LATER

"Yukiocchi! I'm here!" Kise yelled as he barged into his boyfriend's dorm room. He saw his boyfriend lying on his bed, looking at something on his phone. Kise immediately pouted as he was clearly ignored and dived into the bed to cuddle with his boyfriend.

"Ne, ne. What's so good on your phone that you can't even greet your boyfriend? I travelled all the way here to see you!" Kise whined.

Kasamatsu merely looked at Kise with a look of amusement mixed with disbelief. Kise looked back at him, confused. "What's wrong, Yukiocchi?"

His boyfriend's face was definitely full of amusement now. "I just received a very interesting video that was sent by Shuutoku's point guard- I'm only partway through watching it though. And I have to say, I never expected you were capable of this."

Kise was even more confused now. Shuutoku's point guard...Takao? What video could Takao possibly have of him?

Seeing his boyfriend's uncomprehending look, Kasamatsu shifted his phone a bit so his blond boyfriend could see and pressed play.

Kise looked at the phone screen and saw it was a video of not only him but also Aomine...at the park? With basketball courts around? But when did this....NO.

Kise's eyes widened in horror as he finally realized what he was watching. Before he could stop the video, he saw himself give a loud grunt as he pushed his bottom out a bit.

BBBBBBBRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Kise's face was completely red as his boyfriend starting to laugh at his expression. "Really Kise, I didn't know my boyfriend had all of that in him." Kasamatsu teased, poking Kise in the stomach.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! How did Takaocchi film that?! DELETE IT NOW!" Kise cried as he tried to swipe the phone away from his boyfriend.

Kasamatsu merely dodged him as he kept laughing. "No way- I'm definitely keeping this so I can always remember that you really are human. Besides, as soon I realized the content of this video I immediately sent the video to my other accounts so it wouldn't matter anyway if you delete it here." He said with a sly grin. Hearing more farts on the video, Kasamatsu added in a teasing voice, "So I guess you wouldn't want any take-out from that Mexican place tonight, huh?"

"WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH! YUKIOCCHI!!!"

[kxwamx-escalation]

極グリードのレビュー || 仮面ライダービルド 1

Hey guys, long time no posting!! KiwamiGreeed is back again with KiwamiGreeed Reviews!! Today, after a much shorter than usual wait, we’re looking at Kamen Rider Build, episode one! Kyaaa, I’m so excited~~~ Let’s begins the expirement with episode one, “These Are The Best Matched Guys!”!!

So, the episode starts out with them finding Pandora’s Box on Mars (hm, wonder if they ran into Fourze along the way~), and someone rushing to the box on Earth to touch it, causing the Skywalls to appear. Now, this is just my theory, but I’m thinking the guy who touched it is NightRouge! We know that the third of the country they’re in is supposed to focus on “traditional pasifisim”, but... well, look at this guy! Does this look like he’s “peaceful” to you?!

Speaking of NightRouge, he looks SO COOL!! The mask, those legs, everything about him screams “antagonist”, and it’s cool that we’re seeing our main villain so early. I don’t think that’s happened since Showa! 

We get our first glimpse of the suit before the title card. Let me just say, Build is BEAUTIFUL! We’re back to traditional bug looking riders, and they’ve never looked better. I’m not even bothered by the yellow on the belt, the rest just looks so cool!!

After we see the suit, we’re finally introduced to our main protagonist, Kiryu Sento! Eh, this isn’t the most flattering picture, but that’s not important. What is important is that he’s finally not a goody two-shoes!! I was craving another Haruto, and thank goodness we seem to finally have one! Sento-kun is a genius, who has (and I’m quoting the writers) “the highest IQ of any Kamen Rider”. HA!! I’d like to see him go up against Hongo Takeshi-san himself, he has a 600 IQ! 

I’m being harsh. Anyways, he has a friend named Misora Isurugi, who sadly doesn’t get much characterization beyond being sleepy and needed to create the FullBottles. She also has the world’s WORST fashion sense. Like, geez girl, do you need me to shop for you? Anyways, her father, Soichi Isurugi, owns the cafe from Kiva- ah, I mean, café nascita, which is where Sento-kun is living. He talks to Sento-kun, revealing to us that Sento-kun has amnesia. (Oh, is that you, Toshiki Inoue?) Sento-kun’s memories have been wiped, literally all twenty-some years of his life completely gone, except for human experimentation, gas masks, and “a bat man”, who is clearly shown to be NightRouge. Isurugi-kun then says...

To which Sento-kun replies with...

Huh! I’m not sure what you guys are thinking, but I’m betting that Sento-kun was a Smash! If they don’t remember anything when they turn back, then it’s very likely that he was a Smash. But if I’m right, how did he turn back? Was there another Build before him? Kyaaa, I’m so curious!!! Let me know your secrets, Build~~

So, Sento-kun goes to his new job at Touto Institute of Advanced Matter Physics, which we saw before the title card, but I’m only mentioning now because the head of the institute, Gentoku Himuro, gives Sento-kun more information about Pandora’s Box.

I have to wonder how true that is... Are the Smash in any other parts of the country? Is Pandora’s Box the reason for the Smash, or were the Smash created to protect Pandora’s Box? Also, why is it so obvious that Himuro is NightRouge?

We cut away from Obvious Evil Organization, to...

Hiroki Nagase?! RUN, CHIHIRO IS COMING TO EAT YOU, AND HE HAS A WHOLE PACK OF REPRESSED DADDY ISSUES!!!

Nah, it’s just his actor, playing Ryuga Banjou. A former pro boxer, he’s running away from prison. He’s in there for having supposedly murdered a scientist. But what a way to introduce yourself, abs out and everything!! I could stare at him all day, all wet and half naked...

Kyaaa, I have to get back on focus!!!

Wait, just one more tanget... WHY DOES P-BANDAI WANT ME TO PAY 6,480 YEN FOR THIS SHIRT?! He literally found it in the trash!!

OKAY, back to the show. So, Sento-kun hunts Banjou-kun down, almost killing him by making him fall of the bike (“I’m a pasifist,” my foot!), and they have a very brief fight (no suits required!!) but then Banjou-kun, in a fit of rage grabs Sentou-kun’s collar, and looks into his eyes while shouting passionately, and... and...

Ahem... anyways... um where was I...? OH, right, a Smash suddenly attacks. To be fair to Banjou-kun, he does try to fight it!

... And also to be fair, his actor said in interviews that Banjou-kun is quite stupid.

That’s Sento-kun’s nice way of saying “you’re an even bigger idiot than I thought”.

So, Sento-kun shows up, shakes his FullBottles, and we finally see the full transformation...

AND IT’S SO COOL! It’s Neo-Heisei flashy, and it goes into that gorgeous suit!! He’s such a handsome boy, even if the boy inside isn’t... as cute as some other main riders.

He always looks so tired. I think he needs a nap more than Misora-chan.

At least Banjou-kun seems into it. Like, really into it.

And I’m not gonna spoil it for you, but the fight scene is so amazing!! Build has the cocky attitude of someone like Wizard, and he’s so cool with his movements, and his form changing is very interesting! A bit like Double, but with only one person. Gosh, I love fight scenes in Kamen Rider!

After the fight, Sento-kun suddenly has a flashback, to where he was outside the cafe, asking who he was. I’m not sure if he had this memory before, but it’s super interesting!! Gosh, I hope they don’t dump the memories on us all at once. Banjou-kun once again starts yelling at Sento-kun, distressed and desperately wanting to know who he is, claiming innocence from the murder. He grabs onto Build, but then they hear police cars pulling up.

Hey, don’t interrupt them!! They need to have a moment to be romantic, maybe work out their feelings on each other. There’s a lot of adrenaline going through them, I bet~...

ACK, I have to get back on track!! Anyways, the Touto Institute wants Build to turn in Banjou-kun, and Bajou-kun, in response, yells that he didn’t kill anyone, and while he might be dumb, he knows that he’s innocent. I have to hand it to him, he’s so brave, knowing he’s probably gonna get gunned down, but he still wanted to stand for what he believed, which is exactly what Kamen Rider is about!

Sento-kun didn’t react at first, other than saying he was in a terrible situation, before finally...

He doesn’t even know Banjou-kun all that well, but he’s still saving him. THAT’S what a Kamen Rider truly is! After some cool bike stunts...

And the most relatable face in all of television today, Build is now a fugitive. Sento-kun briefly laments over this, but...

KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~~~~~~ IT’S SO PERFECT~~~~~~~ THEY’RE SO PASSIONATE AND IT’S ONLY EPISODE ONE!!!! I CAN’T HANDEL IT!!!! THEY’RE SO PERFECT AND WONDERFUL AND HEATED~~~~

A-Ah, sorry. W-Where was I?

Oh yeah, Sento-kun admitting that he saw Banjou-kun’s fly down the entire fight, but didn’t tell him. Hm, enjoying the veiw, Build? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

And that was episode one!

What an amazing first episode!! I’m so happy that this first episode was so much more captivating than Ex-Aid’s first episode. A lot of cool mysteries are being set up, and I can’t wait to figure them out.

Of course, the heated drama between men never hurts. Oh, it never, ever hurts at all...

See y’all next week, when I review episode 2!!

<3 <3 <3 極グリード KiwamiGreeed <3 <3 <3

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 9/5/17

Super mega briefs!

Aho-Girl, Vol. 2 | By Hiroyuki | Kodansha Comics -This is a 4-koma gag comic, so does not really rely on character or plot development. You just need funny gags. In this case, the gags rely on the main cast being absolute idiots. And to the manga’s credit, they are. If the cast were even a tiny bit less dumb, the whole series would merely be tedious. But everyone, especially the title girl, quadruples down on the stupidest possible outcome to any situation, and it just works. We do see a new girl here, who seems to like cute girls but may simply be as eccentric as everyone else. As for Sayaka, even given the fact that every gag comic needs a straight man, you still feel bad she’s in this series. Maybe she can go hang out with Nanase from Book Girl. – Sean Gaffney

Anne Happy, Vol. 6 | By Cotoji | Yen Press – Once again, there are hints that while the rest of the class has some random bad luck, Hanako’s bad luck—as well as her terminal case of Pollyanna optimism—may have a more sinister origin. I also get the sense, given the various hints we’re given in this volume, that their teacher is a former student of the unlucky class. In any case, we get the usual vague mixture of amusing and heartwarming, as Hibari thinks too much, Botan tries a bit too hard, and Hibiki is an absolute mess. I admit that I’m grateful for the hints of an ongoing plot regarding Hanako, mostly as otherwise this series doesn’t quite get along entirely on pure charm. You want it to be going somewhere, and for now I will trust that it is. – Sean Gaffney

A Centaur’s Life, Vol. 12 | By Kei Murayama | Seven Seas – Once again, I get the feeling that A Centaur’s Life is just a thin excuse for the author to do whatever he feels like doing every chapter. We get more action-packed dramatic flashbacks with death and maiming, framed as the cast visiting a natural history museum to look at their ancestors. We get romantic comedy hijinks, with crushes on guys and the like. We get more chapters that examine how typical Japanese events would work in the Centaur’s Life world, such as idol groups and faked ghost stories (or is it fake?). The best chapter in the book involves the cast having a mostly serious discussion on the concept of heaven, and why if you try to dig too deep to analyze heaven it just gets disturbing. As variable as ever. – Sean Gaffney

Chihayafuru, Vol. 4 | By Yuki Suetsugu | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – I love how Suetsugu-sensei uses Chihaya’s continued passion for karuta to get Arata to admit that he still loves the game. When they were kids, he was the one who introduced her to the game, and now she’s the one who brings him back to it, first by sending him updates on Mizusawa High’s progress through the Tokyo qualifiers, which has him refreshing his inbox every ten seconds for the results, and then by moving on to nationals at a venue that brings up memories of his grandfather. We learn more about what happened with his grandpa’s health, and it’s awful and sad, but learning that others look forward to seeing his grandpa’s style through him begins to clear up his guilt somewhat. Perhaps he can honor his grandpa best by continuing to play? I love this series so much. – Michelle Smith

Drifters, Vol. 4 | By Kohta Hirano | Dark Horse Comics – It has been three-and-a-half years since the last volume of Drifters came out in North America. That said, with a series like this I’m not sure it matters much. Sure, I’d forgotten literally everything going on in the previous books, and we don’t even get a ‘what has gone before’ page at the front. But I mean, this is Kohta Hirano. Is there lots of fighting? Oh yes. Some bloody killings? Definitely. Insane grins? By the bucketful. The whole manga is just an excuse for all of those things, and therefore it seems churlish to criticize the fact that the plot doesn’t really go anywhere, or that female characters are either absent or objectified. Recommended if you loved Hellsing, otherwise easily skippable. – Sean Gaffney

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 19 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | Viz Media – This volume is interesting, but it does give off a bit of a sense of filler, as we slowly advance through Azami’s plan to remake the school in his twisted image. Much to my surprise, Ryo’s battle does not go the way I assumed it would, and this leads to a number of satisfying scenes. There’s also the confirmation, which I think most readers have guessed by now, that Alice was in fact trying to contact Erina all along, and her letters were blocked all these years. The most dangerous battle may be the new one Soma has with #1 seat Tsukasa. They turn out to work very well together, almost like a well-oiled machine… which leads to Tsukasa offering to let Soma join Central. Some, of course, refuses… but will he regret it? Always good. – Sean Gaffney

Giant Killing, Vol. 5 | By Masaya Tsunamoto and Tsujitomo | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – East Tokyo United has lost the first several games of the season, and fans and management are starting to voice their displeasure. Now ETU is facing Nagoya, a team with three talented Brazilian players. But Tatsumi has spotted Nagoya’s one weakness and worked out a plan to exploit it. Seeing the team working together and their defense holding strong is a lot of fun, but their faces when they finally manage to score are the best bit. Tsubaki has talent, but he’s been inconsistent so far. Now, he seems to be playing without hesitation, and when he scores first ETU’s first goal, his expression conveys both his relief and a sense of atonement for past mistakes. There just seems to be more on the line than is usual in sports manga, and I was thoroughly caught up in the action until it was abruptly over. Highly recommended! – Michelle Smith

Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You, Vol. 27 | By Karuho Shiina | VIZ Media – Inspired by Sawako’s ability to honestly discuss her thoughts and feelings, Kazehaya tries a similar approach with his gruff father concerning his university plans. The situation remains unresolved until Kazehaya’s mother tells him about a special drawer wherein he discovers that his father has saved everything Kazehaya ever gave him. “You do make your dad happy. You really do. He just doesn’t show it.” Sniff! I didn’t know I needed to see them achieve an understanding, but apparently I did. After Sawako makes her decision about where she’s going to school, the focus shifts back to Ayane and her heartache over Pin, who she is convinced will never look at her romantically. It’s great to see her feeling love, after she doubted that she could, whatever the outcome. This is still such a great series! – Michelle Smith

Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl, Vol. 3 | By Canno | Yen Press – Shiramine and Kurosawa have entered their second year and evidently still aren’t a couple, despite the occasional smooch that transpires between them. Shiramine is still not particularly likable, but she’s a bit more tolerable this time around, and has managed to defeat Kurosawa by one point on an English exam. There’s some question about whether she herself is special, or whether Kurosawa would take anyone who could make her feel like a regular girl, but this question is answered when Kurosawa is roped into the gardening club due simply to sheer proximity and not for her talents. She ends up staying, and dragging Shiramine into it, but mostly the second half of the volume deals with the other two members of the club. Although it’s still not as good as some schoolgirl yuri I’ve read recently (Bloom Into You), I think this series might be improving. – Michelle Smith

Kuroko’s Basketball, Vols. 13-14 | By Tadatoshi Fujimaki | Viz Media – Seirin vs. To-Oh is the main thrust of this volume, and it’s just as exciting as you might imagine, even if it’s tough to find words to describe it. As with most sports manga, you tend to define it as “good sports happens in these pages,” so even in an omnibus I struggle to say much more than “wow, he really got stronger!” or “did you see that shot?”. There is a hot springs section at the start of the book, which gives the teams a chance to casually taunt each other before the game, and also some primo fanservice, exactly the sort that young boys will want to see. There’s also some flashbacks to Kuroko’s middle-school days, mostly to give more depth to Aomine. Basketball happens. But it’s really good basketball. -Sean Gaffney

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 25 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | Viz Media – Well, we do get some Morgiana, my wish from the previous brief, but not a lot. Instead, Harukyuu is the focus of this 25th volume, which is both good and bad. Bad in that he turns to darkness, letting his anger rule him, mind-controlling soldiers and deciding murder is the best solution. Good in that the way this is handled turns out to be some of the best writing in the series, and a highlight of the volume. And honestly, if you’re going to try to murder someone, it’s hard to go wrong with his mother Gyokuen, who is smug in the best possible way, and even gets a few Higurashi faces here. (That’s her on the cover.) As for Alibaba, well, he’s headed over there, and I expect he and Harukyuu are going to clash horribly next book. – Sean Gaffney

My Love Story!!, Vol. 13 | By Kazune Kawahara and Aruko | VIZ Media – There are many shoujo romances that end with a reunion after a long separation, but My Love Story!! tackles this a little differently, showing us how tough the time apart was for Yamato and how hard she and Takeo are working to be able to get into the same college. Their romance stuff was nice, but honestly, the hero of the volume is Sunakawa, who keeps Takeo on track with studying, personally taking charge of his tutoring, and making good on a promise to smack Takeo if he ever does something really stupid. I loved that the creators took the time here at the end to emphasize what a special friend he is. I’ll miss this series, but Kawahara-sensei did say “it might be nice to write more of this story someday” in her final author’s note, so make of that what you will! – Michelle Smith

Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn, Vol. 8 | By Shirow Masamune and Rikudou Koushi | Seven Seas – Not as many amusing cameos this time around, and wrapping up one plot and starting another means there’s a lot of awkward transition in the middle. Also, we get more than one “activation” sequence, because kids these days can’t get enough of faux vaginal fingering. Still, I would hope kids these days would not be allowed anywhere near Pandora. The main cast does get to show off, and Nene in particular shows that she’s really something special even among this cast that seems to have a lot of special people and/or machines. Oh yes, and we also get a glimpse of the big bads, who combine Nazi imagery AND Illuminati imagery. If you like saying “wtf?” a lot, Pandora is for you. – Sean Gaffney

Vampire Knight: Memories, Vol. 1 | By Matsuri Hino | Viz Media – I will grant you that Vampire Knight left some open endings, and it’s nice to see those gone into. Still, when you see an author’s next series after their huge hit cancelled after two volumes, and then they return with a spinoff of that old series, it’s hard not to cringe. The best part of this book, even if it’s really bittersweet, is between Aido and Wakaba. It’s clear they both have deep feelings for each other, but it’s also clear that Wakaba does not want to be a vampire, and therefore this romance just isn’t going to happen. It’s an interesting look at the issues semi-immortality brings. The chapters with Yuki interested me less, mostly as they deal with her post-vampiric personality. VK fans will like this, most others will find it superfluous. – Sean Gaffney

By: Michelle Smith

[nicolasninenien]

Singaporean Paradigm

Statistically, Singapore’s education system has produced outputs of stellar academic results over the last few years, beating many illustrious international academic institutions. I must admit, the system is indeed an excellent one in providing a world-class education.

However, although it’s ranking in the international field is remarkably astounding, it comes with a heavy price upon those giving the end product. Not too long ago, I read an article about an 11 year old boy who committed suicide because he did not meet his parents’ academic expectation. This is indeed a tragic story; that young boy had a promising future ahead of him but it was taken away simply because of an ingrained culture that sweeps every Asian sub-conscience. Elitism 101.

The stress on excellent academic performance is crucial in Singapore. As such, this attitude spawned many ‘Tiger mums’ and ‘Lombardi dads’ to go crazy on their kids at a very young age, enrolling them to specialised tuition centres, music and art classes. In result, this emboldens the child’s capabilities and skill sets, enabling them to perform extremely well in schools. However, we must not neglect the silent few, the ones who can’t cope with such a system. Well, I was one of them.

I was a late bloomer. I was fascinated with cartoons and was rather mischievous in tuition classes (surprisingly, I was well-behaved in school though I do get punished in school at times). I was not interested in the Maths and sciences, I had no intention of even doing the assignments and homework given to me. I was a kid, I wanted to have fun playing with my friends. However, my parents reception to my behaviour was not well received. They placed me in many numerous classes, during the weekdays and the weekends. The tutors did their best but their efforts were futile, I still failed most of my subjects. As such, it really hit me and I thought that maybe I was dumb. I actually believed that I was stupid, incapable of thinking and logical rationalisation. In turn, my esteem was shattered pretty hard. When I was 12, I received my Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) results of 163. I still remembered the look on my mother’s face, a face I could not bear to see. A face that projected sheer disappointment and anguish.

The look on her face stirred my emotions quickly, without hesitation. I thought my life was over. “This was it, I’m such a loser”. Those kinds of sentiments rushed through my head, inside the wandering mind of a 12 year old kid. I felt lost and hopeless. However, that did not deter me. I gazed upon my mother’s face with a rousing determination: I made a bet with her. “I will enter the Express Stream”. She nodded without much enthusiasm.

As such, I entered secondary school with a drive to excel. I wasted no time with work. I wanted to be the best in all aspects, no matter what. Finally, at secondary 2, I was no longer in the Normal Academic Stream (NA). I was promoted to the Express Stream. It was glorious, a gamble I made that came true. I still remember the moment of elation when I received the news in the classroom. My efforts were not in vain.

Upper secondary came along, it was smooth sailing from the start. It seemed as though everything was in my favour, no obstacles, no barriers. As such, I was doomed from the start. My egoism mounted and my cynicism grew, I thought I could beat anyone in my class (or even the whole Express cohort). I wanted to prove what I was capable of, a former Normal Academic student. I wanted to beat them all. However, things came spiralling down. I was caught up with duties and responsibilities with my Co-Curricular Activities (CCA) in the Prefectorial Board and the National Cadet Corp (Land). I fought with my dear tuition teacher (Ms Yen) as I always made excuses for not accomplishing work given to me. I always feel guilty about that. Then one day, our amazing chemistry from lower secondary fell apart. I did not see her anymore. That’s where I made one of the greatest blunders in my whole academic life, I chose to join a class recommended by a friend of mine. That tutor, his name was Alvin Tan.

I came for his classes. He was so full of himself who talked about his academic achievements in the past, a braggart who manipulated feelings of his students to make them feel weak and useless, even to the extent of breaking friendships that altered and brewed tensions between former allies by creating unnecessary rivalry. I trusted him. He broke me to my very core. He told me I wasn’t suited for the A-level course. He was so wrong.

In the end, I got a raw score of 17 L1R5 for the GCE O-Levels and headed my way to Innova Junior College up north in Woodlands. I came with an idea of recreating myself, to forget the horrid past of Post O-Levels by establishing a wild and passionate persona. It did not go well. Well, things were easy at first. Then came along the real deal, the dreadful lectures and tutorials. Interestingly, as the months go by, my interests in the respective subjects that I was studying was reinforced while simultaneously dreading the work to be done. It was not a pleasant ride. I had a huge circle of friends at first which slowly deteriorated as the months go by. I fought with certain friends in the Student Council (not gonna state their names) and felt extremely vulnerable.

As such, the environment then felt very hostile as I felt alienated and isolated. I felt lonely, physically and emotionally. I was torn apart. Friends come and go, small talks here and there. Cliques everywhere. I felt as though I didn’t belong. What if Alvin Tan was right all along? Am I really not capable of conquering A-levels? Everything seemed so bleak, I did not have the answers. I mixed myself with a girl I thought I was in love with (dumped her in the end though, we were nothing much). It was all too much.

Until one special afternoon, a question that will forever change the course of my JC experience: “Nic, wanna go Wild Wild Wet with us?”. Everything blossomed, I got close with Asaad, Haziq and Ashleey (which at first seemed to unlikely) and they treated me like family. We laughed, we ate together, we played together, we studied together. Everything was doing just fine (well, not in the academic sense).

It was a long and winding road towards the A-levels, we (mostly Asaad and I) clocked in day in and day out in the library. Studying and mugging every concepts, notes, facts and abstract ideas for our essays. We were all sick and tired of failing (I received a rank point of 17 for Prelims) and we felt miserable. However, the company was great. Just the guys studying (sometimes productively) in the library towards one specific goal, conquering A-levels. That’s where we grew closer and stronger as we headed towards the final countdown.

This is where the story of my formal education ends. Well, you may ask how did I fair for the A-levels. I must say, not too good. I got a 60 Rank Point which was pretty average (though I couldn’t get into a local university). Believe me, A-levels was not easy. It was a suicidal course. However, I did took up the challenge where some may say I couldn’t do it (even Ms Yen doubted me). People may say that getting a 60 for 2 years of studying ain’t worthwhile. Well, I disagree. I’ve learnt so many things beyond the classroom. The notion of accountability and responsibility, the power of resilience and attitude, the will to smile through the times of hardships. I learnt that on my own. No teacher taught me that. Life was my teacher. It gave me a hard lesson these past few years in the Singaporean System.

I am eternally grateful to my teachers, those that were kind and patient, those that were brutally straight forward and honest, those that even question my very sanity. I thank them sincerely. Without them, I wouldn’t be typing this out. Throughout my academic life as a student in Singapore, I must say…

I was the victor and the victim. I had my moments of achievements and numerous failures. In these failures, I learnt the importance of humility because I know what it feels like being a complete loser. It sucks tremendously. It breaks your mind and soul, it leaves you in the dark begging for an answer to your perceived predicament. However, life itself is a dimension filled with endless possibilities. As long as you and I are still breathing, we can make the best out of our lives. As a kid, I thought failure was the end of the world. Everything felt like it was collapsing. Failure is an inevitable condition in the human experience. One must embrace it, one must remain calm and composed in the face of great adversities for life is a great big bubble of ambiguity. Our choices does not necessarily define you, it is what you do even when life seemed to be dead wrong. Respond difficulties with kindness and compassion for it shall be returned to the giver. What goes around what comes around.

Throughout this journey, I’ve met a lot of intelligent people. Oh, remembered the aforementioned 'Elitism 101’ nonsense? Well, there are those who were intelligent and there were those who mixed intelligence with blatant arrogance and disconcerting vanity. These people are those who belittle others, who mistreat them saying that they aren’t in the same level as them, in terms of intellectual capacity. Not the same level? That’s true. You know why? Intelligence is not solely got to do with numbers, concepts and statistics. There are different types of intelligence these elitist high horses need to comprehend. Schools test nothing about intelligence. They do not teach. They forgot to teach and thus we forgot to learn. We were instead forced to memorised in order to get an A for a damn certificate. People, don’t mix yourselves to these narrow-minded freaks. Don’t you dare say you’re stupid or whatsoever. You deserve everything in the world and what it has to offer, no one can tell you different. No one. Not even your parents, your siblings, your teachers and your friends. Intelligence and sheer memorisation, two different entities. Totally different things. You’re neither dumb nor stupid. You’re different and be yourself. Be original. Be you.

So, there you have it people, this is the Singaporean Paradigm, a perspective from a student and his great academic adventure from primary school to junior college, a great emotional rollercoaster that was worthwhile riding. It’s time to move along, to a next chapter of my life.

Thank you for everything, MOE

Sincerely, The Traumatised Teen

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 5/21/18

Anonymous Noise, Vol. 8 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | Viz Media – This was more of a band volume than a romantic triangle volume, and I appreciated that. Momo and Yuzu have to learn here that in order to survive, they have to write songs that are for other people, as well as songs that occasionally make compromises—such as being easier to sing. They do this by running into two annoying idols whose annoyingness turns out to be half front (and half being annoying). Elsewhere, Miou is having trouble dealing with being in a relationship when she’s still in love with Yuzu, and tries to deal with both issues at the same time, with limited success. And as if that weren’t enough, BATTLE OF THE BANDS again. Shojo’s Beat’s most addictive potboiler. – Sean Gaffney

Baccano!, Vol. 3 | By Ryohgo Narita, Shinta Fujimoto and Katsumi Enami | Yen Press – This final volume of the manga is a relatively straightforward adaptation of the first volume, with a few Easter Eggs thrown in for hardcore novel fans, such as a flashforward to Firo and Ennis’ wedding (Christopher! Rail! People blocked by an annoying arm!). Of course, the manga is cagey about when that wedding takes place—trust me, it’ll be a while. As for other aspects of the adaptation, it’s worth noting that Enami more than the anime or the novels is making Isaac and Miria explicitly a romantic couple rather than a mere comedy double act. There’s some really sweet moments here that shows off their love. Baccano! fans who saw the anime and read the novels will want this too. – Sean Gaffney

Black Clover, Vol. 11 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – There’s a lot going on here, and as always with Black Clover very little of it will take you by surprise. We see brainwashed villains overcoming it (as well as villains in love), Asta manages to control his anti-magic and become more powerful, and an arrogant sneering villain gets to apologize. We also see Vanessa face off against the Queen of Witches, which gives us a nice opportunity to talk about how much Jump loves found families. A whole lot. The whole is not greater than the sum of its parts—honestly, the whole is about the same as the parts—and I suspect I’ll forget what happened in this volume before the next. But I do enjoy Black Clover as I read it. It’s dumb fun. – Sean Gaffney

The Bride Was a Boy | By Chii | Seven Seas – It probably isn’t much of a surprise that The Bride Was a Boy was one of the manga releases that I was most looking forward to this year. It’s fairly rare in translated manga to see realistically portrayed characters who are transgender, but rarer still is the opportunity to read a manga that is both about and by someone who actually is transgender. The Bride Was a Boy is the autobiography of Chii. It’s an adorably sweet manga about her experiences as a transwoman in Japan, including aspects of her transition and her marriage to her wonderful husband. Some may criticize the work for being too free of conflict–that it doesn’t adequately show the hardships that so many transgender people face–but it’s incredibly refreshing to see such a charming and positive work. Happy, hopeful stories about transgender lives are valuable and important to have, too. – Ash Brown

Chihayafuru, Vol. 11 | By Yuki Suetsugu | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Mizusawa’s karuta club has earned a spot at the national tournament no matter what happens in their final match against Hokuou, though it’s still a disappointment when they don’t come away with the victory. Part of the problem is that Chihaya is looking ahead to her next game against Shinobu and spends the entire first half trying to improve her accuracy rather than relying on her real strength—having a higher number of “one-character cards” than anyone else. I love that her resulting funk is short-lived and that her perseverance also serves as an inspiration for her sister, who’s having a bit of a career crisis. After a nice bit of encouragement from the wind instruments club, the gang is off to nationals. I consistently love this series more with every volume and don’t foresee that ever changing. – Michelle Smith

Delicious in Dungeon, Vol. 5 | By Ryoko Kui| Yen Press – The joy of getting Falin back lasts for about five pages into this fifth volume, and I hope you weren’t looking forward to her as part of the team. But no, instead we get a new villain, the “Lunatic Magician,” who shows the reader what they had guessed all along—Falin came back wrong. Hopefully we’ll see more of her later, but for the moment our heroes have to go back to the surface—they’ve finally gone as far as they can living off the dungeon. We also meet a few other groups, some of whom are familiar with Laos and company, and learn that Laos and Falin are viewed as… rather creepy by everyone else in the area. The series is getting darker, but I’m still enjoying the places it’s going. – Sean Gaffney

Everyone’s Getting Married, Vol. 8 | By Izumi Miyazono | Viz Media – The series proves to be very good at looking at multiple aspects of a long term, non-married relationship, and that’s good news for the reader but bad news for Asuka, who has to deal with her workplace hearing she’s involved, and thus demoting her as they expect her to leave to be a housewife. This is so very, very Japan and it’s sad that everyone treats it as “yeah, that’s what happens.” Asuka and Ryu try their best, but she’s also hammered on by the folks in the United States that they need Ryu to be there—and not with Asuka. As such, the end of this volume is sad but inevitable. Fortunately, it’s not the end of the series. This was a bit excruciating, but well told. – Sean Gaffney

Haikyu!!, Vol. 23 | By Haruichi Furudate | Viz Media – This is the second volume in a row not to deal with the main Karasuno club, as we’re still playing out Nekoma’s match for the majority of the book. It’s a good match, but I must admit it does not exactly lend itself to new things to say in a review. Cool things happen, people learn about volleyball, their are heartfelt flashbacks, and eventually a team is the winner. The next volume definitely looks like it’s heading back to Kageyama, though, as he’s been picked as what sounds like the equivalent of an All-Pro. Can be do actual teamwork with a team other than his own, though? And what does Hinata feel about this? Fine out next time, same Haikyu-time, same Haikyu-channel. – Sean Gaffney

Tales of Wedding Rings, Vol. 2 | By Maybe | Yen Press – There’s a bit of fanservice here, but for the most part Tales of Wedding Rings impresses me by not going for the obvious harem fantasy tropes. We travel to the country of the elves to meet the next princess (described in the blurb as well-endowed, presumably to separate her from the well-endowed main heroine). Unfortunately, Nefritis is a massive introvert with a fear of others, and her brother not only has a massive brother complex but also seems to have a hate-on for the ring bearer—the two may be connected. There’s some emotional scenes and a nice battle in among the cliches here, and while I’m expecting more well-endowed girls next time around, I still think this is worth your time. – Sean Gaffney

Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty, Vol. 4 | By Megumi Morino | Kodansha Comics – Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty has always been good, but I was not expecting so many feels. It all starts so well. Shizu has come so far as her true self, and has a lovely evening with Tetsu at the summer festival. Tetsu patches things up with Chihiro, whom we learn sees a lot of himself in Shizu. With Chihiro’s encouragement, Tetsu begins to ask the spirits occupying Shizu about their lingering regrets, hoping to maybe help them move on. It’s so hopeful! And then evil dad returns and we’re plunged into bleak darkness. Thankfully, it’s brief, as Tetsu has come to care too much about Shizu to let his guilt over being paid to befriend her keep him from helping her escape her dad’s clutches. Evil dad won’t be happy with this turn of events, but I personally can’t wait to see what happens next. – Michelle Smith

By: Michelle Smith