#and I wish I could speak better Japanese so I could message her
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I really wanted to draw Yana in the cafe style getup from that official art, but it looks Soramame beat me to it. The same outfit I was thinking of too!
#when I saw she drew Egor as a mermaid for mermay#I thought - wow! we had the same idea?! (though my mer!Yana is different)#I wonder if she lurks around tumblr#either way it's very cool#and I wish I could speak better Japanese so I could message her#I love love love her drawings#ooc.
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The first 1% is always the hardest
Usually, the hardest part of acquiring a new skill is starting it for the first time.
When you’re at an intermediate level of progression, you can usually just increase your skill level by incrementing up the difficulty linearly. If you’re a novice weightlifter and your best overhead press is 125 lbs, try adding 5 lbs to the bar and see if you can overhead press 130 lbs. (If not, keep lifting 125 lbs every few days until that becomes “easy,” then challenge yourself with 130 lbs again.) If you can do 10 push-ups, you will probably reach the point where you can do 11 push-ups, and 12 push-ups, and 15 push-ups, and 25 push-ups, and so on. The hardest part of lifting is day 1, when you might be performing certain motions for the first time in your life, and challenging your body to work muscles that you didn’t even realize existed.
I imagine the same is true of other fitness regimens: once you’re able to run a 9 minute mile, you probably have what it takes to run a 8:30 mile, or a 8 minute mile, if you keep at it. Eventually you’ll hit a plateau and the limits of human performance, but the first day in the gym is always the hardest.
This is sort of how the trajectory of my writing career went. And having talked to artist friends, and musicians, it seems like all of them followed a similar trend: they found a thing, they stuck with it, and over time found themselves advancing along that path bit by bit. It became a hobby or a routine such that over time, by by investing a bit more time, or a bit more effort, or challenging themselves a tiny bit more, they got better at it. And over years, the compounding returns of that meant that the girl who got a drawing tablet at age 14 found that by the time she was 22 years old, she had enough artistic skill to make enough money from her art to make a living.
I think that in a lot of cases, people were able to start down that path of gradual self-improvement in part because they were able to somehow bypass the hardest part of it -- they blazed right through the initial difficulty without even realizing it. They couldn’t even really answer the question of “When did you start drawing,” because they’ve always been drawing since the days that they were just doodling with pencil in paper at school. Maybe they just really enjoyed playing outdoors as a kid, and played soccer because it was fun, and made the seamless transition to being a high school athlete. In my case, I spent a lot of time writing long-winded forum posts explaining the finer points of topics I was passionate about (which, at age 13, was mostly Pokemon and Final Fantasy), and somehow by my 20′s I had enough of a penchant for explaining things that I was able to parley that into a writing career (so I can get paid for my long-winded explanations of Pokemon-related topics).
The early days of learning to write kind of sucked and were difficult. (For starters, remember how unintuitive that QWERTY keyboard was the first time that you learned to type? Remember how painful it was to hunt-and-peck your way through sentences at an effective rate of <10 words per minute?) But my desire to talk about Pokemon on message boards overwhelmed any difficulty or “suckiness” involved with learning to express my ideas through text, and so the suckiness of those early days wasn’t really much of an obstacle.
More and more, I’ve come to believe that the most important part of learning a new skill is finding a way to get over that initial difficulty hump -- of finding a way to survive the first day, and then the first week, and then the first month, and eventually reach a point where inertia carries you forward on a gradual upward slope of self-improvement where you’re not even consciously thinking too hard about improvement; you just randomly muse to yourself one day, “Oh yeah, this barbell I’m picking up weighs about 100 lbs more than the barbell I was lifting a year ago. Fancy that.” The longer you keep at it, the easier it is to stick with it.
In many corners of the internet, there’s an oft-repeated adage that “Watching anime won’t teach you to speak or understand Japanese.” And sure, that’s obviously true on some level. If someone is thinking they’re going to spend a thousand hours watching subtitled anime, and then one day flip off the subtitles and be able to follow everything without missing a beat, they’re probably a bit delusional. If you want to actually achieve anything approaching Japanese fluency, you’re probably going to have to take a Japanese learning course, and engaged in spaced repetition to pick up and retain vocabulary, and all of the other stuff that goes into learning any language.
But I think that watching anime does provide you with one big advantage: it goes a long way toward helping you cross that “day 1″ hump. Because the first day is always the hardest. Going from 0 to 1 is harder than increasing your vocabulary by a few new words every week. Before you can get the compounding returns from incrementally improving at a skill, you have to have a starting principle. And I think that watching anime is actually quite good for that, because only knowing “weeaboo Japanese” will give you 20-30% of the vocabulary that’s included in your first couple Japanese lessons.
I’m speaking from personal experience: it’s incredibly heartening to go through a lesson and encounter words that I’m already familiar with. Even if my fluency in “weeaboo Japanese” only covers 10% of what’s introduced in a given lesson, having a head start gives me an intangible confidence boost which makes it easier for me to focus on and retain the other 90%.
I don’t want to understate the importance of that intangible confidence boost: a lot of language acquisition is getting comfortable with a language, and repeating something so much that you do it without even thinking about it. For example, in English, sometimes sometimes someone might ask you “how’s it going?” and you might answer “fine” before your brain has even consciously registered the meaning of what you were hearing, or saying. And I’m enough of a weeb that I can hear i tenki desu ne and immediately reflexively respond with sou desu ne, before my brain has even consciously registered the question being asked (sometimes taking several seconds to mentally backtrack and realize, “Oh right, the “i tenki” part means “nice weather.”). But years and years of listening and pattern recognition have taught me that when someone ends a sentence in desu ne? with the sort of inflection that says “I’m asking you a rhetorical question,” the proper response is probably sou desu ne, and my brain produces that response just as reflexively as it spits out “I’m doing fine, how about you?” any time someone asks “How’s it going?”)
One thing I’ve come to notice is that every lesson begins with some of some amount of review, giving you that spaced repetition, and providing context for the new words and concepts that the lesson is about to introduce, and generally provide a foundation for the new material. Day 1 is, by necessity, the exception -- how can you “review” material that you’ve never covered before? But for me, the day 1 lessons on how to say nihongo and arigato and watashi and anata were already “review” of topics that I picked up through years of being a weeb.
Besides that, there’s the fact that the structural elements of Japanese are something that my brain was naturally able to grok in a way that is intuitive to me after spending years listening to spoken Japanese even though most of it is contextual. (Like, I’m not sure when this happened, but at a certain point I think my brain just kind of learned, when listening to Japanese sentences, to approximate which parts were the verb and where certain clauses landed in the sentence, if only because when watching anime with subtitles you become consciously aware of when a character’s name appears in the dialog.) I’m not really consciously thinking about it, which kind of feels like the “natural” way to learn a language. (After all, it’s not as if native English speakers, as toddlers, consciously think to themselves, “Ah, it seems as though English typically follows a subject-verb-object grammar structure.” Kids just listen to adults speaking English and form sentences that way without really having to be formally taught.)
It’s highly likely that at some point in my internet career that I have at one point been the cynical message board poster telling someone that, contrary to their fantasies, watching anime isn’t going to help them learn Japanese in any real or material way, and if I’ve ever suggested that, it’s time for me to eat crow. Because while the advantage that “weeaboo-level Japanese” gives you might be small, and only help you on the first few days of Japanese class, those are the most important days, because the first 1% is always the hardest.
My familiarity with “weeaboo-level Japanese” has only given me one disadvantage, and that is that years of memes have poisoned my brain to the point where the first I was prompted with “say ‘excuse me’ in Japanese,” my brain (and mouth) immediately spat out “sorrymasen,” and I wish I could say it only happened once, but it wasn’t until around day 3 that I managed to fully train this habit out of myself.
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Silvaze ‘06: Part 7 - Absolution
Previously: Silver and Blaze defeated Iblis once more.
With Iblis reduced to flames, Silver initiates his plan to sacrifice himself to seal it away - well, it's not his plan. It's the same ritual he watched the Duke of Soleanna perform. He's relying on someone else's idea again.
Eternal Sun. The flame of fate that lived within a royalty’s spirit! Fall into slumber with my soul! Iblis, the Flames of Disaster!
But Silver's body won’t accept Iblis, lacking a flaming soul or a royal spirit.
Blaze, on the other hand, has both. "You're My Companion" kicks in as she takes the Chaos Emeralds to finish the ritual, instantly absorbing Iblis. However, she has yet to fully assimilate the cursed flames. She demands that Silver use Chaos Control to stop time and then seal her into another dimension, isolating herself and Iblis.
But Silver can’t. He can't bring himself to save the world, a marked change from his former manhunt. Ironically, he can no longer justify erasing one life to save the future. Why? Because it’s Blaze. He has just re-learned to appreciate her, and refuses to give that up. Amy’s example rocked him to his core; faced with a choice between the world and Blaze, he is choosing Blaze.
Blaze calls Silver out on his hypocrisy. In Japanese she recalls telling him salvation requires sacrifice, while in English she recalls they agreed to save the world no matter the cost. Despite her encouragement, Silver still can't doom his companion. He loves her too much. She’s his friend, right?
This finalizes the quandary of Sonic 06: is it better to live in ignorance with those you love, or to focus on your duties to make a better world? 06 has made it clear that the two sides are not always compatible, and sometimes a choice must be made. In this case, the game argues that a hero must be able to put aside their personal treasures for the greater good (a very Japanese message, imo).
And while Silver may have chosen Blaze, she seems to have chosen the world.
Silver's Victory... and Failure
Silver asks “You’re my friend... right?” Even after they’ve gone through so much together, Silver is unsure of how Blaze feels. He cares about her, but doesn’t know if she reciprocates. And some fault could be placed on Blaze for this! She is so guarded in her emotions that Silver has little evidence to go off of.
Even now, Blaze avoids Silver’s question and doesn’t confirm that they’re friends. Why won’t she just say yes? Well, she could be dancing around her true feelings for him. But she also calls him naive (青い) one last time; both for being unable to send her away, and because he still thinks they’re only friends. Instead, she chooses to let him figure it out for himself.
But she also admits that she’s always liked his naivete. Her use of the word has been scolding, but also appreciative. It may sound like he’s only caused her grief, but Blaze has benefited from the relationship too.
Silver's naivete has challenged Blaze. It has shown her unique angles on issues that she thought simple, it has inspired her to maintain sympathy for others, and it has gotten her to speak out where she may have otherwise stayed silent. Not to mention she’s watched Silver grow so much, and she is captivated by his progress. She has always held him in high regard. She's accompanied Silver not merely to keep him in line, but because she loves him.
In fact, this scene is the only one where Blaze outright smiles (and I don't think Silver ever smiles lol). Blaze has been suppressing her warmest feelings for Silver, and only feels comfortable sharing them in this most dire moment. It makes clear that Blaze is choosing the world because of Silver, not instead of him. This is what he wanted, this is his mission, and she's determined to help see it through.
But because of Silver's inability to act, there must be consequences. As Blaze completely assimilates Iblis, she briefly goes Burning Blaze. Then her body melts away, wishing Silver good luck. The clouds open above the hedgehog and the Chaos Emeralds, revealing a bright blue afternoon. All he is left with are two "good luck charms" and an (青い) sky. He rubs his eyes, weeping over these cruel mementos of his failure.
Silver’s mission to save the future is finally accomplished, but not by him. Not only did Blaze have to finish it for him, but he couldn’t even bring himself to do the one thing she requested. Despite all his growth, at the very end, Silver failed to overcome his immaturity, his impulsiveness, his love, and it cost him dearly. At least Blaze liked that about him.
Note: I’m not even gonna try to explain Blaze’s fate. There’s plenty of theories out there. I’m more concerned with the narrative implication: Blaze is gone from Silver’s life, and that’s all that matters.
Dreams of an Absolution
Episode Silver’s credits song is Bentley Jones' "Dreams of an Absolution". It's since been adopted as Silver's general character theme, but its power truly lies in its original context, right after Blaze's sacrifice.
Jones wrote the song with a breakup in mind:
“Originally, I wrote "Dreams" about a bad ex-boyfriend who wanted to get back with me, and I couldn't shake off the past, and I was in this weird grey area that I didn't know if I wanted to move forward together anymore.” - Bentley Jones
The lyrics address a separated couple who might get back together, but one of them just can’t forget their past. It would be presumptuous to ascribe too much of this artist’s very personal meaning to Silver and Blaze’s relationship, but it does carry the same theme of being unable to move on. They're opposites: Jones can't move past his emotions to get back together, while Silver can't move past his emotions to split up.
Two cutscene themes for Silver are derived from “Dreams of an Absolution”: “You’re My Companion” and “Is It Right?” (listen for the “and every night” notes). They play whenever Silver hesitates: either failing to kill Sonic or failing to sacrifice Blaze. This further strengthens the theme of paralyzing emotions. The song is basically “Ahhh I’m so emotional and I don’t know what to do!”
Additionally, "absolution" means a formal release from guilt, obligation, or punishment. It means freedom. This could reference Blaze absolving Silver of his mission, freeing him. But "absolution” also reflects Silver's overwhelming shame for letting Blaze down, dreaming of sweet release from his survivor's guilt. The autotune on Jones' voice is distortion as Silver calls across dimensions for forgiveness. The chorus sings that he will “save your life” or “make it right”, but only in his dreams.
These wistful regrets play into Silver’s urge to right past mistakes. However, he has already chosen to work forward rather than dwell in the past. He must live in this bright, stable future, haunted by his failure to Blaze.
Or does he...?
Next up: Tidbits from Last Story and a final wrap-up.
[Back to the masterpost]
#silver the hedgehog#blaze the cat#silvaze#sonic 06#analysis#sonic the hedgehog 2006#sonic#iblis#analysis: silvaze 06
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Here is the FINAL part (3) of Chapter VII: War’s End! So glad that you made it all to the end. A rather bittersweet sort of sensation but, it was fun writing this to the very end. I so wanted a happy ending, but I still sort of followed Rengoku’s path and cried my eyes out again but it was worth it. Again, this one I know I could write better so I’m going to work on it. Thank you all for reading through this and sticking with me. This was just so fun to do!
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Chapter VII: War’s End
“Everyone ready to go?” Tanjiro asked his ‘lively’ crew.
Zenitsu was sitting with Nezuko who was comfortably set in her box. “Yep, yep! Me and Nezuko-chan are as ready as we’ll ever be.”
“Finally! I can get out and stretch my legs!” Inosuke shouted with glee as he grabbed his two blades.
“Hope you have room for one more.”
“Oh, sure, we do-- _____, is that. . . is that really you?”
“In the flesh.” You stepped through the doorway in just the uniform. Over the weeks, you garnered a leveled bob cut of your locs, an eyepatch over your left eye, and scars littering your arms and around your face. “I’ve missed you all so much.”
“COOOOOOK!!!” Inosuke bum-rushed you into a hug, sniffling loudly beneath his boar’s head. “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?”
Zenitsu joined him, well, more like pushed him out of the way as he hugged you next. “____, WE WERE WORRIED SICK ABOUT YOU!! WE THOUGHT YOU WERE A GONER!!”
“I’m so sorry for up and leaving just like that. There was a lot to process after the Mugen Train incident, and I didn’t want to muddle your healthy minds with my emotions. I wanted to be mentally strong for you guys.”
‘Her scent is still sad. Of course, she has a reason to be. She lost Rengoku-san, and has had to cope with that loss on her own. I know how tough that can be, but I have Nezuko with me still. She doesn’t have any kin or home to return to. Demon slaying is all she has. . . and us.’ Tanjiro’s eyes lit up. “That’s right! You have us.”
“Hmm? What was that, Tanjiro?” You asked.
“We’re a family, isn’t that right, _____?”
His words surprised you, and it made your heart jump with joy. You looked at all four of them as a part of your family. There wasn’t anything you wouldn’t do for them. “You’re absolutely right. That’s why I want to come with you. Besides, as a Hashira, it is but my civic duty to protect Kyōjurō’s juniors.” Tears formed in the corner of your eyes as you spoke fondly of him. “He was so ecstatic to have more apprentices under his belt. Therefore, I must follow in his footsteps and watch over you.”
“YEEEESS!! Having Cook with us will make traveling even better.”
Zenitsu frowned at him. ‘As if traveling with you has been anything pleasant.’
“Now, before we go. I want to see Senjuro. Did you relay the message to him already, Tanjiro?”
“Mhm. As soon as we got back, and when I was able to move. Do you want us to come with you? We’re heading through that direction anyway.”
“Perfect! Let’s be off then.”
You all travelled down to the Rengoku Estate, seeing Senjuro sweeping out of his home. He was caught off guard when you embraced him.
For a moment, there was silence as he held you back tightly, his eyes swelling with tears. Seeing him reminded you of all the times you spent together. The three of you were a team when you and Rengoku were training for the Final Selection. Senjuro, sweet and kind, had a quiet fire burning in him. He was going to be something amazing, just like his brother.
“Senjuro, how have you been? Are you alright?” You inspected him from his ember-tipped hair down to his sandals.
“I’m better now, after seeing you. You left in such a hurry, I was worried that you weren’t going to come back.”
“You’re stronger than I, Senjuro, and I wanted to be that for you. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, _____. Are you leaving with Tanjiro and the others now?”
“Yes. I want to follow in your brother’s footsteps and protect those that I love and those that can’t protect themselves.” You knelt down, looking into his big, soft eyes. “I really wanted us to be together.” You said this, not knowing when death would knock at your doorstep. “I love you, Senjuro. I know you’ll be a great man in the future.”
“Mmm, I think I will be, too.” He hugged you one more time. “I love you, too, _____!”
You returned the favor before you both let go. You reached for your belt, pulling out a small box of goodies. “For you. Hope you like them. Take care, Senjuro.”
Your days, though filled with amazing memories, came to a close as you fell protecting the children. More than anything, you wanted them to succeed. Sacrificing yourself was the only way to win. It was a swift pain, a slow burn, and then darkness bled into your vision as your soul lifted towards the light and your warm, wavering aura vanished from your body.
You were sorry that you couldn’t stay as you walked halfway across the red bridge, spotting flame-tipped hair just over yonder. He peered over his shoulder, a proud smile spread on his handsome features as he held his hand out to you.
Over the red bridge did you both cross, fading into the distance.
( B O N U S - E N D I N G)
Summer had come and college was out! Most couldn’t wait to spend it goofing off on a beach, traveling across the States, or going right back into school a couple weeks later for summer courses. Many people had many things to look forward to, but you? You had woken up at the ass crack of dawn, taking in the morning air as you raced down the steps with your suitcase fully packed.
“Mom! Dad! Come on! We have to get the airport now! I can’t be late.” Your parents were so slow sometimes and that made you anxious. You could leave them here and catch a ride there or make it on your own but they were not having any of that.
“We’re coming, _____, we’re coming!” Your dad said with a mouthful of foaming toothpaste.
“You usually don’t wake up this early with this much energy.” Your mom added.
“It’s not everyday you get to study abroad in the land of the Rising Sun! I have a day’s worth of traveling to do so I can always sleep later.” Yeah, you didn’t get any kind of sleep last night as you’d be spending most of it in the air.
You hurried them up and sped to the busy airport to meet with the group of classmates you were leaving with. You said your goodbyes to your parents, boarded the plane, and wished for a safe trip.
As soon as service was offered, you grabbed a couple drinks, ate whatever they served in the trays, and knocked out until landing - save for the few bathroom trips -.
Your horizon suddenly expanded the moment you walked out of Japan’s airport, looking around you in amazement. You had to keep murmuring to yourself, “Do not weeb out. I repeat, do not weeb out.” You loved anime, you loved Japanese culture, and you loved their idea of cuisine. Japan felt like the place for you.
“Okay everyone, please come together,” spoke your sweet, endearing Japanese princess of a teacher, Mayamoto-sensei. “We’ll be heading two hours out by bus to Kimetsu Daigaku (Kimetsu University). Rest up and be ready for a little surprise set up by a few students who were interested in meeting you guys soon after arrival.”
You internally squealed with glee. You weren’t dressed up for the occasion but who was going to tell you that you couldn’t wear a pair of sweats on the ride there. With your short locs retwisted and your good outfits packed, you were set to go!
So set that you were the first off the bus and getting your things out. “This is going to be a great experience, I know it!”
“Nn! I agree!”
“Oh my god!” You jumped, scared by the booming voice beside you. “Oh… oh my god.” You had laid eyes on one of the most unique men you had ever had the pleasure of gazing upon. He was different, what with his flame highlighted tips, dazzling eyes, and charming smile.
“Yes. . .?” He slowly stood, his eyes never leaving yours once locked. This man, a vocal and expressive man, was left speechless. He ogled you for much longer than he’s ever done, going over your brown skin, your brown eyes, your short locs, everything! He immediately bowed before you, introducing himself. “Konnichiwa! Rengoku Kyōjurō to moushimasu! Yoroshiku onegai-shimasu!” (Formal: (Hello!) I’m called Rengoku Kyōjurō! Nice to meet you!)
Your eyes bugged out of your face. ‘Shit! Wasn’t he speaking English a minute ago? Okay, okay, what did he say?’ You looked back to see your sensei and the students watching the two of you interact. This was not how you kept yourself out of weeb trouble. Hell, you were still trying to figure out what his fine ass said so fast.
“Onamae wa, nan desu ka?” (Polite: What’s your name?)
You sighed, being able to understand that. “Watashi no namae wa… _____ _____ desu. Doozo yoroshiku.” (Casual: My name is _____. Nice to meet you.)
‘_____?’ He eyed you for a second longer before he placed his hands on his hips, smiling wide from ear to ear. “Very good, _____! I’m Rengoku Kyōjurō, and I am with a few classmates to meet you all. Welcome to Kimetsu University!”
“Woooow, his English is so good.” You thought. Aloud.
“Thank you! I have been learning since elementary! Your pronunciation is good, but your flow is slow. However, I am sure you will improve after being here for a month!”
‘Oh, thanks for putting me out there!’ You smiled nervously. This handsome, wild man was nothing like you had expected. “That’s what I’m hoping for as I’d like to work, live, and travel here in the future.”
“Is that so?” He faced you with his arms crossed over his chest. “Be my student!” Your mouth, along with the others, dropped at his proposal. You looked to your sensei for help, and she encouraged it with an approving nod and smile. “Great, then it’s settled! You’ll be fluent in Japanese in no time!” He looked off to the distance, laughing loud as you smiled in confusion.
(Modern AU Sequel coming SOON!)
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Chapters: I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII (Part 1) / (Part 2) / (Part 3)
#rengoku kyojuro x reader#rengoku x reader#rengoku x you#rengoku kyōjurō#kimetsu no yaiba#kimetsu no yaiba fanfic#demon slayer#demon slayer fanfic
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Never Have I ever S2
SPOILERS.....Turn back now I’m serious.
I’m waiting....
Okay cool your fault at this point
I was fairly critical of NHIE S1, I won’t lie. And I’ll be real I still stand by the fact that NHIE S1 was fairly meh overall.
But holy shit, they knocked this season outta the world man. The show really really found its proper footing this season. They were smart to keep the cheating for only two episodes and explore the repercussion for the other 8.
1.Devi Vishwakumar.
Let’s start with the main character. Devi still does immensely fucked up shit this season. Dating two boys and have them find out in the MOST humiliating way possible. Yikes. Being a really sucky friend to Aneesa and starting that rumour about her (inadvertently) and pretending to her. Stalking her mother and being possessive of her. The really awful apology that was pretty self centred, a bit not good.
But she really does do her best to improve and I am SO proud of that. She uses her father’s advice and apologizes better to Aneesa, she actually handled the Ben and Aneesa dating WAAAAY better than I’ve seen some people handle things like that. I might’ve blown a fuse if two of my friends had 4 tickle fights and had major PDA sessions when we were trying to do a group project. Like she handled that shit fairly well all things considered. Devi actually gets into the beginnings of delving into her trauma and her temporary paralysis and healing from it. I
really see how the label ‘crazy’ weighs on her and how she blew up with it and the message of destigmatizing mental illness. (Crazy Aneesa and Crazy Devi) Her properly bonding with her mother and watching videos of her father and remembering/honouring his memory hit REALLY HARD (since I lost many people in my family recently and that fear of forgetting them has been real). Devi is actually beginning to heal from the loss of her father by strengthening the relationship with her Amma. And the slap from Paati was so so needed, it really gave her a better respect of her mother and fixed the problem I had with Devi mouthing off so much to her Amma. I live to see good maamiyar marumagal relationships. Her relationship with Paxton is really good and it gets developed very logically and having her be scared of being pathetic but in the end she accepted her own self worth and stopped chasing after them which was good.
Overall Devi really blossomed into her own developing person and I actually like her so much more this season.
2. Paxton Hall Yoshida
I was honestly, like genuinely sad last season he was like 80% eye candy with not much else going for him. Paxton had so much faith as a character and Ms Kaling has really pulled him into such a better person this season.
Paxton got hit by a car before swim season, lost his ticket to college and wow, got two timed by a girl he liked all in two episodes. If he was salty about that for more than one season I would’ve completely accepted it. Cause that’s a bad public humiliation.
Paxton episode really really made me love him as a character (honestly more so than Ben) I think because I heard Paxton’s entire worry and irritation that he was being underestimated and no one really expected him to go to college from a friend of mine not more than a month ago. That shit is real, and it hurted my friends a lot that people were really underestimating them and just seeing them as a dumb athlete who has no hope of college. It’s really nice to see Paxton actually want to go to college and learn Japanese American side with his Oji-chan giving him advice and supporting him. And him bringing his grandfather to speak about the internment camps, that seriously do not get spoken about enough.
Also him putting effort and making a genuine effort to work hard and bring up his grades with Devi and therefore bonding with her was really nice to see. I wouldn’t mind them being endgame but Devi does really work a lot better as his pushy Indian mom/best friend/tutor. And Devi getting mad at him for him expecting him to hold his hand throughout really hit well. Was it deserved yeah. But Devi also did blow him off after promising him to study so his anger is justified there. I’m just kinda vibing with Paxton like coming up and taking a better interest in school and being a full 3D character. And that one scene where he gives the extra credit presentation and Trent high fives the man. Classic.
Can I also just say, it’s kinda valid that Paxton didn’t want to date her in public. Is it a dick move...yeah? But he’s within his rights to ask and she’s within her rights to deny. And he didn’t press her once she said no, he went along with it. And what Devi pulled on him is awful, and speaking as someone who’s seen popular kid cliques. Reputation really is important. Like what Devi did made Paxton lose face, if he gets back with Devi he ain’t gonna have any respect left in him. And Paxton was pretty right in deciding to not date her publicly, like even in the end he knows that his reputation is shot for what he did. Do we even know if Paxton has friends that aren’t fixated on his social status? Because becoming a social pariah without having any support of friends is gonna hurt like a bitch. Lord knows how Paxton gonna deal with it. I think Trent might be his only homie after the social downfall he will inevitably face.
I’m just gonna say, Paxton is my favourite now and I’m really rooting for him. Something I decidedly did not do last season. I’m happy Ms Kaling developed him so much and got me interested.
3. Ben Gross
Ah. Ben. Ben’s not my faaavouriteee.......like he’s fine. But I don’t love him. I can definitely see him and Devi becoming an almost endgame couple though. Especially with S2 ending.
Ben is fine and he’s pretty developed, especially with his episode in S1 and it was good he took a backseat this season and let everyone else star. I feel like he’ll come back strong next season though.
Personally do I ship him with Devi? No. I’ve been in a friendship with the similar competitive dynamic as Ben and Devi. And it was terrible. We loved to argue and we got each other’s super brainy side as Devi puts it. But we pushed each other faar too much and even the small things became arguments and each pthers achievements became jealousy. So yeah....I don’t have too much faith in the dynamic due to personal bias, but I’d love to see how it gets handled.
Also my brother Ben, PDA is a thing and it is common courtesy to refrain from it. Man’s really going at it with Aneesa half the time. But also the moment where Aneesa sort of choked on the presentation and Ben’s irritation at it gave me BAAAD vibes. It feels like while Devi can match him, they might push each other too far,
4. Kamala
I LOVE KAMALA. Girl is an ENTIRE vibe. My sweetheart, love of my life. I could go on. I really like her development as well and the banter between her and Nalini. The part where Nalini practically said she looked like a call girl and she was like ippadi potathaan velaila mariyaatha kidaikum. I legit had to pause, scream in laughter for a good few seconds.
They had such a good story with her and wanting to fight against the fact that they took her work and didn’t credit her and everyone was telling her to like take it bowing. Prasanth’s advice unfortunately checked out to me, because I’ve been told that all my life. My dad says it a lot and I know he doesn’t say it cause’ he doesn’t believe in me, but he loves me and wants my life to be easier and for me to succeed and his experience is that he’s had to deal with things like this and fighting won’t help. So yeah, what Prasanth said did not rub me the wrong way at all and I agreed with it and I’m fairly disappointed about that. I get that she got nervous and had cold feet about marriage but I do hope she and Prasanth can work this out through communication. Because I really don’t feel like Prasanth is the bad guy here. It’s just a miscommunication.
So yeah, a LOT of Kamala’s storyline continues to really hit me hard.
5. Nalini Vishwakumar
Nalini really had so much more screentime to blossom. I love that she has a good relationship with Mohan’s amma. It’s wonderful and I love it. Also I was shocked to see the house in Chennai. Like this house...in Chennai. The Chennai I’m used to and the Chennai they are used to are different Chennai’s. Basically wealth gap is crazy as hell and I was lowkey highkey confused if the actually shot this shit in Chennai. But props to the directors for putting some proper Tamil vibes in there. Like the scene where they kaala thottu kumbudurathu (touch the elder’s feet) before they leave for the US is so real and so vibes. I like that they decided to bring paati back. I was like hoping for it.
Also they really went at developing Nalini’s character as a workaholic mom who doesn’t get her daughter. That’s also a really common thing in Indian households with one working parent so I’m happy they portrayed that. I’m happy Nalini actually has a life outside her family portrayed and is still such a typical mother that it hits HARD. I love Nalini and she really developed as a character dealing with grief from Mohan’s death, the wish to move on with Dr.Jackson but knowing that she isn’t ready yet.
They gave her character a life and proper working outside Devi and it really has shown to develop her character and impact her relationship with Devi. The advice to “just say yes” works with cousins and younger siblings as well, I’ve heard it before and used it..and it saves so much time. Especially with small children.
(A memory I have is of my younger cousin going on and on about a princess and a castle and fighting a dragon and the witches and so much fantasy shit and ended with do you wanna come? I just clocked off my CCA’s and I had no energy left to question it so I just went yeah sure. Easiest decision, and 10/10 advice. )
6. Aneesa
I’m not gonna lie. I was skeptical of Aneesa and I didn’t like how Devi saw her in the trailer. But Aneesa reminds me so much of me....and its killing me.
Also the scene where she charms the hell out of Nalini and paati ma has literally happened to me before. Most of my Indian friends hate it..because I was raised with a lot more traditional manners with my grandparents so me and my siblings all are old fashioned which parents LOVE. And I really saw that Aneesa charming them and Devi also realizing, Damn none of my friends actually treat my family the way they should be treated, perks of having an Indian friend.
Also the scene where she gets Devi out of trouble is so so real. Because if you have one responsible friend that you parents trust, you could lie the hell to them, get you homie to back you up and it will work. Personal experience. So yeah, Aneesa character resonated with me a lot.
I also like that she wasn’t just a popular 1D Indian girl but she was genuinely cool and actually had proper issues and development where she gets more open to Sherman Oaks and actually kinda properly rebels against Noor, with having Ben as a boyfriend.
I feel like Aneesa has a lot more potential for growth, especially with the relationship with Ms Noor and Aneesa acting as a foil to Nalini and Devi’s. Also, I feel like Aneesa can grow within her social status at school as well and have Devi maturely handle it. Aneesa I feel will really really challenge Devi’s ability to be mature.
7. Eleanor and Fabiola’s plotlines
Okay like actually, major props to Ms Kaling man. This show touches so so many teen issues in one goddamn show. Emotionally manipulative relationships. So SO good. A lot of newer age relationships have a much more subtle and dangerous line of abuse that’s hard to find out. Like honestly it took me a while to see it as well and I realized oh fuck. oh fuck...I see it it’s bad. They really got the essence of Eleanor’s flamboyance matching with Malcom? (is it Malcolm..fuck it it’s Malcolm now) his “suaveness” and traditionally charming tendency. It made sense and it’s very realistic how Eleanor got played like a damn fiddle. I also again feel that the make up was faar to quick but I really appreciate that Eleanor got her own storyline with her step-mom and understanding of relationships instead of the show hyperfocusing on just Devi. I respect that a lot. Petition to get a Eleanor narration episode.
Fabiola’s storyline also was well taken. It’s an interesting added layer to the queer experience and how queerness can be expected to be performative and but really its all about being more of yourself. The idea that queer people don’t owe nobody anything or have to perform an ideal version of queerness and Fabiola struggling with that kinda hit. The part where they talked about her mother learning to support them and being Cricket? Queen/King. Like being trailblazers for the POC community and the LGBTQ+ community having overlapping struggles. Again, I liked that Fabiola was getting more personal screentime and less of her story revolving around Devi’s.
8. Everything else
I liked that there was more Tamil being casually thrown around. Like the Kamala vaadi to hold the suitcase down as they zipped it together was funny and relatable. The accents were really interesting because I promise you, I had no clue what they were saying sometimes. Nalini’s dialogues in Tamil were like immensely difficult to understand, and my Tamil is fluent. This isn’t a criticism... I’m fairly certain the difference is to do with the regional difference. American Tamil and Malaysian + rural Tamil slang are going to have huge accent differences so there’s no surprise that I found Nalini’s Tamil hard to understand.
I’m really really really meh about the Kamala and Manish/Mr Kulkarni thing. I still think she should sort it out with Prasanth maybe but I’m open to seeing where it goes. I might change my mind with it.
This show like any other show had its highs and lows. But I really really do feel that NHIE season 2 managed to truly figure out what the hell it wants to do and developed into a very strong and very entertaining show in terms of representation and diversity. I’m looking forward to season 3.
#nhie netflix#nhie season 2#nhie s2#nhie spoilers#nhie review#never have i ever#never have i ever season 2#never have i ever spoilers#i have a lot of thoughts#bear with me here
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Jeweler Richard Fanbook Short Story #11
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Delicious Recipe
I would soon be at an age where I could envision my 50’s. My only daughter was a college student. I didn’t think of myself as too much of a passionate clerk, but I was fond of my current job at a mass retailer. Said shop was on the line of so-called “luxury supermarkets” in a way, so it had many products that weren’t available at supermarkets in my neighborhood, which meant stocking shelves was a hassle, but it was fun to look around. It had things such as assortments of high-quality cheeses or pouches of cold soup called vichyssoise. Since the shop was within walking distance of one of the largest stations in Tokyo, its clientele was diverse and there were many first-time customers, but on the other hand, that was exactly why it was so easy to remember the face of repeating customers.
“Hmmm...”
The young man glaring at the syrup shelf for a while now, who seemed old enough to be a university student, was actually a regular customer as well. Said regular – who stood out like a sore thumb in this shop, which had an overwhelming elderly customer base – always asked for simplified receipts. The name on them was “Jewelry Etranger”. Must be from a jewelry store. I believed him to be about as old as my daughter.
He was pacing back and forth in front of the shelf. Even though he usually came to buy snacks such as youkan and cookies, he was groaning in front of the cocktail syrup shelf today. Was it for private use instead of an errand? While I was staring at him, our eyes met, and with an apologetic face, he came over to my counter. There were no other customers.
“Hum, excuse me.”
As I welcomed him with a “yes, what might it be?”, he asked for a strange piece of advice.
“I want to make melon soda.”
“Haa.”
“The kind that you can quickly make into cream soda, with vanilla ice cream floating on top...”
“Haa.”
Then wouldn’t it be all right if he just bought the melon-flavored shaved ice syrup and carbonated water over there and mixed them in the appropriate proportions?
Before I could say this, he cut off, a crease rippling between his brows as he furrowed them, “I want it to be tasty. Very tasty.”
“Haa.”
A tasty melon soda. A very tasty one, no less. What kind of melon soda would that be?
I fumbled around my memory for the latest experience I had with a melon soda. The last time I had gone to a fast food was when my daughter was about ten years old. It had already been quite a long time. But I didn’t think there were any revolutionary changes in taste since then. It was carbonated, green and simply sweet. It didn’t have the same variety as tea or coffee. As if pressed with a stamp, melon soda was just melon soda. It was different from those confusing flavored-tea leaves.
He had actually already bought the melon syrup, he told me. But no matter how he changed the proportion of carbonated water, it didn’t have enough of a punch to it.
“I did some research at bars about how different the taste was from the melon sodas that we drink out there, but I kind of couldn’t tell... I think it might be best if I mix it with something. That’s why I’m looking for syrup, hmmm...”
With the exception of standard syrups for shaved ice, all syrups we handled were meant for cocktails. Bottles of vivid colors, in flavors such as apricot and mint, were lined up there. But I didn’t know whether any of them could be the secret ingredient for melon soda. The prospects were dim.
For starters, why had he decided to make something so troublesome by hand? To the point he was thinking of purchasing a bottle of syrup that was by no means cheap.
Of course, I didn’t say such things in front of the customer, but as if seeing through my hesitation, he smiled, as though a bit embarrassed. “No, hum, I have a friend who likes cream soda. She will be coming to the shop I work at one of these days... so I wanted to surprise her. Ehehe,” he laughed, looking happy.
I would guess that I did nothing but blink silently for a moment. It was an astonishingly good motive. I didn’t know what kind of friend she was or what kind of shop she would be visiting, but if nothing else, she seemed to be someone important to him.
If it were me, that would probably become a memory to last a lifetime.
A secret ingredient for a sweet juice. What suddenly crossed my mind was a time when my daughter was still little. A time when she caught a cold. I once made her a sweet juice when she didn’t want to take her medicine. I had a memory of being troubled as she was reluctant to drink water, saying it was painful. This had happened either in September or October, so there was still some leftover shaved ice syrup from the summer in our fridge. Making sugared water using it as colorant apparently gave it a special vibe, so she cheered up and drank it. Was it just sugared water? Hmm, if I wasn’t mistaken, in order for it to feel refreshing in the mouth, I had added—
“Ah, lemon juice.”
“Eh?”
“Mr. Customer, I’m not a bartender or anything, so I might be giving a wrong guess, but...”
Lemon went surprisingly well with sugared water.
As many cocktail recipes had lemon juice in them, I believed it strained the flavor that tended to unilaterally turn into “sweetness”. I didn’t think there was freshly squeezed lemon in the melon sodas of fast food shops, but if he was in pursuit of tastiness, wasn��t it a possibility?
When I told him this, he looked at me with a happy face, bowing his head with a “thank you very much”. And so, when he was about to leave the store without buying anything, he came back as if remembering something, lining up in front of the register and buying a package of specialty cookies from a certain place. When I was about to make the receipt, he told me he didn’t need it today, so I could tell it was his own pocket money.
“Really, thank you so much,” he said with an uplifting face, and this time, he exited the shop for good.
I didn’t think the suggestion I gave him warranted such consideration, and yet, what a proper child he was. His mother certainly must be happy to have a son like that, I thought, but afterward, I changed my mind, as he might surprisingly not be like that at home. My daughter, too, was an unfettered general at home, but the boyfriend that she discreetly brought over at the end of the previous year said some dreadful things about her, such as that she was a “refined young lady”. I thought they wouldn’t last for long, but it seemed they were still dating. It might be that people possessed many sides, just like those stylistic syrup bottles. Like the gemstones sold in jewelry shop. And he had showed me a wonderful, brightly shining side of his.
As a clerk, I wished from the bottom of my heart that his peculiar act of hospitality would go well.
On Thursday morning, while I was extremely busy with stocking items, someone called to me with an “excuse me”. Even though I wished people wouldn’t talk to me at times like these, I couldn’t let it show on my face. When I turned around with a “yes, what might it be?”, my facial expression froze up. A blond, blue-eyed man was standing there. He was such a beautiful man that you’d end up asking yourself if it was okay to be breathing the same air as him. My face stiffened. He was speaking in fluent Japanese.
“Do you have canned cherries?”
“Eh, hah—aah, cherries?”
“Cherries. I need them urgently,” he said with a sour face.
Whatever might be the situation that required such a pretty young man, who looked like he had fallen from Heaven, to purchase canned cherries, it was beyond me. Anyway, with a manner of walking that looked like a frantic penguin, I guided him to the canned fruits corner and bowed with an “it’s this way”. He smiled as if relieved, leaving me floored.
“Much obliged.”
You’d think of it as an ordinary expression, but it was difficult to describe this with any word other than “bombshell”. His smile was like the glowing summer wind. As a result, you’d find yourself wondering about even unnecessary things, such as if this person had lived a life full of hardships. Was he an actor? Could be a model. His beauty was so removed from this transient realm, so I couldn’t think he was someone from the same world as myself. If a person like him were playing the hero in a tragic drama, I had the feeling that the audience would be a bit turned-off. As in, wouldn’t the role of charismatic villain suit him better? After a brief moment of escapism from reality, I came back to my senses and returned to stocking the items.
Once the checkout of the canned cherries was finished at the register, the elegant man left the shop while cursing someone’s carelessness with an “honestly, that heedless guy,” using a word that even a Japanese person seldom would.
At that moment, for some reason, the figure of that regular customer boy suddenly surfaced in my brain. The one who had told me he wanted to make melon soda. The kind that could quickly be made into cream soda, with vanilla ice cream floating on top. Melon-flavored soda aside, if you wanted to make a cream soda, the cherry was the last thing you should forget - that was what I had always been thinking, but unfortunately, he hadn’t showed up in the shop yet ever since then. Well, someone who had been so obsessed with the melon flavor probably wouldn’t do something like forget about the cherry, but there were instances such as the blond Onii-san of today. If he ever showed up again, I would make sure to mention the cherries.
On that day’s afternoon, I finally gave it a thought, and just as I was going home, I went into a family restaurant for the first time in ten years, and while tasting an awkward embarrassment, I ordered a cream soda. I had actually been wanting to drink it all this time ever since I saw him. My first cream soda in a while had the painfully sweet flavor of childhood.
#housekishou richard shi no nazo kantei#housekishou richard#jeweler richard#the case files of jeweler richard#nakata seigi#richard ranashinghe de vulpian#richard ranashinha de vulpian#richard#jr short story collection#tsujimura nanako#yukihiro utako#novel#my translation
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Imagine this: A flower shop in Argentina receives an email. It’s stilted and rough, but the meaning is intact, and it makes sense when the sender sheepishly notes he doesn’t actually speak Spanish and had to run this through google translate. He wants to surprise his boyfriend, and the shopkeeper doesn’t usually work through PayPal but she finds the awkward Spanish endearing and the thought even more so, and after replying with a few questions to understand what these flowers are supposed to say, she prepares an invoice which is promptly paid and promises to include unchanged the little message the man left untranslated.
Oikawa returns home from a grueling day of practice and it’s not five minutes after removing his shoes that there’s a knock at his door, and beyond it is the cheery woman from next door who always has a kind word for the little plants on his balcony. She’s holding a large and frankly gorgeous bouquet, the stems dripping a little as though she’s just pulled them out of water.
“These came for you this afternoon, Tooru. I hope it’s okay I took them in, I didn’t want them to wilt in this heat.”
Oikawa assures her it is and takes them with a smile and thanks, and worries momentarily because who in the hell would be sending him flowers? He’s made it absurdly clear to, well, everyone that he’s taken and quite happy about it, thank you.
They’re really nice flowers though. Not roses, which Oikawa doesn’t like, but something else with large, soft petals in loud colors. He’ll have to look them up, but that can wait, because tucked inside is a little note on creamy cardstock. Not handwritten like he would expect but typed, carefully centered within a thin curling border. Japanese stares back at him - only one person could have sent this - but there’s something else in the little envelope too. An email printout from the tail end of a conversation, half of it clearly conducted through a translator app (Oikawa knows the struggle well). ‘I had to include this because it was very cute,’ reads the handwritten scribble at the bottom. It really is, the way the translated words stumble over themselves the way Iwaizumi does when he’s nervous, bunching together to paint a picture he so rarely lets anyone else see. ‘I want flowers to say proud of him,’ the email says, ‘miss him. Wish I was there. Is there flowers like that? Roses he does not like, something else?’
Oikawa sends a silent thanks to the flower shop for including this email as he buries his face in the petals and inhales deeply. He thinks it’s almost better than the flowers.
#brain I am trying to write my fic#stop giving me ideas for other fics#haikyuu#iwaoi#oikawa tooru#iwaizumi hajime
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Yashahime Translation: Animedia Magazine February 2021 Issue
Please do not repost this translation without my consent! This includes screenshots of any type and amount. If you wish to share this translation, simply link to this post.
For more information regarding the use of my translations, click here.
The Yashahime’s Broadly Smiling Sweets Party
Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha endeavor to slay demons that bother villagers. With each having a unique personality, the three felt disorganized at first, but by showing their cooperation skills by being in sync in battle, they have now grown into a reliable “team”. These girls are still 14-year-olds. During their journey they have silly conversations and admire convenient tools that they brought from the modern era… Even though they do not have heart fluttering episodes, there has certainly been an influx of scenes where one can feel their pure side. Therefore, this time we once again focus on the charms that the girls themselves have instead of as the “demon fighting Yashahimes”. Also, what do the three of them actually think of each other? Including these points of curiosity, we had director Satō Teruo speak.
(Illustration Description)
Gifting treats that Towa brought from the modern era! Moroha seems like she would like anything but Setsuna surprisingly likes candy?
(Character Bios)
The Always Energetic Mood Maker: Moroha
Inuyasha and Kagome’s daughter. She is a bounty hunter who slays demon bounties. When she puts rouge on her lips, she becomes the “Country Destroying Beniyasha” and goes on a rampage.
The Martial Artist Girl Raised in the Reiwa Era: Higurashi Towa
Sesshōmaru’s daughter and Setsuna’s older twin sister. She time traveled 10 years ago and was raised in the modern era. She is currently struggling to take back Setsuna’s sleep in the feudal era.
Satō Teruo Speaks! The Depth of the Three Yashahimes’ Relationship
Cool, Cautious, but Kind: Setsuna
Towa’s younger twin sister. Like Sesshōmaru, she has a calm, collected personality. Due to having her sleep stolen by the Dream Butterfly, she has no memories of her childhood and is unable to sleep.
Going through battles with demons, the relationship among the three has deepened. Now in dangerous situations, their faith is to the point that they can trust their backs to each other. It is just like them to acknowledge each other based on ability rather than blood ties.
They butted heads but they have become comrades that can trust each other.
Setsuna treated Towa coldly as she concerned herself with her as her older sister, but it seems Setsuna has softened up recently…!?
What do they think of each other?
“Hanyō no Yashahime” Interview with the Evangelist of Love, Director Satō Teruo
Focusing the on the birth of Towa and Setsuna in upcoming episode 15
— Please tell us what you think is the charm for Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha each.
For Towa, her little sister, Setsuna’s, existence is absolute in the end. She regretted letting go of her hand when they were kids, and now after overcoming months and years, you can feel her gallantness as she tries to behave like a big sister. While Setsuna has a cool aspect to her like Sesshōmaru, towards Towa’s behavior, she periodically acts affectionate which makes that part of her cute.
Moroha has a part of her that is exactly like Inuyasha, so the animators move her just like him. Then she carries a comedic expression at the front of those movements, so I think that’s what makes her entertaining.
— Among the episodes that have aired thus far, is there anything that left an impression on you?
Towa losing the power of her demonic blood on the “Night of the New Moon” depicted in episode 12. Towa inherited the phenomenon that occurs in half-demons that was depicted in “Inuyasha” and while it didn’t happen in the modern era, it did happen once she returned to the feudal era. I think it was a fun episode, even in the sense that it was familiar to those who know “Inuyasha”. Black haired Towa had an appearance that sort of resembled her mother, but I had character designer, Hishinuma Yoshihito, come up with the ideas on that front.
— It seems Sesshōmaru is heavily involved in the three’s past, so how do you capture his way of life?
I feel that he’s a very smart person. He’ll do whatever he can to get things done and always chooses the best course of action. When you look at that in a partial way, you can’t tell what he’s thinking, but I think everything is his own shortcut. In a sense, I think he’s an earnest character.
— New characters like Kirinmaru and Riku are also of interest.
Kirinmaru ruled over the demons alongside Inuyasha and Sesshōmaru’s father, the “Dog General”, so from a position standpoint, he’s an existence who’s pretty high up. Regarding the settings, I got together with series composition writer Sumisawa-san (Katsuyuki) and we compromised on his character such as how he would interact with the Yashahimes and how he’ll move towards the end.
Currently, Riku is still a mysterious character but his existence is important. His relationship with Towa is also of interest and even if it’s not of a romantic nature, the air (around them) does suggest that they’ll be getting closer so it would be great if you could look forward to what will happen.
— Riku, who is getting closer to Towa, is a character with a unique position that has never been held before.
Rather than the reason as to why he gets close to Towa, you’ll gradually figure out his hidden side. Towa ends up trusting that Riku but there’s a part of him that she can’t hate; essentially, he has an honest side to him so that’s where the drama between them will stem from.
— As they are now, Towa and others seem to be no match for Kirinmaru but what secret methods will make the three of them stronger?
How high can each of them raise their individual latent abilities… I would say. Inuyasha demonstrated his “hidden power” in previous battles so I think it’s also possible for the girls as they’re half-demons. In episode 13, there’s a scene where Miroku seals Setsuna’s demonic blood but unless she becomes able to use that power at will, she will be no match against Kirinmaru’s overwhelming strength. Going forward, the girls will be depicted getting stronger so seeing the three of them grow in battle will be a highlight.
— Lastly, a message for our readers!
The details on why Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha grew up separated from their parents will finally become clear in episode 15. It will flow so that what Sesshōmaru wanted to do and why he acted the way he did will gradually become clear, so I would like everyone to please pay attention to it as one climax.
Valentines Situation Research Team
Sweets Q&A with Satō Teruo
Q. What sweets do the three like?
A. Towa likes apples, so I have a feeling she likes apple type treats like apple pie. Surprisingly, Setsuna might like simple things like ohagi (translator’s note: It’s a Japanese sweet that consists of rice wrapped in sweet bean/azuki paste). Moroha seems like she would like typical things like chocolate.
Q. What if the three of them received Valentines chocolate?
A. Towa would just accept it normally as “food”. The meaning behind it wouldn’t matter. Setsuna would probably slash the person. How to put it, others can’t get close or they won’t reach the point of giving it to her (laughs). Moroha would convert it into money. Hence, the more expensive the chocolate, the better. She may even take what Setsuna didn’t accept and sell it.
Popularity Power Research for Towa
Swooning at her compassion towards the weak.
She cannot stand by when someone is in trouble. She exhibits that big sister trait not just to Setsuna but other people as well. There are times where she will throw herself into danger but that is what makes Towa cool.
Popularity Power Research for Moroha
A master of winning the hearts of others.
Good manners are irrelevant to Moroha. The figure of her doing as she pleases and smiling innocently would make anyone feel as though they were close to her. That is Moroha’s strength. You cannot hate her even when she is a little bit of a cheapskate.
Popularity Power Research for Setsuna
Keeping cool no matter what situation.
Setsuna supports the Yashahime team with her collectedness and fighting strength. She does not really show her emotions, but there are times where she gets lost in thought on sleepless nights. Naiveness that peaks out from within her coolness. That is also Setsuna’s charm.
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Hard | ty (m)
↬ Pairing: sub idol!Taeyong x fem dom idol!Reader | idol!Jaehyun x idol!Reader (if you squint)
↬ Story Genre: smut, pwp, tiny bit of angst, idol!au
↬ Warnings: explicit language, explicit sex scene, improv kinky shit (when the urges call and you ain’t home, you gotta work with what you got lmao)
↬ Word count: 4K
↬ Summary: Jealousy led you to spy on your boyfriend Taeyong at Music Bank. Jealousy also led you to fuck the shit out of him in NCT’s dressing room so everyone could hear who he belonged to.
“So, Jaehyun-ah, who’s your ideal type?”
NCT 127 was in the midst of their ‘Kick it’ comeback, which meant endless promotions. The show currently airing on the TV in your dorm’s living room was a new one called ‘Glossy Gossip’. You didn’t particularly like this show or the nosy host, but it was really popular amongst fangirls and thus NCT 127 was on it. This time though, only Jaehyun and your boyfriend Taeyong had been invited.
“Mmmh, I’d say Y/N from Pixies.”
Jaehyun’s crush on you was no news for you, in fact, even everyone in NCT 127 knew of it. The surprising thing was that he was admitting it on national television right in front of your boyfriend. You would be lying though if you said you didn’t enjoy watching Taeyong trying to hide his jealousy by clenching his jaw.
Before you met your boyfriend, you had made out with Jaehyun at Seulgi’s birthday party. For you, it was just a fling, which was why you convinced Jaehyun not to tell Taeyong. Ruining their team dynamic because of an old fling just wasn’t worth it.
The whole situation changed when Jaehyun decided to out the both of you on a game of truth or dare. He asked you between him and Taeyong who was the better kisser and after assuring your boyfriend that it was a meaningless fling from before the two of you had met, you answered Taeyong.
“I love it! Keeping it in the SM family! She is very beautiful, you two would make a dashing couple!” The MC said, making you immediately cringe at her words.
“What about you Taeyong-ah, who’s your ideal type?”
You thought he was going to say your name, after all, you would definitely say his, but your world dropped as soon as another woman’s name fell off of his lips.
“Lisa,” he said nonchalantly, as he plunged a metaphorical dagger into your heart.
“Ohhh, last time she was here she said you were exactly her type! Can I be invited to your wedding?”
You picked up the remote and immediately turned off the TV, not being willing to hear his response.
How could he say that without an inch of hesitation? How could he say fucking Lisa’s name and not yours? Was he that petty because Jaehyun had said your name? Or were you just that insignificant to him?
That day you ignored all of Taeyong’s messages and calls. You even skipped practice and stayed home so you wouldn’t run the risk of bumping into him at SM. You thought that that would be enough to make him understand that you didn’t want to talk to him but as soon as you heard him knocking at your door you realized how stupid you were to underestimate his persistence.
“Y/N let me in, I know you’re in there.”
“You must be mistaken, Blackpink’s dorm is 100 meters from here,” you yelled back at him in a petty tone.
He stopped knocking, a sigh being the only thing you could hear through the door. “Y/N I’m sorry, I was being petty about the whole Jaehyun situation and him saying your name…”
You opened the door and saw him standing there with these sad puppy eyes that tugged at your heartstrings, but you were still fucking hurt.
“You really fucking hurt me, Yong.”
“Fuck, I know,” he ran in to hug you but you were aching so much that you couldn’t even hug him back. “I regretted it the moment I said it, that’s why I said that thing after.”
“What thing?” You broke off the hug, curiosity getting the best of you.
“You didn’t watch it?”
“I turned off the TV. As you can imagine, I wasn’t exactly eager to watch you talk about your future wedding with Lisa.”
He got closer to you and placed his hand on your cheek wanting to comfort you, “I said: ‘I’m sorry, I meant pizza’.”
There was a brief moment of silence before you broke out laughing.
“You really told her your ideal type was pizza?” It hurt that he said her name, but the fact that he regretted it right away and tried to mend it made you feel a lot better.
“Yes, you should have seen her face.”
The smile on his face was one of relief, a smile so sweet you couldn’t help to stare for, after all, you loved him with all your heart.
Taeyong gave you a soft kiss after a while of just staring, sighing against your lips. “I really am sorry baby, I wish I hadn’t caused you pain like that.”
“It’s fine now,” you leaned into the hand that was caressing your cheek so you could feel his warm touch.
“Will you forgive me?”
“I will.”
You promised Taeyong you would forgive him, but when it came to forgetting it was a whole different story. Especially when you learned that Blackpink was having a comeback and, therefore, going to the same music show programs as NCT 127.
You trusted Taeyong, you did, but the truth of the matter was that Lisa had confessed your boyfriend to be her ideal type, and now with his little slip up on national television you were sure she could get the wrong fucking idea and mess with what was yours. Taking all that into consideration, you decided that you needed to go to Music Bank to spy on them.
You knew your members would never cooperate with your dumb idea, especially your strict leader, so, taking advantage of the fact that your period was due tomorrow you made up some excuse about cramps so you could ‘stay home and rest. It was all a bunch of crap, of course, but something inside of you was telling you that you needed to be there, so you pulled up a favour with your manager and voilà, you were in.
You pulled up your face mask, tugged down your Adidas hat (to try and cover up your identity as much as possible), and went on exploring.
In reality, there weren’t that many places Taeyong could be in but, knowing your boyfriend’s appetite, you’re almost sure he’d be at the cafeteria. So, with that in mind, you turned right and followed the line of hungry idols to the cafeteria.
So far, none of the idols you walked by had recognized you, but in all fairness, none of them were your friends. The true test came when you saw Yuta speaking with Yuto from Pentagon near the entrance of the cafeteria. Yuta saw you practically every day, thus it would be highly likely that he would recognize you. So, you turned your head in the opposite direction, sped up your pace, and prayed to the Lord he wouldn’t recognize you.
What you didn’t expect was, after successfully passing by the two Japanese friends without being recognized and preparing to open the cafeteria doors, going face-first to an exiting Johnny and falling backwards, dropping your hat on the floor in the process.
“Oh, I’m so sor-” he reached for your hand but stopped in surprise as he recognized you, leaving you to stand up on your own. “Y/N? What are you doing here?”
“Y/N?” You heard Yuta also ask behind you.
“Fuck.” You whispered to yourself as you tried to think of an excuse that wouldn’t make you look like a crazy person. “I- Oh! I’m here because Taeyong asked me to bring him something that he forgot,” you smiled, feeling proud of your lie.
“Oh, ok,” he answered, “not like him to forget things though.”
“Yeah, he must be stressed with this whole comeback thing, you know how he is. Is he in the cafeteria?”
“Yeah, he’s grabbing a snack with-”
“No!” You heard Yuta interrupt him, immediately ditching his friend and coming into your conversation with Johnny. “He left 5 minutes ago, don’t you remember Johnny?”
“Oh, yes, right. I’m so worried about the stage performance that I totally forgot.”
Johnny was a terrible liar, one of the reasons why you loved playing poker with him, and one of the reasons why your heart was beating so fast right now. You knew he was lying. You knew they were lying, and if they were lying, that meant that Taeyong was definitely in the cafeteria and probably doing something that you wouldn’t like.
“Let me through,” you passed through Johnny and Yuta and walked right in the cafeteria, immediately spotting Taeyong and Lisa giggling while they filled their stomachs with sandwiches. You should feel better at the fact that they were in the company of Jennie, Mark and Jaehyun and not alone but in reality, you didn’t.
Taeyong had his back to you so he could never have predicted the way in which you were about to storm into their conversation. You marched towards their table, pulled out the empty chair right next to your boyfriend and stared right at Lisa.
“Is this seat taken? Thanks” you sat even before she could answer.
“Oh Y/N!” she interjected as you took off your mask, “I didn’t know you were promoting,” she innocently smiled at you, not having a clue of the shit storm that was about to happen.
In truth, not even the idols knew of your relationship with Taeyong, only your group, NCT and a few SM people but that’s it. So, you couldn’t really blame Lisa for taking advantage of one of the hottest fucking guys on this planet saying on television that he’d be down to fuck her. Of course not, that would be irrational of you, but see, irrational was all you could manage to be right now.
“Can I join in?” You asked Taeyong, his eyes in shock as he looked at you, “it sounds like you were having a very lovely conversation.”
“Baby, it’s nothing I swear,” he immediately said.
“Oh, it’s not?”
“Ok, we need to get back to the dressing room. Let’s go, Jennie,” Lisa got up and left with her bandmate, fully understanding what was happening.
“Fuck, Taeyong, why are you doing this to me?” Tears were pricking at your eyes and you had the full notion that everybody was staring at you right now but you didn’t fucking care.
“Y/N, I wasn’t doing anything we were just talking about our comebacks I swear. Mark and Jaehyun were here the whole time they can tell you,” he desperately looked at his friends.
“Y/N it’s true, everywhere else was full so I asked them if they wanted to sit with us, it’s my fault,” Mark said. You had always loved Mark, you treated him like a baby brother, and you trusted him completely but, even he couldn’t make you feel better about this whole thing.
“Baby, I love you, I only want to be with you, trust me when I tell you this,” Taeyong grabbed your hand to calm you down, but you were so sick of this Lisa situation that you could only think of one thing. You grabbed Taeyong’s hand, pulled him up, and dragged him to his dressing room.
He tried to talk to you on your way there, to calm you down, but you completely ignored him. Talking wasn’t what you needed right now. You needed to make him yours and make you scream your name and no one else’s.
When you reached the dressing room you noticed the unnie that did their makeup sanitizing all the products to use on the members. Luckily, she also did your makeup from time to time and was your friend, so you didn’t feel awkward when you asked her if you could talk to Taeyong alone. She kindly conceded to your request and you followed her to the door, making sure to lock it after she left.
“Y/N?” He slowly got near you, testing the waters. When he moved to touch your cheek you blocked it. You placed your hands on his shoulders and pushed until he sat on the nearest makeup chair.
“First, you say another woman’s name on national television, and then, you decide to make friends with her, behind my back. Do you want to fuck her? I know her dressing room is right next to this one, manager unnie told me. I can go in there and fetch her for you to fuck her, how’s that?”
“No! I only want you, you’re the only one for me, I swear!”
“Then don’t you fucking forget that,” you grabbed him by his sharp jaw and made him look right into your eyes before you straddled him and violently kissed him, like a wild animal marking its territory.
Taeyong’s hands promptly grabbed your ass but you swatted them out. “Do you want me? Do you want it? First, you have to be a good little boy, got it?”
This wasn’t the first time you dominated him. It all started with an innocent question: ‘Baby, do you have any kinks?’. From looking at Taeyong’s stage persona alone one would be miles away from imagining that he liked to be a sub from time to time. Everything about him screamed ‘raw dominating sex’, so to say you were a little surprised when he asked you to dominate him in bed was an understatement but the truth was, you liked it far more than you could ever have imagined. So, since then, dom Y/N was a common occurrence in bed, and she definitely was about to make an appearance at one of Music Bank’s dressing rooms.
“Yes,” you pressed harder on his cock to make him realize he was missing a little something. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll be your good little boy”
“That’s my baby boy,” your hand slid down his chest and abs which were exposed thanks to the revealing outfit he was wearing for the ‘Kick it’ promotions.
“I need you to do something for me baby,” you got up from on top of him, already missing the way his hardening cock was pressing against your centre, and placed your foot on top of his dick, applying a little bit of pressure. “Untie my sneakers and take out the shoelaces.”
While he worked on your shoes you made sure to massage his dick, you needed him to be nice and hard for what you had in store for him. Once he was finished you picked up one of the shoelaces and placed the other on the vanity right next to you. You then moved to his back and tied his hands behind the chair.
“Taeyong, Taeyong...why are you so misbehaved? Why do you have to make me look like a crazy bitch in front of everyone?”
“I-I don’t know ma’am.” You straddled him once again, the pressure on his cock making him choke upon his words.
“You don’t know?” You reached for the other shoelace and slowly ran it over his body, making his nipples perk up. “I think your problem is that you’re way too damn handsome.”
While your left hand moved between you two to cup his hard cock your right one grabbed his bleached hair to expose his neck to your starving mouth. “You drive me fucking crazy Yong.”
“Fuck,” he moaned.
Your hand slipped through his pants and squeezed his cock, wanting to feel him raw and hard. “Is this all for me baby?”
“Yes, just you. I can get hard just by looking at you-” and then your lips were on his, kissing him like nothing else mattered, like you two were the only ones in the world.
The handjob you were giving him and the making out session were getting you so turned on that you started to ride his thigh.
Wanting to make you feel even better, Taeyong flexed his muscles and that extra bit of hardness made you pick up your pace, your kiss now becoming a mix of pants and lip bites. You let go of his cock and grabbed the back of the chair to help you ride his thigh better and in no time you were coming undone on top of him.
“Shit,” you said once you were able to catch your breath.
You looked into his eyes and noticed he was frustrated because you let go of his dick. “Are you frustrated baby boy?”
“Yes,” he whined.
“Then I’m sorry to tell you, but it’s only gonna get worse,” you took off your shirt and bra and started massaging your breasts right in front of his face, just out of his reach. “You want to touch them, baby?”
“I’d love to ma’am,” he proclaimed, his eyes completely fixated on your moves.
“Beg for them.”
“Can I please suck on your tits, they’re so beautiful.”
You raised yourself a bit so your boobs would be at the same level as his mouth and moved forward so he could kiss them. Instantly his skilled mouth picked up one of your nipples with his teeth and tugged on it, making you moan. The combination of him lapping his tongue around your nipple and then sucking on it was starting to rile you up all over again but, as much as you’d like to make him suck on your tits all day you couldn’t waste much time because the rest of the group needed the room to go on stage. So, after letting him play with your other nipple a bit more you got out from on top of him once again, a string of spit connecting your nipple with his mouth, and pulled his pants down, exposing his hard cock to the air.
“Look at that handsome cock, all hard for me.”
“C-can you please touch it ma’am?” his eyes were glazed, lost in lust.
“Since you asked so nicely baby…”
You got on your knees in front of him, grabbed his cock and proceeded to lick him all over, the moans escaping his sweet lips acting as a soundtrack to your dirty acts. You kissed and sucked, just like you were savouring a delicious lollipop.
In truth, you just wanted to make his dick nice and wet for what you had planned next for him, but you loved sucking his cock so much that you totally got lost in it. You knew he was getting close to releasing because his moans were getting more aggressive, so you sped up and once he was about to cum you stopped, leaving him a frustrating mess yet again. He tried to get his dick close to your mouth but it was no use.
“Are you getting irritated, baby?” You teased while you dragged the hard tip of your shoelace on his chest again.
“Fuck, yes.”
“See, this is how you made me feel.” You gave a teasing little suck on the tip of his dick before you took the shoelace and tied it tight at the base of his cock, behind his balls, to act as an impromptu cock ring. “Irritated.”
Taeyong loved overstimulation, and you loved teasing the shit out of him. You also loved the way a cock ring would make his cock extra swollen for you and how it delayed his orgasm, a fact that you were definitely gonna use to punish him.
“Get up baby,” you pulled him up so he wouldn’t fall and made him lean on the vanity table full of makeup. You then turned around and started rubbing your ass on his boner rolling down your leggings and exposing your lacy panties to him.
“How are you so fucking hot?” he hissed.
“Wanna feel how wet I am for you baby?” You started rolling down your panties even before he hummed in response. You grabbed his dick from behind you and started rubbing his tip through your drenched folds.
“Fuck, you’re so wet.”
Suddenly someone knocked on the door, making your heart almost stop.
“Y/N leave our leader alone, we need to get ready for the stage!” Johnny’s voice said from the other side of the door.
“Just 5 more minutes!” You answered.
“Fine, make it quick!”
You turned around and searched the vanity for the scissors the makeup artist used to cut the fake eyelashes, rapidly finding them in her little kit.
“Are you ready to fuck me, baby?” Taeyong had no idea what else you had in store for him, but he sure was about to find out.
“Fuck yes, free my hands please ma’am.”
“I will, but first, call for Lisa.” You were aware that with the scissors in your hand right now you probably looked like a psycho bitch that could cut out his wiener if he didn’t comply, but oh well.
“What? Why?”
“I know she can hear us if we’re loud enough, so you’re gonna call for her and then you’re gonna fuck me like you never have before, are we clear?” You grabbed his dick and spread the bead of precum that was leaking from his tip with your thumb.
“Fuck. LISA!” His eyes were closed in pure bliss as you teased him. “CAN YOU HEAR ME?”
“Taeyong? Yeah, is everything alright?” Her concerned voice sounded from the other side of the wall.
“You’re such a good boy, and good boys deserve treats,” you cut the shoelace that was restraining his hands and in a blink of an eye, he was taking control and bending you over the vanity to fuck you raw.
He didn’t ease into you, he didn’t need to, you were so fucking wet that he slid right into you, your name immediately slipping through his tongue.
“Fuck Taeyong, you’re fucking me so good.” You were sure to moan loud enough so everyone in the area knew what was happening.
“Fuck you feel so tight.”
He was pounding into you like a fucking crazed animal, like he had been starving in a cage and someone came, left a nice juicy steak in front of it and opened the door. In a matter of seconds, you were cumming undone on his cock, your pussy tightening around him even more.
“Oh Taeyong, fuck,” you moaned as he slowed down his pace.
“M-ma’am, I can’t take it anymore, I need to cum. Can you please remove this?” Suddenly he was back to sub Taeyong like he hadn’t just bent you over a table and fucked the shit out of you. That was why you loved him so much.
You slipped out of him, gave him a gentle kiss and led him back to the chair. “I will, but only on conditions: I want the whole floor to hear you scream my name…”
“And the other?”
“I want you to cum inside me.”
He smirked, seemingly happy to comply with your demands. “As you wish.”
You carefully snipped your other shoelace, relief apparent on his features, got on top of him and eased down on his cock all the way to the bottom. Wasting no time, you grabbed onto his shoulders and started fucking him.
“Fuck Y/N you feel so good.”
His praises were like fuel for you, serving to make you go faster and harder. You wanted to make him scream your name. You wanted Lisa to hear how good you made him feel. You, and no one else.
Getting irked by the thought of her, you grabbed onto his jaw to make him look you straight in the eyes. “Tell me who does your cock belong to?”
“Fuck, you Y/N, only you.”
“Then say it. Louder.”
“My cock only belongs to you Y/N, no one else.”
You didn’t need to hear anything else, his confession was enough to make you cum for the third time today. With the combination of your pussy trying to milk him and his edged out dick, Taeyong came inside of you, his seed filling you up.
You were so fucking spent that you immediately fell down onto his chest panting.
“Well, next time I’m the one who’s gonna piss Y/N off.”
For a brief moment, as you snuggled in with your boyfriend, you almost forgot about the world outside, but Johnny’s stupid joke made the both of you break out in laughter.
“Backoff Seo, she’s mine and I’m hers.”
© maliby, 2020. Do not copy or repost without permission.
a/n: hey guys! feels so good to be back to writing filthy smut! this is my first time writing for NCT so fellow NCTzens please accept me <3 Hope you guys like it!
#taeyong smut#nct 127 smut#taeyong#nct 127#nct#nct smut#jaehyun#johnny#yuta#mark lee#taeyong angst#nct scenarios#taeyong scenarios#nct 127 scenarios#nct fic#taeyong fic#nct 127 fic#lee taeyong#taeyong x reader#nct 127 fanfiction#taeyong fanfiction#nct fanfiction
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450 Followers: Meet The Writer
Hello there! We’re back with another Meet The Writer Q&A and it’s our pleasure to introduce a fellow Brazilian fanfic author for our ninth interview:
Blog: @julia-highstorms
Name (or petname): Julia/Ju
Birthday: July 9
Nationality: Brazilian 🇧🇷
Current residency: I'm one of the 12 million people living in São Paulo, Brazil
Languages you speak: Brazilian Portuguese, English and a bit of Japanese
Masterlist: Julia’s choices fanfiction masterlist
1. Is there a meaning behind your url name?
Yes! For those who have been following me for a while, they already know that I used to change my URL according to the Choices character I was stanning at the time but it was a PAIN to fix all my fanfics links 😩 so I decided to finally create an unique URL that I wouldn't get tired of. So I mixed my two surnames together and it (basically) means Highstorms. I loved it 😌
2. When did you start playing Choices? What's the first book you played?
2017 I believe. TRR book 1 was about to debut. YEAH. It was the Freshman Book 1.
3. When did you decide to join Choices fandom?
December 21 2017. ILITW was in its last chapters and I was obsessed with it. I wanted to talk about it with other people, but I didn't know anyone who also played Choices. So I found the fandom on Tumblr and decided to join. I miss all my friends I made back then and we all went nuts with ILITW finale together 😩 Good times
4. Go back to your archive and tell us what was your first post on your Choices blog was about.
My first post was about how I loved ILITW and how everyone was fucked up sjddndossok also a lot of reblogs about MAKE NOAH AN LI 🗣️
5. How long have you been writing fanfiction?
I started writing fanfictions in my senior year of high school, although I attempted to write my own stories when I was younger, around 12-13.
6. Share the first fanfic you wrote with us. Do you still like it or would you change anything about it?
My first fanfic ever is about The Maine, it was my favorite band back then slfjdfodj but my first Choices fanfic is If Jane Was Here (ILITW told by Noah) Chapter 1. I AM SO PROUD OF IT. Of course, there are some things I would change. Like adding even more angst. Having finished writing it way sooner. But I'm super proud of it overall. My first (and so far only) Choices long series I've ever finished. Wow.
7. What are your favorite Choices books to write about?
Definitely Open Heart just because of Bryce Lahela and Rei (my MC). OPH has become a mess, but I love Bryce too much. I loved the It Lives anthology too and enjoyed writing about. And I'm hyped for my upcoming Blades AU series!
8. What is your specialty as a fanfic writer?
Oooh I guess it is rewriting certain scenes or events of the books or thinking about AUs. Since ILITW I have enjoyed doing this. Writing on another character's point of view of the events that have happened (the whole If Jane Was Here series, that is ILITW told by Noah's POV). Or adding some depth to a certain scene (did something like this with Julia, my ILB MC, and Tom's relationship. And with Rei and Bryce's). Or even rewriting the story to fit better with my MC's personality (Rei, OPH MC).
9. What aspect of your writing do you most enjoy to see praised?
When people say they like my MC's, Rei (OPH MC) and Luxia (Blades MC). Before, whenever I played Choices, I didn't care much about the MCs because they're all generic (which makes sense because we're the ones playing it). They're always the happy go lucky friend that tries to fix everyone's problems and every LI is in love with them. Boooooring. Rei was my first MC that I created a whole non-canon personality to her, and that's why she's my baby 🥺 and when people commented that they felt represented by Rei, that she felt more realistic than PB's usual MC, well, that was my peak as a writer lol so they're basically OC's, with their own personalities and temperaments.
10. Do you participate in any writing events or challenges throughout the year? If so, what do you like about them?
I do, but I wish I could participate more often! The prompts are what I like the most, because they give me ideas that I'd have never thought to write about before.
11. Are there any writers (published authors and/or fanfic writers) who influenced your writing?
Meg Cabot was my favorite author growing up and I read some of Sophie Kinsella’s books too, so probably my love for adding a bit of comedy, silly little things in my fanfics came from them. I love Jane Austen too. And last but not least, my flair for angst definitely came from reading Fruits Basket, my favorite manga ever. There’s so much angst in Furuba dodksdishd Takaya Natsuki-sensei really enjoys it. I recommend reading her other manga series, Twinkle Stars, too.
12. What element of writing do you struggle with most?
Actually writing lmao. You know, taking the plot out of my mind and typing it down on Google Docs. Writing is hard, takes too much time and I'm lazy 😩 I wish I could just transfer my ideas to a document and it's done. No need to write, no need to revise, etc. I love the final product, but I hate the process.
13. Do you have any abandoned WIPs? What made you abandon them?
A BUNCH OAJDSKDKD 🤦 Either because my inspiration to write it has faded or because I don't want to spend my whole time writing.
14. You’re applying for the fanfic writer of the year award. What five fanfics do you put in your portfolio?
Oooooh great question! I must put:
If Jane Was Here - Alternative ending (ILITW): this is the only finale I accept sorrynotsorry
Too Little Too Late - Jax x MC (Bloodbound): I wanted to feel hurt. People cried. I loved it sclkdsdjsops
The Loudest One - Bryce x F!MC (Open Heart): I wrote this one for CFWC Kinktober! And honestly, this is the best smut scene I have written. I’m quite proud about it.
Satisfied - Jax x Lily (Bloodbound): it was fun writing for my crack ship! My babies. And the first smut scene I have ever written. I’m glad it was with these two. I still can’t get over the fact that either one of them dies in BB’s finale. I cannot accept skfjdpd
Lullaby - Tyril x Elf!F!MC (Blades): don’t get me wrong, I love Tyril and his goth lordling mysterious elf boy personality and the first time he and MC made out was HOT but… I missed a bit of clousure before, you know? It felt a bit sudden to me, so I wrote a couple of fanfics showing their growing interest and attraction towards one another. This one is a light cute one and I really like it.
15. Do you create original content aside from fanfiction (original stories, art, etc)?
I sometimes draw some fanarts in which you can see by searching for #occasional drawings on my Tumblr.
Do you want to contribute with questions/ideas for the next Meet The Writer Q&A? Send us a message.
Thanks for reading! Reblog to share your appreciation for @julia-highstorms ❤️
#choices fic writers creations#cfwc meet the writer#450 followers#blades fanfic#bloodbound fanfic#it lives in the woods fanfic#open heart fanfic
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I saw that you like CATS the musical. What are your thoughts on the movie?
AAAAH AHHAHA oh man oh boy y'all should BUCKLE IN cuz it's a ride
my simple thoughts? it's entertaining if only because it butchered the stage show so badly in an attempt to idk modernize it? Well, modernization is one part of it I think. The other part I'll go into below lol. I don't necessarily hate some of the more modern renditions of the songs (mostly the ensemble sets like Jellicle Song for Jellicle Cats) but then others are just... so poorly done it's insulting.
I've said this at the end of this whole rant too but I'm gonna put it up here in case people don't (justifiably) wanna see me go on and on about it:
The movie wasn't made for fans of the musical. It was made to make money and I believe they choose, at least partially, to do that through making it the weirdest and worst possible adaptation they could so that people would want to go see the train wreck. Which, really, worked! It was all people could talk about for a good while so like... Goal achieved, I guess.
A MUCH MORE COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS UNDER THE CUT cuz i don't wanna. flood your dash with... this
ALRIGHT SO. Most of my friends know I'm actually a huge fan of new adaptations of things. I love remakes (provided the people making it are coming at it with some form of heart and not just... cash grabbing which is more often the case) I love seeing other peoples interpretations of characters, or changing settings. It's one of the reasons I like American comics so much, getting to see different writers takes is fascinating.
I think musical movies can be wonderful ways to introduce people to a stage show that might have been unavailable to them otherwise! Chicago, for example, is one of the BEST musical to movie adaptations in my opinion. It kept the heart of the show, it's funny and the song numbers are done really well.
There are of course other famous examples, such as Grease or Bye Bye Birdie. Hairspray was also a wonderful take. These are simply off the top of my head, there are of course more.
CATS in particular has a history. If you go through my CATS tag you may see a few posts from @catsnonreplica which posts photos from non broadway productions of CATS! It's a fascinating read and I love, love, love looking at the other interpretations of the characters! CATS is a musical full of fun and wonderful characters if you take the time to see past the ridiculousness haha and the Korean and Japanese runs of CATS especially have some of my favourites.
How does this relate to the movie, I hear you say well. As you might has noticed the movie's interpretations of the characters is........ lackluster at best and downright uncanny valley at best.
CATS is, at its core, a ridiculous thing. I will fully admit that! But it's fun, it's entertaining and if you pay a little attention you can actually get the plot. (Honestly I don't understand when people complain it has no plot but that's a whole other rant for another day)
The movie was... obsessed with this idea of like... semi realism? Like obviously, as a fan, I think they should have leaned into the over the top character designs but instead we got...w ell:
Bombalurina:
Demeter left and Bomba right. Demeter was actually cut! From the movie which is. upsetting lmao.
Macavity is one of the worst offenders for me:
Macavity was... I wish I could know what the hell they were thinking there cuz it's even in his song? Ginger cat??? THAT IS NOT... A GINGER CAT...... but I digress. I would show more examples but I think you get the point.
So. We've butchered the characters appearances. Okay that's fine but what about their personalities?
ALSO BUTCHERED.
There's... there's a lot to unpack here. Just for context: the Jellicle Ball happens once a year and the Jellicle leader chooses a single cat to be reborn into a new life. In the stage play all the cats who are nominated for this honour are on the older side (Jenny-Any-Dots, Bustopher Jones, Skimbleshanks, Gus The Theatre Cat, and eventually Grizzabella) AND are always nominated by another cat. Not themself, unlike the movie where they all seem to nominate themselves.
Jenny-Any-Dots went from a doting grandmother figure who's celebrated for her selfless volunteering and tireless work into a conceited, vain younger cat who is obsessed with fame.
It's an incredibly strange dichotomy. I don't doubt some of it isn't the result of the uh people playing the characters honestly. I do think some of them did the best they could! I don't really blame Jason Derulo, for example, for Tugger. And honestly, Tugger was probably closest to his stage version (while being a trouble maker, he's shown to show Deuteronomy an immense amount of respect)
Speaking of Tugger! This will bring us to one of the biggest grievances with the movie and that is how they handled Mr Mistoffelees.
So... Ugh. So. We have Victoria as the pov character, which imo is like whatever in the grand scheme of things, and then we have Misto who they have decided will be get live interest cuz... Of course. Misto is shown throughout the musical to be awkward, unsure of himself and well. Really, kinda incompetent. Which is Wild cuz in the stage show he might be aloof but he's fairly confident in his powers.
So, Old Deuts gets kidnapped. In the stage show Tugger is the one to bring Misto forward! It's really quite sweet, imo, and I'm showing myself as a Tuggoffelees shipper here, but again Tugger is previously shown to be pretty conceited but then here he is boosting and hyping up Misto to bring Deuteronomy back. My friends and I have lovingly dubbed this the boyfriend hype song.
SOMEHOW. The movie manages to make this, easily, the MOST BORING number in the whole thing. Which, again, WILD. Misto awkwardly stumbles through his whole song, which again is... Boasting of his supreme magical powers which movie Misto clearly. Does not have or believe to have. The song, to me, feels super awkward and unnecessarily drawn out in the movie which sucks cuz it's one of my favourites in the show.
The declawing (heh) of Mr Mistoffelees actually reminds me strongly of how they changed Gaston in the live action Beauty and the Beast movie. He's gone from a beloved figure in the animated movie to someone so disliked in the town that Le Fou has to pay people off to say nice things about him. It's just. Wild character choices were made!!
Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat is probably my favourite in movie non ensemble number. It feels the most... Genuine? Compared to the other nomination songs.
Other problems include but are not limited to:
The inconsistent size scale of the CATS which throws me off constantly.
The weirdly overt sexual overtones added to MANY of the songs (Jenny and Bustopher being the worst)
This is just a personal gripe and opinion but I don't like that they used the UK version of Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. The American version is both better known and tbh way more fun. Teazer's giggle? Adds ten years to my life every time.
Victoria's added solo song, Beautiful Ghosts, while I like the song as a song it doesn't fit the style of message of the musical. In the movie she's singing directly to Grizzabella who's being an outcast for years that she should be grateful she even has memories of being part of the tribe?? What?? But I know they had to add an original song to be able to be nominated for awards in like the Grammys n shit (which is why all musical movies will have an original song, fun fact!!) kinda funny they went to the effort though considering........... I don't think anyone could have genuinely believed CATS 2019 was gonna win anything but golden rhaspberries.
Movie Mr Mistoffelees has made repeated appearances as my sleep paralysis demon
The various cut characters, shout outs to Jemima, Demeter and Jellylorum especially
Bombalurina being a henchman to Macavity rubs me the wrong way
God I've written... So much. You probably get it by now haha. Like I said at the beginning, I try to go into any adaptation with an open mind but... Let's be honest, this movie wasn't marketed to people who are fans of the musical.
It was marketed, and made, to make money. And they choose to do that through, I think, intentionally making the worst possible version ever. Bad press is still press and the more outrageous people said the movie was the more people wanted to go see exactly what kind of train wreck it was.
Which is a disservice to the stage show, honestly, and all the people who've worked on it over the years.
But what can we do, right?
And besides all that, I do... Still own the movie version and I do still rewatch it on occasion. It is entertaining even if it's in a train wreck kind of way. I usually end up watching the 1998 version, then 2019 and then various tour runs that are on YouTube. (I highly recommend the 2016 tour, it's very good)
So in conclusion. It's fun (?) to watch. I enjoy picking things apart and doing analysis (if you couldn't tell!) so like... I don't hate it?
It did what it set out to do, I guess, and I can't fault it for that but. It's not a fair metre with which to judge the stage show imo. But I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, haha.
Jazz hands. I'm more than happy to elaborate or just chat about CATS if anyone wants! I grew up listening to the Broadway CD since I was a toddler so it's been! A very long standing obsession haha. Probably the only other thing on par with CATS is my obsession with Jurassic Park which I've also been a fan of since I was 3 (but that's a whole story in and of itself)
#astrix thoughts#cats the musical#Thanks for the opportunity to talk about one of my hyperfixations anon!#And to anyone who reads this whole mess lmao
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Match-Up #32
Hey, hey, hey! 🌸 I got so excited when I read you were opening matchup requests again!💜 So here I am, my cutie Lorei! 💜
Hello, @venulus ! Muah, me no cutie tho, hmpf.
This is for my IkeSen OC Hayami Haruno. Maybe your amazing and very detailed matchups will help me make up my mind and finally match her with one of the suitors. I’m torn between my top 3 faves and gosh… it’s so hard to choose only one. Poly for life jkjk 🤣🤣
Ahh, I know the struggle of not knowing who to match the OC with, haha. We shall see what I can do!
5 positive qualities:
🌸Assertive
🌸Empathetic
🌸Creative
🌸Mature (tho she can act childish at times)
🌸Smart
Right off the bat, assertive! A quality in general useful, much more so when dealing with people who are rather... Ore-sama? Confident themselves? I suppose they would be attracted to it, and that it would the relationship with them flourish.
Also, it may be simply required to work with some love interests, whose line of work may entail certain not so pleasant encounters.
Second also: I suppose it would prevent a certain relationship from descending into being hm, too one-sided.
Nobunaga (+1)
Mitsuhide (+1)
Hideyoshi (+1)
Masamune (+1)
Shingen (+1)
Emapthy! Something they all need! Well, overall, I think it would be appreciated by all of the suitors. Some would take it as a sign of strength... Although, some, in certain situations, are bound to view it as mere naivete. It may zero-out in some cases.
Nobunaga (+1)
Mitsuhide (+1)
Hideyoshi (+1)
Mitsunari (+1)
Ieyasu (-1)
Masamune (+1)
Shingen (+1)
Creativity... I’d lean towards pushing her a little closer to suitors who could match it and appreciate it.
Nobunaga (+1)
Masamune (+1)
Shingen (+1)
As for maturity... I suppose she could be annoyed by certain reckless behaviours and would probably lean more so towards responsible characters.
Nobunaga (-1)
Mitsuhide (-1)
Hideyoshi (+1)
Masamune (-1)
Kenshin (-1)
Shingen (+1)
Lastly, smart! Let’s bring out the intellectual suitors! The ones who would be up to discussion! The ones who enjoy learning!
Nobunaga (+1)
Mitsunari (+1)
Masamune (+1)
Shingen (+1)
5 negative qualities:
🌸Neglects her needs a bit when focused on something she’s passionate about
🌸Stubborn
🌸Picky eater
🌸Procrastinator
🌸Struggles to share her feelings
...Well, another Mitsu for the club? I suppose her lover should be a bit, hm. A bit better when it comes to taking care of himself.
Mitsuhide (-1)
Hideyoshi (-1)
Mitsunari (-1)
Masamune (+1)
Stubbornness can be an advantage, though! Especially when dealing with some of our love interests...
Nobunaga (+1)
Mitsuhide (+1)
Hideyoshi (+1)
Ieyasu (+1)
Masamune (+1)
Kenshin (+1)
Picky eater? Hmm... I am half-tempted to suggest Masamune, but he would probably be initially distraught over it. As such, let’s perhaps... Look at somebody who would understand that, and somebody who could eat the discarded bits for her? A bit of a walking trashcan, but alas, it is a honourable role to have!
Mitsuhide (+1)
Mitsunari (+1)
Procrastination hits hard... I suppose it could annoy some suitors and could lead to rather heated arguments, sadly.
Hideyoshi (-1)
Ieyasu (-1)
Masamune (-1)
Struggling to open up? Well, if that doesn’t sound familiar!
But wait. I would have to give (-1) to basically all of them, perhaps aside from Kenshin. He, however, has his own emotional issues.
... No points were distributed based on the trait.
1st Summary
Shingen (+5)
Nobunaga (+4)
Masamune (+4)
Mitsuhide (+2)
Hideyoshi (+2)
Mitsunari (+1)
Ieyasu (-1)
5 likes:
🌸Bantering
🌸Food enthusiast (no cooking, just eating)
🌸Teasing (both being a tease, and being teased)
🌸Intriguing and smart people
🌸Speaking her mind
Points distributed for likes:
Nobunaga (+3) - banter, speaking her mind, smart people
Mitsuhide (+3) - as above
Mitsunari (+2) - speaking her mind, smart
Ieyasu (+2) - intriguing, banter
Masamune (+5) - all
Kenshin (+3) - banter, food, intriguing
Shingen (+3) - banter, intriguing, speaking her mind
5 dislikes:
🌸Haughty people
🌸Crowded places
🌸People who constantly seek attention
🌸People who don’t respect her boundaries
🌸People who impose on others
Points distributed for likes:
Nobunaga (-3) - haughty, imposing, disrespectful of boundaries
Mitsuhide (-1) - mixed points for all his schemes, which may involve temporarily disrespecting boundaries, imposing on others, etc.
Masamune (-3) - haughty, may seem like an attention-seeker, at first does not know what boundaries even are
Kenshin (-1) - disrespect of boundaries
2nd Summary
Shingen (+8)
Masamune (+6)
Nobunaga (+4)
Mitsuhide (+4)
Mitsunari (+3)
Hideyoshi (+2)
Kenshin (+2)
Ieyasu (+1)
Only characters with positive value by their names will be considered in the final stages of the match-up.
Relationship dealbreakers:
🌸Being treated as an inferior or weak being
🌸Being physically or verbally abused
🌸Being cheated on
🌸Being viewed as a sex tool/toy
🌸Being slighted/disrespected
🌸An overly possessive/jealous partner
🌸Being deprived of her freedom
🌸Being ordered around
🌸Someone who doesn't want a committed relationship
Nobunaga (+4) - being treated as inferior or weak
Masamune (+6) - does not want a committed relationship (at least initially)
Kenshin (+2) - deprival of freedom (at least initially)
Ieyasu (+1) - being treated as weak
A... A bloodbath occured here.
3 pet peeves:
🌸Someone getting on her case
🌸Being told what to do
🌸Being treated like a child
Mitsuhide (-1) - getting on her case (?)
Hideyoshi (-1) - being told what to do
3 Wild Cards
🌸She’s a polyglot. She speaks Japanese, English, Spanish and Portuguese.
🌸She’s a warlady. In war, the enemies are only hurt/disabled because taking someone’s life is forbidden according to her beliefs.
🌸She’s a hopeless romantic
...You know, we could distribute points for this, but it’s not really going to change anything... This is... I am still recovering from the bloodbath.
Most disliked characters:
🌸Kenshin
🌸Motonari
🌸Kichou
None prevailed!
Final Ranking
Shingen (+8)
Mitsuhide (+3)
Hideyoshi (+1)
Shingen
Confessed first:
Her. He was not certain whether she truly meant it, though. After all, it could have been a scheme.
Makes tea in the morning:
Shingen. He fears she’d forget otherwise.
Hogs blankets at night:
It’s an equal fight. Worst case scenario, he’d make himself into the big spoon and thus, secure necessary supply of heat.
Is the little spoon:
She.
Possible points for conflict:
At times, Shingen chooses to bear too many burdens. It is an old habit of his and she wishes he could learn to rely on her a little more, especially since his lies tend to have no effect on her in the end.
Free time ideas:
Visiting restaurants together, hiking in the mountains of Kai, shopping for books from foreign traders, just lying down in the grass and talking about anything and everything.
Favourite date spot:
The delicious restaurant near his estate. Local produce, always fresh, always yummy! Made with extra dose of love!
A secret they share:
Yuki does not know that Shingen eats anything his lady is not fond of. There are no traces left.
His favourite thing about her:
How tightly she sticks to her ideals, and how efficient she is at defending them. He finds her an irreplaceable debate partner.
His message to her:
“It would be blasphemous to worship any other goddess... You are the only one for me.”
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Yuki Hayashi Birthday Project! 2019 edition
You might not have heard his name, but chances are you heard his music: this amazing Japanese composer is the genius behind the soundtracks for anime like Haikyuu!!, Boku no Hero Academia, Death Parade, Kaze Ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru, Kiznaiver, One Piece Gold, Ballroom e Youkoso, Dive!!, DRAMAtical Murder etc along with many dramas. Hayashi-san really appreciates having people from different countries listen to his music (tweeting in English and, for example, asking how he can make his music more accessible for overseas fans), and he’s always loved it whenever we would come together to wish him a happy birthday (we’ve been doing it for 2 years, and each time he personally thanked the participants in his own way, and I can tell you that he was pretty emotional :). We decided to do it again this year, so if you appreciate wonderful music in your favorite anime/drama, please dedicate just a bit of your time to thank the hardworking person behind it!
We don’t have much time, since his birthday is December 31st, and yet we decided to make a video (if you’re too shy to record it/don’t have an opportunity, don’t just scroll down, please keep reading). You can participate in this project in 2-3 following ways:
— make a video (preferably);
— take a picture (if you are unable to make a video or if you’re too shy for it, for example);
— if you don’t have an opportunity to do either, but you still really want to participate, do contact me, and we’ll try to figure something out.
The pictures will also be a part of the clip, of course.
VIDEO: you have to make a video of yourself (10-15 sec) where you we ask you to speak about Hayashi-san’s music — how would you describe it, what does it make you feel, what it inspires/motivates you to do. Basically, we want to show just how much we appreciate his amazing music. If you have some personal experience with it, that would be absolutely perfect — the more unique your words, the better. You should speak in your NATIVE language, as it’d show how many fans Hayashi-san has from all over the world. Naturally, we will translate your words into Japanese (and add subtitles).
— the video should be 10-15 seconds long (can be shorter, CAN’T be longer — you can bypass the limit if you have a friend/someone who is willing to translate your words into Japanese (or if you can do that yourself — but please do speak your native language anyway));
— horizontal format;
— GOOD QUALITY (480p at least; if you can’t manage that, better take a picture);
— make sure that you can be seen clearly and that the video isn’t too dark;
— SPEAK LOUD AND CLEAR, preferably without background noise (it’s much easier for us to make your video quieter than make background music quieter so that we could hear your voice, so please, please speak louder);
— if you have an opportunity to record this video in a beautiful place, or near a famous spot of your town, that would be awesome (unless it’s too noisy);
— your pets can definitely take part in the video if you want them to, Yuki Hayashi himself loves dogs (but any pets are okay, really);
— you could also make a video near/with your musical instrument and maybe say something about how his music inspires you to play etc;
— you can use things somewhat connected to the anime that Yuki Hayashi composed music for (like a volleyball);
— please do not go anywhere near CDs/Youtube/any other illegal ways of listening to his music that you probably used in your short speech (unless you actually have CDs);
— please refer to the composer politely — Hayashi-san;
— send us a TEXT of what you’re saying along with the video as it will speed up the translation process significantly (the text should be in English if you’re speaking your native language).
PHOTO: you can take a picture of yourself with a piece of paper and write something nice on it (or you can paste something right onto your picture, but keep an eye on the composition). The content should also be about Hayashi-san’s music (described in detail in the video section).
— the picture should also be horizontal;
— please make sure its quality is high enough so we can clearly see&read everything;
— really shy people can take a pic of their pet instead, hide their face behind the piece of paper with their words on it, or draw something (but drawing is the LAST resort in this particular project);
— please also provide us with a TEXT you write/paste on the picture.
ALL PHOTOS AND VIDEOS should be sent to the following email address titled “Yuki Hayashi Birthday Project”: [email protected]
Please do not forget to send us the TEXT of what you’ve said/written along with the media material!
DEADLINE: the main one is December 1st. DEADLIEST DEADLINE is December 20th. This does NOT mean that you can wait all the way until the end of December to do it. Please, please try and understand us. Last time we did a video-project 2 years ago, we received around 80% of the entries between December 18th-28th, and let me tell you, that was hell. We would like to have enough time to edit everything properly and send it to the composer on time. If you can’t make it before the main deadline (December 1st), please let us know (here, on my Twitter or via email) so we know to wait for you.
There’s also a special service available for airheads like me: message me on Tumblr/Twitter or email me, and I will put you on the “kicking list”, meaning I will remind you about the project from time to time until you send me the stuff (because you can simply forget about it in 2 months, trust me, I know).
EXTRA INFO: Here is Hayashi-san’s Instagram. He really loves his doggos, especially his “daughter” Chloe-chan (we often see her on OST covers). He adores it when people draw her~ A while back Hayashi-san used to do rhythmic gymnastics.
I’ll be attending his concert in January, so if you’d like to send him a letter/present, hit me up!
If you have any questions, feel free to hit me up on Tumblr or Twitter! Also, if you’re experienced in making clips and would like to help, please do contact me, as we could use some more help!
Please, do not sit out on this and join us to make this simple, but heartfelt present for our favorite composer. It won’t be much of a trouble for you to participate, but trust me as a person who saw Hayashi-san’s reactions — the impact it makes is huge, and so, so worth it. Let’s connect and show Hayashi-san that his works are truly loved all over the world! :)
We would be really grateful to everyone who participates! ;>
#yuki hayashi#happy birthday yuki hayashi#haikyuu!!#haikyuu#boku no hero academia#my hero academia#kazetsuyo#kaze ga tsuyoku fuiteiru#run with the wind#pokemon#death parade#welcome to the ballroom#ballroom e youkoso#one piece#le cirque de karakuri#karakuri circus#come on guys#please please don't sit out on this one#like i swear the end result is always so worth it#it's so easy to do too#let's make hayashi cry for all the times he made us cry with his music come on
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The Things About Ass Class That I Don’t Like
The handling of cross dressing/feminisation
(this turned a lot longer than I intended actually so I guess I’ll post this on its own for now - there’s a TLDR at the end)
Starting with the most controversial one. Actually, I don’t have the biggest issue with cross dressing itself being in the series. Given the context of Ass Class being the kind of semi serious comedic series it is, and also just... social/trope context. It’s not entirely out of place. But it’s not really my place to state whether cross dressing jokes are okay or not as it is - make no mistake, I’m not trying to argue those kind of jokes are okay in the first place, but it vaguely doesn’t seem out of place to me in this kind of anime.
Two issues.
1) It’s not just a three second gag every now and then. I don’t think it would be as much of an issue in the fandom if, say, the extent of the jokes were the same as that time Korosensei painted Karma’s nails/put him in a heart apron. It’s not as severe, but those are still a form of feminisation. The Nagisa jokes are very drawn out, important parts of episodes in cases.
See the difference between Nagisa exclaiming “you thought I was a girl?!” in the water, vs the entire island arc scene? It would have been a little more okay if the comedy had just stuck to light fun poking.
2) It was evidently decided that cross dressing wasn’t just going to be a joke. Hear me out here, but this actually could have been a great thing. Japanese society as a whole is very uh... by the rules, so Matsui kind of lightly speaking out about, most obviously, the flaws of the education system has always impressed me. Him maybe trying to say crossdressing jokes aren’t the best? Considering what Ass Class is?
What we could have had was an exploration, and a real kind of social statement that ‘hey this trope is kind of bad, actually. You don’t know who it might upset’. And we semi got it? I honestly think the intent - if that was Matsui’s intent is really great. Showing that an innocent joke can really have an affect on a person as they might have a crazy home life nobody knows about.
Ass Class, I’ll put it bluntly, is too short. That’s my explanation for most of these points, actually. Too much was attempted in too little time. Not to mention that Hiromi is kind of cartoonishly evil at points (i.e. knocking out her son and almost burning down the building???), where making her clearly mentally unstable kind of takes away from her abuse, as I see it.
In making Nagisa’s appearance forced, there was a chance for real character depth and commentary. We got it in a way that... yeah, it’s definitely there, but it’s not expanded enough on and kind of pushed aside whenever it’s convenient. He never completely committed to it.
Notably I think the scene most people have an issue with is Nakamura’s apology. This could have been brilliant, an admission that it was wrong. However it was kind of cheapened by immediately dressing Nagisa in a skirt again and trying to sell him to Yuuji. As much as I love Yuuji, it’s very understandable why so many people don’t like that scene. Again, they couldn’t QUITE commit to an actual call out and that’s a shame.
I do think though we also have to remember that this is literally a shounen jump comedy manga with an octopus teacher. It has a lot of heart snuck into it, but it’s not going to be the same as some great socio-political piece of literature.
I also think that it’s not necessarily right to assume that Nagisa didn’t mean it when he said he was okay with Nakamura and Karma doing it. Actually, looking at the DIRECT Japanese, it’s actually a little different to what the official translation says? Looking at the manga, which is the most direct form of Matsui’s words. It’s also WAY less of a scene there, literally just a couple of panels thrown in.
Nagisa specifically says “全然！中村さんやカルマ君にいじられる分には” - in case someone else wants to cross check it. The official English translation is “Not at all! I don’t mind being teased by you and Karma!” And it’s not exactly wrong, to the extent I wouldn’t bother re-translating it. However! A big thing that’s missed out though is the や (ya). It’s basically being translated as “and” here, but it doesn’t mean that in a binary sense. If you’re listing two objects in Japanese, you use ‘to’, ‘ya’ implies there’s other things. Therefore I think I slightly more accurate to meaning translation would have been “I don’t mind being teased by you, Karma, and the others”. It’s not clear who Nagisa actually means with ‘ya’, but I’d assume probably 3E as a group. His friends. I think he picks out Karma specifically since he does it the most beside Nakamura. So I don’t think they were being given specific special permission.
I’m also not sure about claims that he’s just saying it out of pressure. I mean, if that’s your interpretation then I can’t stop you. But my personal opinion is that yeah, he doesn’t mind his friends teasing him really, but he doesn’t want them to go too far with it, or make him act like a girl outside of their setting. I’m not saying that makes teasing after the fact necessarily okay either, though I do think it’s noticeably toned down for sure. I also disagree with the argument that Karma’s this horrible abusive guy for making jokes here and there - doing a lot less than Nakamura in my opinion. I mean, Karma isn’t meant to be a super nice ikemen character, but I don’t think it goes as far as a lot of people think it foes.
I don’t think the general fact that there’s a lot of fem nagisa art and fics in this fandom helps matters. But that’s not exactly a series issue.
Regardless, though, it’s just a missed opportunity. And I think that if Matsui was set on putting it in, he should have gone all the way with it. It’s not like, necessary to the series in anyway. Hiromi could have been abusive enough without the whole gender thing.
On the other hand, I do think it was handled a little better with Kataoka - and to a lesser extent Okuda. She’s meant to be boyish, and it’s a joke at times, but it’s never cruel and she’s not uncomfortable enough for so long that it massively effects the audience. She’s also very clearly struggling more with what it means to be a girl, rather than just physically being one. I do wish we’d have more of a resolution for this, though, since it would have been a very interesting and subtle point.
I don’t think these kind of narrative messages should be right there on the surface, but they’re kind of so deep within ass class I’m never sure if it’s a reach or not.
Anyway TLDR: Ass Class tried to pick off more than it could chew, and the intent of its messages with regards to this subject are kind of confusing.
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Sole Mates🦶❤️🦶 (Bakugou x Reader)
Tip Jar ☕- Not expected but always appreciated💞
This is the interactive story prompt that won by one vote!!!
I’ll try to update this as regularly as the last interactive series, but first I have to find a new poll website because I dont like OpinionStage anymore! So if you have any suggestions hit me up.
Anyway, this chapter wont be one you can vote for, as it is just an introduction, but get ready for some tough, drama-filled decisions later on.
*Side note : ここ= “here” in Japanese (see if you get my reference lol)*
HnM 💕
Part 2
Part 1:
Hey, I dropped off Koko with my mom. You can pick her up at 6, right? I am really, really sorry, but there was something important that came up.
Your face contorted in slight disdain at the bright screen in your hands. You gave a sharp, disapproving sigh.
The clacking of your heels against the darkening city’s stained pavement worked to egg you on in your quick pace as you quickly swiped away from the text message’s notification.
The pager in your pocket continuously beeped on your side, whining for your attention as your neglectful eyes could only concentrate on your hoard of new emails in the device in your hands. The only thing that could break your concentration from your phone screen would be the occasional vibration from your other work phone.
The sounds of the city alongside these factors blended in horrifyingly well to give you the cacophony of your everyday life.
And you knew the beat of this song well. It was practically the only thing you have heard for the past six years: “7 to 5 Lady Boss with a Stressful Homelife” feat. Blistered feet, Unrealistic Deadlines, Overtime on Fridays, and Lizzo.
Even when you weren’t listening to it, it would stick to the corners of your mind and whisper to you, reminding you of it’s presence-- like you were sure to forget anytime soon. Yeah, right.
But that’s okay-- you were on the verge of your “big break” so to speak. The company that you were working under was only a steppingstone to your success. You would soon find yourself with your own the company and metamorphosis from the Lady Boss to the Boss Boss. You would slip your grimey boss a two weeks notice and a “fuck you” to boot. You were so close.
It was an uphill battle for sure, but you had finally reached the curve at the top! You would just have to push through the next few weeks before you could finally see the horizon again.
Too bad you were about to get smacked square in the face and sent hurdling back downhill.
Literally.
A sudden explosion in front of you violently knocked into you and sent you flying off of your feet. You didn’t even have the ability to scream— the air was ruthlessly knocked out of you. As you roughly regained contact with the ground, you tried to steady yourself to no avail as you were thrashed down the scratchy concrete of the sidewalk.
The beat of your everyday life was rudely abrupted by the choir of shrill screams that surrounded you as others were also violently displaced from their everyday routines.
You could hardly even focus on the chaos because damn your head hurt.
You tried to steady your sight on your surroundings, but the pounding in your head and pulsating throbs displaced throughout your body overwhelmed your senses and made it very difficult to focus on much else.
When your eyes could finally refocus, you found a blazing orange light unblur itself in front of you and turn into a raging inferno. You blinked a few times as a sticky substance dripped down your forehead and dared to once again obscure your vision.
That’s when you noticed a small child.
Your heart fell at the sight of his wailing form. These types of scenes only happen in movies, right? As your brain pounded against your skull that is exactly what it felt like-- like you were an observer watching a horror movie. Except you couldn’t cover your eyes at the scary parts.
You observed in absolute terror as a large chunk of debris dropped towards the baby boy’s crying, unsuspecting form, snapping you back into full consciousness.
“Watch out!!” your own maternal instincts immediately numbed your body to any pain that you were going through and sent a jolt of determination into your legs as you sprung up. You sloppily threw yourself over toward the boy to act as a shield for his small frame; however, at the last moment, your saw a large, gloved hand reach out for him at the same time.
“GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE WAY!” You heard a voice screech right before you loudly smacked your face into a hard object. Your cheek throbbed painfully as you fell to the ground again with the boy cradled protectively in your arms.
You looked up to see Ground Zero, a local hero in your prefecture, glaring at you, a red mark fading onto his cheek as well, “Do you have a fucking death wish or something?!” his hands furiously crackled at his sides, “I don’t need goddamnned extras in my way! Quit playing hero and get lost!” You could only blink at his barrage of verbal assaults.
Who the fuck was he talking to?! It certainly wasn’t you!
As your face shriveled in contempt, your eyes flashed over toward the boy in your arms for a moment before your mouth opened to tell arrogant Mr. Zero about his self. You had recently made a pinky promise to stop cursing in front of children, but surely this could be a fair exception.
However instead of the venom coated words you had meant, a shrill shriek flew out of your mouth as a searing pain tore at the bottom of your foot.
You gasped from the sudden intensity and instantly released the young boy from your clutches as your hands jumped down to your leg, tearing your snapped work heels off and casting them aside. You twisted your appendage up to face you and watched in horror as giant, red welts emerged deep from within your skin.
Did you step on something? No. This burns! The explosion must have set something on fire and your dumbass must have danced on the shit.
Fuck.
The pain seemed to be seeping deeper into your body with each agonizing throb. As the fire crawled up your leg, Ground Zero began joining you in your screams,
“WHAT THE FUCK IS ON MY FOOT?!” The idol screeched at you as he angrily ripped his boot off and tried to find the source of his pain. Through teary eyes you watched in horror as your name burned itself onto his sole.
“I DIDN’T DO IT!” you protested, “IT’S ON MINE TOO, ASSHOLE!” you frantically flashed him the searing red letters that were growing on the bottom of your foot as well. They must be his name. Was this some kind of fucked up sequel to “Toy Story” that you hadn’t bothered on seeing?
The two of you then looked to the nervous, little boy who you had both jumped to save, “Oopsie…” he quietly cried, “Please, don’t tell my mommy! She is going to be so mad! I bonded someone again,” his small frame quivered relentlessly as he sobbed.
“BONDED?!” Ground Zero screeched, grabbing the front of the boys shirt and roughly yanking him toward him, “You did this!” he spat as more of a disgusting realization than a question.
You reflexively reached out and smacked the mans hand away from the child, “Get the hell off of him!” you screamed as you held the boy close to you “What the fuck is your problem? He’s just a kid!” You threw all pinky swears out of the window at this point.
The furious man faltered in his angry demeanor for a moment as surprise flashed across his expression, but he quickly regained his persona as he deeply scowled at you. You matched the red-hot fire of his eyes with a glare of your own. You weren’t afraid of him. Superhero or not.
Tch. Yeah. “Hero.”
You couldn't stand “heroes” like him-- people who were so obviously more interested about their own image as a savior than actually caring about the people they saved.
Suddenly the little boy in your arms began wildly fidgeting in your arms, his sudden movements sharply reminding you about the searing damages that you had incurred within the last few minutes.
“Mommy!” He cried out as he freed himself from you and ran off into a nearby woman’s arms.
She frantically welcomed him, “Shiro, baby! Oh my goodness!” she cried out.
Suddenly, you felt a heavy twinge of pain in your head, momentarily blurring your vision as everything began splitting off to form two. Your double vision only worsened as the woman’s fading voice continued to ring out, “Don’t run off like that! You gave me a heart attack.” You tried to blink your vision back to normal again but failed as everything began fading.
“S-shit...” you cursed under your breath before sliding down onto the pavement under you. You finally allowed your eyelids to shut as your body became heavily numb.
“Hey! You better explain what the fuck is wrong with my foot right now, lady!” you heard Ground Zero roar out, “START TALKIN’! What the fuck did he mean by “bonded”?!”
“Oh, my god... Oh my god,” The mother breathed heavily. Her voice became softer, and you couldn't tell if it was because your were slipping into unconsciousness or if she was moving father away. She continued speaking rapidly despite your disoriented confusion, “I-I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she simply replied, “Shiro, we have to go. N-now!”
"NO YOU DON’T! WHERE THE FUCK... do you think... you’re g...”
You heard a final thud before a warm blackness consumed your entire being.
Everything seemed to pause for just a few beats.
When you snapped your eyes open seemingly a moment later, a stark bright white light painfully filled your eyes causing you to abruptly snap them back shut.
What the fuck. Where were you?
You looked down at yourself an noticed a bright green gown. You frowned at the thin fabric. You never really were a fan of green...
Your face crinkled inwards as you absentmindedly toyed with the light fabric before a sudden realization smacked your clouded brain-- Oh! You were in a hospital!
Fuck!
Your memories quickly flooded into your brain after that epiphany and you frantically sat up, searching the plain, white room you were situated with crazed eyes. You weren't really sure what you had originally been searching for but found a wave of relief as you found your main cell phone situated in a nearby counter.
Oh, bless! You couldn’t have prayed for a better hospital visitor!
You quickly flipped the heavy fleece hospital blanket off of your legs and stretched your aching arms over to the device. Your sole companion was heavily cracked but you could still make out most words as you desperately searched through your notifications. You had over a dozen missed texts and calls from one person.
Hey, you never came to pick up Koko, are you okay?
Y/N? If you’re doing overtime, I just wish that you would say so.
Hey, you’re not answering the phone. I’m getting worried.
I have Koko now.
Where are you?!
Suddenly something in you snapped your attention away from your phone. You could feel it moving toward you, whatever it was. It felt as if it was an extension of your own being. Like your arm had wandered off to grab a drink at the shitty hospital cafeteria and was only just now returning to you. Startled, you threw a glance at yourself to check your body but found nothing missing.
The familiar presence finally entered the room, “HEY!” Ground Zero snapped as he roughly kicked the door open.
Startled, you pushed the hem of your gown as far down as possible in a futile attempt to cover you legs, “What do you think you—”
He loudly cut you off, “Something fucking weird is going on. That dumb brat must have fucked with us...” he angrily trailed off as he became deep in thought. Your nerves calmed themselves as you noticed that he was wearing a gown similar to your own before he stormed up to you and shoved his black phone screen in your face.
You confusedly stared at your reflection as he ordered you,“Look at your cheek,” he gruffly commanded. You didn’t have much of a choice as the black mirror was forced into your vision.
That was a nasty fucking bruise. Okay. You looked hideous. Is that what the asshole wanted you to see? You confusedly looked up at him and surprise befell you as you noticed that he was sporting a familiar grey mark on his own cheek.
You must have smacked faces earlier harder than you thought.
“No. we didn’t,” he growled angrily, “You smacked your face against my gauntlet. But I fucking felt it!” He barked.
You rapidly blinked your eyes in surprise. You did not just say that out loud.
The hero seemed to suddenly realize this as well as his angry expression once again dropped alongside his jaw. He seemed to be at a loss for words as his eyes danced across the room—trying to find a viable answer to the weird occurrence.
“What the hell does this all mean? What’s happening?!” you frantically cried out, snapping him out of his confused trance,
“Well we would fucking know if your ass could have stayed awake for a few more seconds,” he resorted back into his ferocity, “That idiot hag up and left with her kid while you were busy sleeping! It fucking knocked me out too! How the hell is this happening?!” Your eyebrows dropped from surprised to anger quicker than a drop of a dime. He was not about to pin all this bullshit on you.
“Well maybe you could have gotten some answers out of her if you weren't such a loud-mouthed dickhole! Who wouldn't run from that?!” you loudly snapped. His anger seemed to grow by ten fold, but just as you noticed a large vein pop out from the side of his angry head, you heard a familiar voice cry out which effectively interrupted the incoming eruption,
“Y/N?! Are you in there?!” you heard someone cry out from the hallway.
What.... what the hell was he doing here? Fuck. This was not the time for him, of all people, to show up. Your eyes widened as you waited for him to burst in.
“I came as soon as the hospital called!” he cried out as he entered the room. Of course, he was still your emergency contact, you idiot. Only you would accidentally leave your baby daddy, your ex as an emergency contact after so long has passed.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! You mentally kicked yourself as you looked into his disgustingly adorable, concerned eyes.
The man ran up to your bedside and threw his hands on top of yours, clutching them for dear life. A wave of emotion jolted your heart at his proximity—emotions that you hadn’t felt in a long time. You had been so damn careful to keep your distance, dammit. For months now you had meticulously planned Koko’s drop off and pick up times so you got a glimpse of him at most. You haven’t even heard his voice in weeks because you had resolved to leave communications to mostly short texts when necessary.
All for naught as his round, green eyes unknowingly dared you to fall in love with him again.
You uncomfortably shifted your gaze away from his longing stare. You could tell that he had been crying, and the fact that it was out of fear for your safety only added to the stiffness in your chest as his trembling voice cried out to you, “God, I am so glad that you're...” he trailed off, finally noticing the other man in the room, “Kacchan?”
Ground Zero, or Kacchan’s, anger hadn’t had the time to die down since you yelled at him a few seconds ago, and he was about ready to explode,
“THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE, DEKU!?” he furiously cried out as he snatched the man away from you. And held a sparkling fist to his face.
You could feel the utter hatred seeping from his mind and it made you sick.
Exposition city😂
Anyway now that that is over with, I can get to the juicy stuff.
Yay! I am so excited
HnM💕
#Bakugou x reader#bakugou imagine#bnha imagine#katsuki bakugo x reader#bnha#mha#bnha imagines#mha imagine#i might edit this to be completely different#mha imagines#my hero academia#boku no hero x reader#boku no hero academia#bakugou katsuki#izuku midoriya#izuku x reader#izuku imagine#bnha x reader#mha x reader#interactive series#sole mates#soulmate#soulmates
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didn’t know me.
pairing. jhs x reader. rating. general! we are family friendly. tags. this is just... cute. there’s a bit of swearing, teasing, mentions of beer, etc. but nothing bad. wc. 2k. beta reader. my beloved @hobi-gif and my wofe @periminkle! 💖
You’ve always been one to take the things you want, pursuing them with a ferocity your mother calls intense. You have no qualms about decorum or bashfulness. To you, if you’re not the first - you’re the last.
You’d done it all your life. First, in kindergarten, when you’d taken the orange blocks because they were your favourite colour. Then, in high school when you’d tried out for three varsity teams and made it onto all of them. More recently, at work, where you’d demanded (read: gently requested) a raise after you’d consistently been covering for your less-than-reliable manager.
If you wanted something, you went for it. There was seldom anything that could stop you - including your soft-spoken best friend.
“I’m gonna do it.”
It being asking the cute guy waiting in line for his number. It being embarrassing your poor best friend who’s got her face hidden behind your shoulder, soft blonde bangs brushing your cheek as she shakes her head in a poor attempt to deter you.
“Don’t make it weird,” she whispers into the collar of your coat, denim rough against your neck.
“You’re the one making it weird!” The hiss is quiet, gentle. More coaxing than reprimand or displeasure. This is a usual occurrence for the two of you.
Whereas you were relentless, unrepentant - rays of sunlight on the hottest day of summer - she was the softest breeze, barely a ruffle of leaves. You complemented and completed each other and had for the better part of your lives. Exactly why you’d opted to take this trip with her and only her; she was the one person who didn’t drive you absolutely insane after a certain number of days together. She filled all the empty spaces of your puzzle, rather than smothered you with her own shape.
Still, you sometimes had disagreements. Now was one of those times.
“What if he doesn’t speak English?”
She’s being far too realistic, of course, in her patented Ivy way. You have to admit - she has a point. The likelihood of this random stranger even understanding you is slim but you figure it doesn’t hurt to ask. When in Rome Okinawa, right?
“Then I’ll use Google translate,” you retort around a mouthful of laughter, the sound buzzing around your teeth. You’d think they’d stung her by how Ivy recoils, grimacing at you in the same instance you advance a step. “Wish me luck!”
She doesn’t. You don’t care.
A hand reaches out, two fingers poised.
And then he - the cute fellow customer with jet black hair and expensive sneakers on - faces you, but not because you’ve spoken. He turns because his companion has caught his attention, jerking his platinum blond head toward you. At least, you think it’s blond. You really can’t tell with how his bucket hat is pulled so low over his ears, the bottom half of his face obscured by a plain black mask.
The words die on your tongue, suddenly stolen by the sheer beauty of cute guy’s face. He’s disarmingly handsome, with high cheekbones and a perfectly upturned nose. His mouth splits - heart-shaped around bright white teeth - and you can’t help the little tumble your heart takes when he smiles. It brushes itself off before falling all over again, nearly launching itself out of your chest and at his feet.
“Hi?” There’s something lyrical about his voice, like summertime and riding in the car with the windows down. It’s also accented - peculiar in a way that’s strangely familiar. You can’t quite place it.
“Hi!” You all but chirp, probably with the dumbest look on your face. You hope your smile offsets it. “Could I have your number?”
Sunshine - because that’s his nickname for now and it feels terribly fitting - blinks at you, head tilting in a way you can only describe as adorable.
“My number?” It’s an echo, in less of a what the fuck way and more of a did-I-hear-you-right way.
You nod once, twice, a hopeful laugh rolling off your tongue. It slots into the spaces between you and settles, strangely nervous. You’re not used to the anxiety that’s thrumming through your veins and causing a ruckus in your ears.
There’s just something about him.
“Yeah, your number?” As if to illustrate your point better, you raise your phone and wave it about, tapping against the back of your fluorescent pink case. “To text you?”
Realisation dawns, passing in pretty rays over his face. “Oh!” For a moment, he seems ready to give it, every inch of his expression wide open.
Then, all at once, it falls - blinds dropping across a window. He seems deep in thought, his gaze jumping to the blond that’s now made himself comfortable at a table a few feet away, back hunched and attention focused solely on the screen of his Samsung. Your stare follows, traipsing the narrow ridge of the other’s shoulders before swivelling back to the ball of light before you.
God, you can’t get over how good looking he is. It’s almost hard to look at him, yet somehow harder to look away.
“You want… my number?”
“If that’s okay,” you murmur, with your most disarming smile. You know it’s a solid effort - you’ve won parents and bosses over with it. Three years of braces had done you good.
He’s seemingly stuck, torn between giving into the strange girl in front of him and something else you have no idea about. You can practically feel Ivy burning a hole into the back of your skull with each moment that passes. She’s definitely going to hold this against you for at least an hour.
“I can have yours?” A sleek iPhone - no case, to your horror - is fished out of his pocket and offered to you. You can’t help but admire his hands, the way his knuckles wrap around the slim device. “I’ll take your, um, number?”
It’s not what you’d expected. Truthfully, a part of you wonders whether this means he’ll take it and never use it. You hope not.
“Sure,” you agree readily, nodding with a delight that feels a little much for a chance meeting in a random mochi donut shop. You try not to dwell on it as you enter your contact details, passing the phone back over with two hands. “Don’t forget to use it!” It’s meant to be flirtatious, friendly without being too forward. You’re unsure if it’s lost on him. You think it might be by how he beams at you, offering nothing in return.
“Gaja.”
The interruption breaks the stillness between you, spoken so quietly you almost miss it. It comes low and swift from the blond that’s joined Sunshine’s side, stealing his attention from you. You try to hide your disappointment, though it’s quickly replaced by wide-eyed wonder.
You don’t mean to stare - you probably look like a fish out of water - but realisation brings with it unflattering expressions. It’s a simple fact of life.
“Kamsahamnida.” Your Korean is rusty - clearly without practice and uncomfortable on your tongue. For not the first time, you wish you’d been more receptive to your parents’ insistence that you learn.
Surprise flips across Sunshine’s face, thrusting his eyebrows to disappear behind his fringe. Then he grins, so big and unreserved that it really is blinding - like staring directly into the sky on a day without clouds. He looks on the edge of speaking - as if all the words are balanced right behind his teeth, ready to spill out with the same abandon as his joy - before Blondie repeats himself, this time with more urgency.
You’re holding them up. Oh god.
With a swiftness usually reserved for the volleyball court, you sidestep, nearly knocking a lurking best friend over in your haste. Your head is bowed - a decidedly strange gesture for you - and you glance up through a curtain of swept bangs and thick lashes. “Mianhaeyo.” You want to say more but you’re fumbling, trying to find the words you’ve never taken the time to properly study. “I… um...”
There’s a hand in yours, squeezing in reassurance. Or maybe frustration. It isn’t always easy to tell with Ivy.
“It was nice to meet you” is what you settle on.
“You too,” Sunshine returns, far too kindly, with that same brilliant smile that has your jaw aching with the intensity of your own. He’s all but ushered out the door, though he turns at the last minute to wave - a sweet thing that makes you laugh. “I will call!”
Waiting isn’t something you do well. As evidenced by your go-getter attitude, your patience tends to run thin. You want things and you want them now - but it seems that isn’t in your cards. Shit hand, you think.
So you sit and you wait and well, you’re not really sitting and waiting. You’re still living your life and enjoying your vacation. You’ve been to the beach - there’s a neat underground tower Ivy had dragged you to that had you gaping at the fish swimming by at eye level - and you’ve had probably too much taco rice than is strictly speaking necessary.
But you haven’t been able to get him out of your head and it’s driving you more than a little crazy on the third day that you haven’t heard from him.
“Are you listening to me?” It’s Ivy, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with two intricately woven bracelets held aloft. They’re both pretty and hardly discernible in their differences. One’s blue and the other is… a slightly darker shade of blue?
“Huh?” Your thoughts are a million miles away, focused solely on the memory of a certain Sunshine boy.
“Which one!” She’s exasperated, flailing her wrists just enough that one trinket whacks you right between the eyes. Okay, so you deserved that.
You’re rubbing at the red mark, turning away in the same instant you speak. “That one.”
“That one?”
“The one on the right!”
She grumbles something that sounds awfully like I hate you but you’re too busy checking your phone to really call her on it. No new messages, save for the three group chats you’re in that absolutely refuse to shut up. You don’t count those.
“A watched pot never boils,” she hums from somewhere behind you, before lapsing into stilted Japanese with the kindly old woman behind the counter.
You know she’s right but that doesn’t change a thing. You check your phone twelve more times between exiting the small jewellery shop and stepping into the karaoke bar. It’s not really that often, you tell yourself. Most millennials sit on their phones for hours! You’re a step above, truly.
Until Airi’s husband is grilling you, poking fun at the fact that you can’t seem to tear yourself away from the device in your hands.
“Don’t forget you’re out,” he teases around the rim of his beer, arm slung comfortably across his wife’s shoulders. “Live in the moment, y’know?”
If you weren’t so close - if they weren’t hosting you at their apartment for this leg of your trip - you’d probably ignore him. As it stands, he’s like an annoying older brother and receives a swift kick to his shin. You grin just as he grimaces, nearly spilling his glass of Sapporo all over his front.
“Hey— you brat!”
“Takes one to know one,” you retort, tongue out and mischief wrapped into every syllable. “Don’t know how you’re married. Didn’t think kids were allowed to.”
Across from you, Airi stifles a snicker and the rest of your group breaks into laughter. You’re in the middle of throwing middle fingers at Sunny when a hand clasps your forearm with an aggression you can’t ignore.
Ivy’s staring at you with eyes the size of saucers, mouth curled into a perfectly shaped ‘O’. A part of you wants to shove a limp fry into it - until you follow the line of her arm, the length of her finger.
Because on the screen - serenading your ragtag group of friends in the terrible voice of Airi’s little brother - is cute-guy-from-donuts. Sunshine.
What the hell?
tag list. @neverthefirstchoice @youwannabelostandnotbefound
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