#they become more competent later on dont worry

[tyrianludaship]

So far I'm debating about a lot of things for my Left 4 Dead 2 self insert but the thing I'm keeping is that they start off like this when the apocalypse happens:

[paper-mario-wiki]

Shangri-La Frontier mid-season review

This is by far the best fake video game I've ever seen written in fiction.

Most MMO-centric isekai stories have trouble with providing accurate and realistic depictions of the complexities and minutia that give MMOs the allure they have. I've seen so much handwavey bullshit tacked onto fake-games that introduce unrealistically overlooked mechanics for reasons like giving the protag immense power just because they're the protag and the story is about them. A good example of this is another MMO Isekai airing this season, "A Playthrough of a Certain Dude's VRMMO Life", wherein the main character becomes extremely rich, powerful, and famous by episode 2 because he stumbled into a stealth archer playstyle, a build which apparently no human in that universe had ever conceived of before, and then making a fortune by selling basic potions to everyone after NPCs stopped selling them (another thing he was uniquely able to do because not a single other player had the forethought to spec into alchemy). These lesser, dime-a-dozen isekai add up to be boring fantasy strories with gaming elements clumsily put in so that the author can demonstrate how powerful the world's inhabitants are by showing their stat allocation screen instead of, say, explaining anything about what they do that's so uniquely powerful and how they figured it out. Ya know, stuff you'd hope to hear about from any competent story.

Shangri-La Frontier is a breath of fresh air for anyone who, like me, is sick of authors ignoring the things that actually make video games compelling in service of creating a stock-standard narratives in fantasy worlds because it allows them to get away with bullshit. I've always found it very convenient that many isekai narratives indulge in things like chattel slavery, because it's societally normal enough for the protag to purchase a beautiful, vulnerable girl to add to his harem (dont worry, she is always inexplicably in love with him no matter what because he's SUCH a kind master). And it never really seems to go anywhere. Because the Video Game Isekai, while an interesting premise in theory, is more often than not used exclusively as a means to simplify the structure of a world's power scaling to abide by an arbitrary set of omnipresent universal rules (e.g. what people who have never cared to look into game development think of video games). This anime, by comparison, is VERY clearly authored by someone who plays a LOT of games.

Every piece of logic used to drive the plot forward, so far, is congruent to a real-world example of video game conventions, and I'm not just talking about levelling up and selling monster parts. Story elements that I've rarely (if ever) seen explored in other isekai are ever-present and genuinely clever and amusingly introduced. My favorite example of this so far has been the way the protagonist has been able to go head to head with so many overlevelled foes in the first 9 episodes. The story of course makes note of how good of a gamer Sanraku (our hero) is, but much like in real life games, being super duper good at dodging attacks doesn't really make up for a 70 level gap in items and learned skills. For that reason, he gets his ass whooped more often than he actually outsmarts others (so far he hasn't beaten a single player in pvp). So how is he getting out of these situations without dying so frequently? Simple: he got access to a later area too early relative to his level (sequence break) and got access to a high level follower NPC that's been carrying him. This is something he acknowledges directly several times, specifically using words like "Emul has been hard-carrying me for a while." This, to me, is extraordinarily meaningful. That's something you can exploit in Skyrim, man. That's REALISTIC CHEESE STRATS. The excitement and wonder I find in this show doesn't come from watching the protag do something unexpected, but by watching him do something that I would think to do.

This knowledge the author has demonstrated regarding modern gaming culture extends further into the actual realistic nature of game design and community. The story exists in a reality where full-dive VRMMOs are the be-all-end-all of gaming, and given the prohibitively expensive nature of developing and designing expansive, immersive worlds, most games are pretty shit. It's been hinted at so far that this is due to a monopolistic megacorp which is one of the only entities rich and powerful enough to make a good game (the game in question being the one that shares the title of the anime), but so far the strife of the characters have been pretty centralized to the happenings of the game world and its politics. By the way, lets talk about the game world's player base politics, which I'm also quite pleased with. It exists in the form of guilds and clans who struggle for power not by participating in seemingly random pvp with other powerful players to see who is the most epic and badass warrior (again, like many contemporary isekai typically opt for), but by gaining actual realistic support from a fictional playerbase with realistic desires and playstyles. Some guilds are interested in lore, some gather for alliance and boss raids, some for things like animal husbandry, and (naturally) at least one is dedicated to trolling and PKing. Each of these factions, through the very little that we've seen of them so far, communicate on forums and only know as much as is reasonable for them to know. The only reason they give a shit about the protagonist at all is because he gained access to a high-level unique scenario quest that they want information on how to access, and the only reason word of that got out in the first place was because someone posted a screenshot of him with a unique NPC onto a forum, asking about it as "where can i find this pet summon, its super cute!" That's real. That's video games, baby.

I like this show a lot so far. I like that it cares about video games, but I also like its writing. I like the main character and how hes less of an ultra badass super cool guy, and more of an earnest challenge-run lets player. Like, a lot of his dialogue straight up sounds strikingly similar to Japanese youtubers. And he's naturally always quick to point out inconsistencies in the game world's logic. I ALSO really like his community of pals from a janky old fighting game, and I ADORE the girl from his school who has a crush on him and also just so happens to be an exceptionally high level player from a top clan, and how she had to spend 9 episodes working up the courage to send him a friend request. I love that so, so much, dude.

I highly recommend this show if you're into a single thing I've mentioned. The animation is great. The world is beautiful. The character design is immaculate. And I'm looking forward to watching it continue.

[marymary-diva17]

Neglected sully (3)

avatar navi x reader

The forest had been your whole life it was where you had been born and took your first steps, it had made you happy and also broke your heart. It had become the place where it held all the people that you love so dearly, and who saw you for you. Sorrow had come from the place when you had been blamed for actions way out of you control, and later on banished from the place you call home. Still holding close the memories and some keepsakes from your old home and life. When there comes sorrow there also comes new beginning and you had stated your new beginning.

y/n" my eywa my great mother my guidance in the dark" Right now you are sitting in the home that you have made with kawwney. It had been nearly three half years since she was exiled and disowned. She had been able to make a new life here among the reef navi, yes it did take her time to adapt but she soon become one of the people.

y/n " thank you great mother for the blessing you gave me in life" you are singing your song chord. Life had changed so much for you since you had left home and become metkayian.

????? " ma y/n" you soon stooped singing and soon looked up to see your husband kawwney standing there.

y/n " hello my husband how was the talk with your father and mother"

Kawwney " it had went well my love I had been even asked by my father to join him, on scouting missions and I agree if that well with you"

y/n " that perfect with me ma kawwney it good you and your father, are helping and sharing the clan responsibilities"

kawwney " thank you yawntu" kawwney soon brought you into an warm embrace and kissed your forehead, making you smile and kiss him back as well.

kawwney " now tell me where are our wonderful children"

y/n " they are fast asleep my love"

kawwney " here I was hoping to have some time with them before I had to leave"

???? " baba"

y/n " well it seems like you get that wish answered my love" kawwney smile brightly and laughed, as she soon walked off into another room of the home.

y/n " do you need help in there"

kawwney " I'm good" kawwney soon came into the room carrying three navi children in his arms, all of them smiles brightly and happy.

y/n " they are growing up so fast ma kawwney"

kawwney " well they are ours in no time they will be walking around here and talking in compete sentences with us"

y/n " our perfect sons and beautiful daughter"

kawwney " yes our perfect children just like their mama and they will do amazing in the future" You had started a family with kawwney not that long ago and had triplets two boys and one girl, and triplets are rare among navi sending the clan into celebration due to the boys birth. They are named Kewia, Roili, and Aeyla names that you and kawwney had picked out for them.

warrior " kawwney and y/n hello I'm sorry for interrupting"

y/n " it okay has something happened"

warrior " yes tonowari has called us we will be leaving now for scouting and some other matters"

kawwney " tell my father I will be there shortly I need to put my children down"

warrior " yes I will make sure to tell him" the warrior soon left leaving the family of five in the home.

y/n " here let me take Ayela for you so you can put kewia and Roili down"

kawwney " thank you" ayela had soon went into your arms and smile, as you held her for a bit until you put her down on a mat, soon being joined by her brothers.

kawweny " I will be home in time for dinner so don't worry"

y/n " I always worry"

kawwney " I will be safe you had helped me learn more about these humans and their ways, take care of yourself and the children as well ... I know you will not be alone today as my mom and siblings will be here with the rest of the clan"

y/n " that what I love now go dont keep your father and other waiting any longer"

kawwney " yes my love" kawwney had grabbed his spear and soon kissed you and the kids goodbye before he took off and left. You had soon watch him leave until you could no longer see him, and you soon sat down with the children.

y/n " my children you will always be love by me and I will make sure the three of you are treated fairly and no ever feels alone, I will not become like them"

kids " mama" the children smile towards you making you smile at them, as you soon started looking at them as they play with their wooden toys and crawling around trying their best to walk.

tsireya " hello"

y/n " tisreya come in" tsireya soon smiled as she walked into the home, you and her become very close after the days of your arrival here. She had been happy to finally meet the girl her brother had been crushing on and telling her about as well.

tsireya " I came to check up on you and my nephews and niece how are they doing"

y/n " I'm guessing your brothers are not that far as well"

rotxo " good morning"

aonung " good morning y/n and little ones" the children started speaking in gibberish and laughing after seeing their uncles and aunt arrive in the home.

y/n " it good to have you kids here today but sadly you missed your brother as he went off with your father"

tsireya " oh we saw him when he was with our father and as we going to come see you anyways"

y/n " that sounds like your brother"

aonung " come here kawie lets do more with your walking I know you will be a mighty warrior like my brother" aonung soon reached out his hand and started helping his nephew walk a bit.

rotxo " come on roili we can't let them have all the fun" while the boys were doing some walking practice on the other side of the room, leaving you with ayela and tsireya.

y/n " these boys are so much like kawwney"

tsireya " do you mean the older boys are the babies"

y/n "both" you and Tsireya had laughed as the both of you are helping ayela with her walking.

later that afternoon

ronal " hello everyone"

aonung " mother"

ronal " hello I came to speak with y/n and see my grandchildren"

rotxo " yes mom but I thought you will be busy all day"

tsireya " yes with clan responsibilities"

ronal " well I got some time off and now I came to have some words with y/n"

tsireya " yes mother"

y/n " you all can come see the children later it almost time for their nap"

aonung " okay will we are off to deal with our task mom"

ronal " that good my children" the kids had left as you had put the triplets down for a nap, once they are asleep you are now sitting with ronal.

ronal " I came here to have some words of importance with you"

y/n " sure"

ronal " as you know my son will start taking a more serious role as the future leader of the clan, and sharing responsibilities with his dad"

y/n " yes he told me that this morning he very happy about it and I'm happy for him"

ronal " I'm happy for him as well but I wish for you to take over some roles of tshaik as you being his mate, you will share the title with tsireya"

y/n " I wish not to take away her birthright"

ronal " no need to worry y/n reya has benen told and agree with it, as you had helped her learn as well you healing ways have helped the clan in many ways and your connection with the great mother is mighty and beautiful ... tshaik was your brith right was it not"

y/n " yes but everyone wishes for my sister and my brother future mate over them as I was seen bad child or demon blood"

ronal " there no demon blood in you I was shocked when my son said he was in love, and I was hoping to meet the girl who stole his hair but we did meet ... in a way I was not hoping for"

y/n " I don't think anyone hope we will meet like that' you and ronal laugh a bit.

ronal " you are perfect learning the ways wonderful and soon making. name for yourself, and soon becoming one of the people and starting a family here as well"

y/n " thank you and I will like to take the responsibility and tile of tshaik"

ronal " good" well it was agree as now you will be taking over the some of the responsibilities of tshaik, an announcement had been shared with the people and soon enough word had spread around the village. As life in the village had become peaceful and clam at the moment that all changed when you heard horn blow.

y/n " has someone come or have the Scouts return" you had went to check on the children to see they were still asleep, as you soon went to see what was going and it seem like the rest of the clan is doing the same thing as well.

navi " new arrivals have come to the village"

navi 2 " yes it seems like they all have traveled a long way to get here"

navi 3 " they look similar to y/n they are from the forest as well ... oh y/n hello"

y/n " hello it seems like we have guests from the forest I'm going to see them" you had soon made you way through the crowd it was not the hard as they had made room for you, soon enough you had seen the newcomers bit by bit until you were close enough. Until you stopped walking as you reach the front, looking at the male navi who was at the front.

Jake "hello we come in peace we mean you all no harm" it was your family and old clan, even due it had been many years you could still remember them very well but it seems like they did see yet. Soon enough tonowari and kawwney had retune shocking the new arrivals, as they landed their creatures in the water and soon walked onto the beach.

Jake " I see you tonowari and I see you kawwney"

tonowari "Jake sully" soon enough ronal had made herself know as the crowd made room for her as well, she was now standing with her son and mate.

ronal " ......."

tonowari "why have you all come here"

Jake " we came here seeking refuge for my family and clan ... we seek uturu"

ronal " uturu"

Jake " yes for my family and clan please that all I ask for" ronal was walking around your family she soon noticed three of the kids, are just like you and her granddaughter. She knew of the history of your parents and was staring draggers at them.

ronal " there arms and tails are weak they will have a hard time adapting here"

Jake " we can adapt right everyone"

everyone " yes"

ronal " these three kids have the blood of sky people in them"

Jake " yes they are just like me two of them my kids and other one the adopted son of my right hand man Tsu'tey, but I was once sky people and become one of the people"

Tonowari " we all know tale of toruk makto but you are not the only one who has come here from the forest"

mo'at " what do you mean"

ronal " many years ago someone from the forest had made their own journey here

Jake " who we never knee someone from the forest had come here"

????? " hello it has been a long time hasn't it Jake sully" you soon showed yourself looking at your family and old clan, they all looked shocked to see you standing there.

neytiri " y/n"

y/n " hello may the years have gone by but I can still remember you all"

sully kids and spider " y/n"

tonowari " y/n as you had once been form the forest and one of omatacayia clan, do you think we should let them stay"

y/n " yes we should let them stay it the will of the great mother, it will be horrible to send them away after all the way they came here"

Jake " y/n you are ...." Jake had tried to take a step near you but had been hissed at by kawwney who was glaring at the war hero.

tonowari " you and your family along with your clan will be allowed to stay here, we have some home and extra space for you all to use ... hut during your time you will be learning the ways of our people"

Jake " yes what do we say everyone"

everyone " thank you"

tonowari " my childern from my sons and daughter will be helping with your children and the boy with training, and y/n as well if she wishes to"

kawwney " y/n"

y/n " I will help them as I still hold my clan and old home close to my heart, even after all these years"

aonung " we will help for the sake and honor of y/n"

rotxo " yes we will do our best to help to our guests learn the ways"

Tsireya " yes we will"

tonowari " my people the sully family and their clan members will staying here with us as we see them learning the ways, but we will need to help them as they are babies taking thier first breathe" the clan was not that happy that much of helping the adults as they knew of your past, and hated how much pain you had been put through.

y/n " come with me I will show you around the village and where you all will be staying"

tsireya " I will help as well"

rotxo and aonung " us to"

y/n " then grab what we can and help them move come along so, you all will have enough time to settle in" there had been no time for words to be spoken, as the group had soon followed you as you showed them around village. Your family was now standing near their new home.

y/n " this is where you will be staying for your time being there enough room for you all. Tsu'tey you and your son will be staying over there"

Jake " thank you"

y/n " your welcome" your sibling and spider had put their stuff down and soon ran towards you, they soon hugged you.

neteyam " you been here the whole time"

y/n " yes I have after the incident that had unfolded many years ago"

lo'ak " we have missed you but now that you are here with us"

y/n " yes I have missed you all"

kiri " you have changed so much sister"

y/n " we have all changed my sister"

tuk " y/n I'm happy to have my big sister back"

y/n " I'm happy to have my baby sister back as well"

spider " we have missed having you around"

y/n " well we are back together"

mo'at " granddaughter"

y/n " grandmother" the children had let you go as mo'at soon walked closer to you, and soon hugged you and you hugged her back.

mo'at " I'm happy to see you are well and the young adult you have become, all of you have grown up well in front of my eyes and when we were apart"

y/n " yes we all have and that makes me happy"

tsireya " we hope you all have a good stay here"

lo'ak " thank you for the help"

tsireya " your welcome"

neteyam " thanks for the help back there with the stuff"

aonung " well you are all our guest here we will be helping as much as we can"

spider " this place amazing"

kiri " I cant wait to see what is offers"

rotxo ' " well you are going to have an amazing time here" the group had helped the guests unpack their stuff and settle in bit.

tsireya " y/n we are going to head home for dinner and it getting late as well"

y/n " yes that good" the three teens soon left leaving you with your loved ones.

y/n " there is the food here or I see you brought some food as well, getting settled in"

neteyam " wait why don't stay with us"

y/n " I will love to brother but I have my own place here and I'm need elsewhere, don't be sad I will see you all tomorrow and we will have enough time to caught up"

tuk " okay"

y/n " goodbye for now rest well everyone" your sibling and spider hugged you on last time they soon walked into the their homes. As you were now with Jake, Neytiri, and Tsu'tey the tiro looked at you.

y/n " I hope the clan can help you while you are here"

Jake " it been so long your have grown over the time"

neytiri " yes it good to see you again life hasn't been the same"

y/n " take care all of you and tomorrow change is coming for us all" you had bowed your head saying nothing else as you soon walked off, leaving them alone to get use to their new lives here. There was something new about you that no on could understand only mo'at could see and understand, they soon saw you speaking with kawwney and soon talking with him and walking off together. There was this feeling in the air that your family and clan were feeling after see you after so long.

That night

y/n " ......" you are sitting on the bed you share with kawwney, he soon came into the room with the children.

y/n " what going on"

kawwney " it will be best for them to stay in here with us tonight, as you are going to need all our support to deal with them" kawwey soon place the kids in hanging crib.

kawwney " they are asleep after having a good dinner and play time"

y/n " yes"

kawwney " what the matter my love"

y/n " I hope I have enough strength to deal with them"

kawwney " you have enough strength my love you have shown me that strength over and over again, but you are not alone I'm here I will help you"

y/n " thank you"

kawwney "I love you"

y/n " I love you as well" kawwney soon brought you into a hug and kissed your forehead, the both of you stayed awake before laying in bed and fall alseep after moving the kids to the bed. You had looked at your mate and kids, with a smile on your face yes you did have the strength for anything that will come for you. A smile grown on your face as you kissed your husband and kids on their heads, before falling asleep as well. As the last words had escaped your mouth before you had fallen asleep thank you great mother.

[lilyum-e]

So lets talk about why the federation chose q!Foolish to work for them.

The whole "YOU ARE. UNIQUE" book

I wouldnt read it as negative nor positive. Its simply a statement. Its saying that q!Foolish is useful. He's easy to please and at the same time competent enough to work with federation. Just a good tool, waiting to be used.

They chose him, simply because he was already there. He was asking to be friends with cucurucho for some time now. He was the one always saying that he wants to be kidnapped. That he wants something interesting to happen.

Q!Foolish's desires have always been simple. Keep his family safe. Be noticed by Federation. Have a gun. Get a cloud.

And his silly, happy go lucky personality makes him just good enough to get away with whatever he wants. Or at least to minimalize the damage to himself.

He is just a perfect scapegoat.

He might be technically working for federation as "detective". But is he really?

Thats just a name. Is Mr. Mustard really missing? Or did the federation make him go missing to give Foolish something to do.

And q!Foolish will not question it. At least not enough to see a problem with continuing the work.

However his real job is to sow mistrust.

The fedaration has been trying to divide islanders for so long. But how do you divide people that are so close to each other?

You just keep adding more and more and more factors.

You start small, simple. Just watch them, and let them know that they are being watched.

Then you give them something to do, someone to protect. The eggs. Their fragile children. Now they dont have to worry only about themselves. And the islanders bond with each other over it, they become more united then ever before.

But all that is just temporary. And when they think that everything is stable and joyous, you slowly take it away. Your children dissapear and then come back with cracks on them. But its alright, it was just a one scary moment.

However later your friends get kidnapped. And when they are back, you want to trust them. But can you really, when you know that the Federation was one keeping them? How can you be so sure that they are the same person they were before.

And the next kidnapping just proves it more. Quackity isnt back. ElQuackity is walking around instead, seemingly looking like the person they once knew.

Then you start the elections. Throw some benefits to make the offer interesting. And it divides them. Maybe not as much as one would have hoped, but some disagreements never hurt nobody :)

And islanders ultimately want someone trustwothy to become a president. But by doing so, you achieve otherwise. Cause now that trustwothy person will be placed directly under federation whether they like it or not.

Well but you still have your eggs. You would always trust your children wouldnt you?

But the Code Monster can impersonate them now. And as much as you want to say that you know your children, can you actually? Or is your mind playing tricks in you. Will you always be able to tell?

They know they cannot trust the island. But despite many disagreements, they always had each other. They consider other islanders friends and family.

But what if one person chose to betray the islanders. It adds to all the concerns and reminds them just how fragile trust is...

And its slowly but surely eating everyone from inside. They are still together. They are always scrambling to cooperate and listen to each other. To communicate. They always have been.

But the question is. Will they always? For how long? Is there a breaking point?

And if there is, when, and what will happen after?...

[cloudjumpervalka]

ill elaborate on this over the day i think but im very mixed on what i think about the w.i.t.c.h. reboot but uh. its mostly negative

first off, this is partially coming from a place of im just a fan of the comic and already didnt care for the tv show.

i mean... i liked the show as a kid because it was what got me into the series, but once i picked up the comics i knew it had my heart and it couldnt compare. (its very similar to how i felt about fma03 > going into the manga after)

but anyway, i think the reboot is of all things, just disney being lazy in making new ips of course. if theyre doing a full rework of the plot, characters, and costumes, why not just make a new magical girl comic? oh because of the obvious theyve been testing the popularity of the comic by rereleasing it over the past couple years, and now the ip is recognized enough again that they can use it to their advantage. definitely in the wake of winx getting their reboot (which i also think is unnecessary but i think the circumstances may have been different. which leads me to..)

i worry about what theyre going to do with the story in general. if its anything like the later half of the comic (ie new power onward) iiiiiii dont know if we need that. i personally dont think that was the strongest era of the story. it, unsurprisingly, came off as an attempt to haha... copy the winx by doing power upgrades and becoming even more glittery and pink and what i would call a typical "girls piece of media"

ofc side note nothing bad with that but again leading into another point

heh.. the treatment of the original team. its early and i dont quite remember all of the details but i do know that they were done dirty. I know for sure it involved barbucci and canepa, unsure if gnone was involved as well, but disney took that series from them. as far as i know, that series was their baby and disney plucked it apart into something they never intended it to be. barbucci and canepa haved regularly talked about their dislike of disney and their personal beef with them as a direct result of what happened with w.i.t.c.h.

it was their dark fantasy series that disney wanted to girlie-pop-ify to most likely have it compete with winx directly. completely going against what the team envisioned leading to their ? departure from disney. im personally not quite sure if they quit on their own or if disney fired them to make room for a more cooperative team but Still. the point still stands: disney is shitty in this situation

so just from the inital description and seeing will's transformed resign, it looks like... it will most likely go in the direction of being a direct winx competitor again and will continue to take the story in a completely different direction than it was originally intended to be. some part of me hopes tho that because will looks like an edgy hot topic kid that maaaaaybe theyll have some darker tone to it but uh.... again disneys reputation makes me think that wont happen lmao

if they really cared enough they would literally be like sorry og team, here do what u wanted. because uh. at least barbucci and canepa still regulary post about w.i.t.c.h. and share fanart and stuff so theyre still interested imo (again i havent followed up with gnone over the years but im sure she'd be on board)

i reaaaaally want to know if they even knew their series was gonna be rebooted like this or i guess however it ends up being. god i would do anything to read the nda they signed when splitting with disney.

but eh i also hope its good just for the sake it wooooould be cool to have new w.i.t.c.h. content (again sad its not like a comic accurate tv adaptation or like... the og teams work) buuuuuut this is suuuuch a comfort series to me so i wanna hope for the best

my nostalgia is probably ruining it for me and the fact ill already rant about how i hate the cartoon adaptation now dkdbksbf but eh i wanted to just dump my thoughts before starting my work day

[mammalsofaction]

Exploring Perry's relationship with Sergei is so interesting to me bc Perry AKA agent Hardass is SO difficult to please, harder to trust others and INSANELY possessive when it comes to his family as well as his nemesis ship with Heinz. Pinky is a literal family friend and has never fought Heinz one-one-one. Perry was always peripherally there. Planty is a plant. Lyla also has Perry peripherally there.

You know who Perry has allowed fight Heinz one on one? Sergei. In fact, dont quote me on this, i think he's let Sergei fight Heinz one on one multiple times.

That's an INSANE amount of trust and respect for him to have for a coworker. Thats an acknowledgement that Sergei is an equal, or maybe a superior. From Perry, thats an IMMENSE compliment. He worries about so many conditions and particulars about people fighting Heinz, especially later in the season where he's so close to turning tide and becoming good.

It means Sergei is

1) Not a violent or cruel BUT extremely competent fighter that can defeat Heinz, but not hurt him

2) Someone who is rigid in professional principles and fights by the book, BUT.

3) Is able to roll with spontaneity very WELL bc that's Heinz's whole thing that can throw people wildly off.

People or agents who do not possess these qualities are more likely to hurt Heinz and get seriously hurt in return, if not by Heinz then by Perry or Vanessa. These are very SPECIFIC conditions. And I imagine Sergei reports the fight back to Perry immediately and efficiently, bc we all know the last time an agent fights Heinz behind his back.

Its very cute! Sergei is basically my OC and everybody should ask me about him

I DO unironically think that a human agent Sergei the Snail is

-likely one of the older black band owca agents, and older than Perry

-nor american.

(The only actually American OWCA agent in Perry's close social circle might be Ernesto, who used to be from New York) (Perry himself is Australian, and has since the start of his career interchanges between Danville and London)

-Incredibly hot. Ive never met a Sergei that isnt hot in some way.

[juanarc-thethird]

Jaune at The Carnival part 3

Ozpin: Has come to my attention, Ms. Valkyria, that you started a business at the carnival, is that correct?

Nora: You are right, Prof. Ozpin. Now I am a business woman.

Ozpin: A business woman, you say. So, it's safe to say that you have the necessary permits to have your "Business" at the carnival, correct?

Nora: Well…

Ozpin: Also, because you are part of Beacon Academy, you had my approval for this business, correct?

Nora: *Worry* About that…

Ozpin: And you are also giving the correct percentage of your earnings for being part of the event, correct?

Nora: *Sweeating* The thing is…

Ozpin:   I think we both know the answer to those questions. I'm sorry Ms. Valkyria, but we will have to close your business.

Nora: *Panicking* Wait, you can't do that! Isn't there something I can do?

Ozpin: *Smiles* I’m glad you ask.

Later that day at the carnival main stage.

Glynda: *Speaking into a microphone* We have an announcement about the next Vytal tournament. For the winner of the Singles fights, they would have the option to win a year's supply of Dust as mentioned at the beginning of the event, or *Looks upset and sighs* or free kisses from the JNPR team kissing booth for one week. If you are not registered, you still have time to do so.

The Crowd: “LETS GOOOOOO!” “FUCK YEAH!” “FINALLY SOMETHING GOOD!” “WHERE THE FUCK IS THE SIGNING BOOTH?!”

Glynda: *Leaves the stage* I don't understand why you did this.

Ozpin: Look on the bright side, you no longer have to worry about the coffee budget. (I can finally get the coffee maker 5000 with the accessories) 

Meanwhile at the signing booth.

Pyrrha: *Angrily holding one end of the pen* Excuse me, but I was here first.

Arslan: *Angrily holding the other end of that same pen* You may be confused because all the blows to the head, I got here first.

Winter: Girls, we can all join the tournament. It doesn't matter who goes first. In the end, I'll be the one who wins the kisses.

Pyrrha: *Looks at Winter* Wasn't this tournament just for students from the 4 kingdoms?

Arslan: *Also looks at Winter* Yeah, you cannot compete in this tournament.

Penny: Technically, Winter is a student at the Atlas academy while still training to become a full specialist and work on her own. This may be confusing, but on paper she is a student.

Winter: Thank you Penny.

Penny: Beside I will be the winner.

Winter: Excuse me!!

The girls keep fighting while everyone else just watches and waits for their turn.

Weiss: *Looking from afar* I can believe Winter could fall so low for a boy! But I'm more surprised that you girls don't behave like that. Right team?…. Team? *Looks back to see her team racing to get a place in the tournament*

Ruby: I'm sorry Weiss, but we really want those kisses!

Yang: Also, we don't want to lose a place to participate in the tournament!

Blake: You are going to lose your chance!

Weiss: *Starts running too* Wait! Save me a spot!

Part 2 by @darkvaga -------------------------

With team JN(P)R

Neptune: AWW COME ON!

Ren: Something wrong?

Neptune: Hell yeah there is! How come jaune gets all the action! I also have a kissing booth, but i dont get a shout out! *shrinks into himself and grumbles* its not fair....you know how it feels.right ren?

Ren: Actually no. I have Nora so i really don't need anyone else

Neptune: *Grumbling* lucky but I started the kissing booth first!

Ren: *Mutters* depends on the perspective we have Jaune....so there's that

Neptune: But what does he have that i don't?!

Jaune: Yeah what do i have that he doesn't?!

Ren & Neptune:.......

Jaune: What? This is me we're talking about. Dont act like I sudden have charm

Ren:....Actually.....I can't really say.....a warming feeling maybe?

Neptune: I say it's witchcraft.

Ren: It's not witchcraft, right Jaune?

Jaune: No no...Neptune might be on to something

Nora: *Jumping into the conversation* Hey whatcha talking about?

Ren: Trying to figure what makes Jaune so kissable

Nora: *Smirking at Neptune* Cause somebody let his golden ticket get away or is it jealousy

Neptune: Hey I'm not jealous of jaune! Just...curious is all

Nora: Why don't you kiss him and out😀

Neptune & Jaune: *spit take* WHAT!?

Nora: You should kiss jaune, and you should get you answer

Both Neptune & jaune are both stutter messes so ren had to answer for them

Ren: Nora, I don't think that will

Nora: *Casually pushing Neptune & Jaune together in a small kiss* Will what now?

The 2 boys separate, both visibly stunned

Nora: well?

Neptune:.....yeah....*backing up*....it's not that special.....*backing up*.....it was pretty nice i suppose, but I'm not really into guys so....yeah......excuse i gotta do something *he sprints off into the crowd of sworming women*

Ren & Jaune (the lader still shocked that he kissed Neptune):.........

Nora:😁

Ren & Jaune:.........

Nora:😁😁

Ren:...he's going to sign up is...

Random girl: HEY WHAT THE...

Neptune: BACK OFF BITCHES THAT PRIZE IS MINE!

Weiss: NEPTUNE WHAT THE HELL!

Neptune: I SHALL GET ANOTHER KISS FROM THE ARC ANGEL, SNOW QUEEN!

Ren:.....wow......ok...i didn't expect that

Jaune: *still shocked* ren, am i cursed or something?

Nora:....no...just really kissable

Ren: pretty much

Jaune:.....I'm just gonna go...to...the...room now....

After Jaune leaves

Ren: Should we tell Pyrrha that Jaune will kiss her if she just asks him to tuck her in at night?

Nora: Nah*watching Pyrrha suplex someone* she's more motivated this way

[kiegosbby]

hello!! can i request a oneshot similar to your hawks one? basically shoto and the reader are childhood bestfriends but he started to fall for them even before UA,, but he thinks they dont like them back. maybe some angsty jealous!todoroki with bakugo?? a happy ending tho pls 🥰 tysm!!

got you bby! I’m sorry that this took me a while I kept getting distracted:(

✁- - - - - - r- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

you were and todoroki were staring at each other, tears fell from your face and you waited for his response, hoping you made the right choice..

you and shoto had been friends ever since you were little. you parents were close, and you and him both had very powerful quirks so you often trained together, battling against each other.

the times you weren’t training you were with him, at his side like a lost puppy. when his mom had hurt him and he was sent to the hospital, you were there for every second. you were always by his side and people thought you two were siblings, which you kindly corrected them

you were the bright part to him, alway talking and having fun stuff to do. you were his better part and in some ways he was yours. his other half and you couldn’t imagine a life without him.

when you both got into ua, you didn’t need to go into the entrance exam. you both got recommendations and got into class 1-A

he had become more distant when you both started school, which was a suprise to say the least. when you were little you followed him, but now he was the lost puppy that followed you around.

so when he started hanging out with different people it really hurt you.. so you distracted yourself with others. you had become fairly close with bakugo, having taking a likening of his personality. yeah you could fix that.

and now bakugo followed you around, bothering you wherever you went. but the truth was you missed todoroki and you were sad that he stopped having a interest in you. before he stopped talking to you, you realized that you had feelings for him. and not friend feelings, you had actual feelings for him, like love him feelings.

but you love and you lose, it was just difficult to get over his stares at you, you would often get paired with him, because your quirks and powers were the same level. it was always difficult when that happened- it was just so awkward between you two.

so now you were sitting at lunch with bakugo and his squad, eating a bowl of rice while listening to bakugo rip minas head off.

“what do you mean you dumb alien!” he was mad obviously, and you put your bowl down knowing what you would have to do.

“your the ones who’s dumb! You have anger issues” Mina got up from the table and walked off to dekus group, and you saw todoroki staring at you from the table she was headed to. did he really hate you that much?

you averted your gaze, going back to bakugo who was seething in his anger and you sat up grabbing your back

“come on bakugo let’s go to the roof, there not worth it”

he grunted in agreement and walked close to you, if anyone who didn’t know you saw it they would think he was your boyfriend, but you two were just close. I mean you did know how to take the beast

while you walked away, todoroki was watching you both leave, his clod eyes never leaving your back.

“hey todoroki you ok?” deku was worried about his friend, but didn’t want to push it knowing his limits

he grumbled a quick “fine” before getting up and leaving, grabbing his bag and walking the halls.

he was dumb, well he was more then dumb he was fucking stupid to let you go like that. now he would have to compete with fucking boom boy. this wasn’t fair. he had tried to distract himself to get his mind off of you, because you basically lived in his mind.

he shouldn’t have thought about you like he did, he wanted you, wanted to be the person who protected you, who cuddle up to you at night, the person who you calmed down and who would ease his anger. He wanted to love you. but then this happens, you just had to go and be friends with bakugo. of course him of all people, you alway had a soft spot for troubled people.

he ran his hand through his hair as he walked, ending up out side and sat underneath a tree.

he had fucked up majorly and he needed you back. It was so difficult for him without you. You were his rock, his everything. You helped distract him from his family and from everything. He won’t stop until he has you.

he turned his head slightly towards the building and saw you two sitting at the edge, feet dangling and his arm was around you, and you laid your head on his shoulder. he was to late. he let it go for to long.

he stood and walked to the school, evening classes were about to start and he couldn’t miss them. he was such a fool you were perfect for him.

you walked into the your last class, after calming bakugo down. sometimes he just needed a little affection to remind him that he’s not alone. as you walked in you saw todoroki sitting at his desk with his head down, that’s weird. he never did that he always seemed so.. calm.

you were worried for him, we’re about to approach him when bakugo called your name, calling you to sit next to him. you walked over to him with a small frown and sat down getting ready for class

through the whole class todoroki was looking out the window not paying any attention, you were more than worried now you’d talk to him about it later in the dorms.

After class, you and bakugo walked home together and you had light conversation liek normal, he had asked you to watch a movie together but you declined, and he gave you a “Whatever I don’t need a extra like you anyways” and left you in the common area of the dorms

you walked to shotos dorm, knocking softly and waiting nervously.

when he opened the door and he looked like a mess, like he had been crying? he never cried it’s odd..

“can we talk? please?” you even sounded nervous, god get it together

“sure come in” he opened his door to you and you walked in halfway and turned around.

“I want you to tell me what’s wrong and then I want you to tell me why your avoiding me” You were using your angry voice, you meant business.

“I love you”

your heart stuttered, and you almost fell on your ass. he said it so calmly and with no second thought? how could he

“w-what?” your voice was quiet now, and you were scared?

“I love you y/n. I’ve loved you since we were kids. and I’ve been avoiding you so I could lose those feelings but they never left. I know youreith katsuki now and I-“

wait

wait?

“I’m not with katsuki. we’re just friends.” your head hung low. how could you not have known? it was more than obvious.

“your not together?” his voice sounded desperate and you rose your head and looked into his eyes

“shoto, I love you. and I’ve loved you for a while now. I really hope we’re ok because I want to be more then friends. I want to be together.” tears fell down your face, and you looked at him with hope.

so this takes us back to the beginning of our story.

you were and todoroki were staring at each other, tears fell from your face and you waited for his response, hoping you made the right choice.

he walked up to you quickly and wrapped his arms around you, his quirk warming you and you cried in his embrace, thanking yourself for making the right decision.

[pinky-the-elephant-room]

A girl with a crush

AN: I wrote this prompt for @liliesoftherain​ to show my love since she recently got into Haikyuu and she has a thing for blond tsunderes. Phfft. It’s sort of a fast moving one shot (6k) but since I dont love lilie enough to write her an ongoing slow burn story this will have to do. Credits to lilie for making this banner she has become competent at making them. Just a heads up for those who don’t know I’m a BNHA blog that does regular prompts for that anime, this is the few exceptions I do every now and then. Also sorry if Tsukki might be occ? I haven’t watched all of Haikyuu! yet so *bows apologetically* Though my friend said he wasn’t so you guys let me know if he was. 

Warning: Explicit smut with a bit of degradation and sort of dub con?

Pairing: Tsukishima Kei x Fem reader

----------------------------

It started off so simple. Every person who’s ever had a crush would tell you that having your crush talk to you makes you feel like you’re on top of the world. What they don’t tell you is that adrenaline and happiness can become addictive. I had started my first year of high school in class 1-4 when I noticed him, he was exactly my type. Tall with blond hair and glasses to match, I’ve always been attracted to the smart guys. And he was one of the top students in that class. When sensei took roll, I learned his name, Tsukishima Kei. I didn’t have a crush on him right away. He was just a good-looking guy I noticed in my class and that’s it. I had more important things to worry about like class 1-4 and how hard it was due to it being a college preparatory class.

A few weeks in we were assigned a project for English, we had to present a project on how Japan could improve their English comprehension. Lo and behold my partner was Tsukishima.

“If you’re not going to do your part tell me now so I don’t waste my time,” he had said to me as soon as class ended.

I immediately bristled because I was a relatively hard-working person.

“Don’t worry I’ll do my part.” I replied. He seemed skeptical but nodded.

“Meet me at the public library near our school,” he told me before dismissing me.  

Afterschool he arrived a few mins after I did with a plain black-haired guy that was in our class. I recognized Yamaguchi from the fact that they were always together. Apparently, they even joined the volleyball club at the same time.

I just raised my eyebrow at Yamaguchi as he joined their table before getting homework out and started working on it. I ignored him, and I pulled out paper so we could get the basics jotted down.

You’d think I would be happy getting to work with a handsome guy, right? Nope! Immediately the condescending comments started right away. None of my notes and the research I had started on was good enough. None of my ideas reached his standards.

“Did you even fact check this?” Tsukishima asked as he slid my paper back to me.

I glared at him. “Of course, I did!”

He didn’t even look at me as he started to write on his own paper.

“Second sentence paragraph 3. You didn’t even cite plus the statistic is wrong.”

I was about to explode when I glanced at the paper. I grumbled realizing the arrogant boy was right.

Yamaguchi snickered under his breath. I swiveled my head towards him as he continued to diligently work on his homework like he wasn’t just laughing at me.

I gripped my pencil tightly. ‘Calm down. It’s just a few more hours. You need a good grade in English to start off the year strong.’

By the end of their study session I couldn’t believe I actually thought the boy was cute. He might be handsome, but his personality was utter crap. His snide comments had continued throughout the session and drove me nuts. I had never wanted to physically hurt someone as bad as him. God help whoever the guy dated.

I just tossed my papers and stationery in my bookbag in a hurry to get out of here.

Just as I was about to leave, I heard Yamaguchi and Tsukishima approaching and talking.

“Tsukki, let’s go grab a snack before going home,” Yamaguchi said to the blonde.

I couldn’t help but snort and snicker at the nickname.

Both boys turned to me in surprise. Tsukishima narrowed his eyes at me and asked, “what’s so funny?”

I shrugged. “Nothing, I just think it’s weird that a boy like you has such a cute nickname.”

Tsukishima frowned severely at me. Before he could say anything more, I cheerfully skipped off, glad to have finally gotten under his skin.

 A week later, the presentation for English went well. We both earned a good grade. It was time for gym as all the girls changed into their gym uniforms in the classroom. We then went outside in the hot sun to start exercising.

I leisurely started running, doing it at my own pace rather than running all at once and depleting my stamina. I noticed someone running beside me and it was Tsukishima. It wasn’t fair how athletic he was, he wasn’t even sweating or huffing like I was.

“You know,” I began, “I never would have pegged you for a guy who plays volleyball.”

He looked surprised at me like he just noticed I was there.

I scowled.

“For a guy like you I would have suspected something like basketball.”

He glared at me. “Well, you aren’t exactly very perspective, are you? After all you were no help on our project. So, idiot’s opinions don’t count.”

My mouth dropped at his audacity. He smirked at me, liking my outraged reaction.

“Excuse me? I earned that grade just like you! If anyone’s opinion doesn’t matter it’s yours because you’re just an arrogant, hateful asshole!” I spat at him before increasing my speed and running off.

 From there we would continue to have petty disagreements within the classrooms and sometimes outside of it. All the while Yamaguchi would stand there like a spectator watching us go back and forth. Until one afternoon I stayed behind to talk to a teacher and asked them about my grades. The sky had darkened by the time I was ready to go home. Most of the school emptied and even worse heavy rain clouds moved in and it started raining heavily. I sighed as I checked my backpack for the third time looking for that umbrella, I swore I packed.  The classroom door suddenly slid open startling the hell out of me. Tsukishima walked in and stopped dead at the sight of me.

“What are you still doing here?” he asked.

I rolled my eyes in annoyance and huffed. I so didn’t need this right now.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but I misplaced my umbrella so I’m waiting for the rain to slow down.”

Tsukishima grabbed his glasses’ case from his desk and started to leave.

“You’re right it’s not my business.” Just as he was about to close the door. “You might want to leave the classroom they’re going to lock the doors.”

I cursed under my breath and started heading for the front of the school. I can just wait there for the rain to stop. Changing out of school slippers into my outdoor shoes, I made my way to the front door.

I noticed Tsukishima still waiting outside.

“Do you not have an umbrella either?” I asked. Even if it was him it would be nice to have some company while I waited. It was getting really dark outside and it kind of scared me to be here alone.

He shook his head and pulled out a dark umbrella from his own bag. I swallowed back a gulp, knowing that I would be here all alone.

Tsukishima unfurled the umbrella and snapped it open. He turned back to me and offered me the umbrella.

I just stared in astonishment.

“Here! Don’t just stand there like an idiot!” He snapped at me.

I took it hesitantly.

“But what about you? Aren’t you going to get wet?”

“I have another one in the gym locker room.”

I looked at my phone and noticed it was getting really late.

“I’m sorry I really have to catch the bus now. I’m going to be late! I’ll return this to you tomorrow.” I said with a huge smile.

He nodded at me and pushed his glasses back up.

I started leaving, feeling my cheeks heat up and heart beat faster as I gripped Tsukishima’s umbrella tighter.

And that was how my crush had started. With that one small act of kindness.

 After that umbrella incident, I wanted to talk to him more and more. The intense meanspirited conversations had instead turned into lighthearted teasing. Well, more playful teasing on my part, he still called me an idiot. It was such a rush to have all of his attention on me. Even if it was for a few minutes, even if it meant that he was insulting me. It was official I had a crush on Tsukishima.

I sat during lunch with a faraway look on my face. All the girls in the class had bunched up their desks and we ate together.

“Y/N, what’s wrong with you today? Aren’t you hungry?” A girl named Momo asked.

I looked down at my bento and it was untouched, still full to the brim.

“You guys know Tsukishima in our class right..?” I began hesitantly.

A girl across from me who went by the name of Sana smiled. “You like him, don’t you?”

I blushed and nodded. “Am I that obvious?”

She shrugged. “Not really, but every girl who meets him has a crush until he opens his mouth. Then they get over it. I went to the same middle school as him and even shared classes together. A lot of girls liked him, but he’s how do you say this delicately?”

“An asshole?” Momo said wryly.

“No, he’s a classic anime example of a tsundere.”

I giggled, that was spot on.

“But the thing about tsunderes is that they’re great in anime. But not in real life. Dealing with them can be exhausting.” Sana warned.

My smile dropped and I quietly replied, “I know I’m not looking to confess or anything. I just like talking to him.”

Momo shot a look of warning to Sana who just stuck her tongue back at her.

“Well, if you need advice you know that we are here for you.”

I nodded, feeling a pit of sadness within myself. Thinking I might just be hungry, I picked up my chopsticks and dug into my lunch.

 And I kept my word months after that conversation. I never confessed to him. I did continue to talk to him more like tease, but it was the only way I knew how to get his attention. The exhilarating feeling, I got every time I was near him made me feel like an addict and I loved it. But then something weird started happening that ruined everything.

I knew that Tsukishima was part of the volleyball team, but I had never seen them in action. So, I had dragged a few of the other girls to see them practice. We came into the gym to see the practice already in full swing. The two girls who stood in the gym seemed like managers and looked at us curiously when we entered. I bowed to them in greeting before taking a seat on the bleachers.

Though, I had never seen a volleyball game and I didn’t even know the rules. It was easy to see the boys were really talented and the way they jumped up to serve the ball was really cool. A whistle sounded and all the boys relaxed. Tsukishima turned around and I saw his eyes widened when he saw me on the bleachers.

“Tsukishima! I came to see you play!” I hollered as I cupped my hands.

Several of his teammates turned around to see who was yelling and shot me weird looks.

“Tsukishima, I didn’t know you had a girlfriend.”

Tsukishima coughed into his hands a few times. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t know who she is. I have never met her in my life. Let’s restart practice,” he said in what he hoped was a calm voice, but his red ears gave him away.

Several of the girls hearing that started grumbling at his rudeness. Yamaguchi was at least nice enough to wave at them and they all waved back in return.

I grinned knowing that I had made a dent in his composure. I did my best to cheer for him each time he did anything even as mundane to stop and tie his shoes. I could tell by the tenseness of his shoulders how close he was to exploding.

Eventually the whistle sounded, and practice was over. Tsukishima rushed off to the locker room and returned in record time, changed and with his gym bag.

“What do you think you're doing here,” he hissed.

I smiled mischievously. “I’m here to see you play, silly. I want to support my classmate.”

“I don’t want or need your support.  Your annoying voice made me lose concentration and I have never played so bad in my life. Go study instead and maybe put that brain to use for once.”

He glared at me furiously and walked away in a way that almost looked like stomping. But it wasn’t because Tsukishima doesn’t stomp right?

I grinned manically at his reaction. Oh, how I wished I could do this every day, but that would be tempting fate too much.

“Y/N, I swear you’re a masochist even though he’s so mean you still like him. It’s like you egg him on purpose,” Momo interjected from behind me.

She stopped, seeing my creepy smile.

“You like him insulting you. Don’t you?”

I protested vehemently and shook my head.

“It turns on you doesn’t it?” she asked again with a devious grin.

I spluttered as my face turned red and I almost felt like I couldn’t breathe.

Sana patted my back a few times as I calmed down and glared at Momo who put up her hands and shrugged.

Eventually we all left the gym and went out for some ice cream before heading home.

But what Momo said that day wouldn’t leave my head because I was messing with him for his attention right? It’s not like I wanted to be called names. There’s just no way. If you think about it logically every time someone else called me rude names, I responded back just as rudely. It doesn’t excite me. I shook my head and laughed. Yup, there was just no way.

However, the possibility just wouldn’t leave me as the more I teased and the more he responded back rudely, the redder I would become. It even got to the point where Tsukishima himself could tell there was something going on with me.

“What’s going on with you? Not that I care but you’re acting weirder than you usually do,” he asked bluntly when I bumped into him in the hallway.

I laughed nervously. “I’m not sure what you mean. I’m acting like I usually do.”

He stared at me for a moment. “You mean like the moron you are?”

Immediately, my heart started racing and my face started turning red.

Tsukishima just watched me incredulously as my body reacted to his words which caused me to blush even harder.

“I have to go.” I yelped as I basically ran away.

It was after this incidence I realized Tsukishima knew I liked him. Or I suspected he did because after that every time I tried to tease him like I usually do, he just wouldn’t respond with anger like he usually would. In fact, he kept giving me weird looks. There was even one time where I passed both Yamaguchi and him on the way home. I greeted them both, but only Yamaguchi would respond, and Tsukishima pretended like I wasn’t even there. Hell, he probably even knew about my weird penchant for liking his insults. So, eventually with a heavy heart I left him alone. Afterall, if someone doesn’t like you then you can’t force them to like you back.

Still, when I think about this incidence years later it makes me mad. Because its not like I confessed to him or pursued him. In fact, most people would say I wasn’t even that obvious. Yet, he couldn’t be mature enough to handle a girl who liked him.

-Time Skip-

It was years later that I realized that what my friend Momo had said then was true. It took some experimenting and soul searching to discern that yes, I had particular tastes, but it didn’t make me weird or a disgusting person. In fact, it was healthy and natural, something that I took great pleasure in exploring after I graduated high school.

I waited in line at Starbucks for my latte, I was usually here early in the morning. My name was called up before I grabbed my drink and settled in a booth. Like I said I’m here most mornings, reviewing for my classes before they started. Nursing classes in college were no joke if you miss even one day you’re likely to get behind and fail.

Just as I was about to open my textbook and get started, someone dumped their bookbag in the seat in front of me.

I looked up. “Excuse me, this booth is-“

I choked on my own words when I realized I was looking at Tsukishima. Even years later he was still handsome as ever, he even looked taller. He was still wearing glasses and was dressed casually.

“This booth is what? It looks empty unless you’re waiting for someone?”

I shook my head. He slid in the booth in front of me.

“H-how you been? Long time no s-see,” I said.

God, this was awkward how the hell do you talk to someone who purposely ignored you in high school after they found about your crush?

He shrugged. “Can’t complain. College and volleyball keeps me busy.”

I looked at him in surprise. “You still play?”

He took a sip of his coffee and nodded in affirmation. “I’ve seen you in this coffee shop a few times. So, I guess you go to that college nearby.”

The two of us got into a discussion of how I was going into a master’s nursing program after graduation and how he was going to work in a museum afterwards. It was hard to believe this was the same guy who would regularly argue with me in high school. The same guy who would respond to my jokes with insults. He seemed so relaxed and he had even smirked at some of the nonsense I had rambled on about. It seemed like the baggage that weighed on him back then was something that he resolved. He looked like he was in a better place than the boy I knew in high school.

Soon, I had to leave for my class and I almost gave him my number. I shook my head; this wasn’t the time to relive childhood crushes. I had moved on and I was better for it. So, with that in mind I made my way to my morning class. However, imagine my surprise when he continued to show up in that coffee shop every morning and chat with me. He had his bookbag with him, but he never attempted to do work like I would. And neither would I get any work done with him there. But I never had the heart to tell him to go away or even find somewhere else to study. I was there every morning diligently.

Weeks turned into months and we continued to still meet. Not everything about him changed though. He still sometimes responded with annoyance, however this time the insults were tinged with a bit of affection that I couldn’t help but notice. It made my heart pound and made me feel like a schoolgirl once more. I tried not to get my hopes up high, you’d think I would have learned from last time. But there was just something about him that made me helpless. Plus, the fact after a couple of months he had taken me out to restaurants and the movies a couple times, gave me hope that maybe this time it was different. It all became clear when he invited me out for karaoke with his other friends.

I had dressed up in a pretty, floral summer dress with natural makeup and some flats. I tried to look good but casual, I didn’t want him to get any ideas. I walked up to the karaoke bar that we were supposed to meet up at and was surprised to see him standing there with Yamaguchi.

I hadn’t seen Yamaguchi in a while, and he looked great as well. He seemed shocked to see me and, in my excitement, I gave him a tight hug. He blushed and returned it a bit awkwardly.

I turned to Tsukishima and greeted him. He seemed annoyed for some reason. Tsukishima quickly started introducing the whole group. There were a few other girls and guys I didn’t recognize and apparently, they were all from his college. I greeted them and bowed my head a little.

They all started to go in the bar, and I was too when Tsukishima grabbed my wrist and pulled me back.

“I forgot to tell you. You look nice,” he murmured as he looked at me from top to bottom.

I felt my cheeks heat up and mumbled “thanks.” I felt him squeeze my hand before letting go.

“You coming?” He kept the door opened for me and let me in. We walked together to the reserved karaoke room side by side; my shoulders kept brushing up against his. I felt the heat from his body and his hands secure me around my waist before we arrived at the room. The small karaoke room seemed cramped from all the people, but he pulled me next to him in a seat in the corner.

Before long everyone was singing, eating snacks, and drinking beer. I was about to ask him to sing with me for the next round when a red-haired girl came to sit on the other side of Tsukishima. She hogged his attention for the next hour. She kept touching his hands and leaning over to talk to him. Tsukishima for his part seemed ok with the attention and indulged her, leaving me in the corner just sipping beer. I felt like crying just when everything seemed ok and he appeared to be interested, reality came and slapped me in the face. I wanted to leave right away, but I couldn’t without being rude. So, I sat there in the corner watching everyone sing and have a good time, while the girl and him sat so close together she was basically on his lap.

When she let out a loud laugh and planted a kiss on his cheek, I finally lost it. My eyes clouded with tears and I stood up abruptly. Tsukishima seemed startled and pushed her off him.

“Thanks for inviting me, but I have to go. I don’t feel so good. Excuse me,” I said while gathering my phone and purse.

I left quickly and wiped the tears from my eyes on the way out. I sniffled a few times on the street as I figured out if I wanted to grab a taxi or walk to the nearest train station.

“Y/N!” I heard someone called out my name.

I looked back to see Tsukishima making his way to me. Not wanting him to convince me to come back and watch as he flirted with another woman, I hiked up my dress and speed walked away from the bar. Unfortunately for me his longer legs meant he caught up to me in no time and grabbed my hand.

“Why are you leaving?” he asked.

I shifted my eyes nervously, not looking him in the eye.

“I felt nauseous and kind of dizzy, so I thought I should go home to rest,” I lied as I felt my hands get sweaty.

“Ok, let’s go.” Tsukishima grabbed my hands and started pulling me towards the street.

“What’re you doing?” I tried to pull my hands back from his tight grip.

“Making sure you get home safely. I can’t let you go like this by yourself.”

He hailed a taxi and made sure I was settled in the backseat before he let himself in from the other door. Apparently, he was serious about this enough to accompany me home.

“Tell the driver your address,” he said as he nudged me from my shock. I mumbled the address of my apartment and rested my head against the car’s cool glass window. I really didn’t want to be near Tsukishima right now, a man that’s rejected me twice. So, I ignored him and pretended to rest the entire way there.

Tsukishima paid the driver as I frankly refused to pay as it was his idea to get a taxi and I let myself out. I heard another door slam and watched as the taxi drove away without Tsukishima in it.

“What do you think you’re doing? I’m home now so you can go back to karaoke.”

He smirked. “Well, see you rushed off in such a hurry that I didn’t even get to eat properly. So, I think you should invite me in and repay me with coffee.”

I gritted my teeth. “I have no coffee in my apartment right now so please go away.”

“You drink coffee multiple times per day. I’m pretty sure a coffee maniac like you has some in your apartment,” he said as he walked off towards my apartment.

“Now where are you going! You don’t even know which apartment it is!” I huffed as I rushed to catch up with him.

“You told the driver 206, right?”

I cursed my idiotic self; I should have just taken the train.  I caught up to him a few minutes later and found him waiting at my door. He looked at me like I was the stupid one for walking so slow.

I glared at him and opened the door. Tsukishima invited himself in and was at least polite enough to remove his shoes before making himself at home.

I sighed knowing that he wasn’t going to go away anytime soon so I might as well just give him his coffee and send him on his way.

Just as I was about to go into the kitchen, he grabbed me again and held me against his chest. His hand let go of mine and traveled down to my waist. He held it tightly enough so even when I was trying to push him away, he wouldn’t budge.

“You want to tell me why you left in such a hurry? The truth this time.”

I huffed angrily.

“Can you let go? I need to make coffee so you can leave my apartment!”

Tsukishima tilted my face up so he can look me in the eyes. “The truth, Y/N.”

I grinded my teeth together and pushed against him. “I told you the truth already. Can you give me some space?”

I smacked his hand from my face away. “In fact, you can stop touching me so familiarly we are not together!” I yelled and gained more confidence. “You can go back to karaoke and talk to that lovely girl. It’s obvious that’s what you wanna do. I’m not sure what you’re doing here.”

That last part was said with more bitterness than I intended. I looked up at him to see him watching me carefully like he was trying to figure something out. Tsukishima smiled slowly and it made me wary. He’s never smiled at me like that before. In fact, he’s only ever smirked or scowled in my presence before.

“I never thought I would see the day that moron’s advice on women actually work out.”

I scowled at him. Now what was he talking about? I was this close to biting his hand so he would let go.

“That’s it! I’ve had enough of you for one day. You need to leave right now.” I pointed at the door.

Of course, being Tsukishima, he completely ignored me and touched my cheek. I was dumbstruck and could only watch as his face got nearer, and our lips connected.

My eyes fluttered close as I desperately responded and rested my hands on his shoulder. I had to be on my toes to reach his height still it wasn’t enough as he had to bend the rest of the way to connect.

Panting harshly, I could barely get out “bedroom” before he kissed me again.

Tsukishima picked me up bridal style like I weighed nothing as I pointed out where my bedroom actually was.

I found a particularly sensitive spot right below his ear when I started kissing his neck as he held me. The hitch of his breath made me grin. I bit down gently and sucked harshly before letting go, leaving behind a large bruise. I smirked triumphantly, hoping that the red-haired girl who flirted with him earlier saw it sooner or later.

Tsukishima put me down and touched the dampened area where I had left my mark. He raised his eyebrow as if to say ‘really?’

“Take your clothes off, Y/N” he said as he leisurely took a seat on my bed.

I blushed and shakily started to pull my dress over my head. I threw the dress over to the side and awkwardly wrapped my hands around my midsection. I watched his eyes turn dark as he greedily looked at my exposed curves.

He held out his hand to me and I took it and was pulled into his lap. He kissed me and I opened my mouth to deepen the kiss. I felt his hand messing with the back of my bra and I felt it loosen and tugged off my arms. His warm hands squeezed my breasts and I groaned into the kiss.

He abruptly ended the kiss and started kissing the tops of my breasts with reverence.  

“I didn’t know that girl. She’s Yamaguchi’s friend. I used her to make you jealous.” Tsukishima lightly pinched one breast before taking the other in his mouth.

I tugged his hair, pushing him into my cleavage further. If I wasn’t so numb with pleasure, I would have smacked him a few times.

“A-ahhh ah, you made me cry, asshole,” I whimpered out. He let the right one go before moving onto the left one. He swirled and sucked it thoroughly like a newborn.

“I’m not sorry. It got me into your bed didn’t it? I’ve tried for months and I got nowhere. Had to give you a push,” he mumbled into my chest as he left a trail of hickies in his wake before kissing me again.

Grabbing a fistful of his hair, I pulled as hard as I could to punish him. He only groaned in return and grinded into my center. That quickly backfired as I was left wanting and desperate for friction. I rutted back against him, trying to feel his harden member in his jeans against my damp center.

Tsukishima settled me on top of the bed as he quickly removed his own clothes and removed his glasses. He trapped my hands above my head and settled in nicely between my thighs.

“You think I don’t know how much you want me? I bet you stayed up late at night, fantasying about how much you wanted me to use you like the dirty whore you are,” he whispered huskily in my ear.

My eyes widened and my face became covered in red splotches.

“H-how did you know that I like-“

Tsukishima scoffed. “It was obvious with how you tried to rile me up each time. You still haven’t changed from high school, have you?”

He took his member and lined up against my center.

“I don’t usually like to cuss; I can easily tear someone apart without being uncouth. But if you’re a good girl while I get mine. I’ll reconsider it.” He pecked my lips before withdrawing.

Tsukishima grabbed my hips and held me, while he drove his cock inside, not waiting for me to get accustomed to his size.

I tried to twist my hands out of his hold, instead he tightened it and drove his thrusts even harder as punishment.

He was tearing me apart, clearly, he was chasing his own pleasure as he disregarded everything even my own feelings as he wouldn’t even kiss me.

Feeling my juices gush out he couldn’t help but remark. “Heh, look at you. You’re loving this right now.”

My body shuddered as the harsh treatment excited me further and further, but I just needed something else to cross that threshold.

Tsukishima’s thrusts started losing their rhythm and became sloppier and sloppier.

He let go of my hands and pulled me closer. “Y/N, say my name,” he panted out desperately.

“T-tsukishima..” I choked out.

“No, call me Kei. I’m so close.”

He rested his head on top of my shoulder as he got closer and closer. I threaded my fingers through his sweaty, blond hair.

“Let go, Kei. I got you,” I whispered as he groaned from the pleasure. His warm cum painted my insides and his member twitched several times inside before Tsukishima finally collapsed on top of me.

He laid there on top for several minutes, but I couldn’t help but think was that it? Because I was still drenched and needy.

When he finally got off and noticed my stricken face, Tsukishima got incredibly smug.

“Should I give you what you need? Were you a good girl?”

I took his hand and put it where I needed it. “God damn it! Either get to work or I’ll finish on my own.”

Immediately his face grew fierce and scowled. I gulped. He kissed me harshly and dominated the kiss. I could only helplessly hang on as he once again took what he wanted and punished me.

“If only I could have done that when we were younger to shut you up. It would have made my life easier,” he growled.

My eyes widened when he spread my legs out and settled in between. I jumped up when I felt his warm breath on my wet entrance.

It felt like hours, but he spent a long time licking and teasing me as my walls clenched around his fingers. Each time I was close to finally reaching my climax, he would pull away and stop completely. I was beyond frustrated with him. With the shitty day I had because of him I deserved better, but apparently he didn’t agree with that sentiment. I eventually started begging him, sobbing to let me cum only for him to pull his hand away from my clit.

He sat up and I looked at him through my tear-filled eyes.

“You look pretty like this. Crying and helpless underneath me. It suits you,” he said as he wiped my tears away.  

He palmed his once again hard member and I watched with abated breath. Finally.

Tsukishima grabbed my leg and threw it over his shoulder before driving his cock into me. I keened with pleasure as he set a harsh pace that was better than the first. With the angle he was able to hit all the spots I desperately needed him to. He whispered filthy sentiments as he owned and possessed me physically from below.

It was all too much; I was too wound up and soon enough I was cumming all over his penetrating member.

Tsukishima didn’t slow down and kept his fast thrusts as he helped me ride out the orgasm.

“Think you got another one in you?” he rasped out. I let out a low moan when I registered what he was asking of me. I wasn’t sure I never came twice with anyone else.

His hand traveled down to my clit and started timing his thrusts to his finger’s movement on my clit. Once again, my body started thrumming with anticipation as pleasure started building up.

He started chanting under his breath “come on baby let go.”

A pinch to my clit and a thrust that rocked my cervix and I came all over again.

He groaned when he felt my constricting walls asking for his white cum to swallow. He started doing short, shallow fast thrusts that made his balls tighten and overload with sensations before he exploded. He started moaning my name over and over again, his eyes clenched shut as colors exploded behind his lids.

I felt Tsukishima collapse besides me and I immediately sought his embrace. I cuddled into his stomach, feeling myself exhausted beyond belief.

A few hours later, both of us woke up from our short-lived nap and cuddled each other. The warmth of his body reassuring and comforting me that hopefully we hadn’t moved too fast and this wasn’t a mistake.

“Whatever you’re thinking about. Drop it.”  I sat up and looked down at his face.

Even with his hair disheveled, he was still so breathtakingly handsome.

“I’m just thinking if we went too fast. We haven’t even been on one date yet.”

He sighed and opened his eyes. His pretty eyes connected with mine.

"We've been dancing around each other for months. Besides this was a long time coming since high school.”

High school. My breath hitched, so I was right he did know that I liked him then.

“But you ignored me. I know after you found out I liked you, you started pushing me away. That’s why we stopped talking after the first year,” I said with confusion.

He rubbed his eyes with his hands and pulled me into his chest. I felt his hands pat my hair and burrow me further into his firm chest.

“I know. I was an insecure idiot. I was weirded out by you.”

I opened my mouth to refute.

“Shhhh, let me finish. I was weirded out by the fact that anyone would like me. I had really low self esteem and because I couldn’t figure out why anyone would like me, I decided that you were just a really big weirdo. Of course, after we stopped talking, I immediately regretted it and I didn’t know how to approach you again. So, I thought it would be easier to let it go. And I did until I saw you again in the coffee shop. There was just this big what if I always felt whenever I thought about you. So, I took a chance and I guess I was right to.”

I kissed the part where his heart thumped strongly.

“You were wrong I wasn’t a weirdo. I was just a girl with a crush.”  

[angstymdzsthoughts]

1 no war abo au where teenager omega wwx accidentally (it actually was an accident, the one instance where he wasnt trying to be a little shit) pulled lwj's headband off so now they have to get married even when lxc and jyl isnt married yet. yzy was more than happy to be rid of wwx and jfm couldnt do much with pressure from both his sect and gusu lan.

2 wwx was very apologetic and tries his best to at least be friends with lwj but lwj doesnt know how to deal with him. he keeps avoiding wwx even if he still makes wwx perform his marital duty. the lans are harsh and biased on wwx. making up his rule violations just to have him punished. no one would defend him bc even his husband is cold towards him. then lxc brings in jgy (jgs begrudgingly took my in just bc an omega is an asset and not bc he valued his skills) to gusu lan to marry him.

3 jgy is subtle and obedient, and despite his background the gusu lan elders much prefer him to wwx. xiyao's marriage affair was much larger and not just bc lxc was the sect heir but bc jgy was a better bride than wwx could ever be. wwx couldnt even enjoy the one time good food was served in cr, with his new pregnancy any food tasted like paper. maybe after the child is born lan zhan would look at him and protect him.

4 he didnt. he acted aloof as usual. even when their child lan yuan, the legal heir of gusu lan (by gusu lan law the heir is the oldest of one's generation in the main family), didnt even get a proper one month celebration, lwj didnt bother to fight for them. in reality lwj is torn bc he felt guilty towards wwx but the elders do not like his husband and by extension his child and they criticize him for not being proper enough. so he did what his father did best, standing by doing nothing.

5 it was truly unfair, lxc is free to be intimate with jgy in public but lwj gets scolded for visiting wwx's cottage more than 3 times a week. after 2 years, jgy is still not pregnant and cant resist jgs pushing him to get rid of lan yuan. wwx's omega instinct is in overdrive. it wasnt entirely unreasonable. he may be paranoid, but a venomous spider wont just magically appear in lan yuan's crib. wwx doesnt ask lwj to protect their son, he saw firsthand how useless his husband is in his inaction.

6 it came crashing down when ayuan got sick and he found the note in jgy's handwriting for ayuan's nanny, along with the remains of a poison. he took it up to the elders, not having any of their shit anymore. but they blame him instead, accusing him of being too greedy for power that he would try to get rid of his rival even when his own son was already heir. that he forgot his station, a mere son of a servant. he looked at lwj, who couldnt meet his eyes and didnt say a word to defend him.

7 that was the final straw. clearly them mother and son mean nothing to the entirety of gusu lan, so they would just leave. he brought suibian out and cut a few inches off his hair. you only cut your hair in mourning of spouse or parents. he continued by cutting off the tip of lan yuan's ponytail. from now on wei wuxian has no husband and ayuan has no father. using an invisibility spell he ran away from the wrath he just invoked.

8 he flew to lotus pier and hid under jiang cheng's protection. mdm yu would kick wwx out if she saw him and uncle jiang is as passive as his husband. the healers all report to mdm yu, so jc managed to get him some medicine to treat ayuan, but it didnt cure him, only lessened his symptoms. with jyl's marriage closing in most people are too busy to notice him. jzx is going to pick jyl up from lp instead of having her travel all the way to lanling alone.

9 wwx is glad at least jzx got his head out of his ass and returns his shijie's feelings. the lans come for the wedding, obviously. jc did his best to hide them, but got found out anyway. he ran away and ended up in yiling, sitting by the side of the street to get out of the rain when wen qing found him. the female alpha took him in, out of kindness since she remembered wwx to be one of the few students who were nice to wn during their study in gusu. she healed ayuan and came to like the boy too

10 it was wq who taught ayuan to read and write, wn the one who taught him to play games. jc visits them sometimes, even slipped a silver bell for him. jyl sometimes come when she visits ym. ayuan is almost 5 and gusu lan still hasnt had a new heir, so they are never truly safe from being pursued by the lans. it just so happens that wen xu travelled to yiling from nightless city to meet wq. he was greeted by a child, obviously related to the lans judging from his facial features, hugging his leg

11 wen xu is a decent person, unlike his sleazy younger brother. he appreciates competence like his father and respects wwx as a cultivator. (after all that trauma wwx's bar is very low). ayuan likes him so wwx has no qualms with being friends with wx. they become closer with wx's increasingly frequent trips to yiling.

12 wx began courting wwx. wwx never been courted, never been liked that way by anyone. wx even offered to properly adopt ayuan as his heir. wwx didnt feel it necessary, but it was nice for ayuan to have a father figure. wrh quite like both mother and son. wwx is a strong cultivator and ayuan has innate talent for cultivation. besides, if wwx marries wx and ayuan becomes wen yuan, they would never have to go back to that wretched place everyone calls sacred.

13 wwx agreed to marry wx, becoming young madam wen. but he didnt want any announcement. he just wanted to live in peace where he is. it was quite strange for the marriage of a sect heir to not be held in fanfare. the answer came on the next conference in nightless city. the alpha child sitting next to wen xu has lwj's nose. he has lwj's lips, has lwj's cheekbones, but he wears black and red and dons the surname wen.

14 jc and jyl werent surprised, but the rest of the sects were. lqr spat blood seeing wwx appear next to his son wearing wen robes. wrh didnt appreciate the ruckus and told them to keep it for later. lwj approached wwx after the conference. he admitted that the elders had been putting him on a grill since wwx left. elder brother turned out to be impotent, so the task of producing an heir falls on him. they basically want ayuan back.

15 wwx told him he didnt need to worry. he didnt have to do anything for them, since hes so good at it. just marry another omega, a proper one this time, and have a child with them, as he clearly is able to. besides, wen yuan is already formalized as an heir to qishan wen. so if they dont want a war with the wens they better just leave them mother and son alone.

16 then wen yuan came around the corner, looking for his mother. he called out to wwx, telling him that the banquet is about to start, lets go back to a-die. wwx left with him without another word to lwj. "who was that?" wen yuan asked. wwx grinned, "no one," -i just wanted an excuse for wen wwx

[tyrianludaship]

Finally finished my ref sheet :D

Additional Info:

Daphne lived in a very sheltered household before the infected, as well as being very far from most other people. She mostly had to rely on herself and her family, so she would be incredibly hesitant, maybe even shy to meet the fellow survivors. Once feeling at ease with them however, Daphne is more likely to try and protect them as they do with her.

"#they'd probably act more stoic and reserved on the surface#but they are screaming internally#like a mental battle between “it's so over” and “we're so back !!!”#sees a boomer zombie and despite looking straight-faced; they are thinking like the pic above#(they know its not that simple and powers through it regardless)#they become more competent later on dont worry#<- me knowing damn well i would be terrible in a zombie apocalypse hypothetical#pretty quiet and hesitant over the other survivors at first since most of them are borderline strangers#takes a bit for them to ease in but only when knowing they can rely on the others#fastest to get along with would be coach and ellis no doubt"

Easiest to Hardest to Get Along With:

Coach and Ellis: Met both around the same time; grew up in similar environments (georgia and alabama being right next to each other) and having similar incentives to survive.

Rochelle: Live in different environments but manage to get along despite that (all three probably picked daphne like the group of extroverts would with a introvert-)

Nick: Personalities clash very often; environments are very different and Nick probably tried to steal her wallet when they first met.

Also very important design element: TOOTH GAP TOOTH GAP TOOTH GAP-

Proships DNI

Reblogs > Likes

[dropoutparty]

shurara corps ark fix-it concept babeyy!!

under a read more bc this shits long LOL

also this is kinda rambly but whatever

when it comes to shuraras motivations here, maybe he could have been another childhood friend of keroros. idk how they could have been introduced, maybe through pururu or just by meeting in school, but ig that part doesnt rlly matter. what DOES matter though is that shurara decided to tag along with keroro, giroro, zeroro, and pururu on one of their misadventures and he gets hurt during it. BADLY. pururu patches him up, and zeroro apologizes like crazy (since he knows how much this sucks), but shurara is left with a strong dislike of keroro and friends. except for pururu, who he still likes (but im not keeping the crush bc it serves no purpose here) and zeroro who he kinda forgives a little bit but just because he apologized so much. maybe this could have resulted in some major physical injury that affected how he lived for a while, or maybe it spawned a phobia, but either way it left an impact.

putata and mekeke are sent in first with the goal of beating up the platoon a little bit and taking the star because they are the most skilled team. shurara doesnt want the star because of some stupid bandaid, but he wants to take it in order to both deeply hurt keroros pride and also to potentially have his platoon no longer be officially recognized, taking away something that means a lot to keroro. they actually succeed in taking the keron star kinda. when they get back to base, they realize that the star is fake, its just a piece of fabric or paper with tape on it (like what happened in the original arcs ending). this way the shurara corps will be established as an actual threat and also the ending will have actual stakes.

gyororo sends word back to base that the keron star putata and mekeke got was fake, so giruru is sent in to ACTUALLY get the real star, as well as punish the platoon for embarrassing the corps like that. this one plays out kinda like the actual episode (bc im too lazy to think of anything else), but all that matters is that he still ends up captured.

after this, the platoon is like ok this might actually be serious so they go on high alert. one day dororo notices gyororo (who was sent in a little before putata and mekeke to scout the place out and gather info) bc hes the only competent member of the platoon and confronts him, outing his presence to everyone. gyororo fights back but he is also captured in the end.

after the platoon has captured giruru and gyororo , shurara plans to capture and torture a member of the platoon as revenge. before he can do this though, dokuku and nuii decide to rescue giruru and gyororo in secret. nuii serves as a distraction to everyone while dokuku goes to rescue the fellaz. theres some minor conflict but in the end the four of them escape. after that happens, shurara is furious about his subordinates disobeying him and doing things behind his back, but he keeps his goal the same.

im gonna change yukikis powers bc they kinda suck and hes confusing. anyways yukiki isnt actually a snowman, but hes the hat! kinda like in mario odyssey, you put the hat on anyone or anything, and it will immediately be controlled by yukiki. he was an experiment done to try to make a sentient object, and he got his name because he was first tested on a snowman (which also makes it the form hes most comfortable taking). anyways, shurara sends in yukiki to capture someone by taking control of them, but hes defeated somehow and returns empty-handed.

im also gonna change robobos powers a bit. with robobo i dont think that he should have the ability to turn people into electronics because thats dumb and doesnt make any sense, so im gonna give him the ability to just control other machines. he also doesnt have a giant form, and can switch his hands between their magnet form and their drill form. anyways, at this point shurara is furious and decides that he doesnt care about capture anymore, he wants the platoon dead. he decides to send robobo for the job because robots dont have the same margin of error that living things do, or at least theyre supposed to. turns out, they totally do bc robobo also comes back with a failure.

after this, shurara somehow lures the platoon to his base (just like in the anime) but this time everyone is waiting for them there in a big empty room together. shuraras disembodied voice gets a monologue like in the anime and the roof opens, lighting the room up because its a bright spring day. kagege then appears and takes control of the platoons shadows like in the anime! all of the shadows are used to fight the platoon, as well as the corps themselves fighting. its an epic fight, but just when it seems like the platoon is all gonna die, the corps suddenly decide to stop fighting. they all tell the platoon about how shurara has been acting worryingly erratic and obsessive, so they agree to spare the platoons life as long as they confront shurara. the platoon obviously agrees, and theyre taken to a holding area so that shurara thinks that theyve won. they give them this offer because theyre not personally invested in killing these nerds, they dont really care. they ARE worried about shurara though, seeing how obsessed with this hes become.

anyways kagege reports to shurara (in my headcanon hes like shuraras right hand man or something like that) and is like "we beat the platoon, but we didnt kill them. theyre our prisoners right now and were gonna torture them before we let you do the honors" and then shuraras like "poggers!!! thats a great idea!!" and then proceeds to drink his choccy milk and play minedcraft. meanwhile, some of the others are actually patching the platoon up and telling them what to do with shurara. they tell the platoon to try to hurt him as little as possible, and DEFINITELY dont fucking kill him, but just try to knock some sense into him and restrain him or something.

the platoon asks why shurara hates them so much and whoevers patching them up doesnt know, but kagege comes down soon after and tells them shuraras motivations. after this, some understanding can be felt by giroro and dororo (bc they were there, even tho dororo is the only one who remembers shirara like at all) and keroro feels kinda guilty but not too much bc head empty. later, the corps has a big celebration feast and shurara declares that hell painfully kill the platoon bright and early tomorrow. in all the commotion, nuii convinces gyororo to sneak down into the platoons holding cells to bring them some leftover food.

the next day, the platoon is brought to the same room that they fought the corps in, and theyre tied up. shurara is talkin abt how hes gonna kill them all super painfully and stuff but little does he know that the ropes holding the platoon are actually not secure at all (on purpose), so the platoon all escapes their bindings and a fight with shurara ensues. when the platoon is in a tight spot, one of the corps will show up real quick and help them out, kinda like a support in a fighting game. eventually, shurara is tied up and defeated technically.

shurara is whining and stuff and calling the corps a bunch of traitors, but the corps talk to him about how worried they all are about him and that this whole thing has gone too far (you rlly think these goobers are worth all this effort??). shurara says something about how keroro hurt him before, so he wants to hurt him and his platoon back. the corps are like ya i get that but killing them is wayy overkill no pun intended. keroro apologizes and maybe dororo can say something about how keroro also hurt him in the past but hes been able to move past that or whatever and shurara is like bro ur right and he starts crying like da babey he is lmao and there u have it!!! the arcs over and everyone is ok and happy!!! found family trope pog!!!!!!

[rattotheimperialcheesegod]

[asks for more] :)

damn alright! >:]

so after miriam and kiwi agreed that audrey could come along with them to the dream realm

they set off! miriam telling audrey to just sit in the middle to balance the broom since just having kiwi on the broom is heavy anothe

audrey then tries hold onto miriam and miriam just glares at her so audrey just nervously just holds onto the broom

after they fly to the nexus tree

audrey hops off first and looks at the leafs

"the tree...its..dying.." audrey says as she looks at it sadly

"no shit! we need to get in fast!" miriam says to audrey

"kiwi! we gotta open the nexus together its took weak for only person"

kiwi nods and goes up to the tree with miriam

audrey stands back, "there..gonna work to together again, eya...these two really changed alot since i was gone, they have such power, even the bard as powers, and its with music!" audrey thought to herself

kiwi and miriam started to play the song for the nexus

but after a few tries

the trees portal warp only opens a small bit

like they needed more...

"uh whats wrong?" audrey asks

miriam out of breathe from doing her flute like 5 times says "it..it seems...the tree is so weak, the two of us cant open the portal for shit..only..opening a tiny bit each time we try..."

miriam sits downs and takes a breathe in"eya almighty..."

kiwi looks at audrey and goes up to her "audrey can you play any instrument or even sing??"

"w-what?" audrey answers

audrey backs up

"WHAT?!" miriam says looking at kiwi

"ok ok! i can get bringing her along! BUT HER SINGING?? oh nonono!" miriam says to kiwi

"miriam, we couldnt even get it open with the two of us! we need audreys help! even if she doesnt have any magic..." kiwi responds

miriam looks worried and she looks at audrey

"can you sing? or do any instruments?"

audrey panics and scratchs the back of her neck "uh..singing is um...not really my strong suit..."

miriams eyebrows go down "can you play a instrument??? come on audrey"

audrey goes silent

"i..."

"i used to play gutair...before..i left..to become the hero.."

audrey says in response

"but-im missing an arm! i cant play gutair with just one arm--"

then suddenly miriam shoots a magic bolt at audreys arm and a glowing replacement apears

"there! now you can play, only lasts a few minutes!"

audrey looks at miriam and smiles "t-thank you, miriam..."

miriam blushes abit "uh..no problem..."

miriam looks at kiwi

miriam sighs in relief and smiles alittle "kiwi?"

"already on it!" kiwi takes off their hat and reachs inside and pulls out a few different instruments

a piano

a full drum set

a flute

another piano

"uh..." audrey says seeing all these things come out of kiwis hat

"just give them a sec" miriam says to audrey

then finally after kiwi pulls out a full on trumpet

they take out a gutair that is very themed to kiwis style

"this was a gift of eya, it changes to its users liking of gutair" kiwi says to audrey

"yeah its pretty neat--now give it to audrey kiwi, we dont much time!"

miriam says to kiwi

kiwi smiles and scratchs their head "heh sorry!"

kiwi walks over to audrey and gives it to audrey

it begins to glow and its design changes

"i bet its gonna be a electric gutair" miriam whispers to kiwi

the gutair transformation finishes and the gutair is...

a red wooden gutair, with hearts carved into the base of the gutair and the metal has turned to gold

"oh! uh..thats um--pfft- pretty nice" miriam snickers to herself

audrey looks at the gutair

"this...looks.."

"just like my nanas gutair..." audrey says with a shaken smile and green sparks come out of her

kiwi and miriam look at eachother and then looks back at audrey

"audrey..we need to go"

audrey wipes some tears and gets a serious face as green sparks fly out of her as we walks up to the nexus

"lets do this..."

audrey strums her gutair and red blue orange green and pink lightning fly out of her and the gutair

miriam plays her flute and kiwi starts to sing

but they see as they play audreys eyes glow with colors as they spark with lightning and when the final note of played a lightning strike flys out of audreys left arm having a figure of a arm but more sharp and lightning flying around it

opening the portal to the nexus competely

the two see this and are in shock by audreys sudden spark of energy

"did..did she just.."

miriam says to kiwi

kiwi with stars in their eyes "oh yes she did!"

audrey looks at them "i did what?"

kiwi and miriam look at her confused "you didnt see what you were doing..?" miriam says to audrey

audrey scratchs her head and shakes her head

"yknow what...we'll talk about it later, we got a job to do!"

miriam says

kiwi and audrey nods and they all rush into the portal to the dream realm

end of act 2

and into that is a intermisson

[hearteyes-candyskies]

Odysseus

yandere shouto x reader, background shinsou x reader

summary; im a lil too obsessed with greek myth and purple prose and shouto’s too obsessed with u. peep the title if u still dont know what this is abt

tw; blood, death

word count; 2.6k

X

the cast

of course, we have our brave and guileful hero, Todoroki Shouto, as Odysseus himself, Nobody, King of Ithaca, and Son of Laertes. you play the role of sweet Penelope, Helen’s pretty mortal cousin. brash Antinous is portrayed by Yoarashi Inasa. and Shinsou Hitoshi is our silver-tongued Eurymachus

the first glance

Shouto first comes for the hand of your demi-god cousin, Helen, who is said to rival Aphrodite in beauty. you don’t like this farce your uncle puts on, summoning men from all over Greece to compete for Helen’s hand in marriage; she is still a child, only 16, and with no say in her future. still, you think, rather guiltily, better her than you. you do your best to avoid the suitors who come in hope of Helen’s hand, lest the see you and decide that they would like a consolation prize. downward gazes, veiled hair, and thick, draping robes all help to deflect attention, and you mange to pass unnoticed for the first couple weeks. all of this changes when he arrives. it’s said that nothing escapes his watchful gaze, and when his icy eyes sweep over you, you can feel yourself freeze as you pull your shawl just a little closer. he pauses for a fraction of a second, and yet you are unimaginably relieved when he moves on to inspect the crowd of nobles gathered in the corner

the pursuit

that night, you appear only as needed for the festivities before hurrying off to your rooms to weave. you’re rushing through one of the more abandoned hallways, preferring to walk a little extra rather than run into a drunk man, and when you turn the corner, room in view, Shouto stops you. maybe stop is too vague of a word; rather, he cages you in, not only with a casual hand against the wall, but also societal niceties. you desperately want to push him away, run for the refuge of your room, but to do so would be to slight all of Ithaca and bring his wrath down on your father. Shouto knows this, too. he tries to woo you first, honeyed words and a silver tongue, but you’re the daughter of a king. you’re used to gold. he tells you that the minute he saw you hiding away in the corners of shadows that his heart would beat for no other, and that he had to have you no matter what it took. 

‘such a delicate thing, whose humble beauty is overshadowed by your cousin’s,’ he says. it doesn’t escape your notice how docile he makes you out to be, and while you were raised to be demure and refined lady, if Shouto really thinks you’re going to sit back and let him take you away, he’s wrong. he seems to sense the little fire of rebellion deep within you, but rather than putting him off, it only stokes his desire. lust flares in his eyes, and from that moment onward you know that you’ve trapped yourself in an obsessive relationship

the snare

Shouto leaves Tyndareus’ house with an alliance of the Greek city states and your hand in marriage. his quick wit and silver tongue allows him to secure the visiting nobles into a united agreement; Tyndareus will choose a husband for Helen, and all other men must leave without quarrel, and come when called upon. in return, Tyndareus will support Shouto in his pursuit of you. you know who the man is before your uncle even speaks, for in your agreement to marry Shouto, you asked that he might provide a kind and worthy man as Helen’s spouse. once again Helen lords over your life, but you cannot find it within yourself to hate her for it. after all, she is but a mere child, still too young to understand that her beauty is not really hers, that her life will always be in the hands of other men. still, one could argue that you are but a child, too. the ceremony is beautiful; you wear a dress of the finest fabric, a material softer and finer and lighter than any sort of linen you have ever encountered but one that Shouto assures you is worth it’s weight in gold. if he thinks to buy your love with material goods, you’ll allow yourself to be spoiled but you will never part with your affection willingly. at least, that’s what you think. Shouto has other plans

the early years

even from the beginning Shouto’s love is overbearing and extreme, but he’s a powerful king who treats you well and kept your cousin safe so there’s not much you can complain about. you’re just barely out of childhood, children who have been burdened with great power and yet the love and devotion he looks at you with is unparalleled. you have a feeling that he would fight even the gods to keep you. he’s kind and considerate; for the first two years of marriage he neither beds you nor tries do, despite the pressure he must feel to produce an heir and the weight of your family’s expectations. these gifts, these personal liberties he allows you to have, the way he lets you roam the island at your own leisure, this is why you fall in love with him. it’s odd; you never thought you would love the stoic king of Ithaca, but it seems that Aphrodite has other plans for you. on your twentieth birthday, you welcome him into your bed for the first time, and less than a month later, you discover that you are with child. it’s the next turning point in your marriage

the worse years

after the birth of Telemachus, Shouto’s love changes once again. once forgiving and relaxed about your interactions with others, he seeks to hide you away for only himself to see. the worst is when men approach you. it does not matter what their intentions are, nor their age nor stature nor standing; Shouto claims that his heart beats only for you, and thus yours should beat only for him. his demands to know where you’ve been and who you’ve talked to become more and more intense, until the island loses it’s queen. you are a prisoner in your own home, with Shouto smothering you in love, spending the whole of his day just lounging with you while he addresses kingly matters. bitterly, you think how you have never had any power to your name, not the way that men do and not the way that Shouto does. your rooms are nothing but a gilded cage, and you are almost glad when he is summoned for war. almost. after all, you do love the soft, kind boy that he once was

the war

throughout the war, you hear of your husband’s exploits. his bravery, his cunning, his skill. whenever you do not hear about him, your heart aches in fear, though you do not know if you wish him alive or dead. a year after the way has ended, when Helen has been reunited with Menelaus again, when Agamemnon is dead and Cassandra gone, when Aeneas has set sail for New Iliium, not yet Rome, the suitors come trickling in. at first, you do not know what to do, for festivities and mean both ceased to exist within the palace walls after the birth of your son. two catch your eye, bold Antinous, known as Inasa, sweet beyond his brash exterior, and sly Eurymachus, whose wit you see in your husband and whose charm is only his own. by the end of the second year after the fall of Troy, it is obvious who your heart beats for. the sight of purple sets your heart alight, and his small smiles are as sweet as the finest honey. you wonder if this is how Odysseus felt when he first saw you. 

‘call me Hitoshi’, he says, and the way it rolls off your tongue is a sign that this love was meant to be. he asks for your hand in marriage three times. each time a flash of red and white causes your throat clog with fear, and though you know that you deny him out of protection, it makes the tears no less painful. even the loss of your husband cannot set you free

the reprieve 

after Hitoshi’s third proposal, you set about weaving a shroud for your vanished lover. each day you weave ten rows, and each night you unravel five more. the sun-drenched days you spend with your violet-haired lover only fuel a blazing passion within you, but when he is gone, when you are alone in a cold room meant for two, the icy gaze of your husband haunts you, and you cannot help but delay the inevitable once more. you will bury your love, one day. you just cannot find the courage now. in the end of the fifth year after the fall of Troy, you finish the shroud. 

Hitoshi is too respectful to rejoice, but you can see the relief in his eyes that you have finally put the memory of your husband to rest. plans are made, friends contacted, and suitors long vacated return to your halls in preparation of a beautiful wedding. the palace swells with life once more, the boisterous laughter of the men filling the halls and driving away the cold of the night. when night falls, you rest your head against Hitoshi’s chest, his arm slung carelessly across your shoulders, and you listen to the steady sound of his heartbeat, and rejoice in the constancy of his love. 

where Shouto is the sun, bright and brilliant and life giving, but prone to flares of temper and burning those his affections focus on, Hitoshi is the moon; silver-tongued and soft, reflecting the radiance of others and giving the world a gentle glow. yet, despite your happiness, despite the love and life that is promised, you cannot help but feel a pit of worry in your gut

the unraveling 

not more than a week after the former suitors’ arrival, your anxieties are confirmed in the form of a beggar. he is naught but an old man, merely claiming to know of the great king Odysseus, yet you cannot help but lean away from Hitoshi, your lover, and sit as if unhappy with the festivities. something about your mysterious visitor doesn’t sit right with you, and when he proclaims that Odysseus has escaped death, you know why. Inasa laughs, the scent of wine and honey heavy on his breath, and declares Odysseus dead. 

‘his wife has burned the shroud she wove, not more than a month ago. dead men do not return five years after their fall.’ you want nothing more than to silence him, fear brewing in your stomach, and you are too busy giving panicked glances to your dear friend to notice how the stranger’s eyes train on you alone. a curt nod affirms Inasa’s statement, and your voice is steady when you answer. 

‘less than a moon ago I laid the memory of my husband to rest. it has been ten long years, five years too long for a living man to return.’ you say this, and yet, you cannot wonder if this is a test . who is this man who claims to know of your husband, whose eyes burn like ice against your skin? you have to know, and perhaps it is your curiosity that causes your downfall

the slaughter 

when the guests wake the next day, you propose a challenge. it’s selfish of you, borne out of a need for reassurance, a need to know that your husband truly is dead and that your love lives and will remain living. the great bow of Odysseus, only to be strung and shot by the man himself, is brought out, and forty axes are planted in the great hall. 

‘this bow was my husbands, may his soul rest in Hades, and it was said that only he could wield it. who among you will try?’ man after man step up, failing good naturedly and patting Hitoshi on the back when he too does the same. you don’t mind his inability to wield the bow; in fact, it comforts you that your husband has been laid to rest, that his memory will not live on even in his weapons. then, the beggar from last night comes forward, and though you know that the decrepit body of his will be unable to sustain the force needed to even string the bow, fear runs thick in your blood. it is like you have been struck by Zeus, watching as the stranger strings the bow with ease, before launching an arrow straight through the great axes in the hall. your husband stands, and shakes off the illusion like a fur coat. 

‘my love’ is all he says, and before you can react there’s an arrow buried in Agelaus’ heart and an expression of horror burned into his face. he orders you to the bedroom, your shared bedroom, but you stand still in shock, unable to move as he slaughters the men you have called friends in the very place you once called a prison. soon, far too quickly, there is none left save for brave Inasa and your lover Hitoshi. the look of disgust on your husband’s face as he rounds on Inasa, sword drawn, is unimaginable. 

‘you come into my house, flaunt the rules of xenia, court my wife, and desire mercy? you will have no justice except for the bite of my blade.’ Inasa dies inelegantly, loud voice lost in a fountain of blood pouring from his throat. as Shouto stalks towards Hitoshi, it as all you can do to throw yourself around your lover, despite your please, Hitoshi steps out from behind you, hands placating and silver tongue spilling words of peace and goodwill. you want to tell him that silver tongues fail against tongues of gold, but it is too late and in the end all you can do is hold your love as the life bleeds from his eyes, forgiving and gentle to the very end

the ruins

the hem of your fine silk dress is soaked in blood when Shouto pulls you into his embrace, and you call brokenly for the servants to keep your son from seeing the carnage. he should never have to know the monster that his father is. as you look into his face, worn by the horrors of war and lined by time, you cannot help but hope that this is not your husband who has just perpetuated such a crime, that the soft red and white haired boy you once knew is dead, and a god holds you in their arms instead. 

it’s a desperate, last ditch attempt to save the face of a man who once brought the life of Ithaca to you, and when you ask him to prove that he is Odysseus, that he is Shouto, your husband, you hope that he cannot speak anything but lies and half truths. he asks what you would want to hear from him, and you tell him that you have tired of sleeping alone and would like him to move to the bed in your bridal chamber, as only Odysseus himself would be able to lift it. 

Shouto smiles, the years slipping off his face, and for a second you’re staring into the eyes of a man who helped your cousin, a man who waited two years to even touch you because he wanted to respect your decision to love him at your own pace, the man who gave you your greatest joy, Telemachus. he strokes your hair, love clouding his beautiful eyes, and tells you that it cannot be done, for he built the bed himself around a living olive tree. your heart sinks in disappointment, and you know that no divinity stands before you, only a god of a man. as you fall into his arms and sob, he holds you close, arms just a little too tight as he whispers soft comforts in your ear. 

‘I am home, my love, and you have been here, waiting faithfully for me’

[readingaccountability]

snow crash - neal stephenson

my playlist (because of The Way That I Am)

final thoughts:

okay, im going to be honest right out of the gate- i cant decide whether this is a book id recommend or not. it was really fun for the most part, but personally there was a lot more exposition than id like. the early portions of the novel have exposition which feels completely fair, mostly things relating to worldbuilding. stephenson creates his own vision of future america, and some places online referred to it as cyberpunk, and some as post-cyberpunk. id be more in the latter camp, mostly due to the way he plays with tropes, leaving the reader unsure of which will be subverted and which wont.

the use of language was really fun, and i enjoyed the worldbuilding a lot. his vision of a futuristic capitalistic earth feels surreal in its immediacy and recognizability. the back jacket blurb ends with "a future america so bizarre, so outrageous, you'll recognize it immediately." which, yeah. a texan info-tech magnate? two competing corporations owning the highway system? suburban city-states? this was another enjoyable thing- everything was colorfully named, and names treated totally normally, which kind of poked fun at how we have everyday things named very ludicrously and for the most part we are totally blind to it.

one aspect i really enjoyed was that the author often doesn't make certain things clear to the audience, until he does, and then it becomes necessary to reassess the entire story and setting. this goes to underscore the theme of the importance of information and the ways we take it in and perceive the world based upon it. for example, we don't learn that y.t. is fifteen until maybe 75 pages in, at which point a lot makes sense in retrospect. the same thing occurs in the worldbuilding, as suddenly a detail is given in passing and the reader must incorporate it into the setting, which by default we assume to be similar in many ways to our idea of america. it keeps the reader on their toes as well as furthering the worldbuilding. for the most part, the tech stuff didnt feel outdated to me, despite being a future projected out from '92.

however, aspects of the book are definitely very 1992. id put these into two camps: the first, being that the book does at different times use slurs. the main character is black and asian, the n word is used a few times by racist side-character/antagonist types, as are a few other racial slurs. there was also the occasional usage of the r slur, within the narrative prose itself, rather than usage as an insult within dialogue.

the protagonist, who is named, unfortunately, hiro protagonist, is a great character and felt very fleshed out to me, though at times he reminded me more of dirk strider than normally would be ideal. (its obvious that stephenson and andrew hussie are of a similar type of writer, and play with similar tropes, lmao.) hiro is a man of many worlds. he seems to shift between them easily, though never fully existing in any of them. this is reflected in his background, both in his biracial identity and in having been raised on a myriad of army bases. this is layered further in his fluidity in interacting with both reality and the metaverse, yet remaining slightly, consistently aloof. fascinatingly the first moment i sensed this drop was when we meet juanita- aka where his real and meta realities coincide. the description of them as the adam and eve of the metaverse is both insanely romantic and thematically key (good god i wish we had more than like, two conversations between them). juanita designed the facial component to metaverse avatars, doing the majority of this work when the two were together, and hiro can see echoes of both their facial tics in the face of every avatar in the metaverse. in a way, by having done this work juanita is positioned by the narrative as one of the gods of this digital realm. she is also hiro's call to action, being aware of the coming trouble and alerting him to it, as well as connecting him to the informational database he needs to prepare.

y.t., the secondary protagonist, fucking ruled. i loved that she was just a fifteen year old punkass kid whose mom doesnt know how crazy this part time job is. y.t. being worried about her mom was a great thread throughout, and a really good balance to how obviously independent y.t. is. i do wish there had been a chance to explain more about her background (she has a dad who left who is mentioned in a throwaway sentence, and a boyfriend who is mentioned near the beginning but never again.) i really enjoyed how obviously hyperaware y.t. was at all times about her own place within the insanities of the setting, while also consistently writing her as a teen maybe in way too deep who thinks about things in typically teenage ways. but like, that wasn't ever held against her? the narrative meets her where she is. it was honestly awesome. HOWEVER,

i absolutely hated the raven and y.t. scenes. how creepy!!! he basically statutory rapes her!!! we know hes at least late 20s early 30s, because hes the same age as hiro. if this sort of content is upsetting to read for you, i definitely do NOT recommend this book. (if you want to avoid reading these bits: ch 47 y.t. meets raven, ch 50 they are in a bar eating, ch 52 things happen that result in y.t.'s anti-assault device activating- she did not activate it on purpose, but forgot it was there- and raven is knocked out.)

please PLEASE dont take any of the following analysis as like, trying to be apologetic towards this scenes. because again they were awful and hard to get through and really gross. but im also cognizant that the author was obviously trying to convey something by making the choice, like the way it was written is obviously not condoning this sort of thing.

i think maybe what stephenson was trying to get at with that, was that we see hiro internally negate any potential for anything untoward with y.t. basically immediately, since he kind of senses that she might have a small crush on him (though this doesnt last more than a fleeting moment, especially from her perspective). vs raven, whose 'poor impulse control' warning tattoo eventually elicits a sarcastic remark from hiro after he finds out raven and y.t. were "a thing". i really dont think hiro knew how far it went? like it was just suuuper weird, but i figured it was meant narratively to 1. execute the chekovs gun of y.t.'s anti-assault device, 2. contrast hiro and raven (especially considering the bike-racing argument where theyre telling the story together, which is supposed to parallel them, while contrasting the differences in how they ended up?), and 3. just to get raven unconscious, i guess. but good god it was weird and i hated every second of it, why couldnt the device have like, activated way earlier?? gah. fucking upsetting. moving past that!

honestly i was really frustrated by how little screentime juanita got, because the way she was introduced was so fucking interesting and then shes mostly off doing her own thing. the bits of explanation she gives at the end about what she was up to on the raft are so sparse and im like damn, can we get a little bit of her pov in here? please? that would have ruled. additionally, shes supposed to be hiros love interest, but we see so little of them interacting outside her intro scenes. a huge portion of why hiro is getting into the sumerian mythology is literally framed as something that will help him understand juanita, but we dont get to see him talk to her about it barely at all.

the supporting characters were quite fun, i particularly liked the librarian. big surprise, i liked the overly literal ai information-dispensor, lmfao. watching him and hiro interact reminded me SO hard of geordi laforge having honest to god conversations with the computer where he tries to coax information out of it, aka one of my favorite little aspects of tng.

and lastly, the major plot themes themselves. i adore the way stephenson approached action, it was very entertaining. usually i cant really visualize action scenes written out, but his use of language was really really effective and engaging. the plot itself was absolutely fascinating, though i found the premise pretty contrived. which isnt bad in itself, i was fully suspending my disbelief until the last hundred pages or so. which for a 550+ page book, isnt too bad.

i did like the approach of linking the ancient to the modern, that is always really neat. and i think ultimately stephenson did it in an interesting way, not how i would have done it, but definitely interesting! creating these ideas about information infrastructures, and there being words that can access those and be used to control people, was wild. not sure if i agree about the equating of religion to a virus, though he did specifically establish that it was more the approach to religion, than religion itself. (maybe if juanita had been more goddamn present in the narrative that could have been elaborated on a little more. literally her perspective would have been perfect in balancing that out!!)

ultimately what did me in was the very very very long winded MONOLOGUE where hiro re-explained the whole premise, in ways that didnt really neatly organize into a cohesive argument. a lot of the scenes where hiro talks to the librarian, which are interspersed throughout the book, are really exposition heavy, because stephenson is rooting his ideas in historical concepts that need to be explained to both hiro and the audience. and i thought all that was fine, because it was a conversation where hiro was grappling with the information, and he was figuring it out along with the reader, and most importantly it was a conversation between him and the librarian computer program.

howeverrr later on we get a full rehash of all that, where hiro makes clear some stuff that was just implied for the reader, and hes literally just telling these important men whats up in this big long monologue. utterly worthless. i kept reading it and going YEAH, we KNOW, we know this we know this. and the important men barely interjected. it added basically nothing to our understanding of the situation, other than reframing it. but everything added was already an implicit thing, and didnt really need to be said again.

the resolution to the book was stellar, the last 30-40 pages, once hiro is onto the raft, were great. ultimately after reading and giving some time to digest it, i think it was a solidly great book with a few big drawbacks near the end, but which dont carry through and sully the ending.

[werifestaria]

Hi I love your blog layout it so tidy!! Also would it be alright if I got a bnha matchup please?. My pronouns are she/her and I'm bisexual. My personality type is ISTJ, I'm a sagittarius sun, scorpio moon and libra rising. To the public I'm pretty closed off/reserved but with my friends I'm brave, loyal and love to laugh. I don't trust easily and I'm pretty cautious of everyone so I try to keep out of the way.

My hobbies include gymnastics which I did competitively and won a few medals, I also do figure skating and have leveled up pretty quickly at that. I workout everyday because even though I dont compete now I still want to improve and if anything I'm better now than I was back then.

I like indie music, horror movies mainly psychological, nature and wildlife and the peace and quiet it brings. I hate loud, busy places, untidy, dirty things and people messing up my routine.

My love language is quality time like I just wanna be around that person a lot. I think the love language that speaks to me most is probably also quality time, like the fact that they would want to be around me willingly seems so unfamiliar I love the idea of it. Also words of affirmation or physical touch, I'm awkward at giving those but receiving them would make me melt cause I'm not really used to any of it. My ideal dates are simple things like going on walks at like 3am or dancing in the livingroom or movie nights just cheap simple things like that.

hope that's okay sorry it kindof long :)

𝐦𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐚

Thank you so much for one of our first requests! We appreciate your love for the layout as well!! Tbh, I spent multiple hours straight getting it just right, so it’s a relief people find it pretty- and also, Scorpio moon gang! anyways, I hope you enjoy your matchup from me! Have a lovely day, hun

𝐦𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 . . .

𝐞𝐣𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐚 !

runner-up : hanta sero

Easily, Kirishima is one of BNHA’s most easygoing, compassionate characters. His heart is big and always in the right place. Based off of your description and his own array of traits, I think he is the perfect character for you! Like, almost a little too perfect. A Sagittarius and a Libra (Kirishima’s sun sign!) are said to be very compatible and harmonious. Even better, it’s also said that people are often drawn to others who have their sun sign in the ascendant—Kirishima being a Libra sun and you being a Libra rising! To make things even more fantastic, perfect, and everything in between, Kirishima’s MBTI (according to The Personality Database) is ESFP. Guess what? ISTJ’s and ESFP’s are said to be extremely compatible! Of course, he’d find your inner demeanor to be extremely attractive. As he is naturally social, he wouldn’t mind your reserved nature and would pursue you in both friendship & romance regardless. Your outer shell would only lead him to appreciate your comical inner-self even more! He’d greatly admire your bravery and loyalty as well—it’s not something you see often anymore, after all. He’d try to bring the best out of you as naturally as possible, letting you do the same to him. Easily, he’s the most supportive boyfriend you could ever get! This man would adore you with patience, admiration, and sheer love, all with his own cheesy, dorky flair. I imagine Kirishima is careful in love, yet just as bold as the sun. He’s grounded, but on his most passionate days, his admiration can never be paralleled. You’d simply make him weak in the knees with every glance you’d spare him!

𖥸 Your music taste simply infects him. Imagine him listening to indie music with you 🥺🥺 your head in his lap as he plays with your hair- omg!! he loves to just sit and vibe with you. Nothing can compare to the fun you have on your chilliest days- he loves spending time with you in little ways like that

𖥸 Workout dates!! He’s infatuated with you for many reasons, but one of them is because you work out. The dude literally thinks it’s the coolest thing in the world and he adores working out with you. It’s easily his kryptonite lol

𖥸 Kiri has no concept of grace, so he is extremely impressed with your gymnastics and figure skating skills!! He could watch you do your thing for hours tbh. Like, slack-jawed and wide-eyed. In fact, I think he’d try to incorporate more nimbleness to his moves even though such a feat is kinda difficult when you can turn into rock. You gotta give him some credit tho- we all know he can be a little too opportunistic!! Just imagine him tripping all over himself because he wants to be nimble like you- that little blush on his face as he apologies for being a dummy- aww 💕💕

𖥸 Simply the king of casual dates. Sure, he’d love to spoil you with the stars and more, but he knows you like it calm- fr, you two are actually the cutest when it comes to staying up late and just messing around with no care in the world 💕 also, nature dates? Small picnics in the park?? I bet he’d love to go hiking with you. He likes to point out cool flowers or pretty weeds whenever you two are outside for even the shortest amount of time

𖥸 He loves watching horror movies with you.. even though they scare him a little bit LMAO- but just cuddling with you as your favorite movie plays in the background is simply heaven to him. Maybe you can turn him into a psychological horror buff!!

𖥸 He is also the king of words of affirmation~ the dude loves to remind you about how much you mean to him and how confident you make him feel within himself

You two really are couple goals imo 💕💕💕

𝐦𝐨𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡

Gahhh!! I was so excited to ship you with someone!! Thank you so much for requesting!! Also! Don’t worry about long bios in your matchup requests! The longer they are the more mod Ara and I can assess who’s best for you! Its definitely preferable. I hope you enjoy who I match you with. ^w^

𝐦𝐨𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 . . .

⠀

𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐨 !

runner-up : hanta sero

In my opinion, I feel that Mina is the perfect match for you!! First lets get some compatible basics out of the way. Like our good friend Kirishima above, Minas MBTI is also an ESFP (according to the personality database lol). As we know, ESFPs tend to be the most compatible with ISTJs. To add onto that, Mina just so happens to be a Leo!! Leos and Sagittarius's are often compared to soulmates and having a twin flame like connection! It’s a little scary how well you two fit each other, personality dynamics and all. Though you may have been cautious and quiet at first meet, Mina most likely pestered and wiggled her way into your life! She loves making new friends anyhow, and saw no issue in going out of her way to talk to you every chance she could. Now becoming your girlfriend later on would just be an added bonus for her! You better believe she finds your bravery admirable, it drives right up her alley. The two of you would make an absolute power couple, even a fan favorite!! Often, she’d make jokes or even play along with ones that you make in return, just to be able to hear your laughter. It fills her stomach with butterflies and she’s near falling apart at the seams with every melodic giggle. Get ready to be showered in compliments and praise, that’s this girls specialty, and she’d happily fluster you any day with her sickeningly sweet words. 

𖥸 Mina would probably ask you to spar with her a lot. Practicing new moves and quirk related techniques. God knows she loves staying active, and doing something she deems this fun with someone she loves. It makes the moment even more worth while. With your experience in gymnastics, you’d find that you’re able to run circles around this girl with your skill. Afterwards she’d probably offer a massage to ease any sore muscles. 

𖥸 Now as much as Mina would probably prefer a night on the town as a date, she would not think twice about choosing a secluded casual option for your comforts sake. Be that stargazing or even staying in to watch one of those horror films  that you love oh so much over popcorn and sodas. (She’s actually terrified of them, and has a weak stomach, but she’d never tell you that.) 

𖥸 Aimless car drives. Picture the sun setting, painting the sky in a soft pink and an orange hue flickering off of the distant buildings. Your preferred indie song blaring through the speaker while the two of you belt out the lyrics. Neither of you can hear each other over the sound of the wind rolling in through open windows, or how high she cranked the volume. You’ll definitely have to be the one to turn it back down, she can’t help but love loud music, even if the music wasn’t intended to be loud in the first place lol. 

𖥸 Don’t be surprised if she comes to you one day with a gift bag in hand. Every time she goes into a store she has to come out with something that reminds her of you. She’s not even aware of it either until you point it out. This could range from something as simple as your favorite drink to a giant teddy bear that she claimed resembled you. The possibilities are endless. 

𖥸 My word is she in love, infatuated even. That one night she caught you dancing about in the kitchen, probably making a late night snack, she couldn’t look away. In fact, she still thinks about it from time to time. How happy and carefree you looked lip-syncing the lyrics, in the silliest kinds of pjs you owned. She tried to sneak her way in, trying her best to not to make you jump in surprise, though she probably failed with how eager she actually zoomed in. Her love for dancing couldn’t go unnoticed here, oh no, not now. She brought you in close with a twirl under her arm, her smile the widest you’ve seen it. Her flirty nature, only for you, had her compliments laced with sugar and honey. Who knows how long the two of you spent dancing and goofing off to your playlist in that darned kitchen. 

Gosh the two of you make me squeal!! There’s absolutely no way you aren’t made for each other!  

𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫

𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭-𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 !