Things Happening between now and August:

end of grading period (oh boy are the kids in a panic because they missed very formative self discipline/responsibility-building years due to COVID)

academic competition (travel during a school day for the first time, also right before state testing so will I get side-eyed for not being in class?, still need to put in for the sub)

5th wedding anniversary (fancy dinner preparations almost complete- still need to make the nail appt and I think he still needs a tie)

state testing (yes, sure, force me to make the kids jump through a billion hoops because you’re scared about funding; that’s a great way to increase scores)

anniversary getaway weekend (don’t forget only the deposit has been paid; remember to leave enough money aside)

Haircut (routine but like don’t forget it exists with everything else going on)

friends’ wedding (my preparations about half complete but he probably hasn’t decided what he’s wearing at all, and hotel room still needed and I can’t finish my preparations until the other bits are handled)

Broadway show (popular, well-reviewed show that we not super familiar with but are looking forward to)

fun zoo event (alarm already set for ticket release time so they don’t sell out again on us, I think we both have appropriate clothes...)

end of year closeout + curriculum writing (somehow, the checkout process STILL makes me anxious)

Broadway show (that i’ve been DYING to see since it was first announced before COVID and then they had to cancel and now it’s finally coming)

Road Trip (first big road trip on our own, to see if we really want to move to another state, which is big enough, but we had to get our hotels and we still need a new cooler but we should wait for memorial day sales)

Friends Weekend! (2 friends visit for a weekend + all 4 of us meet up with another couple for a Broadway show with box seats! But also should we do an escape room again? what about the art museum- they’re having a special exhibit? or maybe we should see if there’s a glass blowing workshop that weekend...)

An update

Lately I haven't been active and it's spanned much longer than I intended. I originally thought it was the Team Science Zine sucking up all my energy (that zine was awesome but a beast to make) but I now realize that may have been me trying to convince myself of an untrue reality. I've been exhausted all the time with no time for me. I'm also dealing with more personal issues and being in a period of transition uses a lot of spoons. Hopefully I'll resolve some issues through therapy or other means but it's a lot to balance and I don't necessarily have the resources to take on everything. Unfortunately, art and writing has taken a backseat for the time due to everything going on. It is what it is, I hope to create again one day. However, the end of DAC as an account may be nearing.

I know I've been silent/quiet for months. I know I've not finished anything. I have few WIPs but they're limited in development and not something I want to post. Overall the Dear-Alex-Chill account is fading on all fronts and I'm not sure I want it to revive. I know my stuff rarely shows up in places, in part because of the niche I drew myself into, but also a lack of relevancy in what I produce. I honestly haven't touched digital art in a while, I do miss it. However, I'm exhausted constantly or I'm under the perception I'm too busy to do it, carving time is hard right now. I am considering leaving everything up and just sorta orphaning my account, I would never delete my writing and I don't like the prospect of deleting my art, but actively maintaining a social media like that is taxing and not something I can do right now. DAC might turn into an archive of sorts and when I'm ready I'll start anew entirely with a new name and page. Or maybe I'll come back in a while ready to get going again, I'm not sure.

Some of the lack of desire to revive was a slightly toxic culture. When things blew up around me (not really at me though but like Tumblr? Yk) I felt the need to step back and a part of me just never wanted to return. Moots, I love you guys, you're the reason I stayed so long. But sometimes it's hard to want to engage in a community of people that dislike you and that you generally dislike, it's tiresome. Wacky and Sikyu especially, you guys were awesome to talk to (I'm just mentioning you two specifically because I feel really bad for leaving you guys with no context after months of hyper-dumping hcs and ideas. Anyone I've repeatedly dmed or shared my hcs with and talked to, I do miss you all. Everyone is owed an apology but that's a lot of names to write.) It's hard to stay in a place you don't want to be, especially when you feel you're leaving those close to you, but I think it's of my best interest to step away from DT and TtS/RTA.

To my followers, I'm sorry you haven't gotten what you followed for.

To the anons and haters, cool. Have fun with your lives, I believe in karma but don't act on it, it's not my job to enforce karma, that's the universe's job.

To my mutuals/friends, I haven't forgotten you all and I do think about you. It's just hard to reply or I feel bad reaching out after so much silence. Hopefully I'll be chatty again or return to some normalcy later and I'm sorry I didn't tell any of you earlier.

Overall this just serves as a message/wellness check. I'm still here, I still lurk, but I don't really know if I want to stay active. When I decide to either orphan or revive, I'll let you all know in a new post, but for now here's what's been happening. I love y'all.

See ya later.

(yes this was on insta in slides form, Tumblr hates me uploading more than 3 photos at a time)

TamaTum

While going through some old stuff to see what we could get rid of, I happened across an extremely dated reference.

I found a Tamagotchi from the 90s and decided to give it a whirl. I put new batteries in it and have been playing with it during idle time for the last couple of weeks.

I read up on some how-tos for the thing and the tidbits about proper feeding and improper feeding have given me some interesting ideas in regards to this kink. I haven't intentionally done any of the improper ones (yet?) to my Tama 'cuz I want to see how long I can keep it going properly. But…the idea of a pocket-boy or something living inside of a device like this getting sicker and sicker as their owner just constantly spams the 'snack' option as opposed to 'meals' and completely ignores the "medicine" option or whatever. Or a Pocket-Boy-Tama that has their screen flooded with "Meal" icons despite them being over-full to the point of sickness and such. Or some poor pocket-Tama left to starve when the owner's too busy and/or maybe the 'pause' came undone by accident.

I guess this is similar to the whole pocket-boys or tinies concept…but in this case the humanoid creature exists inside of the device. So…device and pixels to the human being, but on their side of the screen they're a "pocket boy"…and they get a little 1x1 inch window to watch 'reality' from when they aren't in suspended animation (pause).

Imagine a little Tama is blissfully happy being cared for by a stellar, responsible caretaker. The owner takes the device with them everywhere, but makes sure to pause the thing (via leaving it on "Set time" when they're too busy for the Tama. The owner is a University student that's had this device almost all their life and they treasure it and got very good at caring for their Tama. As they enter University, they start to become too busy. The device stays paused more often than not, it was muted during the first day of classes and never unmuted, and it's almost constantly clipped to the owner's bag--forgotten as a sentimental accessory rather than a game the owner played diligently. They used to play maybe 5-15 minutes before bed every night and now that they are in University that was one of the first parts of their routine to go. It's fine--the pause function was there. What happens when it's not so fine? What happens to poor Tama when the 'cancel' button gets nudged on accident when the owner puts their bag down upon returning home, or in class--little Tama can watch from inside the device the daily life of their owner…and watches in horror as they're out of suspended animation, but the owner isn't looking at them. Owner's been reading text-book after textbook for hours and hours just feet away from the muted Tama desperately trying to get the owner's attention. Tama's hungry. Tama hopes that the owner will notice before bed and do the 15 min care and feeding of the Tama before bed, but Tama watches with dread as the owner wraps up their studies, switches the light off, and goes straight to the bed--never once even glancing at poor awake Tama hanging on the strap of the bag.

Tama bangs on the screen, desperately screaming for their owner to notice them because the heart metres floating above their heads are getting dangerously low...and if owner sleeps now, they'll wake up to a dead Tama if they care to check on it at all. Poor little Tama's going to have a very long night of starvation ahead of it.

Oh gosh...this idea's taken on a life of their own...maybe TamaTum should be a regular thing on here?

YOU- I'm very sorry for not screaming in your ask box a lot lately, life's been a thing... BUT IM HERE NOW, AND OHMYGOD seems like ohmygrian would also work given recent events ATHERIX IM SCREAMING AND SHAKING YOU WHAT JUST HAPPENED

Ok ok ok, so lore lots of lore where to begin

Let's start off with one of the big ones. WATCHERS?? I am very calmly and politely asking you what the hell is happening with Scott and Jimmy. What. is. happening. Listener lore?? Other equally interesting plot points?? Only time will tell I suppose... I don't like how much power you hold over us atherix 😑 you like the tourment a little too much 😑 but seriously I love it so much you evil writer

Don't you just love it when your mate is brutaly murdered infront of you, then ages later (is it hundereds of years? thousands? i cant remember. lets just say time. Time has passed), you find 2 new mates! Who you love very deeply! Who you would do anything for! Only to learn one of them is constantly tap dancing at deaths door, and the other has now become a God after friggin dying in front of you 🙂 You cradled his dead body in your arms. You uselessly checked for breath even while knowing there was none left. You begged him to come back, to not leave you like she did begged him to LIVE. couldn't save them couldn't save them couldn't save And then he does. he comes back. And he's a watcher now! So you know. There's that. Then he tries to single handedly fight off two harbingers of death while injured, and while using his godly powers for the first time! <3 like an idiot <3 Everything's going great :D

Then scar. Scar. I think him and I need to have a little chat about the whole distracting the warden thing. Brave! Stupid! Suicidal! Luv I don't care if you think you're gonna die at any moment, please have some self preservation <33 if not for your sake, at least for your son?? And your mates?? (On the other hand it was very sweet. Still stupid, but sweet) But wow is he going through it too... nothing like a track record of your loved ones consistently dying for you :) it's something he's definitely not traumatised over :)) it's all completely fine :))) someone get this man some cuddles and emotional support STAT

By the way Tubbo must be having a great time right now 😃

All of their mental and physical health needs some serious help rn

Atherix. ATHERIX. 30 thousand years?? The magic residue?? The unsolved mysteries?? What does scar know... what's going on... what pieces of the puzzle are we missing... or have we completed the puzzle and it's just upside-down? Either way it's pain :D

Also the worldbuilding detail?? The descriptions of the city?? The wardens?? The enchanting?? This all makes me very happy <33

Im sure I've forgotten a LOT about these last 2 chapters, but this is all I got for now... your writing has a grip on me ohmygod

So yeah I'm normal about this. Thank you for consuming my waking hours <33

-🍂

(This is also from chapter 8/9 not the latest chapter <3)

No worry! Real life is Like That sometimes <3 I hope everything's okay! Highkey if it hadn't been a Serious Moment Grian would have said "you're welcome" when Tubbo said "thank god" LMAO A LOT HAPPENED-

So much lore mmm

YEP. WATCHERS. WE'VE FINALLY MADE IT FOLKS, WE'RE HERE, THE WATCHERS ARE HERE. Haha well we've answered Jimmy, haven't gotten into Scott yet but that will come up in the future <3 I on the other hand LOVE the amount of power I hold over y'all :) This is delightful <3 <3 <3

Mmmm Mumbo was born almost 500 years ago so it's been probably a little more than 4.5 centuries <3 But yes. Mmmm history sure does rhyme. "One of them is constantly tap dancing at death's door" I'M SORRY I AM SENT HJKSJKJKFSHJ but yes! Yes! Mmm Mumbo watching yet another mate of his get killed and he has absolutely no power to stop it :) Only this time the mate WAKES UP and now he has to trust the mate who just died and came back to know what he's doing so Mumbo can go help their mate to not die, too! Yay! Oh the trauma haha Mumbo will have nightmares about this day for the rest of his long life :) Also my dear 🍂Autumn 🍂 Anon how in the world did you make this even angstier than it already is <3 (Fun fact I plan to write a tumblr exclusive/aside of that moment from Mumbo's pov <3) Hahaha yeah god or not might not want to fight off the "monster god" who has ended the world who knows how many times <3 But at least they're there to stop him from facing down the Warden like he tried to face down Blondie <3

Oh yes, Scar is certainly going to be getting Talked With by a few different people in the coming days :) Once they've recovered more haha. "Hey Scar what the fuck" <3 But yes! If he's gonna die he's gonna make it matter </3 Try and give them a chance to get away <3 Mind you Grian's little trick didn't actually work, the Warden just fuckin. Mm. But the fire is a surprise tool for the future ;) God yeah :) Scar is so. Mmm trauma. He doesn't want anyone else to die for or because of him </3 He'll get cuddles and emotional support but he might also need a li'l therapy <3

Tubbo is having a GREAT time haha "I said I was FASCINATED by the Warden, I didn't say I wanted to MEET one!!"

Oh yes. Absolutely. They need all the help they can get.

:) Haha chapter ten answers these <3

I love worldbuilding and I really wanted to flesh the Ancient City out so <3 I'm glad you enjoy this~! <3 hjhgjfdj <3

Haha you've summed it up pretty well methinks <3 Thank you much <33 hhghjjhgdj <3

Thank you for reading~! <3

This Kind of Shit

(Sung to the tune of Blame it by Jamie Foxx) "....Blame it on the ADHD got me acting silly, blame it on the a-a-a-a-a-aspergers. Blame it on the a-a-a-a-a-a-aspergers...."

DISCLAIMER: People been telling me that just because I'm into a guy hauling out his huge meaty man-drill to frack for oil in his own twin brother's ass, it means I'm not allowed to criticize other shit. *throws hands up* Excuse me! Last time I checked I'm allowed to do whatever tf I want. It's the internet! I find it offensive that dumb-ass monster-fuckers and abo enthusiasts are allowed to criticize me for enjoying something that is seen as morally reprehensible in the context of it happening irl, and yet I'm not allowed to, say, complain that morbidly obese two-dick werewolf cumflation porn is fucking stupid.

I'm inspired to write some things that a lot of people might find extremely offensive, but I'll put it all under a cut. Read or don't read, idc. First of all, it has been.....what? A week? Two weeks? Every day for however long, the same user keeps 'liking' my old dark!fic doujin post from like a year ago. -Not sure if it's a glitch, or if the person is making a point of 'unliking' the post, then 're-liking' it every single day, but it has been showing up on my activity every day for weeks.

The person doing it doesn't even post Subway Bosses, or they haven't been recently. They're into a Genshin Impact ship that reminds me of Emmet/Volo because of the coloring. I wish I was into it because the Trainwreckshipping tag is slow lately, possibly because a bunch of crybully antis took a joke ship that a handful of people are into and made it into a moral issue. Emmet wanting to fistfight God and getting Volo instead is ABUSE yo! Now the timid people are afraid to post about it for fear of being *gasp* bad people!

Side note: Some of the people who hate trainwreckshipping are the same people who woobify Volo for supposedly being indigenous coded, like similar to Ainu people. Wrong-o. The Diamond and Pearl Clan people are indigenous coded. Volo is more like an immortal remnant of a forgotten people who worshipped gods millennia ago that nobody modern has heard of. The song Temple of Ekur reminds me of him, like he could be all, "I come from the bloodline of Gilgamesh who was seeded on earth by space aliens!" (Gilgamesh because he traveled to the underworld to retrieve a friend who perished in war whose corpse he callously threw over the edge of a wall during the heat of battle. It's a parallel to Volo going to the distortion world to communicate with Giratina).

Anyway, I made that particular post a year ago when Blankshipping was still fun but just starting to get overwhelmed with doggie-dick mutilation, bad-outcome pron. I was kind of excited about that particular doujin because I hadn't been exposed to a lot of unpleasant content yet, so it was an exciting variety, like oooooooo.....a bit on the dark side! Now lets go back to healthy, feel-good posting because it wears on the soul to constantly wallow in misery and negativity. A year later, and blankshipping is still doggie-dicks and mutilation pron. -Stuff like this:

Side note: Dog-fuckers need to play twincest a lot smoother. I like 'fuck my own brother' smut as much as the next degenerate, but I'm not going to write one guy getting sentimental and romantic about the scent of his own brother's ass, especially since it would smell the same as his own ass because identical twins are genetic copies of the same person. That's why I write poly or fluff with a slight touch of incest. If Emmet was to have a/b/o coded undescended testicles and womb rerouted into his bunghole, it would have to be by choice, the way transgender people mutilate their own genitals irl. Dogs are idiots irl though. A male dog will go crazy over the scent of his own sister's heat and pound incest puppies into her in a hot minute.

-Aaaaaaand that is the crux of all this gross crap in fandom. The worst of it is transgender mutilated genital coded from people who glorify transitioning, even though it's outright hubris for a person to take the perfect body god gave them and butcher it so they end up with a wound that constantly smells of death and feces as their body desperately tries to heal something it sees biologically as an aberration...a wound that needs to heal but for some reason, the trans individual chooses to keep it festering. There's a Twitter showing the grotesque consequences of real people who have mutilated themselves and suffer the consequences in the worst way possible. People need to read this to know what is going on with this horrific trend being pushed in the gay community.

I feel bad for them. They've been tricked into doing something to themselves that is a horror beyond comprehension. Many of them will walk around smelling like rotting corpses who shit themselves before death (not to mention they take hormones they have no business taking that give them symptoms of schizophrenia and bipolar). The people doing these surgeries and/or condoning this culture should be punished severely for these science experiments on humans. History will not look kindly on this. What ever happened to 'trans' people just being cross-dressing perverts with normal genitalia? Why was that so wrong?

Anyway, I think a lot of the creepy gross content in fandom lately is probably trans coded, but in the way that doesn't make it look good.

hello :> may i request hcs for zenitsu with a s/o that wrote a song for him <3

♪ thank you！ ♪

Sweet Melody.

prompt ;; he tried so hard, alright? With all this constant food they kept giving Inosuke, or the praises and love they give Tanjiro. Zenitsu wants to be able to feel that kind of treatment, feeling like he deserves something. Needless to say the gift that you have in store is quite literally gonna be music to his ears, something he'll never forget.

type ;; fluff! one-shot.

char. involved ;; zenitsu agatsuma.

song ;;

a/n ;; if i have to be honest, the hardest part about this has to be where i need to choose the song hhh— at first i wanted to do 'keepyousafe', or 'just the way you are', but then decided on this instead. I hope you enjoy! I would personally love to sing this song to Zenitsu 💗.

ZENITSU AGATSUMA is as usual by the bed where him and both Inosuke and Tanjiro currently takes rests in, within the Butterfly Mansion ran by the Insect Hashira, Kocho Shinobu. It was, a normal day, to an extent. They don't have any missions at this particular moment, so Tanjiro had been looking after Nezuko and talking with Shinobu, while Inosuke is probably off training somewhere after Aoi gave him his plate of food, the amount only Inosuke could stomach.

Being a demon slayer yourself, you roam the halls of the mansion, occasionally seeing the three little helpers going back and forth in order to provide each patients with what they need. Aoi even asked if there's anything she can help with, in which you decline, because the reason you're here is to simply meet a certain blonde.

Though, Chuntaro is also due a bit of credit, since he's the one who fetched you to go see Zenitsu. Chirping on about how he hasn't been himself lately, or how he hasn't been screaming or whining as much, even as the little bird constantly tries to bother him. It worries the small creature, which got it to go ask you for help. And frankly, that worries you too.

You favor Zenitsu, that's something everyone knows, apparently except the blonde himself. Everytime he hears the way your heart speeds up when talking to him, he only assumed that it's because of how fast you've been running, or because you're nervous to go on a mission. Never did he thought he was the cause, even though his amazing hearing proved otherwise. And frankly, you're also a bit tired with his oblivious self, and decided to maybe.. kill two birds with one stone?

"(Y-y/n)! Why are you here? A-ARE YOU HURT? DID SOMETHING HAPPENED WHILE YOU WERE OUT?" He panicked, knowing that the place they currently practically live in is also somewhat of a hospital for Demon Slayers, if you're injured, you go to the Butterfly Mansion. It's that simple. So he may or may not have assumed the worst, even as you try to calm him down.

"No, no, no! I'm just here to check on you," The smile on your face was enough to light up Zenitsu's whole mood, as you straighten out and move away strands of his bright yellow hair, all so he could see you clearly. "Ah, alright... Wait- to see me?" The disbelief was evident, and you had to nod in order to convince him that he wasn't just hearing things. "EH? B-BUT- WHY WOULD YOU WANNA SEE ME? Did i do something wrong-? Are you angry?"

He was frantic, and it's not until Chuntaro bit his arm that his worry turned into whines of pain, as he desperately tries to make the small bird let go. "I'm not angry, in fact, i wanted to sing you this song i made! Well, for you. But please excuse me if my voice sounds bad.." You muttered, while Zenitsu had forgotten all about Chuntaro's antics. After all, he's always ready to listen to you, and when you told him that you've wrote him a song? This man's face is tomato red. He's falling from cloud nine all the way to you, little did he know that you feel the same way.

"You wrote a song? FOR ME?! I don't.. but why?" He asked, though immediately fixing himself. "NOT THAT I DON'T LIKE IT. Well, i haven't heard it- but I'm 100% sure I'd love it! Uhm, please, I'd like to hear it." The willpower he had to muster is beyond his capacity, all because he needs to not freak out. "Well, it's a bit sappy but- alright, uhm, here goes."

Can we go where no one else goes?

Can i know what no one else knows?

Can we fall in love in the moonlight?

"WH-" his scream was stopped with Chuntaro's wing practically covering his mouth, telling him to quiet down and listen. Your heart is beating as if it's running a marathon, the small breaths you take to not get nervous, these small things. It tells him that this isn't a prank, it's not something that Inosuke had set up. This is genuine, and Zenitsu almost refused to believe it. This has to be one of his weird dreams, right?

I wanna get lost with you.

I wanna be lost in you, you.

Been waiting a while for you.

I wanna do this right with you, you.

His usual jumpy demeanor almost seemed to have disappeared, but it's more like he doesn't want to interrupt your beautiful voice. He's panicking. Internally. But he'll rather die than to suddenly have you stop singing.

Can we go where no one else goes?

Can i know what no one else knows?

Can we fall in love in the moonlight?

Poetry, and handpicked flowers.

Say you'll meet me at the altar.

Can we fall in love in the moonlight?

Your eyes are somewhere else, somewhere far away from his. And yet, you can feel his gaze your way, focusing on each lyric you have sung, brain racking to know what they mean. To him, this is too good to be true. At least for someone who gets smacked around by girls on the daily.

Moonlight.

I'll be smitten with you on these blue nights.

You'll be holding me until the sunrise.

And the songbirds be waking up.

Zenitsu himself hasn't realized how quiet he's been, it's not until he felt the small weight of Chuntaro on top of his head that he snapped out of the trance your voice and song had put him. But only for a mere few seconds, then you took his breath away again.

Oh, true love.

Kinda hoped this would feel like a romcom.

Been planning this out in my notebook.

Since i was a little child.

And you stopped. You were waiting for maybe screams or something of the sort, but the silence only got you even more nervous. He seemed to have catch on to this, since the blonde headed demon slayer had spoke up. "Is this.. Are you being serious? This isn't like, a joke, right-?" You shook your head, and immediately you feel two arms embracing you in a hug. He darted towards your frame so fast that even Chuntaro almost fell, while you did backwards towards the bed.

Soft sobbing was heard from him, as you held onto him tight in response. He seems to be mumbling something along the lines of "i love you too"s or "I'm so happy", and more. They were quiet though, and you're not sure if it's because he's scared that Aoi would hit him over the head if he's being loud, or if he's too fumbled up to be caring about how loud he is.

But for now, let him pour all that emotion, alright?

today's zenitsu appreciation pic:

Forget Me Not: Part 1

Ushijima Wakatoshi, Sawamura Daichi, Bokuto Kōtarō, Oikawa Tōru, Kuroo Tetsurō - Haikyuu

Synopsis: five years after graduating high school, you're invited to Kiyoko and Tanaka's wedding and find yourself back in Japan. Surrounded by your old classmates and volleyball buddies once again, not only are old friendships rekindled, but old feelings start to resurface as well. Did five years change you and your friends too much, or did it change you all just enough?

Rating: PG13

Warnings: none

Next → Part 2

Being back in Japan filled you with a familiar, comforting feeling that spread throughout your entire body. The country where you had lived most of your life and been educated from kindergarten to high school in brought back childhood memories that you had not thought about in nearly five years.

And now, here you were, attending the wedding of one of your best friends, whom you hadn't seen in way too long, and surrounded by people who shaped your elementary and teenage years.

It wasn't until the reception that you got to actually catch up with your childhood friends, but the ceremony had certainly gotten you thinking. With the beautiful decorations strewn all over the venue and Kiyoko's breathtaking dress—and the way Tanaka teared up after seeing his future wife coming down the aisle—you had begun to wonder, as one who is still single would, if that would ever be you; all dressed to the nines and ready to devote the rest of your life to one person.

The fact that you were deep in thought must have been visible on your face because it wasn't long after that Kiyoko made her way over, gently placing her hand on your shoulder and asking if you were all right.

Startled out of your internal dilemma, you assured her that you were fine and just caught up with your own thoughts. "Sorry," you apologized with a lighthearted chuckle. "I didn't mean to make you worry about me at your wedding."

Taking a seat beside you at the rather empty guest table—more than happy to get off of her feet after Tanaka had been swinging her around the dance floor for hours—Kiyoko sighed contently and brushed off your concern. "Oh, please, make up something if you must." Kiyoko glanced over her shoulder at her new husband, who was currently preoccupied with something Noya was saying to him. "I need a break. If this is any indication of what the rest of my life is going to be like, I'm going to be eternally exhausted."

You laughed, having completely forgotten about what you had been thinking about. "You chose to marry the boy who spent all three years of high school chasing after you and you're surprised that he's over the moon 24/7?" You cocked a brow at her jokingly. "Don't say you weren't warned."

Kiyoko giggled at that and before long you and your best friend were laughing together just like when you were teenagers. It was like nothing had changed; like the two of you had been transported back in time five years.

"In all seriousness though, are you happy?" you asked her as you grabbed for your champagne flute and took a sip. "Because that's all that matters."

A light dusting of pink rose to Kiyoko's cheeks. "I'm ecstatic." She beamed as she looked back at Tanaka again. "I mean . . . that's my husband!"

"Good. I'm happy that you're happy."

Kiyoko nodded in agreement before turning back to you. "So, when is it going to be your turn?"

You thought about asking her what she could possibly be talking about but there was no fooling Kiyoko; she already knew that you knew. Not a week had gone by since you had moved away where she hadn't asked you if you had found yourself a man yet.

You just rolled your eyes. "I would have to be dating someone first in order to start thinking about getting married."

"Okay, so we start at the beginning." Kiyoko started surveying the gorgeous outdoor reception venue as if you didn't already know pretty much everyone who was there.

You scoffed. "I'm sorry, we?"

"You act like I haven't always been invested in your love life." She waved you off, never taking her eyes off of the bustling crowd. "Anyway, back to what I was saying . . . you need someone with a stable career, handsome, and, most importantly, someone that I approve of."

"Yes . . . most importantly." You took another sip of your drink and let your eyes scan the crowd as well, mostly because there wasn't much else for you to do. Eventually, your gaze settled on a table in the back corner where five men sat, engaged in a conversation with one another. It took you a few minutes to make out the face in the dim lighting, but when you did, you were immediately hit with a wave of nostalgia.

There, in a convenient group, as if they had all collectively been waiting for you to spot them, were five of your dearest friends from high school: the captains from the various boys' volleyball teams. Since you had been the captain for the girls' team at one of the rival schools, the six of you had started as acquaintances who bonded over being captains and soon grew into an inseparable friend group. The only person you had been closer to in high school was Kiyoko.

Sawamura Daichi, Ushijima Wakatoshi, Bokuto Kōtarō, Oikawa Tōru, and Kuroo Tetsurō.

They all looked just like how you remembered and yet you couldn't help but notice from afar the ways that they had matured over the past five years. You had been given a brief chance during the ceremony to say hello to them, and during that brief moment, you weren't ashamed to say you would admit they had all grown into handsome young men (not that any of them had been hard on the eyes in high school by any means.)

"Oh, so we're going for the classic 'high school reunion' trope." Kiyoko's face was suddenly right next to yours, startling you once again. "Which one are you looking at?"

Ripping your eyes away from the group of men who had thankfully not noticed your staring, you shook your head. "It's not like that," you sighed.

"Oh, yeah . . . okay." Kiyoko's tone was dripping with sarcasm. "That's fine, you don't have to choose right now. You could probably have whichever one of them you wanted anyway considering they all had a crush on you in high school."

It had been a big mistake to try and take your final gulp of champagne right then. As soon as you had heard what Kiyoko had said, you jolted in surprise and the alcohol went down the wrong way, causing you to begin coughing and sputtering rather loudly and aggressively.

Of course, that was when the five former captains turned to look at you after hearing the commotion. To be fair, a lot of eyes were on you then as you frantically reached for a napkin to dry the champagne that had spurted out of your mouth and Kiyoko patted your back comfortingly.

"Jesus," you managed to choke out. "Warn someone before you say something like that."

Kiyoko grabbed another napkin and began dabbing at the little wet spot on your dress. "You act like you didn't already know."

"I didn't already know."

Kiyoko looked up at you in shock, her hand ceasing all movement. Thankfully, she had pretty much dried your dress completely by then anyway. "What do you mean you didn't know?" she inquired quizzically, almost like she suspected you of lying.

"What do you mean they all had a crush on me?!" You remembered to lower your voice at the last second to avoid screaming such a personal conversation.

"How could you not have known?!" Kiyoko retorted with another question. "It was so obvious!"

"We were all just friends!"

"Just friends?!" A deep voice from behind you interrupted before you or Kiyoko could say another word. "You aren't talking about us, are you?"

You could pick that voice out of a lineup and consequently, your face turned bright red and you swallowed hard. Had he heard what you and Kiyoko had been talking about? How long had he been standing there?

Turning in your chair, you looked up at Kuroo, who was standing behind your chair, and the four other guys standing behind him; all of whom had apparently made their way over after witnessing your struggle with the champagne.

Before you had the chance to work out a suitable answer and attempt to explain away what you and Kiyoko had been discussing, Kiyoko stood from her chair and offered it to Kuroo, motioning for the group to sit down with you at the same time.

"Well, I'll leave you guys so you can all catch up." She smiled wide, throwing you a quick wink when no one else was looking. "I'm sure Tanaka will start searching for me soon anyway. I can only leave his side for so long before he starts causing chaos."

"Looks like the chaos has already started." Oikawa pointed to the head table where Tanaka was pouring liquor straight down Hinata's throat while Noya and Tendou counted the seconds out loud at the top of their lungs.

"Oh, good God." Kiyoko excused herself without another word, rushing across the room to put an end to her husband's antics. The six of you were left chuckling and watching as she snatched the bottle out of his hand and made quick work of reprimanding the men.

Shaking his head, Daichi sat down across from you while the other men took their seats as well. Having been the team captain of Karasuno and on a volleyball team with Tanaka for two years, he knew all too well what it was like to have to keep him in check constantly. "I will never understand how he suckered her into marrying him," he commented.

"Because love." You shrugged. "It makes you do stupid things."

Just then, a waiter came by and placed a fresh glass of champagne in front of each of you. "Ain't that the truth." Kuroo rose his glass and encouraged everyone else to do the same. "To love and other stupid things."

"To love and other stupid things," the remaining five of you repeated before clinking your glasses together and taking a sip of the bubbly alcohol.

Bokuto, who already seemed a little too tipsy for his own good, downed all of his in one go before scooting his chair closer to yours and throwing an arm over your shoulders. "So, tell us, what have you been up to?!" he chirped happily. "We all missed you when you left, you know."

After assuring Bokuto about four or five times that you had missed him as well, you gave the group of eager listeners the short version of what you had been up to since graduation. You explained your boring job and the fact that you played volleyball as often as you could. They asked about other aspects of your life as well, and when the topic of significant others came up, you shyly admitted that you were, indeed, still single.

"Hey, it's not like any of us can judge you for that," Ushijima told you. "None of us have anyone in our lives either."

Oikawa scoffed. "You make it sound like I'm hopeless."

"You are hopeless," Kuroo laughed. "You spent how many years in Brazil and still couldn't find a girl to date you? You moved to Argentina and still nothing. Doesn't that say anything?"

"Leave it to Oikawa to make it all about him," you commented, mindlessly taunting the setter like you used to do all the time when you were younger.

Your jab earned a few amused chuckles from the others and even Oikawa cracked a smile; and just like that, it was like you were back in high school with five of your closest friends, shooting the shit like you always did.

Before you knew it, the six of you were talking, laughing, and drinking the night away. Even Ushijima, who was usually the quiet one of the group, was participating more than you ever remember him doing so. The awkwardness from the first few minutes of interaction and the burning embarrassment of what Kiyoko had told you had melted away so seamlessly that you didn't even notice; suddenly you just found yourself comfortable and feeling rather at home.

Daichi told you about how his job as a cop was going and even shared a few exciting stories—stories that the others had clearly heard many times before if their bored expressions were any indication.

Kuroo talked about his job at the Japan Volleyball Association Sports Promotion Division, which he seemed to be thoroughly enjoying. You were kind of envious of him for managing to stay in the world of volleyball without actually having to keep playing.

Then, of course, Bokuto, Ushijima, and Oikawa discussed what it was like playing for the MSBY Jackals, the Schweiden Alders, and Club Atlético San Juan in Argentina, respectively. Oikawa, much like Daichi had been, was very excited to have someone new to tell his stories to—although his stories were about Argentina and not being a cop.

It made you feel a little sad when you realized just how distant you had grown from your friends and how much of their lives you had missed, but you had to admit that getting to play catch up was extremely entertaining.

After what felt like only twenty minutes or so, but was probably closer to two hours, the reception started winding down and guests started heading home for the night.

Pulled from the happy little bubble the six of you were existing in by the sudden realization that the party had a lot fewer people than you remember, you checked the time and noted that it was rather late.

Daichi, who had been oblivious to the rapidly passing time as well, muttered something about having to work the next day as he reached for his suit jacket that he had draped over the back of his chair at some point and started putting it back on, indicating that he was getting ready to leave.

Bokuto began to pout jokingly and tightened his hold on you, his arm never having left your shoulders the entire time. "You're not going home right away, are you?" he asked you, his wide eyes ready to guilt-trip you into staying longer should he need to. "You're staying in Japan for a while, right?"

"I'll be here for about two weeks or so," you told him, patting his cheek lightly and chuckling when his expression changed on a dime and he smiled wide. "Don't worry, I'm not abandoning you again so soon."

"Then we will have to get together for dinner or drinks or something," Kuroo suggested as he too stood from his seat. "Have you changed your number since high school?"

You shook her head. "Nope, it should be the same one you all have."

"Excellent!" Oikawa cheered. "I've got to head back to Argentina in a week or so as well so we definitely have to get together soon. I have first dibs!"

"Y/N is a person, not the last piece of food," Ushijima huffed. "You can't call dibs."

Oikawa just scoffed. "Sure I can, Toshi. I just did."

"I told you not to call me that."

The two professional volleyball players glared at one another and you wondered how it was possible that they stayed friends for so long, let alone became friends in the first place, considering they were always at each other's throats.

"Okay, you two, don't make me escort one or both of you home in a cop car tonight," Daichi warned. "I'm not in the mood to babysit."

"If I promise to behave, will you promise to use your handcuffs?" Oikawa winked, earning a few hushed chuckles and an obviously disappointed look from Daichi.

"Well, that's my cue to call it a night," Daichi announced as he made his way over to you and pressed a quick kiss to your cheek. "It was lovely seeing you again. I'll call you and we can do dinner sometime, yeah?"

You smiled and nodded. "I'd love to."

With that, Daichi took his leave and the others were soon to follow. Bokuto, who was the last to leave your side, had somehow swindled you into promising to play a volleyball game with him at some point before he bid you goodnight as well and left you to collect your thoughts before catching a cab and heading back to your hotel room.

On your way out, you thanked Kiyoko for inviting you and congratulated her and Tanaka on their marriage. They too insisted on getting together with you once more before you left and you happily agreed, already dreading having to leave your friends again.

As you climbed into your cab that evening, drunker than you had been in a long while and filled to the brim with joyous memories and content feelings after being reunited with so many old friends, you couldn't help but linger on one thought in particular . . .

The fact that all of your former captain friends had grown into handsome men with stable jobs, they were all single, and the startling new discovery that they apparently all had crushes on you in high school.

Did they still feel the same way? Or, more importantly, did you feel the same way?

In the mood | IwaOi

A/N: Thank you to the both of you! I hope you don’t mind me combining your requests! You’ll definitely find a wrecked Iwa with an intense Lee mood in this fic! I hope you enjoy it and thank you once again!

Summary: Iwaizumi thought he wasn’t into tickling anymore, but after seeing Makki and Mattsun having a tickle fight, he discovered that he was, in fact, very much into it.

The squeak of shoes and the sound of balls hitting the floor or smacking against hands, echoed through the whole gym; it did sound like a the whole team was inside, but only the third years were the ones doing some practicing, polishing their movements and shouting advices and quick cheerings at each other… most of the time.

“Makki!” Matsukawa yelped when a ball that his captain had just served to Hanamaki, suddenly landed directly against his face, his eyes teared up as he quickly touched the bridge of his nose, checking for fractures. “Are you out of your mind?!”

Hanamaki shielded himself with his hands, raising them in front of him. “I am sorry! I don’t know what happened! My wrist just twisted!”

“Are you kidding me? This is the second time!” Matsukawa cried, immediately reaching for his lower lip, where a fresh, little cut still bleed a little. “You are dead!”

“Mattsun, Makki! Stop playing around!” Iwaizumi called, totally pissed by the interruption his team mates were causing.

His warning actually worked, Matsukawa stopped half step toward Hanamaki and he turned around to look at Iwaizumi - he was scowling, a raised eyebrow saying ‘dare to move a single finger and I will kick you out of this gym forever.’ Matsukawa only sighed, touching his nose once more.

“Now, now. Everyone calm down,” Oikawa said from the other side of the net; that teasing smile only ticking Iwaizumi’s nerves even more. “Let’s just keep going. I don’t want to stay here forever.” Oikawa rolled the ball between his hands and tossed it down against the floor, it perfectly jumped up, higher than Oikawa’s height. “Hanamaki, this one's for you again!”

Oikawa did one of his distinctive serves and Iwaizumi tried to glue his feet to the floor, instinctively wanting to jump and receive it, but it was directed to Makki one more time and Iwaizumi begged, he begged for Hanamaki to actually hit the damn ba-

“Agh! Okay, that’s it!”

“Oi!”

“Aaah!”

He did hit the ball, but Matsukawa had such bad luck today that it crashed straight to his face and Iwaizumi barely had time to register what was going on until Mattsun was chasing a squeaking Hanamaki all around the gym. Iwaizumi felt a vein popping in his forehead. 

“Hey! Can you st-

“Iwa-chan, focus! Here I go!” 

Iwaizumi gasped, but he quickly pulled himself together and received a toss that made him vibrate to the core, his hands stinging after he hit the ball all the way back to Oikawa’s hands. 

“Good. One mo-

“Aaah! No!” A shriek followed by a soft thud made Iwaizumi's eyebrow twitch. “M-Mattsun, no- ahahahaha!”

“Oi, you two! Could you please-

All words got stuck in his throat as soon as he properly saw what was happening: Matsukawa, straddling Makki's waist, was tickling him mercilessly, his legs pressed against Hanamaki’s body to keep him in place. Iwaizumi widened his eyes and he could feel an unwanted warmth spreading across his cheeks as he stared at Mattsun's hands skillfully clawing his fingers against Makki's ribs.

It seemed that he hit a particularly soft spot because Hanamaki shrieked and hysterical laughter filled the gym.

Iwaizumi shuddered.

“Iwa-chan, all good?”

Iwaizumi gasped and he turned his head to see Oikawa, the setter was staring at him with one raised eyebrow and cocked head and Iwaizumi hoped the warmth against his cheeks was not too obvious. 

“Y-Yeah, all good,” he stuttered, clearing his throat. “We- uh, we can continue.”

But it was impossible to continue with Hanamaki’s constant yelling: ‘please, stop!’, ‘I’ll do anything!’, ‘anywhere but there!’ Iwaizumi couldn’t function properly and it was not only Makki’s begging, but also Mattsun’s teasing: ‘Ho? Did I find a good spot?’, ‘Ah, I didn’t know you are ticklish here’, ‘Oh, it’s right here right? Right here.’

Iwaizumi felt his insides fluttering with each loud laugh and every teasing word. His hands were suddenly too sweaty and the warmth on his face travelled all the way down to his neck and around his ears - he was just not himself.

He didn't even got angry when a ball hit him in the face; his eyes constantly looking over where Mattsun was tickling the life out of Makki. Iwaizumi felt butterflies in his chest and he wanted to kick himself in the head. 

He really thought he had forgotten about this particular trait of his - school, practicing, falling in love with Oikawa, he was just too busy to actually stop and think about that. Besides, he kind of wanted to forget about it; he was a little tired of feeling flustered every time he saw people t-tickling each other. It was ridiculous, but who would’ve said that he’d be into that mood thanks to his best friends! In school! During practice! 

He bit the inside of his cheek. Oh god, he really wanted to be tickled.

“Hajime!” Iwaizumi jumped, his head turning to look at Oikawa. “Is everything alright? You’re doing awful today.”

Iwaizumi frowned; really, his boyfriend had no tact to say things like that. “I’m good. I’m just…” His eyes gravitated toward Makki and Mattsun, the tickling had stopped and Mattsun was helping Makki to get up, his legs were shaking and he was still giggling. “... tired.”

Oikawa hummed. “Then let’s call it a day,” he said, picking up some balls near him. “My parents aren’t home tonight. Wanna crash?” 

Iwaizumi nodded slowly, feeling a little uncomfortable and embarrassed. “Yeah, sure.”

“Good. Makki! Mattsun! Stop playing around and help clean up!”

-

The four separated in the exact same spot they always did since three years ago. Iwaizumi had to force out a smile as they waved goodbye to Makki and Mattsun. He really felt exhausted, and his heart kept skipping little beats when he recalled the events of, barely, one hour ago. He was still feeling flustered and he kind of wanted to scream right in the middle of that same street that he, desperately, needed someone to tickle him out of his mind. 

“You really are distracted today,” Oikawa mumbled, nudging Iwaizumi’s arm with his own. Iwaizumi jumped softly, looking at Oikawa and he couldn’t help but smile sheepishly. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, sorry. I’m good.” He said apologetically, quickly averting his eyes from Oikawa’s before he could see through him.

Oikawa hummed, a playful smile overtaking his lips. “And you’re apologizing. I’m really worried.”

That made Iwaizumi laugh a little and he punched Oikawa in the arm, making him cry out in pain as he also laughed. “So savage, Iwa-chan!” He said, rubbing his arm.

Iwaizumi chuckled. “Shut it, or next it’s your face.”

“So mean!” Oikawa gasped, but he bumped against Iwaizumi, shyly reaching for his hand. Iwaizumi took it, giving it a soft squeeze. 

He probably would forget about everything once they settle down in Oikawa’s house.

-

“Tomorrow is a saturday, so you can stay over and we can watch movies all night,” Oikawa said too excitedly as soon as they were inside his house.

Iwaizumi chuckled, stepping out of his shoes and taking a deep breath. Oikawa’s house really smelled like Oikawa’s skin and it made Iwaizumi felt some kind of warmth inside his chest that almost made him forget about the terrible need he had within his heart. 

He sighed, stretching up to help clear his mind a little.

“We can do many other things,” Oikawa said, stealing Iwaizumi’s backpack from his shoulder and tossing it aside with his own. “Like playing a board game.”

“You are terrible at board games,” Iwaizumi said, smiling as Tooru wrapped an arm around his shoulders, guiding him toward the living room. 

“So mean! We can still play even if I’m bad at it, but I’m not!” Iwaizumi laughed, plopping into the couch, Oikawa right beside him. “We can also eat the whole fridge if we want to, we can go for a late night walk… Oh! And I can also tickle you until you are satisfied.”

Iwaizumi tensed up and his head quickly turned around to look at Oikawa. “H-Huh?”

“So I was right,” Oikawa said and Iwaizumi was not able to react before he was pushed back against the couch cushions, Oikawa straddling his waist. “I did notice when we were at the gym,” Oikawa started to explain, gathering Iwaizumi’s wrists in one of his colossal hands and pinning them above his head. Iwaizumi gasped, arching his back off the sofa momentarily and softly pulling at his trapped hands.  

“T-Tooru, what are you-

"You were looking at them very intently,” Oikawa continued. “Makki and Mattsun, I mean. When they were having that tickle fight.” Iwaizumi’s belly did a flip when Oikawa said ‘tickle’. “And your expression right now - so you still like being tickled, huh?”

Iwaizumi swallowed thickly. He did notice. Of course he did notice! There was no way Oikawa Tooru wouldn’t notice it! He had known about this since they were very young, (much to Iwaizumi’s embarrassment), but he thought Oikawa had forgotten about it, too. He really knew how to read Iwaizumi and that made him feel so vulnerable and exposed. 

He really wanted to say something, his mouth opening and closing over and over, but no words came out from his lips. 

Oikawa was smiling down at him and he couldn’t tell what that smile meant. 

“So Mattsun and Makki really triggered it out of you, hmm?” He asked and Iwaizumi flinched and gasped when Oikawa’s free hand was suddenly latching to his side. “Now that I think about it, you haven't gifted me with your laughter in a while, Iwa-chan. Shall we change that?"

“O-Oikawa, hold on. I- I don’t know what- ah! Wait! Wahahahait!”

There was an explosion of butterflies in his tummy when Oikawa's hand started to squeeze up and down his side. The electrifying feeling making his skin cover with goosebumps as he arched and squirmed, not away, but right into Oikawa’s hand, looking for more of that maddening sensation.

Oikawa hummed and Iwaizumi could hear his thought: ‘So he really wanted it’, and Iwaizumi wanted to disappear, but he also so desperately wanted to enjoy the feeling for a little longer. 

“Wait for what, Iwa-chan?” Oikawa teased. “Are you going to tell me where are you the most ticklish?”

It’s not like he didn’t know, but that teasing was enough to have Iwaizumi feeling himself blushing brightly as he shook his head, his eyes tight shut as growly giggles left his mouth. “S-Staha- Stop! Thi- Thihis… is n-noahat-!” He could barely speak through his clenched teeth.

“Hm? Why are you trying to hold back?” Oikawa asked as he squeezed a certain spot near Iwaizumi’s waist that made him squeak and bite on the inside of his cheeks. “Iwa-chan, I thought you enjoyed this. Should I stop?” he started to slow down and Iwaizumi gasped.

“No! I- haa! Ahahaha!” Iwaizumi let out bright, loud barks of laughter when Oikawa reached for one of his armpits, scribbling against his shirt that offered little to no protection to the tickle spot. 

“There we go! I wanted to torture you a little more before tickling you here, but you are so stubborn!" Iwaizumi shook his head, the tickling in his exposed underarm making him arch his back off the couch as much as he was allowed with Oikawa straddling him.

"You really like this spot huh? Look how happy you look! What about here? Is it just as ticklish?" Oikawa asked and Iwazumi squeaked when he felt his other armpit under attack 

Oikawa jumped from underam to underarm, scribbling and then vibrating his fingertips right in the center, knowing that Iwaizumi was really ticklish there - meanwhile Hajime cackled, his head shaking back and forth as he weakly pulled at his trapped arms, jumping everytime Oikawa tickle a super sensitive spot. 

Oikawa used his middle finger to poke all around Iwaizumi's armpit and Hajime giggled hysterically, his body reacting on its own, flinching to the side even thought Iwaizumi wanted to arch against that evil finger. 

Oikawa laughed, "what's so funny, Hajime? Does it tickle that much? I'm only poking you!" He teased, as he moved the poking lower to the hollow of Iwaizumi's underarm. 

"T-Tohohohoru! N-Nahahaha!" 

Iwaizumi couldn't stop giggling like crazy because having his arms pinned up just made him feel so nervous and tingly - but the feeling of those playful and quick pokes was just too ticklish and fun; his insides were fluttering as a permanent blush covered his cheeks. 

"S-Stahahap teheheHAHAHA!" He squeaked, jumping away when Oikawa poked a spot too close to his ribs. 

Oikawa beamed. "What was that? Oh! Now I remember!" He said placing his hand in that tender spot between Iwaizumi's ribs and armpit, Hajime shuddered, shaking his head softly.  "The other day I actually saw Mattsun tickling this spot on Makki and it made him lose his mind!"

"N-Nohoho, plehehehease!" Iwaizumi whimpered, his chest fluttering with excitement, knowing full well that that spot is actually a very nice spot of his, too. 

"Right here, he just... squeezed like this- oh! So you're also ticklish there!"

Iwaizumi shrieked and laughter bubbled out of his lips, his back arching again as he kicked his legs, his heels digging into the couch. He could barely hear Oikawa's laughs over his own, the soft, but gentle squeezes in that sensitive muscle making him feel like his whole body was vibrating. 

"Plehehehease! Pl-plehehease!" 

"Please, please, what, Iwa-chan? You have to speak properly!" Oikawa teased playfully. He stopped the playful tickling over that spot, but Hajime didn't even have the chance to catch his breath before he snorted when Oikawa suddenly moved to the same spot but on his other side.

"Oh goodness, that was so cute! Can you do it again?" Oikawa asked, his face bright like a child with a new toy. 

Iwaizumi shook his head, his cheeks turning even more redder as he felt himself getting weaker and weaker the more Oikawa tickled him, and he was barely at his ribs! He knew Oikawa wouldn't stop there, he'd definitely continue until he reached that spot that just put Iwaizumi in some kind of tickle subspace. 

His heart skipped a beat just at the thought of it. 

After a few minutes of endless squeaks and loud laughs, Oikawa finally moved down to properly tickle Iwaizumi's ribcage, which was a little less ticklish than his armpits, but still too sensitive to allow him to form coherent words between his loud laughter. 

"G-Gahahahaha! N-nohohoho!"

"Yes, you keep saying 'no' and 'please', but don't think you can fool me." Iwaizumi knew he could never fool Oikawa. "You haven't told me to stop not even once, Iwa-chan. So I will continue until you wet your pants," Oikawa promised with a wide smile.

"It's-ihihihit's tihihihicklish!" 

Oikawa fondly rolled his eyes. "Well, yes, that's the whole point! Now, stop squirming so much, I have to count your ribs, Iwa-chan. I think a ball hit you around here earlier and I don't want you to have a broken rib."

Iwaizumi gasped between his laughter. "No! I dohohon't! N-Nahahaha, plehehehease!"

"One..." Oikawa did a long pause as his finger playfully tickled the highest of Iwaizumi's ribs until he made sure to use every possible technique against the bone, Iwaizumi was laugh wholeheartedly. "Two..."

"My gahahahahad! Plehehehease!"

"Stop moving, I'm losing count! Do you want me to start over?!" Iwaizumi shook his head no. "Oh, you have to stay really still because I know that this set of ribs right here - oh yes, right there. They're super sensitive, aren't they?" 

Iwaizumi shrieked when soft fingers dug and vibrated against those certain ribs on his left side that were just so painfully ticklish. Goosebumps rose on his skin - he felt the muscles of his ribs twitching at the ticklish touch. It felt amazing, but it also tickled too bad! 

"And I know they're ticklish on the other side too~" Oikawa sang, moving to claw at those same ribs on Iwaizumi's other side. 

Iwaizumi cackled. "TohohoHOHORU! N-nahahat thehehere!" He begged, mostly because his right mind told him too, but he didn't exactly want it to stop just yet.

Oikawa gasped, not stopping at all. "Not here? Then where? Your stomach?"

Iwaizumi nodded, his laughter getting a bit wheezy after all the forced laughter. 

"Your stomach is not even that ticklish, Iwa-chan!" He whined, but he actually moved to tickle Iwaizumi's belly. 

Iwaizumi nodded, his laughter slowly dying down as Tooru vibrated his finger against the tight muscles of his tummy - he really wasn't that ticklish there, but he still giggled uncontrollably, tears of laughter clinging to his lashes and nose getting a bit runny after laughing so much. 

"Oh my gohohohahahad! You ahahahre so cruhuhuel!" He giggled out, trying to hide his flushed face against the side of his arm. 

Oikawa laughed, "who? Me? But Iwa-chan, I haven't even tickled you in your weakest spot! You don't know how cruel I can be!"

"Oh n-nohohoHAHAhaha!" A squeak surprised him when he felt Oikawa's fingers wiggling into his bellybutton, his nose crinckled at the sensation and he shook his hips a little. 

"What a cute dance."

"Stohohop thahahat!"

"What? So you don't want me to tickle you here anymore either?! Jeez, Iwa-chan!" Iwaizumi squeaked when Oikawa suddenly grabbed his wrists and tucked his hands under his knees, pinning him there. "So you're basically begging me to tickle you there, right?"

"No! Nohohoho! Anywhehehere but thehehere! Eek!" Iwaizumi squealed when Oikawa, after he made sure Iwaizumi's hands were properly pinned under his knees, reached down to pull at Iwaizumi's pants, exposing those sharp and so ticklish hipbones. 

He also pulled his shirt up, revealing up to his navel.

"Yes, yes, yes, 'anywhere but there'," Oikawa mocked, "but when I was tickling your ribs you were saying 'not there, not there', so you can't use that excuse anymore. Here I go."

"No! Nonono, w-wahahait, I- AHAHAHA!" His entire body bucked at the sudden squeeze attack on both hips before he started to squirm as much as his strength allowed him. Wild, loud and unrestrained laughter poured out of him non-stop. 

"Not there! Nahahat thehehere!" Iwaizumi pleaded. 

"I told you that's not valid anymore!"

His hips were definitely his weakest spot, any brushing right there drained all of his strength (and laughter), and it incapacitated him from fighting against the feeling that always drove him crazy. 

Iwaizumi shook and thrusted his hips as his mind stopped functioning and he could only focus on the torture against his hips. 

"Oh, does it tickle a lot?"

Iwaizumi could barely nod as he tried to dislodge his poor ticklish hipbones from Oikawa's mean fingers.

"These poor hips of yours will be tickled until I get tired, Hajime~" Oikawa teased and Iwaizumi could only squeak softly before his body started to shake with silent laughter. Oikawa giggled. "Did your lose your voice?"

Iwaizumi nodded, tears of laughter falling from the sides of his face as a little snort vibrated in his nose, but still no sound came out from his smiley mouth. 

Not only did he lose his voice, he lost his mind! Only one thought could possible run though his mind at that moment: 'it tickles, it tickles, it tickles!'it was just too intense, but he was enjoying every second of it and deep inside, he just didn't want it to stop ever. 

"Hmm, I don't know, should I stop?" 

Iwaizumi nodded again, trying to push Oikawa off him; Oikawa laughed. "Should I really stop, though?" Iwaizumi nodded again, throwing his head back and arching off the couch. "Okay, okay. Only because your face is too red," he said and he stopped as fast as he started. 

But Iwaizumi took a hot minute to recover himself from that silent laughter just to keep laughing for another minute, then giggling until Oikawa was joining in too, trying to fan Iwaizumi's face with his hand. 

"Stop! Why are you giggling?!" Oikawa laughed and Iwaizumi seemed like he was just broken. "If you keep giggling I'll tickle your hips again!" That only caused him to laugh even more and Oikawa could only shake his head fondly and help Iwaizumi to sit properly.

"I'm gonna fetch you some water. Calm down, silly," Oikawa said, kissing Iwaizumi's forehead before leaving. 

Iwaizumi's body felt tingly all over; his hips still twinkling with very ticklish aftershocks. He sighed in delight when he finally calmed down - satisfaction overtaking him. It was great, more than he could've ever asked for, but know that it was over, he felt a sudden rush of embarrassment and his flushed cheeks reddened even more.

He had to face Oikawa now... After what they did. Maybe he can actually jump off the window and-

"Ah, you are fine now!" Iwaizumi jumped and he looked up to see Oikawa lending him a glass of water. "Hydrate yourself, hm? You laughed too much," Oikawa said and Iwaizumi only bowed his head before taking the glass. 

He drank the whole thing, feeling suddenly thirsty after the water touched his lips. Oikawa only chuckled at his side and he gently rubbed his back. 

"Calm down. You'll get the hiccups," he warned before he cleared his throat. Oh, no. "Hajime." Oh, no, here we go. Is he angry? "You know, you shouldn't feel ashamed when you feel like you want to get tickled." Iwaizumi nearly chocked on his last sip.

"Y-yes?" He asked, holding the glass between his hands. 

Oikawa smiled tenderly at him. "You can always be honest with me, Iwa-chan! I think it's cute that you like it. I like it that you like it. So, next time, please tell me and I'll happily do the job~" He sang, poking Iwaizumi's side, making him jump and giggle nervously. "I'm honest, Hajime. I like to indulge you in things like these." 

Iwaizumi's face was unhealthy red as he chuckled shyly, his eyes averting from Oikawa's. "As if I was capable to do such thing."

Oikawa laughed. "Then good for you your amazing boyfriend is so good at reading your expressions, hmm?" He teased, leaning close to Iwaizumi's face, a warmth smile on his face. 

Iwaizumi smiled, nudging his nose against Oikawa's. "Yeah, I'm thankful for this amazing boyfriend of mine."

It was Oikawa's turn to flush bright red and he whined, covering his face with his hands. "Stupid Iwa-chan! You can't say things like that out of the sudden!” 

"I'm just saying the truth." Iwaizumi said, leaning in to leave a tender kiss against Oikawa's lips. "Thank you... for doing this. I love you. I really, really love you."

"Hajime! I love you too, you idiot!!" Iwaizumi's laughter ringed through the whole house as Oikawa tickled him as revenge. 

Not that Iwaizumi minded, and he knew Oikawa didn't mind either. There was time to watch movies and everything else later, right now, their playful and loving moment mattered the most.

Maybe Iwaizumi can be a little brave and actually ask for it... some day.

Happy Birthday (early!!) to @araniaexumae - you are an incredible person, your support has been unbelievable, right from the start of writing this fic!! You've stuck with it, through thick and thin (good and shite chapters, lol!) and have been so kind, I've called you Lily Evans on countless occasions. I hope you have a wonderful birthday on the 18th. Elsa's writing is beautiful, and you should check out her ao3 jily fics at quietcloud if you haven't already!!

                  Another One Bites The Dust

Another one bites the dust Another one bites the dust And another one gone, and another one gone Another one bites the dust Hey, I'm gonna get you, too Another one bites the dust

Are you happy, are you satisfied? How long can you stand the heat? Out of the doorway the bullets rip To the sound of the beat

Queen (1980) Another One Bites The Dust

It was strange being in the flat with Peter, just the two of them. He missed James’ exuberance, his sense of humour, the sense of being grounded that he seemed to get vicariously just from being in his presence. He missed Lily’s optimism and her ability to counteract his negative thinking, sometimes with no more than a raised brow. He trusted her judgement. He trusted James. He didn’t trust himself. He refused to think about it (it being too painful), but he missed Remus. Despite himself, his thoughts constantly strayed to Remus. Like deserts missing the rain, like a procrastinator missing an opportunity, like the sun on a Winter solstice.

He found himself writing letters to him, letters he never planned to send.

“When I close my eyes I see you. When I open my eyes I miss you. In French, I miss you is tu me manques, which means you are missing from me. That’s how I feel, like a part of me has been torn away, like there is a hole in me. It feels like years since you left. Fuck, Moony, I’m scared that you’re in danger, I want you back more than anything, but I’m scared of you coming back too. In case you say we’re finished. In case you don’t want me any longer. I can’t blame you. I can’t stop seeing the look on your face the day you left, I can’t stop thinking about what we said.”

                                        …………………………..

“What do you think about this whole spy thing?” Peter asked, interrupting Sirius’ thoughts.

His friends knew he revelled in gossip, and terrifying though it might be, he knew if he was innocent, he would definitely have brought it up.

“Fuck, Wormy,” Sirius said, putting down his fork with an irritated sigh, as though he half-expected Peter to want to discuss it. “I don’t even want to think about it.”

“But who could it possibly be?” said Peter, with genuine terror in his voice.

“No clue, Wormy, no fucking clue!” Sirius said, as he stared into the middle distance with a brooding expression again. “Dedalus Diggle? Seems a bit of an air-head though. Or Elphias Doge? But he’s a good friend of Dumbledore’s for years. It’s none of us, obviously. And it’s not the Prewetts, or Aberforth, or Hagrid, obviously. Not Marlene, the Logbottoms or Moody… I don’t fucking know. Who do you think it is?”

“I’ve no idea!” said Peter, his voice rising by an octave. “I wish I knew.”

“Yeah, listen, Wormy, don’t think about it too much. It’ll just make you feel paranoid.”

“Thanks, Pads,” said Peter, with a fake smile. “I’ll try. If anyone had a reason to become the spy it’d be Moony, with all the anti-Werewolf shit that’s happening. But he’d be the last person to join Voldemort’s side. He’d rather die than join them.”

Sirius stared at Peter.

“Remus is literally the very last person I would ever suspect, Pads, don’t worry, I’m not a total moron! I’d sooner think it was me or you than Moony!” Peter laughed, shaking his head as though he had said something funny.

“Yeah, don’t worry, of course…” Sirius let out a breath.

“I’m joking,” Peter rolled his eyes.

“Sorry, yeah… I’m sorry if I’m shit company,” Sirius added brusquely, looking away from Peter. “I just… I miss James and…”

“I know. I’m sure Moony will be back soon,” he said, going for a reassuring tone. “That should help you feel better.”

Sirius’ laugh was bleak.

“You don’t know the half of it, Wormy,” he said, picking up his fork and moving the food around his plate aimlessly.

Peter’s interest was piqued.

“Oh?” he said encouragingly.

“I fucked up,” Sirius said in a low voice, putting the fork back down and staring at his plate. “I said stuff I shouldn’t have. I doubt Moony will want me back. Can’t blame him if he dumps me.”

Peter knew he probably shouldn’t have revelled quite so much in his ex-friend’s relationship problems, yet he couldn’t help the smug delight that enveloped him when he heard that.

“I’m sure that’s not true, Pads! I’m sure that Remus will have forgotten all about that by the time he gets back.”

He knew his voice sounded insincere and he watched as Sirius’ face dropped.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” he added, brightly.

“He won’t,” Sirius’ voice was strained.

“I think you’re exaggerating, Pads,” Peter said, trying not to show his enjoyment. “You always exagger-“

The muscles at Sirius’ jawline clenched visibly.

“I accused him of cheating on me with Benjy!” Sirius snapped, eyes blazing with anger and guilt. “I was a bastard, Wormy, I made him feel like, fuck, I…”

“Made him feel like what?” said Peter.

Softly, innocently.

Sirius shuddered.

“Made him feel like I regarded him as a beast,” said Sirius, standing up suddenly in agitation.

“I’m sure you didn’t mean to, Padfoot.”

Hesitant, conciliatory, doubtful.

continue Chapter 49

A Biography of the Woman Who Never Was

Part 5 The Older Woman

Chapter 5

The rest of 2018 and 2019 passed in fairly unremarkable fashion. The kids kept seeing the counselor, Jerry's behavior and grades improved until he was one of his grades top students. Tabatha, likewise, did extremely well academically. Jerry joined the school soccer team and took up violin, and Tabatha took up piano, guitar, and drums. While life continued with its normal ups and downs, it really did seem like the worst was behind them.

Even when 2020 hit like a meteor, it still didn't affect Shannon and her family that much. Both Sam and Shannon were deemed essential workers, and therefore kept their jobs. The schools shut down, but Shannon did home lessons over the summer and the kids did remote learning in the fall. Jerry struggled, having a hard time staying focused, but Tabatha did exceptionally well.

It was November when things started to go to Hell for them personally. Shannon started noticing a pain in her right chest and shoulder. It would constantly ache, and if she moved too fast, bolts of sharp, white hot pain would shoot through her body. At first she thought it was just muscle strain from lifting too much (she had gotten back into weight training to lose weight), but when she had taken a week off and there was no improvement, she knew she had to see a doctor.

Here appointment was in December, the week after Christmas. The doctor checked her out and then chewed her out. She was 47 years old and had never had a mammogram. Shannon reluctantly agreed to have one and her doctor made the appointment.

Shannon got her mammogram the second week of January at 8:50 AM. By 3:30 PM, she had three messages saying she should contact them immediately. Shannon had breast cancer. More than that, it had already spread to other parts of her body. After a consultation with the entire family, they decided on an aggressive treatment plan. Unfortunately, it was too late.

Shannon's health declined rapidly. Most of her hair fell out and she shrank from 252 pounds to 110. She was week and tired all the time. She mostly laid in bed, only getting up to use the bathroom; usually to vomit. It was decided that she would enter the hospital for her final days.

Sam would visit everyday. At first he brought the kids with him every time, then every other day, and then they would only come once a week on Sundays. By the end of April, it was clear it was only a matter of days.

Sam's last visit was on a Sunday. It was a perfect spring day. It was so warm and sunny that it made Sam angry. It seemed like a cosmic insult to everything he and Shannon were going through. However, he had managed to purge himself of his bitterness by the time he had gotten to Shannon's room.

She was staring out the window, a contemplative smile gracing her gaunt face. Her hands were folded in her lap and she looked almost transcendent.

"How's the most beautiful woman in the world doing today?" he asked with forced happiness as he entered her room.

Shannon turned to him and smiled as happy a smile as she could. "I don't know. I haven't seen her today," she joked back in her weak, hoarse voice.

Sam grabbed a chair and sat beside her. "How're you sweetie?" he asked with a hushed sadness.

"I'm ok. Best as possible I suppose. I was just thinking I beat mom by a month. She passed in April, I made it all the way to May. Of course she beats me on years though." Shannon's sense of gallows humor was not only still there, but had become stronger than ever.

"I tried to get the kids to come out, but they just couldn't," Sam said apologetically.

Shannon just waved her hand. "It's ok, my family never did do death well."

She turned back to the window and started talking as much to herself as to Sam. "I was going to ask you to make a recording of me saying my farewells to the kids, but then I thought if I really wanted this to be the last and forever image of me; a sad, shriveled up husk of a human being - an image of sadness and loss? That just seems too cruel. I'd rather be forgotten if that is the case."

"You'll never be forgotten," Sam tried to reassure her.

She turned back to him, smiling even more. "We're all forgotten eventually darling." She then reached out and took his hand. "It's been a life, hasn't it?"

"It sure has," he said, trying to smile, but tears were already starting to run down his cheek. "And I thank you for being the love of mine."

"As you are with mine," she said in a peaceful voice.

"No, you don't have to say that. You don't have to pretend." He shook his head as he spoke. He didn't want their potentially last moments to be filled with lies.

"Who's pretending?" Shannon said, sounding almost happy, like he had just told her a joke. "What? You think because I'm not romantically or sexualy attracted to you, that means you're not the love of my life? People put so much emphasis on romantic love. Darling, you were far more than a lover. Being a lover is easy. You were a friend." She then brought his hand to her mouth and kissed it.

Sam was now weeping heavily. "The first time I met you in the library, I knew I loved you," he choked out.

"When I was a little girl, I asked my grandfather why he kept the dogs outside. He said because animals don't belong in the house. That night, my biological mother, left me in her car while she went into the bar. I was alone, freezing. I wondered if maybe I was an animal and that's why I was being left alone.

"My entire life I felt alone, unloved, unlovable. I was angry and bitter and I hurt anyone or thing I could so they would feel what I felt. I caused so much pain.

"Then I met Jen and I thought I found love. I loved her and I thought she loved me, but she only loved what she thought I was. When I turned out not to be that, she turned her back on me and I went off the deep end.

"And then there was you. You made me laugh. I could talk to you about anything. I felt safe around you; not physically, but emotionally. I became a better person because of you.

"Even when I came out to you, you didn't turn me away, throw me out, which I would have understood if you did. You never stopped being my rock, my shoulder to cry on, the clown to make me laugh when I was crying. You never stopped being my friend."

"And I never will," Sam barely choked out.

"And that is why you're the love of my life."

Sam got up and they embraced. He gave her a kiss on the forehead and she gave him one the cheek. They spent the next five hours just reminiscening and joking.

"I better get going, I suppose," Sam said reluctantly. "I can't leave the kids alone all day, but I don't want to leave you alone either. Not to die at least."

"We all die alone honey, even if we're surrounded by people," she said with a smile. "Go. You're a father and your kids need you. I'm already dead. The only thing the dead need is rest. Just, just tell the kids I love them."

"Always," he said tearfully.

A couple hours after he left, she began to feel really tired, her fingers and toes started going numb. She knew the time had come.

She started thinking about tombstones. A name, a dash, and another date. Everything she was, everything she had been, reduced to a small line, carved in a stone that would survive long after she had been forgotten. It seemed unfair, cruel even.

She then thought about something else, something she had learned back in college. She thought about quantum entanglement, how two atoms can become entangled, linked forever across time and space, eternal mirrors to each other.

Her mind then darted to the concept of the multiverse. How there might be infinite universes out, each with their own version of her. What if two versions could be linked somehow? Entangled? What if her mirror was out there? Could she reach her? Could her mind link across dimensions to one of her other selves to share her story?

*Please, please, if can hear me, please tell my story. Please don't let me be forgotten!*, she thought over and over to herself, trying to reach out to anyone who might hear until her brain ceased to function and she passed away.

**************************************

Shannon Brown was born on November 22, 1975 to a single, alcoholic mother. He was taken in by his grandparents and his aunt Mary who raised him as her own. It is Mary who he considers to be his real mother. His biological mother, Kathy, would have two other children, a girl named Tracy (1977) and Paul Jr. (1979).

By about 4 or 5, Shannon knew that he wasn't a he, but a she, but having no language to express this, she kept this to herself. Shannon grew up alone, morbidly obese for most of her life, she never really had any friends and was constantly bullied and picked on. This made her angry and she would often act out in horrible and usually, self destructive ways.

She did manage to lose weight and was thin from 19 to 24. It was at this time she met her future wife, Samantha Hopwood online. Samantha, an Australian citizen, eventually moved to the United States and they got married in 2001. In 2009, their first child, Joshua was born.

It was after that, Shannon came out to Samantha as transgender. It caused a lot of pain and anger in their marriage, but they were able to work through some of it so that they had their second child, Tara, in 2011. In 2020, after years of being partially closeted, Shannon came out to everyone on Facebook (much to the horror of her wife).

It was about this time that Shannon discovered an app called FaceApp. It could change your photo to look like a child, old person, even the opposite physical gender. Shannon took a picture of herself, femininized it, and then took that new picture and reaged it from a little girl to an old woman. As Shannon stared at the pictures, she couldn't help but marvel over how real they looked! These looked like real pictures of an actual person.

"Who are you?" she said to herself. "Who are you, what is your story?" The more she stared at the pictures, the more she could almost hear this stranger call out, "Please, please, tell my story." It was then Shannon knew what she had to do. She opened her Tumblr app, hit the write symbol, and began-

A Biography of the Woman Who Never Was

Part 1: The Girl

Chapter 1

*This story is dedicated to the memory of H.P. Lovecraft; a horrible man, but great world builder. This wouldn't exist without him.*

[TRANSLATION: POTATO 04.2021]

7 MEN SAMURAI CROSS TALK + RECENT MEMO

Scans not mine

Neither an English nor a Japanese native speaker

Feel free to correct me, thanks

WHO IS NO. 1 IN TERMS OF ACTING ABILITY!?

For the purpose of checking out the acting ability of the 6 members, different patterns of "smile" were shown. At the end of a heated discussion in the round table discussion, a member who is good at telling lies was revealed!? (The interview was taken in the middle of February.)

Reia-kun is a professional in acting to deceive people

Yabana: This time's theme is "acting ability".

Sasaki: (in loud voice) WHAT!

Nakamura: No, he didn't mean "act here now" LOL. You run into the conversation too fast. Recently, for a project for YouTube, we did a prank on Bana-san (Yabana), right?

Motodaka: We did a cosplay where we shouldn't be recognized. During that time, I desperately covered everyone with my body so that everyone's disguise will not be caught by Bana-san's sight LOL. It was an acting where I used my whole body.

Konno: And us, who are being covered, were disguising ourselves with all our might. It was fun!

Sugeta: Rinne even changed his pants on the spot LOL.

Nakamura: Yabana, how suspicious were you at that time?

Yabana: I think [I got suspicious] when I saw Taiko's face laughing happily LOL. It's obviously that that is his face when he trick people. With that, Taiko's acting level is quite low.

Sasaki: That's what I also think LOL.

Nakamura: Speaking of YouTube, we always have a birthday surprise plans for the members, but for some reason, we didn't pull anything for Katsuki's and Konpi's (Konno) birthdays.

Konno: Yeah. Honestly, I thought, "Have they forgotten about my birthday?" and I got sad LOL.

Motodaka: I am not saying to prepare us 2 different surprises, but why did you not prepare anything?

Yabana: No, you don't know? Perhaps the reason why we are talking about this now might probably because we've got something for you too, you know?

Sugeta: Yeah, this might be a foreshadowing, you know?

Motodaka: There's definitely none LOL. Our birthdays passed a long time ago already. If you insist, Reia's birthday is coming soon, right? LOL

Yabana: When you make it look like there's a surprise but there's none at all is the saddest pattern of prank LOL.

Sasaki: Who might be in the 1st place in acting in private among us?

Yabana: It is probably Reia-kun. He often deceives people, he is an expert in acting!

Nakamura: I myself think so too LOL.

Sasaki: Didn't you fool HiHi Jets and Bi Shounen all along?

Nakamura: I did, but I can't remember what it is about. They are pure so they believed for around 2 years in the proper lie I said to them LOL.

Motodaka: Reia is good with acting in times like that. Me too in the past, he told me, "the staff are very mad" with a facial expression that looked real and I completely believed him.

Nakamura: Fufufu...if you look closely, I am doing the face saying, "I am lying." On the contrary, Taiko is usually bad when telling lies. His feelings are shown on his face immediately. It is easy to understand his face like "Is that an emoji!?"

Yabana: A speech bubble saying, "I am telling a lie now" is faintly coming out from him LOL. That's why when he talked at the beginning of my prank video, I noticed about it immediately.

Motodaka: Rinne is also easy to know if he is telling a lie, right?

Konno: His feelings totally show in his behavior.

Nakamura: Yeah, yeah. He is bad at acting lively especially when he is feeling down LOL. He obviously couldn't talk.

Yabana: It is like he is saying, "I am having a problem."

Sugeta: ...I agree with you LOL.

Sasaki: Konpi is also easy to understand, right? When he fools others, he will certainly look at my eyes and will grin.

Konno: I want to make the 2 of us the suspects LOL.

Nakamura: When Katsuki tricks people, his ears immediately turns very red LOL.

Yabana: His ears are a lie detector, right? It turns very red like it is going to explode.

Nakamura: If there is someone he likes, he will be exposed immediately. She will be like, "This person probably likes me. Since his ears are super red." LOL

Motodaka: What~ I don't like that. Somehow or other, I think it is something you can't falsify LOL.

Sasaki: On the contrary, Yabana is good with lies . He said he was interviewed in the street by chance for 「Getsuyou kara Yofukashi」recently, but that one is also an acting, right?

Nakamura: The truth is that he can't play intruments too, right?

Yabana: Hey, stop it! To the readers, what they just said are both lies, okay?! LOL Or rather, I have not deceived people or lied to anyone!

Everyone except Yabana: That's a lie~!

Nakamura: 7 MEN 侍's best actor is not me but Yabana-kun~.

Yabana: Stop~that~! LOL

Influenced by the acting coaching of Koichi-kun for the DREAM BOYS

Nakamura: I really like the performance of Taiko when he is on stage.

Yabana: I know. Well, he is in character, but suddenly his aura of being a stupid brat was gone and becomes a human being LOL.

Motodaka: Yeah, right. When he was on stage, he became able to speak good Japanese.

Sasaki: ...I hate you all! LOL

Yabana: I also like Rinne-kun's acting in「DREAM BOYS」. There's a scene that (Domoto) Koichi-kun enthusiastically coaches, and as the result of Rinne steadily absorbing the advices, Rinne is turning into Koichi-kun day by day LOL.

Sugeta: I think since he presented a really good example, so I was influenced naturally. I was thankful. Rinne likes Katsuki's acting in 「Nounai Poison Berry」.

Konno: Ah yes, that was a good one.

Everyone except Konno: You haven't seen that, right? LOL

Sugeta: Konpi has not seen any of the members' stage plays until now, right?

Konno: That's just a coincidence LOL. Because during the showing of 「Oretachi Oenya!!~」where Taiko and Rinne appeared, wasn't it exactly during our preparation for 「~The Happy Prince」?

Nakamura: If you say so LOL. Katsuki's acting and Konpi's acting in 「The Happy Prince」were also good.

Yabana: Yeah, right. Serious acting suited them. Also, Konpi's appearance when he sat on the chair and turned round and round LOL.

Konno: Thank you! I had put all of my acting into that scene LOL.

Sugeta: Bana-san tried different acting patterns in daily special corner of「DREAM BOYS」. I think that was really good!

Yabana: I change my hairstyle depending on the day. And then, I match my acting with my hairstyle like, "Today I will go for a mood that looks slightly weak," or "Today, I am in all back hairstyle so I will go for a character that seems strong," and I am changing my acting a little by little. I also changed my costume a little by little, for some reason, all the cast laughed at me on the day where I appeared in tank top...LOL.

Sugeta: Coz you are skin and bones LOL.

Konno: Yeah, right. You are so thin that you look pitiful LOL.

Sasaki: Reia. For me, Reia's acting on stage is also good of course, but I think his acting on television is overwhelmingly good. You do understand me, right?

Konno: Yup. That's exactly about the drama「Gekikaradou」(TV Tokyo) he is appearing in currently, right?

Motodaka: In a sense that he can do whatever he wants is very Reia. I think it is a great thing that he was able to properly reflect himself to his character.

Yabana: The "yey🎶" in that drama is also like Reia's humor, right?

Sasaki: Well, but the usual Reia that we see is close to his character in Dream Boys.

Yabana: We think, "When will we be get beaten?" so we are constantly scared of him.

Nakamura: You are kidding LOL.

Sasaki: Let me ask just in case, since you are moving towards dramas, it doesn't mean that you are throwing away stage plays, right? Please make this clear.

Nakamura: Of course! LOL. Don't say weird things, I want to challenge acting in stage plays from now on too!

Motodaka: Which reminds me, the stage play where Rinne is starring (「Hidamari no Ki」) is starting soon, right? It starts in March, right?

Sugeta: Yup, you're right. By the time this magazine issue comes out, the Tokyo performance have started already.

Nakamura: Doesn't that look super interesting? I also wanna watch it soon.

Motodaka: More than anything else, I am sincerely hoping that the play will start safely. This is what everyone who got an experience with stage play thinks.

Konno: Rinne is lucky so he will definitely be okay! I believe in that!

Sugeta: Even though you said that, you surely won't come and watch, right? LOL

Konno: No, I will go. I will watch you!

Sasaki: This one is an acting, absolutely LOL.

Konno: I am coming~ LOL.

RECENT MEMO

Sugeta Rinne:

I see off my younger sister, who is taking the national examination, at 6 this morning.I want her to do her best that she can use all the effort she exerted up to this day. Not only my sister, but Rinne and my younger brother also got a charm from our papa. Rinne's charm is a prayer for the success of the stage play.

Konno Taiki:

The selfie project in ISLAND TV is difficult. Every time the day I'm in charged gets closer, I become desperate. I already ran out of idea during the 2nd time we did it LOL. I want to take applications of the poses that the fans want us to do!

Yabana Rei:

When I met Tatsumi (Yudai)-kun by chance last January, he gave me a New Year's money. I was moved at how kind senpai he is. Someday, I also want to give New Year's money to my juniors and be respected LOL.

Sasaki Taiko:

I finally purchased a drum set. Since I do not know which one to buy, so the drummer who I am acquainted with and I admire came with me to the store. I am really thankful that he recommended me the items that match with my style of beating the drums!

Nakamura Reia:

I watched at home the movie「The Letters」where Yamada Takayuki-san is starring. I am glad that the story is very deep, and more than anything else, Yamada-san being immersed in his acting is so great that I was drawn into [the movie] the whole time!

Motodaka Katsuki:

I went fishing for the first time with my brother who is 4 years younger than me. My brother caught a large number of fishes that I can't imagine that it was his first time. The total amount of catch we had that day was 77 horse mackerels! It was so delicious when I made it into namerou (finely chopped fish with miso paste) that it disappeared in no time.

Jimmy & Janis

Jimmy: Cheers for coming yesterday Jimmy: Actually did a decent job on the gifts according to Cass not that she's gonna thank you herself like Janis: No probs, seemed like she had a good time, nice to see Janis: And I'm glad about that, had no idea, awkward age, like Jimmy: I think she did yeah. Better 13th than I had anyway Jimmy: Even if she couldn't bring Twix into the line of fire Janis: Same Janis: All you can ask, yeah? Janis: Don't think Twix is familiar with the idea of a friendly, shit would've got too real Jimmy: Yeah Jimmy: Too right. She's a savage Janis: Its why she fucks with her Jimmy: Anyway, if Cass don't text you, let me know and I'll make her Janis: Ain't no snitch Janis: You can tick me off her thank you note list, it's chill Jimmy: Alright Janis: Grace was gutted not to get an invite then I told her Bobby weren't coming and it'd probably fuck up her lewk and she was over it Jimmy: Unlucky Gracie we already had our fair share of mean girls there like Jimmy: Who can compete with tweens Janis: Forreal Janis: past her prime Janis: too bitter a pill to swallow on a Saturday afternoon, like Jimmy: You should tell her its better to get it outta the way. Then your night can go right Janis: So I've heard Janis: you better let her know Jimmy: You're alright Jimmy: Not in the mood for chick flicks and a catch up Janis: Hope it ain't in your not so distant future then Jimmy: Not part of the plan to start dating your sister Janis: She's not the only girl that is down to netflix and chill in this town is she Jimmy: I dunno Jimmy: Haven't asked Janis: Didn't come up? Janis: One for the to-do list Jimmy: What are you on about? Janis: Your new girlfriend Janis: You wanna check before you commit like Jimmy: I don't have a girlfriend Jimmy: not that it's any of your business like Janis: Whatever, not like I was stalking you Janis: hard to miss, that's all Jimmy: What? Jimmy: That I was chatting to the only person our age except my ex Janis: Yeah Janis: Seems nice Jimmy: Wasn't gonna talk to you, was I? Jimmy: She is Jimmy: You'd know if you said anything to her Janis: Don't want your ex and next to be besties Janis: Not a good idea is it Jimmy: Doesn't matter it's not gonna happen Jimmy: I barely know her and I doubt I'll see her again Jimmy: Cass don't need me to chaperone her playdates as standard Janis: I'm very sorry for you Janis: Sure you can make it happen Jimmy: I'm sorry that you're jealous Jimmy: Maybe I could, if I wanted to Janis: Fuck off, I'm not Janis: Idk, ask her if she wants to fake date Jimmy: Why do you give so much of a fuck then? Jimmy: I don't want to, again none of your business but Janis: Making conversation Janis: Sure Jimmy: Why? Jimmy: We aren't mates Janis: Idk Janis: you can tell everyone I'm lonely and obsessed if you like Janis: just felt like it Janis: sorry Jimmy: fuck off Jimmy: why would I do that? Janis: 'Cos we're not mates Janis: why not? Jimmy: Why would I chat shit about you just cause you're my ex Jimmy: and who the hell to? Jimmy: I'm a dickhead, I'm not that dickhead Janis: Whoever you see fit, I don't care Janis: maybe the kid who's bright idea it was to tell you about my dead sister Jimmy: He wouldn't care either, he wasn't trying to chat shit Jimmy: He thought I already knew, since I was your boyfriend like Janis: Of what, all of 2 months Janis: not like we'd sat down and talked about our sad stories yet Janis: Oh well Jimmy: He didn't know we faked it before, I'm not going around with that as an opener Janis: Oh yeah Janis: forgot Janis: well its all on me then Janis: good to know Jimmy: Not like it matters now Janis: Not to you Janis: I'd gathered Jimmy: To nobody Jimmy: He only mentioned that he used to hang with her Jimmy: He's probably forgotten about it Janis: So you reckon Janis: Let's all forget it then Jimmy: Already done Janis: You're a cunt Janis: fuck you Jimmy: That'll be why you broke up with me then Janis: Not how I remember it Janis: selective memory saving your day again Jimmy: Who cares? Jimmy: It's still done Jimmy: how my day's going has nothing to do with you Janis: I do, you absolute moron Janis: Jesus Christ Jimmy: Frame it that I broke up with you then if that's what you need Jimmy: Not gonna change anything is it Janis: Apparently not Janis: Forget it Jimmy: How can I? Jimmy: You don't get to come into my inbox with this now Janis: and you don't get to ignore me forever Janis: i'm not going anywhere any time soon, deal with it Jimmy: I can't Jimmy: I have to ignore you, alright Jimmy: Sorry that I can't be your fake mate Janis: Why can't you be my actual mate then Janis: I'm that fucking bad, yeah? Janis: Cheers Jimmy: Cause I don't wanna be your friend Jimmy: I can't be around you like that Janis: I didn't dump you Jimmy: You didn't try very hard to stop me Jimmy: Whatever I'm not trying to blame you Jimmy: I'm just saying I can't Janis: I didn't know you were gonna say that Janis: it took me by surprise alright Janis: I'm sure I could've handled it better but fucking hell Janis: do we really have to do this? Jimmy: Not like I planned it myself Jimmy: I'm sorry Jimmy: I don't know what to do Janis: No you have to know Janis: Tell me how to fix this Jimmy: All I know is I wanted to kiss you every second we were stuck in laser tag Jimmy: but that won't fix anything Janis: Might Janis: Could've given it a shot Janis: Perhaps not at a 13th bday party Jimmy: I really fucking miss you Janis: I miss you too Janis: that's what I've been trying to say this whole damn time Jimmy: having to ignore you all this time is one of the hardest things I've ever done Jimmy: I near lost my mind yesterday Janis: At least you didn't spend yours giving an innocent girl evils, tryna start shit Janis: I was so angry you were over me already Jimmy: I'm not Jimmy: Couldn't even fake it Jimmy: I reckon Cass knew what she was doing Janis: Shoulda known, its within her wheelhouse Janis: Here's me thinking I was special, pfft Jimmy: you are Jimmy: you had the wrong sibling is all Janis: Gayyyyyy Janis: You're not fucking around? Jimmy: Don't be trying to get with your brother yet is what I'm saying Jimmy: Wanna be my girlfriend again then? Janis: Hold up Janis: you said you don't wanna be my mate even Janis: you gotta tell me you were just being moody Janis: why is this always such a headfuck Jimmy: I can't be your mate is what I meant Jimmy: Cause I want more Jimmy: I know I'm a headfuck Jimmy: but that's the truth like Janis: I am too so Janis: its alright Janis: Can we just Janis: At least TRY to say what we mean from now on? just a suggestion Jimmy: yeah Jimmy: I don't wanna lose you again through being a dickhead Janis: we both know it was me Janis: i've never talked about it, i don't do that Janis: know it ain't healthy, believe me, and the fam have tried but yeah Janis: its my bad for deflecting it and acting like any of it was on you but that's all i could think to do in the moment Jimmy: It's alright Jimmy: I'm as guilty of keeping shit to myself Jimmy: Cass is constantly on at me to talk more Jimmy: I shouldn't have been trying to make you Janis: I dunno, maybe it'd be good to talk about it Janis: least you're not a fucking shrink Janis: or Grace, no offense Janis: but its, well, you know too Janis: we're both fucked, basically then Jimmy: You can try and talk to me Jimmy: Whenever you want and about whatever Jimmy: That's all I was trying to get at when I brought it up Janis: I can see it now Janis: when it happened, everyone just wanted the gossip, like it was no bigger than who kissed who at the disco or something Janis: and Grace thought they actually cared, poured her heart out Janis: I couldn't hack it Janis: It wasn't about you, that I think you're like that, it was knee-jerk, that's all Jimmy: That's shit. I'm sorry Jimmy: I get it Jimmy: Why we moved like, you know Jimmy: Get to be a man of mystery in a new town Janis: Yeah, that makes sense Janis: Did it help? Jimmy: Might've but Cass and Bobby don't know how to leave it there Jimmy: They're just kids Jimmy: All my dad achieved was taking Bob away from everything familiar and Cass from her mates Janis: Understandable, they didn't sign up for this Janis: Or you, really Janis: That's shitty, really Janis: Is your Mum dead, Jim? Jimmy: I dunno Jimmy: I can't answer that for you or myself Janis: But she's...gone? Janis: Sorry, I'm just trying to get it so I don't put my foot in it further down the line, like you said, the kids have said some stuff throwaway, stuff that doesn't sound just like a messy divorce even Jimmy: It's alright Jimmy: Like it's not, but it's not your fault that it isn't Jimmy: I don't know where she is, or if she's still anywhere Jimmy: That's why it's so pointless him bringing us here, she's not gonna pop up in some Irish pub like Jimmy: If she comes back it's gonna be there, distance from it is the last thing that'll help, that's what we had. Still have Janis: I can only imagine how hard that is Janis: Before Edie died, she went missing for about 8/9 months Janis: and we were just Janis: I think if it'd gone on any longer we'd have lost it Janis: not that her, or your Ma, turning up dead or whatever is ideal but Janis: at least its closure, yeah? Jimmy: Yeah Jimmy: It's 4 more years of nothing before they'll say it Janis: Fuck Janis: That's Janis: well Janis: did she give any hint or did it just happen Janis: like can you even be angry with her, if you knew she'd planned to then you could but what if its not her fault Janis: that's such a headfuck I'm so sorry you all have to have that in your heads Jimmy: Cass is the age I was now Jimmy: I don't know how to feel about it. I want time to move faster, like you said for the closure, but I don't too Jimmy: It's not alright that they won't remember her properly Jimmy: That I can't even with the memories cause I don't know if they're real or if she was faking it herself all along Jimmy: She might never have been happy. She might not have wanted to go. I don't know Jimmy: All I can be is angry, for them if not me Janis: All you've got is second-guessing and what ifs Janis: that's fucking hard to live with Janis: seen it first hand Janis: not the same situations but Janis: shit Janis: I'm- do you wanna stop Janis: I don't want to make you talk and think about it all but no doubt you do regardless 'cos I know I do Jimmy: Maybe talking is better Jimmy: Not saying shit hasn't worked out well for us, has it? Jimmy: And my dad isn't thriving off it either Jimmy: I don't wanna be like him Janis: You're not, couldn't be if you tried Janis: Like, I get it now, why he is how he is, but you're gonna be judged by how you deal in a crisis, that's just facts Janis: and you can't do that to your own kids, man Janis: at least I didn't have nobody to hurt Janis: well, that's a lie but you know, its not like my Ma went off the rails, fuck the rest of us, you know? Jimmy: He never was this bad until everyone else stopped looking Jimmy: Then he got it into his head that she either didn't wanna be found or there was nothing but a body to find Jimmy: If he couldn't keep waiting he just wouldn't think about her at all. Or talk about her either. I dunno Janis: That's just what he needed to finish him off, more abandonment Janis: There's so many possibilities, too many, those are just 2 of Janis: Guess he wanted some certainty? But its just bullshit, and he knows it as much as you do Janis: Get the impulse but Janis: the kids Janis: you Janis: that's your mum Jimmy: Sometimes my head gets full of all these horrible ideas about him Jimmy: That he kicked her out. Or worse Jimmy: That it suits him to pretend she doesn't exist because he feels guilty for what he did. Or doesn't Janis: Fuck, Jim Janis: that's a heavy fucking thought to carry Janis: if it had been that, there'd have to be some indication, surely, that couldn't just come out of nowhere Jimmy: I've never said that out loud before Jimmy: Sorry Jimmy: I know it's mad but they used to argue loads Janis: I mean, it happens, and you're not mad for going there Janis: you've had years to ruminate without answers, I get it Janis: but, if there was a body, if that had happened, then you'd know by now, there's no getting away with it these days, right? Jimmy: I know Jimmy: But sometimes I wish that was how it happened 'cause if she's out there, living wherever with whoever why hasn't she reached out? Jimmy: No texts or letters. Birthday cards, christmas presents. Nothing Janis: Yeah Janis: At least explain yourself, you don't just get to leave Janis: nobody should but especially not a parent, like Jimmy: We weren't close but Cass was just a kid and Bob was practically a baby still Jimmy: Maybe they found a body but they don't know it's hers? Jimmy: I think about that too, the state she'd have to be in Janis: She still birthed you all, if nothing else, she owes you all that Janis: Of course you do Janis: What else are you going to do in this situation but search forever, wherever you can Jimmy: I've looked for her so many times Jimmy: I think I see her sometimes, that's really fucked Jimmy: But it's not like that when I'm with you Janis: Again, can only imagine Janis: Like, been there but once you remember they're dead then you know it can't be, so its less head-fucky Janis: I'm really happy that I can do that for you, even for a little while Janis: you deserve a break, just from your own head, you know that, right? Jimmy: I can't let myself think so cause the kids don't get one Jimmy: They dream about her every night Jimmy: When they sleep that is like Janis: They deserve one too Janis: I think you give them that Janis: I honestly do Janis: you can't make it all go away but they're a damn sight better off than if they didn't have you looking out for them Jimmy: You mean that? Janis: Absolutely Janis: I'd say it even if we were still being pricks to each other Janis: they wouldn't begrudge you taking time for you Janis: you'll be better for it, do a better big bro job, yeah? Jimmy: Can we go somewhere Jimmy: far as the budget will take us Janis: Yeah Janis: I don't care where Janis: as long as I can see you Jimmy: I'll throw a dart at the map Jimmy: Until then I can come see you Janis: Please do Janis: Just come straight to the barn, yeah? I'll be waiting Jimmy: Alright Jimmy: How many of your family am I gonna have to get past? Janis: Hopefully none if you do it right Janis: Use your ninja skillz Janis: Laser tag was good practice like Jimmy: Challenge accepted Jimmy: I'll think back to our win Jimmy: get it done Janis: Cass shamelessly picked an A team Janis: birthday girl prerogative tho, soz losers Jimmy: good job Jimmy: she's more of a sore loser than you Jimmy: You'd have never got to chat to me over the sounds of her sulking Janis: What a tragedy that woulda been Janis: nice to see your back on top form though boy Jimmy: Take the credit Jimmy: I'm leaving now Janis: Flashback giving me the fear there Janis: ready to shout at you dramatically as you drive away like Jimmy: Meant to say I'm on my way to you Jimmy: 💕 Janis: Good Janis: In a bit 🖤