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nosomatsu · 10 months ago

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THE MATSUNO'S STARTER PKMN.

( THIS IS A VERY LONG POST, BTW. )

So this has been a study post that I've been wanting to make for awhile now! This is going to concern their pokemon verse, but more specifically just focusing on their starter 'mons rather than the rest of their team. I'm still working ON the rest of the teams, but I don't think they have more than two or three each .. MAYBE four tops.

Anyways!! The starters!!!!

Growing up, the Matsuno sextuplets always looked identical in every conceivable way. As you can see here, they were always dressed in identical clothing, had identical haircuts, and if you were to just look at the picture as is, then unless you watched the show and remembered this specific episode very well ( from the 80s ) then there's a HIGH CHANCE you won't be able to tell who is who. Not even in the slightest.

Well, this is largely due to Matsuyo's budget, and buying them clothes in bulk. While I have very mixed feelings on her as a mother, when the children were younger she was actually much better to the boys. She DID try to do her best, even though their budget had to have been pretty thin when having to take care of sextuplets she hadn't expected.

While the whole "identical clothes and identical presentation" in every way really REALLY fucked them up in the long run, it isn't exactly something that could be helped too much at this time. THAT'S a ramble saved on her for later, because trust me -- i've dissected everyone in this show a million times over i have SO many thoughts ( might make a sideblog for it or something so i don't constantly overwhelm the dash.. ) . But just know it wasn't done out of malice.

In a pokemon verse, when it comes time for the brothers' first starters ... I'm sure Matsuyo would have bought them in bulk, too. Probably bought a whole LITTER, in fact, so that they were all siblings, too. Thus, the brothers' very first starters ... ... ...

... were eevees.

A nearly identical litter of them, except for one which was shiny ( not that they knew at the time, though. ) Six same faces, six same starters. It's funny how it worked out and fit, isn't it? They recieved them on their 13th birthday, as a gift before starting highschool.

Each of them were allowed to decorate their ball how they wanted, but because there weren't any real pokemon that could be bought wildly, they'd went to a breeder for this purpose. Each of them was given an eevee, with Todomatsu receiving the shiny -- but they largely looked the same. Each of them came with a cheap everstone collar, too, that the boys weren't allowed to take off until they were older and could do more research into evolutions. They're a big responsibility, and there's so much that they could evolve into, after all!

The differences between the brothers -- and the eevee's -- wouldn't really show until around midway through highschool, however. All their lives, for as long as they'd had and raised the eevees, they continued to act as a unit. Then, things super fell apart by their second year -- until their final year, in which they barely talked to one another. Gone were the days of all of them acting like a silly little troupe of performers, or whatever else have you -- no more doing things as a team, or people being able to gawk at them for having identical eevee's belonging to identical faces.

The only eevee to have evolved at all during this time was Jyushimatsu's -- and it'd evolved into Sylveon. It shocked a lot of people, given how rage filled he seemed to act all the time -- how could someone so angry all the time have such a sweet, caring pokemon? Was he really that friendly? It was hard to make a connection between the two, but it was undeniable that he must've been good to his sylveon when nobody was watching.

The other's evolutions' took WAY LONGER, though. And absolutely NONE of them are what the bro's really wanted. You see, most people would probably have their colors match, or be something the brother's actually wanted -- a la,

Oso - flareon Kara - vaporeon Choro - leafeon Ichi - espeon Jyushi - jolteon Todo - shiny sylveon

BUUT.. In my take, what they want is NOT what they get. Actually, they get eeveelutions which reflect the hidden / usually unwanted aspects of themselves that they desperately try to suppress -- Jyushi's initial eevee at the time included. Thus, their evolutions go as so;

Oso - umbreon Kara - leafeon Choro - Espeon Ichi - Flareon Jyushi - Sylveon Todo - shiny glaceon

Each of the brothers has a name pun to their chosen named pokemon; initially, i was gonna give em all a matching suffix like the brothers do with -matsu , but i don't think that even as kids they'd agree on what suffix to match. So, instead, birth order number puns!!!

I will now explain in the order which they evolved for the brothers, and why.

1. JYUSHIMATSU & SYLVEON

Jyushimatsu's eevee was named Gofurou ( 護符郎 ; meaning lucky / five ). It's pokeball was decorated with the number 14, and was in a standard pokeball that he'd handpainted with stunning realistic accuracy to look like a baseball. He is the best artist of the brothers, after all! ( canonically! )

As I already said, Jyushi's was the first to evolve. Despite his rage at the time, and how scary he was as a person there for several years, there was a lot of love he didn't know where to put. So, all that affection and love went into Gofurou.

Where he was standoffish and angry and tense at everyone else and the world around him, all his love and affection went to his Eevee. He never once treated it badly, and was incredibly kind to it (and any other animals/pokemon, really) to the point that when it pawed off it's everstone collar, it'd almost immediately evolved into Sylveon after.

This was to everyone's SURPRISE; at the time, his kindness and his love WAS something that he repressed. However, even with how angry and terrible of a teen Jyushi could be at times, this Sylveon knew that it was loved to it's very core. Eventually, Jyushi turned to the happy go lucky smiley guy we know now, but .. not before some fuckery with the mental world of his and reassurance that it WAS okay to let loose and laugh, something he felt he long forgot how to do.

Throughout all this time, Gofurou was always silly and friendly as Jyushimatsu formerly was / will continue to be post highschool, and honestly, the two of them get along together great! It's even where Jyushimatsu learned how to do the tentacle arms from -- it's wiggly bow is what inspired him!

I think, though, that Jysuhimatsu couldn't really handle more than two or three pokemon at a time tops. For the longest time, Gofurou was his only constant pokemon, but he's never one to restrict their freedom much -- if they don't want to be owned, he'll set them free. Simple as that. He had a few others that dipped in and out of his team, but never ones that really stayed for long as he tended to release them rather fast. But Gofurou was his luckiest pokemon, his lucky charm and reminder that people can change...

Gofurou was there for him through thick and thin -- so .. instead of giving Homura his lucky baseball brace as a parting gift, he gifted her his sylveon. Something to remind her of the good in the world, and that even through the bad it is possible to be loved, and that she was loved. He gave Gofurou to her to protect her and to remind her there is ALWAYS going to be someone who cares. It was tough parting with his partner, but Homura was his first love -- and she needed Goforou's support more than he did.

So, Gofurou no longer lives in the household anymore. It's unlikely he'll really get to even see him again.... But that's okay. As long as Homura is safe, he's perfectly happy with this end result. Even if it does hurt quite a bit, it was his own choice, and one that was certainly for the best. THAT SAID .. I actually do have a hc as to what happens next after, and what pokemon he gets from here -- but I'll save that for another post. ^_^

2. ICHIMATSU & FLAREON

Ichimatsu's eevee is named Sesshi ( 切歯 ; meaning grinding teeth / four ). It's pokeball was rather plain, and the least well taken care of ball out of all the brothers. Eventually, from it's poor care, it had to be replaced with a different ball. He ended up getting a hand-me-down luxury ball from Iyami, but the hinges are kind of eeky there too..

There's a lot of rage within Ichimatsu in his teen years. Rage, and endless depression and emptiness. Not quite in the same way as Jyushimatsu, mind you -- he was actually the opposite. The thing is, as a teen and growing up he was always an incredibly huge people pleaser. Even if that wasn’t his real true personality, and he was immensely struggling with depression, he never really let anyone see it.

It was both frowned upon in japanese society to seek help with mental health issues, as well as generally being due to Ichimatsu being both INCREDIBLY stubborn and painfully anxious when it came to asking for help. Even despite this, he was still sent off to therapy -- but it didn't help him. If anything, it made him far worse, because even when he had his family's support, he only seemed to clam up and close off more rather than open up, which is kind of super vital to therapy. It was made terrible by the fact that he was expected to tell a total stranger about his issues, and well -- Ichimatsu doesn't open up that easily for ANYONE, he never really had.

Although, there was a lot of negativity swirling around in his mind. A WHOLE LOT of rage, of bitterness, of anxiety, of jealousy -- so many bad feelings that didn't have anywhere to go. His eevee had taken notice of this, and it's personality began to reflect his true feelings more and more -- where it used to be the most sociable of the group, at the highest of the hierarchy of eevee's alongside his brothers, it began to grow a little bitter and more aggro to the others. Not enough so that it ever caused egregious harm or anything, but pokemon Do tend to reflect their masters a little... And just as Ichimatsu had become isolated, so too did his eevee start withdrawing as well.

Now, you'd think that he'd get that espeon, right? After all, it totally matched his desire to understand cats more, and it's the most catlike out of all the evolutions. AND it's PURPLE!!! But, the thing about it is -- Ichimatsu isn't a guy that spends a lot of time outside in the daylight; he thrives in the nighttime. Additionally, the ESP kitty incident was only TEMPORARY in the show -- so why would he have an esper eeveelution long term, then?

He'd been preparing for a potential umbreon or espeon evolution for Sesshi anyways, when one day, his 'friends' dragged him out for shopping. While out, they bought a few stones for their pokemon -- but, they got an additional, unneeded one for free. This was a fire stone, and so it was shunted off on Ichimatsu who pretended to happily accept it because of how pushy they were being, even if he didn't want it. But they didn't care if he didn't want it, and quickly moved on, chatting away about some random things that happened that day and leaving Ichimatsu out of the conversation, as usual.

The moment he got home, though, he was pissed off and so fucking tired of masking, that he threw it in the trash bin as hard as he could. There, his eevee had curiously peeked to what got him so angry, and to inspect the strange new scent -- and in the process, touched the fire stone.

So now, Sesshi is a flareon as a result of his anger blindsiding him, ruining his planned evolutions. Just Great... ( i Like to think this is why he has such a resilience to fire now in pokemon verse specifically, though., LOL )

3. KARAMATSU & LEAFEON

Karamatsu's eevee is named Jigo ( 耳語 ; meaning whisper / two ). It's pokeball was rather plain, being in a standard pokeball until it was broken in the rooftop squabble and replaced with a premier ball, and as he got older, he'd added blue glitter and sequins to it.

Karamatsu, ever the painfully shy introvert at heart. In highschool, he was always the most worried and anxious about everything -- and could do very little to hide it. As he got older, he tried to act more and more outgoing and flashy, but at the time of his starter evolving, this was not the case.

Some time after Jyushimatsu's eevee evolved into a sylveon, Karamatsu's had evolved into leafeon. It wasn't really intentional, honestly -- then again, NONE of the brother's evolutions were ... except Todomatsu's, but we'll get to that in a bit. Essentially, what happened was that because he had a lot of anxiety as a teenager, and a lot of worries that he tried to suppress, he'd often go hang out near the fishing ponds to relax. When not there, he'd go to a mossy part of the nearby woods to his house long before it'd been cleared away for sake of expanding the city, and generally quiet places where he couldn't be overwhelmed. The most common place you'd find him at was the park, either getting lost in his own thoughts, or watching the scenery.

Thanks to all the time spent around the greenery, when he was ready to evolve his eevee, he'd honestly wanted an umbreon. He wasn't quite a huge nutty fan of summer or water yet, so no vaporeon was wanted – and he tended to lean towards preferring spring a bit more. However, what ended up happening was Jigo evolved into a LEAFEON instead.

Jigo's existence as a leafeon, more than anything, really reflects this more reserved side of his. It'd evolved right after the fight on the rooftop, when the fight had been so bad and Karamatsu felt so dejected he didn't even know what to do with himself after losing that letter. And though it wasn't the evolution he'd wanted to aim for, such a turnout actually inspired him to change, too. Even if it wasn't what he wanted, the fact of the matter was that you could still change.

And, really, after a strange domino effect, that's how we ended up with the glitziest, glammest of the bunch of brothers we know now.But that doesn't change the fact that his Leafeon is now pretty rooted in it's quieter, more solitary nature -- no matter how much Karamatsu tries to overdo it and prove he's changed. Leafeon shows the true nature of Karamatsu that he tries so desperately to hide -- which makes the dichotomy between his loud and glammy persona so striking when compared to his timid starter. Kind of like the little kid and his shy pikachu from that pokemon concierge show ...

4. TODOMATSU & GLACEON

Todomatsu's eevee is named Mukurou ( 向く ; meaning turn to face / six ). It's pokeball has been colored in layer after layer of stickers over the years, peeled and redecorated as Totty saw fit, despite it's plain nature. However, as an adult, he replaced it's pokeball with a specialized engraved and elegantly decorated love ball after winning big at pachinko one night. It cost a fortune, but it was worth it to stand out above the others!!! ... probably.

Since they first got their pokemon, Todomatsu had to be stuck with the last eevee. He wasn't very happy that he got the 'weird' eevee out of the bunch, a silver furred one which seemed to sparkle in the sunlight -- cause no matter how much he thought it was pretty, it was also something that kind of made him feel left out from his brothers.

Still, he bonded with this eevee rather quickly; always preening it's fur, it following him everywhere and treated more gently and loved more than he could ever love his brother's pokemon. Even on nights he was incredibly sickly and bedbound, this eevee was there -- and in turn, the two got pretty clingy to one another. As he got older, and less sickly, he started to see a shift in personality which his eevee did not follow.

We all know that post highschool, Totty closed himself off and tried to desperately change, and prove he was nothing like his brothers. By the time he learned that his eevee was a rare shiny, and he wanted to stick out even more, Todomatsu couldn't have been the first to get his evolved. Three of his brothers already evolved theirs before him, and one of them even took Sylveon!!

Not wanting Mukurou to be the same kind of pokemon as any of his bros, and desperate to look even more impressive, Totty settled on his second backup evolution option -- Glaceon! Surely, if he had a shiny glaceon, he'd stand out above all the others!! ( plus, i think ice type reflects his icy personality too ^_^ )

So, when climbing ( the pokemon equivalent of ) Mt. Fuji, he'd made sure to bring Mukurou along ... and there, he successfully trained it enough to evolve into Glaceon. But imagine his disappointment when he realized that shiny glaceon... hardly looks any different from regular glaceon.

It's a reflection of the fact that despite how much he tries to stand out, and insist he's different than his brothers, he really isn't all that different. It really hits that point home -- that no matter what he tries to do HE IS STILL LIKE HIS BROTHERS. he's not as different from them as he tries to make himself out to be, and he's still quite shallow about it, too. This surprisingly didn't really hurt his bond with Mukurou, but it did make him hard turn onto catching and maintaining a different style of cute pokemon, ones that REALLLY stood out from his brothers......

5. CHOROMATSU & ESPEON

Choromatsu's eevee is named Sabiko ( 寂子 ; meaning lonely / three ). It's pokeball used to be very plain, just like Osomatsu's -- but he'd changed it to a limited edition Nyaa-chan ball that he bought for a frankly absurd amount of money. Of COURSE he would be the one to do that.... but hey. At least .... it has cat ears? .. ... ..

For the longest time, Choromatsu actually didn't have plans to evolve his eevee. He was happy with how Sabiko was as is -- a cute little companion, even if it WAS basic by a lot of people's standards. The two of them were total mischief makers when they were younger, but still ended up being the voice of reason quite a bit of the time -- and as the years went by, he was less and less mischievous, and picking up on more and more people pleasing and formal tendencies.

And as he shifted his personality to be that of a more serious straightman to his brothers antics, so too did Sabiko grow in a similar manner. Sabiko was ( and is ) a very odd eevee who tended to really try to mimic Choromatsu's personality always -- seeming incredibly in tune with him and the way he presented himself and reflecting that. The thing is, though, his was one of the last eevee's to evolve.

Choromatsu has always sincerely struggled with his identity as a person, and what sets him apart from his brothers. Even his brothers criticize him for this; a goody two shoes who cares more about what others think rather than ever really thinking of himself. Even when the bullying got bad, he would blame himself or take some odd responsibility -- never really advancing his own personal growth much.

Even as an adult, he still had that same, plain, too-serious eevee -- and even when he wanted it to evolve, he didn't know into what. Anything would have been pretty awesome, but nothing ever really changed -- until the day that he got his first job. Having a job was usually no big deal in the family -- they all picked one up here and there, even if they never lasted long. But this job required that he MOVE OUT. And far away from his family, at that -- in a not so great neighborhood.

It was only as he wrote the final letter to his brothers and packed up his things that he started to realize what he wanted to be. He wanted to be an idol manager, he wanted to have a good job and a good life, and he wanted to be someone that others could look to for guidance. His brothers already kind of did, but he wanted to step up more where he knew Osomatsu never would.

It was only upon moving out and realizing how seriously under prepared he was for all his goals, and being unable to achieve them all at once, that Sabiko evolved into Espeon. It'd happened towards the end of the day, just as the sun was setting, during one of his quiet moments alone at his new shoddy home. Now, he's far more in tune with his own feelings and mind, and when he came back home, everyone had been surprised to see how his eevee had evolved.

That left only one person --- Osomatsu.

Osomatsu, however, wasn't interested in trying to change his eevee, but when he eventually would after about two years or so, it would become an umbreon. Choromatsu having an Espeon vs Osomatsu having an Umbreon also reflects their dynamic; always known for being an inseparable duo ( esp in childhood ), but espeon being the more responsible of the two while umbreon did whatever it wants. At least, that's how i think the popular fanon interpretation goes for them, anyways? But lets roll with it regardless because i think it sounds fascinating. :)

6. OSOMATSU & UMBREON

Osomatsu's eevee is named Koishi ( 小石 ; meaning pebble / one ) It's pokeball is the exact same as the day he got it. Not a single thing has been added to it or changed to make it look any different. The only difference is that it's incredibly scuffed up and dingy from years of use.

Osomatsu's is the final one to evolve of the brothers, and the absolute least likely expected to. Not even Osomatsu HIMSELF expected Koishi to evolve in any capacity!

Ever since Osomatsu was little, he'd always been the ringleader of the group. Mischevious, troublemaking, and ever unchanging, very little changed about him when he became an adult. Even through highschool, he'd been pretty stagnant -- even when his brothers started to drift, and no longer respect him in the way they once did. Osomatsu is a guy who HATES change -- he's incredibly averse to it no matter the context, INCLUDING himself.

So, is it any surprise, then, that he had always wanted to keep his eevee as an eevee?

He never saw an issue with staying stagnant in his personal development -- after all, why should he OR his eevee have to change? They were already super awesome as is!! And besides, if he ever DID evolve his eevee, he'd prefer it be something big and awesome -- like a flareon, or a jolteon!! Though, he never really accounted for the potential of any character growth for himself being the thing to change that.

Not even his brothers ever expected that he or Koishi would change, but there did come a time when his pokemon partner evolved. When the hospital scare happened, and Osomatsu had a ton of reflecting to do, unsure of who he was as a person and if this means he needed to change himself ( which yes, he absolutely did need to better himself as a person ), and after his talk with Totoko, acknowledging such emotions in the moment led to the unexpected growth of himself as a person. Even when he was deadset on never changing due to already hard-rooted expectations of himself from others, and his general hatred of change ...

His eevee, too, reflected that.

Koishi's evolution into that of an umbreon reveals the darker, less touched upon aspects of Osomatsu's personality. The capability to be more responsible and serious, as well as being tied to the dark type of pokemon due to all the bad things ABOUT him really shocked him to his core. He was initially pretty disappointed -- he'd never wanted eevee to evolve in the first place. But all people change eventually, for better or for worse, because such is the way of life. Koishi's surprise change, and his own surprise development, are absolute proof that even the people most rooted in their ways can reflect and change when it's necessary.

From here, forward, he was a little distant to his pokemon -- which baffled and hurt it's feelings, not that Osomatsu knew what to do about it.. It didn't understand why, but as crummy as it is, he just needed a long time to reflect and accept the new change. He bettered himself as a person, just a bit, and re evaluated the way he treated those around him.

Eventually, he adjusted to it though; but it still says more about the things he tries to avoid reflecting on than he'd personally be comfortable with entertaining, usually..

... And there you have it! My take/analysis on all of the brothers' eeveelutions and why they subvert what most people assigned to them! ^_^ Hope you enjoyed, and i have more pokemon hc's coming in the future!!

#˗ˏˋ꒰ 🌲 ꒱ ┈┈┈〈 𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐃𝐘 〉 allmatsu #beep bwop this is ridiculously Long <3 #and i Mean It. this is like a 9 page in google doc infodump.#did i write this instead of replies?#.... ... ... .. yeahg <3 #however i will actually get onto real replies after this

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malaierba · 1 year ago

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Upcoming a very-much-not-perfect headcanon regarding the matsus and colour theory, inspired by the question: "What if the Matsus were colour coded in Highschool?"

I'll mention why it's probably unlikely later on, but for the sake of pondering this idea I'm thinking it happened a bit before their 2nd year, when they've already shown distress at being treated like a single entity, and wanting to set themselves apart in order to blend in better among their pears

Interesting things I think a mother/teacher would think when color-coding her children, after taking into account the personalities they've already shown so far:

Red for Osomatsu, the leader. Good luck, strong. You'd probably want to continue to encourage that. We're kind of socialized to think that whoever is the red in a set is the leader, and since he's the eldest... Once again, seems like a boring decision, but it'd show how Osomatsu continued to be defined by his birth order.

Blue for Karamatsu. Karamatsu, who was apparently a crybaby in Ososan, and continues to be very obviously sensitive during highschool. If we think of tears as emotions overflowing, and pursuing artistic hobbies as an emotional outlet, wouldn't it make sense to soak that child in blue? Almost as if hoping it'll calm him down, almost as if telling him to chill (This ofc has funny outcomes after graduating, as he literally tries to embody coolness better). He's the second son, it'd do him good to keep a cooler head and cooler heart anyway, to be more of a traditional guy.

Green goes to the kid that as a child had the shortest temper and was the most prone to violence. Green, which we find in Nature, and has calming properties to itself. Nature, which embodies a delicate balance, which follows so-called natural laws that you'd expect everything to adhere to. In interior design they advise to have plants in rooms where emotions run high, and when you're anxious or angry you're often advised to take a walk through nature. You'd hope greener hues help him remain grounded, and funnily enough he ends up (cough performing) actively trying to fit into the laws and dynamics of the environment around him.

Purple goes to the child they apparently was the most serious, comparatively more practical and level-headed (note: I'm taking this from the wiki lol I've not read Osokun). He can be difficult when swayed by others, but in its own don't you just get the feeling that he'd be an easy kid? Since he comes across as more mature, you can give him a darker, more adult tone, that still carries some positive connotations like "royalty, ceremonial color, rare in nature". It's special.

Here between us, I think Ichi would be the most likely amongst his brothers to feel the weight of expectations that were developed on his early personality alone, even moreso than Choromatsu (who adopts the responsible act later on). You change the context, and the purple that was full of promise starts looking more and more like a bruise.

From my understanding, Osokun Jyushi had even less of a personality, though he'd get some visual gags that really stood out, the type that make it laugh and realize oh, he's a kidder. Mama-matsuno probably could see the if not smart and not a leader, he was at least funny, happy, energetic like he was made of thunder, and gave him yellow to preserve that. She'd be on point later in life, but during high school the yellow came to embody more a warning ⚠️ then anything else. (Unrelated but something similar happened to Oso, troublemaker that he's always been).

Finally, Totty, which ngl alongside Kara and Choro is who got me thinking about how you'd try to expose a child to a colour in an attempt to influence traits of their personality. Being the other crybaby of the family, Todomatsu has an even bigger crutch named "older brothers". He was babied too much as the youngest, and now you can tell that he's come to rely too much on them. He's also a bit shorter and softer, so even within the set he stands apart.

Apparently part of the reason why pink became so popular to give to girls was to "encourage them to be more outgoing and assertive, but of course not too much, so watered down red it is". Doesn't sound like too bad a thing you want for your youngest son. Besides, that way Matsuyo will always have a cute child she can dote on (because who'd expect the NEET rate from 6 out of six to be 100%). Took a while, but it worked, Totty really managing to work out his dependency issues to a degree while retaining his right to be cute and get support if needed.

Now wasn't that fun!? I started thinking about that because some of these guys CHANGED TOO MUCH AFTER HIGH SCHOOL AND BETWEEN OSOKUN!

it would've been easy to make them all Osomatsu, who at his core has always been the same, but instead the Ososan Team went on a different direction. The way characters like Karamatsu and Ichimatsu change is incredible between highschool and Ososan, Choromatsu is very different in the movie from Osokun, and Jyushi really had the most puzzling development across eras if you look at it chronologically.

Totty is great to look at too, because you'd think "ah he's still cute" but his development is probably the most straightforward AND positive AND impressive of all the sextuplets. He went from riding Choromatsu like a kangaroo to climbing the Everest and getting employed first, how's that for the baby of the family?

Reasons why I'm aware this theory might just be me trying to get more meaning from the movie but forcing convenient analyses on the sextuplets, that explain their development:

I'm not an expert in colour theory and the meaning of colours in Japanese culture by any means, anything I know I owe to Google (:-/)

I guess colours here kind of work as a stand in of how the Matsuno's social environment started expecting different things from them, taking whatever it could grab to set one twin apart from the other and either trying to encourage it or correct it. I mean, I guess colour symbolism is by definition vague, open to interpretation and dependant on context... It's evocative, not factual.

It's fun to think about it in terms of storytelling, kind of as a way to trace a personal development path for a child and see if it worked well or not. But again it's most likely just me trying to answer things that aren't even questions in the first place. Like, it IS a gag anime after all.

Idk shit about Osokun 😔 or the novels. Idek what it is that idk!

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libertys-lovers · 2 years ago

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🌧️🌁𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒈𝒆-𝑺𝒊𝒅𝒆🌁🌧️

Pt. 1 ~ Hidden Away | Pt. 2 ~ What is it, Karamatsu? | Pt. 3 ~ Bop it, Drop it, 💍Pop it💍!

The clock has struck 5; this night will be the single-most important moment of Karamatsu’s life. Or, if all goes well, it may just be the second-most important.

SHIP: 🕶💥Dramatics💥🕶 (Karamatsu x Freedom)

WARNINGS: Swearing and 6000+ words of fluffy build-up!

AUTHOR’S NOTES: This is Pt. 3 out of a Three-Part saga; make sure to read Parts 1 & 2 before this! This is also by far the LONGEST part out of the three, so�� 😎👍

Karamatsu had been hogging the bathroom for the past hour. He was combing his hair oh-so carefully, making sure every strand was in place. Despite his brothers' pleads to dress properly, he had decided on his standard leather-jacket attire for tonight. He observed himself in the mirror, tracing the shine on his sunglasses with his eyes. He was incredibly satisfied with his outfit decision; it was an oldie, but it always gave him a boost of confidence. It certainly helped that his sunglasses hid his nervousness as well. He couldn't help but admire himself as he stood there, both for his looks and his cunning. He was absorbed into his own world; part of him even forgot what he was preparing for.

The pounding outside the room had become nothing but white noise to him, which was incredibly inconvenient for the group that had formed there.

"Karamatsu, what the hell are you doing in there?!", exclaimed Todomatsu.

"Honestly, hoarding a bathroom when you're living with five other people? SEVEN if you include our parents!? That's just wrong," scolded Choromatsu.

"die shittymatsu," muttered Ichimatsu.

The observing brothers, Osomatsu and Jyushimatsu, simply laughed at the chaos occuring in front of them. They were all back to their standard banter; it felt like a normal day again!

But a knock was heard downstairs.

The house immediately went dead silent, every brother questioning if they heard correctly. Did they really lose track of time that easily? It couldn't have been 5 already, right?

But a familiar voice rang in from the ground-level; "I'm gonna break in~! If anybody wants to stop me, speak now or forever hold your peace".

The brothers stared at each other as they all went pale. Within an instant the bathroom door was thrown open, and a panicked Karamatsu stepped out through it.

"she's here?!?", whisper-yelled the man.

"she's here", responded the rest of the brothers, matching his whispering tone.

Osomatsu shrugged. He started descending down the stairs, much to the dismay of the other brothers.

"DON'T LET HER IN!!", shouted the non-Osomatsu brothers.

The shout seemed to have echoed throughout the entire neighborhood, or at least made it to outside the home, for a chuckle was soon heard from below. The door didn't seem to open though, so all was good in the household.

Karamatsu bolted throughout the house, collecting everything he needed like a fetch-quest. The rose bouquet?: Check! The sweetest lil' package of peppermint bark?: Check! And, of course, his heart-picked ring?: Check; right into his pocket it goes. He'd eventually find himself in front of the household doors, his brothers standing behind him.

Osomatsu patted his back (a bit too hard); "Heh, try not to screw this up, okay?". Despite the inherent harshness of his words, a jovial tone & grin were used to speak them.

Karamatsu nodded back at his siblings, using what was perhaps his most-genuine smile towards them in years. He re-painted himself with a persona of confidence as he prepared to greet his guest. Closing his eyes in an attempt to look that much cooler, he slid the door open and spoke, making sure to hide his gifts behind his back.

"Hmm, a pleasure to see you as always, my Karamatsu Girl~".

"Hehe, and the same can be said to you... my sweet Freedom Boy~!", returned his date, a teasingly-loving attitude coming from her lips.

Karamatsu took a look at the woman in front of him: his partner in poeticism for many years, Freedom. His confident persona immediately melted at the sight of her. She had gotten all dolled-up, her hair and dress being lightly waved by the breeze. It was... a bit cold for her to be wearing such a short dress... but it wasn't like he was complaining-

"Ah... wow! Y-You look absolutely stunning! Gorgeous!", stammered Karamatsu.

Freedom glanced away, her teasing manner being reduced to a flustered mess; "A-Awe! Come on, don't start attacking me right as I get here-!". "Besides, look at you~! I think that'll always be one of my favorite outfits of yours... even though they all look great...".

"Hmph, you flatter me," Karamatsu replied. He whipped out his gifts from behind his back; "Shouldn't it be the other way around~?".

Freedom gasped, gently taking the items from his hands; "I- sweetheart~! You didn't have to... but thank you!". She took a closer look at the items in her possession, her face brightening up a dramatic amount. "NO WAY! You even got me peppermint bark?!? You absolute miracle! You absolute GOD! You-".

Though she intended to continue her thanks, she cut herself off when she noticed more... unnerving sights nearby. The rest of the Matsuno brothers were standing behind Karamatsu, all with their gaze fixed on the two of them. This in itself wasn't that weird, but something felt off. They felt on-edge, maybe even nervous?

She leaned towards Karamatsu, her excited tone reduced to a mutter; "Are... are your brothers okay back there-?".

Karamatsu quickly turned behind him, seeing the cause of Freedom's concern. He slammed the door shut quicker than Freedom could process.

"Don't mind them! They're just... jealous! Yes!... and how could they not be!?..."; Karamatsu tried to regather his confidence, but his stammering gave him away.

Freedom raised an eyebrow at this excuse, but luckily for Karamatsu, she decided not to point out the blatant suspiciousness of it all; "O...kay.... That's fair!".

She went to stand next to Kara so they could walk, but she remembered the gifts in her arms. She glanced around, an elongated "hmmmm" coming from her as she thought.

"What's wrong, my dear~?'', Karamatsu asked.

“Oh, I'm just wondering if I can put these anywhere... I'd just hate for anything to happen to them while we're out!", Freedom said, still in thought.

Karamatsu nodded; he didn't consider the fact she'd have to carry them around for hours on end.

"Ah! I'll carry them for you~".

"No you're not-", said Freedom, immediately rejecting the notion. "I'm not making you do all that work, come on now!".

Karamatsu had a slight smile of relief. His date suggested that she could drop them off at her home before the date began, but that idea was quickly shot down as well, this time by Karamatsu. After all, wasn't that just a waste of time and energy? So a compromise was made; Karamatsu would keep these items at his home, so they could pick them up once the date was over. He stepped back inside, having Freedom wait outside for a split-minute more. The gifts were carefully placed on the kitchen counter, displayed in a way that would surely look nice to Freedom when they came back.

Karamatsu turned to his brothers as they all continued to stare at him with the same expression as before. He gave them a smirk.

"Heh, my dear brothers...".

His expression took on a much more serious tone after he first spoke. The brothers found it a bit terrifying, honestly. Even his speaking voice got much graver.

"I'm trusting you all to take care of these. Do you understand? I am expecting these to be exactly the way I left them. So. Don't. Touch them".

The remaining brothers nodded a silent vow, and with that, Karamatsu was off. The front door slid shut as he exited, and immediately Osomatsu began eyeing at the gifts left behind.

"...Really, who's gonna notice one thing of chocolate being missing~?", he slyly suggested as he slid to the counter.

Choromatsu whacked him down; "You are NOT stealing Freedom's gifts".

"Okay, geeze, fine. I guess we have to leave soon anyway, huh?", lamented Osomatsu.

The brothers tip-toed to the front door, each one peeking out of it through a small sliver. Karamatsu and Freedom were already quite a distance away. Osomatsu gestured to the brothers, and they all persued the couple themselves. It was simply tradition to observe new romantic developments among themselves, and if any development called for it, this one sure did.

All things considered, the walk to the restaurant wasn't actually that bad; the couple's banter made the minutes pass along quite quickly! Before the two of them knew it, they were standing at the entrance to Tokyo's finest. A simple, breathless "wow" could be heard from Freedom, and Karamatsu couldn't be happier. They walked into the building with star-struck smiles, though they were for vastly different reasons. Freedom was hopelessly distracted by the building's decor, while Karamatsu was just amazed that this day was happening at all. Karamatsu claimed their reservation, and the duo couldn't help but notice how smiley the receptionist was. It was in that moment that Karamatsu came to a dire realization, the realization that he told the restaurant he was proposing tonight. He... he may or may not've bragged about it over the phone-

The two were guided to their seats. Karamatsu was sweating bullets; if any of the staff even implied the proposal was gonna happen, his entire operation would fall apart. Freedom was a poetic type, just like him! Surely she'd be able to read into the deeper meanings of any sort of implication made-

"Oh congratulations!"; a waitress came to provide them glasses of water. "Mr. and Mrs. Matsuno, right? You two look absolutely precious together!".

Karmatsu froze in place, unable to even respond. It was over; it was ALL over. He glanced at Freedom from behind his menu, seeing her aboslutely puzzled expression.

"Oh- ...Thanks!", replied Freedom, caught off-guard by the sudden statement.

Freedom glanced around as the waitress left, unsure if what just happened really happened. She took looks at Karamatsu, looks at her own hands, looks at everything really; she was just trying to comprehend what just occured.

"Did... did she think we were married? There's no way she thought my rings were wedding rings, right?", muttered Freedom, still looking at her own hand.

Karamatsu stared at her as she thought, his anxieties making him consider revealing his plan right that minute, just so she wouldn't beat him to the punch.

Freedom's eyes narrowed as she continued to think, but within an instant she shrugged the issue off. "Eh, whatever, that was weird. I'll happily take it as a compliment though!".

Karamatsu sighed; maybe she couldn't figure it out. Maybe everything would end up alright...

It certainly seemed that way; their orders were placed, and the scent of wagyu beef began to fill the air around them. It was a pleasant time overall. The food was delightful, and their ecstatic conversations could be observed from across the way. This proved quite convenient for a certain group of men watching from across the street, hidden away behind walls and shrubs.

"Hmph, are they all clear right now?", asked Choromatsu.

Todomatsu responded, "They're all clear. This is going surprisingly well for him...".

"wait, what's that-", muttered Ichimatsu as he looked through binoculars.

"Eh? What are you talking about?", Choromatsu asked, snatching the binoculars from Ichimatsu.

Through the restaurant's window he saw a waiter carrying something; "WOW- That's a huge platter of mochi! That... that actually looks really nice-".

"Doesn't it look like it's heading to their table though?", said Ichimatsu.

"So what? They ordered it, big deal", chimed in Todomatsu.

"There's no way he'd be able to afford that. There's no way ANY of us would be able to afford that, seeing as we don't have jobs", refuted Choromatsu, emphasizing the fact they were jobless.

"Freedom could though".

"Wow Todomatsu; I really hope you don’t expect your date to pay for everything instead of you-".

"Huh?! That's not even close to what I meant Choromatsu, and you know it!".

"Wait, don't some restaurants offer free desserts or something if you propose there?", brought up Osomatsu. "I think I heard about Iyami trying to do that once".

The brothers went cold.

"Damnit! I bet that bastard asked for that when he still thought he was gonna propose there!", exclaimed Choromatsu.

The brothers began bickering among themselves, trying to figure out what was really happening or what they could do about it. Among all the chaos, Jyushimatsu snatched the binoculars without anyone noticing. He stared at the waiter through layers of glass, watching as they got closer and closer to the couple's table. He threw the binoculars to the ground and began to run.

"ON IT!", shouted Jyushimatsu.

This caught the brothers' attention in a snap; Choromatsu called to him, asking what he thought he was doing, but it was too late.

Meanwhile, the couple was too enthralled in their own happenings to notice the commotion outside. Entangled hands and chaotic stories of life were all that they could focus on... at least until Freedom saw a waiter in the distance carrying something on a platter.

"Hmmm, is that like… mochi or something? -", she muttered under her breath.

Karamatsu turned behind him, glancing at the waiter's delivery; "Oh, it is. 'Looks like daifukumochi to me".

Freedom looked on with a confused look; "Daifuku mochi?".

"Daifukumochi. It's basically just mochi with filling".

His date's eyes lightened up with curiosity; "w o a h - Damn, how could you even tell that's what it was?".

"Heh, when you're on good enough grounds with the universe, you can recognize any of its creations~", said Karamatsu as he pushed up his sunglasses.

"Nahnah, I'm serious! How'd you know?".

Karamatsu sighed light-heartedly as Freedom saw through his poetic facade; "...They're usually bigger than normal mochi... and also one of them was leaking the paste-".

"Oooohhhh, okay!". Freedom couldn't help but take continuous glances at the dish, rubbing her hands together in a plotting manner; "I'm kinda tempted to try it. I could try to get our waiter if ya wanted some too! It's on me!".

As she spoke those words, she heard increasingly-loud footsteps from outside the window. Her and Karamatsu turned to their side, seeing Jyushimatsu bolt his way across the street.

and he was heading straight for them.

"INCOOOMIIIIIIIIIIING!"

The couple scrambled out of the way as the 5th-eldest brother threw himself through the window. Leaping like a gazelle among the flying glass, he perfectly aligned himself with the waiter's platter and devoured the entire thing. Unfortunately, he couldn't land as elegantly, for he proceeded to crash directly into another table. But hey, all that matters is that Karamatsu's secret was kept! That... that plate was going to them, right? Eh, it was too late to question that now. Jyushimatsu enjoyed his hunt and gave a thumbs up to the couple, a sign that everything was okay.

Freedom and Karamatsu stared at each other, at the window, and even at the crashed Jyushimatsu. They couldn't even be mad; their brains were too fried for them to be.

"What… what the Hell just happened-", muttered Freedom, laughing from the shock of the situation.

"I.... I don't know...", muttered back Karamatsu.

Freedom turned to Jyushimatsu, frantically asking "Well- Are YOU okay??". Jyushimatsu nodded, prompting her to turn to the waiter and ask the same thing. They nodded as well, giving Freedom a sigh of relief.

She turned back to her lover, restraining herself from holding him; "And you're okay, right? Are we good?".

Karamatsu looked at her with his signature smirk, though a stressed sigh revealed his true thoughts; "Never better...".

He grabbed Freedom's hands; “But are you alright too?!”.

Freedom laughed; “Oh yeah, I’m good. Mentally shot, but good!”.

“Good… good…”.

He held onto her hands for a prolonged time and gazed at her with a loving look, wanting to profit from the intimate moment they had accidentally created. Though Freedom was utterly confused by what was happening, she did her best to reciprocate, and the moment was almost nice! Karamatsu suddenly had an epiphany though, which snapped him out of everything. After all, if Jyushimatsu was here, that'd mean only one thing...

"Hold on!! I'll be back for you!" shouted Karamatsu to his beloved, as he bolted for the restaurant door.

Freedom called for him to wait, but to no avail. She was left stranded there, still hopelessly baffled by what took place. She would be okay though, Karamatsu was sure of it. He stopped himself on the sidewalk as he searched for the rest of his brothers. They had to have been here! There was no way Jyushimatsu would've come to sabotage his proposal on his own, right? Yes... sabotage... it had to be sabotage; Karamatsu couldn't interpret it any other way.

"I know you're all here! Come on out my brothers; I promise I won't do anything!", he called out. His words had the potential to be kind, but his poorly-hidden attitude proved otherwise.

He ran down the sidewalk, still looking for them, but he couldn't find signs of anyone else being there. He'd eventually stop himself in his tracks and admitted defeat. Wherever the rest of the brothers were, they certainly weren't there anymore. He stood alone with his own thoughts as each one lamented his family's interference.

Running footsteps pulled him out of his frantic mind. He assumed they were the steps of his brothers, or at least Jyushimatsu. But no, running towards him was nobody else than Freedom. She slid a bit as she stopped herself, a testament to just how fast she was trying to catch up to him.

"Kara? What's going on man, are you okay?", she asked nervously.

Karamatsu's panic came back, ironically because he wanted to prevent Freedom from panicking; "Ah! Yes, everything's perfectly fine, don't worry~!".

Freedom crossed her arms and tilted her head. The both of them knew that answer was complete bullshit.

"Are you suuuure? That was kinda… intense-", she replied.

Karamatsu relaxed his body, giving up on hiding his worries. "It's just... I should've expected them to try to ruin everything, but I didn't. I'm sorry about him... and all of them".

"Awe, you don't have to apologize for anything. It's not like ya summoned him here on purpose, ya know?". Freedom shrugged, a smile being forced on her mouth. "And hey, at least we got to eat before all that, right?".

"Yeah... I guess... Hey, where's Jyushimatsu anyway? Is he still in there?".

"Nah; he just said 'you're welcome!' and jumped out another window. I don't know where the hell he went though, but I paid for everything, offered to fix the windows, and left".

Karamatsu looked at Freedom with tired eyes, and yet his expression was still soft; "You... you paid for dinner? Thanks Freedom...".

"Eeehhh, it's nothing. I was the only one in there anyway, so... ya know, might as well," said Freedom as a light-hearted remark.

The two of them chuckled at her fake bluntness, but the air around them was still quite tense.

"But hey... if you're done with today... we can wrap it up. I don't wanna keep you out here if you're too stressed" she offered, almost hesitantly.

Karamatsu snapped back into a nearmost-frantic mode; "Nonononono! I still want to continue the date!". He paused after he spoke, his expression softening from a question he dreaded to ask.

"Did... did you want to go home, Freedom?".

And now it was Freedom's turn to fret a bit; "Nahnahnah! I'm all good! ...It does feel weird to just... stand out here though-".

Karamatsu felt relief wash over him, a pleased smile sprawling across his face; "Good... I'm glad to hear you say that...". He stepped to Freedom's side, lightly placing his hand on her back as he walked her forward. "What did you want to do next, then?".

"Mm? I don't know... I'm cool with anything, I guess...", said Freedom as she eased into his slight embrace. "Did you have anything you wanna do, or~?".

Her words reminded Karamatsu of today's purpose. His confidence was slowly returning to him; "Actually... I do... A simple walk through memory lane~? What do you say?".

Freedom nuzzled against him as part of her response, a move which made Karamatsu's face explode in blush; "Sounds great~".

The man moved his hand to her waist and placed a soft kiss on her head. She'd retaliate with a kiss to his cheek, and suddenly all felt right in the world. The two of them left before they could be questioned for the vandaism that took place; throughout the streets of Tokyo they'd go, the crisp breeze and the clouds above giving them even more of an excuse to stay close. Even when the clouds began to bring them rain, their attitude didn't budge. If anything, it only fueled their intimacy.

It wouldn't take too long for them to arrive at Karamatsu's secret destination; their beloved bridge. The lights had a blurred glow through the stormy weather, like the lighthouse beacons Karamatsu had been looking for all along. Nobody else seemed to have followed those beacons though; the bridge was clear of people... perfect. He watched as Freedom broke free from his grasp. She was overwhelmed by the beauty of the weather and simply couldn't help but relish in it. She leaned against the railing of the bridge and stared into the stream below, but even that didn't last long; it's like she couldn't explore the bridge quick enough. They've come here plenty of times, but there were still moments when she acted like she'd never seen it before.

"Man... I'm so glad it rained today... everything's just absolutely gorgeous out. The clouds, the air, the SOUND! And the lights?!? Creepy as hell, I love it!".

She leaned against the lightpost. Though she jumped from the sudden coldness of it, she wasn't a coward, and she continued to lean against it. She swapped through various poses, each one representing a different scenario; her artistic inspiration was going wild.

"They're like... ghost-like! It's like you could just see a ghost right here! Or you could use it to reference that one musical. Ya know, the singing in the rain one! Or there could be a mournful widow, waiting for her husband lost at sea!".

Karamatsu couldn't help but chuckle at her enthusiasm, and despite his best efforts to keep it quiet, Freedom still heard him. But it only added fire to her burning inspiration.

"Yeah, yeah! But then she turns around, getting ready to leave as she's lost all hope, and suddenly he's just STANDING there! He'd been alive the entire time, finally being able to get back home! And they see each other for the first time in... probably years, to be honest". Freedom took steps towards Karamatsu, continuing on with her rambling thoughts. "And suddenly... everything was okay... they knew it'd be. Despite the rain and DESPITE the hardships, they were still together. And if they could get through all that, then they could do damn near anything".

"And that woman would get to stare at her sweet... incredibly cute... incredibly kissable husband, for as long as she wanted. Which, if it were me... that'd be forever..."; she smugly spoke as she got closer to Karamatsu. The forwardness of her statements made her devolve into a giggling, blushing mess.

Luckily for her, she wasn't the only one flustered as hell; Karamatsu couldn't help but find Freedom cute during these rambling moments, and her closeness certainly didn't help either. But he couldn't let that distract him. After all, what harm would there be in playing along? He walked back to the lightpost as he narrated.

"Hm, and her lucky, lucky husband would happily stare back. She would've been a sight for his salt-stained eyes, stained from both the ocean's wind and his own tears~ His brunette gem straight from the bottom of the ocean's treasure chest. A perfect distraction from his own... incredibly chaotic crew".

Freedom would follow suit, even sliding in front of him as a literal way to cut him off, but she'd continue to walk; "And that wife... that wife would value that man more than any treasure. While he was out doing god knows what... she had her own adventures too. And she had... a lot of weird damn things happen on those adventures. And a lot of great things! But one of her favorite things to happen to her, was still that man".

She had returned back to under the lightpost, and Karamatsu had followed her the entire way. They were standing right in front of each other, close enough that they could feel the lightest warmth from each other's breath. She slowly reached her hand to his cheek, carressing it as gently as she could.

"And even as they stood under, conveniently, this exact same light... she could still see how much of a miracle he was. Even when the lighting wasn't that good because of the storm, she could still see how perfect he was...".

"And maybe the realization made them want to join as one~?", Karamatsu playfully suggested as he attempted a kabedon against the lightpost. He toyed with his sunglasses, trying to make sure he could look as cool as possible.

Freedom laughed from the implications of his statement. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, filling the gap between them; "Oh, I don't know? Did it?".

The two of them smiled at each other, and Karamatsu went for the score. A kiss was shared under the light, the two of them acting oblivious to the rain. As sweet as the kiss was, it couldn't last long. Freedom started giggling, which was evidently contagious.

"Good god... we're ridiculous. We're literally just playing in the rain." Freedom's laughing calmed down, leaving her with a genuinely happy expression; "I guess it's nice that we're able to do that though...".

Freedom's softened expression was a signal that Karamatsu could soften up too; "It really is... I could've only dreamed of doing something like this", he said.

"You're telling me! I'm not even supposed to be here, ya know. But like... I couldn't imagine missing this either. Where would I even be right now...".

The two of them looked out to the view in front of them, watching as the light rain-drops dived into the canal. Their view didn't reach too far, as the fog and the darkened clouds worked together to obscure the ends of the water. It made the two feel truly alone, separated from the zany world they lived in. Any normal person would've called their sights cold, desolate, downright melancholic... but the solitude was perfect for them. And as the two stood there, silently reflecting on their lives entangled in each others' arms, a breath would exit Freedom's lips.

“I guess it doesn't matter where I could've been though, right?. I mean, I’m here right now... and right now I wouldn't want to be anywhere else", she finally said, her voice being softer than the clouds above them.

"Same...", responded Karamatsu, matching Freedom's tone.

This was it; he HAD to pop the question. He couldn't just outright say it though; he had to ease into it... he had to be smooth. Not just for the sake of his persona, but for the sake of his nerves. The very idea that he could propose birthed a colony of butterflies within him. He leaned against the railing of the bridge as an attempt to stabilize himself.

"Freedom... have you ever thought about how long this would last?".

That question rang through Freedom's ears like a gong, the resulting vibrations being ones of slight nervousness.

"Not really. I kinda just assumed it'd be like this forever".

"R-Really?!?".

Freedom leaned against the bridge's railing too, staring down at the water as she clarified; "Well, I guess I've had, I don't know... fears? The standard 'what if something happens' or 'what if he leaves me' kinda thoughts. But those aren't like, my actual thoughts, and I promise you did nothing to make me think that. That's just, like, anxiety or something".

"But, this just feels so normal by now; it really feels like this was how the universe intended. I'd honestly be surprised if something made us split up"; her face lit up as she talked. She'd nudge his arm and laugh as she continued; "Why? You don't plan on proving me wrong, do ya?".

Karamatsu took the joke much more seriously than intended; "No! Of course not, never! ...I just wanted to know, I guess".

He began focusing on himself; he wanted to bring out his romantic side for this! Even in a relaxed place, he wanted to give Freedom the most eccentric, bombastic, dare he say dramatic proposal possible! But somehow... he was struggling to muster it. Was he simply too nervous? Or maybe he was enjoying the vulnerability of the moment. He couldn't decide which one it was, but then again, he shouldn't be dedicating his energy to doing so.

"But we really have known each other for a long time, haven't we?", he said.

Freedom nodded; "We really have, huh... and it’s been great! So many crazy stories we get to tell… so many… nice moments that live in my head rent free. I wouldn’t change a damn thing!".

Karamatsu smiled at her, moving his sunglasses in a way that let her see his gaze; "Heh... glad to see we're on the same page... my honey~".

Karamatsu watched Freedom's reaction closely; a sense of pride came as he watched her cover her mouth and mutter incomprehensibly, her staple sign of being flustered. That's just what he needed: an ego boost. He pushed himself from the railing, embracing the rain as if it were his own spotlight.

"But I must admit, I've had those thoughts... thoughts about how we'd last forever. A permanent anomaly... we're Venus and Mars reincarnate!"; sparkle effects could practically be seen around him as he spoke. He furrowed his brows and gestured to the sky, secretly begging that any of this sounded cool.

He took a quick look over at Freedom, who was simply enthralled by his words. Her body still leaned against the railing, but the way she propped her head up with her hand… it painted her as... love-struck? Definitely confused, but love-struck; at least loving enough for her to go along with his speech instead of questioning his point. Part of him swooned a little; he sure loved it when people actually listened to him. He had to snap himself out of it though. He couldn't lose focus.

"We really go together so well, and I couldn't be happier about that fact! It's like we were made for each other, or maybe you were made for me. I... I still think about how we met. I know everyone in this small town, but you… you just seemed to come from nowhere. I know why that is now, but sometimes I still lay awake at night and think about how lucky I am. If you end up telling me one day that you're actually my guardian angel, I would full-heartedly believe it".

Freedom opened her mouth, desperate to respond. She could never let praise be spoken to her without having it returned to whoever gave it, but Karamatsu shut her down. He gently shushed her, a finger being just barely place upon her lips. The woman was completely flabbergasted by his audacity... but she couldn't exactly complain either. Karamatsu asked her to let him finish, and the only response she could muster was a light nod. It took a second for Karamatsu to process his own audacity as well; part of him almost wanted to apologize for being that bold, but something about Freedom's expression told him he'd be fine to continue.

"To be quite honest Freedom... I can't imagine letting you go. I can't... I won't. If the day ever comes when you decide I'm too much of a guilty man to be around, I won't stop you. I'd respect that.... but until that day comes, I'll stop at nothing to love you! To cherish you! To make you my Karamatsu Girl! You're just too precious to let go! We've done everything together... and we'll do even more in the future...".

The man was beginning to get a bit teary-eyed as his speech crawled closer to its point. It's like his raw passion was leaking through his eyes, that and his raw nervousness. The butterflies were beginning to resurface in his stomach. "That's why... why I... I...".

He took a deep breath; he couldn't ease into it anymore, he had to just spit it out. He reached into his pocket, dropping to his knee as he whipped the ring out at lightning speed.

"FREEDOM, WILL YOU-".

He cut himself off, noticing his fingers were suddenly empty. The ring had slipped out of his rain-soaked fingers. The world seemed to go into slow-motion for both Karamatsu and Freedom as they watched the ring with hyper-focused eyes. Karamatsu quickly rose to his feet, reaching to retrieve the ring, but Freedom did something a bit different. Her poor excuse of an attempt to catch it was to swat it upwards, her brain being too frazzled to come up with anything else. And somehow, someway... it worked. Karamatsu stepped out of the way as the ring crashed onto the bridge's floor. It wasn't shattered, not even dented, but adrenaline was still flowing within the both of them. Karamatsu split glances between the ring and Freedom, who returned his glances with ones of her own.

The two stood in place for quite some time purely, both unsure of what to do in this moment. However, someone would eventually act; Freedom stepped towards the ring, almost as if she was walking as slowly as possible. Karamatsu's mind began to panic as she approached the ring-

"FREEDOM! It's- It's not what it looks like- I mean, it is, but-!".

Either Freedom was actively ignoring him, or she was too invested in the ring to process his words. She plucked the ring up with her fingers, staring at it like she was questioning the reality of her situation. Karamatsu could see a light glimmer in her eyes as she looked. Her mouth was ever-so-slightly gaped open, not a single word being spoken, and yet that expression was worth an entire novel's worth of words. Words of being star-struck, words of an entire life flashing before her eyes, and words of the possibilities she could take right now.

"Kara...?", she finally said with a breathless tone.

Karamatsu immediately froze, standing still as a plank. His mind and heart were racing at the same pace, and yet he held onto his breath. Part of him was worried that he was gonna pass out, but he had to try to play it cool. Freedom walked back over to him, the ring carried within her cupped hands. The closer she got to him, the more Karamatsu realized how she was really feeling. Her own breath was stilted as well, and her entire being shook as she walked. But despite all of that, she was still smiling. As she stood right in front of him, she carefully positioned his hands to a cupping-formation, letting the ring fall.

"You can finish... I'd like to hear you finish".

Karamatsu looked up at her, his sunglasses hiding the tears piling in his eyes. He was met by Freedom's own misty eyes. With the ring nestled between his fingers, he wrapped his hands around Freedom's and descended back to his knee.

"Freedom... no... Liberty... ".

"Will you take the pleasure of being my bride~?".

Any last shot of Freedom keeping herself composed was completely thrown out the window. She allowed herself to fall to her knees, matching Karamatsu's level. Her hands slipped from his to desperately hide her flustered face, but it was a fruitless effort.

"Sweetheart... the love of my life... my absolute miracle of a man... of course! Of course I will!".

He flinched a little at the answer, but in the best way possible. Back onto his feet he rose as he processed her words. It took all of his focus to keep his tears in his eyes.

"EH-?!? Wait, really?!? Do you... do you really mean it?!?".

"Oh Kara, of course I do! How could I lie about something like this?", Freedom playfully responded.

She hastily removed her existing rings from her hands, shoving them into her dress’s pocket with no second thought. Her left hand extended out to Karamatsu, her fingers sprawled apart as she glanced to her side. Karamatsu took a deep breath and let the tears flow down his face. Unstable hands slid the ring onto her finger… and it was a perfect fit. He couldn't help but hold her hand for much longer than needed. It was his way of absorbing the situation.. at least until he resorted to pulling Freedom into a hug. He rambled on with his gratitude, his tears joining the raindrops in soaking Freedom's dress. Freedom laughed from the enthusiam in the air, hugging back Karamatsu harder and harder, eventually even lifting him off the ground.

"Honeybunches, the fact you'd even ask!! I must be the luckiest damn girl in the world, in the universe, in the multiverse! I'm gonna be the best wife ever for you, I promise you!".

She softly put Karamatsu back on the ground, before re-trapping him in a hug; "…I swear on it...".

"Oh precious, I don't need you to promise", said Karamatsu as he rested his head upon her shoulder. "I already know you will be... the best possible one".

As he lowered his hands to her waist, he made a promise of his own; "But I promise that I'll be the perfect husband as well. My days as a guilt guy are over! Anything you want, anything you need, I'll take care of it for you".

He cut himself off as he felt Freedom nuzzle deeper into his embrace. She took that as a chance to speak; "Well, luckily for you, you don't have to change a single thing about yourself to do that. Just keep being perfect, dollface".

"As long as you do the same~".

The two of them leaned in together, preparing for the best kiss of their entire lives. Their breaths became one, filling them both with the fresh breath of a new life. In an instant, the world around them became nearmost worthless to them. The concepts of time and space became nothing, and yet, in a sense, they were worth even more to them. The rest of eternity would be dedicated to them and them alone, and everywhere they went could be a marker of their love. Even in such a peaceful kiss, their minds were swarming with the implications this proposal held. They didn't mind though; they'd deal with that later.

"Awe, we didn't miss it, did we?".

The voice echoed across the bridge, ripping the two of them from their lovers' ecstasy. Eh, might as well get out of the headset before they started enjoying it too much, right? They quickly split from each other, immediately pretending like the past minute didn't happen.

The voice belonged to Todomatsu, and behind him followed the remaining five brothers.

"Ugh, well that sucks. I really wanted to record it".

"I can't believe we got here while they were kissing! Talk about gross!", chimed in Osomatsu with a teasing face.

"What are you, a middle schooler? They're fiances, Osomatsu. I’d be more concerned if they didn’t kiss", pointed out Choromatsu.

Freedom's gears started turning in her head She turned back to her lover, gesturing in the brothers' direction; "Wait, what the Hell? So they were in on it?".

"We sure were!", happily responded Jyushimatsu.

"Yeah, sorry we got here so late. We didn't realize which bridge you meant", said Choromatsu.

“aka: choromatsu wanted to beat y’all to the proposal spot and got us lost”, interrupted Ichimatsu.

It was Karamatsu's turn for his head’s gears to turn; "So... so you WERE following us! What was that at the restaurant?!".

"Huh?... Oh yeah! We stopped that waiter from revealing your plan! You're free to thank us~!", answered Osomatsu.

"What the Hell are you talking about?!"; Karamatsu was getting more and more confused, and it was making him lose a bit of patience.

Luckily for everyone involved, he was quickly snapped out of that by his fiance's logic; "Eh, it doesn't matter. Everything worked out nice and dandy anyway, right?!".

Karamatsu sighed; she was right. With a conflict nicely prevented, the brothers came around to congratulate the two... or to bully the two... or to do both. As the celebrations died down, Choromatsu asked a very important question.

"Wait; did you ever tell mom or dad about this?".

"...no... i did not-"; Karamatsu never intended on telling them before the proposal, but he did forget that he'd have to tell them at all. That was gonna be a whole other situation to deal with.

All of the brothers glanced at each other. 5 of them had the exact same idea; it just depended on which brother would ennact it.

"Heh, guess I’ll be the one to break the news! See you later, suckers!", yelled Todomatsu as he began to dart across the bridge.

"NO! I wanna tell them!"; Jyushimatsu followed suit.

"Huh?!? None of you can tell them! You're all going to make it sound stupid!", scolded Choromatsu.

The brothers dashed off in a race to return home, leaving Karamatsu and Freedom completely caught off-guard.

"WAIT- Don't you think the one actually getting married should be the one to tell them?!?!".

Karamatsu and Freedom ran after the loose hoard of brothers, the soon-to-be groom running on desperation while his partner merely enjoyed the thrill of the chase.

"So... ya wanna take the short-cut home, or are we gonna do this fair and square~?", asked Freedom, itching to take advantage of her dimensional-awareness.

Karamatsu thought about it, but he smiled and shook his head; "Well... I guess it'd be too easy if we did it your way. Why don't we give them a chance~?".

Freedom laughed at the notion, but she still happily accepted it; "Whatever ya say, lover boy! Let’s go!".

Maybe this was a good precedent for things to come. Even when they do get married, there's no way they'd be able to get rid of his brothers. And really, what fun would it be if they did? They're family after all, and finally that applied to Freedom too. All five of them, when the time comes, will become her brothers-in-law. Hmph… it’s a bit of a horrifying reality to live in, but it was one she was willing to dive into, and it was one Karamatsu was willing to drag her into. After all, as both sides knew a bit too well, that reality would certainly better than one where they never met at all.

——

Stay tuned for a future blog announcement!

#self ship #self shipper #self shipping #self ship fic #self ship writing #💞📕💞once upon a time💞📕💞#romantic f/o #🕶💥dramatics💥🕶#platonic f/o #👒💥pop art💥👒#⚾️💥america’s sport💥⚾️#rival f/o #🏇💥write those numbers down!💥🏇#gif #gif warning

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scarlet-flowers · 1 year ago

Text

Some extra explanation and reasoning for the splashtags:

Osomatsu

Tri-Slosher Nouveau bc funni drinks weapon and also a short-ranged, aggro weapon that doesn’t require too much skill to get a lot of reward out of

I think it’s super funny for him to have the maximum “Shell Out Machine Cost” badge but the minimum “Shell Out Machine Jackpot” badge

Wanted to do “National Treasure” as his title but sadly there is no “Treasure” title so ”Awe-inspiring Layabout” will have to do

Karamatsu

Dapple Dualies Noveau because cool dodge roll mechanic, blue, and Reefslider to match his wannabe biker aesthetic

He thinks “Captivating Predator” is a super cool title and is completely unaware of the 200 Reddit posts with goofy variations on the “Predator” title

Bang! = the splats on the banner

Rockenburg has the Black Inky Rider and 18K Aviator Shades

Choromatsu

Splash-o-matic because he would absolutely be a meta slave and Crabtank is very loosely like a frog. Considered giving him Ballpoint Splatling instead because of the nerd aesthetic but Hesokuri Wars makes his playstyle of short-ranged and aggressive clear

He absolutely loves Salmon Run because it's the Splatoon equivalent of an office job. He's not super great at it but he grinds it enough and can get into Eggescutive on a good rotation. I'd like to imagine he gets into Eggsecutive right before Big Run and then immediately falls out when any of the other brothers play with him. Realistically he probably wouldn't have the 999 silver one but it's his dream goal

Callie and Marie because he's a fucking simp.

Ichimatsu

E-Liter 4K because it's one of the longest ranged snipers. Tri-Stringer was a consideration but ultimately I think Ichimatsu is a sniper main

Judd because cats

Toxic Mist because of his personality and his... gastrointestinal habits

Jyushimatsu

Ink-Brush because it sort of swings around like a baseball bat and gives him incredible mobility, plus Killer Wail 5.1 sort of fits his loud tendencies

The way he flails his arms around sometimes reminds me of an octopus, hence the Golden Octopus banner

Squid Beakon kind of looks like a catcher's mitt and mask

He just has huge Big Man + Team Big Foot energy

"Switch-hitter" was made for this baseball fan

Todomatsu

Splat Brella because he's always carrying around a parasol. I would have gone with the Undercover Brella but he would absolutely never use Reefslider lol

Although I was considering using the "Better-Than-You" title, I'd like to think Todomatsu is more subtle about his flexing and tries to present himself in a very cutesy uwu fashion

Somehow this is the only banner is pink leaning

Annaki is absolutely his fashion sense (as well as mine)

He would totally love Harmony's aesthetic

Made splashtags for the Matsuno brothers.

#splatoon #osomatsu san #this got way more engagement than i expected #and by that i mean i expected like 0 notes #so i figured id break down some of the design choices

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thebardisabird · 1 year ago

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Hello, I wanted to write something comforting because I was feeling sentimental so please take Matsus and some acts of self-care that they do for you: Osomatsu would make sure that you had something to eat/had some water. He's not judgmental if you forget, and he won't ask necessarily if you did or didn't so as not to put pressure on you. His way of making sure you're taken care of is letting you know he's grabbing something and coming back with something he knows you'll enjoy (with something to keep you hydrated). If you eat along with him? Great! If not, no worries, he'll stash it in the fridge for later. Point is to make sure you have some sort of nourishment. He'll even give you a little "Cheeeers~" with whatever drinks you have to show he's genuine, but that he's still your goofy Osomatsu. Karamatsu enjoys brushing your hair for you should that be something you're okay with. It's an act he's always enjoyed himself/has helped with his more anxious times when Matsuyo would brush his; if it's something you struggle with, fear not - he's got you. He does a pretty good job at taking care of his own hair so he's equipped to wash it and dry yours too if that's something you're interested in. If just a simple brushing sounds like a nice idea, then by all means, allow him to be of comfort to you. Don't be alarmed if he hums softly as he combs through your hair, it tends to be something he does when he's relaxed and using his hands for something gentle. He will check in with you to make sure he's not hurting you and every once in a while he may even ask to braid your hair if you have the length for it! Choromatsu will make sure you you have a comfortable space accessible always. If you're finding yourself overwhelmed in any way, Choromatsu does his due diligence as someone who cares about you and gets you outta there to get you to somewhere much more comfortable. Maybe that place is back home or a bookstore if you need something quiet. Should the quieter places not be good choices, maybe you'll go somewhere with a little more natural ambience like Akatsuka Park or even Chibita's oden stand. He's all about you feeling secure when you're out and about, especially when you’re with him. Ichimatsu strikes me as someone who is very much about you getting plenty of rest. Ichimatsu does not play about his sleep and he definitely does not play about YOU, so he's dedicated to making sure that you're well rested. Unlike how he treats his brothers however, he's much more softer with you. He'll lay down for naps here and there, patting the spot next to him so you can lay with him. He keeps things around the bedroom that he knows make you comfortable: certain scents, maybe a specific set of plushes/pillows, or even one of his hoodies if that makes you cozier. He's not pushy about when you sleep at night, but you'll find that he does little things here and there to gently coax you into better sleeping habits when he can. A big plus: he's a cuddler no less. So expect gentle back rubs as you snuggle or a little shimmy so he can hold you just a little closer while you both rest. Jyushimatsu is set on making sure you get fresh air. We all know that he enjoys being outdoors quite often; even if you're not the biggest on outdoorsy things, that's okay! He'll offer to just go on a walk with you or chill at the riverside and watch clouds if that's okay. His giant smile grows twice as wide when he sees the sun shining on your face, and seeing him happy makes it almost impossible not to smile back. He expresses how nice it is to spend time with you just being outside doing nothing and he finds little things to do or see within your comfortability that actually make your time outside worthwhile. Todomatsu helps you tap into your more creative outlets. Since he's got a resource to find things to do and places to go - he wants to help you take care of yourself by leaning into doing things that bring you joy. Do you enjoy painting? Perfect, he knows a place for that. Maybe you like baking or cooking? Come over, he'll have ingredients ready for you guys to make things together. If you like photography: wonderful, he does too and he’d be more than happy to show you some of the best sights to take pictures of. Anything that speaks to you creatively, Todomatsu wants to show that he completely supports you and enjoys being a part of the things you enjoy doing.

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yuimatsumatsuno · 6 months ago

Note

another req from the 🥭anon themselves and ofc, another younger matsuno sibling req.

How would the matsuno brothers react if their younger sister, went home (for context reasons this is set in valentines day aka feb 14) with ALOT of valentines day candy, chocolates and flowers from her classmates? Like after a few minutes of silence they just blurt out “i think they like me a lil tew good… want some?”

(You can do this req later or delete it if u dont wanna do this :))

OMG I LOVE THIS thanks for the request!!

matsuno siblings x little sister s/o

PLATONIC HCS

TW//CW: ???

Osomatsu is very proud of you! I mean, of course he will be jealous that you have so many Valentines and candies, but he is glad that his little sister is doing so well. but still, this idiot will definitely take your candies and constantly take them from you under the pretext of “you need to listen to big brother!”

Karamatsu will fall into a stupor. he always thought that HE was the most attractive Matsuno, but after seeing the number of gifts that your classmates gave you, he will be impressed. He'll definitely start saying something like "✨✨✨heh.. I knew my little sibling was really good.. when you have such a cool brother like Karamatsu Matsu-" (he won't be able to finish the word because you throw a box of candies at his face).

as usual, Choromatsu is the most adequate among his siblings. he will happily praise you, not expecting that his younger sister is so popular among her classmates. He will be annoyed by how the other Matsus will be biased towards this, and will protect your candies from the hungry Osomatsu and Jyushimatsu. (I love this frog he is so sweet)

Ichimatsu is surprised as hell. he definitely didn't expect his sister to be so lucky. perhaps he is even jealous of you because you are great at communicating with people and making friends, he would like to be like you. he is embarrassed to ask you for candy, but is grateful if you offer.

Jyushimatsu is impressed! he will greet you with a bright smile and shout “congratulations y/n-nisaan!!!!!!” but don't think that he won't want to steal your sweets. you'll have to fight him for your candies, so you better hide them away from him.

Todomatsu is jealous. and very strongly. he works every day to finally get attention from girls, while his little sister just gets all the attention from her classmates! this is not fair >:( of course he will pretend that he is happy for you, putting on a cute face, but secretly he is incredibly embittered. Be careful with him, he is the most dangerous among all Matsuno

#mr osomatsu x reader #osomatsu san x reader #ichimatsu matsuno x reader #karamatsu matsuno x reader #choromatsu matsuno x reader #jyushimatsu matsuno x reader #osomatsu matsuno x reader #todomatsu matsuno x reader #yuimatsu

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vrisrezis · 2 years ago

Note

The matsuno bros found out that their lil sibling's bday is like next week or next month and is abt to turn 13? You can decide the bday. Hope this isn't much, have a lovely day!

Osomatsu wouldn’t plan a goddamn thing cuz he’s lazy, but when the birthday comes he seems more excited about it then you are. Maybe it’s just an excuse to get absolutely wasted, but he at least bought you some gifts you’d really want.

Karamatsu will start planning for the party immediately. However, he may be stopped by some of his brothers because of how over the top he is with decorations and such.

Choromatsu finds it stressful only because his brothers are insane. Other than that he is also panicking on what to do for your special day and how to make it perfect.

Ichimatsu tries not to stress too much (does so anyways) since it’s just a birthday. No big deal.. right? He becomes increasingly aware he doesn’t know what a normal birthday is like and isn’t sure what would be good for you.

Jyushimatsu is excited and plans to spend lotsa time with you that day and just make sure you have a grand ol time, he isn’t sweatin the details too much honestly.

Todomatsu probably plans to spend time with you along with jyushi and plans on buying you a bunch of shit you’d want at the mall or anywhere else you’d wanna go tbh.

#todomatsu x reader #jyushimatsu x reader #ososan x reader #osomatsu san x reader #osomatsu x reader #karamatsu x reader #choromatsu x reader #ichimatsu x reader

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tottymatsuno · 1 year ago

Text

Gatekeep the journeyman

He's got fans - that's for sure. They just never all in one place.

He's got a mean left hook too. His right one's better.

Cute face, cute persona. If he were a wrestler, he'd be a baby face, which is probably the highest compliment he'd get.

Or maybe that's how it started off, round ten years ago. Back when he was in his early 20s.

Not a tomato can cause he can't be knocked on his ass easily. Still stronger than most expect when he's allowed to actually fight.

Not a journeyman in the sense of skill. Not a gatekeeper because they pay him to lose. Worse than that, because he's got the skills to be a contender, or champion, but so little backing. It's like they all enjoy taking him down a peg.

A failure to launch because NASA likes another rocket better. There's six of him, and he's the runt at that. The flamboyancy is played out at this point, nobody cares if a man wears pink hearts and a cute robe anymore. The kiddy angle is stale too.

Elastic Matsuno specifically because he can do it all. Moldable. Flexible, if you asked him to take a dive and make it look good for the cameras, he will. If you asked him to put that arrogant contender in his place just once, he'll do it. It'll look clean if you want, dirty if you don't.

K.Os, knockdowns, technicals. He's stronger than he looks, smarter than be seems, understands better than he lets on, and so thoroughly unlikable for reasons invisible to you.

He asks you not to call him Totty when he's got a match, and it's crazy because he's often booked. From your understanding it used to be about the popularity - back when he still was a novelty. Back before it got old.

When he was still new, one of the six amazing sextuplets ring side, before the crowd, the polls, the viewers, the audience, the world at large decided that he simply wasn't worth it compared to his brothers.

Never really had any fans compared to Osomatsu who's charisma carried the group as an announcer. Never had the appeal of the second eldest who seemed to attract mostly female fans. The third had technical skill, though lacking in open support, people seemed to love to hate him. Coach assistant and referee, and finally got Elastic Matsuno.

Matches with his brothers tend to outsell Todomatsu's 2:1.

Todomatsu used to care about the popularity, his position, and whether or not he was liked at all.

Now he just cares about is his paycheck.

Right now you're by his side, they got him doing some small rinky dink event. Told him it doesn't matter if he wins or loses this one, and you know...you hate it when he's instructionless.

The light in his eyes is shut off like a lamp that'd be smashed to the floor, Todomatsu's mouth is a small, tight little wave of a line, and he stares out into the ring at his opponent.

It's his brother, the first born.

Their boxing styles are pretty similar, and you watch while they trade blows. There's a hesitancy when Osomatsu hits Todomatsu hard, and the crowd screams for more. The silence is nearly deafening when it feels like your voice is the only one screaming for Todomatsu.

Osomatsu's fighting style is punching as hard as he can, slow and sluggish without thinking about his next move at all at some points, but with an unexpected variation where he can be quick when evading jabs. He can dodge, but Osomatsu's wind up is ridiculous.

He doesn't get many hits on Todomatsu, and the thing is you know the fight would've ended sooner, but Osomatsu's got a steel chin. He can take a fucking wallop.

Everyone except you loves it when he actually hit Todomatsu though, yet silence - absolutely silence when Todomatsu strikes back.

Totty's strength is in his uppercut, his hooks, but also his jabs. He's a manipulator, and knows his brothers through and through. Osomatsu swings, and Todomatsu crosses over.

Osomatsu's a brawler, and Todomatsu definitely has some influences, but counters so much more.

Wins on a technical knock out, yet Osomatsu gets the glory. He's only an announcer after all.

Next is with the second eldest, where the crowd boo'd. It was vicious. This one got more fanfare as it was at a larger arena, and had a bigger audience. Technically a double knock out, but you know better.

When Todomatsu got home, after you treated his minor injuries, you hold him in the bed. “Got paid twice as much for that.” Half of Todomatsu's accomplishments are attribute to Karamatsu. People tend to misremember which Matsuno did what since they're all identical. Maybe it’s because he traded the white and pink shorts for a simple black, with pink trim?

Now he looks like the others - right? Serious, no showboating. He gets in there and does his job.

Nobody's keeping track like that, and if it's amazing, if it's cool, if it's masculine, if the flesh doesn't take a battering then it can't be your Elastic Matsuno.

Even if it always is.

You ask him, softly as ever, “Why don't you retire?”

The third it a count down that does Elastic Matsuno in, one he can't even bother to hide. Todomatsu closed his eyes, laid splayed out on the mat, and pretended to actually be unable to get up. He's tired.

Fourth, once again was for popularity sake, story was spun as a coach getting out of retirement, his first match against his brother - the weakest of the six. Todomatsu just lost to Choromatsu after all, and as a tomato can, Ichimatsu could beat him with his eyes closed.

Eleven rounds that end with Todomatsu just not fighting back in the end. The way the crowd saw it was Todomatsu couldn't keep up, Elastic Matsuno couldn't handle the heat, so Ichimatsu let him have it.

You watched the second Todomatsu realized he wanted to win, when he punched his older brother so hard that he struggled to get back up. You watched the sun set across his features, and when the shadow of death loomed like the night.

When Ichimatsu's declared down, but not out Todomatsu takes the licks, and doesn't fight back. Like he was resigned to march his way to the gallows.

Fifth brother - shouldn't have even been matched up to each other because of their weight class. Todomatsu entered in a full crouch, shielding his entire body with his forearms and gloves, but ended it nearly dragged out by the neck like a snarling dog.

A few people called it his Mike Tyson moment. He snapped in the ring, throwing his gloves aside, just to choke his older brother out. Had a smile on his face, and laughed about it too.

He should've been banned for it, but for some reason word on the street said it was the third born verses the fifth.

Over time Todomatsu's become quiet on the days he has a match. Before your Totty was the same both in and out of the ring, bright, colorful, flashy, cute, with an innocent charm. You’re surprised he lasted even that long before the entire situation ate him alive. Like ants picking at his body, pulling piece by piece with group effort.

He doesn't handle rejection well.

Or embarrassment.

Or ridicule.

Or losing, especially not to his brothers.

Or being unpopular, especially in relation to his brothers.

Your Totty still exists, when the bruises on his knuckles have almost faded back to flesh tones. When his nose has been reset and healed. In the mornings when he sleeps defenselessly in your arms, cheeks soft, skin warm, and tissue no longer bloodied.

He's still there, just for a moment before the match when you kiss him and say, “You got this!” because when you used to say, “beat his ass, baby!” it'd break both of your hearts when it was already predestined Elastic Matsuno was going to lose.

You're not a gambling man, and if you were you know it'd be stupid to bet on a losing dog. You thought maybe if you were loud online, if you could manage to drum up support, you could garner some Elastic Matsuno fans.

“I hated him before.” is something you've heard a lot, “You made me like him a little bit.”

“I thought he was just bitchy.”

“He's really cool now.”

It's still you.

You'll post clips of his fights, “Why did I remember this was Swift?”

“I don't care if he can fight, he's still the worst.”

Pink Satan is what they call him. You always wondered how to take that comment. Your muse, your sweet Todomatsu inspires you like he’s Calliope. How is it supposed to make you feel when confronted with the fact that even now, it’s so difficult for others to like him - not love him without insult first?

You smile about it, you talk about his good points. You take note of the shirt, of the brother and thus spin your story accordingly. He’s sensitive, he’s caring, he’s smart. He’s so kind, I know it seems like he’s basically evil in the ring, but his brothers all genuinely like him! Just the other day Choromatsu came over to show Totty some of his older matches!

Osomatsu and Todomatsu always go get beers together, with Totty following his brother like a baby duck! Isn’t that so sweet? He plays board games with Jyushimatsu, and Ichimatsu invites him often as a guest host on his sports podcast! In fact, Ichimatsu called him over in the middle of the night and showed Todomatsu the pilot episode! Ichimatsu wouldn’t have ever gotten the confidence to upload it, if not for Todomatsu!

Karamatsu and Todomatsu go shopping together too, they get their trunks trunks and coats by the same designer!

He’s so sweet!

“Aw, that makes me like him more!” No, love him!

You’re not much of an artist, or maybe you’re an artist in the same way he’s a boxer. Circumstances beyond your control preventing you from reaching your true potential. Failure to launch.

You paint stills of him, and sometimes you’re brave enough to post it somewhere. Proud of yourself, and proud of him. You don’t like thinking about the reaction, in fact often you will want to rip yourself apart, tendon to muscle, skin and fat, deep until removed from the bone.

But you post more, because he’s a very social media conscious person. The reward of Todomatsu’s pensive frown lighting up, before he lowers his phone to his lap. When Todomatsu looks at you, after you uploaded your art, no matter what medium, he smiles at you brighter than the sun itself.

It’s giving in its nature. Like life itself, the sun is a perfect metaphor. If it weren’t for Todomatsu, and his undying support, you would have never had a chance at survival. The warmth in his touch, the love in his praise, “Did you use all of our colors again?” Todomatsu asks, with laughter tinging his words.

Of course you did. Yellow for the underlines, green for the sketch, purple for the shading, blue for the outline, red for the ink. Pink. Pink everywhere else.

Todomatsu travels from his side of the bed, to you, and it’s so…so slow. His lips on yours, pressing that silly smile on you. “Thank you.”

You can’t do much to help him, but you try everything you can. From running social media pages in his honor, posting art, uploading videos, you comment corrections- that wasn’t Karamatsu. That was Elastic Matsuno! No that wasn’t Swift! That was Elastic Matsuno! He’s the strongest, Todomatsu is the strongest! He could win, ask any of his brothers they’ll tell you he’s the scariest when upset. He’s so strong, listen to me! You’d like him, that wasn’t your favorite Totty - Elastic did that! Elastic perfected that move! That’s Todomatsu’s! You’re an encyclopedia of devotion, matches, fights, you can list it all to prove, look at him! Love him!

You’re better known for writing.

Sometimes you’ll go back to certain clips you find online, or you’ll find the ones you’ve taken. You watch them, and write.

Simple words for simple emotions. Todomatsu under the lights, the way the sweat looks dripping down his skin, the blood dribbling from his lip, his dire, angry expression as he sits in the corner. You weave metaphors in, you layer with your fingers, carefully and lovingly as if creating a basket to hold your love for him. As if your writing could contain it all.

There’s some notoriety in being his spouse, spokesman, PR, biggest fan, and advocate. A lot of time people attribute you to the small amount of good they see in him, or their changed perspective. You just want him to be adored.

You’re not even sure why this came to be either, and at what point did Todomatsu begin to grate on the public’s nerves enough to hate him.

Heartless based off an interview his brothers gave when they all used to do them together. Each one of them had an insult for the other, but the comments read out like Todomatsu bullied them all.

He's not likable.

You're not really sure why you see him differently than others, or why he's deemed so unpopular. Sometimes, when you're lucky you'll encounter people who like him second best.

Behind Osomatsu, or with Osomatsu. Their interactions in the ring during Osomatsu’s announcements tend to humanize Elastic in the eyes of those who have deemed him a Dry Monster. They joke, and soon people remember that the dead eyed man used to be bright, and with a child-like innocence.

You'll talk to that sort a lot, there's a few who like the crimson match up. That think they’re clips are funny, think their relationship and familiarity is entertaining.

But if they entered the ring, you're well aware that it's just you screaming Todomatsu's name.

You ask him to stop taking dives and to fight fair. He agrees, sick of it all.

One by one Todomatsu lays people out, finally reaching gatekeeper status. The only problem is he’s not matched up like he used to be, in fact the more he wins the less he’s scheduled.

The rare times he’s out in the ring, you take a good look at him. His back is strong, but now padded in a thick layer of fat. At night you pinch, pulling the flesh between your fingers like you’re playing with a tactile toy. He’s so soft, ticklish too, and always throws his legs away from your body when he thrashes from laughter. Todomatsu’s so considerate, you think.

You can see the muscles in his arms, from his shoulders, collarbone, triceps and biceps, Todomatsu takes it all seriously.

Ten years ago his gimmick was that he was so slender, so delicate that it was impossible to predict the amount of power in his swings. A body that little shouldn’t be capable such devastating blows.

Those are the arms you bite at home. You gum on them, chewing on the fat, kissing where it’s soft. You pucker your lips often, and press lil smooches that become raspberries.

His stomach is cute, that’s all you think. You bite his quivering belly, and pepper your mouth to it. You taste his skin, you eat his flesh, and you always kiss and kiss because Todomatsu laughs in response. When you’re finished, and he’s evening his breathing out, his hand is always gentle against your cheek.

Right now, Elastic looks strong. You wait in your corner, with the medical supplies in case he gets cut, you’ll patch him up good. Todomatsu trusts you.

Osomatsu is in the middle, shouting out the final announcements, before the match starts. Todomatsu turns back to you, lifts his glove up with the cutest little wave.

He looks so cool, you have no clue why others can’t see what you see. His large brown eyes, sharp with both clarity, and mischief. Todomatsu’s smile confident, a little smug grin, caught on his teeth. Like he has no worries at all. That hair slicked back, the lights flashing on his cheeks, illuminating his body.

Round one.

In the few remaining boxing matches he’s allowed, Todomatsu is quick, efficient, brutal and ruthless. Each knock out in less than three rounds, with the majority in the first. As if he were making a statement.

I’m not going to hold back any longer.

Instead of fame, praise, or really any sort of attention Todomatsu is met with silence as he beats contenders and would be champions. Not a comeback kid, not an underdog story. Those who checked his records before the match both under and overestimated his abilities.

With all of those losses, well…

The Matsuno’s are rapidly approaching their would be retirement age, and apparently as their finale they decide to host an event.

Todomatsu is eliminated round one. It was called “Cain vs Abel” online, actually. People had begun noticing Todomatsu’s sibling rivalry, a few stray comments on videos about how downright cruel he could be.

You almost wish Todomatsu would have gotten into wrestling, his heel turn probably would’ve been memorable.

Magnum vs Elastic. First round.

Abel stood in his corner, beloved by God and all of his believers. Your Cain, sat in his. Staring at his brother from across the ring with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

Lost because the referee said Todomatsu intentionally fouled his brother so severely that the bout had to be terminated. Todomatsu, towering over his brother, boxing gloves heaving, boot on the man’s chest, spat on the mat before leaving. The crowd of course jeered, I mean look! He didn’t plan to fight fair!

It’s not like Magnum, who always fights fair had a real chance!

You have a better eye than that, Karamatsu throwing rabbit punches, even head butt Todomatsu once. Only got a foul for it, a few points docked.

It was only when Todomatsu realized his brother was fighting dirty, he reacted in turn. In an interview, a sports commentator commented on Karamatsu’s series of dirty fighting moves, “Well, yeah…”

If Abel held the boulder above Cain’s head, intending to bash his envious brother’s skull first. Tired of this rivalry, tired of knowing he’s not better despite being adored. Wanting it all, and not just the most.

Karamatsu cheats until Todomatsu hits him where it hurts, and hits hard. Six rounds that end with Todomatsu’s cheeks cut, swollen, bleeding and eyes black and blue. His pink boot planted firmly on his battered brother’s chest.

The crowd goes crazy with rage, close to becoming a mob instead. Todomatsu’s escorted out of the ring, even if the kick he throws Karamatsu’s way makes him even more hated.

You’d never seen a more breathtaking sight, you stared up at him from the ring side, the light bathing Elastic Matsuno clean like clear water. He’s red all over, but looks nothing like his brother. Todomatsu raises his glove to the air, as if he were crowned the victor while his eldest brother screamed into the mix that Todomatsu was disqualified.

Todomatsu looked out to the crowd with his arm in the air, your heart broke at the sight of his slowly emerging disappointment and acceptance. He didn't smile, instead it was so miniscule is expression change.

Maybe he expected for the tide to change in his favor? That if Todomatsu had what Karamatsu apparently possessed - effective, brutality, speed, and stamina. That they’d cheer for him after giving his brother a taste of his own medicine.

It doesn’t take long for Todomatsu to make his point despite the screams, he gracefully lifts his leg up, and places it firmly off of his unconscious brother’s chest, onto the mat.

The sights and sounds of Todomatsu... You couldn't look away, even with the camera you held in hand.

“Well…yeah.” Todomatsu mutters to himself, removing his gloves, tossing them carelessly towards the body. The mouth guard is removed next, dropped apathetically on the floor before spitting some of his blood next to his brother’s face.

It’s a statement. It was iconic to you. Before Todomatsu exits the ring, he looks at you. His swollen, blacken eyes close, his bloody, toothy mouth open. Todomatsu smiles at at you like he used to, back when he was young, new, pink and innocent. So childishly sweet, like he just saw his birthday cake.

That was the end of Elastic Matsuno's career.

Soon enough the last manager, the last agent, the last match up before Todomatsu is dropped.

He's known as a loser, unpopular, cruel, spiteful and petty. Elastic Matsuno, the weakest, an easy win, his fights attributed to others, his wins, their losses, any inch he gives is used for several miles. Elastic Matsuno who cheated against the fan favorite because he couldn't take his brother in a fair, dirty fight.

It's always just been you, only you screaming his name. You weren't into gambling, but you bet a dog that's been set up to lose every time.

Todomatsu fades out completely into obscurity, he was only relevant when it was convenient, and now it isn't. You hoped maybe after time, people might have gone back, followed his career, rewatched it all and see what you've seen this whole time.

That happens few in between, but it's fine. You're almost grateful to have Todomatsu all to yourself. His scarred skin in your palms, the soft, radiant warmth of his smile. He kisses you gently, once again whispering his appreciation, “Thanks for treating me so kindly...”

You steal the words of his lips, you're so hurt by the second half of that sentence, “even though I'm a piece of shit...”

You'll make him happy, even if Todomatsu will never become a beloved, popular athlete, even if at some point he must've made a small mistake that turned the public against him. You'll always be there by your losing dog's side.

Being a Todomatsu fan and trying to rally others to vote for him in any poll ever or any contest or any context where he could be considered likable

#roros fics #todomatsu x reader #iiiii bet on loooosing dogs #I know they’re losing and i pay for my place by the ring #im sorry but i wrote this instesd of writinf something funny about him not placing in the breedable poll #like i couldve writren spmethibg funny and not serious but hes like my muse #i want him to win #i need him to win #i get a lotta ppl who would comment on my fics saying i changed their opinion on him #or thats a thing new friends tell me sometimes and it makes me happy but i also think #but you should love him more to make up for kt #hes my freaking goo goo bear

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ochomachuu · 3 years ago

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Cybermatsu and Low Self-Esteem

I’ve noticed a lot of similarities between Choromatsu and Todomatsu as of late, particularly their lack of self-esteem and the method with which they cope with their self-loathing. Upon first glance it looks a lot more more like these two may think too highly of themselves, but I personally don’t think that’s the case. In-depth examples, tons of screenshots, and ramblings below the cut!

With regards to their brothers, these two both share a prominent attitude of: “At least I’m not as shitty as the rest of them.”

Time and time again they’ll criticize the others, and point out how superior they are in certain respects. With Choromatsu it’s being responsible and proper, and with Todomatsu it’s being cute, good-looking, and popular with girls.

However, while there's not exactly zero basis for this attitude, there really isn’t that much substance backing up their claims. As soon as someone points out that they don’t really have anything to show for their posturing, they get defensive.

Cyber has even called each other out on the exact same thing on a couple of occasions. It takes one to know one, after all.

The thought that they’re just as pathetic as the others is upsetting to both of them, so they prefer to cling to the idea that they’re better somehow. However, deep down they both know that they aren’t what they present themselves as, and their true feelings towards themselves slip though the cracks now and then.

(Last couple of screenshots courtesy of this post by halfeviltotty)

It’s clear that no, they really don’t think highly of themselves at all. While Choromatsu does seem to be a bit more responsible and spend more time job hunting, and Todomatsu does seem to be a bit more popular with girls, neither of them have had any substantial success in their supposed areas of expertise, and they're both aware of that.

Choromatsu may try to pretend otherwise, but he knows very well that he hasn’t accomplished anything.

And while Todomatsu certainly does seem to have a higher level of success talking to girls compared to his brothers, a lot of his conversations come off as ever so slightly awkward, bland, or desperate. As of season 3, there are only two girls he seems to regularly hang out with.

His supposed status as “the popular one” was also shattered during Osomatsu and Todomatsu, where not only did Osomatsu steal the spotlight without trying, but everyone also ended up forgetting about him in the end.

In order to not feel like shit, these two will take actions in order to live up to their chosen titles.

For example, Todomatsu’s obsession with his appearance: skincare, jogging, yoga, watching his diet. While this could just be out of vanity, or a genuine attempt at self-care, I personally interpret this as him attempting to justify his self-given title of “the good-looking one” among the sextuplets.

Todomatsu is someone I can definitely see chasing after whatever new, shiny, and expensive skincare product is advertised to him. Even if he don’t notice too much of a difference after using it, there’s always the thought of: “Well, it has to be doing something!” And so he’ll be able to feel better about himself.

Taking some sort of action, spending money, and using whatever 10-step skincare routine allows him to feel as if something’s changed. If he puts effort into his skin and his body, he can feel like he actually can call himself “the cute one” or “the good-looking” one, even if the difference is pretty minor, and he’s just lying to himself.

They’re sextuplets, after all. No amount of skincare or yoga or outdated ugly fashion can set him apart from the others to the extent he wishes it would. He can always try, though.

It’s also obvious to anyone that Todomatsu’s “cute” persona is a face he’s putting on, and that face has become one of the few parts of his identity he can cling to, something he can use to set himself apart from the others. He’ll act extra cutesy or even downright childlike when he wants to be acknowledged or appreciated by others, switching personas at the drop of a hat. He wants to be cute, he wants attention, he wants to be loved.

Choromatsu is incredibly self-conscious and terrified of failing to meet expectations. We often see him spend his time looking through job magazines, which is something “proper” people would do. Actually finding a job requires legitimate effort and includes the possibility of failure, but it’s pretty easy to flip through magazines to feel like he’s accomplishing something, isn’t it?

This is similar to how he looks for something to do in Sparkle Phantom Stream. The idea of finding something to do and working towards it is appealing, but it's not easy, and he hardly gives anything a chance before giving up entirely. He admits he just wanted to find something to do purely because he was the only one not “sparkling”, in other words, because he felt inadequate when he compared himself to others.

In season 2, he also does his taxes despite not knowing anything about them (and not having a job) in order to feel like a proper adult. He doesn’t actually accomplish anything, but he’s doing what responsible adults do, so he must be a responsible adult.

Choromatsu seems to be a bit less realistic compared to Todomatsu, more often attempting to convince himself that he’s really living the life he wishes he was living. The most egregious example of this is Choromatsu Memorial Hall, in which he sings his own praises about all of his non-existent accomplishments.

In Friend, we learn that in high school, he had nothing of substance to him except for collecting dirty magazines. His entire identity was built on that. And so he coped by constructing an imaginary friend and an entire elaborate backstory to go with him, so he could tell himself someone actually wanted him around, and liked him for who he really was.

While Todomatsu is slightly more grounded in reality (or maybe he just fakes it better), he will certainly have fantasies about the life he wishes he lived as well.

Another small thing to note is that this behaviour was already present in their high school selves. Rather than pretending to be a proper adult, 18-year old Choromatsu acts like his ideal of an honour student, despite just being a pervy idiot. (Nothing has changed.)

And 18-year old Todomatsu acts even more needy and childlike than he was as an actual child, despite technically already being an adult.

It makes sense that during the period of high school when they all hated being sextuplets, these two would try and lean into some sort of identity for themselves, although that goes for almost all of the sextuplets. It’s just that Cyber haven’t actually changed too much in their self-assigned roles, though Todomatsu has definitely changed more than Choromatsu.

As the two with the sparkliest, most obnoxious self-awareness orbs, these two are incredibly self-conscious. They’re insecure and think that others would look down on their true selves, so they’ll lie and fake and pretend in order to try and get others’ approval, even if their lies will be easily caught.

Cyber will also both compliment themselves at seemingly random times. They’re also almost always the same compliments: “cute, honest, and a good boy”, or “responsible, reliable, and proper.” Again, clinging to their supposed “titles” among the sextuplets.

From what I’ve seen, Cyber uses shallow compliments as pick-me-ups, in order to feel better about themselves. Their self-loathing is so strong it wraps right back around to being self-love, somehow.

In The Matsuno Family's Carefree Feeling Vol. 2 “Choroplex”, Choromatsu is upset that Karamatsu calls his face weird, and asks for compliments so he’ll feel better. Karamatsu barely gets a word in while Choromatsu compliments himself on how nice, smart, and cute he is, and somehow that’s all he needed to feel better about himself.

(Translations courtesy of Jyushimatsu BoyTM on Youtube)

Todomatsu did this a lot in season 2. Whenever he felt lonely, unappreciated, or ignored, he could always just compliment himself. He’s quite practical like that, using these praises to quickly pick himself back up and not think too deeply about his emotional state.

At the end of Osomatsu and Todomatsu, he even has trouble coming up with a compliment and just settles on praising… his voice. As if that was the only thing he could think of to compliment himself on in that moment.

In conclusion: Cyber fucking hate themselves and cope by performing empty actions, giving themselves empty compliments, and lying to themselves and others.

#osomatsu san #ososan #choromatsu #todomatsu #cybermatsu #analysis #welcome to me looking too deep into bean boys #look at these two theyre so normal #tumblr keeps eating my edits to this draft im going to go feral #maybe its bc this post has an obscene amount of images but still #this got just a bit long

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