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ukaiknowsbest · 3 years

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breaking down Ace of Diamond - the "Hero's Journey."

Using the model/guide presented by Overly Sarcastic Productions in their youtube video Trope Talk: The Hero's Journey, I will attempt to discuss how Sawamura Eijun's story in DnA is his Hero's Journey to becoming an ace pitcher in the Japanese HIgh School Baseball environment.

Blue from OSP put forward the 12 basic parts of the Hero's Journey Cycle. The illustration below will be our reference. I simplified a graph made by Signy Wilson in order to match OSP's less rigid guide.

disclaimer: I am by no means any kind of expert. I was just fascinated when I learned about the Hero's Journey as a general trope/framework when it came to writing stories. I want to apply what I learned by breaking down the story created by Terajima Yuuji in Ace of Diamond.

A. ORDINARY WORLD

STAGE 1. THE HERO IN HIS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Hero: Sawamura Eijun. Captain and Ace Pitcher of middle school baseball team. He has no formal training in baseball whatsoever but was the one who gathered and convinced his friends to start a baseball club. He's the best player in their small team. Good at sports but bad at academics .

He is generally a baseball idiot and quite a naive/simple guy with a strong heart. He does not have any idea what competitive and pro baseball looks like because not only does he not have experience but also he does not watch the broadcasts on tv/radio at all.

Ordinary World of the Hero: rural town in Nagano Prefecture, where Sawamura formed a small baseball team with his childhood friends. Acording to him, as long as they all stay together they can always play baseball anywhere.

STAGE 2. THE CALL TO ADVENTURE

2.1 Problem/why hero's ordinary world is going to crumble: - He lessened his chances of being scouted/accepted in a good baseball school after he btchslapped an entire opponent team and the umpires in their first and only match as middle school team in Saitama Stadium.

He also has low chance of being accepted into the high school in their area (where his friends are all going to) because he struggles with his academics a lot.

Unless he does something he won't be able to be together with his friends and/or play baseball at all.

2.2 Caller of the adventure - Takashima Rei pursues Sawamura into Nagano Prefecture in order to scout him as a sports scholar for Seido High School, a baseball powerhouse school located in the West Division of Tokyo Prefecture.

2.3 medicine/ solution to hero's crumbling world: being a sports scholar for Seido. This would solve almost all of Sawamura's highschool enrollment problem and also give him the chance to play as much baseball as he wants.

STAGE 3. REFUSAL TO THE CALL

3.1 reluctance to go: Sawamura refuses to leave Nagano despite Rei's "sales pitch" to him and his family. He doesn't want to leave his friends just to play baseball in a stronger school far away because he had promised his friends that they would always stick together.

3.2 hero punished for this - his grandpa literally smacks/slaps him in being stupid and doubting his friends.!!! / technically circumstances are already punishing him for being a hotblooded baseball idiot in the first place.

3.3 do you think you have a choice - this is probably the only chance he'll get to play baseball with all his strength AND finish highschool.

B. EXTRAORDINARY / UNKNOWN WORLD

Venturing out into more competitive/pro baseball is a world beyond him. It's scary and unknown and he'd rather defeat bigger teams than leave his friends.

STAGE 4. CROSSING THE THRESHOLD

4.1 crossing physical threshold - Rei persuades him to at least check the school out with his own eyes. They leave Tokyo together for one visit.

4.2. crossing a metaphorical threshold - in that visit, sawamura, picks a fight with a senior who's bound for baseball drafts, works together with a nationally acclaimed catcher in defeating the senior player, thus changing his worldview because he had so much fun.

4.2. conscious and irreversible decision - Because of the experience he goes home conflicted. His family encourages him in their own way to follow his guts and heart and go to Tokyo.

STAGE 5. REALM OF ADVENTURE

5.1 hero learns to navigate the unknown world - Sawamura learns the harsh realities of being in a baseball school once he actually starts to live there. Our boy also gets educated in Baseball and Pitching 101. He also finds out the true personality of the catcher he played with before.

5.2 meeting allies/rivals/mentors - he learns about the team better when he meets a whole bunch of people: batchmates, coaches and senpais. He builds interesting dynamics with all of them.

5.3 trials and initial failures - Sawamura undergoes difficult initial training and is barely allowed to play in matches.

5.4 meeting enemies - Sawamura being allowed to play as relief pitcher in the games and face talented pitchers and scary batters mostly in tense situations.

5.5 growth, new skills - Sawamura grows with each match, thus bolstering his confidence. Sometimes he falters but he learns from his mistakes.

5.6 first major success - striking out scary batters with each new thing he learns.

5.7 major challenge that leads to downfall - seido vs inashiro finals match where he goes in full of confidence and courage but then he and his team gets defeated in a devastating way.

STAGE 6. BELLY OF THE WHALE

6.1 lowest point of hero where hero physically or metaphorically goes down - one month after their major defeat, a lot of intense practice matches and change in team dynamics, the team find out that Sawamura has the YIPS. This condition took away Sawamura's ability to pitch in his trademark style/ the only thing he was good at.

6.2 hero's darkest hour - without the ability to pitch, Sawamura questions his reality and why he is still on the team.

6.3 Face and overcome inner demons - with a lot of help from allies and mentors, Sawamura finds a way to bring back a bit of his ability.

STAGE 7. ROAD OF TRIALS

7.1 Discarding old self - In the duration of his downfall and eventual healing, Sawamura turns to books, meditation and becomes even more careful in maintaining his form and body.

7.2 Accepting the new role - instead of fixating on the ace position like before, Sawamura is just glad that he is still allowed to pitch as relief.

7.3 Finding path out of the belly of the whale/The road back - After figuring out a solution to fix his pitching, he focuses on it and regains some of his ability. Sawamura is then allowed to play in matches. Just like before, he improves little by little as he recovers from each failure. He gains fresher mindset and new weapons, thus becoming an even stronger pitcher than he ever was before.

7.4 more trials - they face new opponent schools and old but improved opponents which test the best of Sawamura and the team's ability

STAGE 8. PRE SHOWDOWN BREATHER

every major match in ace of diamond has this part of the story but usually the most critical breather episode is the one before the final match.

8.1 show humanity of other characters - Somethng bad happens to the other mc without Sawamura knowing. This could absolutely wreck their chances of winning the final match. This shows that the other guys are not 100% invincible after all.

8.2 last chance to relax. - calm before the storm. It is also the time where they finalize sawamura's weapons.

8.3 quiet moment to reminisce - usually happens before each match. However the night before the finals was the major one because their old senpais went to visit their practice and encourage them.

STAGE 9. CLIMAX / STEPPING UP TO THE CHALLENGE

9.1 Final Showdown - Sawamura helps in the team defense with the best of his ability and weapons and he succeeds. Their team eventually wins Fall Tournament even with a few setbacks.

9.2 Apotheosis - Sawamura's worldview changed once he realises that even with his improvement and skill, his goal of being the ace is still out of reach for him.

9.3 Ultimate Boon - Sawamura gets to be a pivotal member of their baseball team and can play baseball as much as he wants with his team.

STAGE 7. ROAD OF TRIALS start again after the Fall Tournament Act 1 because Sawamura faces new challenges in Ace of Diamond Act 2.

Meiji Jingu Tournament - Play in matches without Miyuki

WInter camp and break - Intense Physical Training and development and improvement of his weapons which he will use and improve on throughout the rest of Act 2.

Spring Koshien where he realises that he has to do more in order to surpass the current ace which was Furuya.

Start of New Term/ Practice Matches - Sawamura and co. meets their new kouhai and team dynamics shift once again.

Spring Tournament / Summer Tournament - Sawamura meets old foes and new enemies. He also becomes the Ace Pitcher of the team, which adds more pressure on his part.

ACT 2 STAGE 8. PRE SHOWDOWN BREATHER

This is the big and long one before Summer Tournament Finals match where injuries and problems were discussed and feelings were explored.

ACT 2 STAGE 9. CLIMAX

Final (Or most hyped and awaited rematch) Seido vs Inashiro in order to qualify for Summer Koshien Nationals.

**everything after this point will be prediction and just my opinion

STAGES 7-9 start again

Koshien Nationals Arc.

STAGE 10. CROSSING THE RETURN THRESHOLD

Miyuki/3rd years retirement/graduation. Sawamura and his batch will have to lead the team.

STAGE 11. THE REWARD

Sawamura gets to play with his team as ace pitcher.

STAGE 12 / STAGE 1. THE HERO IN HIS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Sawamura may become both ace and captain, same as his role back in his middle school team, albeit in a stronger school. Even if he won't be the next captain, as ace he will still be in a strong leadership position.

CONCLUSION

That's how Ace of Diamond is written in the style of A HERO'S JOURNEY.

Act 1 writing especially followed the trope quite rigidly.

Notes:

I still don't want Sawamura to be the next captain. I hope that does not happen. However if it does, it means the story will have gone back full circle. That would be quite poetic ngl.

Gotta applaud Terajima's pacing. Can you believe that the story only reached its lowest and most pivotal point at around episode 70 of the anime???? thank godt that after ep 63 I read spoilers about yips arc in tv tropes or else i would have dropped the series completely.

I had difficulty in classifying the events after the climax stage into hero's journey stages because technically sawamura has not gone "home" yet. Moreover the challenges and trials just kept on piling up after Fall Tournament.

In this whole story, Sawamura has experienced only one true "Belly of the Whale stage" during his YIPS arc. I don't think he really came to a low point in Act 2 other than his first official match as Ace Pitcher. I treated that in the same vein as the effects of Raichi's first homerun off Sawamura back in Act 1.

I realized that having stages 7-9 recur starting from Meiji Jingu to the current summer tournament is what made reading Act 2 quite frustrating for me. That's at least 5-6 arcs of endless roller coaster ride loops.

I consider Miyuki's departure to be the "CROSSING THE RETURN THRESHOLD" moment because playing with him was the major reason for Sawamura's decision to study and play in Tokyo. Something will change Sawamura when this eventually happens.

As Blue from OSP said, the Hero's Journey is just a general guide/framework to writing stories. It is flexible, writers don't even have to use it or all of its parts to make a good story. Terajima just seemed to have adopted A LOT of the hero's journey trope in his baseball series.

I wanted to add more pictures tbh but tumblr is a killjoy :(

This was a fun thought exercise. There were probably even some parts which I have used the tropes wrongly. Please feel free to dispute me.

I talked about Sawamura's mentors here (x).

#sawamura eijun #sports anime #ace of diamond #daiya no a #daiya meta #daiya discuss #hero's journey #long post #daiya thoughts

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saitamaandmanakoblog · 3 years

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Manako’s PTSD: The Hero Training Test: 1/2

Remember all the fan-made fiction of Saitama and Manako is not in order so good luck with that.

“Hey Saitama do you want to come to Hero Training with me?”

“Nay I’m good, if they give you any trouble call me ok.”

“Ok, bye Saitama, I love you~”

“Love you too Manako.”

Manako hugged Saitama before she went out

Time Skip

Slowly, the Metting Room started to trickle in, and a few attempted to make small talk with the other heroes. She sighed when she realized that the minister is was going to be late.

“Hey, Manako!” Child Emperor grinned. “You’re the one my friend talked about, right? ZombieMan is his username!!”

“Yeah.” Manako smiled softly. “My Username name is FlashLight.” She explained. “He told me to keep a lookout for you. Sorry it took so long. I’m kind of socially awkward.”

“That’s fine, ZombieMan is, too.” Child Emperor grinned. “Is it ok if I ask you some questions, Manako?”

“So, Manako!” The Green hair girl, leaned towards her, cutting off whatever Child Emperor was going to ask. “I have to ask. What’s your Powers?!”

“My… Powers?” Manako blinked. Didn’t they…? Oh. She didn’t tell them. She opened her mouth to affirm that her powers is a literal flashlight when Sweet Mask decided to be an ass and do it for her.

“BL?! Ha! That little Monster’s power is literally a flashlight. She’s basically useless. I have no idea how the fuck she managed to get into A Class.”

“Flashlight?” Child Emperor echoed, confused.

“Gee, thanks a lot.” Manako threw SweetMask a tired glare, startling the blond. “But yeah, I’m basically a Flashlight. I still managed to become a hero same as the rest of you. So doubt me if you want, but just know that underestimating me will not end well for you.” There was a glint in her eye that made the heroes falter.

“I think it’s so cool! A Monster and you still got in?!, you’re incredible!” Child Emperor grinned, taking Manako aback.

“Um… what?” She blinked. She’d been so ready for the teasing and discrimination, already having built the wall around herself in preparation… but… what?

“Yeah!” Dark Shine grinned. Watchdog gave her a thumbs up.

“I think you’re very brave and definitely someone I wouldn’t underestimate on the battlefield. If you could take down those monsters while saving civilians , then you must be a force to be reckoned with.” Metal Bat.

“Though I gotta ask, how did you beat them?!” Child Emperor was literally bouncing in his seat.

Before anyone could say anything else, The Minister strode in, making Manako stiffen. Oh Phew it’s just the Tester guy or TG for short.

( I have no idea what’s the staff’s name is so the random mister guy is going to be the Hero Tester.)

After the TG explain the rules Manako smirked. This was going to be fun.

Flash Forward

Okay, scratch that. This was going to suck. Test Guy had put her up against SweetMask of all people. Manako didn’t know how, but she had a feeling that it was either on purpose, or a ‘unlucky accident’. Either way, her TG looked happy with the matchup. She supposed that Tester Guy simply thought that the two were friends since they went to same zones to help a bunch of random civilians at at that time, but…

Manako was not an idiot. She knew he had weak points and faults just like everyone else. He was just better at hiding them. Can’t look at something ugly—specifically that monster who easily beat up Sweet Mask and the roof started collapsing—and the important sparkles that came out of him? But there is one problem SweetMask has a strong hate towards monsters thereafter was something that could easily pull her into a flashback. (She hated sudden loud noises, but explosions were the worst. She blamed childhood trauma.) She knew this, which is why he tried his best to stay away from SweetMask whenever possible.

That’s why she always stay close to Saitama, she always feels safe around her BFF and Geno since most of the time she just hang in Saitama’s Pouch.

“TG?” Manako asked quietly, making sure none of her heroes would overhear. “I was wondering if I could switch opponents. I know that normally this isn’t allowed, but I have… bad reactions to certain noises, and was going to talk to Mike about working around it at the end of this week.” Manako was trying to be mature about this. She really was.

(Mike is a made up Monster Character in this universe.)

After all, she knew, logically, that this fear of hers is extremely dangerous in the field of heroism. However, that’s what Mike, the counselor, was for. He’d help Manako work through them—even if she didn’t want to talk about anything to the Ant Monster—and then Manako would be cleared to do hero work in those situations.

She was waiting until the end of the week because she knew it could pose the risk of her safety when she go out with one of Saitama’s Hero Work Trip Days, which she does not want Saitama to worry.

TG just smiled down at her. “I understand, Manako, but you cannot always choose what powers your enemies have. Even if it makes you uncomfortable, I ask that you still bear with the exercise. If things start getting out of hand, I’ll stop it.”

He isn’t taking me seriously. Manako sighed. “If that’s your final decision that’s fine by me.” I am in huge trouble!

Okay, so maybe Manako was being a little harsh. But she felt somewhat unfair and considering that the Monster Association. Tried to kill her twice. And yeah, she understood why he’d pared her with SweetMask, and even mostly understand why he thought it’s a good idea, but Monako was still bitter about the whole thing. And considering all that she’d been through, she felt that the minister chose the wrong person to do the test.

When the match started, Manako took a deep steadying breath. “Child Emperor.” The boy looked at her. “SweetMask will come after me. I’ll distract him to keep him in bay. Take this,” she passed him a small canister, “It’s a smokescreen.” He said. “Try to use it on Flashy Flash speed against him.”

“Right!” Child Emperor grinned, taking it from Manako with a smile.

“GO!”

Like a flash, Manako and Child Emperor bolted into the city’s building. As expected, SweetMask met them on the second floor, heading them off.

Manako motioned for Child Emperor to hide as he drew SweetMask attention. “Why do you hate monsters so much SweetMask?, What have I ever done to you?”

“Shut the hell up you Monsters! Why are you in the Hero Association? Are you here to spy on everyone?!”

“That’s what’s got you so mad?” Manako sighed, as she saw Child Emperor sneak up the stairs from the corner of his eye. “SweetMask. This is obviously a huge miss understanding can’t we just talk this out and be friends?.” She watched as the blond flinched.

“Like I’d ever be friends with a Monster reject like you!” He snarled, lunging forward with his all-too-familiar sharp hands.

Manako easily dodged, catching his arm pin it into the wall. It would’ve ended there if SweetMask hadn’t used his other hand to slice her up, but his free legs break through the floor and sending the two crashing to the room below.

SweetMask immediately jumped away and reared around to the offensive.

“So you’ve got some moves. So what!” SweetMask snarled. “You’re still a Monster ! You’ll gonna get killed anyways!”

“SweetMask.” Manako flinched when she hears a huge explosion went off a room above. The smell of the dust that the explosion kicked up and the sound of the ceiling crumbling at the edges of the hole that SweetMask made, but Manako nasty memories rather came right away.

Flash Back

“It’ll be alright, kid.” Aden smiled as she patted Manako’s head. “You’ll make it out of this.”

“B-but i don’t want you to die.” She protested through thick tears. “You can come with me. Saitama is a good friend he can help us.” She flinched at the sound of angry mobs of monsters.

“You know I can’t. Tell Saitama and the others I’m sorry—and stay safe, kiddo. Keep smiling.” She gave Manako a grin before standing up from their hiding place, leaving Manako essentially buried in a safe-hole Aden had dug just for her and the others so they have a chance to escape through the secret tunnels. “See ya in the next life.”

“Goodbye.” Manako smiled as best she could. “Auntie Aden.”

Manako shook his head sharply, barely dodging a blow from SweetMask. He hadn’t had to think about Aden’s death in a long time. The Ant Monsters had run out to draw the Mobs away from Manako’s hiding spot. All she’d managed to find of the ant after was few bloodstained pieces of clothing and some bone,And her minding helmet, That was it.

End of Flashback

“I know you won’t understand this, but there are bigger things for me to worry about than your point of view!.” Manako charged at him, ducking under a angry swings and dodging fierce blows.

Oh sh*t that was close!

The noises and explosion were starting to overwhelm her, and the smell of blood and nitroglycerin filled his nostrils, mixing with the scent of ash and smoke. She found that it made it harder to remember on what she was supposed to do. SweetMask kept using his hands-like glimpses of knifes and swords of the corner of his eyes.

Sometimes, when SweetMask tried to slice her with his hand, she overlapped with the image of the Miners evil boss. His red eyes glinted in malice and amusing glee, and Manako wasn’t sure if that was the hallucination or not.

Don’t kill him. The thought ran through her mind. She had to remember. This was SweetMask , not the Monster Association… not the evil boss… this is SweetMask . She pulled back, restraining herself, fighting against years of instinct screaming at her to do otherwise. She fought at only a small percentage of her power. She couldn’t go all-out. Not against her death coworkers. Not against, a fellow friend . A human child.

The two finally jumped apart to catch their breath as Manako held up his hand (a hand that looked bloody pale and was horribly dry from overuse of the slice hand technique), one finger hooked in the pin on the rope. Yellow eyes glined in bloodlust as they thirsted for his death. “You know what structure of this building is, right? Well, Monster, what’dya think these are for?”

Manako’s eyes widened in startled realization as her vision focused on the present for that moment. “The force of the channels down through the walls to the floor.…”

“STOP! YOUR GONNA KILL HER!” TG’s voice rung out in worry, and Manako heard the familiar voice of Mike in the background. Mikey? What’s he doing here?

“Only if she doesn’t jump!” SweetMask grinned as he pulled the rope pin.

If Manako hadn’t spent a decade time surviveing Saitama training or fighting a unbelievably fast and ludicrously strong Monsters, she’d would’ve actually died.

But luckily for Manako, her reflexes were insane, and she managed to dodge most of the buildings rubbles. But one caught her left leg, burning and piercing the skin. The smell of burned flesh reached her nostrils, mixing with the dust kicked up from Manako’s trap. The scent mixed with blood became unnervingly similar to the scent of a decayed corpse from the Monsters Association, and suddenly Manako was completely gone—she didn’t know where she was.

She was half-sure her mind was playing tricks on herself, but she heard some mobs nearby. She glanced around herself quickly, and slipped into stealth mode, hiding in the best spot she could find. She’d wait out the Anger Monsters—Mike and the others was smart enough to do the same. And if her friends was in trouble, Manako would plan it out. She’d go to help them if that were the case. She made a promise to the gang to keep each other safe, after all. Mike wouldn’t die. She’d make sure of it.

But she also promised Aden that she’d look after herself. So she needed to survive. “You’re doing great, Manako.” Aden’s hand ruffled her head. “You’re doing just fine. Keep your elbow bent a little more, yeah! Like that!”

She violently flung the thought out of her mind—this was no time to think of people long dead.

They will survive. No matter what.

May the Meeting Room

Silver Fang was tired. Not that that was necessarily anything new, per say, but he was apprehensive about Saitama’s friend first Heroics Test. Never once his gut feelings lie, he decided to observe TG’s lesson. It was the man’s first time testing heroes, after all, so he’d likely need a hand reigning in 19 superpowered Heroes.

He entered the observation room with TG and the remaining 15 Heroes as Blast, Atomic Samurai, King, Metal Night ready themselves for their battle. ZombieMan , personally, was against the idea of SweetMask and Manako facing one another (or a battle exercise right off the bat, but he trusted that TG had enough common sense to stop heroes for over doing it).

Something about the way SweetMask had lunged at Saitama’s Sidekick during the test before had rubbed him the wrong way. Though Manako hadn’t seemed phased by the unprompted lunge, ZombieMan could see the way she tensed around SweetMask and the surrounding. He suspected this was a case of trauma or something similar, but with no evidence there was nothing ZombieMan could do about it except do his best to prevent any further altercations.

Warily, he kept his eye on the match before him. He just had a feeling.

“Turn on the audio.” Silver Fang spoke up, startling the TG. He internally smirked—he loved scaring people when he’s on stealth mode.

“Silver Fang. I wasn’t aware that you were observing the Test today?”

“I wanted to make sure you had an extra set of eyes on these 2. They’re a handful.” He explained, and TG nodded.

“Um… how do I turn on the audio?”

ZombieMan sighed before leaning over and pressing the obvious white button with the headphone icon. Honestly, the staff should’ve made him get a teaching degree or at least. teach him in private so he will know what to do.

They listened as Manako handed what she explained was a smoke screen bomb to Child Emperor. Clever idea, but let’s see well her plan works.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t long until Manako met with SweetMask , and the results were as hated as ZombieMan had feared.

“Why do you hate monsters so much SweetMask?, What have I ever done to you?” Manako worriedly asked, causing SweetMask bristle in anger.

“Shut the hell up you Monsters! Why are you in the Hero Association? Are you here to spy on everyone?!”

“That’s what’s got you so mad?”. “SweetMask. This is obviously a huge miss understanding can’t we just talk this out and be friends?.” Obviously there’s a lot of context I’m missing, here.

“Like I’d ever be friends with a Monster reject like you!” ZombieMan’s attention immediately became entirely focused on the fight. He had suspected that SweetMask’s record wasn’t as clean as it initially appeared, but 1SRanks has a lot of advantage to hide from the public eye, also noob crushers was very serious—especially for a Monster hero like Manako and Saitama.

ZombieMan also found himself appreciating the smooth form that Manako had, and his obvious expertise with analyzing. She wielded them with experience beyond his years, and ZombieMan wondered where shee’d learned to fight.

Compared to Manako, SweetMask looked like a raging fashion model with graceful and stylish appearance or manner elegance.—powerful, with strong instincts, but a lot of wasted energy and movement. Manako’s movement wasted none, and actually reminded ZombieMan he needs to improve his fighting style a little more on his Weapon.

He tensed when SweetMask cracked a hole in the floor, freeing himself from Maniko’s grasp.

“So you’ve got some moves. So what!” SweetMask snarled. “You’re still a Monster ! You’ll gonna get killed anyways!”

Zim eyes narrowed. This was a personal statement. He knew right there that both of these 2 heroes would need to talk (SweetMask for his anger and fame blindness, and for Manako is low self-esteem and trauma.)

“SweetMask .” Manako flinched as another crashing sound went off, and ZombieMan took a deep breath. He didn’t like the feeling he was getting.

And for a moment, Manako froze. No… ZombieMan’s eyes narrowed. That’s not right. This is something else… But between the shitty angle of the camera and the dust settling, ZombieMan couldn’t name what it was before the Monster snapped herself out of it.

“I know you won’t understand this, but there are bigger things for me to worry about than your point of view .”

Something’s not right. The dust settled and he could see a lot more clearly. Manako’s eyes… they were somewhat glassy and she didn’t look completely there. It was as if she didn’t completely recognize where she was beyond the fight. That worried ZombieMan. A lot.

And then something changed.

It was subtle, and the shift was one that ZombieMan only barely noticed, but Manako went from a sparring fighting style to a fighting for your life style. He caught Manako altering several moves at the last minute that would’ve been lethal (for SweetMask) if he hadn’t changed course. That was when he’d decided that enough was enough. He moved to stop the match before someone got killed, when SweetMask spoke up.

“You know what structure of this building is, right? Well, Monster, what’dya think these are for?”

“The force of the channels down through the walls to the floor.…”

“STOP! YOUR GONNA KILL HER!” TG

shouted over the intercom.

“SweetMask , if you pull that ro—” ZombieMan started, but SweetMask didn’t hear him.

“Only if she doesn’t jump!” ZombieMan felt anger well up alongside his fear as the pin was pulled and a massive crash and explosion took out the building crumbling down.

“Holly Sh*t?! Is everyone okay?!” TG asked, but ZombieMan hit a button on the panel instead while Sliver Fang worried.

“Stop the exercise! Anyone continuing to fight will be expelled.” Silver Fang promised as TG sent him an affronted look.

“I’m going to go check on Manako and The rest. Call the hospital, there’s sure to be injuries.” TG nodded meekly and went to do as told. “Hero Training has been canceled” glared at the remaining heroes , who nodded and planted their feet where they stood or sat. half of them is terrified and the other half is worried if that was of ZombieMan , then good, he’d done something right. Silver Fang though

His heart pounded in worry. SweetMask was leaning casually against a wall, acting like nothing was wrong. While Child Emperor was sitting down on the floor and Flashy Flash was looking at the crumpled building “You are going to wait for me in the minsters office. We will have a nice long discussion on why that was not okay. And the boss wants to talk to you so don’t attempt to go elsewhere, and you’ll find yourself in huge trouble.” ZombieMan glared, and SweetMask straightened in shock and nodded.

Silver Fang stayed with the 3 heroes while ZombieMan looked for Manako

Fubuki and King came down the stairs, worry evident on their faces. “So are they ok?” Fubuki asked.

“Just go back to the other heroes since this test is called while I locate Manako also can you call Saitama.” He ordered, and King and Fubuki did what he had said.

ZombieMan was good at finding people with his analyzing skills—he had to be to find the crooks and crannies lurking in back alleyways at important missions. But it was harder to find Manako for the life of him, finding Manako is really tricky. And that scared him. It wasn’t until he finally caught sight of a few drops of blood on the floor (likely from cutting herself on rubble) that his eyes focused on a deathly still figure hiding in the rubble.

Wide one eyes stared around his environment, as if tracking unseen enemies. She flinched—twitched, more like—at unheard sounds, and her breathing was almost nonexistent.

ZombieMan realized that Manako was stuck in some kind of flashback. “Bright Light.” No reaction.

“Manako.” He tried again, noticing that his friend twitched a little at the sound of her given name.

“Mikey?” ZombieMan blinked. Who the heck is Mikey? He decided not to question it right now. “Yeah, kid. It’s me.” He carefully made his way over to him. “Can you tell me where you are right now?”

“Cave Mineing. I can hear them nearby… Making a break for it would be too dangerous, though. But as long we stick to the plan we can make it out alive. Did you get hurt?” Manako’s voice was scarcely a whisper, and ZombieMan couldn’t help but feel a little heartbroken to see the hardened and fearful look on her face. Just what had happened to Manako in the past? She looked like a soldier in a warzone.

“I’m okay. Listen to me. You’re at Hero Association You’re safe, it’s okay. Nobody is going to hurt you.” He kept his voice calm and soft, and the monsters blinked a few times in confusion. “There’s no one here but our gang?,But… I can hear them?”

“Hear who?”

“The anger mobs of monsters.” There was a pause. So Manako has enemies who are not only human but also monsters? “Mikey? Are the gang okay? Foapy, MooMoo… And Vend?” Are those Manako’s old friends?

“Yeah. Everyone’s okay, Manako.” He rolled with it, calling him Mikey. The monsters relaxed substantially, so ZombieMan assumed it was the right call. “Saitama is here to pick you up.”

“Saitama? But he’s…” her eye furrowed before her eyes cleared up quickly.

ZombieMan carefully placed a hand on Bright Light’s shoulder, and he found Manako’s hand grasping his arm like a lifeline. “Where am I?” She asked desperately.

“It’s Wednesday.. You just started your first Hero Test of Hero Association .” He answered quietly, and she froze for a moment before she melted into his arms.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to…” ZombieMan ignored the tears that were soaking into his coat as he held Saitama’s Sidekick . He reached up to his radio. “Silver Fang, I’ve found her. She’s hurt, but nothing life-threatening. I’m taking her to the Saitama myself.”

He then turned his attention back to the obviously traumatized monsters. “It’s all right, Bright Light. You have nothing to apologize for.”

“I… I must’ve hurt my coworkers and my teammate I… I’m so sorry…”

#opm #one punch man #saitama #manako #Saitama&manako

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batneko · 5 years

Text

Rounding Home, part 3

shout-out to @freudette for inspiring some of Genos’s cleaning outfit!

words: 3252 rating: G

[previous]

About a month into the school year, Saitama got back to the dorm late one evening and opened the door to the scent of lemon juice and bleach. He stood in the doorway for a second, wondering vaguely if he was about to walk in on a murder, and decided to chance it.

Instead he found Genos on hands and knees, scrubbing out the oven.

“Hey, man.”

“Hello sensei,” Genos' voice echoed from inside the appliance.

“Uh... whatcha doin'?”

“Cleaning,” he said, as if it were obvious.

“You try to cook and spill something in there?”

“No.”

“Why, then?”

Genos sat up. His hair was pulled back from his forehead with a clip, and he was wearing yellow dish gloves. Somehow he still managed to be handsome, which was both impressive and incredibly frustrating, for a couple of reasons.

“It needed cleaning,” he said, slowly. “We've been living here a month.”

“I never bake! I usually use the stove. I've only cooked a few things in there, there's no way it needs it already.”

Genos looked a little chagrined, but he clenched his jaw and dipped his sponge in the bucket he'd acquired from somewhere. Maybe it belonged to him.

“Well, I've already started.”

“Okay, have fun with that.” Saitama dropped his backpack on the kitchen island and stepped over Genos' legs to get to the cabinets. “I'll just have eggs over rice for dinner.”

Genos popped out again, this time sheepish. “I won't be long. It's almost finished. Then you can use the stovetop.”

“It's okay. I could go to the cafeteria, but I don't want to go out again now that I'm home.”

Genos nodded. It was refreshing to live with someone who didn't question his aversion to socializing. “I'll be done in no more than ten minutes.”

“Okay.”

He was true to his word, and Saitama didn't think anything of it.

Not until a week later when he came back to Genos scrubbing at the shower tile with a toothbrush.

“Uh...”

“Sorry!” Genos jumped out. He'd pulled his hair back again, and he was wearing what he probably thought of as grunge clothes. Spotless cargo shorts and a tank top that showed off his athlete arms. “Do you need the bathroom? I'll wait.”

“No... I mean, yeah but just the sink.”

Saitama watched Genos via the mirror as he got back to work. Saitama could be a slob sometimes, sure, but the shower had been cleaned fairly recently. All it needed was a wipe now and then. Toothbrush-scrubbing seemed excessive.

“Was it that bad?” Saitama asked.

“It needed cleaning,” Genos said, absently, and Saitama left him to it.

For the next few days Saitama kept finding Genos like that. Whenever he was in the dorm, he was deep-cleaning something-or-other. Two times might have been a coincidence, three was a pattern, and seven was an issue.

When Genos said something about renting a carpet steamer, Saitama finally broke.

“So what's up?” he asked.

Genos just looked at him. “Nothing? I wonder if this carpet has ever been really cleaned. You'd be surprised what-”

“No. I mean you. Something's obviously wrong.”

Genos' eyes went wide, and he tugged at the carefully rolled-up sleeves of his fish sweatshirt. “Nothing is wrong.”

“Yes, come on. I know you're a lot neater than me, but this can't be normal for you or you wouldn't have been able to hide it until now. Something's bothering you, right? And cleaning makes it easier to ignore? Or maybe this is just how you deal with stress.” Saitama patted the seat on the couch next to him. “Come on. You can tell me.”

Genos took a step back. “It's nothing, sensei, really. I'm sorry I bothered you. I'll- I'll try to work out more instead.”

“That's no good, you'll wipe yourself out and get in trouble with the coach again.”

Genos shook his head. “I should focus on my studies, too.”

Saitama didn't sigh, but it was close. “Okay. But if you do want to talk, I'm here. I'm used to it, you know! I hear all kinds of stuff when the students come to me for math help.”

A wisp of a smile fluttered across Genos' face. “Thank you, sensei. I'm really fine though.”

“Okay. You want dinner?”

“I... Yes. That would be nice.”

Every year, without fail, Saitama forgot about Parents Weekend. In his defense – and he wasn't the only one to say it – this weekend really had nothing to do with him any more. His dad and his sister knew about his school plans, they were proud of him in their own ways. But he was a grown-ass man, he didn't need to be visited by family to see how he was “settling in.”

And so he forgot, every year, until he walked out of the dorm and thought to himself, There sure are a lot of mom jeans today.

“Dammit!” Saitama exclaimed, getting a glare from the closest mom. As if her precious freshman baby didn't know about swearing.

No, Parents Weekend didn't have anything to do with Saitama. But the next weekend definitely did.

He started texting as he walked. He'd left the dorm “on time,” which meant he was basically late, and he didn't have a second to stop or he wouldn't start class before the students got antsy.

hay, he sent to Fubuki. is the party happening next week??

of coruse, she replied immediately. Hopefully she wasn't in class, but Saitama had certainly done his share of sneaky desk-texting over the years.

where is it? should i bring anything???

it's the friday before. everything is already arranged. LIKE ALWAYS.

He sent a bowing emoji. i could still bring stuff

She took longer to reply this time, maybe coordinating with other organized people. Finally, as Saitama was walking into the Mathmatics building, he got an answer.

mixers. NOT JUST TONIC. get some of that fizzy water the good kind

Saitama had no idea what “the good kind,” was, but he could find out. The students were filtering in to the lecture hall, so he put his phone away in his bag and started to write out the latest practice formulas on the dry erase board.

Halfway through he happened to glance back, and noticed how many of the freshman students had dressed up for the sake of their parents-

And remembered Genos, obsessively stress-cleaning for the last week.

“Crap,” he said out loud. Only the first row reacted, but it was enough that he knew it wasn't safe to desk-text right now. He'd have to wait until after class to find out if Genos's parents were going to poke around in his stuff. The last thing Saitama needed was for some upper-crust high-standards-having yuppie couple to judge him for using his desk chair to store pants sometimes. And the fact that he wasn't sure he knew what a yuppie was didn't change that.

No way Genos got to nineteen being that pretty and that high-strung without some kind of crazy Perfect Son image to live up to.

***

Genos kept his phone on silent during classes, and always made sure to check it in between them, even if he was just moving from one room to another. Dr. Kuseno didn't contact him often, but there was always the chance he might. If something happened, or he wanted Genos' feedback, or...

He checked. He always checked.

Today there was a message, for the first time in weeks. Saitama, not Kuseno, had sent Genos a text.

are your parents here for the thing? do they know I'm old?

Genos smiled, and his breath caught as he nearly laughed.

You are not old sensei.

don't let them in my room! I left my good pants out because we don't have an iron!

I have an iron.

o shit can I borrow it sometimes???

Genos laughed out loud. He was looking at his phone, so no one gave him so much as a second glance.

srsly tho when are your parents gonna be here so i'm prepared?

Smile fading, Genos considered his options.

He could lie. His past wasn't something he liked to talk about, which was why it hadn't come up even after over a month of living together. It was no wonder Saitama believed Genos had a normal family somewhere, waiting for him, concerned about him.

But if he lied now, he would have to continue lying. Come up with answers for questions. Answers that he couldn't remember, even if they existed. He had photos, he had records, he knew on paper what his parents did for work, their birthplaces, their wedding anniversary. But he could remember only moments. Fuzzy things, mostly. He could remember being happy, but not why.

Genos swallowed the lump in his throat.

The truth was too long for a text. For now he just needed to tell Saitama the part that was relevant to his concerns.

My guardian is working and cannot come this weekend.

There was a gap of several minutes before Saitama replied.

k what do you want for dinner

***

“It means something, right?” Saitama said, picking at his lunch. He'd packed tuna rice and a banana. They didn't really go together.

Mumen, with a veggie wrap of some kind, sat on the other side of Saitama's desk. Where the students usually were sweating over their grades and begging Saitama for help. “Of course it does, Saitama.”

“If he wasn't cleaning everything because of his parents, then...”

Mumen gave a kind of half-nod. “It must have been for him.”

“I was right about the stress part. Just not why.” Saitama sighed. “I don't know how to deal with this! Should I tell him my mom's dead too?”

“Only if you want to. You don't know his situation yet. Maybe his parents are alive, but unable to take care of him for some reason.”

“I guess.” He took a too-big bite of the banana, to give himself time to think. Mumen was correcting papers on a tablet, scanning for grammar mistakes with the practiced eye of someone who'd been doing this for far too long.

“Don't bring it up,” Mumen said suddenly.

Saitama almost choked in his haste to swallow. “What?”

“Don't ask. Don't bring it up unless he does.”

“Come on. It's normal to want to know! He's a nice kid, you know? I wanna help him out but I don't know how.”

Something shifted in Mumen's expression that Saitama couldn't pinpoint. “Think about it, Saitama. This is Parents Weekend and he's not in the care of his, not even his guardian can make it. He's been showing signs of stress and he never mentioned his family before. I think Genos is already upset, and if you bring it up it will make it worse. I'm not saying never ask, I'm saying wait.”

“Okay... okay. You're right.” Saitama broke off another piece of banana. “Why are you always right?”

Mumen gave him another odd look. “You're too close to him- to the situation to look at it logically, that's all.”

“Yeah. Probably.” He tried to toss the banana in his mouth, missed, and caught it on his pecs. “Okay well, wanna jog with me later so I don't bug him all evening?”

Mumen smiled. “Sure, Saitama.”

The evening, Saitama made curry for two. Genos was quiet, but he'd put on his fish sweatshirt again after he got back from baseball practice. If Saitama saw the hairclip come out he was gonna host an intervention.

“How long is this event, sensei?” Genos asked quietly. He was still eating like normal, so that was a good sign. Saitama had been worried he made the curry too spicy but it didn't slow Genos down at all. An athlete's appetite.

“Parents Weekend? There's booths and stuff in the library all weekend, but the organized events are only today and tomorrow.”

Genos nodded. “Tomorrow we have a full practice game. Our first one of the year.”

“Yeah? That's fun! Right?”

Genos gave him a flicker of a smile. “Yes. I am looking forward to it.”

“That's good.”

He didn't bring up his parents, or the lack thereof. And though it was driving him crazy, Saitama resisted the urge to ask.

He spent Saturday as usual; office hours and tutoring, working on the lessons for next week. This year's crop of students were struggling with percentages, of all things, so Saitama was going to look for some tricks to help them remember it.

For lunch he decided to go bug Fubuki, because she was still pretty new at the TA thing and it made him feel better to see how frustrated she got. That was all the way over in the Communications department, and ate into his break time, but it would be worth it.

Sure enough, Saitama let Fubuki's venting wash over him. She was assisting two business classes and a marketing class, and the students were – according to her – barely able to form complete sentences. When she finished Saitama had already eaten most of his lunch while he nodded and made agreement noises, and she sighed and sunk back in her chair.

“What's the good kind of fizzy water?” Saitama asked.

“Something in a bottle,” she said. “Not a can. A glass bottle.”

Already wincing at the idea of spending so much, Saitama made a note of it in his phone.

“Get your roommate to help you. He know.”

“You have a lot of faith in a guy you only met once.”

“He dresses well and he made it sound like he had his pick of schools, so he's probably from money.”

“That would mean he's not used to shopping for himself!”

“Maybe, but he'll know the right brands.”

Saitama felt himself scowling. “It's kinda mean to make him help me buy mixers when he's not even invited to the party.”

“Oh sneak him a beer. Kids always like that.”

“He doesn't drink. At all.”

Fubuki shrugged. “You're friends with him by now, right? He'll probably do it for you as a favor.”

“I'm... not sure if we're friends, exactly.” He wanted to be, if only because it would make living together less awkward, but Genos always seemed to have this bubble around him.

“Is that why you came all the way over here to have lunch instead of going back to your dorm?”

“Nah,” Saitama said. “Genos wouldn't be there anyway. He's got his first practice game today, so he's with the team.”

“Oh, that's right.” Fubuki perked up. “I forgot they always do that for Parents Weekend.”

“Why do you know about it?”

She folded her arms across her chest. “When I was younger I'd go to ogle the cute athlete butts, of course. But now it's a little creepy, especially since their parents are around.”

“Well you wouldn't have to worry about that with Genos. Not even his guardian could make it.”

Fubuki's hands dropped to her chair's arm rests. “What?”

Saitama blinked. “What.”

“He doesn't have parents? And his guardian isn't here either?”

“N- no?”

She was leaning forward in her chair. “Why aren't you at the game right now?”

It was like a police interrogation, the bright green of Fubuki's eyes piercing him like the bright lamps they always used in the movies.

“Um.”

“Go!” Fubuki exclaimed. “Support him, dammit! What's wrong with you?”

“I- I don't- It's just a practice game, it's not a big deal.”

Fubuki took a slow breath, chest heaving in a way that would have been enjoyable if Saitama wasn't terrified. “You idiot. This is why you can't keep a girlfriend! You have to know what's fucking important!”

“It's just a practice game.”

“It's his first game with the team, all the others are showing off for their parents, and he has no one.” Fubuki stood up and opened her office door, only two steps away from her chair in the tiny room. “Go. Now.”

The clock fell into Saitama's line of sight. “I can't, I have to go back and do more tutoring.”

“You'd better tell him,” Fubuki said, voice still low and dangerous. “This is strike one.”

“I really don't think it's as big a deal as you're making it.”

“Strike one,” she repeated, wagging a finger at him.

“And Genos isn't my girlfriend, anyway.”

“Relationships are relationships.”

***

The game was... good. In a way. It felt good to play a full game, for the first time in the months since high school. Hard to believe it wasn't that long ago, if you looked at the calendar. College was like a different world.

A world he was adrift in, barely speaking the language, untethered...

He'd managed to keep his focus during the game itself, but he had to admit his heart wasn't in it. He did fine, but he could do better, he knew that. If this trend kept up Genos would never make it into the batting order as a freshman. He just needed to focus and work even harder. That was all.

At least the rest of the team didn't notice. Bado congratulated him on a couple of plays, an upperclassman clapped him on the back, even Coach Tank gave him some praise along with the usual pointers. When Genos left the locker room, showered and changed, he almost felt like himself again.

For a moment, at least.

Funny, he thought to himself as he looked over the passing families, for once Saitama-sensei isn't the only bald man on campus.

“Hey!” Saitama's voice jerked him out of that strange chain of thought. He was waving at Genos, but his smile was closer to a grimace. “Game's already over, huh?”

“Yes. For some time.”

“Damn. I had tutoring all day and I missed it. How'd you do?”

“I...”

Next to him, he heard a girl's voice saying “Big brother, you did great!”

“Great,” he said, forcing confidence.

Saitama smiled. “I bet! I'll come to the next one, I promise.”

It was like a blow. Genos swayed on his feet, barely keeping his balance as tension drained from his back and shoulders. How could one word ease so much? It must have been obvious, because Saitama reached out and grabbed his arm.

“You look exhausted,” Saitama said. “Let's go home, yeah?”

“Yes,” Genos said. “Let's go home.”

He was being foolish, Genos told himself. Did it really make him this happy to have Saitama here? To want to watch him? He should be better than this, he should be content with his friends on the team and conversations in class. It wasn't like he'd had that many friends in high school either. It shouldn't feel like this.

“Hey,” Saitama said suddenly, hand tightening on Genos' arm. He hadn't even noticed Saitama was still touching him.

Maybe he was just exhausted. Maybe the rush of endorphins was the knowledge that there would be someone to take care of him if he passed out.

“Do you want to go to a party next week?” Saitama finished.

Genos blinked. “What.”

[next]

#one punch man #saitama x genos #saigenos #genosai #saitama #genos #opm #college au #batfics

23 notes · View notes

rayadraws · 5 years

Text

BotGeno Valentine Countdown 2019 - Valentine date

Time for another ficlet! It’s date time! 1.6k today.

Relationship: Saitama/Genos Tags: New(ish) relationship, bilingual borg Warnings: None (G)

”I love you.”

”Once more?”

”I love you. I love you… to the moon ah… uh…”

”To the moon and back.”

”Right, right. To the moon and back. Am I doing it right? You can tell what I’m saying?”

”I can, well enough.”

King seemed to think they were done. Not yet. Saitama wanted to get this perfect.

”I love you to the moon and back..! To the moon… and back! Irresistible!”

”...”

”What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

”Is that… your usual expression when you tell Genos that you love him?”

”Uh. Yes? What of it?”

”I suppose… it’s not my place to judge your boyfriend’s tastes.”

”What’s that supposed to mean?!”

Genos talked a lot, but not usually about himself. When he did, it was typically about a new upgrade or something. Genos talking about his upbringing, or even his past in general… that was rare. So he hadn’t realized it immediately. Maybe his Engrish (he’d been told, by both Genos and King) shirts should have been a clue, but Genos disapproved of so many of his clothes anyway that he hadn’t paid it much mind.

The second clue was maybe some of that techno talk with the doc, but almost all of what they talked about when they got going flew over his head anyway, so he didn’t really think about it.

Instead, the first time he really realized it was when Genos talked in his sleep. It wasn’t something that happened super often, and even when it did Saitama wouldn’t usually be awake to hear it. But that one time he was, and he was surprised to hear the other muttering stuff in a foreign language. At least he understood enough to realize that Genos was sleep talking in English.

He’d asked him about it at breakfast the next day, and Genos had been mildly surprised Saitama had found it out, but otherwise pretty blasé about it.

”I was raised bilingual,” he’d simply said. Knowing his childhood was kind of a sore point Saitama hadn’t really dug deep into it, but he’d learnt that Genos was fluent in English, though he rarely got the chance to like, have a casual conversation in it with anyone. The closest he got these days was reading foreign cyborg research papers, or talking to people online, or, well, the Engrish shirts. But they didn’t really have people who spoke English (who spoke it well, anyway) among their friends. Which was maybe a little sad? Like, you’d probably miss casually speaking a language you were raised with, right?

Genos had assured him that he was fine, but Saitama had prepared a little… surprise for him, all the same.

Valentine's was coming up and he thought it’d be fun to maybe like, surprise him by saying a phrase in English. A loving phrase, of course.

He’d asked King to help him get it right - the guy was exposed to more English than any of them, thanks to his video games, and they’d practised in secret, while Genos was out.

The days leading up to Valentine’s were busy, with lots of monster reports. Not terribly dangerous ones, but they still needed to be dealt with. There were monsters spawned from jealousy, and unrequited love, and the one who must have had a really weird relationship to chocolate. Genos was called out to deal with several of them and even Saitama got an official call to take care of a sentient candy heart that had somehow made its way to the outskirts of City Z.

It sucked that they were apart so much for several days, but at least it gave Saitama lots of time to practice, with Genos out of (cybernetically improved) hearing range.

”You are amez-... no… you are amiz… you are cool! Yeah, that will have to do…” he muttered to himself. Why did it have to be so difficult to memorize a few lines?! How could Genos make it look so easy to just keep going?

He kicked a pebble as he crossed the street, not bothering to look for cars. None ever made it to their dilapidated neighbourhood. Instead he looked up, to the one lit window in the building, while slowly twirling his gift around in his fingers.

He was home.

”I assure you that I will not go overboard today. On this, you have my word.”

Saitama lifted one eyebrow, eyeing the man across the table. Genos sat in a (somehow) even more rigid seiza than usual, vents faintly glowing and whole body borderline vibrating.

”You’ll be pleased to hear I upheld your ’spend no more than 500 yen on me dude’ rule, Sensei!”

”Really? Huh,” Saitama said, blinking slowly. He hadn’t expected the other to live up to that promise, to be honest.

”Yes,” Genos purred. ”Please leave it to me!”

Genos was a sneaky bastard, but he already knew that. Saitama had realized he most definitely had put more than 500 yen into their first real valentine’s day date the moment he led them down the street to the restaurant. The food there did not cost 500 yen. A glass of water from them, maybe.

He’d narrowed his eyes accusingly when they were handed the menus after being shown to their table, but Genos had once again assured him that he’d followed the rule. It just so happened that the restaurant’s owner was a very big fan of Demon Cyborg. And… maybe he’d used that, a little bit. Maybe he’d signed one of the plushies of himself that fans sent him sometimes and given to her, along with one of his exceptionally rare public smiles, with the glowy eyes. And maybe she’d been more than happy to let him and his significant other eat for free at her restaurant in return for his smile and his signed plushie and a good word about her restaurant.

Sneaky bastard.

He couldn’t deny that the food was tasty, though. Especially for being free. He even got to sample some wine, though that was a taste he had yet to acquire (Genos too, going off his grimace after trying it, but free was free).

After that, they walked down the shopping district of City Z, looking at all the lovey-dovey stuff for sale in the shop windows. There was so much pink and red and of course, all the chocolate.

”You didn’t spend your money on overpriced chocolate, right? I don’t think any of these cost less than 500…”

”No, we will buy chocolate tomorrow, at half-price.”

”Good boy.”

He filed away the way Genos lit up at that comment for later.

”Of course, since the food was free, and the walk too, I still have 500 yen left to spend on Sensei as I see fit. Or rather, as he sees fit… Would you please pick out what you want in this store? Anything Sensei wishes - as long as it costs 500 yen or less.”

He’d stopped and was motioning to the store closest to them. Saitama peered past him to look inside the window and oh, it was a manga store?!

”Good boy,” he repeated himself, Genos smiling ear to ear as they went inside.

Saitama made a bit of a show picking out a manga volume he didn’t yet own, feeling those eyes, and that grin, on him throughout the whole time in the store. Not to mention the way Genos held his hand the whole time, doing these weird swinging motions from time to time. He wondered why he kept doing-

”Hey. Are you like… showing off to people that we’re a couple?!”

Genos lifted their hands again, and this time Saitama noticed the phone, held by a red-faced, giggling teenage girl. She bowed her head in gratitude before running off into the crowd again.

”If they want a picture, the least we can do us to offer a good pose...”

”Geez, aren’t you being exceptionally friendly today!” He snorted and gave Genos a small shove with his free hand, but only held on tighter with the other.

They left the store and started to trudge home again.

It was Saitama’s turn.

”I didn’t like, go through all the trouble you did, and I’m not good at coming up with cool personalized ideas and all but, um, here.”

He’d led Genos home, and made him sit down on the floor by the table (and Genos was definitely vibrating this time), and then he’d gone to fetch the things. He’d kept them in his side of the clothes closet, hopefully they’d still be okay…

”Here. And, here too…”

He handed Genos the red rose, still looking none the worse for wear, thank goodness, and the card. ”It’s dumb, I know, but I thought it was cute…”

Genos took the rose from him like it was made from gold, slowly turning it around in his hand to see it from every angle. And when he was handed the card - featuring a cartoon robot (”Valentine, I like you a Bot”) he studied that up close to - Saitama could tell his eye was doing the sparkly thing that meant he was scanning or analysing or whatever.

”Saitama… this comes from the heart. Thank you…”

”Ah, wait! There’s one more thing. You’re gonna have to excuse all the mistakes, because I’m sure there will be many. Just hang in there, okay?”

”Sensei..?”

Saitama cleared his throat and Genos went back to being quiet, eyes wide and mouth tightly shut.

”You are really cool Genos. Thanks for putting up with me. My days are brighter with you around. I’m bad at emotions, but I love you to the moon and back.

Genos just stared at him for what felt like an eternity, and then it was as if he exploded, talking fast and loud.

”Sensei… no… master! Thank you! You learnt to say all of that in English… just for me? I love you too! I love you so much!”

”Uhh. I didn’t catch most of that, sorry dude. It was cool to hear you say it though. And I got the last part...”

”You did so much. You spent your 500 yen more thoughtfully than I did…”

”Nah…”

”Come here, Sensei. Tonight I will teach you how to scream... in English.”

”R-right…”

He had a feeling he was about to learn a bunch of new words, but not ones he’d be able to use in public.

This was going to be fun.

#BotGenoVdayCountdown #genos #saitama #bilingual borg #ficlet

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aranciafiamma · 5 years

Text

Price of Popularity

A Kingtama fanfic loosely based off Pride and Prejudice

King didn’t want to be here. He really didn’t want to be here. But the universe, fate, some yet unnamed cosmic power had collectively decided to ignore him. His opinion never counted for much lately, not that a lot of people asked for it.

And now, he got roped into this mess. They ambushed him. Or he would have fled long ago. They had staked out his apartment and the moment he showed up, they dragged him to this. He spent the ride over with his heartbeat getting louder. The driver and his escorts started weeping. So busy begging for his mercy, they never told him that it wasn’t a fight. There was no monster to vanquish, no villain to slay.

Then he walked into the room, his “engine” thundering loud and clear, and he figured it all out. It was a ballroom - high ceilings, chandeliers, polished floors - the works. It was filled with people, clad in suits and party dresses - a small band played in the corner. Heroes were milling about, eating fancy cheeses and sipping champagne - the S Rank scattered through the crowd. It was some kind of soiree.

He almost sunk to his knees - his legs turned to melted sugar. That’s how relieved he felt. Except.

Everyone stopped. The band stopped playing. The people stopped chatting. The S Rank heroes all turned to look. At him. And his heart rate sped right back up.

“It’s King -”

“Rank 7 in the S Class - ”

“I heard he - ”

Murmurs broke out. They all kept a good distance, eyeing him with the caution of someone who found a stray dog in their dumpster. A rabid, filthy dog with blood on its teeth. They spoke of him but no one had the guts to really come close. So King took the chance and performed his ultra special move. He ran.

They closed the doors behind him - big doors, heavy and solid oak that he would never be able to push open. He couldn’t leave. He just settled for lurking in a corner, not looking at anybody. The good news is it could be worse. The bad news is it could be better. He really wants to go home.

He sighs and tries not to slump. He’s gotta be King now. And King doesn’t slump. But maybe he crosses his arms. That’s a classic, tough guy pose. King crosses his arms, frowning a little harder. There. Now he looks stoic and intimidating and definitely, not at all intimidated. He hopes.

“King! There you are!”

For real?! He seriously has the worst luck. Maybe if he doesn’t answer, Silverfang will go away.

Silverfang does not go away. He actually walks a little closer. He even pats King on the shoulder. “I was surprised to learn you came. You don’t seem like a party-type.”

Well. At least some things stay true no matter what.

Silverfang doesn’t seem offended or discouraged by his silence. He goes on. “I’m not really much of a party-person myself. But it’s nice to be out every now and again.”

“What’s so nice about it?”

It’s official. The universe is trying to screw him over. This is a dedicated campaign to really mess him up. It’s like a cosmic DdoS attack.

Tatsumaki floats down from wherever she was hanging around. Literally looking down at everyone, he guesses.

“This is just some cheap gimmick to get the Association some money!” she announces right into his ear.

“That may be. Still. There’s good food. And music. A perfect time to ease up.”

“The cheese is stale. The music is bland. And if I wanted to relax, I’d be at home.”

She’s right. About being at home. She’s so right. If King could, he’d be nodding so hard. But King doesn’t really do that - willful expression of emotion. He’s an aloof bastard, that King.

Silverfang ignores Tatsumaki, turning to face him more. He has no reason to. It’s not like they were having a conversation of any kind. Silverfang would have a better time talking to a wall. Why is he still trying with him? Why?!

“King, you really should socialize more. It’s a waste of your youth, just watching the world go by.”

He’s perfectly fine with that. The world could pass him on the street and he’d barely give it a glance. It never gave him much to offer anyways. Of course, he can’t just say that. To Bang.

“Oh please! As if there’s anybody worth talking to in this dump. Can you believe the Association? The only real waste here is the waste of our time!”

“I think it’s good for the S Rank to mingle a little more.”

“You just want more students for that trashy dojo of yours.”

“The thought crossed my mind. But we weren’t talking about that. We were talking about King here.”

No. Please. Continue talking about that. King tries very hard to phase through the wall. It doesn’t work. They turn to him.

“Well how about it, King? Why not chat with someone?” Bang looks around. “Oh! Saitama’s here, I see. And he doesn’t seem too busy.”

“Caped Baldy?” Tatsumaki squawks. “You want King talking to that B Rank nobody? Have you finally gone senile?”

He breathes in a fast, shallow breath. He tries to open his mouth but his lips stick together. He feels his pulse speed up, the beat a little muffled but not for too long.

“They could become great friends! We certainly won’t know until King talks to him.”

“Of course, we’d know! What kind of company -”

“So how about it, King?”

“Hey, don’t ignore me!”

His pulse is now audible, very audible. He clenches his hands, trying to calm down. It feels like his skin shrunk, suddenly two sizes too tight. He’s vaguely aware of Bang and Tatsumaki shrinking back.

“I have. Better things to do. Than make small talk. With someone. I’ve never heard of.”

King risks a glance. Bang is frowning. Tatsumaki is grinning.

“I expected better from you, King. I thought you wouldn’t buy into the whole S Rank ego nonsense.”

“And why shouldn’t he? Sure, the S Rank are a bunch of clowns. But at least King can be competent! We’re above the sort of - Hey! Where are you going?!”

They opened the doors. Party’s over. People are heading out. King ignores the screeching behind him and follows the crowd. Tatsumaki’s annoyed with him but she’s always annoyed. He can’t bring himself to care now that he’s on his way out. His pulse even slows down.

Halfway to the exit, a glint catches his eyes. It’s an animal reflex, really. Something shiny, something moves and humans look. It’s for a second, maybe even half of that. But King turns and sees - wow. He really is completely bald. His name is Caped Baldy, sure. So it’s not like a surprise. But King was expecting some middle-aged dude with a receding hairline or like a really big bald spot. But no, this guy’s scalp is totally bare, absolutely naked. His head’s so shiny, it’s reflecting light which caught his attention.

Then he abruptly realizes the bald guy is also looking right at him. Their gazes lock for all of one second. But it’s enough to send King scrambling. The guy definitely noticed him staring. Like a weirdo. Oh man. He quickens his pace. His heartbeat gets a little excited and people start clearing a path for him. He’s out the door within a minute.

He must’ve seen like such a jackass. There’s definitely weirder people to stare at. For crying out loud, Watchdog Man wears a fursuit 24/7. And he’s over here eyeing some guy just ‘cuz he didn’t have any hair. C'mon, dude. Lots of people are bald. This guy shouldn’t be so special.

Except. King can’t help but feel a sort of deja vu. Like he’s met this guy before. Like there’s something important he’s forgetting.

It really shouldn't bother him. He's not famous. Saitama knows that. It's the whole reason he went pro. It's the reason he's at this fancy, little shindig eating weird cheeses and mini hotdogs. No, wait. Rich people like to call them sausages. Whatever. He pulls another snack off a passing tray. Seriously, these things were so small. Rich people can buyout a literal buffet but they always serve such small plates. He'll never understand. What was he thinking about again? The doors open. The band finishes their song. It looks like the party's over. He turns, searching for wherever Genos went. The guy chased after some poor waiter because Saitama said something about wanting a drink. Man. That guy really needed to chill. His eyes pass over the room. He doesn't see Genos. He does see this tall, blond dude. It's kinda hard not to. The dude is that tall. And in a hurry, it seems like. The guy is pushing through the crowd and then turns to glance over his shoulder. Saitama meets his eyes for like a second, maybe half of that. Oh. That's right. Popularity. Fame. Recognition. Just even a little bit. Sure, he didn't become a hero to be like a superstar. But he thought, you know, after everything he's done maybe people would... Man, he doesn't know what. But it makes sense - or at least, he thought it did - that people should know him by now. He's not much for bragging but he's done a lot... Hasn't he? "Hey Genos, what do you think I'm doing wrong?" Genos walks up to him. He's dripping. Something is splashed all over his face and hair and shirt. Genos doesn't seem bothered by this, triumphantly holding up a glass of fizzy stuff. He hands it over to Saitama. "Here, Sensei! I got you that drink!" "Aa. Thanks." Now Saitama feels bad. Genos definitely looks like he got into some trouble getting this for him. "I don't think you can do anything wrong." "Hmm? What?" Saitama looks up from eyeing his drink. "You asked what you were doing wrong," Genos explains. "And I don't think you can." "Sheesh, dude. Quit trying that with me." Saitama takes a sip, just to have something to do that isn't looking at Genos. So intense, this guy. "I was just thinking about... Stuff, I guess. Is it weird to assume people have heard of me?" "No," Genos replies, quick enough that Saitama glances back at him. There's no hesitation in that reply. "I have seen the feats you perform on a regular basis. Each far exceeded the capacity of any known hero. Your obscurity is not just strange - it's an outright absurdity." Wow. He's. Confident. Like, it's good that he's saying that. So maybe Saitama isn't so crazy thinking that stuff. But also like, Genos can get pretty biased when it comes to him. And it's not like Saitama knows enough about the other heroes to compare himself. "Why do you ask?" Saitama blinks at Genos. "Hmm?" "Why do you ask?" "Oh. Nuthin'. Just some guy.”

“What guy? Did he insult you-” Really. It's so weird that he's hung up on that. He doesn't usually care about the things people say. He for real doesn't. Except, you know, it's like... Something he's been thinking about lately.... It's the timing, that's all. Someone says the stuff on your mind. That can screw anybody up. A loud whirring noise catches his attention. He turns to Genos to find him steaming - as in literally steam is rising from his shoulder plates, his arm guards, even his synthetic hair. And it's a bit unfair, he thinks. Cyborgs don't need hair. So Genos must have specifically asked for it. But there's nothing wrong with being bald! Oh wait. Genos is still talking. "-burn them! I will incinerate their ashes and their ashes' ashes." "Okay. Whoa. Slow your roll there, buddy. It's cool. You know I don't really care about that sort of thing." Genos pauses. His incinerators stop charging up. "Sensei." Saitama braces himself for another compliment. He is never gonna get used to that. "Yeah?" "You're a terrible liar." "Sure, you..." Wait. "Huh? Huuuuuuuh?!"

The party ends. The days pass. He stops thinking about it.

Okay, well, he tries to. A lot of stuff happens and he gets a pretty harsh reminder. Some fish-man - merman? - thrashed a whole bunch of heroes. And Saitama is sure they tried their best. But their best wasn’t enough. And the day still needed to be saved… so he saved it.

He just made everybody else look like chumps. And that’s… That can’t be helped. The gap between him and everyone else… He knows it’s that wide. But it didn’t use to bother anybody except him. And then the whole… That jerkface with his snide little - He didn’t need to go rubbing it in like that. As if Saitama didn’t know. As if standing there, still wet from the rain, with the corpse of yet another monster at his feet, as if he wasn’t fully aware of how…

...

Anyways. He lied. He laughed and he lied and he looked up at the clear, blue sky. And a small, soft part of him - tucked away someplace dark and forgotten - wished they didn’t believe him so easily. But they did. And now, he’s a villain.

That’s fine. He can’t say it’s too drastic of a change from how things usually are. People always think he’s some kinda troublemaker - a no-good kid all grown up into a no-good guy. Whatever, okay! The day is saved. That’s what matters.

It wasn’t all bad. He met someone new. He did get some thanks. That was nice. Oh and he got a promotion which was cool. And hey, maybe if he got really high up there, then he might get fans. There’s no way a fake can get into the top, right? He can show them all.

So, okay. He really has been thinking about the whole “popularity” thing. He’s thought about it more than he ever did before. But then, there hadn’t been like this system he had to follow. He thought his strength spoke for itself. Guess not. Geez, being a hero didn’t use to be this much work.

But he’s got nothing better to do. That’s why he followed Genos to this S-rank meeting. He probably shouldn’t be there. And by “probably”, he means definitely. Two steps in, and he’s already getting dissed. Not even a minute later, he’s dissed again. Does the S stand for the sticks up their asses? Sheesh.

So of course, Saitama is not super surprised to see that tall, blond dude again. And yes! Fine! He still remembers what the guy said in that party ages ago. It just figures that he would be S-rank. He certainly had the right attitude.

Saitama tries to ignore him. But… The dude just keeps staring at him? Like his eyes are just fixed on Saitama. He wanted to look back, just lock eyes with the guy, maybe start some shit? He doesn’t know why else the dude would pay him so much attention. He figured he must’ve offended the guy. He doesn’t have a clue how except that he did. But like, so what? Some blond, S-rank stuck-up disliked him? He can get in line.

#kingtama #opm #one punch man #saitama #king

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chibalein · 6 years

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Kalafina Harmony Vol. 4 - Wakana’s Solo Interview Translation

Hello! It’s been a while since I translated stuff, so I thought I’d give you the stuff from the latest Harmony magazine. Let’s see how far I come, today you get Wakana’s solo interview, which is almost only about her plant obsession. This is of course hightly outdated, now that her solo concert is over and her tour has started.

My Japanese ain’t perfect and neither is my English, so if I got something completely wrong, please tell me:) If you happen to use this translation for whatever, please tell your kind followers that I spent 2 hours browsing my translation apps for this. Thank you XD

Here is my post of the full harmony magazine sneak peak -> Click

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Wakana Solo Interview

Taking advantage of this recent situation, we will talk a lot about her room’s decorative plants! We also asked a little bit about her concert in August.

I feel like it has been a while since you talked like this with us… First, please tell us about your recent situation.

The other day I visited together with an artist friend the so-called “Green Marche” festival [I think it’s this farmer’s market like place in Koshigaya, Saitama]. It was open for two days, but one day I spent doing “location hunting” alone.

Wakana-chan, your room is steadily becoming a jungle, right? Did you pick up anything at the marche?

Yes! During my self-proclaimed location hunting, I bought some mint, celery and thyme. Since it’s turning summer and bugs are coming out, I thought of putting more herbs on my veranda as insect repellent. Also, my friend that accompanied me on the second day bought some celery too.

When you say celery, the celery you eat?

That’s right! I love celery. I also bought celery and basil for eating purposes and put them in my room.

What else?

Insectivorous plants! I’ve wanted a venus flytrap for a long time, but when I was looking for it, there was a much better insectivorous plant next to it. A pitcher plant! When I said “How cool!!” without thinking, an elegant madame next to me kindly said “Oh, there is a person that likes those?”. I asked “Aren’t they cool? You won’t buy them?”, and she replied “Well, every person likes different things. I will buy hydrangea” *laughs* [the “madame” is talking in an extremely lady-like/feminine way]. The madame took the potted hydrangea, I took the pitcher plant. It is now working next to the kitchen celery and basil!

Do you have many plants on your veranda?

Ever since it became spring, the numbers increase slowly. This season is lively, so the green is overflowing. When it becomes fall and winter, it will be a bit lonely though.

Do you spent time on your veranda even in winter?

In general yes. It’s said that “outside kids will be outside”. Now that you say it, the day before the 10th Anniversary Live at Budokan, there was a heavy snowfall, right?

When you went outside after rehearsal, the snow turned everything pure white *laughs*

Right! When I looked at my veranda after coming home, everything was buried in snow. I hurried to my plants and said “Whoa, are you ok?!”. After all, I brushed the snow away the whole time and evacuated the plants inside to watch over them for a while *laughs*

How many different plants do you have?

I decided for myself that I won’t by two plants of the same species, if possible. I thought this way it’s more fun… However, celery is an exception *laughs*

It seems like you have numerous herbs and decorative plants, but do you also own flowers and vegetables?

Growing flowers is difficult… They wither, when you give them too much water and so on. I tried many times, but they all withered… That’s why everything is green!

I see. Do you buy a lot at the green marche or at a flower shop?

Sometimes, sometimes they are being sold at interior stores, and I get the impression that 100-Yen shops have become good for that lately, too. Here live also many plants that come from a 100-Yen-shop. Ah, the one I introduced at the blog the other day is also from there. The pot is from a 300-Yen store. The greenery is healing me, so I raise them too.

So, Wakana-chan, you are raising the plants, but the plants also raise you.

That is certainly right!

I am embarrassed to say it, but I admire you for having so many plants in your room, I wonder where to start for myself. I feel like everything would wither for sure.

No way, it will be ok!

Are there any plants that even beginners can grow without worries?

I am not an expert, but I personally recommend pothos. Pothos rarely withers and it’s easy to care for. Cutting the stem and just putting it in a glass of water makes it very durable, and it’s very interesting to see the roots coming out quickly! The roots look a bit like Laputa *laughs* [should be a reference to the Ghibli movie „Castle in the Sky“]

I wanna see it!

In case of the potted plants, their care may be a bit difficult at the beginning, but you get used to it eventually. Depending on the season and the plant’s species, the intervals between watering them are different. But it’s alright, after you get used to it!! Also, if you start with the 100-Yen shop, even if it doesn’t go well, accept your defeat and you can try again with a cheerful feeling.

Right…

When buying plants, they will be sold in a vinyl pot, but you shouldn’t leave them like that in your room.

That is a also another high hurdle for a beginner. You have to buy stones, soil or a pot and plant it again…

No no, it’s fine if you don’t do it! My recommendation is, instead of a vinyl pot, buying a mug one size bigger and just putting the plant in there. After watering, pour away the excess water. I think it’s easier that way for people living alone too. You will see your plant every day, if you put it on your dining table. Then, you will be like “How cute~” and know its situation naturally. It doesn’t have to be a mug, enamel or tin plate mugs or wooden boxes also work.

I see… Beginners might fail, if they do it too genuinely in one go.

By doing it lightheartedly, I want everyone to have a life with greenery! I really recommend the mug greenery. The point is having a mug a little bigger [than the plant]. Just try your own favorite container. However, when you buy a plant, please watch it carefully. Are there any bugs on it? Does it look well? And so on.

Wakana-sensei… I think I might be able to do it!

When you think “Doesn’t it look a bit less lively?”, try to put it on your veranda or at a spot with sunlight. Or move your curtains. When humans feel very bad, instead of drinking energy drinks, isn’t it better to first get a good sleep? *laughs* Just like this, when you think your plants don’t look well, try to start from the basics.

I agree…

Ah, also you should have an atomizer. You spray water onto the leaves to water them. Muji [a big retail store chain in Japan] or other general stores just sell the container, so you can use it for your needs. Of course, you can use the stuff used by professional gardeners, but that’s expensive. You can get it from the 100-Yen shop, too…

I will try!

Please, I want all fanclub members to try as well! I also think “Let’s make my room full of green!”, although it has been about one year, when I started to increase the numbers of my plants, I wonder whether you all came to understand it~ In this second year, I will challenge myself with the insectivorous plants!

It’s really becoming like Nausicaa’s room *laughs* [reference to the 1984 anime “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind”]

That’s my intention!

Just a question out of curiosity, you don’t sing songs to your plants, do you?

I don’t sing directly to them, but when I do singing excercises, I think they willfully listen *laugh*

I heard that “if you let them listen to Mozart, they will grow better”, so I wonder whether they grow better when they hear Wakana’s singing voice.

I would be great, if that’s the case *laughs* When I water them, I might automatically talk to them. “How are you feeling today? Hm, when I look at your soil…” Oh, is it scary? *laughs*

No way. I think it’s only natural when you have a pet or something.

That’s certainly true. If you take care of them properly, they respond to that and you can feel their vitality, so I think it’s really a good thing to have plants in your home. Saying it’s my reason for living my be a bit too much, but it gives me energy. It’s fun to get back home. Everyone, let’s have fun together!

Receiving reports like “After reading this, I started the greenery challenge”, it makes you surely happy. Anyway, I will start the challenge too! Furthermore, I can imagine that there are a lot of things to be decided from now on, but you will perform a symphony concert on August 11th, right?

It’s the first time performing Kajiura-san’s songs all alone, so I don’t know how it will turn out, but it is also my very first experience of performing with a full orchestra, so I am excited and scared as well… It’s been half a year since doing a live after all.

Your 10th Anniversary is full of first-time experiences!

It’s been my dream to sing along with an orchestra, so even for me it’s a surprise to have this chance. Others may have mixed feelings about me singing songs alone that the 3 of us have been singing together until now, but I think the same goes for me too, so it’s only natural to feel this way. As Kalafina’s Wakana who has been always singing Kajiura-san’s songs, I will choose songs that will put my feelings of “I want the audience to feel delighted” into effort!

From left to right:

A make-up that fits the bright and gorgeous clothes.

Taking photos while confirming the lighting and posing.

Smiling without thinking while exchanging with the camera man <3

A frame that was lying in the photo studio. You wanna decorate!?

During shooting always so peaceful. I can’t resist her laughing voice.

How about a photo that makes the best of the natural atmosphere?

Wakana’s recommendations for beginner! GREEN

[upper white box] Introducing Wakana’s carefreely growing plants! Aside the introduction of those, there are many many types of plants, but this time, we chose to show plants that are recommended for beginners!

[middle small green box] (from the left) Japanese aralia, peperomia, kapok. Bought at the 100-Yen shop. They grow without troubles.

[bottom left green box] Different types of ivy. The left photo shows “golden child”, from the left at the upper picture is “light finger” [not sure how to translate this] and “Mona Lisa” (*´.w.)>”. On the right photo is “hedera” (ivy’s official name). Ivy is also relatively easy. There are many types, so you can have fun by choosing your favorite leaf design. Their roots will quickly grow longer!

[bottom right green box] The roots are getting out from below the pot, if you always add one cup of water this system will automatically suck up water! Convenient!

#kalafina #harmony magazine #volume 4 #wakana #wakana solo interview #translation #fuck those plant names

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dokuhan · 6 years

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Oofuri XMas Exchange

Title: It Could Happen One Day Rating: PG Fandom: Ookiku Furikabutte Pairing: Mihashi Ren/Abe Takaya Summary: Or...the four times Abe Takaya thought Christmas was completely and totally ruined, but it actually turned out pretty, okay. Notes: HOLY SHIT IT’S FINALLY DONE.

Hey hey hey, @jaesti it’s your Secret Santa~~ I’m sorry this took so long, I had this really cute idea and wanted to make sure it was perfect, but life kept kicking me in the face. Sorry it’s unbetaed, but I hope you like it all the same! Yuletide blessings~! <3

The first really was just unfortunate circumstance. It was probably kind of their own fault, really. Their relationship was barely a few weeks old, and outside of Oki finding out by accident nobody knew they were together. It was still super tentative and overwhelming for two 17-year-old boys and they didn’t want to rock the boat right away.

But at the same time, Takaya wanted their first Christmas together to be special, dammit.

The plan was to keep it as low key as possible and play it by ear. See a movie, grab food, maybe something along those lines. Neither one of them had ever dated before so they didn’t exactly know how it worked, but it would still be pretty fun. It had taken a lot of sneaking around and excuses to get out of hanging out with the rest of the team too.

All that secrecy might have been their downfall, though.

“Abe-kun, it’s so great to see you again!”

Now to be absolutely clear, Takaya had absolutely no problem with Ruri. They barely knew each other, but what little interaction they had was far from unpleasant. He just didn’t want her third-wheeling on what was supposed to be a romantic evening.

“I d-didn’t know she was visiting…” Ren mumbled when they finally had a chance to talk. His head was down, but Takaya swore he could see Ren’s eyes boring holes into Ruri’s back as she walked leisurely ahead of them. “Mom said she should hang out with me and my friends.”

“Right. Because that’s what we said we were doing.” Takaya rubbed his face, breathing in deeply, “Now what?”

“Should…should we call someone? M-maybe Yuu-kun is around o-or Shouji-kun…”

“Yeah, and then then what?”

Ren made an uncomfortable noise and shrunk down a little, which made Takaya feel absolutely guilty but they both knew he was right. So yeah…they were stuck. Awesome.

And he tried to be nice about it, he really, really did – but it was just…Ruri was just there, all the time. She was an unavoidable, unmoving object placed there purely to ruin his Christmas.

When they went to grab food, she slid into the booth next to Ren before Takaya could even make it to the table. The movie was out of the question, because they couldn’t agree on something the three of them would enjoy. She dragged them through every crowded street, lamenting about how there were so many happy couples around them and yet the three of them were alone completely oblivious to the fact that IT. WAS. SUPPOSED. TO BE. A DATE.

Then there was the game center. That frigging game center. On a regular day, it was miserable. Too many people and a lot of noise – far from his cup of tea. Ren was even worse about it. But Ruri insisted, saying it was the perfect atmosphere for whatever tangent she found herself on, because Takaya had stopped listening long before that.

If he hated the game center normally, then on Christmas it was an absolute nightmare. By the time they pushed through the crowd, Takaya was ready to rip his hair out. Ren looked absolutely rattled too, reaching to cover his ears.

“Oh! Let’s try that one out,” Ruri exclaimed, reaching to pull Ren along, “RenRen, come on it’s not that bad.”

“Yes it is!”

Takaya whipped his head around, surprised that he could hear Ren over the rest of the noise.

Ruri looked just as surprised, letting her arms drop. She pouted a little, “Okay, so it’s busy, but I just want us to have fun. You’ve both been so grumpy.”

“B-because we wanted to be alone! It was supposed to be the two of us!”

She looked at the two of them, at first completely bewildered, but then as the dots connected in her head her eyes widened, “Oh…oh…OH! You guys…oh my god.” She covered her mouth, and Takaya braced himself for some kind of disgust, but instead, “I had no idea! I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you say something?”

“Mom d-doesn’t know…n-nobody knows.”

Takaya sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, “We haven’t been on an actual date yet. We’re still figuring this out.”

“Oh no, oh my god. I’m such a jerk. I can’t believe this.” She frowned, deeply.

That maybe, possibly made Takaya feel just a little bad. It obviously wasn’t her fault and she didn’t mean any of it, but it didn’t change the fact that their night was completely ruined. Having everything out in the open probably made it worse too, because now there were three miserable people spending Christmas together instead of just two.

“Wait, I think I might have an idea,” Ruri pushed past them, “You guys wait here, I’ll be right back.”

It wasn’t like they could move anywhere else, anyway.

Takaya covered his own ears, moving in close to Ren, “I guess there’s always next year.”

“I’m so sorry, Takaya-kun.”

“Don’t. We’ll try again.”

Ruri grabbed onto the back of his shirt, “Okay, you two, come with me.”

She led the two of them up an escalator and down a hallway. She opened one of the doors, revealing a small karaoke room, “I could only get an hour, sorry. But I’ll be downstairs. Merry Christmas.”

With the door closed, most of the sounds coming from the lower level and other rooms muffled out.

Ren looked completely relieved and plopped down on the seat.

Takaya was quick to join him and stretched his legs forward. “So…should we put something on?”

“No, um…” Ren looked a little red, but lowered his head, resting it on Takaya’s shoulder, “I-is…is this okay? I don’t…it’s been a lot.”

Takaya felt his heart beating out of his chest, but he still moved his arm to rest around Ren’s waist, “Yeah, it’s okay.”

It was the best hour he had all year.

By their second Christmas and last year in high school, everyone was in the loop. It was understood and generally expected that they were going to be spending the holiday together. Takaya was determined to make it work that year. He pre-ordered movie tickets, looked up hole in the wall restaurants that he was certain wouldn’t be totally crowded, saved up all of his money, and even bought a new shirt for the occasion. After the mess the previous year had been, he was ready to call this their first real Christmas.

Until Japan had what had to have been its heaviest snowfall in all of history.

It had actually started early on the 23rd and the news reports had repeated over and over again that it would be done by the next afternoon, only for the winds to pick up and drop another foot on Saitama over the next two days. Takaya swore it was spite. Some god in the heavens probably saw him and went, “Yeah, that guy? Abe Takaya? Fuck him.”

So that nixed everything. Roads were closed. Trains weren’t running on schedule. Even if places were open there was no way the two of them could get there, much less to each other.

Which left Takaya to sulk in his room. Alone. On Christmas.

He huffed and placed his head on his desk. His mom had tried to reassure him that they could do something in few days, or he could even invite Ren over for the new year, but that just soured his move even more. None of that would be the same, he just wanted this one thing.

When his phone vibrated against his desk, he could feel it in his teeth. He wanted to ignore it, figuring it was one of his parents trying to get his attention. But then he figured it was easier than having them come up to lecture him, so he reached for it anyway.

To his surprise – it was Ren. Ren, who avoided phone calls like the plague. Ren, who initiated emails and conversations once every hundred thousand years when the planets perfectly aligned.

And even more shockingly, it was a video call.

He swiped it open, half expecting Ren to realize he made a mistake and hang up right away.

But there he was, sitting on his bed with the phone at a somewhat awkward, yet definitely intentional angle. “Hi…” he started, a little shakily.

“Hey…”

“I…wanted to see you…”

“Yeah?”

Ren nodded, swallowing hard. The phone shook a little as he fiddled with it, “Yeah.”

Takaya leaned forward, resting the phone against the wall and put his arms under his chin, “This sucks.”

“It’s so cold. And deep. I wanted to come over but my bike—”

“What?! Are you insane? What if you slipped on some ice and broke your arm, or worse cracked your head open?”

He flinched, “I would have been careful.”

“Jeez, just because Koushien is over doesn’t mean you can be so reckless.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, wait just…be careful. At least until we hear back from that scout.”

“Okay…I, um, I wanted…I miss you.”

Takaya felt the tips of his ears warm up, “Yeah, you too.”

They spent the entire day on the phone. By the time Takaya hung up, only because Ren looked ready to pass out and Shun was complaining about him being too loud, his phone felt a bit overheated. Nevertheless, as he plugged it into the charger for the umpteenth time, it still felt like a Christmas well spent.

Next year would be even better, too.

The next year was not better. They were together, but it was so, so bad.

Takaya thought living together would have made things like going on dates significantly easier. They weren’t in the city center itself, but close enough to it that they could go out and about whenever the mood struck. Everyone in their building kept mostly to themselves too, so nobody really bothered them. With all this in mind, Christmas should have been a cinch.

Then came Suzuya.

Before that day, Takaya had never met Suzuya and he was pretty sure Ren only ran into her a handful of times. She was a third year at the medical school connected to their university but their paths had never really crossed, despite the fact Takaya was a first year in that same program. Aside from the occasional noise through the paper thin walls, they wouldn’t have even known someone was renting.

But because it was Christmas Eve and they had the worst luck, that’s when she decided to formally introduce herself.

“I made strew because I thought I was going to be home tonight and tomorrow, but some friends invited on a trip,” she held out the pot to Takaya, smiling brightly, “you just need to keep it in the fridge until you’re ready and then heat it up on the stove. You and your roommate play baseball, right? Athletes need to eat.”

“You really don’t have to do this, we have plans tomorrow night and the rest of it will go to waste.”

“Don’t be silly, it’s still better than all of it going to waste. You could have it for lunch tomorrow too. Please, Abe-kun, I insist.”

So he took the stupid pot and put it in the fridge. When Ren got home from visiting is parents, Takaya put it on the stove and followed all the instructions Suzuya had given him. It tasted pretty alright, nothing to write home about and he figured it would work okay for lunch the next day.

And then 4:43AM rolled around.

Takaya had been the first to wake up, feeling slightly off. He swallowed a bit as the weird feeling traveled through his throat and face. He swallowed again. He tried to will himself to get up for some water, but then that ominous thought crossed his mind, “If you sit up, you’re going to throw up.”

He turned his head to look at Ren, silently hoping that this was just some kind of stomach bug and not what he suspected. He wiggled his way out from under Ren’s arm and rolled off the futon, holding his breath as his stomach gurgled. He started to crawl his way to the bathroom when that NOW. NOW. NOW. urgency hit him like a ton of bricks. Takaya scrambled to his feet and ran to the toilet, just barely making it before retching.

When he finally raised his head out of the toilet and flushed, he heard Ren coughing from the kitchen – probably on the tail end of his own vomiting spell. Takaya placed his head against the seat, “I’m going to kill Suzuya.”

It took until the early afternoon for the vomiting and bathroom trips to stop. Hanai had swung by in the hours before to bring them ginger ale, throw out the rest of the stew, clean up Suzuya’s pot, and set up their rice cooker for when they were feeling better.

“If anything,” he commented as he dried the top, “at least you two are consistent. Call me if you guys need anything else. If you’re feeling better by tonight I’m having cake with Shouji-kun and Yuuta-kun, maybe you can swing by.”

As Takaya crawled back into the futon, though, he knew that wasn’t even a possibility. “Christmas is cursed,” he groaned.

Ren buried his head into the pillow, “I’m never eating ever again.”

He pulled the extra blanket up higher, covering their shoulders, “Don’t say that. We’re just never eating anything Suzuya makes, ever again.”

“Mmm…” Ren moved in closer.

Their third Christmas consisted of a few good hours of sleep and two bowls rice of rice seeped in tea. They watched some dumb variety show on TV and read an article about some new baseball anime that would be starting in January. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked.

When Takaya returned the pot a few days later and told Suzuya about the food poisoning, she just shrugged.

“Oh,” Suzuya said, coolly, “that’s too bad.”

And that was when Takaya realized their neighbor was fucking insane.

But that’s a story for another time.

The most recent was because Takaya was a giant moron.

Ren was out for most of the day, finishing a project with two of his classmates. That gave Takaya all the time in the world to prepare for their quiet Christmas at home. His motivation going into all of it was the idea that if their attempts to go out always failed, maybe staying at home would work in their favor.

And at that point, it was actually working out in his favor. Suzuya had moved out weeks before (thank god), he hadn’t burned down the house making dinner, and the dishes weren’t a complete pain to clean up. That just left one thing.

Takaya reached into the pocket of his sweatshirt and pulled out a small box. He felt like an idiot, but Yuuto-kun had made a joke way back in the summer, and the idea stuck in the back of his head. He opened it up and pulled it out to inspect it.

It wasn’t an engagement ring, okay? It wasn’t that serious. It was…a promise of what could maybe, possibly, hopefully become one someday. Ren definitely wouldn’t wear it all the time, it would probably break during practice, and Takaya doubted it would ever actually leave the box but…well…ugh…

His all the lamenting about his dumb ideas, his brain decided that holding the ring in between his thumb and index finger was too much of a strain. It slipped out of his grip and clanked first against the edge of the counter, then into the sink, and finally into the drain. He swore he saw his entire bank account flash in front of his eyes.

Just as he was about to scream, he noticed that it hadn’t completely fallen down and was just sitting at the very bottom. Surely, surely he could get it out. All he hand to do was reach in and…

How was he supposed to know his hand would get stuck?!

Even more panic rushed through his body as he heard the door open and close behind him.

“I’m home…” Ren greeted.

“Welcome back…help me.”

Ren rushed over to his side, looked down at his hand, at Takaya’s face, and then back down in the sink. He pressed his lips firmly closed to stifle a laugh.

“No, this isn’t funny. I’m stuck. Help.”

“O-okay, just…” he struggled as he tried not to laugh, “h-how did y-you…”

“I’ll explain later. Get butter.”

All the butter did was make his hand feel disgusting, so did the oil. It was amazing he was still holding onto the ring when all was said and done.

When he finally gave in and let Ren call 119, the paramedics laughed at him for a solid minute. Still they were able to pull his hand out without breaking it, so it was worth it.

The ring did slip out of his fingers again, but thankfully it just fell onto the edge of the sink. Of course it was right where Ren could see it, though.

Ren’s eyes widened a bit. The paramedics looked at the two of them, one looked mortified and quickly scurried out while the other stopped to clap his shoulder before following after. Takaya mentally screamed at the demon that seemed intent to ruin every Christmas he had with Ren.

Takaya sighed and leaned against the counter, careful of his still tender hand, “I’m not asking you to…it’s not like…maybe someday?”

Ren picked up the ring and wiped it on his shirt. It didn’t really fit when he slid it on his finger, but they could probably get it resized after the new year. “Someday.”

They both knew they had countless Christmases to get it right.

#oofurixmas2017 #abemiha #oofuri #ookiku furikabutte #dokufic

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ramenrulz8p · 7 years

Text

The Handsome Boy Next Door

Pairing: Kang Daniel/Reader Summary: You lived in a quiet apartment building until someone finally moved into the apartment next to yours. Tags: Fluffy Comedy with a dash of angst, mentions of Jeon Wonwoo (SVT), reader is an otaku Word Count: 4.1K A/N: I’d been meaning to write this in full fic form but I don’t think I’ll have the time so I decided why not do a scenario post? This is the short version of what what I originally wanted to write but I figured it was good enough XD Hope you guys enjoy!

You moved to an apartment building in your 2nd year of college because traveling from your house back to your campus was a PAIN.

(You could have stayed in a dorm but you did not like having to deal with curfew and the noise level)

Most of your neighbors were elderly women who always questioned why you weren’t dating or married yet.

It almost made you wish you stayed in a dorm, but it helped you master the art avoiding confrontation.

You lived next to the only empty apartment in your building because its owner had apparently passed away there. No one wanted to rent an apartment that might be haunted.

The landlord had been trying to lease that room for AGES and you’d thought she’d given up. But one day, a year and half later, you heard noises from the apartment next door. You were lowkey freaking out because what if it was really haunted???

Then you looked out your window and saw a moving truck below. You stuck your head out into the hallway to see people moving furniture into the apartment next to yours.

You texted your landlord to ask if someone had moved in next door and she seemed happier than she’d been in a LONG time. She’d managed to find someone who was willing to move into the apartment and she made you promise not to mention it could be haunted when you met your new neighbor.

There was a bad taste in your mouth as you closed your phone. What if weird shit started happening? Did that mean you’d have to leave your new neighbor to fend for themselves?

In the end, you decided to make up for it by giving your new neighbor a nice welcoming present.

But what could you even give?

Well, you did have that extra limited edition Saitama figure, but who the heck gave a 150,000 won figure away as a welcoming gift to some stranger? Besides, you didn’t need your new neighbor to know that you were a hard core otaku.

You decided to give them two of the spare jars of kimchi your mom had given you on your last visit home. (She always gave you more food than you could ever eat alone.)

You were about to step out the door dressed in your sweatpants and oversized One Piece sweatshirt when you realized you were not appropriately dressed to greet anyone.

It took you nearly 45 minutes to make yourself look decent. Your brushed out your hair and wore a simple gray sweater and some jeans. You judged yourself for really trying this hard, but you also had to remind yourself that your neighbor probably did not need to know you didn’t have you life together.

You finally walked up to your neighbor's door and knocked. You stood around for a good thirty seconds and no one answered. You knocked again, and again no one answered. At that point, you leaned your ear against the door to try and hear if anyone was on the other side of that wall, but you heard nothing but silence.

Your new neighbor was not home. Great. Just. Great.

You decided to walk back into your house and just give the kimchi to them another time.

With your sour mood, you defaulted to sit out on your patio which was overcrowded with dead plants. It was a small space but it was big enough to hold a swinging chair. You sat completely drained of energy and started to sketch in your sketchbook.

You had been so focused on doodling that you didn’t notice there was a cat on your balcony until it landed straight on your sketchbook.

It meowed up at you and you nervously lifted a hand for it to know your scent and get used to you. The small cat start lapping at your fingers with the thick bristles of its tongue and you laughed at how it tickled.

“You lost, buddy?” you asked it, knowing it couldn’t respond. This cat was obviously lost, there was no other reason for it to be on your patio. You pet the cat’s head and ruffled its ears as it purred. You lifted it up and checked its collar. The name tag read “Rooney”.

When you flipped the tag over, you saw the owner’s name inscribed on the back. Hi! This is Kang Daniel, if you found my cat please call me!

You quickly dialed the number and waited.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Daniel-ssi, I found your cat.”

His tone immediately perked up from there. He kept on thanking you for a good two minutes before he actually asked you where you were. You gave him your apartment building’s address and he started to laugh.

“Is something funny?”

“No, no. I just moved there today. I guess Rooney isn’t used to the new place.”

“Oh, you’re my new neighbor then. I’m in apartment 101, right next to yours.”

“I’ll be right over, thank you so much for finding her.”

You had no chance to protest on him coming over to your door. You looked around and saw how messy your house was. There was no way you were letting him come inside. You cradled Rooney in one arm as you grabbed a paper bag and threw in the jars of kimchi you’d planned to give him.

By the time you were done, he was buzzing at you door.

You rushed to door and looked through the peep hole. You squeaked at the sight of your new neighbor.

He was hot. There was no other way to get that through. Like sure, there were a lot of good looking people out there, but this guy was one of the best looking boys you’d seen in a LONG time.

His soft looking pale brown hair and chiseled chin had you drooling, but you had to remind yourself to behave like a proper human being as your shaky hands opened the door.

“Rooney!” the boy shouted as he reached for his cat. Rooney quickly jumped out of your arms and into Daniel’s.

Dammit he was even more handsome face to face and you wanted to crawl into a hole and hide.

You waited until Daniel was done reconnecting with his cat before you greeted him. He bowed to you in apology as he hugged and petted Rooney. You could only smile at his concern over his cat, because it was really cute how much he cared.

You held out the paper bag full of the kimichi jars as you blocked the view to your apartment. “This is a welcoming gift. I wanted to give it to you earlier but you weren’t home.”

“Oh! Thank you so much!” he gave a shy laugh, showing off his eye smile as Rooney perched on his shoulder. “I wasn’t home because I was too busy looking for this kiddo.”

You nodded and smiled at him, understanding why he was out of breath over the phone now. He was probably searching as hard as he could for his cat.

Before you had to make up some excuse as to why he couldn’t come into your apartment, Daniel bid you goodbye, thanking you one more time. He quickly darted off to his apartment and you realized you hadn’t been breathing properly the whole time.

As you lay in bed thinking about your hot neighbor, you deliberated over how you wanted to deal with said hot neighbor. Like obviously you couldn’t treat him the same way as you treated the old granny neighbors you’d had for the past year and half. But how would you go about approaching him?

In the end, you decided you were going to try and be Daniel’s friend. Not just because he was cute, but because he seemed like a genuinely nice person.

The next day was a Sunday. You weren’t planning to really do much today, except you overhead Daniel say he was going to a friend’s place because he had some stuff he still had to pick up from there when you were having breakfast on your balcony.

You smiled on this opportunity because it meant you had a chance to spruce up your house without him having to see you lug a bunch of trash and dead plants out of it.

You weren’t always fast but when you needed to, you got shit done. In three hours, you’d cleared away all the junk from your apartment that you didn’t need. All the clothes were cleaned and folded. All the wrappers and empty cartons were thrown. All the plates, cups, and cutlery were washed and put away. All the character figures on your shelves were dusted. For once, your apartment looked pristine.

Now what you needed to do was go out and buy some new plants for your patio.

When you were getting dressed, you saw the drastic difference in the amount of sweat clothes you owned versus the normal clothes you owned.

You decided you might as well buy new nice clothes while you go plant shopping.

That night you hauled back half a wardrobe of cute clothes, some new makeup and skincare products, and three easy-to-care-for plants.

When you stared at the giant pile of things in your living room, it made you wonder why the hell you were doing all this. But also why it made you feel so good.

On Monday, you went to school wearing one of your new outfits. A blue chiffon blouse, black blazer, and short shorts. This was the first time in a long time you’d actually bothered to make yourself look good on a day that wasn’t an interview day and, of course, it raised eyebrows.

Your friends wondered what had gotten into you and you just told them it might just be time for a change as you walked the campus grounds with a bounce in your step.

Something, or rather someone caught your eye, and you immediately stopped. Daniel? He went to the same school as you? How had you not seen him in your three and half years going here?

You hesitated on whether or not you should try talking to your new neighbor, but you decided against it since he seemed to be having a deep conversation with a tall actor looking guy.

Then, you saw him again, except this time at the bus stop which would take you both back to your apartments.

You still weren’t going to be the first one to make contact, so you pretended to not notice him as you scrolled through your phone.

Daniel tapped you on the shoulder and started talking to you. It was basic small talk. Exchanging why you were there. Figuring out you both went to the same campus. What departments and majors both of you were in. After a while, there wasn’t really anything left to talk about and awkward silence filled the air as both of you waited for the bus to arrive.

You sat next to Daniel on the ride home because it would be weird to just sit apart after having a long conversation. But neither of you was speaking to the other.

You figured it would be a long ride home until your phone notified you that the chapter of the hottest manga out right now had just updated.

It was as if you were in your own world as you opened up the latest chapter and read the contents of the pages. Your foot tapped nervously as the ground and your face didn’t hide anything as you read through the chapter in horror.

The main villain had pulled out his biggest attack when the chapter ended. You had to restrain yourself from letting out and inhuman noise as you saw the last panel.

Daniel tapped your shoulder again and you suddenly remembered you were sitting next to your hot neighbor.

Great, you just had a serious face journey over a manga next to the neighbor you were trying to be friends with.

Except Daniel didn’t seem to care about the face journey, he asked if you were a fan of that manga.

You had to stop yourself from making a snide remark since Daniel didn’t really know you.

Were you a fan? This was only your life!

It hadn’t even been two days and you were already having to let go of your normal person image. But that didn’t matter, because you were in fangirl mode.

You told Daniel EVERYTHING and for some reason his eyes seemed to light up the more you blabbered on and on about plots and theories. You were even shushed by the other people on the bus when you and Daniel were laughing too loud.

It turned out that Daniel liked anime and manga a lot too - maybe not as much as you - but enough to hold up a decent conversation with you.

That was the main reason that the two of you started growing closer.

It started off as you two meeting up at your house and watching anime on your flatscreen. He once asked about the figures on your shelves and how you collected so many. When you told him, the process and how much it cost for you to get your hands on those figures, his eyes bugged out.

For some reason, your otaku nature didn’t bother him one bit and you found it highly amusing.

You could wear all your baggy clothes and anime T-shirts around Daniel and he didn’t seem the slightest bit put off.

You loved going over to his apartment to play with Rooney and Peter, who seemed to adopt you as their other human.

Either you guys were hanging out at your place or his.

The two of you had grown so comfortable around each other that you spent time together, even on campus.

On Wednesdays you two would get lunch together.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays you’d wait for him to finish dance practice before you two took the bus home.

He would tell you what he honestly thought of your paintings and you would tell him honestly what you thought of his dance routines.

Your lives had began to blur together, it was weird for you to think back to a time you didn’t know Daniel.

Your friends and his friends began to intermingle and you all went on a big outings together.

One time all of you went to a museum for someone’s birthday. It started off just fine but you all realized that it would be impossible to keep the giant group of you together. So everyone broke off into pairs.

You and Daniel were like a default pairing at this point. The two of you broke off away from the rest and roamed the museum by yourselves.

Daniel had gone to the restroom at one point so you waited for him by a fossil display. You were scanning the crowd randomly, looking around as you waited.

Your eyes came across someone you’d rather not see and your heart stopped.

Jeon Wonwoo had been your crush for the first year and a half for college. You two were in a lot of the same classes and somehow always sat next to one another. Then fate pushed it even further and paired the two of you up for a project. You fumbled your way through, hoping it might lead somewhere more, but Jeon Wonwoo had always brushed you off. Even when you tried everything to hold up a decent conversation.

You liked him so much it had made you jaded towards liking other people.

It almost made you laugh because your feelings for the boy were so superficial and only ended up getting you hurt.

“What’s wrong?” Daniel asked when he got back from the restroom. He waved a hand in front of your eyes to break your stare.

“Nothing,” you lied as a crappy feeling washed over you.

Seeing Wonwoo again, despite the fact that you were over him, made you feel like shit. The whole rest of the day you were sort of silent and unresponsive as the rest of your friends had fun.

That night, as you as Daniel took a cab home, he took your hand and asked you again. “What’s wrong?”

You didn’t know how to bring it up to him.

You couldn’t say, Hey, I just saw the dude I’d been crushing on for over a year and it short of bums be me because what if we ended up like that.

“I’d rather not talk about it.”

After that, Daniel stopped asking. He let you snuggle up next to his arms and fall asleep as the the cab drove the two of you back to your apartments.

The next day Daniel showed up to your house early in the morning (at noon) with take out and a box of your favorite sweets.

“They told you didn’t they?” you asked, knowing your friends had probably texted Daniel to explain to him why you were acting this way.

“Why didn’t you just tell me you saw your ex?”

You wanted to scream. “He’s not my ex...He’s just…” you hesitated before realizing you should tell Daniel the truth. “He’s just someone I had a crush on for the longest time and it obviously didn’t end well.”

“Well, it sucks to to suck, he missed out on an amazing person.”

“You really think so?”

“Of course!”

“You’re the best, you know that?”

“Of course,” he answered, shooting you a cheeky rabbit smile.

You two spent that whole day together snuggled up under one of your big blankets, surrounded by soft pillows.

Rooney and Peter were running around somewhere under those sheets and you laughed at their antics.

It made you stop for a second and take in just how much of your apartment had been altered because of Daniel.

You’d gotten a litter box for Rooney and Peter. You stocked up your fridge with enough food for twelve people. You had random boxes of jellies lying around for Daniel. You’d even bought special pillows so the two of you could sit down in front of your TV and watch it properly.

What were you to Daniel? What was Daniel to you?

Were you two just good friends? Or was there possibly something more?

Part of you wanted an answer, but part of you was scared again.

You knew Daniel wouldn’t brush you off like Wonwoo had, but to think of you and Daniel not being as close as you were now? That made you legitimately scared.

If you told him you liked him, would it change all of this?

Your mind went through scenario after scenario before deciding to say nothing and stay friends with Daniel for as long as you could.

You regretted your decision.

Because people would never stop approaching you and Daniel asking if you two were dating. It hurt you to say no every time.

It was even worse when people flirted with Daniel and you had no legitimate reason to be mad.

Sometimes you ended up avoiding Daniel to keep your feelings in check and you knew you hurt his feelings when you did.

It went on like this for two months until you decided you couldn’t do this.

In keeping yourself from telling him you liked him, you did the one thing you were trying to avoid.

You had decided you were going to go to his apartment to tell him, when Daniel started banging on your door.

He had a bag of clothes throw in a duffle bag over his shoulder and Rooney and Peter in either of his hands. He looked terrified as he gave you big, sad puppy eyes.

“Going somewhere?” you questioned, hoping he wasn’t leaving town.

“Why did you tell me someone died in my apartment?” he whined, lamely pointing a finger at his door.

You were genuinely lost for a second. “Huh?”

Daniel looked like he was about to cry when he told you he’d overheard the lady who lived below him say the last tenant of his apartment had died in it.

“So, you’re leaving?” You gestured to the bag slung across his shoulder.

“No…I thought I could stay with you…”

So that’s why he was knocking so hard. “Get in here, you big baby,”

Daniel set his bags down over by the edge of the couch and you went to go prepare dinner for the two of you. 1

It seemed like just another normal moment when the two of you were together, but your nerves started to get the better of you as he watched how comfortably he sat on your sofa and scrolled through your TV.

When you set out the food, he came over as quickly and sat down at what had become His Seat™.

You made sure to give Peter and Rooney food as well before joining Daniel at the dining table.

“Why have you been avoiding me lately?” he asked, breaking the silence after shoving food into his face.

You set down your spoon, looking away from his eyes as you spoke. “I was actually meaning to talk to you about that…”

Daniel reached out a hand and placed it over yours. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”

You looked him in the eyes, hoping you didn’t look as scared as you felt. “I like you.”

“Huh?” he asked, seeming taken aback by your sudden confession.

You gulped at his reaction.“I like you, Kang Daniel,” you repeated. “Please don’t make me say it again.”

“That’s it?”

“What?” It was your turn to be thrown for a loop. Did he just say ‘That’s it?’ while you were laying your heart out?

“That’s all you had to say?”

“What do you mean that’s all I had to say?” Your voice rose as you got to your feet genuinely angry with Daniel for acting as if your confession was no big deal.

Daniel stood up and walked over to you. He licked his lips as if they were dry and looked down at you with a nervous smile.

“Well, I saw you change out the dead plants to fresh ones when I moved in. And you cleaned up your apartment too. So, I figured you probably liked me.”

“Oh my god.” You were mortified. So he HAD noticed all that.

He held up his hands as he spoke, “It’s okay! It’s not like my apartment is any better.”

“Shut up, Daniel!” You choked out as you were trying not to die of embarrassment.

“If it’s any consolation, I like you, too.” he whispered, pushing back a strand of your hair.

Your face was on fire as you glared and pouted up at him. How could he be so cute and so infuriating?

You tip-toed and kissed him to let out your anger.

There were no fireworks or sparks or anything of that sort.

Just a calmness that soothed all the tension that had been digging into you while Rooney and Peter darted and played between your ankles.

Bonus:

“Here,” you said as you handed him the 150,000 won Saitama you decided not to give him. “This was your original welcome present, but I didn’t want you to know I was an otaku. Now, Saitama can be like your guardian statue, warding off whatever ghost might linger.”

“No thanks, I think I’ll just stay here.” Daniel placed the box back into your hands.

You looked up at him slightly annoyed, “You’re going to have to go back to your apartment eventually.”

“But I don’t want to…,” he said as he shivered, giving you puppy eyes once again.

Daniel perked up when an idea popped into his head. “You know, we should just look for a bigger apartment! One we could share!”

You tried not to freak out over the fact that he’d suggested you two start living together. “You’re getting ahead of yourself. I literally just confessed to you, plus you haven’t even asked me to be your girlfriend.”

“I thought that was just implied.” He just shrugged and laughed. You rolled your eyes but you learned to accept his antics.

From that day on you two started dating for real, and just like Daniel wanted, you did look into bigger apartments- ones which had a very low chance of being haunted.

#wanna one #produce 101 #wanna one imagines #wanna one scenarios #produce 101 imagines #kang daniel #kang daniel scenarios #kang daniel fluff #kang daniel boy next door au

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feitanswife · 7 years

Text

Day three- brotp

Wise guy

Summary: dual-story! Checking another piece off the long Shotgun Verse to-do list and fulfilling a Nanbaka Week prompt! This one was either relationship or brotp and I went with the cutest bros to ever bro, Seitorou and Nico! Also this is a story about Nico getting his wisdom teeth removed, and discovering that needles aren’t the only medical thing he’s afraid of. And I’m also projecting real hard because basically this is what happened to me. I’m petrified of medication don’t blame me it’s basically drilled into us in this state like some kind of anti-everything cult.

Nico was crying, gauze stuffed in his creeks, looking hypothetically cute, but more pity inducing than anything else.

“H-Hajime” the muffled voice calls out, “don’t weave me hewre awone! I’m gonna die!”

Hajime pushes him gently off, “you won’t die Nico, it’s just a half dose of pain medication, you literally could not be more careful if you tried.”

“But… But… it’s inside me!”

“and? You take worse shit daily!”

Nico slunk to the floor, sobbing. No one could make out the words he was trying to say anymore.

Rock pulled Hajime to the side, “listen man, I can explain. It’s an American thing. Especially in the city where we grew up, that word printed on that bottle? That… we don’t even say it. It’s like that old saying, ‘speak of the devil and he shall appear’. That shit’s a death sentence in pill form. There is no coming back from that. If it doesn’t kill you directly it’ll starve you by siphoning your money until you lose everything.”

“maybe in a higher dosage, it’s 75% Tylenol what they gave him. And he only took a one when the thing said two pills.”

Rock shook his head, and clenched his jaw before sighing, “It’s still scary, even for someone like Nico, not to mention the anesthesia hasn’t completely worn off, he’s going to get emotional. Just… please don’t force him to take them. If the pin gets bad enough he will, but for now just let him take the standard Tylenol.”

Hajime threw his hands up, “fine, whatever, but I’m going home. I have a pregnant fiancée to take care of!”

Nico had stopped crying, “I-I’m sowry Rovk, if I didn’t have this stupid allergy to Ibu…ibe… that thing, we wouldn’t have had to get the alternative ones.”

Rock helped Nico back into the recliner, “Nico, it’s fine, you’re fine. You head what hajime said, that only made up ¼ of the pill, and you only took a ½ dose. And from here on out you don’t have to take any more unless you want to. I’ll leave them here, in case you need them. Seitorou will be here in a minute, and he’ll keep you safe!”

Nico had sat watching food network for a while until Seitorou wandered in with a shopping bag.

“Ah, there you are! Hajime said I was going to be watching you tonight. Are you doing better?”

Nico shrugs, but pointed to the pile of used up gauze on the table next to him.

“Yeah, you always have been a bleeder. I bought some extra gauze just in case. Do you think you’re up to eat something?”

Nico removed some gauze to talk somewhat normally, “tongue’s still numb but I am hungry.”

They managed to get some jello into Nico’s stomach, but he didn’t look satisfied.

“tummy feels bad.”

Seitorou furrows his brow, “your stomach? Did you take an medicine?”

“half dose of that- had a panic attack after.”

Seitorou picked up the bottle Nico had pointed to and read over it, grimacing, “oh wow, I guess with your allergies they didn’t have much of a choice. But this probably could upset your stomach, even at a half dose. But you’re half way through the time so at a half dose it should wear soon. Are you planning on taking more of these? Or do you want to try with just the normal ones for a while?”

“Normal.” Nico murmurd, “Hajime got mad though.”

“Well he’s not too well versed in American drug culture, so he probably thought you were being overly dramatic. But Rock explained it to me before I came it. Anyway, enough about pills and culture, why don’t we watch some anime? I never did get around to watching that one that came out last November that everyone loved to much.”

Nico’s face lit up even though he couldn’t smile. Seitorou didn’t know what he was missing!

Several hours later, they sat crying happy tears in the dark lounge, Nico’s head resting against Seitorou’s shoulder. The dramatic near-death of the main character’s beloved pet and eventual tearful reunion between the love interests was just too much to bear. It was Nico’s third watch, but it still got him every time. Or maybe it was the sleep deprivation and lack of proper sustenance. Hard to eat anything when you can only open your mouth an inch or so.

He had wanted to sleep but he kept thinking the gauze would fall out of place and he’d choke on it. It was a rational fear! But he couldn’t take it out to sleep because A. he’s still bleeding after like ten hours, B. having it out hurt for some reason, and C. although he hadn’t fully read the instructions, it sounded like something he wasn’t supposed to do.

And apparently if you somehow screw this up, it’ll ruin your life forever, according to the internet.

So instead they decided to Re-watch One Punch Man for like the fifth time and hopefully be lulled to sleep by the sounds of breaking bones and explosions.

It worked. Somehow.

Day two was fine, not much happened.

But day three, oh god day three.

Day three is the worst, lemme tell you.

Nico sat, the bottle of pills in his hand, jaw throbbing like Saitama himself had just socked him right in the face. It was excruciating, and it had begun to swell and bruise a dark, ugly yellow.

Go to a mirror and puff out your creeks as hard as you can. Now imagine that it looked like you just lost a fistfight with god. Combine those images. And you have Nico’s current predicament.

At least it had stopped bleeding? But it still felt better to have the gauze supporting his jaw.

Seitorou had stepped out to go to the bathroom, and Nico knew this was his only chance. He had just downed a bowl of terrible chicken soup and a jello cup, meaning he was more than set for the nausea to come.

But… maybe he’d do a one-fourth dose, just in case.

He had to swallow his pride before the pill, but he managed it before Seitorou returned.

And the regret was immediate. His knees went immediately week, the room spinning more than it already had been in his weakened state. He dropped to the floor next to the mirror he used to help take the pills while he couldn’t open his mouth like he normally would. He’d cry, but with how much it hurt to do anything, it likely wasn’t a solid idea.

Seitorou had returned then.

“Nico! Nico what happened?” his voice was high, trembling.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I couldn’t take it!” Nico cried, handing over the bottle and pill cutter, “it hurts too much.”

Seitorou kneeled next to Nico’s trembling form, hushing him gently, “you’re okay, you survived the first one right? And this one’s even less.”

“but I can’t Sei! I can’t!”

Seitorou took his hand, “Yes you can. The doctor wouldn’t do anything to hurt you, you know that. Come on, lets go back to the couch and watch something, to take your mind off it. How about we check out a show Hitoshi recommended to me? It’s a magical girl show themed around princesses and apparently it’s really good.”

There was around 50 episodes of it, so they’d easily be busy watching for the rest of the recovery time at least. And it really was a good series. It was unique, nothing like the rest of it’s franchise, but it brought a fresh spin to the concept and the execution was just great. It was the sort of show that reminded the viewer why they jumped down the anime rabbit hole in the first place.

And, as Seitorou had so expertly predicted, Nico was quickly and surely distracted.

It had taken five days for Nico to be up and about at all, even though the surgeon had estimated he’d be back in his cell in four, tops. But Seitorou had been glad to spend the extra time with him, as there really was no need to watch the halls these days. Everyone, even the prisoners, were too focused on the wedding to cause mischief.

An when Seitorou was finally tore away from his coddling/anime binge session, something just didn’t feel right about returning to his post.

“don’t tell me you’re getting attached to the kid now.” Hajime grumbled.

“w-well he’s really not that bad Hajime!”

“still, you’re a prison guard! And regardless of how ridiculous his circumstance is, he cant just be your friend like that!”

Seitorou frowned, “and what makes you say that? Your future wife doesn’t seem to have much of an issue with it.”

They both turned to Momoko, who was reading through some mail, “what? Don’t drag me into your fight. It’s hardly my business what Seitorou does with his free time as long as he doesn’t cause any trouble.”

Seitorou grinned smugly, “you know, he even gave me a nickname~”

Hajime’s head hit the table so hard it cracked.

(A/N: hey, if you’re curious about the rest of this crazy AU then check out the Nanbaka tag on ao3, you’ll find my incomplete mess of fics there! i swear i’m going to be publishing new chapters of both Who I Am and Shotgun itself the minute this week of prompts ends! and when I finish Who I Am, i’m going to start on the Honey and Trois mini arc... or maybe the Rock and Liang mini arc? idk i’ll see where my muse takes me.)

#nanbaka week #nanbakaweek #my writing #nanbaka nico #idk i'm out of tag ideas #sorry this is kind of late i ran out of ideas

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