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filmbyjy · 1 month

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MINESTREAM

SYPNOSIS > Wanting to start a new stream series with his best friends, Jay had a bright idea of playing some simple Minecraft with them. Everything was normal, until he realises there is another person in the call with them. He quickly learns that it was ni-ki’s older sister, (name). Watch how streaming a simple game of Minecraft can dig up some interesting feelings between the main leads.

FIFTEEN – that man is a f*cking simp

MASTERLIST | PREVIOUS | NEXT

a/n: i used papago for like the translation so please correct me if I’m wrong😭

with the night wind blowing at your hair as you walked around with jay, you can’t help but closed your eyes. it was a nice walk at night. you had spent the afternoon with him at the cafe and talked a lot about a bunch of things.

you found out he liked a bunch of older songs, especially rock songs. he played the guitar and was trying to play more often. you also learnt he was decently fluent in Japanese, which surprised you.

“you know Japanese?” you say a little in shock and awe.

“yeah, I learnt it so that I didn’t have to keep staring at the subtitle and just actually concentrate on the anime I was watching. took a long time though but it was worth it at the end. i’m still learning more phrases.”

“that’s so cool!”

“ありがとうございます (thank you).” jay replies.

“you sound like a local. i’m impressed. did riki ever accidentally speak to you in Japanese?”

“he did. maybe once or twice. i understood what he said so it was fine.”

“well, you sound natural. maybe even better than me in Japanese.” you say.

jay laughs. his laughter was truly adorable. you couldn’t help but melt at it. it made you realise that being alone with jay made you feel super comfortable. due to your past experiences with disgusting guys in japan. you couldn’t stay alone with any guy without feeling unsafe. that of course did not include ni-ki, he was your brother after all, and heeseung.

and now, currently after having a heartfelt conversation at the cafe for a long time, the sun had set. you and jay were walking around the park and towards the campus grounds. there was a cyclist coming closer to the both of you so jay grabs your hand and pulls you to the side so you wouldn’t crash into the cyclist.

“oh. thank you, I didn’t realise there was someone.” you say. jay snorts.

“maybe, you shouldn’t aimlessly walk with your eyes closed.” he squeezes your hand since he was still holding it.

“I was enjoying my peace. the night feels cool and nice so why not, you know? besides, it’s the weekends tomorrow. I just need a small breather before I have to go back to sitting in my bedroom and painting.”

jay hums. the both of you continued to walk with your hands intertwined. neither of you minded and really remembered that jay’s hand was still interlocked with yours. in fact, it actually felt comfortable like it was meant to be.

was this fate?

right as those 3 words popped into your thoughts, jay’s phone rings. he answered it with his other hand still walking with you hand in hand. you had kept quiet, just listening in to his conversation with whoever it was.

“I’m doing fine. mmm, I’ll try to visit you guys during summer break. no. I don’t have a girlfriend.” it caught your attention. you knew jay was a good looking guy, tons of girls would’ve loved to talk to him so why doesn’t he have a girlfriend.

“mom, I know you’re worried about me. I can handle it. I’m only 22 this year. yes, I’m doing well in college as per usual.” he chuckles slightly. “I don’t want to go on a blind date, mom. I want to find my own girlfriend. someone that understands me and likes what I do.”

his eyes met with yours as he finishes his words. your heart stops. you nearly had a heart attack because why would jay just stare at you as he finishes his sentence. what did that mean? there is no way he likes you…right? it was too early! he can’t like you that way.

jay finishes up his call with his mom. he places his phone back in his pocket and turns to face you. “so what are you thinking of doing during our summer break?”

“mmm, I’m not sure. I haven’t thought about it. probably more streaming.”

“do you wanna stream with me? I probably wouldn’t go out much during the break.”

“I thought you were going to visit your parents?”

“I am but we could stream together after I visit them.”

“you aren’t staying for a week?”

“my parents are usually busy, they travel around a lot so they’ll probably fly out a day or two after I visit them.” jay explains. you hummed.

“me and riki would would definitely be free.”

“perfect. I could ask the others if they’d like to play too.”

finally, you had arrived in front of your dorm’s apartment building. unfortunately, jay lets go of your hand. the warmth was all gone and you already missed it.

“rest well and don’t overdo yourself. I know it’s tempting for you to just continue doing your artwork but you need to rest.”

“yes, jay. I know. I won’t overdo myself.”

“that’s my good girl.” he ruffles your hair. “well, I have to go. the boys probably would expect me to come back soon. they can’t survive without me. the dorm would’ve burnt down by now.” jay jokes.

you laughed, “alright. before you go, can I ask you something?”

“sure.”

“can we stream tomorrow?”

“of course.”

you had stepped forward and quickly left a peck on jay’s cheek before bolting in to your apartment building. jay holds the cheek that you had left a kiss on as he watches your figure growing smaller. a stupid smile adorning his face, he was smitten.

you had opened your front door after taking an elevator up to the floor. it slams shut as you entered it and laid your back against it. your heart racing quickly, the heat flaming against your cheeks.

“oneechan, what are you doing?” ni-ki appears at the hallway, his eyebrow raised as he looks at you in question.

“oh my god, I- riki, why are you walking so softly. when did you stand there?” you say as you were flustered.

“I was about to walk to the kitchen but I heard the front door slam. what happened?”

“nothing. just went out.”

“was there another stalker?” his voice sounding a little serious.

“oh, no no. no stalker, just umm i saw a flying cockroach outside.” you lied. the worry in ni-ki’s eyes dissipated, it was quickly replaced with fear.

“we really have to move. oneechan, I’m going to find us an apartment that’s better than here and is equally as near to school.”

“umm, we don’t have to.”

“I don’t care, I’m paying for the rent. you don’t need to worry.”

“riki!”

“consider this as a big early birthday present.” ni-ki skips over to you and pecks your cheek. “only the best for you big sis!”

you had to tiptoe to pat his head, “you have to stop spending money on me, riki. I can buy things on my own.”

“not until you get that streamer money.”

“well, can you really blame me for joining an art course because it’s my passion?”

“not at all, oneechan! you just have to not feel bad every time me and yvette noona want to pay something for you.”

“but I’ll owe you guys.” you pout.

“shhhh.” ni-ki grabs you and pushes you towards your bedroom door. “you don’t have to feel bad, I’ll do anything for you and any one of my friends! trust me, I’ll even ask sunoo hyung for house hunting advice.”

“is he even a reliable source-” ni-ki stops pushing you to your bedroom when you reach the middle of your room.

“he is a very reliable source. now, get some rest! I’ll find a house by the morning and then confirm stuff by next week. we’ll be in a new apartment in two weeks time.” ni-ki blows a kiss to you and shuts the door.

you sighed. ni-ki was an amazing younger brother and you love him to the moon and back. he’s a one of a kind brother, anyone would want him. however, you felt so burdened by the fact that you felt like you owe something to him. you knew he didn’t care if you paid back or not and he always treats you. it’s just the guilt creeping up on you.

you looked down at your phone and glanced at the lockscreen, it was a baby photo of ni-ki. everything you did was for him. your parents could always trust you with ni-ki and vice versa. with them running a company back in Japan, it was hard for them to come home. hence, you had to grow up for ni-ki. of course, your parents were grateful. they always brought both you and ni-ki out as a little treat. it wasn’t a surprise when ni-ki wanted to fly out to Seoul with you to go college. he’s a constant in your life and your parents knew that. hence, they didn’t say no to ni-ki and allowed him to take the same flight as you.

you had taken a shower quickly and changed into your pyjamas before deciding that you had to sleep. you had to continue up painting before streaming again tomorrow. just as you dried your hair and then threw yourself on the bed, you can’t help but remember what you did when you came home. you hid your face behind the pillows.

as for jay…

he was busy giggling and kicking his feet in his bedroom. jake and sunghoon were confused as to why jay was just mindlessly walking to his bedroom and then they heard a ‘girlish’ giggle from jay’s room. both jake and sunghoon looked at each other in shock.

“he’s gone insane.” sunghoon says. jake nods.

“didn’t he go out with (name) just now?” jake asks.

slowly the put the pieces together, sunghoon’s eyes widened. “we’ve truly lost him.”

“that man is a fucking simp.” both sunghoon and jake say at the same time.

taglist[open]: @bldelaine @velvtcherie @shalkeren @kgneptun @yenqa @dammit-jjk @sionshiii @enhaz1 @mrchweeee @ncityzenz @autumn583 @okokok4 @ariadores @n1k1mura @kwiwin @drunkdazeded @justkatey @thatsroug @auesoooo @bunchofroses07 @j4ysluv @heeseungwifeyyy @smouches @bubblytaetae @dimplewonie @brachioanton @blackhairandbangs @heestrawberries @amesification @rizzshimura @y4wnjunz @rainyjy @pkjay @simjyunnie @imtoanonymousforyou @jungwoneez @jeongingf1 @astrae4 @heartswonn @pinkishyngs @heeseungsbabyy @in-somnias-world @ramenoil @wantmatthew @leehanascent @kayyssw @allisonleannn @kim2005bomi @saurxcream @urmomssneakylink @zyvlxqht @honeyboobear @ddazed-lhs @bee-the-loser @sunkislove @glassesyunjin @eleanorheartschishiya @jayjongie @woninluv @artstaeh @jwnghyuns @junissy @svmjaeyun @clairecottenheart @onigirik1 @woniejjang

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hitomisuzuya · 9 months

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OMG HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUZU!!! THANK YOU FOR BLESSING US WITH YOUR REQUESTS ONCE AGAIN

and since you're from Japan that means you have a two day long birthday now! hehe <3

I've been thinking the past couple of days about sucking gamer bf!scara's cock while he's mad at his video game hehe :3c thank you for all you do as usual!! ~ wwafterdark

and a birthday scara!

Gamer! Scaramouche x fem!reader. Smut. Scara receiving. Au.

Hello dear! ❤️🥺 Thank you so much and for the birthday Scara. Honestly, I have been wanting to write something like this. So thank YOU for requesting it.

Scaramouche was a very, very temperamental boy. Given his colorful personality, it was 100% guaranteed to come through when he played video games.

Especially if it was a part in a game he couldn't beat. The huffy sighs were becoming consistent for the past two hours. It just wasn't clicking with Scaramouche for some reason. It didn't matter the variety of creative ways to pass the stage, nothing was working.

And what was so much worse was that he was messing up, and failing with you watching. And your sweet words of encouragement were only making it worse. He was grateful for them, but it made failing so many times in a row after hearing them was driving him nuts.

You could see his fingers starting to grip the controller, and you thought you could hear the subtle sound of plastic breaking.

Scaramouche tossed the controller onto his lap with a huffy sigh. You were relieved because it meant he wasn't going to completely crack the controller.

You knew what you had to do. There was one sure fire way to calm him down. You walked to stand next to him. "Take a break, Scara," You said, putting your hand on his thigh. "Spare the poor controller. You'll get it eventually."

Scaramouche scoffed, his cheeks flushing when your hand started to wander up his thigh. "If you say so. Maybe I should just hand you the fucking thing next time."

You pinched your fingers against the head of his cock outside of his pants, making him groan. "Please don't do that," Your cheeks flushed. You wouldn't tell him you'd puzzled out a few methods that would work.

Maybe you should just hand him his ass anyways? He often did livestreams, after all.

Rolling the head of his cock between your fingers, you sank to your knees in front of his chair. Unzipping his jeans, you took his cock out, stroking your hands over it.

His cock twitched in your hand as he rutted into it. You placed kitten licks on the tip, laving your tongue in his precum. Scaramouche moaned huskily, stroking a hand through your hair.

You abruptly took his cock into your mouth, squeezing your hand around the base. You hollowed your cheeks, sucking as you ground your mouth on his cock.

Scaramouche hissed in pleasure. "Suck harder with your slut mouth," He groaned, grabbing onto your hair as he pushed his cock into your throat. He held your head in place while you gagged. Your throat convulsing and spasming on his cock made more precum hit the back of your throat.

You moaned around his cock when you started to breathe through your nose. You flattened, and curled your tongue around his length.

Scaramouche did very little in letting you set a pace. Using your hair as leverage, he bobbed your head up and down on his cock as he took all of his frustration out on your throat.

His thighs trembled in pleasure, letting out a volley of curses, some of them in Japanese as his cock throbbed with impending release. You sucked more eagerly, tears stinging your eyes from his pace.

He was panting by the time cum spurted into your mouth. His hips didn't stop until he was satisfied with fucking his cum down your throat. It was a few moments before he suddenly tapped you on your head.

"I have something to tell you," He said, the way he was smirking down at you actually made you a little nervous.

"Y-yes? What is it?" You asked, sucking some left over cum off of the tip of his cock.

Scaramouche pointed to his webcam. "My web cam has been recording live the whole time."

"What?!"

That was all you could manage to sputter out. Scaramouche threw a jacket over the camera, and tossed you on his bed.

#genshin impact #genshin smut #fem!reader #scaramouche #scaramouche smut #scaramouche x reader #scaramouche x you #scaramouche x y/n

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milaisreading · 1 year

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Random scenarios between the manager and Blue Lock (pt II)

Warnings ⚠️: none in particular. Reader uses she/her. Requests are open

Characters: Rin, Yukimiya, Aryu, Karasu, Otoya, Niko, Hiori and Kurona

⚽️Blue Lock belongs to:Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura⚽️

Part I

Rin:

"What are you writing?" Rin asked out of curiosity as he sat down at (Y/n)'s table to eat.

"Just some stuff Ego-san ordered. Can you believe the U-20 match is next week? I am so excited to see you all play!" Rin looked at the girl passively, since he was more worried over different things concerning the game. For example his brother. Itoshi Sae is a well known name in Japan, and the older Itoshi was admired by both boys and girls. That was the part that worried Rin more than the actual game. What if (Y/n) saw his big brother play and decided to leave Blue Lock? What if she picked Sae over him? Sae took so many things and people away from him in the past, he couldn't let that happen again!

"Rin! Your food is getting cold!" The boy jumped at that and looked down at his food in confusion.

"Oh..."

"Anyways, as I was saying I am excited to see you all play. The U-20 will be no match against you guys!" (Y/n) said in confidence, knowing her friends are unstoppable. Rin gulped and waited for a moment before finally speaking up.

"Not even Itoshi Sae?"

"Not even him. You guys will show him what Japan is about."

Rin's eyes widened for a second and he slowly nodded his head.

'I think I am safe... (Y/n) is only here for me, not big brother. That's how it all should be.

Yukimiya:

It was one of the rare weeks where the Blue Lock team was allowed to go home and spend some time with their families and friends. (Y/n) did her usual routine when she was home: sleep, eat, go out and watch movies with her father at night. Today she was doing it a little differently, since Yukimiya called her the previous day saying he would be in Shibuya today, so they agreed to meet up.

"It's quite cold today. The one time I go out, this is the weather." Yukimiya sighed as (Y/n) laughed a little as she fixed up her scarf.

"Ahh~ it's nice though! It is November after all, so the coldness is really welcoming." The girl commented as she looked up at the sky.

"S-so... where should we go?" Yukimiya wondered, looking nervously at the ground, realizing again that he was alone with (Y/n) today. No Ego or Anri to call her for help, no Blue Lock player asking for the most random things of the girl or pulling her away from her job, it was just them.

'This feels like a date... well from the outside we do look like a couple.' Yukimiya sighed sadly as he adjusted his glasses.

'Wish it was true.'

"What do you say?" (Y/n) suddenly asked and the boy woke up from his thoughts, looking apologetically at her.

"Sorry, I was thinking about something. What were you saying?"

"It's alright. I just want to know if you want us to go to a arcade nearby. They have a food court too." (Y/n) explained and Yukimiya nodded his head with a sheepish smile.

"Sure, that sounds great. I am very good at that basketball game that's always in arcades, you know?" Yukimiya said proudly.

"Really? Maybe you will win the grand prize today. I like more the video games there."

The two continued talking about the various arcade games they could play.

'Maybe we aren't now a couple... but maybe by the next time we visit this place.' Yukimiya thought as his face turned a bright pink.

Aryu:

(Y/n) pouted as she watched the Blue Lock players having a practice match against each other, and while she was usually always excited to see her friends play, she couldn't help but look at one person in envy and awe.

'His hair is so pretty, it looks so soft too! I want that hair... but I also wonder what it is like to touch...'

(Y/n) kept on subtly staring at Aryu, who was pretty much unaware at the looks the girl kept on sending him.

'New mission! Ask Aryu to braid his hair!' (Y/n) nodded to herself and went back to her duty.

Later that day, the girl was sitting with Karasu and Baro eating her dinner.

"Aren't you going to eat that? Your soup is getting cold." Baro wondered, pointing at (Y/n)'s meal. The girl looked away from Aryu's form and nodded at him.

"S-sure!"

"You have been acting weird all day. Are you alright?" Karasu asked,earning a curious look from Baro.

"You are getting enough sleep? Hope you aren't tiring yourself out."

"Yeah, also you should eat more. My food has a lot of protein!" Karasu said as (Y/n) tried to protest his offer, but Baro already did that for her.

"Mine is better, move."

"No, you do."

'Not now- Aryu is leaving!' (Y/n) turned her attention from the two and at the brown haired boy. Taking a deep breath, (Y/n) got up from her seat and ran after Aryu, the other two not noticing the girl was even gone.

"Aryu! Wait!"

Surprised by (Y/n)'s yell, the boy stopped and looked back, worried that something had happened to her.

"Is everything alright? Do you need help with something?" Aryu wondered.

(Y/n) stopped in front of him and took a deep breath.

"I... I actually wanted to ask you something..." The girl started with a red face, keeping an eye on his hair. Now Aryu was the nervous one, since this scene reminded him a lot of the ones in romcom movies.

'Is she going to confess her love to me? Breath Aryu, you can't mess this up! Just say calmly that you like her back-'

"Can I braid your hair? Please!"

"Huh? My hair?" Aryu raised his eyebrow, a little disappointed that it wasn't a confession.

"I know it sounds weird. But it looks so pretty and soft, I really want to braid it. Sorry, it's stupid."

Aryu chuckled at her rambling and patted her head.

'She is so adorable!'

"Sure. My haircomb is in my room. Come on." Aryu smiled and pulled (Y/n) along.

'It went better than expected!' The girl thought.

'So my hair is her weakness? Good to know! Now I know what to use when I want her attention. Braiding hair is such a couples activity.'

Karasu:

'Who in their right mind is already training?! It's not even time for them to be up!' (Y/n) thought as she walked to the main training room. It was 7 am right now and the boys would usually be woken up at 8, so seeing someone inside right now worried the girl.

(Y/n) slowly nodded the door and looked around the place, nothing was made a mess, everything was just like she had left the night before. The only thing that was different is that on the field were a few footballs and Karasu was kicking them over and over again.

"Karasu! What are you doing here so early? You should really be resting and not overworking yourself."

The boy sat down on the ground and sighed, clearly annoyed with something. The girl raised her eyebrow and sat down across from him. She decided to keep quiet for a while, wondering how to start the conversation.

"Soo... is there a reason you are up so early?"

"I am training."

"And why? You still have an hour more of sleep." (Y/n) said again and Karasu sighed.

"I guess I just want to keep up with everyone. Everyone on the team is so extraordinary and over the top with their skills."

"So are you? I mean, you wouldn't be here if you weren't."

Karasu kept quiet for a moment and then spoke up again, clearly frustrated.

"No... at least I don't think so, I can just feel it."

"Do you feel that all the time? Or just at times?" (Y/n) raised her eyebrow as Karasu stopped to think that over.

"I think... I don't know I just feel it at times."

The blue-eyed boy admitted, a little embarrassed.

"We all have those days where we feel down and not food enough. Karasu, you are more than enough for Blue Lock and for Japanese football. You are doing a great job already, don't overwork yourself for some fleeting feelings."

Karasu kept quiet for a moment as he stared at (Y/n), feeling his heart beat a little faster as her words played through his head.

'I am more than enough? Am I...'

"Am I more than enough for you?" Karasu asked, almost instantly regretting the words as he realized how weird it sounded. (Y/n), thinking he meant it in a football related way quickly nodded her head.

"Of course! You are doing great. I am sure soon clubs around the world will be fighting for you to play for them." The girl said with a grin. Karasu sighed in relief,feeling some form of relief wash over him.

'God I love her!'

Otoya:

"So many people..." (Y/n) muttered as she peeked from the entrance into the conference room. It was merely a few hours before the great match between Blue Lock 11 and U-20 Japan, and Anri had ordered her to take some notes while her and Ego were questioned. The teams were in their locker rooms, so (Y/n) really didn't have much to do anyways... well everyone except for one person was in the locker room.

"What are you looking at?"

Jumping up, (Y/n) looked up to find Otoya standing above her.

"Me? I have to take some notes for Teieri-san and Ego-san for late- Why are you not with the others?!" (Y/n) whisper-yelled at the boy, who just shrugged his shoulders.

"I didn't feel like staying in there when you are all here alone... around the U-20 group of all people." Otoya said, rolling his eyes at the thought of them.

'Not even we are that obnoxious...'

"So? They are here to play, nor make idly conversations with random girls." (Y/n) argued back, already more composed. Otoya sighed at her words and pinched her cheeks.

"Ow!"

"So cute and naive, (Y/n). You have no idea how these guys work."

"And you do?" (Y/n) flinched as her cheeks were finally free from his hold.

"Yes I do."

"How?"

"I just do." Otoya said back. Although he did sound smug at the moment, internally he was panicking that (Y/n) might possibly catch interest in one of their rivals. He wouldn't really blame her for that.

'These are all professional players and meanwhile I am... I am just me I guess...'

"You really don't need to worry. I will keep my eyes on you guys anyways." (Y/n) suddenly spoke up, leaning against the wall.

Otoya kept quiet, looking nervously around the hall as (Y/n) continued.

"Besides, who would look at them when we have literal monsters in Blue Lock. So don't put yourself down or worry about me. I can handle it." The girl patted his arm as Otoya let out a nervous sound of agreement.

'I hate that I can barely speak to her properly... but at least I know she won't abandon me... us for the U-20 or anyone.' Otoya thought, eventually smiling and leaving for the locker room.

'She looks really cute in our official uniform. Wonder how cute she will look like with my jersey.'

Niko:

"You should have stayed and rested for the day. I can handle myself." Niko coughed out as (Y/n) shook her head, pushing the boy down onto the bed so that she should sleep again.

"Don't be rediculous, I am not leaving you with a fever all alone here. The medics are always fine when I stay behind and help. So there is no need for you to worry. Just lay down, I will bring you tour medicine." (Y/n) said calmly and went to the cupboards, looking through them as Niko stared at her the whole time. He sighed dreamily as he watched (Y/n) move from spot to spot, worry evident on her face until after she finally opened a different cupboard and she visibly relaxed.

'Probably had a hard time finding the medicine. She worries too much, but... that's her charm I guess. That's why Ego-san probably hired her.' Niko thought as his face got redder and he smiled to himself.

'She always gives her all into helping us and barely ever asks for anything in return, just for us to stay safe on the field while we play.'

"Here you go! Finally found the medicine!"

Niko watched in slight amusement as (Y/n) cheered and handed him the capsules and a glass of water.

"Thank you.." Niko said as he sat up and took the thing from her hands.

"Alright, you stay here and rest. I need to go and tell the cooks to make something for your fever. Maybe a nice chicken soup or udon noodles., what do yoh prefer?" (Y/n) mused to herself as Niko shook his head.

"You don't need to think so much about it. Whatever you pick is fine."

"Huh? Don't be stupid, you are sick so you tell me what you want." (Y/n) said leaning down to whisper something to Niko.

"Don't tell anyone, but I barely ever follow the list Teieri-san gave me when you guys are sick. So spoil yourselves with some food you like while you can."

'So close! Did she always smell so nice?!' The black-haired boy held back squeal as he silently said 'udon' and (Y/n) nodded her head.

"Alright! I will be back in a bit. Don't do anything stupid and stay in the room~" (Y/n) called out, already bolting out of the room to get him his dinner.

Niko watched her disappear in a haze and he laid his head on the pillow again.

'She is so cute when she smiles!'

Hiori:

'So cute~' (Y/n) thought as she finished reading a book Anri had bought her. It was a romance book where the boyfriend made a grand surprise for his girlfriend after they were separated for months. He organized a whole dinner date and got a pretty bouquet before he proposed, (Y/n) quietly cheered as the girl said yes.

'This was so adorable... wish there was someone who would do this for me.' (Y/n) sighed as she put the book away, playing with a lose strand of hair as Hiori approached her.

"Are you alright? You seemed quite happy a few minutes ago..." The blue-haired boy asked, sitting down next to (Y/n).

"Hmm? Yeah, I just read this book where a guy made a grand surprise for his girlfriend when she returned home after months. It was so adorable."

"Sounds sweet... but why are you sad about it? It sounds considerate of him." Hiori wondered, trying to pick the right words.

"Ah... I guess I just wish something like this will happen to me one day." (Y/n) admitted, which did get Hiori's full attention now.

"You want someonw to propose?"

"Huh? No, not that part... well not now. The The bouquet part would be nice... I know it kind of sounds stupid." (Y/n) admitted. Hiori kept quiet as he thought over her words. He didn't have a lot of time to question you as Karasu and Kurona ran up to where they were and pulled (Y/n) away to help with something.

'Let's see...' Hiori thought, quickly taking the book and tried to find that specific part.

'The proposing part I will do in a few years. For now the bouquet will do, maybe I can ask Teieri-san to help me out.'

A few days had passed since that incident happened and (Y/n) basically forgot about the conversation she had with Hiori. The boy didn't though, and after a awkward time of asking Anri for help, the boy finally got a bouquet of (f/f).

'Just calmly approach her...' Hiori thought, gulping nervously as he walked to his room, knowing (Y/n) was probably there.

'Teieri-san did say Aryu asked her to braid his hair.'

The blue-eyed boy slowly opened the door, where sure enough (Y/n) was, along with Aryu, Bachira, Chigiri and Isagi. Nagi was there too, but he was asleep as it seemed.

"Hiori! You are back sooner than usually!" The boy cursed at how loud Bachira can be, now feeling embarrassed as all eyes were on him.

"What do you have there? Flowers?" Chigiri raised his eyebrow as the boy walked up to them with the flowers.

"Ah! It's (f/f) too! Did a fan send them?" (Y/n) asked excitedly, abandoning Aryu's hair to look at the flowers, to which the boy pouted.

"No... I actually asked Teieri-san to get them for you. You did say you wanted a bouquet the other day soo..." Hiori trailed off as he felt both embarrassed and intimidate by the stares he was getting.

"I... Thank you so much, Hiori! They are beautiful!" (Y/n) exclaimed as Hiori handed them to her.

"Thanks, I will put them in vase!" The girl said as she ran out of the room. The boy had a content smile on his face, ignoring the daggers and poking he was receiving from the five other boys, and yes the commotion caused Nagi to wake up.

'Ahh~ her smile is so adorable!'

Kurona:

One thing (Y/n) didn't enjoy after moving to Germany for the internship at Bastard München was the ever-changing weather Munich had to offer. She was looking outside her window as the rain kept falling down for the past 3 hours, and it wasn't showing signs of stopping either! Pouting she looked down on the streets again, seeing a few people walk by and that was about it.

'This is boring.'

As if on cue, there was a knock on her dorm room and a familiar voice came from the other side.

"(Y/n), are you free to hang out. I was bored in my room."

"Sure! The door is unlocked, Kurona!" The girl smiled, finally she wouldn't have to suffer in this weather alone. The redhead walked inside and looked just as depressed as she was.

"The weather sucks, man it was sunshine just yesterday." The boy pouted and sat on the couch as (Y/n) joined him.

"I know! And today on our day off it has to be so gloomy... well can't change it now. Want to watch something?" (Y/n) wondered as Kurona thought about it for a moment, then nodded his head.

"Sure, I found a channel where they show anime in Japanese."

"Great!"

And that was basically how they spent the rest of the afternoon, watching some random shows and talking about the things that happened during the past few days. The more they talked, the more Kurona was growing insecure though, since he felt like he was doing too much.

'Maybe I am talking too much right now... should I stop? Should I have said that one thing?'

As if sensing his distress, (Y/n) spoke up.

"It's really nice seeing you talk so freely. You should do it more often."

Kurona looked at her in surprise for a moment, then spoke up.

"Really? You don't think it's boring or something?"

"No. I like talking to you, I hope you open up more. Your voice is also soothing."

The last part caused the boy to blush a little and he nodded his head.

"A-alright..."

'It felt nice hearing that... knowing I am not annoying her... I will definitely open up more, if it will make (Y/n) happy.'

501 notes · View notes

plutoccult · 3 months

Text

FINGER LICKIN’ YEAH WE COOKIN’ UP A SUPER BOWL

pairing: osamu miya x female reader

description: osamu wasn’t a fan of football nor parties. however, it is only you that could convince him to agree to atsumu’s shenanigans.

word count: 4.4k

also available to read on my ao3 here

author’s note: SURPRISE!!! i had intended to write for osamu before, but the idea instead went to another character. i never forgot about my foodie king though! plus, it’s super bowl sunday, so i HAD to put this out in enough time. the idea came last minute, so i was in a bit of a rush, but i managed! sorry if it seems rushed, i truly was trying my best to get this done in time. i also apologize if anyone seems ooc, i was honest to god trying my best. for timeline’s sake, i’d say the twins are 21 in this one shot, so not quite yet to the point where osamu has his own onigiri shop and atsumu is on the japan national team. anyway, happy super bowl sunday, and enjoy! (btw i totally named this after super bowl by stray kids)

tags: @toorubobatea @intorder @dragon-slayer5 @femme-lune @darthferbert @5sos-wdw @todorokiskitten @intheewrld

taglist form here

osamu wasn’t thrilled when his twin atsumu sprung the idea of having a super bowl party on him out of nowhere.

“they do it in america! it’s huge there!” his twin argued, detailing everything he knows about the tradition. sure, they do air the event in japan, but what was the point? an excuse to eat and drink? hangout with their buddies from both the past and present? actually, no. osamu figured out atsumu’s motive quickly; it was an excuse for osamu to cook a bunch of food.

there was no denying atsumu was clueless in the kitchen. if it were up to him to cook anything more complex than eggs and toast, he’d burn the whole place down. osamu was better off handling majority of anything food related. his brother was lucky he enjoyed the art of cooking.

“i’m not dealing with a stupid party, tsumu.” osamu crossed his arms in protest. there was no way he was going to deal with an inevitable mess. having to cook all the food and clean up the mess after? nope, no way. he refused to do it alone. luckily, his twin could figure that out quickly.

“ah, ah, ah. i knew you’d say that.” atsumu smirked. “y/n already told me she’d help you make the food.”

the mention of your name immediately perked up osamu. best friends since high school, it was blatantly obvious you had captured the shyer twin from the start, although—like with everyone else—he could easily assume you were more drawn to atsumu as he was always so unashamedly outspoken. everyone talked to atsumu more, but even so, you always treated the twins equally. mayhaps that is why he longed for you so much.

“y/n did?” osamu asked.

“and she’s bringing cake.” his brother added.

a woman after his own heart, really, and a foodie just like osamu. you always joked about opening a bakery next door once he finally opened up the onigiri shop he dreamed of. the goal was sometime next year, so maybe catering this party would be good practice. plus, it was a good excuse to be close to you like osamu craved.

“she is?” he questioned further. if his brother wasn’t kidding around, then maybe he’d feel more inclined to agree.

“you’re not gonna say no, right?” atsumu teased. osamu grunted in response, too stubborn to say anything, which atsumu recognized. it is only his twin who can easily detect his weakness; you.

“you’re such a sucker, osamu.” he chuckled. even if osamu were a sucker for you, he wouldn’t want to be one for anyone else. and it’s not like he’s totally clueless. he’d mess with his twin somehow.

“i’ll do it…“ osamu said before stating his only condition. “if you clean up the place afterwards.”

“what?!” atsumu gawked.

“it’s only fair, right?” osamu shrugged. two can play at that game. “i cook, you clean.”

unfortunately, atsumu had no choice but to suck it up. truth be told, he orchestrated you assisting with food preparations for the sake of getting you and osamu together alone. if he says no now, then his little secret wingman plan would be a waste, so atsumu had to accept his fate.

“pft, ass.” he huffed. atsumu should’ve known better than to try playing games with his brother, knowing he could easily match his game.

“just be lucky i agreed to your idiocy.” osamu scoffed.

“only because y/n is helping!” atsumu whined. while that may be true, osamu would probably never hear the end of it if he said no whether you were involved or not.

“did i hear only onigiri on the menu?” osamu joked, knowing that would irritate his twin to no end.

“osamu!”

truth be told, he couldn’t wait for sunday now.

•••

over the next few days, osamu had kept in almost constant communication with you over text discussing food options for the party. his signature onigiri was a must despite atsumu’s protest, but other options were in store thanks to your combined brainstorming. osamu couldn’t help but ask what kind of cake you’d bring, and was ultimately disappointed when you said it was a surprise with many winky emojis involved.

when sunday finally rolled around, osamu was more energized than usual. whether that be from excitement or nerves, who knew? atsumu’s plan was going in motion quite nicely and you hadn’t even arrived yet. he truly felt like a genius assisting in his brother’s quest for love.

osamu paced back and forth around the apartment in anticipation for your arrival. the kitchen was spotless, plus the fridge and cabinets were filled to the brim with everything needed for the party. on top of that, he put atsumu up to the task of decorating the place. knowing who would have to deal with cleaning up later was the greatest part of all.

once a knock on the door emerged, the two twins battled over who got to open the door, osamu ultimately losing as his brother elbowed him in the stomach and made a run for it. if there were a best sibling award, it was clear who wouldn’t win it.

“hello, miya twins! i’ve arrived!” you said upon entering the door, your arms occupied with bags, hopefully full of sweet treats.

“hey, y/n.” atsumu greeted you, beating osamu to it as he was still recovering from what occurred just moments ago.

you—already knowing your way around the place—set your bags down on the counter before instructing that they put its contents in the fridge as soon as possible. atsumu obliged despite wondering how he would play tetris with the fridge. but before he could figure out that puzzle, he received a quick hug from you as that was your typical greeting for the twins.

“y/n?” you turn around and see osamu standing a few feet away. he wanted to curse his brother for getting to say hi to you first, but once he saw that smile on your face, all anger towards atsumu faded away in an instant.

“ah, there you are!” you exclaim, rushing towards osamu and welcoming him with a big hug, one that lasted longer than the one you shared with atsumu. you held him tight, almost squeezing the life out of him as you pulled him from side to side. it didn’t matter that he couldn’t breathe, osamu was just happy to feel so welcomed by you.

“ready to cook up a super bowl?” you ask once you finally allowed osamu the ability to breathe. “i already made desserts in advance, so i can help with what you’ve got planned.”

“i could’ve helped with that…” osamu pouted. any more excuse to be around you was all he wanted, really. plus, he was curious to know your baking secrets. he always figured you were born a master.

“but that would ruin the surprise, silly.” you poke his arm. if it were his stomach, he might have folded over. thank god you were gentle.

as much as you wanted your desserts to remain a surprise until the party started, atsumu had to immediately ruin the fun for you. “there’s a cake shaped like a football.”

“atsumu!” you scold him. “ever heard of surprises, or has your brain become mush from too many volleyballs to the head?”

“yeah, yeah.” atsumu rolled his eyes. “i’ll leave you two to get started with everything. i trust you not to burn the place down.”

“only you would do that, tsumu.” you say. the way you teased atsumu was something osamu always loved about you. you were just as relentless as him, truly. besides, someone else besides osamu had to humble the ever-so-bold twin.

“exactly. later!” atsumu said before he left you and osamu alone in the kitchen.

osamu let out a sigh the moment his brother left the room. you immediately take notice, assuming he didn’t want to be doing this for atsumu. you hoped at the very least he enjoyed your presence today.

“i take it you’re doing all this against your will?” you question, curiosity getting to the best of you.

“not exactly…” osamu replied.

“well, i couldn’t really say no to him, so…” you shy away from the truth. it would be embarrassing if you were to admit to osamu why you agreed to this, but he was painfully oblivious, assuming it was all for his brother’s sake. not because you wanted to spend time with him and only him. it seemed you were both hiding your intentions.

“yeah, of course.” osamu frowned. it’s atsumu we’re talking about.

tension quickly filled the room. you sense the uncomfortable vibe instantly, wondering if you said something wrong. was it really something you said? you didn’t seem to think so. maybe getting things started in the kitchen for the party will help.

“shall we get started?” you ask hesitantly. “i was thinking we shape the onigiri into footballs. ya know, to fit the theme.”

osamu chuckled at your idea. at least you could see him smile now. he seemed to find it cute, but also funny how you wanted to make as many items on the menu football shaped as possible.

“i could try that.” he said, trying to hold back any more laughter. if osamu were to laugh any more, he was afraid you’d think he was making fun of your idea.

“cool, i’ll get started on the wings while you get started on that.” you say without skipping a beat, immediately grabbing ingredients like you knew this kitchen as if it were your own.

osamu didn’t seem to mind it this way with you around. he’d spend the whole day in the kitchen with you, even if all you did was sit on the counter and watch while he did all the work. but that’s not who you are, you refused to leave him to do everything. most importantly, you refused to let him feel alone.

soon enough, the kitchen grew quiet, the sounds of timers beeping and water running from the sink on occasion serving as background noise. you and osamu worked together in perfect harmony, like a well oiled machine. your chemistry oozed in the room and neither of you had to say a word to each other. it was easy for you two to figure out who did what most effiently. osamu could never do this with anyone else this way, you feeling the same way, although those thoughts remained unspoken.

the lack of chatter made atsumu worried. he had been trying to eavesdrop while he was supposed to be decorating, but found it to be too quiet for his liking. as atsumu tried to lean a little more, hoping to hear something worthwhile, he ended up tripping over an extension cord, blowing his cover as he tripped right into the kitchen.

atsumu’s sudden crash startled the both of you, osamu almost dropping the pot in his hands and you almost slicing your finger as you chopped an onion.

“atsumu!” you yell as you set your knife down. atsumu was lucky you didn’t decide to threateningly wave it around right now. “the hell are you doing?!”

“it got quiet, so i was getting worried…” he answered, slowly getting back to his feet as he feared for his life. would atsumu rather face his brother’s wrath or your wrath? both of you together may be the worst combination of all, really.

“what, worried that we disappeared and left you with all this food to cook?” you cross your arms. “osamu said you were decorating, and this doesn’t look like decorating to me.”

“i was taking a break?” atsumu shrugged. that was the worst answer in the world, even he could admit that.

“just go.” osamu let out a groan. it was bad enough that atsumu used you as a way to persuade him to cook for the party, but to eavesdrop on what you two were doing? what was he trying at here? as much as osamu was curious to know, he just wanted to get back to cooking with you without any worries.

“fine…” atsumu sighed, going back to the dreadful duty of decorating all by his lonesome. the sacrifices he’s made for the sake of his brother and the girl he’s loved for years. how tragic… not.

once atsumu left, you burst into laughter. osamu furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “what’s so funny?”

“oh, just the look on his face when he got caught.” you giggle.

“yeah…” he said. it was funny, osamu could admit that, but he feared that his twin had devious plans up his sleeve. who knows if he’ll make it through the end of the day with some sort of dignity left?

•••

hours later, atsumu’s teammates from the black jackals arrived for the party. osamu was acquainted with some of them—most definitely more than acquainted with a certain pipsqueak named shoyo hinata—but he was more looking forward to seeing some of his teammates from high school, especially aran and kita. he would talk to suna, but the poor guy looked like he wanted to leave more than anything.

you seemed quite occupied at the moment, mostly due to bokuto talking your ear off about how delicious the cookies you made were. you were more than aware of his loud personality, but seeing it up close was far different than just watching him play on the court. at least you knew it wasn’t for show during matches.

osamu considered being your knight in shining armor by finding an excuse to steal you away, but he feared facing the embarrassment of his friends who wouldn’t hesitate to tease him. even if you looked at him with pleading eyes, he still hesitated. if only osamu had the guts to be a little brave for once, not standing in the shadows.

“samu…” atsumu called for him. osamu turned his attention away from watching you to see what his brother wanted, although a little annoyed.

“hm?”

“we’re out of rice. can you make more?” he asked.

osamu blinked a few times, unsure if he actually heard that correctly. “we’re… out?”

“kita ate it all up.” atsumu said.

“really?” osamu groaned. he didn’t even want to think of the logistics of his former captain eating so much rice so quickly. “grow your own rice or something, man.”

“maybe i will…” kita replied calmly, now pondering over the thought of becoming a rice farmer. it didn’t seem so bad, actually. unfortunately, the rice couldn’t just grow and magically appear already cooked. osamu wished it worked that way.

“i’ll go make more.” osamu sighed. “call for me when it’s halftime.”

once he left to head to the kitchen, you watched as he walked away, tempted to follow. maybe if you found an excuse to leave the room, like go get a drink or go to the bathroom or something. that oughta work, right?

“hey, bokuto?” you stop him mid sentence as he was still going on about your baking. “i gotta go to the bathroom. i’ll be back, okay?”

“don’t forget to give me your cookie recipe!” bokuto exclaimed as you left the living room.

atsumu raised an eyebrow upon your sudden exit, a smirk creeping up on his face soon following once he put the pieces together. “she’s not going to the bathroom…”

you find osamu already cooking, the rice cooker at work while he prepared more rice to be cooked just incase. he’d rather be safe than sorry now. osamu didn’t notice you walk in at first, but your presence became apparent soon enough once you tapped him on the shoulder.

“man, you scared me.” he chuckled, you also sharing a laugh with him. “you don’t have to help me. i’ve got this.”

“what, want some practice for when you finally open up that restaurant?” you question. osamu furrowed his eyebrows, asking “huh?” until you explained what you meant. “onigiri miya. i’ve been waiting.”

“oh, right…” osamu said, almost forgetting that little dream of his. “that.”

“well, when is it finally gonna happen?” you ask. he had talked about it for so long, and you always waited for the day it’d finally come to fruition. you probably believed in him more than he’s ever believed in himself, honestly.

“mmm, i don’t know.” he replied shyly. “next year would be nice, but there’s so many things to think about.”

“wait, really? why didn’t you tell me?!” you gasp, shocked he’d hide such an important detail from you.

“it’s just, uh, kinda scary when you admit it out loud.” osamu said. his dream of opening up his own restaurant was as scary as trying to admit the truth of his feelings. dreaming is one thing, but trying to make it a reality was another.

“samu, you know you can do it! i’ve always believed in you!” you admit, taking osamu by surprise despite how confident you always spoke about him.

“you have?”

“yes!” you say without hesitation. “from the day i met you.”

“wow, thank you…” osamu blushed. you get lost in each other’s eyes, although osamu wondered if it’s just in his imagination that you’re staring at him so intently. suddenly, the moment was ruined.

“hey, do you smell something burning?” you question as you try to sniff out the strange smell. osamu figured it out immediately, knowing it was the rice everyone was waiting on.

“the rice!” he exclaimed, rushing to the rice cooker. “i put the rice cooker on high so it’d get done faster…”

“aw, no!” you say. “is it salvageable?”

“no…�� osamu sighed, looking down at the damage. “if anything, it’s a sign i shouldn’t have my own restaurant.”

to him, this was stupid. if he doesn’t do everything perfectly, then what’s the point? it seemed to silly to immediately think the worst, that this was a sign of imminent failure. osamu was good at keeping that competitive perfectionist part of him hidden to most, always making it seem like he just gets everything right the first time, but only you can see that he has flaws. at the end of the day, you continue to be his weakness, but that doesn’t mean you don’t make him feel strong.

“hey, hey, hey.” you grab his arm, a jolt coming from osamu by your sudden touch. “you overcook rice one time and all of the sudden your dream is dead? chefs mess up all the time. you’re human, you know. i think you’ve forgotten that.”

“but—”

“i mean, come on. you think i just magically knew how to make a cake one day?” you ask jokingly. even if you meant for the question to be a silly one, osamu took it quite literally.

“honestly? yeah. the first time you brought cake to school for me and sumu’s birthday was the best thing i ever tasted.” he said, recalling your first year of high school together. you hadn’t been friends with the twins for that long at that point, but you decided to surprise them with a cake for their birthday as it fell on a school day. like osamu said, it was the best thing he ever tasted. he felt like he found his future wife in that moment.

“samu, i spent all night making like five different cakes cause i kept messing them up.” you confess. it was a secret you carried for years, shocked you never said anything before, but only just now having the guts to say it. even so, osamu couldn’t believe it to be true. he always swore your skills came to you like second nature. how come he never knew before? you were very good at hiding things, it seemed.

“you did? why?” he asked.

“because…” you hesitate. might as well fess up, you suppose. “i really wanted you to like it.”

“me and tsumu?” osamu questioned. what an idiot.

you shake your head, almost tempted to laugh over how blind he was to what you were trying to say. part of you was a little frustrated, but you wouldn’t let that get to the best of you. “you really are oblivious, aren’t you?”

“i guess i am…” he replied, unsure of what else to say.

you let out a sigh. should you say it? the whole truth? you didn’t know it, but you were in the same boat as osamu. you did this for each other without even realizing it. it is you, however, who will be brave enough to admit such a truth. no going back now after you’ve already admitted so much.

“i only agreed to helping with this party because atsumu knew i wanted an excuse to be close to you.” you tell him, looking away. osamu swore you looked ashamed to say those words out loud, but even so, the truth shocked him to the very core.

“he… what?”

when you grant yourself the guts to look him in the eye once more, the look on his face made you think you shouldn’t have said anything. but osamu wanted to scream, scream about how long he liked you and how he never thought he’d see this day. he didn’t know if the universe planted the seeds for this very moment, but he couldn’t let it slip away. not when you believed in him like it was breathing.

“nothing. don’t worry about it.” you shake your head. “i’ll help you restart the rice. hungry people waiting.”

“no.” osamu stopped you. you freeze in your tracks, waiting for what else he had to say. “forget the rice.”

“huh—”

“why do you think i told tsumu i’d help with this party?” he asked. you’re at a loss for words, unsure of what to say. it is usually you who stood tall, but osamu took your place, taking charge for the sake of making sure you knew the truth. “i said i would because he told me you were coming here. he knew you were the only thing that’d get me to say yes. called me a sucker and everything.”

your cheeks flush, a smile creeping up on your face as the realization of osamu’s mutuals feelings hit you. “guess i’m a sucker too.”

osamu let out a sigh of relief, overcome with joy as he couldn’t control his grin. with that look on your face, he almost wanted to kiss you right then and there. should he kiss you right now? no, osamu should ask permission first. couldn’t be too confident, right? or were you trying to say something with your eyes? god, osamu didn’t have a clue on what to do.

“can you two please just kiss already so i can get back to the party?”

you and osamu share a gasp. it was atsumu, no doubt about it. that bitch, you both think to yourselves. was he eavesdropping on that whole conservation? pause. now they both knew atsumu did all of this on purpose. he had a lot of explaining to do, that’s for sure.

without having to speak a word, you and osamu find atsumu in the hallway, both tugging him by his shirt and pulling him to the ground. your combined anger undoubtedly scared the shit out of him.

“you!” you grab the collar of atsumu’s shirt. “you set this all up!”

“i bet you don’t even like football!” osamu yelled.

“yeah!” you say in agreement without thinking.

“hey, i’m innocent, your honor! innocent!” atsumu raised his hands up in the air, squeezing his eyes shut as he anticipated one of you to start hitting him.

“no wonder you agreed to clean if i cooked!” osamu exclaimed.

“he agreed to clean?!“ you loudly gasp. funnily enough, that was the most shocking thing you’ve heard all day.

“listen to me, okay?!” atsumu forced your hand away from his collar. you take a step back and give him the chance to speak, although you were more than prepared to start swinging if need be. “i just really wanted you two to stop being wusses about your feelings. now you both know, all thanks to me.”

you and osamu soften up. even if it seemed a tad bit manipulative, neither of you could deny that it was actually kind of… sweet? all that cooking was a pain in the ass, but it brought you together and pushed you to admit your truths.

“i really do like you, osamu.” you say, looking into osamu’s eyes, not wavering for a second. there was no need for either of you to hide anymore. “since the day we met.”

“me too.” osamu replied, the most beautiful smile you’ve ever seen plastered on his face.

“i sense a super emotional moment—” atsumu tried to say in the midst of his escape attempt. however, you grab him by the wrist, almost pulling his arm by his socket. “ow!”

“come here.” you pull him in for a hug, osamu too, practically squeezing the two to death. “you’re a pain, but thank you, atsumu.”

“can i go now?” he asked, trying his best to writhe out of your grasp. you were strong, atsumu couldn’t deny that.

“yeah, yeah. get outta here.” you scoff as you let him free.

atsumu mumbled some words over how it was “about damn time” on his way out, which sent you and osamu into a fit of giggles. once the laughter died down, reality set in. now both you knew that you liked each other, so what now? what else was there to do?

“so…”

“so..?”

“you think they’re all still waiting on that rice?” you ask awkwardly.

that was the last thing osamu cared about in this moment, truly. he waited so long for this, never thinking there ever was a chance. dare he ask you to pinch him would seem silly now. all he wanted to do now was finally kiss you without hesitating.

“oh, screw the rice.” osamu said, grabbing your hand as he pulled you close and pressed his lips against yours. your hand that clasped his rested over his chest, his heartbeat thumping against your touch. has his heart always beat this fast in your presence for all this time, you couldn’t help but wonder. it was safe to say no one was getting their rice now, but neither of you gave a damn.

meanwhile, in the living room, atsumu finally returned, although with an irritated look on his face. he sat down in between bokuto and hinata, who were both curious about the food.

“hey, how’s the rice going—” hinata began to ask before being quickly cut off by atsumu.

“just watch the stupid game.”

#haikyuu #haikyu #haikyuu x reader #haikyu x reader #haikyuu x female reader #haikyu x female reader #osamu miya x reader #miya osamu x reader #osamu x reader #miya osamu x female reader #osamu miya x female reader #osamu x female reader #osamu miya #miya osamu #pluto writes 📝#gif divider by cafekitsune

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mizukitoyama-blr · 2 months

Text

Oikawa x Reader: School Festival [a haikyuu one-shot]

Ok y'all, so my friends and I had an all-nighter where we write one-shots. The twist is, we each wrote down on different sticky notes a character, a plotline, and I think the third is a location. We did this a year ago and I forgot all about this, but I recently found it so I'm posting it here lol

I hope you enjoy.

1145 words

Story under the cut.

Being a foreign exchange student, experiencing life in Japan was a bit of a culture shock: different introductions, different eating customs, different school traditions. One school tradition you noted was that Japan had school festival days. For the past week, your class had been working on an idea and building the vision. Today was the final day where the booths would actually be open to people and you were kind of nervous. Why? Who knows. Maybe it was more excitement than nervousness.

Your class finished assembling the booth reasonably quickly, so you figured you’d find your friend Oikawa to see if his booth needed any help. It wasn’t long before you found his booth and he was waving you down. Oikawa was one of the first people to introduce himself to you. Of course, you now realize he was just trying to scope out the new girl considering his… following, but it ended up being a good friendship; mainly consisting of you helping Iwaizumi call him names and him being a weird flirt even though he’s pretty much a dork.

“Hi, Y/n! Couldn’t stay away for long, eh?” he asked, waving.

“No, actually I’m looking for your pretty friend. Hey, Iwa!” you responded jokingly, to which Oikawa feigned a sad pout. “How’s the booth coming along?”

“We're almost done. Just need to put up the last few banners,” Iwaizumi said.

“You may want to be careful, Y/n. As soon as we open, girls will swarm the area. You might get trampled and die,”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” you said, rolling your eyes. “What are you guys doing anyway?”

“Kissing booth,” Iwaizumi said boredly as the title banner was hung up. You turned your head to Oikawa,

“What?”

“It’s the perfect concept! There's no girl in the world that wouldn’t want to kiss me! Just think of the revenue,”

“I wouldn’t count on it if it’s gonna be you, Oikawa. How is this even allowed in a school setting?”

“It’s just on the cheek. He does have a big following of girls at this school. It’s not like we can use his brain to help our booth,”

“I guess that makes sense,”

“How mean! Everyone undermines my intelligence,”

“Oh yeah, how did your game go Saturday?”

“It was fine. We won, of course, but it just felt too easy. I need a challenge in my life. You should come to my next game! You can wear one of my jerseys,”

“Hmm, tempting, but I’ll pass. Volleyball isn’t really my thing. Well, if you’re pretty much done, I’m gonna head around to look at the other booths. See ya around!”

“Bye, Y/n~!”

Everything looked amazing and you were having a good amount of fun before someone grabbed your shoulders from behind, making you jump. “Ya ho~!”

“Gah! Oikawa you scared me! Why would you do that?” you exclaimed and punched him in the arm.

“Ow! I can take the abuse from Iwa, but from you, it’s just too much,”

“Sorry. I saw opportunity and couldn’t resist,”

“The abuse I endure for you. Do you wanna go do something together?”

“What about your booth?”

“I’m all kissed out and on break. Girls wear a lot of lip product,” he said while rubbing some gloss and balm off his cheek. “But anyways, let’s go get some food or something. I’m so hungry,”

“I saw a teriyaki booth somewhere. Wanna get some of that? You’re paying,”

“Don’t I always?” The two of you walked the booths, trying different foods and desserts. The games were pretty fun too! It was nice playing games that weren’t rigged. You were clowning on Oikawa a bit at how much he sucked at some of the games compared to you, though you're sure he’d thrown some of your matches together. As your escapade continued, you noticed some girls you passed had their hands pressed to their cheeks while pointing and gazing at Oikawa, undoubtedly gushing over how they kissed each other on the cheek.

“I don’t understand how you can manage all the female attention. I’d get too tired of having to interact that much,”

“It does get bothersome sometimes. I used to love it, but now I think I’d prefer to have only one girl's attention, you know?”

“Ah, the development of a teenage male. From boyhood to maturity. All ready to settle down,” suddenly you gasped dramatically, almost making Oikawa drop the snacks he had bought. “A Ferris wheel! How did they get a Ferris wheel here!?”

“Y/n, I don’t think I’d trust that. It looks a little old,”

“Old shmold! Let’s go on!” Without a moment to protest you were dragging Oikawa by the hand to the big ride. “Woah! I can see the field yard from here!”

“Y/n! Please don’t lean out the side like that. You’re gonna fall!”

“Oh, you mean like this?” you asked and leaned out,”

“Y/n!” he said, reaching for you.

“What? Are you scared” you asked, and started rocking the box. He grabbed you and forced you to sit still beside him, like a mother to her rambunctious child.

“You’ve lost your fun privileges. Sit still until the ride is over,” you couldn’t help but laugh at him. You wondered if rides were a fear of his or if it was just Ferris wheels. Either way, it was fun to be out like this. You guys only ever really interacted at school during classes or studying. “Hey, Y/n. I think you should rethink going to my next game. I think I’d play better if you were there,”

“Why would you need to play better? You already win don’t you?” by this time the wheel had stopped and it was time to get off. You left the ride with a ‘thank you’ to the person running it and continued on.

“It’s less about the winning and more about… Y/n, would you just listen for a sec?” he grabbed your hand and pulled you back nearer to him. You blinked twice, looking down at where his hand didn’t leave yours.

“Kawa?” he started running his thumb over your knuckles nervously, his eyebrows knitting together in conflict.

“I want to see you at my games. I don’t care if I win, I just want to see you wearing my jersey number at my games,”

“What do you…” this wasn’t… was it?

“Earlier, I was wondering if you were gonna show up to the kissing booth at some point today. But now I’m realizing I’m glad you didn’t.”

“Wh-why?”

“Because now it feels more genuine,” he looked up at you, into your eyes, it felt invasive, uncomfortable, but not altogether unwelcomed. “Y/n. Can I kiss you?”

“I…” but the decision was clear to you then. “Yes.”

Sure enough, you were at his next game, the number one displayed proudly on your back.

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transparencyboo · 3 months

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For the last two weeks or so I've been playing the Mega Drive dungeon crawler Shining in the Darkness. I've recently been going through all the various action-RPGs the system had to offer and kinda found myself lusting for more, so I expanded the scope.

Shining in the Darkness had one of those cover arts I vividly remember seeing in game stores during the 90s, I understood already back then that whatever this was would be too complicated for my feeble preschool brain, but it had a shiny glossy allure that still beckoned to me with promises of daring adventures and grand battles. Questions lingered in my head: Who is that evil bastard zapping sparks at Cavin from the Gummi Bears? Why has the king entrusted the safety of his kingdom to a meagre boy and his two misfit friends?

Well, it turns out that big bad guy is called Dark Sol, the bane of all game difficulty discourse, and the reason the king has enlisted three poor kids is because there is no one else to rely on after your daddy went missing. Everyone else just sorta gives up along the way.

My initial conclusion of this game was to commend my young self for the striking assessment, my five year old self would never get anywhere in this game between the English text, abstracted navigation and number crunching battle mechanics. Shining in the Darkness is a bona fide classic dungeon gauntlet endurance simulator, where you traverse vanishing point block tunnels and encounter enemies. I've played one or two games like this before, like the original Phantasy Star, but this time a new desire struck me. I wanted to draw maps. Maybe I'm just getting older and more patient, leading me to wilfully ignore easily available resources online.

By my recollection, this is the first time I've dedicated myself to playing a game like this. Usually I just resort to my sense of direction, which I've gathered seems to at least be above average, since anytime I go anywhere with anyone I always end up playing shepherd so they don't get lost. Worst case scenario I'll just fall back to mapping efforts by online heroes from years past. For Shining in the Darkness I persisted blindly about halfway through until I admitted to myself charting a map of the labyrinthine caves would be a lot easier. Luckily, the game allows you to spend 1 MP to see a chunk of where you've walked, meaning I could get neatly organized segments to copy by hand.

Perhaps my biggest takeaway from this endeavour was how much of the game experience was expressed through this map project. I spent just as much time slaying beasts as I did counting tiles and filling them out with my pencil. It became a natural counterbalance that provided vital pacing to the game mechanics. Walking, fighting, charting. In turn, through the principle of learning by doing, I gained a more intimate familiarity with the environments by just replicating them out on a sheet of paper. I found that while the map helped, I actually didn't need it much for backtracking because my drawings had helped me remember the layouts of the corridors anyway.

I guess the lesson learned is that while old design sensibilities may appear to be arcane and cumbersome when easier solutions exists, the obfuscation is part of the fun. The game hands me an intentionally hard to navigate world, shows me that it's fully capable of displaying maps of it, but still asks me to provide that dimension myself. Through doing this, I discover that drawing maps is both surprisingly enjoyable and cognitively stimulating. I realize that had I downloaded some pre-packaged maps online and used as my bible, Shining in the Darkness would've been a vastly different experience, one of monotonous meandering through endless fights while confidently striding along the known path.

Perhaps that's why the game was called Shining and the Darkness in Japan, it doesn't flow as well as the western title, but at the same time it poetically reflects this act of discovery. I am Shining, the game provides the Darkness, we work together, we must unify to become whole.

As for Dark Sol, he turned into a big monster boy and was vanquished by a spunky cartographer child and her two cohorts. The unknown has been made known and the kingdom is once more saved.

/Kiki

#shining in the darkness #shining force #sega #mega drive

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godshitgirl · 3 months

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RRRR NOTHING ON MY BRAIN EXCEPT KAKEGURUI AU SKK

Ok instead of a a school it takes place within the Port Mafia which is the biggest gambling ring in japan

Pm dazai and chuuya here but dazai is 22 and the pm boss and chuuya lost his place as an executive after losing against mori in a gamble for his position

2 months afterwards mori mysteriously dies and dazai becomes the boss

He calls chuuya into his office and teases him about his loss and offers him a deal

A deal where if chuuya wins he gets his old job back

If dazai wins, chuuya has to follow a life plan dazai had made for him

In this plan he must leave the Port Mafia altogether and marry dazai and bear his kids

Oh did I mention this was omegaverse????

Not rlly bc it has nothing to do with scents or mating cause honestly I'm not feeling it

It's just an ideal world (where men can get pregnant as they SHOULD)

Anyway the game is called "Disappearing Dazai" it's a game dazai invented for this situation

The way it works is that each player is given a set of doors

These doors have a small plastic box behind them where you can store something inside

There are six doors each in a color from the rainbow and arranged as such

Then the player whose turn is first is given a small ceramic dazai doll

While the other player has their back turned and a blindfold on for extra precautions, the other will hide the Disappearing Dazai in one of the doors

Then the other player must turn around and take off the blindfold and try to guess which door holds the dazai doll

While chuuyas back is turned he focuses on the sounds of the door closing and the ceramic doll hitting the inside of the box

He hears it come from the left side

So when he turns around prepared to choose one of the doors on his now right side, he is surprised to see that the doors have been rearranged. Some are now on the opposite side, seemingly at random

Dazai says that the rules never mentioned rearranging the doors so it's definitely allowed

Confused and overthinking, chuuya chooses the wrong door

He stuck to his decision to thr sound coming from the right side and chooses an orange door, thinking that maybe dazai rearranged the doors first before inserting the doll

However, he is wrong

He realizes that the board they are playing on is made of velvet, which is a soft material that made him unable to hear the sound of the doors being rearranged

The truth was that dazai put the doll in the blue door, the one originally on chuuyas right, and then switched them after

Ok this is getting long and I'm too lazy to explain how the rest of the game goes so pretty much chuuya lost and now has to pay the price

He really doesn't want to and fights against it, but dazai tells him that no one in the pm respects him anymore after he lost to mori, and now his career in the mafia is forever stagnant at an underling position

He is no longer the strong and powerful chuuya nakahara, the gravity manipulator

He is now chuuya nakahara, the prideful idiot who bit too much than he could chew and lost pathetically

So now, since dazai is ever so generous, he gives chuuya a choice

He can remain in the mafia, however trapped in this unmoving, unpromotable state where he will never be respected again

Or he can obey dazai and willingly choose to live by his life plan, at least keeping his pride and erasing his embarrassing blunder from the past by cutting ties with the mafia altogether

And since I'm a silly lil fanfic writer ofc he chooses the life plan

From there it's kind of fuzzy with how I plan to keep it going buuuttt at least I got this much figured out

I wanna actually write this properly in fanfic form but I just made this to get the idea out there, see if people like it, get feedback, and so that when I do write it, I have a guide I can look at so I don't forget everything haha

BTW I had this idea at like 12 am last night while I was supposed to be sleeping so there might be some plot holes or something wrong with the logic

I'm especially worried about the logic of the game since I am nowhere smart enough to think of something actually on the kakegurui level

So anyway ya!! Watch kakegurui if u haven't since that's what this au is based on and if u know it you might understand the story better

Also it's got girls orgasming everywhere so....idk ur feelings abt that......

Anyway tell me what u think!! I'd love to get ur feedback and fix whatever mistakes I made!!

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millepara · 3 months

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about waccha primagi.

it's ending.... (mega long who cares-type post)

once again, I've seen this coming for a while so I don't have a particularly big emotional reaction to it now. the anime not continuing immediately -> at all, the huge spotlight on idol land at the same time (and--bearing in mind that I don't know anything about anything--possible lack of people/time/money to support primagi as a result), the decrease in original coords and content in the game.... this alone was enough for me to start mourning primagi's loss way before it ended.

I haven't played for over a year, but I hope I can play again before it's over. I'd like to record a vid for each of the new songs I like at least... but I'm busy with yet another cross-country move to god knows where and possibly changing jobs so sadly this is very much on the back burner. maybe after work...? I'm so tired though (ｉ _ ｉ)

I've seen people wondering if the machine will be updated for the new series' game. but: recall that in the past, the new series was teased in pvs and stuff as the next step of pretty series, and that was it. yesterday's sort of stoic text discontinuation of service message is not a normal part of the change to a new series. and it's bad business practice to make us all depressed about the series ending without giving us something new to get excited about first. I think the cabinets will be removed from arcades eventually. I also think that will be the end of idol games in arcades period.

BUT--there is a new series coming. and I cannot imagine any possible reason for them to make an idol anime without an idol game for it to advertise. so that means... surely there must be a new game coming as well!! that leaves 3 possibilities as I see it:

1) actually the cabinet is just changing over normally and they're announcing it in the most disadvantageous way possible. why would they do this

2) another new cabinet?? what a waste of money that would be!! why not set it on fire instead??

3) a game on another platform?? likely smartphone, right? but then look what happened with idol land--how can they manage two apps at once? how can they expect anyone to trust them to do so?

I also would not trust them to do two separate idol apps at once without tanking both, but 3 is still my first choice here because it means people outside of japan can play too, and I don't have to dig out space for yet another card collection. but who knows what will happen. and we'll find out more about the new series soon enough--feb 2 is when the next Ciao with more info is out.

even though a new series is guaranteed, I still don't feel great about it. there's no guarantee yet that it will even be a full anime and not some piddly little webseries that's predestined for death. even if it is, there's still some stuff I feel primagi seriously whiffed on that could have helped its longevity, and some other circumstantial stuff that they had no control over, but which also hasn't been resolved. in the whiff category, the main thing I can recall atm is--why did they never make toys for this kids' anime? kids still want toys, right?? overall, the game felt a little less accessible for kids... or like they weren't pandered to enough? (not nearly to a degree as bad as Planet, though.) I mean, as with everything else I talk about ever, I don't know enough about the topic and am just saying things, but this always stuck out to me a bit. I remember commenting on it a couple times.

the circumstantial stuff is more significant, though. the big one is covid. of course Japan is business as usual by now, like everywhere else I know of, but I just have not seen as many people playing in arcades since 2020. that is especially true for aikatsu and pretty series. the other one: I wonder if idols in general are losing their appeal? I know of a few idol game apps that have ended in the past couple years, and then of course there's aikatsu... recently even Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls Starlight Stage, a game I have played religiously for years, has been making suspicious movements that have really put me on edge. is no one interested in idol series anymore? more broadly speaking, does it seem like there is less anime oriented at young girls overall today as compared to several years ago, or is it just me...?

with that as the backdrop in my mind, though, primagi ending feels more tragic. I may not be drowning in tears, but I am really, truly going to miss it. I honestly think that it had the best story of all of pretty series. I know Rainbow Live is everyone's fav--I like it too!--but it did have this soap opera level of drama that felt facetious and silly if you thought about it too hard. I think there is a certain type of person that will say "but that's why it was the best!! primagi would never!!", and don't get me wrong!! I just said I like it and I think it's fun too!! but I am not talking about opinion, or which was more tongue-in-cheek so-ridiculous-it's-good, which I think is another way to like something ironically. I am only interested in liking things genuinely (bc of the mental illness), and I think primagi was a more genuine example of storytelling with less drama for drama's sake. it also had interesting and unexpected and heart-warming character interaction in the same way RL did. it wasn't perfect, but it was very good. I wish it was longer.

and god, the game looks SO GOOD. I still can't believe how good it looks. I miss notes in the game all the time bc I'm too busy staring with heart eyes at how cute and cool and pretty my idols are in it. the music is SO GOOD, and I know that's very much a matter of opinion, but even by a vaguely more objective metric: I don't find myself thinking "discount kpop" like in Aikatsu Friends sometimes or feeling absolutely, totally unimpressed like in Planet always. the songs were unique for idol anime and kids' anime, and different from the popular stuff my students listen to as well. even if you didn't like the music, it was certainly interesting.

and the coords are AMAZING... they really took advantage of the game's graphics to do fun things with textures and shapes, and even the most fantastical outfits are designed realistically, by which I mean, I know exactly how I can recreate them irl to look exactly like they do in the anime AND ALSO look pretty... given access to enough money. (this was true for pripara as well. but it was something that bothered me a lot in prichan, bc there were a lot of coords that looked like bad papercraft or just plain bad, and would be impossible to recreate irl, and might look awful even if you could.) even though the game is ending and I have to save for the move, I want to buy up all of the cards for coords I like just to have them! and don't get me started on how cute the cards themselves are!!

...but primagi is still ending. I'll live. I don't expect much from the new series in terms of longevity or how much I like it, but I do still hope to be proved wrong.

and in the end, you know what? I never got a decent hairstyle for Biscuit. I'm stuck with the starter twintails to this day. they never released a DARKER SKIN COLOR. maybe primagi had to die all along.

#milk idol diary #praying so hard to be able to meet tapioka in whatever the next pretty series entry is. please please please

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zaptap · 3 months

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anyway yeah i think this was the worst splatfest ever. could've at least gotten a win to salvage it a little bit, but no

near-constant mirror matches meant i barely had any chances to even get 10x, and i'm still playing extra bicolor turf (instead of solely tricolor in the second half) specifically to give myself more chances for them. i only need to win one more for the badges (though at that point, not really worried about missing them because the last fest will probably boost the rates if it comes to that. and i just need one)

got to ruler +1, and only got 1 10x on the way there, which was close to being a win, but after being in danger for most of the match the other team pulled ahead somehow. this was actually how most of my bicolor losses went (that or being in danger and spawncamped almost immediately and not getting to turn it around at the end. tbh if saturday was fighting like this i'm surprised we didn't win any of those categories)

not that tricolor was any better. this was also probably the worst tricolor stage. i've really liked tricolor for a long time, but the past few stages just seem to be getting worse and worse. this one heavily favored defenders. the attackers could get both signals (even one team getting both) and ink most if not all of the middle area and defenders would still end up with 45% of the turf somehow

(i feel like maybe the other attackers just didn't ink their spawn. i'd go over there and do it myself but even if i made it they'd probably kill me and stop me from helping both of us win. i got sniped by a charger attacker when i was grabbing the ultra signal, which i guess would be one thing if they wanted to grab it themselves, but neither of them did. at what point does this become throwing the game)

i did win a few times while attacking but it generally seemed pretty hopeless (two times we got both signals and lost by single digit points. TWO TIMES. and i only played like 20 games of tricolor because i wanted to focus on that 10x chance)

wouldve been nice if i could at least get that 10th joe win when i was squeezing in some salmon run but i lost the one chance i managed to get at that too

if we ever go 60 days without a splatfest i think i might change my splatfest region to japan (and maybe i will day 1 on splatoon 4+ if we continue to have the option)

#splatoon 3 #splatfest #splatoon

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liesonthefloordramatically · 4 months

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A wild 2023 recap post appears!

Stuff I made this year:

Fiction: Nope. Work continues to consume me. I DID write like 33k that maybe will be publicly accessible in the future, but who can say.

Playlists: I think the only two I remembered to share were Oleander (a playlist for my Wickedness character) and the vast and the void (what it says on the tin).

RPGs: Also a nope.

Knitting: Made a shawl! And a hat, technically, that I forgot to take pictures of.

Other stuff: Taught 5 classes, 4 of which were new preps! Did fieldwork in Japan for the first time since 2019! Gave an hour-long talk in Japanese! Presented on two conference panels! Finished two academic book reviews! Survived somehow! The period between August and December sort of doesn’t exist in my memory? I was doing things but almost all of those things were work, so. The isolation has been wearing on me, but with the combination of A. not having any time to do anything other than work and B. for Various Reasons questioning whether I want to stay at this job, it's been really hard to build local community. I'm going to try to work on that next year, but also I'm going to have two new preps again in the fall and one of my spring classes is already overenrolled, so who knows how effective that'll be.

Media I enjoyed this year:

Books: I read 46 books this year apparently! Top picks in no particular order: The Singing Hills Cycle (embarrassingly my jam), The Southern Reach Trilogy (shocking that it took me this long to read this), My Own Devices (even MORE shocking that it took me this long to read this), Imperial Radch (so AGGRESSIVELY my jam), She Who Became the Sun (this was a hilarious accompaniment to one of my fall classes), Camp Damascus (read this on a plane back from Japan which was An Experience), The Tale That Twines (loved the first book; the second book is even better), System Collapse (yeah, no one is surprised that I loved this).

TTRPG: Wickedness! This was the only new TTRPG I played this year, but it was really good.

Video games: Mask of the Rose and Saltsea Chronicles, both of which I want to/should poke at more. Special nod to 13 Sentinels which we enjoyed 90% of a lot.

Manga/comics: I think the only thing I read was The JOJOLands?

Fanfic: I didn’t actually wind up reading that much fanfic this year again, in part because I was reading so many books. A few picks, in no particular order: The Gardener (CR C2), Keys to the Castle (CR C2), Whistle Song (CR C2), pieces of (you) me (CR C2), Descriptions of a River Flowing (CR C2), Slip the Blindfold (CR C2), Heart to Heart (JJBA: JJL--PLEASE read this if you care about JJL at all), riverside beatitudes (JJBA: SDC), Fully formed, ready to run (ExU: Calamity). Honorable mention to Asking for More (Stranger of Paradise), which is a WIP but made me laugh so hard I hit myself in the face with my phone.

Films: I actually watched like eight movies this year! All but two of the new ones on a plane, to be fair, but. Top picks: Spider-man: Across the Spider-verse and Shoplifters (『万引き家族』). Honorary mention to Suzume.

TV: Finally finished Stone Ocean! It was good! Rowan and I are also like halfway through catching up on TGCF and it is also very good.

Podcasts: Continued to listen to way too many of these. Top picks: The Silt Verses, Trice Forgotten, Within the Wires (hey can we talk about the newest season? truly wild), and Re: Dracula. Honorable mentions to The Evaporated: Gone with the Gods, 『なんかIWAKAN！』 (WHICH IS TRAGICALLY ENDING???? where am I supposed to get my chaotic Japanese gender and sexuality discussion now :(((((), Cry Havoc! Ask Questions Later, Critical Role, and Worlds Beyond Number.

Music: Dessa's Bury the Lede was excellent, of course. I also apparently listened to Maisie Peters' The Good Witch a lot (it was in my grading rotation in October). And then this past month there's been a lot of Hozier's Unreal Unearth. But a lot of my listening this year was either albums on the bus (rotating mainly between Quiet Company’s We Are All Where We Belong, Bury the Lede, yorushika’s entire discography that I can purchase, Wednesday Campanella, and various soundtracks) or putting something on loop and falling into a fugue state. Apparently my top song of the year on Spotify was “Square One,” which I think I put on looping while grading in the spring. My Spotify top songs list was even more inexplicable than usual this year.

Anyway, あけおめ！！！良いお年を！！！ (or else!!!!)

#a wild annual recap appears #Queenie actually says something on this blog

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nihilistens-luftslott · 5 months

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2023 summary

Another year, another obligatory summary post. I feel like posting a little early because I'm already in a sleep mode before New Year's...

2023 is a year where I did so many things! So many lifelong dreams finally fulfiled. These dreams were both language related and not, and I'd sit here all day if I were to list them all. In any case, I spent this past year quite comfortably exploring new areas of my current language journey.

What I accomplished:

Read close to 80 volumes of manga in Japanese. I read more manga than novels actually, which doesn't happen to me!

Read a few Japanese classics, including 「ドグラ・マグラ」 till the very end, for the first time after my first attempt over 6 years ago! It's definitely the most challenging Japanese book I've read so far. Some parts were so bizarre and difficult with their archaic or scientific tone that I'm definitely revisiting this book in a few years time, again, to check if I they provide less of a challenge.

Watched some more Swedish crime drama for immersion and listening, plus a few cartoons dubbed in Swedish.

Played a few games in Japanese, and also one in Swedish.

Visited Japan! It was amazing and I feel like I learned a lot of the "practical" Japanese as opposed to my previous knowledge being mostly based on media and literature. Yeah it's fun when you originally mostly remember some crazy poetic grammar but then need to figure out how to get somewhere without a smartphone.

I know I've been toying with an idea of taking up a new language (Italian), but my loyalty has shifted somewhat and now I'm debating Finnish lol. We will see if I stick by long enough to actually start.

Next year: trip to Sweden? I'm not setting any particular goals other than maybe playing the classic Persona trilogy (女神異聞録・罪・罰) in Japanese for the first time, all those guidebooks I've purchased in Japan have been gathering dust! I also need to dig through my newly acquired book stash which includes a few classics and some of my favourite Western books in Japanese translation.

#study goals #japanese #swedish #polyglot #studyblr #langblr #japanese studyblr #study japanese #swedish studyblr #swedish langblr #language lover #language study #language learning

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charlesandmiranda · 3 months

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Arrival!

Writing to you this morning from our hotel breakfast! Just wanted to fill in everyone about the rest of our trip before we start our first full day. I doubt we'll be able to post EVERY SINGLE DAY WE'RE HERE but we're definitely gonna try and keep it frequent enough to be interesting!

From our last post, we were heading from Baltimore to Toronto, which was a very quick hour and a half-ish flight. From Toronto, we headed straight to our gate to which started boarding shortly thereafter, so it was a pretty quick turn around. It was almost kind of a shame because airport was actually kinda pretty, and I wouldn't have hated a few extra minutes to look around at all the really lavishly decorated restaurants and stuff.

Then came the 14 hour flight. It IS a very long time, don't get me wrong, and by the end my back was VERY achy and my legs definitely craved stretching but also they keep the windows closed and the lights low for most of the trip so you honestly kind of lose track of how long you've been on there.

Charles and I both watched some movies on the flight; we started the first two episodes of Severance (which was also provided on the flight and I've been curious about for a while anyway -- anyone else here seen it?) and played games on our Switches. I also read a lot; I loaded my e-reader up before we left. In a weird way it was kind of nice to have such a long, uninterrupted time where there was nothing to do but leisure activities even if you're doing them in a mostly uncomfortable way --I think Charles and I (Charles especially) struggle with justifying how we spend our free time, always feeling like there has to be something else we can be working on or doing, but it's kind of a bad habit and terrible mental state to always be in, so we're working on it. Unfortunately, neither of us managed to get much sleep on the flight despite our best efforts, I think I managed maybe 20 minutes total?? So it wasn't super restful for sure.

Thankfully, our flight was kinda ahead of schedule, and we ended up landing around 5:00 PM / 17:00 which is like....3:00 AM for those of you in the Eastern US timezone! We're 12 hours ahead of y'all, so when I'm writing this, I'm writing to you from the future!!!

After getting through customs and immigration, baggage, etc. we were stopped by a news crew from a show called Why Did You Come To Japan? They seem to stop tourists at the airport pretty regularly, and we ended up talking to them for a while. Charles said that as someone who used to be a camera guy himself, he always tries to stop for folks filming stuff like that, because he knows how hard it can be to get people to talk to you and work with you. They were very interested in the fact it was our honeymoon, and that we got engaged here, and even more interested that we were really into Oishinbo, which is a food manga from the 80s/90s. It's not super popular in the US although personally I love & recommend it, and I kinda get the impression from the crew we spoke to that it's a classic but kinda old fashioned here. They said in all their years of doing these interviews, it was their first time having a foreigner mention it. They gave us a card and a slip of paper and asked us to contact them again, because they may be interested in meeting up with us again later in our trip to film more for the show (!?) so we'll see how that pans out I guess!

Speaking of, after we finally left the airport, we took the Skyliner train to Nippori, and then transferred to a JR Line train to get us to Shinjuku station. We've stayed in Shinjuku for at least part or all of our trips in the past, and it kind of feels like a home base for us now. We usually stay in or around the Kabukicho area, which is known as an entertainment district with lots of nightlife. If you want brilliantly lit signs and that crowded cyberpunk-y look, Kabukicho is a great place to be!

NOT THAT IT SUPER MATTERS, BUT the card in the photo, with Hello kitty and other Sanrio characters on it, is a Pasmo card, we each got one. Basically it's a little card that you can add money to, and you can use it to pay fare on most trains and buses, as well as lots of vending machines and stuff like that. You can top it off as you go as well.

We checked in to our hotel, the Shinjuku Gracery, and IMMEDIATELY needed to stretch out on the bed and shower the sweaty airport off of us, haha. The Gracery is built on top of a Toho Cinema movie theater, and the whole hotel has a very classy Godzilla theme to it. There's a to-scale Godzilla head built on top of part of the building, looking like he's about to demolish it, and he roars and blows steam out of his mouth, haha. To be honest, a night in the Gracery is one of our "we're on our honeymoon, we deserve this!" splurges -- it's one of the more expensive parts of our trip, given the rest of the time we'll be staying in smaller hotels and airbnbs and the like. We dished out a little extra cash to stay in what they call a Godzilla view room, where you can see the head of Godzilla that is mounted to the roof of the hotel from your room! Totally cool. I had to include specifically a picture of the shower, because I loooove these big hotel showers!

(sadly the filter for this exhibit not only doesn't fit my phone screen but also insanely reduced the image quality LOL)

We took a rest, then headed out to get a bite to eat. We hit up a ramen shop we'd been to in the past, and spent a while walking around the Kabukicho area, including the micro-bar district, Golden Gai. It was interesting to see what's changed and what hasn't since we were here last; for example, they were in the process of demolishing a VR arcade when we were last here, and now there's an ENORMOUS, lux-looking hotel in its place!

We ended up in the unfortunate position of feeling physically very tired but mentally pretty awake, and even though we spent time in our hotel room soaking in the bath, it was probably 1 AM our time before we actually fell asleep, meaning we were up for like....32 hours straight, I think?

Today, our plan is to check out a few shops in the area around Kabukicho, and a little later we'll be checking out and moving on to Akihabara, where our next hotel is. It's well known for being crammed with electronics and used and new like....nerd stuff, and is pretty close to a district jam packed with guitar shops, so we'll have a pretty full day! Stay tuned I suppose!!

Til next time!

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plain-personal-kin-blog · 1 year

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Maybe it's not their actual opinion on the post game dynamic, but a lot of the shuake ship content seems to assume romance as a given, an inevitability.

I understand wanting to skip the long and arduous process of dealing with Akechi's many psychological problems, but there's a lot that needs to happen there.

To say that Akechi is damaged is an understatement. A "throwaway child" so desperate to show the world that he's not worthless, so desperate to be acknowledged by the father he hated, desperate for some form of justice, some form of revenge that he became his father's little pet assassin in a convoluted scheme to betray said father at his highest point with no real expectation to even survive past that... won't exactly be in a healthy mindset for a romantic relationship right away.

Also, consider the circumstances around the true ending. He fights so hard and so earnestly to go back to the true reality despite the fact he fully believes he's dead there. He doesn't want to live under Maruki's control. He doesn't want everything he is and everything he's done to be erased. He's burned away his regret and dread, he's accepted the way his story played out, the consequences for his choices. If he didn't already know it before, then by the end of it he definitely knows that Maruki brought him back to life to manipulate Joker. His first response to finding himself alive after all that would be fear. He certainly didn't have any more plans on surviving than he did during his sunk-cost fallacy revenge plot from hell.

He would want to know why and how he still alive. He has a gap in his memory from the engine room to his reappearance. He would need to know that he's not a fake or a piece in someone else's game brought back to toy with Joker's feelings again. He would need proof that... this is real. That it even could be real.

He's not someone who believes he deserves happiness. Joker does make him happy. You can't see his confidant route without seeing that. That fact is probably one of the reasons why the ship is so popular. But it's also why he wouldn't seek Joker right away. He doesn't want to be used against him. He doesn't want... to keep hurting him like that. And he doesn't believe that he should have a happy ending. He doesn't believe he CAN.

He hates himself. Seeking revenge, seeking justice for his dead mother while killing other people's parents. He's more than smart enough to realize the irony. He knew what it would mean to kill for this and understood that there's no going back from that point.

There's also the matter of what he would consider a very big question. The answer may seem obvious to you, but not to him.

Does Akechi really love Joker... or does he only feel the way he does because Joker gave him attention, real attention, caring enough to see past the mask of the second detective prince and still want him around? Akechi is immensely, overwhelmingly lonely. It's largely his own damn fault; he put up an act for everyone and trusted no one. The entire engine room scene is a testament to his loneliness, his emotional self-isolation reaching critical mass. Does he love Joker or is Joker the first person his age, possibly the first person ever, to give him what he truly wants?

There's also the problem he shares with a certain other boy in an earlier installment of the series who would love nothing more than to gaze at the setting sun with the protagonist by his side.

Conformity to and seeking acceptance in a homophobic society. Internalized homophobia. It's not the most difficult thing to deal with, especially in light of his other issues. You could write around it or even ignore it without too much trouble. There's plausible deniability to believe that 2016 personaverse Japan isn't homophobic. There's the fact that accepting that being very particular about his public image and avoiding being an outcast at all costs did nothing for him would clear away some of the hesitance from stigma. Homophobia, internalized or otherwise, isn't a central trait or even really touched upon in the game, and it's believable enough for him to be done with it by the end of the game.

Then there's Joker. Akechi did murder parents of two of his friends and try to assassinate him. Even if Joker were willing to accept Akechi back into his life, there is a lot of tension there. I suppose it's more or less up to interpretation how Joker feels, but there's definitely a problem there.

Maybe I'm reading too much into the characters. Akechi especially. I don't think he needs a whole redemption arc, but he needs the time, opportunity, and support to heal. He'll make his own redemption arc.

#about the ship #just akechi things #this went and got long #char analysis i guess

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argumentl · 2 years

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The Freedom of Expression: Vol 11 - Looking back on 25 years of Dir en grey (Niconama)

K: Ok, here we go, this is Kaoru from Dir en grey with The Freedom of Expression on our Nico nico channel.

T: And I'm Tasai from Tokyo Sports.

K: So, today we have a guest with us. Its Gara from Merry.

G: I'm Gara, happy to be here. At last I'm here!

*applause*

K: It was quite short notice, so thanks for coming.

G: No, no, if I get a call from you, my schedule is open anytime!

K: haha

T: Ah, a comment asking, 'Where's Joe?'. As before, our friend Joe is having a day off today.

K: Basically, he's not here if we have a guest.

T: Haha, yeh. Whats all that about?

K: You could say that its because Joe's not here, that we actually invite guests.

T: Haha

K: Things would get bad if it was just me and you.

T: Ah, is that it? A guest will keep the show in check?

K: Hm, maybe.

T: Anyway, Kaoru, how's the baseball going?

K: Haha, baseball? Well, its already over for Hanshin...

T: But they made it into the Climax series, right?

K: Yeh, they burst through the first stage, and they made it to the final stage, but Yakult were just too strong.

T: Yeh, they were kinda overwhelming.

K: Mm, even now, Yakult are doing the Japan Series, and they are still doing well.

T: By the way, do you watch baseball, Gara?

G: Not much recently. But I did actually play baseball a lot when I was in elementary and junior high school.

K, T: Ohh!?

G: I was a baseball kid.

T: Wow, I would never have imagined that!

G: Yeh, I was even in the newspaper　taking part in the Gunma prefectural tournament.

T: Wow!

K: In the newspaper?

G: Yeh, I... (*2番セコンドで出てた...baseball, I dunno*)

K: I see.

G: But you know, back then there was that Giants player, Kawai, right? People in my hometown used to liken me to him, I used to bunt everyone.

K, T: Hahaha

T: You were like Gunma's own Kawai?

G: I was.

K: Haha, I see. Well, actually, if Hanshin had actually made it to the Japan series, we were thinking of watching a game again today.

T: Right? The timing would have been right. Hey, but maybe next year.

K: Yeah.

T: Ok, lets get on with the show. So, Kaoru, its Dir's 25th anniversary, and you've just started the new tour, havn't you? How were the opening shows?

K: Well, they were fun, yeh.

G: I saw the setlists, they were incredible.

T: Yeh, but we won't reveal them.

K: Yeh, we won't talk about them here. They weren't incredible though, not at all.

T: So, today we'll be looking back on the past 25 years, and our theme will be 'Anniversary talk '22: From TFOE, looking back on 25 years of Dir en grey'!

*applause*

T: So, Gara, you are the perfect guest for this talk. I think everyone already knows this, but could you just tell us what your connection with Dir en grey is?

G: Well, I just discovered something new actually. I'd always seen myself as the unofficial first roadie for Dir en grey, but now Kaoru tells me he doesn't think I was first.

K: Well, yeh, we just recorded a subscribers-only video before starting this broadcast, right? And while we were talking about it, a memory came to me that Gara wasn't actually the first one.

G: But I don't remember meeting anyone who was there before me.

K: No, I think there was someone. I don't remember who it was though.

T: You don't remember who??

G: Well, I didn't meet them.

K: Oh, was it that guy...I've forgotten...some guy who was the vocalist in another band?

G: A vocalist? Was there someone like that?

K: Yeh, briefly, I think.

G: Eh, really?

K: Yeh, if he was there even briefly, then he was the first.

G: I don't remember that at all. It must have been very briefly.

K: Mm, I get the feeling it was. But if we're talking first, it was him.

G: But I was with you since Missa, so it must have been before that.

K: Yeh, it was, probably.

T: Someone in the comments saying, 'Kaoru, don't you like Gara being the first?'

K: No, I'm just looking at the reality. I wouldn't mind it if Gara was the first, but strictly speaking, I don't think he was.

G: If the person in question is watching this, I'd really like them to comment.

T: Haha, thats a good idea.

G: I'd really like to sit down with them with a drink, and have a thorough talk about this.

T, K: Hahaha.

T: By the way Kaoru, do the other members see Gara as the first roadie?

K: My memory is sketchy, its like they wouldn't say he is, but they wouldn't say he isn't either. But actually, Die definitely says Gara wasn't first.

G: Yeh, he said to me before, "You were only there from the minus era to the zero era".

K: Yeh, thats right.

T: Haha, what does that mean?

G: Like, when the band first moved to Tokyo, they didn't really have roadies before then. It became a normal thing from around the time I started. So I don't know much about what happened before then.

T: If anyone knows who this first roadie was, please comment!

G: Yeh, I really want to talk with them.

T: Ok, so as its the 25th anniversary, we are asking for lots of comments and messages from viewers. If you have any thoughts, opinions, or requests, please send them in, anything is ok. If you are on Twitter, please use the tag, TFOE. Anyone can watch the first part of this show for free, but the second part is for channel members only. If you become a member, you can watch this live broadcast as many times as you like for free in the archives for 1 year. And we also have special videos for members only, so please join using the link at the top of the screen, and enjoy this broadcast to the end. The link is there, right Kaoru?

K: Yep *points*

T: Right, well regardless of whether or not Gara was the first roadie, lets have a look back at some history.

G: Lets just say I was for now, ok?

T: Haha, ok. So, I thought we could first look back at the years from 2015 to now.

K: Starting in the middle? Oh, right, we'll talk about the early years later?

T: Yeah, later on. Ok, lets look at your artist photo from 2015.

*Kaoru's Ningen wo kaburu solo shot is shown*

T: This is from the 'kaburu'(wearing) era?

K: Haha, yeh, and im 'wearing' that.

T: What do you remember about this photo shoot, Kaoru?

K: Nothing in particular, except I was wearing that hat, so it felt a bit different from usual.

T: Any unique points?

K: Well, it was quite an unusual costume. The sleeves were a bit weird, so it was an interesting outfit, but you can't really see it on this photo, can you?

T: No, we can't see any of that.

K: Our style became kinda dark from this point onwards.

T: Ah, I see. Gara, what do you think of this photo?

G: Oh, Dir's artist photos are always amazing, but Kaoru, do you guys decide on your costumes after you have the song? How do you do it?

K: Oh, afterwards, yeh. After we decide to make a video, then we decide on our outfits.

G: Do you have like a group discussion about it?

K: Oh, no no.

G: You just see what the others are wearing for the first time on the day of the shooting?

K: Yes. Its like, 'Ahh, so this is what they chose!'. I admire their choices.

G: Its amazing that no one ever turns up wearing the same outfit!

K: Yeh, I don't think thats happened.

T: Someone commented, 'At what point do you start thinking about your outfit?'

G: Yeh, I'd like to know this.

K: Well, a certain amount of time is needed to make it, so probably about a month in advanced. I inform my tailor of the date of the shoot, and then I'll send my requirements, which fabrics I want, I'll draw sketches, find images etc, and they make it for me.

T: Gara, how do Merry go about this kind of thing?

G: Well, we also start thinking about outfits after we have a song and a title, but we do have a group meeting to talk about what to wear. We tend to go for similar themed costumes. Like, all back, or all in suits etc.

K: You guys always used to wear suits when you started, right?

G: Yeah, we did.

T: Ok, lets take a look at the time line on Dir's official homepage. Lets look at 2015 first.

K: What did we do in 2015? Oh, tours?

T: Yeh, tours. Its hard to see. Namba Hatch, Jan 6th. 2014-15 BY THE GRACE OF GOD.

K: Ah, we went overseas that year too.

T: Oh yeh, you toured Europe. Do you have any memories of this? THE UNSTOPPABLE LIFE tour.

K: I don't remember much from back then.

T: Like, the places you went, and stuff? London, Germany, Warsaw...is that Poland?

K: Oh yeh, we went there too.

T: Belarus?

K: Yeh, and there.

T: What was it like in Belarus?

K: I don't remember.

T, G: Hahaha

K: Basically, we travel by bus, but we don't stay over in the cities. The bus driver also needs time to sleep, so we stop in places that are a bit removed from the cities, you know like out in the countryside. The bus is parked in the hotel parking area, and we reserve hotel rooms for members and staff just to take a shower. I mean, we can sleep there too if we want, but we usually sleep on the bus.

G: So you don't do a lot of sightseeing?

K: Well, we sometimes take the train into the city, or like, go out and find somewhere for dinner. Thats about it.

G: Were you ok with all the food overseas, Kaoru? I got the impression you were quite picky with food.

K: No, Im usually ok.

G: Is food one of the things to look forward to on overseas tours?

K: Well in Europe, its more or less the same everywhere you go. Its only Japan that has such a wide variety of foods in different regions. America is more or less all the same too. But I guess there are differences in European food in places that are near the ocean, and places which are inland. Oh, actually, I didn't really like some of the food in South America. It tasted good in Brazil though.

T: Yeh, that meat with loads of sauce, right? Someone said in the comments, 'Gara is really picky with food'.

G: Yeah, there are loads of things I can't eat, just because of how they look.

T: Like what?

G: Well, I can't eat KFC.

K: It looks disgusting?

G: That shape just makes me think of a chicken out in the countryside. When I see that chicken leg, i can't eat it.

K: The shape makes you think of thighs?

G: Yeh. Stuff that puts an image in my head, I can't eat.

K: So if its minced/ground chicken, its ok?

G: Yeah, thats fine. Yakitori is also fine. Its just things I look at, and then I can't. When we went overseas I basically lived off cup noodles and crackers.

T: Oh, that sounds tough! Ok, shall we have a look at 2016?

K: Oh, we did Arche at Budokan.

T: Yeh, and then a tour straight after that.

K: Oh, this was when we started the Mode of tours. Its was for our 20th anniversary.

T: 2016 is also when this show first started on the radio, and Utafumi was released this year too. Do you have any memories of this year, Kaoru?

K: Well, yeh, I remember the Mode of tours. We decided to start with Vulgar...actually, I think we decided in advance to do Vulgar and Dum, but after that we kinda just decided to continue depending on the response each time. Limiting the number of shows per tour was also important, because it would be tough for the less popular albums otherwise.

G: I get the feeling you played a lot of live shows in 2016 though. This year was also Merry's 15th anniversary, and I don't know if Kaoru remembers this, but this was the year I asked him if we could do a live together once.

K: Merry and Dir?

G: Yes. I actually contacted each member individually during this year, for our 15th anniversary. But it turned out they were too busy to manage it at the time. When I went to ask Kaoru though, he said he liked the idea.(*or words to that effect. This part confused me a bit*)

T: Do you remember this, Kaoru?

K: I remember that conversation, yeh.

T: Gara, how did you feel then?

G: Well, it was the first time for me to ask such a thing, so I was really nervous. And we are under the same label so I worried a bit about asking through the office, so I contacted each member individually. It was Kyo who said to me, "I don't mind, but you know we'll crush you".

T: Haha, of course he did.

G: But each member was basically like, 'If its Merry, we'll think about it'.

T: Oh, what a great story.

G: Yeh, so I remember this year well.

K: Well, there's no benefit for us in it.

T: Haha, you're not supposed to say that!

K: Hahaha

G: It was the year I found the courage to ask.

K: Well, we don't know what the future holds, there is still a chance it could happen.

T: Ahh!

G: That would be great.

T: Ok, should we move on to 2017? What happened in 2017? More Mode of tours, and, Ah! In July you did Androgynous.

G: Ohh, I had a lot of thoughts about this.

T: Tell us.

G: Well, when I was a roadie, Dir and Pierrot would play the same events, but they would have seperate dressing rooms, and never talk. I really sensed tension between them. And even the roadies didn't talk. So for both bands to play Yokohama arena together...even I went to see them.

T: Ahh, did it remind you of how it used to be back in the day?

G: Yeah, was that really 2017?

K: Yeah, 5 years ago.

T: People commenting that they want you to do more of this kind of thing. Oh, this came up in that Tanabata video that we did.

K: Oh yeah.

T: Maybe you might try it again if the opportunity arises?

K: Well, maybe, yeh.

T: Someone commented, 'I was so happy then!'

K: It might be interesting to include more bands if we did it again. Instead of just two bands.

G: Oh, thank you for the suggestion! Of couse we will be free.

K: Eh?

G: Our schedule is open.

K: Haha, is it?

G: Yes!

T: That was fast!

K: But I dont know about having bands that are from the same label?

G: Thats fine, isn't it? Its fine.

K: Hahaha, really?

G: Yes, Im sure.

T: Haha, someone commented, 'Reservation done'.

G: But actually, we did a Halloween event with Baroque in 2017 at Akasaka Blitz, and thier guitarist Kei suggested inviting a guest, specifically Kaoru. But he told me to contact Kaoru about it. So I contacted him and asked him to take part, which he did.

T: Kaoru, you are really generous!

K: No, no, Im not. Its just that the timing was right.

G: But it was like a dream come true for me, seeing Kaoru playing our songs. I was so happy. Afterwards we decided to go for drinks, but when we got to the bar, we realised Baroque had gone home! It was just Merry and Kaoru.

K: And there were no staff, it was just me and them!

T: Haha. Ok, lets look at 2018. You put a best of album out. Any thoughts on that, Kaoru?...Vestige of Scratches.

K: That must have come out on our 21st anniversary then? Hm, well, we formed in the February, so its still around the right time maybe...Im not sure.

T: The best of album was released on the 2nd of Jan, right?

K: Yeh, January. Gara, have you guys ever done a best of album?

G: Yeah.

K: Don't you think its pretty difficult?

G: Not really, I mean, ours was when we had just moved from indies to major, so we didnt have that many songs. It was pretty easy.

K: Ah, for us at this time, we already had 9 albums...8 or 9.

T: Yeah, Arche was the ninth.

K: We had a hundred songs, so it was so hard choosing which songs to include. It ended up as 3 disks. Like, it would be boring if it were only singles, and stuff. But even then we had 30 singles!

G: You'd even need three disks for the singles.

K: But these days, people make their own best of's by making playlists. I doubt best of albums will be a thing for much longer.

T: Yeah. So you released your 10th album in September of 2018.

K: Yeah, The Insulated World.

T: Ok, we don't have much time left. Lets look at 2019.

K: Oh, look! Free-Wil Slum, we DID do that! haha

G: Yeah, this was the first time we appeared at an event with Dir, this event held by our label.

T: Ah, in January.

G: Yeah, I was so nervous beforehand. We were in the dressing room doing our make up and stuff, then a staff member came an announced that Dir en grey were coming, and we were kicked out of the dressing room!

K: hahaha

G: We had to just stand in thr hallway and wait there untill it was time to perform. I was like...what?!

K: hahaha, Im sorry.

G: Oh, no, its ok. But I mean, the dressing room door said Merry and Dir en grey on it...but we were asked to leave and stand in the hallway outside when Dir en grey arrived. So that was Free Will Slum for us...standing in the hallway before the live.

T: Haha, there is some sympathy in the comments for you.

K: How was the live...Oh, I think I watched you.

G: It was good, but after you guys played, I felt like you dwarfed us. It motivated me to try harder. I remember talking to Tommy about it. We volunteered to go before Dir, it was only us before them. But it made me realise how high the Dir en grey wall actually is.

T: Ahh, Kaoru, do you remember this?

K: Yeah. I remember them being chased out and wondering where they went, haha.

G: We were all at the same level there. No one did rehearsals, we all just had to go on stage and play, but still, I was amazed by Dir.

T: Yeah. You also released your 30th single in 2019, The World of Mercy. 30 singles is incredible, isn't it?

K: Well, we have been around for 25 years, haha.

T: It was a long song. Anything to tell us about this?

K: Well, it was hard, haha. Hmm, it was put out between the end of one album, and looking towards the next one, so we thought we could make it long. But it didnt really look towards the next album in the end. It was quite difficult.

T: Ok, 2020. There was Covid, cancelled tours...

K: Yeah, covid happened just as we were finishing touring in Europe, after starting in 2019, and going to North America too. When we were at the airport before going to Europe, masks were on sale in stores as normal, so we bought a load, just in case. But when we returned, there were none left.

T: Ahh. Did it worry you when you saw the situation?

K: Well, I saw it on the news a bit, but there was nothing in Europe at that time, so it wasn't that easy to see. But masks became indispensable since, right?

T: Mm, well, you released your first digital single during covid too. So covid had a big effect on you.

K: Our tours were cancelled, so we thought we had to do something, so thats why we made it. But there was nothing to look forward to or work towards, so it was hard for the staff, as well as the members.

G: Yeah, it was so hard to stay motivated. Its like, you make songs to play them live, so without lives, what do you do? I remember seeing Dir's live broadcast. It was a year of changes. We (Merry) talked a lot about what to do because even if you postpone, you don't know how long for. It was a year I will never forget.

K: You played at Hibiya Open Air Concert Hall though, right?

G: We did, yes. Kaoru and Die came to see us then.

T: Oh, I bet you were happy about that.

G: I was really happy. And it was a bit hard to invite people under those kind of conditions, but he still came.

T: Ahh, Kaoru, you always go at the best times.

K: I mean, I don't really, haha.

G: I was really happy though.

T: Well, Dir have gradually restarted touring in 2021 and 2022. So, Gara, can you tell us about Merry's recent activities etc?

G: Well, this year is our 20th anniversary, so on the 12th of November, we will hold our White Sheep/Black Sheep live at Kanda Square Hall. The first part will be mainly acoustic, with a piano. But for the second part, the Black Sheep part, we are asking fans and aquaintances to each request 3 songs for us to play. And then we will make a setlist from that. So, Kaoru, Id love it if you could suggest 3 songs to us too.

K: Eh? I don't really know your songs though, haha.

G: No, no, Id really appreciate it if you could.

K: I only know the old ones.

G: Thats totally fine.

T: Ok, so in the second part of the show, we will talk about the times from the Indies era up to 2014, I wonder what stories we will hear from Gara.

G: I have some deep things to tell.

T: Really?

K: Well, he used to come over to my place a lot back then, in the indies and debut eras.

G: Yeah, I did.

T: Ohh, this will be good to hear about! So, the second part is for channel members only, so if you want to watch it, you need to subscribe. This will then be in the archives for one year, and we will also put out another members only video in the next few days. Ok, how to join...Kaoru is pointing to it now. If you click the link, a payment method screen will appear. Choose your method and click proceed. Then you can input your details. If you havnt yet joined, please do so now. And don't forget to check out Merry at Kanda Square Hall in November. And Kaoru will be doing the 25th anniversary tour...

K: Oh, someone commented Orix took the lead! (*baseball*).

T: Thats more important than the anniversary tour.

K: hahaha

T: Ok, see you in a min!

#dir en grey #the freedom of expression #translation #薫 #ガラ #メリー

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midnightactual · 6 months

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//I’ve seen your Neon Dark AU. Gotta say, I dunno how you did it, but you seamlessly blended Yoruichi into the Cyberpunk world. Did it a lot better than I could, that’s for sure. Just in case you needed a bit of positivity.

hey, thanks for the compliments, but don't put yourself down in the process of handing them out. I think that your presentation of a Cyberpunk 2077 AU centers the game world in a much more eminent and relatable way to anyone who actually played the game (which is gonna be most people besides maybe those coming in from Edgerunners), especially with the breakout of stats, gear, abilities, and so on, and the backstory you created really dwells on the personal, which I think is normally where bios should be focused. keeping Ash relatively light on chrome is also fair and fun for both the overhaul and dealing with the setting more generally

I personally just camped out on the Wiki (and some PDFs of rulebooks) for a while and focused on reading Cyberpunk 2020 and Cyberpunk RED lore until I found some largely free real estate that let me do what I wanted to do, then bent Mike Pondsmith's lore on cyberpsychosis some in a way I thought made sense to make it work without any real care for what that'd look like in the TTRPG rules or game. I felt that de facto giving Yoruichi an exceptional base humanity score and saying the Raiden also has minimal humanity cost was fair, with how powerful it is balanced by it having no upgrades and no ability to do Netrunner or Smart Weapon stuff, but I could easily see someone arguing it's min-maxed and metagamey... but then, the goal was to make her powerful but mysterious

(someone like lore-accurate Adam Smasher would beat her in a fair mano-e-mano physical fight because she's not built for raw power and only has so much mass and bulk, but she would never fight someone like him fair, and would absolutely do heavy assault stuff in some super-customized Assisted Combat Personnel Armor like one of these wacky fanons because she'd be expecting him to show up in an Arasaka DaiOni as he canonically did in 2023, not in his base body even if that is now supposedly an IEC Dragoon)

to be honest though, neither her verse page or rumors page (it's fun if you haven't seen it!) address who she actually is, what she was up to previously in her past life, who was behind the attack, and so on. I have some Deep Lore™ thoughts, but those aren't fully fleshed out...

Who she is: I have the feeling that although Sasai Arasaka only officially had one child (Saburo Arasaka) she is either the descendant of a bastard child of his (since he only married Yui at the age of 46, which was very old for that time in Japan), or is the descendant of a sibling of Sasai's, and that in any event her "branch" of the Arasaka family basically lived thereafter in exile/shame/poverty at the hands Saburo... thus engendering permanent generational resentment of Saburo and Arasaka Corporation. she herself is probably in her mid-to-late 30s or early 40s, but appears to be in her late 20s, and would be the great-great-grandchild to grandchild of that ancestor. ostensibly the original motivation of her family was, "Everything of Saburo's rightfully belongs to us, and if we can't have it neither can he," and although she's more sanguine about it, her opinion is still basically Fuck Arasaka

What she did: while she's specified to be Japanese Army, I think she would've specifically been whatever the Cyberpunk equivalent to Special Operations Group would be. kinda like Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell, but foreign ops rather than domestic, thus the "Paradise" stories? I like it being called SOG. given their entanglement with FACS, FACS-SOG makes me think of MACV-SOG, despite being completely different things in different times. anyway, she was a spec ops ghost

Who attacked the Raiden Program: I think it was AIs beyond the Blackwall. the Raiden would be uniquely immune to the type of Blackwall shenanigans seen in Phantom Liberty, and that made it a threat to them if it proliferated, so they neutralized it, and Yoruichi's a loose end (that's escaped cleanup due to what the Raiden is like and the fact she doesn't seem to be presenting a threat to their agenda yet). the doppelganger recently seen was their own private reconstruction of the data acquired during that attack—however many copies the AIs have (not many), they all look like her since it was specifically her customized data that survived their attack and they saw no reason to change it. shit has not rolled downhill onto her for their actions because they never leave evidence or witnesses during their attacks—she's a fluke sole survivor because of the Raiden

part of the reason I haven't detailed this officially is, uh, muses would have no way of finding any of it out! and the parts she knows (1 and 2) she probably wouldn't reveal to anybody. but anyway, that's some more info on her. I don't think muses "need" to be tied to big lore in some way to be good, though, I just kind of like her that way because she's Yoruichi

I'm glad it feels plausible and cool rather than overwrought and overpowered, at any rate, so thanks for writing in! if you ever wanna do a thread, just feel free to throw over a starter or something

#Out Of Character #Asks #theashen-fox #Verse: NEON DARK

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