#to clarify these a screenshots not official photos

[silentscrying]

🏀 buzzer beater | chapter ELEVEN.

nba!gojo x manager!reader

summary: you thought you'd gotten rid of arrogant NBA star satoru gojo when he left the curses after your first year in basketball management. but when your contract is up three years later, you find yourself working with him once again as the manager for the sorcerers. as you navigate playoff season alongside long-time friend ieiri shoko and the sorcerers' insufferable star player, you start to realize his sudden departure from the curses may not have been what it seemed, and maybe gojo isn't exactly the person (or player) you thought he was, either.

warnings: language, slight unwanted advances, mahito in general, fangirl todo. || sfw. 5.3k words.

THE NEXT DAY, the Curses take the series against the Foxes. It’s official: the Sorcerers-Curses rivalry will come to a head in the NBA championships, starting on Friday in San Diego.

The team went harder than ever at practice today, not only drilling but talking strategy and getting into the nitty-gritty of the psychological impact of the rivalry. Yaga knows Mei Mei and the Curses don’t go easy, or fair. They’re ready.

As you pull out the keys to your apartment, you frown at the package on your welcome mat, a weird cylindrical shape with no return address. After you make it to the kitchen, you open it and find a rolled-up sheet of glossy paper. What?

You spread it out on your countertop and see an official signed poster of Satoru, in full uniform, palming a basketball in one hand with a huge smirk on his face. With the photo’s professional editing, his eyes look even more blue than usual, and you may or may not stare at them a second too long.

“Jesus fuck,” you say.

As if on cue, your phone buzzes.

six: did you get my gift?? you: is this for target practice? how sweet six: :( you: baby six: oh it’s like that😏 you: that was an insult

When your phone goes off again after you’ve relegated the rolled-up poster to an end table, you assume it’s Satoru responding. But instead, you find a text from Geto.

suguru geto: Thought about my offer at all?

Great. He waited until the Curses made the championships and just thought he’d try again? You screenshot the text and send it to Satoru.

you: what if i turn on read receipts just for this

six: HAHAHAHA

You won’t, because you’re still planning on taking Geto by surprise on Friday when he realizes you and Satoru are actually together. Your phone rings, and your brow furrows as you realize you don’t recognize the number or the area code.

“Sorcerers management,” you greet, and a high-pitched voice comes through the speaker.

“Hi there! This is Takada with the Reggie Star Show.” You hesitate for a moment. Reggie’s show is kind of a huge deal, and Takada has become something of a personality herself, although you’ve always found her a bit over the top.

“Uh, how can I help you?” you ask finally.

“So! Reggie would love to invite Satoru Gojo onto the show before the NBA championships.” You stand stock-still in your kitchen.

What the fuck, you mouth silently to yourself. It’s not like Reggie never has athletes on the show. But only Satoru?

“Not the rest of the team?” you clarify, and Takada laughs, a high, kind of shrill sound that has you holding your phone a bit away from your ear.

“Well, you see, we’re hoping to promote the series a bit by pulling the centers from both teams! Mr. Geto has already agreed, so we’d love to interview him and Mr. Gojo together.”

Oh, Jesus.

You are 100% certain this is Mei Mei’s doing. You instinctively want to reject her now, but this isn’t really your call.

“Let me run this by Gojo and the coaches, and I can get back to you, Takada,” you say, hoping that tides her over for now.

“No problem. Thank you!” she chirps, and the line goes dead. You groan, staring at the ceiling. This is not worth the hassle. You swipe to Satoru’s contact and call him.

He picks up on the first ring.

“Miss me already?” he drawls, and you roll your eyes.

“Asshole. So, guess who just called me?”

“If you say Suguru I’m flying to San Diego early and cornering him in an alley.”

You laugh. “Okay, Jesus. No. Uh, the Reggie Star Show?”

“What?” Satoru screeches.

“They have Geto coming on before championships,” you sigh, “and they want you too. To ‘promote the series’ or whatever. Drama on screen.”

“Mei Mei’s idea?”

“That’s what I was thinking.”

“I don’t really think I have time, considering… it’s championships and we’re training every day? Yaga would be pissed, probably. Not much of a publicity guy.”

Something in your chest loosens at his words. Truthfully, you really don’t want him to go, to be in a situation where he and Geto can only verbally spar through a guise of political politeness.

“Also, I just… don’t want to?” he says. You grin.

“Good. I was hoping.”

“Aw, don’t want me to launch my television career?” You sink onto your couch as he keeps talking. “That could be a great return on investment for you, you know. You have my autograph now.”

“Shut up. And don’t tell Nobara about this. She’d be so mad at you.”

“Scaryyy,” he says, and he’s not joking. “Come over for dinner?” The change in topic has you smiling as you kick your feet up on the coffee table. “Miki and Gumi are coming. And Yuji.”

“And the dogs?”

“Am I not enough for you?” he scoffs, and you grin.

“Not even close.”

“Yes, the dogs, you heathen.”

“Wouldn’t miss it!” you say innocently, and hang up on him.

—

Tsumiki meets you at Satoru’s door with a massive grin on her face and immediately pulls you into a hug.

“Hi!” she says excitedly, ushering you inside.

“Hey, Tsumiki,” you smile, and then there’s a rapid pitter-patter of the dogs rounding the corner into the entryway, and you fall into a pile of fur and kisses. “Hi, buddies! Hi!” Shiro shoves her nose into your face and Kuro plops himself down in your lap right as Satoru rounds the corner.

“Stealing my girlfriend,” he whines.

“Dumbass,” you say, and let him help you up. He plants a kiss on the top of your head and you blush against your will.

“C’mon. Pasta’s ready.” You follow Satoru into the kitchen and find Yuji and Megumi putting plates on the small table. You raise a brow.

“Whose cooking?”

“Whose do you think?” Tsumiki asks.

“I helped!” Yuji insists, pointing to the oven. “I’m making garlic bread!”

Tsumiki pats him on the shoulder and says, “Yes, Yuji, you did a great job.”

You fire off a quick message to Yaga to confirm that it’s okay to reject Takada’s offer, and he responds within two minutes, Please do.

You step out to make the call, and when you come back into the kitchen, Yuji and Tsumiki are giggling at something.

“What are you two on about?” you ask, and Tsumiki, still snickering, hands you her phone. It’s open to a tweet of a grainy computer screenshot, and it says SOMEONE LOOK AT ME THE WAY SATORU GOJO LOOKS AT THE SORCERERS MANAGER PLS PLSPLS

That’s not even the part that gets you. First of all, it’s not from the most recent game—it’s from before you were together. You’re wearing the Limitless shirt.

Second, Kasumi retweeted it.

“Jesus,” you say, and Satoru appears at your shoulder.

“Yes?”

“Shut up.” You swat at him without looking and then pull out your phone to text Kasumi. “I need to tell her before she finds out somewhere else.”

As if on cue, your phone lights up with her name. Your first thought is that she somehow already knows and is FaceTiming you to scream at you. You swipe and her face materializes in front of you, a massive grin on her face and—has she been crying?

“Kasumi! Are you okay?”

“Yes!” she practically screams. And then she holds up her hand, and you stare for a long moment before realizing she’s wearing a ring.

“Holy shit!” you screech. “Kasumi!” The grin splits across your face, and she’s laugh-crying on the other end of the phone, and then she abruptly freezes.

And you realize Satoru’s very much visible in the frame behind you.

“Alley-oop,” she says. “You motherf—Alley. Is that—”

You can see the tips of your ears going pink in the camera in the corner of the screen. “Surprise?”

“To you, maybe!” she laughs. “Holy shit. Holy shit! This is the best day of my life.”

Muta appears beside Kasumi, squinting at the screen. “Tell me it’s because we’re getting married and not because she and Gojo finally banged.” Megumi wrinkles his nose at the other end of the table.

“Kokichi,” Kasumi scolds, but Satoru cracks up behind you and you can’t help but follow suit.

“Congrats, you guys,” you say. “I’m so happy for you. Does Akari know?”

“She’s next on the list,” Kasumi grins.

“We’ll let you go, then,” you say, and take a moment to just appreciate how fucking happy your friend looks. Her blue hair is a mess and her eyes are rimmed red, but she’s glowing. This has been a long time coming. You couldn’t be happier for her, honestly.

When she hangs up, Satoru grins and says, “Aw, basketball romance.” Then he looks pointedly at Yuji and Megumi.

“I suddenly feel like a fifth wheel,” Tsumiki announces. Then she looks at Shiro and Kuro, curled up together on the couch. “Seventh wheel?”

You plop into the chair next to Tsumiki and wrap your arm around her. “Nah, Satoru’s seventh wheeling. I’m here for you.”

She grins, and Satoru falls to his knees and dramatically fakes his own death. The dogs leap off the couch to investigate, and soon he’s laughing as Shiro slobbers all over him while Kuro decides to lay across his legs.

In truth, you don’t remember the last time you felt this content. It’s a nice feeling, warm.

And then a smell hits you, like something burning, and you furrow your brows and turn toward the kitchen. “Is something—”

“Oh my god!” Yuji screeches, practically falling out of his chair and bolting for the kitchen. “The garlic bread!”

—

The results of turning down the Reggie Star offer have, quite possibly, the funniest results of all time.

You’re curled up on Satoru’s couch two days later with your feet on his lap and Tsumiki on your other side, Megumi and Yuji sprawled with the dogs on the floor. On the TV, Todo walks on stage to a cheering studio audience and locks eyes with Takada, and you honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he just passed out right now.

“Simp,” Satoru says. You look at him incredulously. “Okay, hey, I did not say I wasn’t also.” He plants a kiss on your temple and Megumi pretends to gag.

You swear Todo literally has physical stars in his eyes when he looks at her. He shakes her hand with both of his and does a weird half-bow and says, “It’s such an honor, Ms. Ta—“

“Oh, please,” Takada giggles. “Just call me Takada.” Todo goes red again, stammering out a response.

“This is the most painful thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” Megumi says. He’s only watching this because Yuji wants to.

“Mr. Aoi Todo,” Reggie Star says grandly, throwing an arm around him like they’re already best buds. “Take a seat, take a seat. Thanks again for joining us on such short notice!”

Todo takes his place on the couch while Reggie and Takada sit in opposing armchairs, the background flashing the Reggie Star Show logo as the theme music peters out. Reggie grills Todo with questions about the Samurai-Sorcerers series, playing against Yuji after playing with him in college, all the connections the team has with half of the championship bracket. And throughout, Todo just can’t tear his gaze away from Takada.

By the time it’s over you’re nearly falling off the couch, laughing yourself halfway to tears.

“Guys, it’s cute! He has a crush!” Yuji exclaims, and you all laugh harder. Tsumiki collapses into you, her hair spreading out over the fabric of the shirt you’re wearing—one of Satoru’s, blue and black and smelling like him.

After the commercial break, which consisted of an actually absurd amount of Takada promoting various useless products, Todo is nowhere to be found. Geto sits on the couch in his place with a press-worthy smile and a crisp, navy blue suit.

“And here we’ve got the starting center of one of the two NBA teams gunning for the championship title, Mr. Suguru Geto,” Reggie introduces, and the studio audience whoops and cheers as Geto waves them off, smiling modestly. You kind of want to slap him.

“Now, let’s not beat around the bush here, Suguru—you’re going up against the Sorcerers the day after tomorrow, and that means you’re coming face to face with your old teammate, Satoru ‘Six-Eyes’ Gojo.” Reggie looks pointedly out at the crowd, like they’re in on some big secret, and turns back to Geto. “How do you feel about this match-up, two starting centers with a lengthy history on the court with stakes this high?”

Geto sighs and leans forward a bit in his seat, one elbow on the armrest. “Well, Reggie, Satoru and I go back a long time.” You wrinkle your nose at the sound of his first name in Geto’s mouth. You feel weirdly defensive about it. “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but we went to high school together and then college, so we’ve been playing basketball together since our early teens.”

Takada chimes in, “That’s quite the bond, going through the most formative parts of your careers together!” You can’t take her seriously, because in your head she’s still winking at the camera and waxing poetic about the merits of some new Japanese skincare line.

Reggie nods, encouraging Geto to go on. “I’ve gotta say, I am looking forward to seeing him again. He’s a hard man to get ahold of these days. It’ll be good to see him, albeit on opposite sides of the court.”

“No, it will not,” Satoru says with a false cheer in his voice, pointing a finger gun at the TV.

“And how do you think your odds are looking for this series?”

“Well,” Geto laughs, “the Sorcerers are talented, I’ll give them that. Clearly, they’ve made it this far. But I will say that the Curses are first seed with home court advantage.” He shrugs. “So do with that what you will.”

Takada glances at Reggie, as if asking permission for something, and he nods. “If I’m not mistaken, Mr. Geto, there’s another familiar face on the other side of things as well, a former manager of the Curses.”

Geto nods, a wide smile crossing his face, and you feel Satoru tense up beside you. “Oh, we miss her a lot, yes. She’s great at what she does. I keep telling her she should make her way back to San Diego if she feels so inclined.” He laughs, like this is some great ongoing joke.

“Oh, so you two still speak regularly, then?” Reggie asks, intrigued. Your jaw clenches, and Satoru’s hand encloses yours before it can become a fist.

“I just recently paid her a visit out east.” Oh my god. Oh my god.

“That fucker,” Satoru growls. Your phone buzzes with a message from Ieiri.

my wife: this little man bun bitch

my wife: what if i commit murder. what then

You’re seething, and even Tsumiki is frowning, the lines creasing her face, turning the corners of her mouth down. Paid you a visit? As if you’re friends and he came to catch up with you over coffee, not dropped in on your street in the dark to harass you about a job you don’t want?

“Well, sounds like it’ll be quite the reunion,” Reggie is saying by the time the smoke clears out of your ears enough for you to hear again.

Tsumiki reaches across you to ruffle Satoru’s hair. “He’s just trying to get under your skin. Don’t let him.”

You shoot a quick message back to Ieiri.

you: tbh i’d pay a lot of money to see y’all in a cage match

Reggie and Takada shift to broader questions about the series and you tune out most of the remainder of the segment, irritated when Geto answers one too many questions with Satoru’s name, subtly suggesting that the Sorcerers have none of the grit and discipline the Curses do.

“They’re a fun bunch,” he says at one point. “Like a barrel of monkeys. They just have a good time.” The tone is all fake, smoothed-out public relations, and it makes your blood boil. You know what he’s really implying, that it’s an insult. That the Sorcerers spend all their time hanging off hoops instead of drilling themselves into the ground. You know it’s not true. You’ve watched them work their asses off all year.

“God forbid we know how to have fun,” Satoru snorts, and you feel the tension easing from your shoulders just at the sound of his voice.

“You don’t,” you say teasingly, flipping yourself around on the couch so your head lands in his lap. “That’s entirely Kento.”

Satoru gasps and looks down at you. “You take that back. Nanami is the most unfun—“

“Not a word,” Tsumiki says helpfully.

“Everyone in this house hates me! Slander under my own roof!” He digs his fingers into your sides and starts tickling you, and you squirm out of his grasp and onto the ground, but he follows you. Soon it’s a mess of Shiro and Kuro frantically pouncing on both of you as you squeal for Satoru to let you go, and Tsumiki is definitely filming this whole thing, and it’s all so incredibly domestic and unserious and right that your heart swells in your chest.

Fuck Geto. He can’t get to you here, and he can’t take you away from the team you love.

—

Being in San Diego again is strange. The facilities are familiar, the gyms, the locker rooms, but you’re walking them a different person than you left them, experiencing the same setting in a new context that makes you feel like you’re living in one prolonged moment of déjà vu.

Nobara walks alongside you, bouncing between social media notifications and ranting about the way Geto made the Sorcerers sound on national television last night. Ieiri’s setting up in the training room down the hall, and Yaga’s pulled the guys into the locker room for a quick meeting before they launch into their last practice before the next day’s match.

You keep thinking about Yaga pulling you aside this morning, murmuring a quick warning in your ear. “If you see Mei Mei, no you don’t. Not worth the time. Just slip away.”

So far there’s been no sign of the other manager, and you’re glad for it.

Nobara’s phone starts ringing and she nods at you and peels off, pressing it to her ear and slipping deeper into the building. You lean against the wall, checking your own phone, making sure you don’t have any missed calls or emails.

The side doors open loudly, metal scraping across the floor, and you look up.

Fuck.

It seems Mei Mei doesn’t do her own damn dirty work.

“Oh, hello!” Mahito crows, making his way over to you. You didn’t like him when you worked for the Curses and you don’t like him now, his leering grin too wide for his face, hair tied into three sections behind his back. Him, you know—but you haven’t yet met the man beside him, a lanky, tall guy with oddly wide eyes and a long blond ponytail weirdly off-center on his head.

Of course, you know who he is. You’ve done your research, you’ve seen the roster. Haruta Shigemo.

“I hoped you’d be here.” Mahito comes to a stop in front of you as you push off the wall, crossing your arms.

“Mahito.” Your voice is cold, flat.

He frowns, an exaggerated, off-putting gesture. “Thought it’d be a happier reunion,” he says. He holds his arms out toward Shigemo with a flourish. “I’d like you to meet Haruta. He, ah, was something of a replacement for your Six-Eyes.”

Shigemo stares at you, unblinking, a small, close-lipped smile sending a shiver down your spine. You’re suddenly aware of how close these two men are to you, that your back is to the wall, that you’re alone in the hallway.

“Look, I really have a lot to get done—”

“Oh, we don’t mean to bother you!” Mahito laughs, high-pitched and manic. “We just wanted to welcome you back home, you know. Make sure you settled in to the old stomping grounds.” He leans in, breath smelling like some odd combination of fruity gum and stale crackers. You shudder involuntarily. “I hope you don’t take it too hard when they lose,” he whispers, too close to your face. “Should you need an out, remember we’re in your corner.”

Shigemo holds a hand up as you’re about to retort, tilting his head and studying you. “If he’s not your type,” he giggles, nodding at Mahito, “I’ve got some time on my hands tonight.”

Your face flushes deep red with anger, fists going white-knuckled at your side. “I do not need—”

“Excuse me,” says a cool, familiar voice, and the tension in your muscles goes slack as Kento comes to stand directly between you and your newfound nuisances. “I believe we’ve already taken care of any business that needed tending to before the match tomorrow, yes? Is there anything else I can help you with? We’re just about to kick off practice, and I’m afraid our time is limited.”

Mahito steps back, holding his arms up in false surrender. “Nanami! Hello!” He grins widely. “We’re representatives, of a sort. Just making sure the bunch of you are settled in.” Shigemo nods and looks Kento up and down, calculating.

“We are just fine,” he says flatly, nudging you with a hand behind his back. You nod at the two Curses players and storm down the hallway toward the gym, heart racing in your chest. Behind you, you hear Kento still talking. “Do tell Mei Mei her… thoughtfulness is noted.”

In the gym, the guys are warming up, and your eyes immediately lock on Megumi, angrily slamming an innocent basketball against the wall, over and over. Yuji dribbles between his knees without looking at his ball, watching Megumi intently.

You don’t see Satoru, and for a moment you’re worried, feeling a little off-balance, until you feel hands on your shoulders, spinning you around. “Well, hello,” he says, and you laugh, dropping your head into his chest.

“Fuck is up with Megumi?” you ask, nodding toward him, and Satoru frowns. You notice now the tension in him, the slight anger in his eyes, an energy like impatience and frustration all around his edges.

“Suguru was fucking with him. Saying shit about Tsumiki. I was dealing with him.” He sucks his bottom lip into his mouth, considering as he looks over your shoulder at Yuji drawing Megumi back onto the court. “He’s such a dick.”

Kento walks in then, making his way straight over to you. “You okay?” he asks, and Satoru’s brows knit together.

“What? Why wouldn’t she—” He turns to you. “Why wouldn’t you be okay? What happened?”

“Mahito,” you say. “Shigemo, too. Fucking pricks.”

Satoru breathes in sharply, his grip on your shoulder tightening protectively. “If they put their fucking hands on you—”

“Toru,” you say, the nickname slipping out without your permission. It seems to calm him down a little, makes him look at you steadily. “Kento got them out of the way. And they won’t do anything to me. They’re just doing Mei Mei’s bidding, same as Geto, probably.” You grab his hands in yours, nodding at Kento to say you’ll be okay. He inclines his head and walks away, gathering the rest of the team in the center of the gym.

“They want to get under your skin. Don’t let them."

Your voice is steady and calm, coated with a reassurance you don’t feel. Your nerves are still on high alert, Mahito’s breathing down your neck, Shigemo’s unsettling scrutiny lingering in your mind. But you know they’re not after you. You’re a conduit for them, a way to fuck with Satoru. And you will not let them.

“Don’t let them,” he echoes, sighing, pulling you in, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. “Yeah. Yeah, okay.”

“Remember, flagrantly disgusting display of public affection. Imagine their faces.”

He laughs, loud and bright, and something warm blooms in you at the sound. “God, you’re the best.”

“I know.” You pull back and shove him in the direction of the team. “Now go practice so I can watch you kick their asses.”

He grins at you, does a little half-bow, snapping back into his untouchable, unbothered self. “Anything for you.”

—

There's really no reason for you to have the clipboard in your hands. Every note you’ve taken is committed to memory. You know both team’s rosters inside and out, know every detail of the schedule, what a win or a loss means for the schedule, score projections, all of it. But you need something to do with your hands, so you hold onto it, clicking and unclicking your pen, scribbling in the margins of old brackets, trying to contain all your nervous energy into a manageable space.

And you’re not the only one overflowing with energy. The stadium is alive. The lights are bright, the crowd raucous, the massive hanging scoreboard broadcasting CHAMPIONSHIP SHOWDOWN SPONSORED BY KFC. You don’t think you could eat right now even if someone shoved a bucket of fried chicken into your hands.

“That’s just mean,” Satoru mutters under his breath, gazing up at the advertisement.

“What?”

He shakes his head. “Nothin’.”

He glances down at you and then across the court, where Geto has been tracking the two of you with searching eyes. Mei Mei hides behind a clipboard as well, though you notice her eyes flickering back and forth, studying Satoru, you, Yaga. You pointedly avoid looking at Mahito and Shigemo. Pricks.

The NBA championship series. Sorcerers versus Curses. It all comes to a head here, an endless rivalry for a championship title.

“So, I’m thinking now or never,” Satoru says, a mischievous smile tugging at his lips. When you realize what he means, it takes everything in you not to glance across the court at Geto. A smirk spreads across your face, and you grab Satoru’s jersey and pull him toward you.

“Good luck,” you say, and then you kiss him, hard and long and intentional, and you know Geto sees you.

“I think,” Satoru says, pulling back a little breathlessly, “we should do that every game.” He grins and you swat him away, making your way over to Ieiri and Nobara in the far corner, and you can’t wipe the smile from your own face. On the way there you chance a look across the court. Geto isn’t looking at you, but he’s looking at Satoru, talking lowly out of the corner of his mouth to Mei Mei.

Point for me, you think.

“You’re actually nauseating,” Nobara says when you reach her. You know she’s not serious. She knew the plan. She loved the plan.

“I’m making a point,” you say anyway. She follows your tilted head toward Geto and Mei Mei, and you watch the slow, shit-eating grin spread across her face.

“Oh, so worth it,” she murmurs.

You tug the headset on and listen to the unfamiliar announcers, wishing it was Zenin and Panda in your ears but settling for the new, faceless voices instead. They’re not the same guys who usually commentated on the home court when you worked for the Curses, and you’re oddly glad about it, that there’s not another reminder of the loaded history here right in your ears.

“Charles Bernard here with Rika Orimoto,” the new voice says, “ready to watch this long-time rivalry play out in real time.”

When she speaks up, Rika’s voice is bright and younger than you expected, animated where Bernard is entirely deadpan. Interesting partnership.

As the starters take their positions, you’re surprised to see that Satoru’s not the one taking the tip-off.

Kento is. And in front of him, eye-to-eye with a sardonic smile, is Mahito.

Ah, shit.

The ref’s expression is flat and unaffected, but his eyes dart between the two shooting guards as they face off in the center of the court. You wish you could hear what they’re saying.

“An unusual choice for both teams here as we kick off this final series,” Bernard says. “Neither of our centers taking the tip-off today.”

Kento shows no emotion as the ref lets go of the ball, and Mahito leaps, but he’s not fast enough.

“Number thirty-seven Kento Nanami swipes the tip-off without hesitation!” Rika announces. “Back to number six, the Sorcerers' Satoru Gojo, and a fantastic pass up to Fushiguro.”

The Curses' hulking point guard, Jogo, is right up in Megumi’s face with a massive hand reaching out to block, but Yuji grabs the rebound and pounds it through the hoop in seconds.

“And the Sorcerers take the lead just sixteen seconds in,” Bernard says. You look over at Ieiri and Nobara, grinning, and then back to where Mei Mei stands with a stony expression across the court.

You feel good about this.

Back and forth, back and forth. Ino is giving Jogo a run for his money, using his speed to dart around the massive point guard before he even sees what’s coming. In his breakaways Yuji keeps finding himself pitted against Mahito, and it seems like it’s always a fifty-fifty whether the block is successful.

“Some subs as we enter the second quarter. On San Diego's side we have Haruta Shigemo on for Fumihiko Takaba.”

“Yuta Okkotsu on for the Sorcerers!” Rika says, a little too excitedly, before she catches herself and calms down.

“Someone has a fangirl,” Nobara snorts beside you, holding just one side of the headset to her ear.

You can’t tear your eyes away from Satoru and Geto as they go up and down the court, always on each other’s heels, breathing hard. It’s personal, and everyone can see it. If they’re saying anything you can’t make it out.

Both teams are going all-out right now, and the fans feel it too. Megumi’s guarding Naoya Zenin like a shadow, something in the air around them tense and constant. You don’t see Yuji’s uncle but you can certainly hear him, somewhere behind you on the visitors’ side, screaming, “HELL YEAH! SHOW THEM WHAT A WIN REALLY MEANS! THESE FUCKERS WOULDN’T KNOW FIRE IF IT LIT UNDER THEIR ASSES!”

You give it two minutes before he’s kicked out.

Inumaki goes on, then Hakari, and at some point the Curses swap Jogo out for Dagon, and it’s go, go, go. You can barely catch your own breath by the half, the game wrapping around you like you’re the one playing it, and Satoru’s drenched in sweat as the team files back to the locker room. He reaches out and pinches you in the side and you stick your tongue out at him, like the mature adult you are.

“Gross,” Nobara says.

The rest of the game goes by in a similar blur of shots and blocks and heated matchups, Toge nailing a few free throws, Takaba coming back on and managing to slip past Megumi only once. The scoreboard never reads more than a six-point deficit.

You almost don’t hear the buzzer when it’s finally over, players skidding to a stop on the court, their heads turned up toward the scoreboard.

“Holy shit,” Ieiri breathes beside you. “We won. We actually fucking won.”

You rip off the headset, the grin overtaking you, relief and pride flooding your veins like a drug, and the rest of the team floods the court in celebration. They beat a first seed team on their home court.

Satoru catches your eye over the mass of people and smiles, and you wave back.

And this is only the beginning.

directory. || prev.

jjk taglist open: just send me a message!

@shutuppeter @mikikkoo @reactwithjan @theclassbookworm @lilactaro

[accirax]

wait the altdrdt characters have names? who's who? which one is xf?

oh, sorry, i forgot that folks who either weren't around when the characters were first introduced or just forgot might not know which altdrdt cast member is which! i'll clarify for you.

so, to be clear, none of the altdrdt characters have official names. this is (currently) stated on the FAQ page. however, to make talking about the characters easier, DRDT fans on Tumblr (at least) came up with some code names with which to refer to the characters. there were a lot of them floating around, but i think the ones that most people settled on were made by xmicrophonyx and pastelclownkitty. you can find all of the basic info you need in that linked post, but i'm going to keep talking to go into a little more detail as to why the names were chosen, and show the updated cast photo with the few sprite changes.

so, from left to right:

Swirl: this is because of the swirls in her hair.

Soundwave: this is because of the audio level-like decal on his shirt.

XF: this is because of the logo on their jacket and the pin on their tie, which matches with Min's-- symbols of the XF-Ture Tech company.

Dandelion: this is because of the dandelion in his hair.

Scale: this is because of the scale pattern on his shirt.

Teacher: this is because his talent is all but confirmed to be the Ultimate Teacher. in fact, as of the Christmas 2023 comics, this codename may be canon*.

Bullet: this is because of his belt buckle, which is reminiscent of a truth bullet. the dog tags also imply that he may have a connection with the military.

Ram: this is because of her goat-like pupil design and hair arranged to look like a sheep's horns.

Fire: this is because of the fire pattern on her shirt, her apparently fiery personality, and to match with who we assume to be her twin brother, Ice.

Ice: this is because of the snowflake pattern on his shirt, his apparently cold personality, and to match with who we assume to be his twin sister, Fire.

Crown: this is because of the crown pin in her hair.

*although not confirmed to be canon, there's a decent chance that the characters in this fangan will canonically be referred to by code names, as opposed to their real names. this is because two of our prior attempts, naming the characters "one" through "eleven" and naming the characters by Greek alphabet letters, were shot down. the Greek alphabet may have just been due to personal distaste (DRDTdev said he found the names "arbitrary"), but the numbers were vetoed because one of the characters' names was confirmed to be a number (here's wist-eri's screenshot of DRDTdev's comment). combined with the fact that Teacher refers to himself as, well, Teacher in that comic, if one character goes by a number and one goes by Teacher, it's possible that everyone will be using words in place of names. however, it's also possible that someone goes by a number name for separate reasons, and Teacher was just referring to himself as that for the sake of not giving us spoilers/in the same way that anime characters sometimes just call a character "sensei."

anyways, if you want some additional reading about the altDRDT cast, you can check out my initial guesses as to what their talents might be, and/or gleamingtempest's super cool theory that the characters will be based off of the 12 animals of the lunar calendar zodiac (which i also hijacked 😅). there are plenty of other great speculations and pieces of art in either the #altdrdt or #drdtalt hashtags, too!

[northwestofinsanity]

About REO Speedwagon breaking up…

So, earlier this week, an announcement went out on the official REO Speedwagon social media pages that blindsided pretty much every REO fan… including the very small handful of REO fans here on Tumblr.  It’s been a rough week.

I’ve done some digging around for information, and have managed to get somewhat of a blurry picture of what happened from everything I’ve found, so here’s a post to hopefully help the small few of us here make sense of it all.  Due to the length, I’m keeping this under a read-more, and I’m going to try to (aside from where I must clarify) put the timeline of basic information I’ve gathered up top, and analysis down lower, so that those who don’t want to read further don’t have to sort through it. 

Two Disclaimers before jumping into it:

1 -While it is fair that anyone might have their opinions from the information here (as I do, too), this post is not an invitation to hate on the members of the band, and I do not condone the making hate comments toward any of the members on any social media pages with posts on the matter.  At this point, talking smack about Bruce Hall, Kevin Cronin, or Neal Doughty is not what’s going to change the situation -if anything will at all.

2 -For every Facebook post I mention, I do have screenshots, though I will not be posting them in the main post, as some social media screenshots have a way of being removed here.  Most of those pages are publicly viewable even to those not logged in, so I will link to REO’s official page and Bruce Hall’s official page to those who would like to look, and anyone who would rather not look there at all who would still like to see is welcome to request that I DM the screenshots.

Alright, let’s do this, starting with the Basic Timeline of Events:

Starting with the line of perspective given on the official REO Speedwagon Facebook Page (and I believe everything on there is cross-posted to their Instagram for anyone who has that). This Facebook page is viewable without an account. Kevin Cronin makes a lot of posts here himself in a blog-like format, so we can consider posts here as Kevin’s side of the story.

-Back on November 7th of 2023, it was announced by Kevin on social media that Bruce Hall, the longtime bassist of REO Speedwagon, would be off the road and replaced with a substitute to undergo back surgery and the subsequent recovery.  Matt Bissonette, who has been with multiple groups, was the bassist who took over touring duties while REO has been on tour with Train.  As Kevin’s post read, one line stated, “Bruce is our brother. And times like these test us all. We have faith that Bruce’s surgery will be successful, that he will make a complete recovery, and that he will be back to being the hard rocking bassist/singer that we all know. Bruce has our love and support, as we have encouraged him to take all the time he needs to get himself back to 100% strength.”

Very little information has been given there on Bruce since, up until recently, but going back through, I found:

-November 27th, 2023, at the end of Kevin’s “Happy Thanksgiving” journal entry, a PS note stating, “Received a photo of the newly repaired Bruce Hall, sitting up in his hospital bed and smiling. The nurse in the shot was all smiles and hands in the air, reacting favorably to Bruce making progress. I am giving him space, while my thoughts are with Bruce and wishing him a full recovery.”  So by this point, Bruce had undergone his procedure and was doing well in early recovery.

—June 1st, a post from Bruce on the Official REO Facebook Page, mentioning he had been featured on “A Fishing Story With Ronald Green”.  No telling if this was filmed before or after Bruce’s operation.  He does look good in the video, and is on his feet, though not holding anything of substantial weight.

—One of Kevin’s journal entry-like posts on July 12th, 2024, where Kevin was talking about the Milwaukee Summerfest performances, and mentioned, “Bruce told me he would love to be out here, but we both agreed that his health and recovery need to come first.”  So by Kevin’s account here, Bruce was not in condition to play.

……..

Nothing further came on the REO Speedwagon page until the recent unfolding of events within the last week -so let’s jump over to Bruce’s official Facebook page, Bruce Hall of REO Speedwagon, (also viewable without an account) and backtrack to get his side of the story:

-On November 7th, 2023, Bruce made his own announcement letting fans know he would be off the road, stating that he had been powering through a “traumatic back injury” for quite some time and was unable to do so any longer.  He assured fans that REO had a plan to find a good substitute while he was away.

-On November 20th, Bruce’s wife, Kimmie, made a post saying that Bruce had his surgery that morning.  She assured that “Everything went really well”, and that Bruce had “already gotten up and walked a couple of steps”.

-On December 10th, Bruce posted his first picture of himself with his then newborn grandchild.  He looks a bit rough (rightfully so), and is sitting on a couch, so unsure how steady he was at this time, but he was at home in recovery.  In his post, he stated “My surgery was a huge success, and I’m getting better everyday.” 

[I’m not going to list every one of Bruce’s posts, because there were a lot while he was home in recovery, but over the next month or so, there were several around the Holidays where Bruce was with his family, back on his feet and looking better, and even a few where Neal Doughty was visiting with him]

-Worth mentioning, on January 27th of 2024, Bruce mentioned in a post that he had been working on bass tracks for an album his daughter was recording over the last couple of days.  A post came the next day featuring a video of Bruce playing bass, if sitting down and leaned over, but playing as great as usual for him.

[Multiple posts continued of Bruce living life in recovery, including a trip to Disney World with his wife in February, his feature on Ronald Green’s fishing show in March, confirming that it was filmed at that time, and another family gathering with the Doughty’s in early April]

-On April 8th, Bruce made a post with pictures of an REO Speedwagon Make-A-Wish Benefit show, in which he did come onstage for one song and perform.  He excitedly mentions this as the first time he had performed since October.  Pictures show him playing standing up, if bent over.  (Very strangely, there are no posts about this show on the REO Facebook page, when they are typically very prolific with posts made about benefit shows).  The day prior, the 7th, Bruce had a video featuring him and Neal Doughty at soundcheck (Neal had also shown up and was playing Piano for “Can’t Fight This Feeling”)

[More posts follow, including ones where Bruce posted Facebook-generated “memory” posts of pictures with him performing with Kevin and Dave, stating how much he misses this, and pictures of being out and about fishing and golfing.]

On June 14th, Bruce made the first post directly addressing the length of his time absent, accompanied by a picture of playing bass while sitting down.  Within his statement, the most notable information is as follows: “I'm feeling better every day and have been cleared by my doctor to perform.  If it were up to just me, I'd be there rocking tonight...but it's unfortunately not.  The consensus feeling is that I don't have good enough posture to perform at the level expected by our fans.”  Amid assurances he was still undergoing physical therapy and training to continue recovery, he added, “Trust me, I have no intention of retiring or walking away from the band I have loved for almost 50 years.  I would never ever walk away.”

[More generalized Bruce living life and being physically active in recovery follow]

On September 5th, Bruce made a post with a picture of his wife that seems a bit cryptic, stating that he appreciates the support of fans and misses them.  It seems this coincided with an article that had come out on September 3rd by Ultimate Classic Rock, regarding Bruce’s absence, titled “Is Bad Posture Keeping REO Speedwagon’s Bruce Hall Off The Road?”  My guess is this is what began stirring up a lot of talk from fans, and led to the official statement eventually being made, and Bruce was answering to concern given by fans who might not have been following his page to be aware of his condition until this time.  Now, Ultimate Classic Rock is somewhat of a clickbait site (there’s no other way to get around putting it as such), and the article was quoting information from Bruce’s post made back in July, but in this case, it is true to Bruce’s post.  Anyone who is trying to avoid Facebook who would like to see it can find it here.

This ends anything relevant on any Facebook page up until everything unfolded within the last week, so the next part of the timeline that follows, I’m going to mix posts from the REO Speedwagon Facebook Page and Bruce’s page in chronological order, rather than separating them out.  I will also attempt to hot link the individual posts to the dates here (Tumblr tends to limit how many of these I can do, which is why I have saved that for the most pertinent posts).

-On September 14th, 2024, on the REO Speedwagon Facebook Page, Kevin made an announcement entry along with a performance video regarding the end of the Summer Road Trip Tour, and expressing gratitude for the good touring partners Train have been.  He then addressed REO Speedwagon having to miss the last two shows of the tour, revealing that he had emergency surgery, and suggested that he was making this post from the hospital.  Kevin then went on to leave this somewhat cryptic message, “I have so much more life to live, and have re-examined what I want to do with the rest of my time here, and who I want to be surrounded by while I do it. I need to be lifted by those around me, and in return, to lift them. I feel excited at the prospect of creating and playing the best music I have in me, with the best artists, musicians, and people who will have me.”

Many comments were left on the September 14th post, requesting clarification on what Kevin meant about this, as well as asking “What about Bruce?  When will he be back?”  

One person made a comment claiming that they had privately spoken to Kevin on Facebook, and that Kevin had said that Bruce had quit the band on his own.  Bruce himself came into the comments on his verified account to say that Kevin does not have his own Facebook page, and that it was a fake imposter account whom that person had spoken with, warning to look for blue checkmarks after the names.  In his first of two comments clarifying this, he noted, “I would NEVER leave the band.”  This was less than two days before major news came to light.

The speculation on this post inevitably led to the next…

-On September 16th, an announcement came up on the REO Speedwagon Facebook Page that most REO fans have seen by now -if not on the band’s socials, by many news articles featuring it.  This one was worded as if written by management.  It stated that if it were up to Bruce alone, Bruce would be back to touring, but “it’s not up to just him”, and stated that there was a consensus that Bruce could not perform up to expected standards.  It also stated that Kevin had never had any intentions of leaving the band, but then cited irreconcilable differences between Bruce and Kevin as cause that REO Speedwagon will stop touring at the end of this year.

Comments were disabled on this post, as well as the next couple that followed.  Many people still shared this post and commented on their own pages

—Bruce shared the post on his own page, expressing that he is heartbroken that it has ended this way, that he in no way expected this, and that he and Neal did everything to try and keep the band going after his recovery. (Should be noted that while Neal has retired from touring, he is still very much a member of the band with some background control).  Many fans commented on Bruce’s shared post, expressing anger toward Kevin, and some suggested that Bruce and Neal should find a singer who can do justice to Kevin’s voice, as well as a strong guitarist who can back them.  (To the effect of “Do what Journey did”, etc).  Bruce has said over and over again in responses to those comments that he believes Kevin is the voice of REO and that he will not tour as REO without Kevin, that he is protecting the legacy of the band and the wishes of Alan, Neal, and Gary’s family.  (Also, we don’t know if there’s some contractual agreement between Neal, Bruce, and Kevin as owning members where it’s a tiebreak situation, and Kevin can’t continue permanently by himself, and if Bruce and Neal refuse to do this.)  Even though he has been deemed healthy and ready to return by his doctor, he has said that if Kevin would rather “go solo”, he cannot stop him from doing so.  He has suggested through these comments that despite being upset, he does not want anybody talking disrespectfully about Kevin in his comments.

—A share that I will not be linking, but I have a screenshot of that anyone may request by DM, Eric Richrath, the son of late classic era guitarist, Gary Richrath, whom in the past has occasionally joined REO onstage for a couple of songs, shared the post, making some scathing comments about his feelings on the situation.  For the sake of keeping this part of the post neutral, and for the sake of his dignity, I will not repeat publicly what he said about Kevin.  The relevant point he makes is that he believes this is a sad way for the band to have gone out, that fans and the members deserved at least some proper farewell shows, and brought up the good point that Alan Gratzer and Neal Doughty may have wanted the opportunity to rejoin the band for a couple of songs at said shows to send off the band they founded in a good way.

…………………………………

Alright… phew.  That was already a lot.  Now, discussion, analysis, if anyone wishes to continue further:

From what I can understand from all this, is technically, Bruce is medically cleared to travel and perform, but he is under certain limits as to how he is allowed to perform.  For the sake of putting on a good show, is the show diminished somewhat if Bruce can’t jump around as he has in the past, or if he’s required to play sitting down for part of the show?  To a point, yes… However, this has been done before.  Members of various bands have sustained injuries before and have had to do this, and some found their ways to still make it fun.  (Actually, more recently, Bruce posted a throwback picture performing onstage, where Kevin was sitting down after injuring his foot, so this isn’t the first time REO has dealt with something like this… in the comments, when asked about Neal’s stance, Bruce stated that Neal is his best friend, and that Neal is “100% in [his] corner”).

And honestly, none of our aging rockers are able to jump around the way they used to.  That’s life, that’s fair whether anyone likes it or not, and that’s what’s going to happen.  Sure, I have more fun when I watch live videos of -say, let me pick on Heart, and compare just the videos from even the late 2000s/early 2010s to now.  Nancy Wilson isn’t kicking and jumping as high as she did less than a decade ago, but I still love her.  And she’s 70 -it’s lucky she was still doing that as long as she was, and that she can still kick at all.  I don’t see any reason to view Bruce any differently.  Now, maybe not ideal to continue for years like that, but for the sake of having some official farewell shows here and there, as many fans, and Gary’s son have suggested they would have liked to have, it would have probably been feasible.  It is worth mentioning that traveling for multiple shows in close proximity can be a little harder on the body (it’s ultimately why Neal chose to retire even though he can still play fine).  Bruce has traveled, per the timeline posts I went through, though there could be some valid risk.  Nobody’s necessarily saying that farewell shows would have to be close together, though -one a month in different locations could limit the toll of the traveling.

And then, the side of the issue with Kevin.  My intent here is to put this into an objective viewpoint, because some people who know me well may know I have some opinions about what happened in the past with Gary, and I’m not alone in that among REO fans -and I have seen it brought up in comments on Facebook.  Which is fair, and I especially find it fair for Eric Richrath to leave the comments on his share he did, after he had to witness the impact of that fallout on his father -but let’s put the situation with Gary aside and look at this as an isolated incident, because this is about Kevin and Bruce.  And while I’m not here to defend Kevin, I’m also not here to trash talk him -and I would discourage anyone who has decided to side against him to not go wild with negative comments, as Bruce’s Facebook comments have made it abundantly clear, he doesn’t want this.

Is it kind of cruddy for Kevin to just spring this on everyone suddenly the moment he decides he wants to do something else?  Yeah!  Could he have handled this better, and would it have been more fair of him to just agree to stick around to do even just a couple of official farewell shows?  Probably so.  But the reality is, while Kevin does share a great deal of what goes on in his life on REO’s official pages, there’s a lot we still don’t know about, because we don’t know Kevin.  We do know he recently had emergency surgery.  We don’t know what for.  We don’t know what’s going on in his life or his true health status, or whatever news he’s potentially been given.  Apparently, based on Bruce’s replies mentioning “going solo”, he’s decided he’s got other things he wants to do, and I hate saying it (because it breaks my heart), but we’re not going to have these guys around forever.  So again, while it would have been great for Kevin to stick with it for a farewell tour even just a week long, he’s got a need to do something else, and the reality is, there’s only but so much time he’s going to have to make that happen.  If that’s what he’s choosing to do with the remaining time he has where he is still able to perform, that’s a choice that has understandable and respectable merits, regardless of how much there might be to disagree over.

My advice to fans who have chosen to pick sides in this situation?  If you’ve sided with Kevin, keep your eyes out for whatever he’s going to do next.  It won’t be REO, but maybe it might just be something worthwhile -so give him a chance.  If you’ve sided with Bruce, and you feel the need to say anything, go show him some love on any of his socials, but please keep comments expressing frustration toward Kevin to yourself or to your own private posts away from him.  I cannot stress this enough (I’ll say it again), Bruce has politely suggested that he does not want that.  I imagine comments of such on his socials at this point are only serving to rub this in his face.  I can also imagine that if Kevin can see any comments like that, it’s only serving to fuel whatever animosity he might feel toward Bruce right now, and it’s making any small chance of reconciliation in the future smaller.  So please don’t do this. 

And for those neutral in the situation, let’s just stand back and watch this situation.  Give Kevin a chance, show Bruce some love…  Maybe Kevin will get whatever he feels he needs to do out of his system and will rethink things and decide maybe he wants to get together again for some farewells (situations in the past -including the fallout with Gary -have told that he doesn’t go back and change his mind after making a big change like this, but who knows… time will tell).  Hopefully, everyone will make good choices, and as the shock settles, “irreconcilable differences” may seem a bit less than they were in the moment.  We can only love these guys while we’ve still got them.  This situation is hard, and nasty thoughts aren’t going to make it any easier.  We know what’s said before every live performance of “Ridin’ the Storm Out”, and I think it holds true here as we process all this.

[sunniedesi]

Changes to the Future Diary Manga

Something that was recently brought to my attention by @yunoteru4ever in my post about “the special edition of chapter 59” (https://www.tumblr.com/yunoteru4ever/711169742119092224/this-is-a-huge-taste-of?source=share) is that the Future Diary manga received plenty of revisions for its collected release. Despite my extensive knowledge, and quite frankly, strange fixation with this series, that’s something I never noticed. I was under the impression that “the special edition of chapter 59” was just a singular addition to one of the manga releases, but oh boy was I wrong, or rather missing a lot of context. To clarify, here’s a summary of why there are different versions of the manga:

The series was first serialized in the magazine Shonen Ace while it was still ongoing (from 2006 until 2010).

Once the manga ended, it was compiled by Kadokawa Shoten into 12 volumes, which we could say it’s the “official” or rather final cut of the manga, since Esuno made the revisions/ edits for this final release.

The official English translation used this final cut of the manga, so volumes 1 -10 have their revised versions translated to English… volumes 11 and 12, well, as we know those ended in licensing hell.

As @yunoteru4ever​ said, the unofficial English translations that we can find online are from the original Shonen Ace release, at least from volumes 4 - 12. After comparing both the unofficial translations and the final release, I’m actually quite certain that the unofficial translations of volumes 1 - 3 used the final release. Meaning that we’re probably missing the Shonen Ace releases of those volumes, which is a real let-down.

Continuing off of this last point, I wanted to add that this is the reason why the translations for volumes 4 - 12 in those pirate manga sites had such a downgrade in quality. I still remember being bummed and confused about the sudden shift in scan quality between volumes 3 and 4 when I was a kid using those sites, so it feels good to finally know why.

Now, as I mentioned in the second-to-last point, I went through every volume comparing its Shonen Ace release to its final version. Since I did find many changes, I took screenshots of the images and put them side by side, for the sake of keeping a record on them. I uploaded them over on Imgur in case anyone’s interested to see, though they’re mainly changes to the art. (Left is the final release, right is the Shonen Ace release).

Volume 4: https://imgur.com/a/RIuyO2g

Volume 5: https://imgur.com/a/0B6EyDm

Volume 6: https://imgur.com/a/3yRJMsz

Volume 7: https://imgur.com/a/3dYHWJS

Volume 8: https://imgur.com/a/w8E9NeI

Volume 9: https://imgur.com/a/jZemL7g

Volume 11: https://imgur.com/a/lQoGQU0

Many of the art style changes were quite subtle (like a mouth having a slightly different curve, the pupil being a little smaller/ different color or an eye having a new crease), so I did skip a few of these minor revisions. I noticed Esuno had redrawn Marco a lot, and many of his changes in general had to do with making the faces look more polished, which makes sense since one of the main criticisms against Esuno's style was the way that he drew people being too "alien-like" (and if you’ve seen Tantei Akechi you know he’s improved a lot in that regard).

Anyway, regarding the pictures on Imgur, you may notice that the images from each volume are all in English except for volume 11, and that’s because I used the official English translation for the comparisons, which volume 11 doesn’t have. Though that isn’t really an issue since the revisions on that one were just changes to the art.

Also, I didn’t upload any photos for volumes 10 and 12, because volume 10 didn’t really get any changes, and volume 12, well… I can’t just do side-by-side comparisons with that one.

The last volume had some pretty major changes, heck the entire ending of chapter 56 was redone. I thought the best way to tackle that would be giving it a new translation… but I wasn't sure if I'd have the time to do that. That is until I unexpectedly got sick last week and had nothing to do while curled up in bed all day. Needless to say, I managed to finish the translations for volume 12, so hopefully they'll be uploaded soon (I'll make sure to post about that when it happens).

I will leave you with one translation, though: MurMur’s Special Future Diary Corner Part 10. I’m not entirely sure if the MurMur corner bits were part of the Shonen Ace release of the manga, but they don’t appear in the pirate manga sites, and since volume 10 was never released in English as a digital book, there’s no online digital translation of it, so I figured I might as well post this bit. This is actually the second-to-last MurMur Special, as volume 11 didn’t have any and the one in volume 12 is on my post about chapter 59.

[shamelessrabbithole]

no you see, if you only post a video/photo on instagram story, if you’re not tagged you can’t repost it! you could screenshot it or record the video and then maybe add it to your own instagram. but the ‘official’ way doesn’t happen if you’re not tagged (for example if you’re tagged and repost the story you can click on it and it will direct you to OP account)

Ohh, okay. I see. I didn't know that. Thanks for clarifying.

[xtruss]

Kenya: UN Expert Urges Full Accountability For Pakistani Journalist’s Killing After Landmark Ruling

— 25 September 2024 | United Nations 🇺🇳

Mr. Arshad Sharif, Journalist

Geneva — A UN expert said today Kenyan and Pakistani authorities must step up efforts to fully investigate the killing of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya and prosecute those responsible, in line with a landmark ruling by a Kenyan High Court Judge S. N. Mutuku .

“It is now almost two years since Arshad Sharif’s death and several months since the Kenyan High Court delivered a historic judgment ruling his killing “unlawful”, “arbitrary” and “disproportionate”. “None of the police officers linked to the shooting has been arrested and no charges have been filed by prosecutors in Kenya yet”, said Irene Khan, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression.

“Despite the Kenyan High Court’s ruling, I am deeply concerned that neither the Kenyan authorities nor the Pakistani government have stepped up their efforts to fully investigate the case”, the Special Rapporteur said.

Arshad Sharif fled the country in August after cases were filed against him for an interview of an opposition politician. AP Photo

Sharif was killed by Kenyan law enforcement at a roadblock in Nairobi in October 2022, in an incident described by Kenyan security officials as a case of mistaken identity. On 8 July 2024, following a civil suit brought by Sharif’s family, the High Court of Kenya in Kajiado ruled that the use of lethal force in Sharif’s death was “unlawful and unconstitutional” and required the Kenyan State to pay 10 million shillings ($77,500) in compensation to Sharif’s family.

“The High Court judgment is an important victory, but its real impact will only be felt if the two governments bring the perpetrators of Sharif’s killing to justice”, Khan said.

Arshad Sharif's Murder 'Well-Planned' and 'Clearly Choreographed': Kenya Human Rights Commission! This Photo of Kenya Human Rights Commission Senior Programme Advisor Martin Mavenjina. — Photo: Screenshot

A State-sponsored Pakistani special fact-finding team concluded in December 2022 that Sharif’s death resulted from a planned and targeted assassination by transnational actors. Sharif had previously fled Pakistan to avoid arrest on charges of maligning Pakistan’s national institutions and because of threats to his life. In October 2023, UN experts wrote to Kenyan and Pakistani authorities demanding full investigations into the killing and the charges that led to Arshad’s exile.

Arshad Sharif was killed by two shots fired at close range. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls for independent UN probe into Pakistani journalist’s murder in Kenya

“Justice for Mr Sharif and his family will not be done until the circumstances behind this murder are fully clarified, including whether it was a transnational crime, and all responsible actors are identified, prosecuted and punished in Kenya and Pakistan,” Khan said.

In February 2023, a Pakistani Joint Investigative Team established by Pakistan’s Supreme Court reported to State officials that Kenyan authorities had denied them access to evidence and the crime scene, effectively halting their investigation.

Nearly two years after his killing near Nairobi, a Kenyan court found police had acted unlawfully in the October 2022 shooting of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif. Credit: Twitter

“I urge the Kenyan and Pakistani governments to muster the political will to ensure full accountability and bring to justice all those responsible for Arshad Sharif’s murder, so that this case can become a landmark reference in the fight against impunity for the killing of journalists,” Khan said.

[ramix--dibus]

Terms and Conditions

Please read the full content of the terms and conditions carefully before contacting me. You are not obligated to follow my rules if you do not wish to. If you disagree with any of the points mentioned, you can always seek another artist who makes you feel more comfortable.

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General Information

You are only purchasing the digital file (.png), not a printed version of the work.

The original file (.sai) will not be sent under any circumstances, nor will a price for it be negotiable.

Commercial use of my art is not permitted. Commissions are strictly for personal use.

Once I start working on your commission, I will provide a sketch for you to review.

You can request WIPs (Work in Progress) as long as it is not excessive, as this may delay my workflow.

I may send a WIP without you requesting it if I need to clarify a doubt or make a small change.

Minor tweaks will be completely free of charge.

Please note that some colors in the character palette may appear slightly varied due to shadow and lighting effects implemented. This is to better fit my coloring style.

As the artist, I retain the right to sign all my works.

Depending on the complexity of the character and the number of details, the original price may increase by up to 25%.

I reserve the right to decline your request if I am unsure I can capture what you are asking for or if I feel uncomfortable with it.

Avoid requesting to draw in a different style. Only the styles shown in the commission list are available. You can visit my gallery to see examples.

All completed commissions will be publicly posted on all of my pages. If you wish to keep your name/alias or your OC (not canon/official characters) anonymous for any reason, please let me know in advance.

By commissioning me, you are automatically accepting my terms and conditions and agreeing to abide by them.

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Permissions

As the artist, I retain all rights to the completed illustration.

As a client, you are authorized to: • Re-upload the commission to your social media with proper credit. • Use the commission for personal purposes (printing it for yourself, giving it as a gift, etc.). • Use it as an avatar or decoration on any of your social media platforms as long as it is for personal, non-commercial use.

As a client, you are NOT authorized to: • Modify the work for any reason. • Trace or use the illustration as a base for other work. • Use it for commercial purposes. • Remove my signature. • Claim the artwork as your own.

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Payment Process

Payment will be via bank transfer (Mercado Pago for Argentina).

Payments will be made exclusively in USD.

I will only start working on your request once I have received the 50% deposit (the remaining 50% is due before delivering the final work).

I will request the payment myself to avoid any erroneous transactions.

Do not send any payment in advance until I have accepted your request.

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Payment Process for Argentina

If you are from Argentina, you have the option to pay in pesos.

The original commission price converted to pesos will have a special discount.

I will only start working on your request once I have received the 50% deposit.

Payment will be made solely through a bank deposit. Any other forms of payment (cash, COD, etc.) are not accepted.

I will provide my bank account details only after you agree to make the payment.

Send me a photo of the payment receipt to confirm the payment, or if it is a virtual payment, send me a screenshot.

No receipts or invoices will be issued.

Do not send any payment in advance until I have accepted your request.

Please remember that this payment process is optional. I am offering a special discount to people in my country who wish to pay in Argentine pesos.

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Before Ordering

If you have any questions or concerns before placing an order, let me know! You can send me a note on DeviantArt or contact me via private message on Facebook or Instagram.

My native language is Spanish, and although I understand English, I find it somewhat difficult to write. Therefore, responses to messages in English may take a bit longer. Please be considerate and patient with this.

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How to Order

If you are interested and wish to place an order, email me at ramixdibus@gmail.com with the subject "Commission - [insert style title here]" and fill out the following form.

— FORM — • Character Title: [Creature/Animal/Human] • Type: [Chibi | Half-body | 3/4-body] • Number of Characters: • Background: [Simple | Transparent] • Extra Items: [Pet, weapon, etc.]

CHARACTER INFORMATION: • Name: • Creator: [If it’s your own, provide your name/alias, or if it belongs to another artist, etc.] • Personality: [Let me know a bit about them] • Details: [Describe the pose or how you want them to be depicted] • References: [High-quality images, preferably varied. I will not work with just a description.]

Please be as specific as possible. The more information and references you provide, the easier it will be to fulfill your request.

Wait for my response. We will get in touch to discuss any additional details if necessary.

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Work Speed

I am committed to completing your commission as quickly as possible, but please be patient.

The approximate wait time is 2 to 3 weeks per illustration; however, the time may be extended.

In the worst case, the maximum deadline for completing the commission will be around 1 month.

If I have other commissions ahead of yours, please understand that I will need more time.

I will inform you if anything happens that might delay the commission.

If you need the commission by a specific date, please let me know in the form. I will not advance your slot but will keep it in mind.

I always strive to do my best work. Both you and I should be satisfied with the result, so I try to work when I feel most motivated.

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Changes/Adjustments

If the drawing is finished, I can add minor details that may have been overlooked.

Excessive changes after the line art will incur additional charges depending on the complexity.

If you are very particular, please ensure you provide detailed information and references to meet your expectations.

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Refunds

I can refund the 50% deposit if I have not yet started working on your request.

You do not have the right to cancel or request a refund once the payment has been received.

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By commissioning me, you are agreeing that you have read and accepted all the terms described above. You also agree to use my art for personal, non-commercial purposes, providing the appropriate credits.

[biglisbonnews]

Halle Bailey Responds to Rubi Rose's Leaked Texts From DDG Halle Bailey is paying no mind to gossip about her relationship with rapper and Youtuber DDG. It all started last week with speculation that the couple were breaking up, amidst which DDG took to Twitter to deny the rumors, calling the internet "gullible." But on Saturday, Atlanta rapper Rubi Rose, with whom the 25-year-old previously had a relationship, shared screenshots alleging he contacted her while in LA while still trying to fix things with Bailey.Related | Halle Bailey's Boyfriend Addresses Breakup RumorsAccompanied by the caption, "This is why I'm single," the screenshots appear to show DDG, whose real name is Darryl Dwayne Granberry Jr., reaching out to Rose to ask what she was doing. When she pointed out that he was contacting her the day his breakup rumors came to light, he responded, "lol u right, lemme go heal first." \u201cThis is why im single\u201d — Rubi Rose (@Rubi Rose) 1676232604 Rose first entered the chat earlier in the day when she tweeted, "having ur bitch [wear] my clothes is crazy lol," alluding to a shirt Bailey was seen wearing on Instagram. After Bailey's fans came to her defense, the 25-year-old followed up with a clarifying tweet saying she "[liked] Halle" and that she was directed her comments to her ex, who she called "a weirdo." \u201cI like Halle, Ddg a weirdo tho fasho\u201d — Rubi Rose (@Rubi Rose) 1676153713 On Sunday, Bailey, who is one half of Beyoncé-approved duo Chloe X Halle, took to Twitter to implore fans to ignore ongoing internet discourse, writing, "the devil is working ♥️lol please don’t feed into the lies, especially from a third party 💕✨stay blessed everyone." \u201cthe devil is working \u2665\ufe0flol please don\u2019t feed into the lies, especially from a third party \ud83d\udc95\u2728stay blessed everyone\u201d — Halle (@Halle) 1676238504 Despite this, the phrase "HALLE GET BEHIND ME" trended on Twitter throughout the weekend, with some concerned fans even starting a petition online calling for the end of the relationship. At the time of writing, it had reached over 1,800 signatures. Bailey and DDG were rumored to be dating in January 2022 after being seen together at an Usher concert. They made their relationship Instagram official in March of the same year. Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images for The Recording Academy https://www.papermag.com/halle-bailey-rubi-rose-ddg-2659405805.html

[littlebluestars]

Next to Normal - Svenska Teatern, Finland (2021)

[chxmpagneproblemss]

my puppet history theory is that they’re going to find some chaotic way to bring back the professor and maybe even a redemption arc for ryan? my points:

- the sheer chaos of ryan and shane as a duo

- the sheer chaos of puppet history as a whole

- the sheer chaos of puppet history lore

and now i present textual evidence:

in the series finale of BFU, they made it very clear that it was the series finale. in both posts before the season, and in the final episodes and post mortems of the final season. i am entering the following exhibits taken from the instagrams of ryan bergara and buzzfeed unsolved into evidence:

However, with PH, Watcher has just said “finale” and they haven’t clarified if it’s the series finale or the season finale…

…except for when they have.

Entering the following exhibits taken from the official Watcher instagram, twitter, and youtube pages into evidence.

Look at the date that tweet was posted….

then look at the date the finale was uploaded.

They have said the professor is canonically dead, but the professor is was an immortal time travelling puppet. And they expect me to believe there’s no way he can be brought back? Entering the following into evidence.

Somewhere around 45 minutes in the season finale, we see the horse in the background of the party on the puppet pop in. The horse died much more violently on screen, even went and spoke to god, but here he is at the party!

At approximately 20 minutes and 40 seconds into the Olga of Kiev episode, we see the horse.

Around 7 minutes and 56 seconds into the jose rizal episode, the horse appears again. I’m sure it’s happened in previous episodes also but I’m too lazy to document every instance. I would attach screenshots if I could, but I’ve hit the photo limit. I’ll see if I can post the screenshots in the replies.

This is evidence that even though a puppet died on screen, they do not cease to exist entirely and can continue to appear on the show. Basically, for puppets, life goes beyond this earthly realm and continues well into the “afterlife.” If I remember correctly, this has been confirmed before.

If I need any further evidence, there’s a couple of posts on the official watcher tumblr blog that stand out to me, but I’ll try to attach a screenshot of the one that stood out the most to me in the replies also, with further elaboration.

In conclusion, I believe the team at Watcher is gonna remain cryptic about the whole thing (especially to claim plausible deniability if/when people say they thought the professor was gone forever) and then spring a surprise season on us when we least expect it, which will then solve the issues of what happened in the SEASON finale. just a theory 😙 the rest is in the replies, pinning the full post w the reply on my blog

[lady-bugginette]

Rose Painted Glasses (A Lila Exposed Fic)

First Next

Inspired by @chatonbean post. 

The first part is by another lovely user by the name of @time-is-a-pain. This is their original post here.

The part after this one, that I will make sure is indicated, is by another amazing user @lenoreofraven. Their original post is also here. Their entry is after the cut.

I want to quickly thank both of the amazing people above for letting me use their additions for setting up this fic. It is very much a collaborative effort between many talented writers, I cannot take entire credit for this. 😏

time-is-a-pain’s entry:

Nathaniel had noticed lately that a bunch of the art Lila claimed as hers were in wildly different styles. At first he tried to rationalize it, maybe she’d been branching out style-wise? Maybe she hadn’t actually found her own style yet? 

It got much harder to rationalize away the differences when he caught a glimpse of an oddly colored part of a background. Only a shade or two off, but it was there. And it looked like it might cover a signature? Now that he was thinking about it, only a few of the art Lila had shown the class had a signature.

It was harder, but it was Lila. They’d talked a lot about how horrible it felt to have your hard work stolen like that. She wouldn’t steal from anyone. Right?

Nathaniel shuddered, he hated the idea that someone would try claiming his work as their own. He made extra sure that his signature was on the picture, and would be hard to cover when he posted it to insta. H was proud of it, and no art thief would stop that.

And he was right to be proud. It quickly became one of his most popular posts. So when he got to school on Monday. and saw Lila showing off his work, he snapped at her.

Of course, most of the class took Lila’s side. But when Alix and Marinette got there, and saw what was happening, they took his side immediately.

“How can you prove it’s yours?” Kim asked. 

A chorus of agreement swept through the room. Nathaniel took a deep breath, his hands were trembling, and pulled out his sketchbook. Flipping to the right page, he stalked over to Lila’s desk, and slammed the book down in front of her.

There it was. The original sketch. Clear in view of the whole class. Nathaniel’s work.

Lila peeked out from behind her fingers when the class went deathly silent, and Alya pulled away from her. 

“How many others?” Nathaniel asked quietly, watching the panic appear, and get locked behind Lila’s mask. “Were any of them actually yours?” 

lenoreofraven’s entry:

“How could you say that? How could you do this? After all the conversations we had about art theft.” Lila exclaimed back, trying to extinguish the doubt in the eyes of  those that watched her. Not everyone was convinced. Alix stood by Nathaniel, trying her best to offer support. While Adrien gently touched Marinette’s wrist, as if signaling for her to stay back.

It was obvious Lila couldn’t win these artists over, artists who have had their work stolen. Instead her eyes settled to Ivan, Rose and Juleka. After the situation with XY, they were fuming the moment the accusation touched the air. It was their weak spot really. Took any logic they may have away.

“You said you wanted me to do a quick sketch, and lent me your notebook as I had left my tablet at home. Then you do this to me?” 

“Lila just stop it.” Marinette growled, but she wasn’t the audience for this little stunt. Lila could claim they were in France, and Marinette would check google maps to make sure they hadn’t moved. This was about everyone. 

Even Adrien, who glared at her from Marinette’s side, was part of the intended audience. As he could make, or break, her reputation if he so desired. Considering how Ivan responded to the demand. perhaps, just possibly, she could deal with two birds at once. Use this as Marinette was an expert on plagiarism, and if she picked the wrong side it could be ruin for her.

“Stop what? Trying to take credit for my own work? I know you don’t like me much, but do you honestly condone this? I thought you would be the first person to support the victim of art theft.” Marinette just looked back with a blank stare, not even humoring the accusation with a response.

All eyes were still on Lila and Nathaniel. Not ideal, but it could be managed. It was the wrong time for crocodile tears. Her eyes scanned the work again. When she had erased the signature from the upload she had been careful, after this she would start adding her own sign. For now she just needed proof. This was a draft, not the official upload. She just needed something.

“Maybe I have been experimenting with styles a bit, but this is mine. See, there’s an L, as in Lila. I made it subtle so it couldn’t be erased, like how you stitch your name into designs in clever ways, Marinette.” Lila explained, pointing at something that could be an L, but was just as likely to be miscellaneous lines. Alya, Sabrina, and a few others that were still on the fence squinted at it, tilting their heads to try and see it. The members of Kitty Section instantly took it as fact. Max, Alix and a few doubters all shook their heads, realizing the stretch.

Nathaniel glared back at her.

“That’s not an L. That’s just lines. I don’t erase signatures like some people because if you look on my insta it clearly had my signature, matches all my other work, and is clearly mine!”

“Then you must have added it. We all know how disrespectful you can be of other’s art.” Lila remarked, as she flinched away from Nathaniel. She made it as dramatic as possible, acting as if the artist would hit her. 

“LILA!” Snapped Alix, not sparing any notice for Ivan, who now stood as a shield for Lila.

Lila simply sighed with a shake of her head, moving slightly to the side so she could be seen, but Ivan still acted like a bodyguard.

“I know Marc didn’t want to mention it, but that couldn’t have been easy to witness. I don’t know what happened, I wasn’t here for it, but I do know you tore apart someone’s journal. I can’t imagine anyone doing that. It’s cruel. Sure you’re friends and have made up, now working on the comic, but doing that to someone’s notebook? I’d rather eat glass than have my precious sketchpads or notebooks damaged in anyway. I’m just saying, someone who does that may be the type of person to disrespect other people’s art.”

My entry:

Nathaniel flinched back, looking at the others in class. Rose and Juleka glared at him while Ivan stood in front of Lila, unmoving.

“How dare you!” Alix started toward Lila only to be held back by Kim. Max frowned at Lila while adjusting his glasses, he looked at the drawing again, and looked between Lila and Nathaniel.

“Don’t you dare talk about something you have no idea about- You Snake!”

Lila smiled her condescending smile at her opposers.

“It’s not my fault he caused an akuma because of his jealousy. I know he was angry with-”

Alix made another lunge for her, Kim had to quickly catch her body from the air before she could attack the other girl.

Marinette was fuming, she was burning with rage. Her face was slowly turning red, before she suddenly took out her phone. 

Adrien looked concerned. He could feel the heat coming off of her body. He looked to the windows, and the classroom door, fro any akumas. He knew it needed to be resolved, and fast. Rose and Juleka were yelling in defense of Lila, while Alix was screaming in defense of Nathaniel. Lila was still ‘cowering’ behind Ivan, and Nathaniel looked like he was on the verge of becoming another akuma. Adrien was about to speak up when someone else did.

“Actually-” A voice broke through the yells of the classroom. Alya looked uncomfortable, with Nino standing, just as uncomfortable, next to her.

Lila looked triumphant, she knew Alya would be on her side. She sent a smug look at the oposing group, one that earned a glare from Nathaniel, a growl from Marinette, and a lunge from Alix, again. 

Nino stepped forward, his expression placating.

“All we have to do is see where Nathaniel says his signature is, and see if the spot was altered on the photo posted to both accounts.”

The request seemed reasonable, if the nodding heads of the other classmates were anything to go by, if it weren’t all a lie.

Lila started crying her crocodile tears, lip wobbling at the pair closest to the door.

“Y-You don’t believe me?” She sniffed as Rose comforted her, and Juleka glared at them.

“Not at all!” Alya walked up, her hands waving in front of her.

“We’re not accusing anyone.” Nino clarified. 

“We’re just comparing the pictures, that’s all!” Alya hastened to add.

Lila didn’t look happy at all, but Rose was already pulling up the picture on Lila’s instagram. Marinette doing the same on her phone of Nathaniel’s instagram.

They both laid out their phones on a desk for everyone to compare. Max was looking at the two closely, as well as his own phone.

“Oh Marinette, that’s a screenshot.” Max pointed out. 

Lila smiled through her tears, sure that she could convince the class that she edited the photo for Nathaniel, because he accused her that one time too. 

“Oh, my bad” She said in a falsely sweet voice, something was up.

“Here. Oh!” She made it look like she was backing out of her photo gallery, when she just swiped over, and let the class see another piece of art work.

“Hey! That looks like one of Lila’s pictures!” Rose, oh so helpfully, pointed out. And it was, one of the ones she posted to her instagram anyway. 

“Oh but that’s from this artist. See? I screenshoted it when they posted it, two weeks ago. See?”

They looked closer, and sure enough the artist posted it two weeks before, They looked at the same picture on Lila’s instagram that she claimed she finished two days prior. With a suspicious bloch where the other artists signature was was on their post.

Max pulled back, pushed his glasses back up, and nodded.

“Yup. That picture is the original, you can see the watermark. And the convenient spot that covered the watermark from the original picture, right there on Lila’s instagram.” Rose and Juleka looked at her, confused. Ivan turned around, looking for answers as well. Before Lila could get a word in Marinette took that moment to completely pounce.

“Oh, but what about these pictures? Do they also have erased watermarks, because they look an awful like the other artists I follow that have had their work stolen from them too.”

Alya and Max descended on the photos like vultures on a carcass, picking apart every screenshot in Marinette’s phone, and every post Lila had made on her instagram with Rose’s phone.

Rose didn’t protest as the hovered over her phone, she looked at Lila with tears in her eyes.

“Is it true? Did-Did you s-steal them?” Juleka wrapped her arm around her shoulder, but gave a hesitant glance to Lila. Ivan looked lost, Mylene currently being out sick, he didn’t know who to side with.

Kim didn’t have to hold Alix back, she stood back on her won. Her arms crossed, and a smug look on her face, she knew Lila had been caught. She gave a smile to Marinette, who gave a thumbs up in return. Nathaniel looked relieved, he also gave Marinette a grateful smile that she returned.

Lila knew she was losing her hold. She looked to Adrien, but he was busy looking (out for akumas) around the room.

She had to play her ace in the hole.

She burst into tears, sobbing.

“I-I’m so sick of this lying disease!” 

The others looked at her confused.

Alix snorted.

“Yeah, you are lying, and you are a disease.” Kim elbowed her for that, but he didn’t say anything. 

Lila had to move fast.

“I w-was going to take them down. B-But I really do like the pictures. I h-had no idea they had b-been stolen b-by those artists-”

“That doesn’t explain the watermarks!” Alix cut across.

“I didn’t steal them! Someone else did! I-I got permission f-from whoever stole the art f-first. A-and-” She hastened to add when she saw that Alix and Marinette were about to interrupt her.

“A-and I couldn’t help but put that I drew them, because of my lying disease! R-Remember?” Marinette looked enraged, Alix and Nathaniel looked at her in disbelief. Max also looked skeptical. 

“L-lying disease?” Rose asked tentatively. Lila nodded.

“Yes! R-Remember? W-When I accidentally got Marinette expelled.” At the memory being brought up, Marinette’s face darkened further, Adrien looked uncomfortable, and Alix and Nathaniel shared a look of realization.

“I didn’t mean to get her expelled! It was my disease! It acts up during times of stress! And with all of the charities I help with, and my disabilities, I get too stressed out and start lying again!” She looked to Alya, who looked like she was almost convinced. Nino was looking to Alya. Rose, Juleka, and Ivam were firmly back on her side again.

She just needed to convince Alya, and the majority would follow, or join Marinette in exile.

“I-I’ve been getting so stressed out lately! And I can’t control the urge when it happens! I am so sorry you guys! I didn’t mean-”

“That still doesn’t explain why you accused Nathaniel of stealing your supposed artwork.” Marinette pointed out.

“Or the fact that you brought up something that you have no idea about and threw it in his face!” Alix added.

Lila schooled her face to guilt.

“I’m sorry that I offended you Nathaniel. I didn’t mean to.” She let a few tears come to the surface of her eyes, but never let them fall. 

It was all Juleka and Rose needed to flock to her and comfort her. She looked to Alya, who looked on the verge of joining her. She just needed a little more.

“I can understand what made you want to draw that picture you posted, it looks a lot like mine. You drew inspirations from that, I get that!” Nathaniel looked livid, and Alix was ready to blow.

But Lila only worried about the two that were in front of her that weren’t at her side yet. She needed them to keep her hold of the class.

“I can understand drawing inspiration from what’s around you, Marinette does that all the time no?” Said girl glared at her. Adrien had finally stopped his tour of the room with his eyes, and looked at the group. He glared at Lila, but she could deal with that later. As long as he kept his arm out in front of Marinette, and out of her way, she could deal with him later.

She just needed Alya and Nino.

“I don’t blame you for being inspired! Not at all! I just want an apology for accusing me of stealing.” At the start of the protests from Marinette, Alix and Nathaniel, she looked to Nino and Alya.

“Right Alya? Nino?”

Alya hesitantly nodded. Nino didn’t react one way or the other, Hmm...

“See? It;s alright! We just needed to communicate!” Rose cheerfully added.

At that convenient time, Madam Bustier entered the room.

“Alright class! We have a busy day ahead of us! Finish up your chat and get to your seats!”

Lila looked to Nathaniel, an expectant look on her face that made his stomach turn.

Was this how Marinette felt?

Rose, Juleka, and Ivan looked at him expectantly too.

 Madam Bustier looked back at the group, waiting. Kim slapped him on the back.

“Hey! It’s resolved now! Just apologize and it’s all good man!” 

Alix glared at him, but Nathaniel just sighed.

“I’m... Sorry Lila.”

She smiled her condescending smile once again, that Nathaniel was beginning to realize was the one she always gave to Marinette.

“I accept your apology.”

And everyone started to go back to their seats.

Nathaniel didn’t missed the way Marinette opened her mouth again, but stopped when Adrien touched her arm with his hand. He whispered something to her and shook his head. Alix noticed this too.

She looked angry, and gave him a look of disgust before she subtly tore her arm away from his. He looked sad, but retreated back to his seat anyway. Marinette looked back at Nathaniel and Alix, to see them already looking at her.

She gave them a sad smile and looked to her desk, to see Lila already seated there. She let out a quiet sigh, and made her way to the back of the classroom.

“Hey Marinette?” Nathaniel asked quietly. She looked between him and Alix, who was toeing the floor.

“Do you want to sit in the back with us?” She was about to ask why Alix would sit at the back when she saw her bookbag in her hand.

She smiled at them and nodded. They made their way to the back, not noticing Adrien’s frown of sadness or Lila’s frown of annoyance.

She didn’t like reminding them of her ‘lying disease’. It might give them a reason to not totally believe her,though it was a great skeleton key to get her out of any situation because of her lies.

She turned back around in her seat, plotting her next move for the two new people that joined her exiled list.

Oh well, looks like she’d be adjusting her plans to fit two more.

What she didn’t know, was that there was another person that was beginning to catch on to all of her little lies. He just had to catalog them all on his phone first, before bringing the evidence to light.

Tag List:

@bean2342 @chris-pixie @pirats-pizzacanninibles @multifacetedfangirl @might-as-well-happen @legallyspawned @firesong323 @kuroko26 @runestarchild @mariae2900 @laadychat

[thoughts-on-bangtan]

Just read your post and agree with everything, esp about bad ship theories. One thing you said, kinda stuck out. The voting argument where Jimin went without JK, so therefore they seem to live in different areas. Then does this mean you think Vmin live in different areas? I mean, if they have been together for years, why would they not be living together? IDK, I just always kinda felt Vmin low key live together this whole time, but now your answer has me doubting that. You don't think Vmin do?

Admin 2: Hello anon,

In my reply I will try to convey to you my personal point of view in regard to Vmin and their relationship and in this case, how I see the question of them of living together.

The fact that four BTS members voted at the polling stations of their district shows that not all of them are registered in Hannam in their shared dorm.

We know, and it is no secret, that Taehyung bought an apartment in autumn 2019 in which, as you can see, he also seems to be registered. We know that Hobi and Jungkook bought their apartments at the end of 2018 in the same building and supposedly even on the same floor. Taehyung has posted photos from what looks like his apartment more than once and it is no secret that he owns and stays in this apartment. During some program on TV, one of his Wooga squad friends talked to Taehyung on FaceTime, who seemed to be at home in his apartment and wondered what he should eat.

Of course, there is more information from illegal sources, but we will not touch any of that.

It is known about Jimin and his living situation that his apartments (building) are under renovation.

Ok that's official facts of things we know. However, we do not know what the actual living situation of the individual members looks like.

Actually, all options are theoretically possible, but based on some logical considerations, some arrangements can be deduced. The fact that Taehyung is not registered in the dorm does not mean that he does not live there, or at least that he does not stay for a long time.

Jimin likely being officially registered as living at the dorm does not deny that he could also spend some time at Taehyung’s apartment. Do you understand what I'm going for? However, I exclude that officially Vmin or any couple could officially be live together. We have heard more than once about the obsessiveness of fans, about the stalking of the saessangs, about them occupying whatever buildings BTS are staying at, about the way they even go after the members families to get their hands on any kind of information’s.

Therefore, the best solution for Vmin is that they have access to Taehyung’s apartment. I think that in the dorm, and anywhere else (except for their bedrooms within the dorm), it would be impossible to lead any kind of relationship in peace.

There are all sorts of people at the dorm, their staff (like their managers) have success to the dorm and could just walk in at any time. The mere fact that Vmin (we assume they are a romantic couple) is in a fragile relationship and therefore any kind of leak, so to speak, would lead to a catastrophe. Antis and alike are just waiting for such "interesting" details from the private lives of the BTS members.

I believe that it is not possible to have any romantic relationship in a classic way within the group, and it is completely impossible for two members suspected of a romance to live together. (The same applies to J/k/ok etc.)

However, I am personally convinced that Vmin spends a lot of time together, even if only because they study together for their now master’s degree. I suspect they stay a lot together because Jimin wears Taehyung's clothes (especially his oversized boots) because even after work he was supposed to go to Tae (or Tae to Jimin) during the Billboard H100 # 1 night. We have screenshots of conversations with fans during games where Tae said he had to stop because Jimin had just made ramen, some other time he’d mentioned he was planning on doing something with Jimin the next day etc. Jimin said during Vlive in April 2020 that him and Tae like to go driving at night and many other things.

"Someday, when these cheers die down, stay hey

Stay with me by my side"

And that is also my opinion: A normal relationship will only be possible for Vmin when they are no longer the most famous musicians in the world living in a very conservative Korea, especially since they (and other members as well) still have to go to their military service in the VERY conservative Korean Army. Actual suspicions of a queer relationship within the group could and likely would only endanger the members during their service, just like I previously mentioned in my reply to an ask about Jin’s reaction to Taehyung’s “Jiminah I like you the most”.

I would also like to add some observations and thoughts to members speaking about their situation in life.

I have a strong impression that it doesn't matter so much to the fans whether Namjoon or Yoongi or even Jin live at the dorm or anywhere else.

What obsessive fans care about is where and with whom the maknaes live.

Therefore, I often get the impression that some dialogues, some scenes in RUN or interviews or other shows are shown in such a way that there is some confusion about who with who and confusion about where the maknaes live and whether they live together or not. I may be delulu, but I often get such an impression, especially when it comes to Jimin, that he deliberately says certain things in a way that can be interpreted in multiples ways, or like they mean something, even though likely it doesn’t mean anything at all.

We know Jimin is very private and doesn’t readily share private information’s, so it just seems like he “feeds” obsessive shippers, of whom I’m sure he’s well aware they are listening and just waiting for it, something that really is empty just so they have something to do, like JK saying he wants to make pizza at the end of some RUN episode to which Jimin asked “at home?” which was asked (or at least translated by weverse/vlive) in such a manner that shippers spent the next two weeks discussing what home he meant and if that means they do live together. Because of that, really, Jungkook can keep his privacy, as can vmin, since shippers will hold on to those empty phrases (fanservice) while the members can do whatever they want away from the cameras. Does that make sense? So, in the end, even if it seems like Jimin shared some insight into their living arrangements, we really still know nothing at all about where the maknaes live and with whom. It’s very smart PR and fits with the media training Idols in general seem to receive.

Edit: I read your comments and I want to clarify what I meant with the above part about Jimin, since I really didn’t mean to shift the blame for bad shipper behavior on him in any kind of way: 

I’m sure we’ve all seen bad shippers make the argument that the members that are part of their ship supposedly purposefully say certain things to send them “secret/hidden messages” or “hints” that “only they will understand” which in turn are meant to prove their ships. That’s what I meant by “seems to “feed””, not that he’s purposefully “lying” in their favor or feeding into their weird fantasies, but rather that the vague things he sometimes says, or his occasionally cheeky/teasing comments made in good fun with the other members, are taken by shippers and interpreted in ways to fit their narratives, even if what Jimin says has nothing to do with ships at all, he’s obviously just joking/teasing, or it’s just a vague “empty”/deflective statement to keep private info private. 

In all those cases the blame is on shippers and their bad behavioral habits of twisting the members words instead of listening properly and realizing that Jimin is joking or that what he said isn’t a hint or anything at all.

After all, Jimin said so much, supposedly, and yet we know nothing, not even about him and Taehyung studying together, which was quite literally never mentioned by them. Not even once in passing.

Of course, everything I've written is just my personal opinion and point of view. I could of course be totally wrong.

From anon: I agree that "Feeding the Schipers" isn't the happiest phrase, but I get what is going on. I think what J/m says and how he says it is like fodder for ships. I don't think he's doing it on purpose, however. Definitely not. J/m has this style of teasing, joking and shippers buying it as "secret confessions or notices" but a cool comment in general.

Admin 1: I’d like to quote myself from my asks post yesterday as reply to this ask, since it fits here as well:

Besides, at the end of the day, their living arrangements are not something we are privy to and that we shouldn’t try to figure out either. The members say they still live at the dorm, and if that’s the version they want us to believe, that’s the one I’ll stick to, unless they tell me otherwise.

[threecrowsinatrenchcoat]

Paint My Spirit Gold

Dukeceit Week Day 2: Green/Yellow

Fans of the YouTubers "Deceit" and Remus "The Duke" Sanders start to suspect that maybe, just maybe, the two of them are more than simple internet pals.

AO3 Link: [here]

Word Count: 2187

Warnings: n/a

@dukeceitweek <3

-

[ID: A screenshot of a Twitter post by user @CallMeDukie. It features a watercolor-style painting of a snake. The snake appears to be made of melting chocolate, and there is a large bite taken out of its tail. Cherries and jam are leaking out of the snake at the bite wound. The snake's expression of horror is overly-exaggerated to the point of comedy. The caption reads: "liked your snake boi, @SerpenThyme. thanks for the inspo." /end ID]

- 

A notification ding cut Janus off mid-sentence. 

“Wow, someone left their cell phone on, so professional,” he said, giving the camera a dramatic eye roll. That someone was him, of course, because he was the only one in the apartment- just him and the running livestream- but that was no excuse not to be a drama queen about it. He finished wiping flour off his hands and grabbed his phone to silence it; but the notification made him pause. He flicked his eyes up toward the camera and gave a slight smirk.

“My goodness, I’m famous,” he drawled. “The Duke himself has graced little old me with some fan art.”

Most of the comments in the chat wanted him to show it, so Janus opened up Twitter to see the full post he’d been tagged in. It was a watercolor painting of the coiled-snake chocolate sculpture- lovingly named Jake by his viewers- he’d made for his YouTube video last week; it was wearing an expression of such comedic horror that Janus had to stifle a laugh. He flicked his phone screen toward the close-up camera on his counter so his viewers could see.

“How kind of you, Remus,” he said. “All of you should go scold him for what he’s done to poor Jake here.”

Most of his viewers would know he was joking- after all, they were the ones to nickname him Deceit when he provided neither a real or fake name for his online persona. They knew full well what he was like by now.

The oven timer dinged. Janus silenced his phone and set it aside.

“And our first batch of cookies is done. You know, why don’t we show the Duke some appreciation?”

-

[ID: An Instagram post by user @SerpenThyme. The photo is an artistically-framed shot of a stack of sugar cookies with green, yellow, and pink icing. Propped up against the stack is another cookie, with an intricate icing-drawing of an octopus. The photo appears to have been color corrected to have high contrast, low saturation, and a dark vignette at the edges. The Instagram user @OctoDukie is tagged. No caption. /end ID]

- 

“You know, I have often been accused of actually being a little old lady, what with my fondness for knitted jumpers, rocking chairs, and incredibly fucked up murder mystery books. Today I am doing nothing to dispel this accusation, by making soup.”

The studio was dark and empty aside from Remus' workspace. Everyone else had left long ago, even his own brother, which meant that it was officially ass-o'clock in the morning (or, as most people called it, somewhere between 1 and 2 a.m.) But Remus was stuck in hyperfocus, honed in on putting the last touches on a commission that he'd been putting off for weeks. It's not that it was a tough painting- once he'd gotten started, it was actually a very creatively satisfying piece- but man, executive dysfunction could go suck a dick

“French onion soup, specifically. Because while I do like to pretend I am a classy bitch, I am also, regrettably, a lazy bitch with a distaste for anything that takes longer than one bottle of wine to make.”

Remus hated working in silence. It was stifling, almost suffocating. His brain needed noise like his lungs needed air. So when the studio had grown still and silent, Remus had flipped open his laptop and queued up some YouTube videos. 

“So we have here three pounds of onions that we need to slice up, pole to pole. You’re going to cry no matter what, so if you have any memories you’ve been repressing since middle school, now is an excellent time to dredge those up.” 

And if it happened to be 90% SerpenThyme videos, well. Sue him. 

“Now the first rule of caramelizing onions: fast and sloppy is always better than slow and thorough… at least, that’s what every man I’ve ever slept with tells me.”

Remus choked and glanced over to his laptop screen just in time to catch Deceit's trademark smirk directed at the audience just for a moment. It was the deadpan delivery that always got him. Remus could barely hold onto a joke long enough to get through it without cackling mid-punchline, but this fucker could say the funniest shit like an off-hand comment. 

He wiped his hands off on his jeans (what use were clothes if you couldn't use them as paint rags?) and pulled his laptop across the table.  He typed out a quick comment, citing the timestamp of the joke, and after it was posted, he shut his laptop. 

'Cause ass-o'clock was short for "get-your-ass-home-or-I’ll-kick-it" o'clock. 

-

[ID: A screenshot of a YouTube comments section. The first comment is by user TheDuke, and reads: "10:42 wow, rude." The second comment is a reply by user SerpenThyme, and simply reads ";)" /end ID]

-

Janus plopped down on the couch with a slight groan. He didn’t need to stream today, but he really hated missing days. Besides… he was fine. Really. 

He adjusted the camera until he was happy with the framing, and then checked the settings on his streaming software. Satisfied, he started the stream, and watched as his usual viewers rolled in. 

“What do you mean I’m not in my kitchen?” Janus drawled, addressing the chat. He glanced around with an expression of faux-shock on his face. “My goodness, when did that happen?”

He chuckled, and then gestured to his surroundings. “Yes, we are in my living room today. If you must know, my closest and most trusted friend tried to murder me today- yes, Virgil, it was attempted murder and nothing less- and I survived with nary a scratch… and a broken foot, but that is beside the point. Anyway, I’m not allowed to stand for long periods of time, and I may or may not be somewhat inebriated by pain pills and couldn’t stand even if I wanted to. So we are cooking from my couch today.”

Janus paused for a few moments to read the chat messages as they popped up. A few get well soon’s, a few theories about the “attempted murder,” Virgil- who moderated his chat for him- vehemently denying the “attempted murder” but otherwise refusing to clarify the event, and a large volume of wtf why are you streaming today, take care of yourself comments, which made him smile. But one particular comment caught his eye, almost lost amid the torrent of an active chat: wait this kinda looks like the Duke’s living room?

“Oh, VampSuga,” he said, addressing that commenter in particular with a slight smirk. “I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about. Anyway, since I can’t reach my oven from here, I thought some no-bake cookies were in order. For these you will need-”

-

[ID: A screenshot of a Discord conversation. The text reads:

“VampSuga: Ok ok hear me out. Dukeceit. 

Starstruck96: who?

IneffableSnek: lmao

FeralBeauYasha: lol

VampSuga: Deceit and Remus Sanders! They’re totally dating. I will die on this hill. 

FeralBeauYasha: Isn’t the duke w/ PatPat?

IneffableSnek: no thats his brothers bf

FeralBeauYasha: ohh

VampSuga: Did anyone see Deceit’s stream today? I swear that’s the Duke’s livingroom. 

StarStruck96: idk that seems like a stretch

IneffableSnek: no wait i kno what u mean

IneffableSnek: im watching the duke’s old videos and that one where he shows off all his old weapons he’s in a living room kinda like deceit’s 

FeralBeauYasha: They were acting all cute on twitter too

VampSuga: DUKECEIT”  /end ID]

-

"Hey guys, been a while since you've seen my face and not just whatever my hands are busy with, when it's within YouTube's terms and conditions I mean. They used to be way more lenient…" Remus trailed off for a moment, then shook his head sharply and plastered on a grin. 

"Anyway! In June me and a few other creators did a fundraiser for the Trevor Project, and y'all smashed the goal, so I let you decide what video I'd make this month." He paused, and gestured to the mountain of clothes piled behind him on the bed. "And you had so many juicy ideas to choose from, but you decided to dress me up like a Barbie instead."

Remus paused to scroll through his phone for a few moments. "Ah, ok, here we go. Twitter user YoonIsMyCat- oh, BTS, nice- sent in this first outfit. Uh… future Remus, put up the post here somewhere." He gestured vaguely to his right. "Y'all went with either a fuckton more clothes or a fuckton less clothes, which I respect. Apparently this outfit is called…” He squinted at his phone. “Amish chic? I take it back, no respect at all.”

Remus cycled through the outfits his viewers sent in, which ranged from the aforementioned “Amish chic” to “2008 rave attire” to “ok now you guys are just fucking with me” (which consisted of one of those big puffy snow coats, lime green in color; booty shorts with the shrug text emoji across the ass; fuzzy pink boots; and a yellow cowboy hat to top off the whole thing. It was awful. Remus loved it.) The mountain of clothes on the bed gradually became a mess of clothes spread across the floor instead, until there was just one outfit left. 

“Ok so Twitter user VampSuga sent me this outfit that I’m gonna call ‘sexy librarian.’ I couldn’t find this exact sweater online, but-” he paused for dramatic effect, before brandishing a sweater toward the camera like a bullfighter. “My boyfriend had something that was close enough.”

Remus hopped up from the bed and switched off the camera so he could change.

“They’re going to lose their minds,” a voice drawled from the doorway. Remus threw his shirt at him.

“Shoo, I’m getting naked.”

-

[ID: A Twitter post by user @CallMeDukie. It features a selfie of YouTuber Remus “The Duke” Sanders, a Hispanic man with his hair dyed green and styled into a spiked mohawk. He is wearing a yellow knitted cardigan over a black button-up shirt. He is grinning widely at the camera. The caption reads: “my viewers pick my outfits! now live on youtube. go see what i look like as a sexy librarian!” /end ID]

-

DukeceitStan

first and only dukeceit shipper ig

DukeceitStan

wow there’s so many of you now! Hi!!

DukeceitStan

i want this to be canon so bad omg

DukeceitStan

i mean just look

[image]

how 

[image]

cute

[image]

[ID: A series of three gifs featuring Youtubers SerpenThyme, aka Deceit, and TheDuke, aka Remus Sanders. Deceit is a black man with long, dreadlocked hair, and vitiligo patches along the left side of his face. Remus is a Hispanic man with green-dyed hair styled into a mohawk, many ear and facial piercings, and tattoos covering both arms. Each gif is edited so that the highlights are tinged yellow when Deceit is seen, and tinged green when Remus is seen.

The first gif depicts a close-up shot of Deceit’s hands as he carefully decorates a cookie with green and yellow icing. The cookie art he is working on appears to be a half-finished octopus. The gif then fades into a mid-shot of Remus, with his back to the camera, facing a canvas. The canvas is blank, and Remus appears to be laying out paints on a table to his left. 

The second gif depicts Deceit seated at his couch, facing the camera. He has many ingredients spread across his coffee table (including oats, cocoa powder, and butter) and appears to be in the process of laying out several more. The gif fades to show Remus seated at a similar couch with a similar coffee table in front of him. The camera is angled slightly downward to better show the myriad of knives spread out across the table. Remus is gesturing wildly with a morning star held in his hand. 

The third gif depicts Deceit in his kitchen. He is pulling on a bright, yellow knitted cardigan, and smirking toward the camera. The gif fades to show Remus in his bedroom, seated on his bed. He is holding up a similar-looking cardigan toward the camera and grinning. /end ID]

- 

“Remus, it’s almost two in the morning. Come to bed.”

“I’m coming, sorry. Twitter distracted me.”

“Mm. I can’t believe the bird app is more distracting than I am.”

“You should try harder.”

“Come to bed and maybe I will.”

“Ok, ok, I’m coming. Hang on though, is it cool if I post this?”

“Sure. They figured it out anyway.”

“Sweet. Ok, Jannie, I’m coming.”

-

[ID: A screenshot of a Twitter post by user @CallMeDukie. It reads: “Dukeceit is canon.” /end ID] 

[incorrect-toriko-quotes]

Kinda related to your last post: If Coco was being chased by IGO scientists, doesn’t that mean that Ichiryu allowed permission for them to do so??? Or at the very least wasn’t aware of it?? Like man, that’s your son.

THANK YOU FOR ASKING THIS, ANON

I’ve put more thought and research into this than I care to admit, so I'm gonna put this rant under the cut.

TLDR; Ichiryu not only knows, but he's totally cool with it.

(Screenshot from the Toriko Anime. I don’t remember which episode. It’s IGO Headquarters)

To start, I want to clarify: as far as I can tell (across the many translations, manga and anime, etc I've seen), Coco was chased down and experimented on by IGO scientists. Though personally, I find it likely that Coco would’ve been on non-IGO scientists’ radars, I can’t find anything that backs that up.

So! Back to the question:

"If Coco was being chased by IGO scientists, doesn’t that mean that Ichiryu allowed permission for them to do so??? Or at the very least wasn’t aware of it??"

I've spent what is, quite frankly, an UNGODLY amount of time digging down this rabbit hole.

My thesis: Ichiryu is not only fully aware of what is happening, but is completely okay with it

Let's start with the blatantly obvious, when it comes to reasoning:

Ichiryu isn't stupid. He's a whole lot of things, but 'stupid' isn't one of them. As Anon said, “that's his son”, and he's not only being hunted by scientists, but they've succeeded in capturing and experimenting on him (more on that later). That seems like the kind of thing Ichiryu'd NOTICE.

Now, getting into the deeper Toriko lore...

In the official Timeline for the series (as published by Shimabukuro himself!) it's stated that Coco was born in 473 GA, and was declared a Class-1/Highest-Level Dangerous Beast in 485.

(Screenshots from the Toriko Wiki, but information aligns with official book release)

Now, Coco was born towards the end of October (29/10), but we don't actually know the date he was declared a Dangerous Beast. Rounding for the sake of easy math, this means that he was likely 11 (~85%) at the time (with the chances of him being 12 being under 15%)

Either way, Coco would’ve been a CHILD.

(Image from Volume 2: Coco!! - VIZ Media translation)

Now, recall that he was declared a Dangerous Beast BECAUSE of his poison, which he got as a result of extreme IGO-mandated mithridatism. This means that he was already on the IGO's radar, and his powers were GIVEN TO HIM by the scientists who would declare him a "Dangerous Beast" later.

So, we have a child no older than 12 who was not only given his powers by the scientists, but is still being pursued.

Remember, again, that Ichiryu isn't stupid. He's laid-back and goofy, but he's not an idiot. Even TORIKO knows, and Toriko would've been ~10 at the time this happened.

(Screenshot taken from Episode 4: Prepare It! The Poisonous Puffer Whale! The Heavenly King Coco Appears! - Yes, this is a screenshot from a fansub)

Now, remember how I said that Coco would've been, at times, caught and experimented on?

I've seen this explicitly stated in some translations, but not others. However, it's worth noting that again, he had to be declared a "Dangerous Beast" for a reason.

He's about 11 at this time. Zebra, in the present, is also classed as a "Dangerous Beast" (if I'm recalling correctly) -- and this is PRESENT-DAY ZEBRA we're talking about. It's not like 11-year-old Coco's gone on violent rampages throughout cities and EATING entire species to extinction.

Granted, Zebra's an extreme case, but given the monsters that we see battled on the daily in this series? I think it's safe to assume that being given the label of Highest-Level Dangerous Beast is serious business. I highly doubt a calm, generally peaceful preteen boy who can shoot poison out of his hands is going to warrant that type of label -- at least, not without confirming that the poison he's using is seriously dangerous.

And these are scientists who need to be making such confirmations. See where I'm going with this?

(Photo taken of Volume One: Gourmet Hunter Toriko!! - This line is said in reference to the Troll Kongs, but as I mentioned in this quote, it SURE HITS DIFFERENT once you hear Coco’s backstory)

I'd also address Coco's general avoidance mannerisms throughout the series, but a lot of that could just be chalked up to both an unwillingness to be... y'know... captured for experimentation as well as his general demeanor. Either way, it’s worth putting out there.

With all this, not only should Ichiryu be AWARE of it, but it seems like he'd try to put a STOP TO IT.

While it's true that Ichiryu sometimes has a bit of a "tough love" attitude towards the Kings (sucker-punching Toriko during their early-series sparring match and sending him FLYING across the ocean and all), it's also true that Ichiryu generally seems to love and care for them.

When Sunny breaks a cup, Ichiryu focuses instead on bandaging up the cut on his arm. When he first met Toriko, he cradled him close and decided to adopt him after he collapsed in his arms. So when Coco was being hunted by IGO scientists, it'd make sense that Ichiryu would want to protect him, right?

That is, unless Ichiryu not only KNOWS, but is totally okay with it.

Yes, I’ve put WAY too much thought into this. A lot of this is just speculation, but I don’t think my theory is too ‘out there?’

(I tried to shorten this. And failed.)

-

-

-

And, just for funsies (and because, if I had to think of it, I'm dragging the rest of you down with me), I propose to you this theory:

Not only did Ichiryu know, but Ichiryu directly EMPLOYED THEM to hunt him as part of his "training", and the real reason Ichiryu was upset with Coco quitting Hunting to become a Fortune Teller was because Ichiryu realized how badly he screwed up (having completely traumatized his son and all)

(I have no real basis for it, I just wanted to make you all suffer with me!)

Feel free to argue in the notes ;)

[hearteyesbowen]

Idk if anyone has asked you this but I was watching josh’s live yesterday and all the faces he makes when he sings are adorable anyways I was wondering if you could write something where he doesn’t like the faces that he makes and he gets self conscious about them but you reassure him that they are cute and that you adore the faces he makes.

livestream ☆ joshua bassett

joshua finally lets y/n stay with him while he does a livestream, but she tends to distract him without her even knowing it

warnings: fluff, shorter than what i usually write

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

“Please, Josh, I promise I won’t do anything bad.”

“No, because I’m going to be in the middle of talking to my fans or singing a song and then you’re going to do something that catches my attention and suddenly I have to explain to everyone who I’m looking at, again.” Josh argued.

You pouted, slouching on his soft bed. You reached for Franklin, his teddy bear, and cuddled it close to you as you plopped back on the bed. You sighed loudly, making sure to let him know your despair.

Josh watched you overreact on the blankets he left messy on the mattress. He was sat at the same chair in front of his desk that he always sat at when he does live videos. He thought you looked adorable at how you begged to be with him.

He remembered the first time he allowed you to stay with him during a live video. You were on his bed and admiring him from far away as he sung. Every time he sang a song or engaged with his fans, you could tell how happy he was. After he sang a Bruno Mars song, you felt giddy inside, so you silently clapped your hands together as to not make a sound. Josh noticed you and blushed while he stared at you. This erupted thousands of comments on both his live and his Instagram posts about who he was with and if he had a girlfriend. Of course, he didn’t get mad at you, but it was hard to convince everyone that it wasn’t you and only a friend, since you were often questioned on social media if you were Josh’s “mystery girl.” It’s also why you were not allowed to be with him anymore during his livestreams, just to be sure he wouldn’t have to do any other clarifying.

As for your relationship with each other, it was somewhat complicated. You both knew you have some sort of feelings for each other. You went on a couple of dates, a lot of them staying over at one’s house and watching movies. Neither of you had made anything official, your guess was that he wanted to take things slow. However, it didn’t dawn upon you how slow he liked to be.

You sat up and gently placed Franklin on his pillow before you stood up and walked over to Josh. He raised his eyebrows at you, wondering what you were about to do. You motioned for him to move his hands from his lap so you could sit. Once he held his hands up, you sat down on his lap and held your arms around his neck while he held you at your waist.

“Please?” You begged one last time, taking off the hat he wore under his hoodie and throwing it on the wooden surface next to him.

Finally, Josh groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You can stay in my room, but no distractions.”

You smiled widely, tightening your arms around him for a hug. You heard a small laugh escape his lips as you stuffed your face into his neck. You pulled away and took a glimpse at his red lips, noticing how much softer they looked today. The room was silent, as if everything stopped. You gazed at each other for what seemed like years, just you two. All you could think of was how nice it would be to have your lips on his, holding onto his body tightly.

As if he read your mind, Josh slowly leaned up, hesitantly reaching for your lips. You both tried inching closer, but it was clear how nervous you were. Your lips were still somewhat far, but it didn’t stop the anxiousness you felt the more the space between you closed. You had never kissed anyone yet, so the feeling you felt as his breath fanned over your lips sent shivers down your spine.

The alarm on Josh’s phone went off, making you both jump slightly. You tapped the screen to check the time, seeing it was only five minutes before he said he would go live.

You turned back to him and patted his chest. “You should get ready.”

Josh sat there, silently frustrated at himself for not making the move. You stood up and threw yourself on his bed, reflecting on the past two minutes that you could have changed.

➢➣ ➢➣

Halfway through Josh’s livestream, you stopped paying attention to him. You loved listening to him and sing, you could listen to him forever, but the memory of your possible first kiss engulfed your brain every time you even heard his voice.

Now you were lying down on your back, holding your phone up high above your head with your headphones plugged into your ears as you blocked out Josh’s voice as best as you could. Usually his livestreams don’t last too long, but it felt like it’s been an hour already.

Clearly you were lost into thought, too busy scrolling through Twitter, that you didn’t even notice when the mattress sank down by your legs. Josh crawled over the bed, resting his hands on either side of your head and his knees between yours. Soon your screen was covered when a curly-haired boy shoved his head between your arms, forcing you to wrap your hands around his head. His face expressed worry the more you stared at him without talking.

“You’re less talkative than you usually are, what happened?” Josh wondered.

You shrugged, not letting out a single noise. He huffed, lightly blowing some of the curls away from his head, and plopped himself down next to you on his bed. You let him rest his head on your arm once he went to cuddle your torso, leaving your other hand to mess with your own hair. Instantly, the warmth of his body clutching yours overcame the uneasy feelings you had earlier.

“What were you looking at?”

Josh took your phone from the other side of your hip and tapped in the passcode, the day of your first date. The Twitter app opened, showing your timeline of tweets from the people you followed.

“Some of your fans are already posting screenshots from your live.” You murmured as you see the first screen recording of Josh.

A silent groan escaped his lips the more he watched the clip. He sang “Say You Won’t Let Go” by James Arthur, one of your favorite songs. You giggled as you watch him struggle hitting the lower notes, scrunching up his nose and his repeated use of the word “yikes.”

Josh had enough of watching that clip and exited the app. He went to the Instagram app and typed in his username, then going to his tags. Numerous screen recordings and photos of his livestream were being posted by the minute. Curious, he tapped the most recent one of him singing yet another song.

You stopped paying attention to the video, now only watching his face in disgust as he watched himself. You pouted, using your free hand to remove your phone away from his grasp and pushed aside some of the hair still framing his forehead.

“What ails you, dear?” You ask, holding back a laugh from your choice of words.

He raised an eyebrow at you, grinning for a second before sighing. “I make the stupidest faces when I sing.”

You pushed yourself up, using your arm to hold you up. Josh still lying down, he covered his face with his hands.

“Why do you think that?”

“Look at me!” He reached for your phone and quickly finding a clip to show you. “Why do I look like that?”

“I think it’s cute.” You argue, pushing his hands off his head.

Josh grumbled, almost ripping out the locks of his hair. “But I feel like I look like an idiot. I’m always making those dumb faces, like I can’t even sing normally. I hate seeing myself sing because then I just get self-conscious.”

“Joshua, you’re being so overdramatic. You look perfectly fine. If anything, your fans love the cute little movements you make.” You reassure.

He studied your face for any hints of deceit. You smiled, feeling the heat rise to your cheeks the more he watched you.

Josh finally sat up, your faces now inches apart. The tingling feeling you felt in your stomach a while ago came back. His fingers crept onto your cheek, pushing aside some of the hair by your eyebrow.

“You shouldn’t have to feel insecure about how you look, Josh. You’re literally the cutest guy in the world.”

Your whisper set off a sudden new confidence in him, something that he had been trying to discover since your first date.

“I am?” He wondered with little bits of disbelief from your comment.

The tips of your noses touched, and you hitched your breath. This has been the closest you two have ever gotten. You were not going to chicken out of this one, not again, at least.

You pushed your lips onto his, leaving a short peck on his lips. The new feeling of someone kissing someone set fire to your body. Once you pulled away, your eyes grew wide at Josh’s surprised expression. His mouth was slightly agape, eyes still wide open.

The corners of his lips curved upwards, forming his familiar smile. “Why’d you pull back?”

That phrase barely left you enough time to think about what just happened, as Josh crashed his lips back to yours. Your eyes widened at his sudden move, but you soon relaxed as the feeling of his lips on yours became more important than anything.

You reached up behind his head and clutched his hair, making Josh let out a soft moan. His hands snaked your waist as he pushed you back down on the bed, hovering over you again.

It wasn’t the most experienced kiss at first, but you quickly found your way. Nothing between you two has ever felt more passionate. Your lips moved slowly, still captivated by the thought of you being with each other.

Josh pulled away, lingering one last kiss on your swollen lips. Your eyes blissfully fluttered open, soon looking up at his red, smiling face.

“If I knew that talking about my insecurities meant you would finally kiss me, I would have done it much sooner.” He joked, reaching down to capture your lips on his once more.

A/N - sorry this is short and late i was finishing up with some online school work but now im on spring break so hopefully i can get another post this saturday !! also another sorry for the person who requested this , i was trying to finish my other drafts before i started requests , i hope u like it (: next post is the second part to twenty-dollar baby so be on the lookout <3 love y’all xx

[missholoska]

i remember seeing you say napstablook strictly goes by they/them, where does it say this ingame?

it’s not so much that the game outright says that, because I don’t recall that being the case for any character, but they/them are the only pronouns used to refer to Napstablook in-game:

(there are more examples out there but I don’t wanna make this post 800 miles long)

in fairness Napstablook has been referred to as he/him outside of the game - that’s still the case in this old kickstarter post about the alarm clock from 2013 - but a more notable example was in the Undertale art book, which was later corrected! if you wanna see for yourself compare the photo of Napstablook’s description halfway through this post (super hard to read in that quality, but zoom in enough and it does say ‘him’ a couple times) to the screenshots in this post, but the fact that it was considered a mistake worth fixing is pretty clear in saying that he/him pronouns are not how Napstablook should be canonically/officially referred to.

this part isn’t directed at you anon but while I’m on the subject, I’ve seen some people try to argue that they/them pronouns were only used to be gender-neutral because Napstablook isn’t important enough to specify, but... they aren’t a character you’re meant to project your own vision onto in any way? (not that I agree that Frisk and Chara should still be viewed as self-inserts by the end of the game, but that’s a tangent) Napstablook has their own theme, personality, home, family, job, likes and dislikes; their character isn’t left to interpretation any more than other established characters like Papyrus or Muffet, so I don’t see why their pronouns should be treated differently.

(and to be clear none of this is meant to dismiss pronoun headcanons made by trans and/or non-binary people; I think for cis Undertale fans such as myself, acknowledging these characters’ canon pronouns is the bare minimum level of respect, and if I can help clarify things like this I’m happy to do my part)