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#this next arc will be quite fun i hope you guys are looking forward to that
angelbitezzz · 1 month
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We're so back :)
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silvertsundere · 7 months
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Silver Talks AniManga (15/10/23)
it really does feel weird watching so many shows I'm used to reading a ton of stuff but I haven't watch this many things in years anyway next week should have another big catch up but not gonna say it'll happen for sure cause something might come up but anyhoo
green - new series/new to me
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Anime
Hoshikuzu Telepath Ep1
very cute show as you'd expect from a kirara series god it's been so long since I've watched a CGDCT show but it still slaps, as usual, so I'll be looking forward to this cleansing shot for this season also main cast is all newbies, except one of them randomly is aoki shiki which is p funny to me also also, op and ed are good tho op feels like an ed too (it's mikku tho so it's good 🙏)
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Frieren Ep6
great ep once again, I know the frieren fight with the demon guy had some sakuga but I certainly didn't expect to see some this ep too it was really good. and also the interactions between fern and stark are p funny they got good chemistry
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Undead Unluck Ep2
extremely good ep, might even say it was better than ep 1 like it was just that great. the direction is still great, I especially liked how they lined up the ep title card with andy saying the line and it didn't break up the action much, hope that's a recurring thing tho also hope they're a bit more ambitious with it. it was also pretty funny seeing all the shaft style shots, which makes sense cause there's a buncha old shaft staff in this but still. the sakuga was really good too. also we got both the op and ed and they're both great, visually and musically, tho the OP visuals go hard as hell. anyway next week we're getting gina so I'm very pogged up for my queen yuuki aoi getting to shine for 2 eps
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Pokemon Horizons Ep24
pokemon's back from it's 2 week between cours break with a very lore heavy ep which we already knew would be the case from the previews but I expected to get a lil more action near the end. anyway despite being so lore heavy it was mostly about riko's grandma and not the lucius stuff the plot is built around like I expected. wasn't a bad ep tho. next one looks like it'll have a lot of action so that'll be fun. and in 2 or 3 more eps that new gaki girl will get some more screentime which should be good too
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Adult Precure Ep2
DON'T YOU HATE BEING RIGHT??? last week I said: "I just hope they have new cure forms as adults instead of transforming into their younger selves." and guess what the hell happened? MAN I'm so mad. and toei only did it to save costs too cause they reused the stock footage from the old show, man this is so disappointing... but the rest of the episode was really good, even the action after the transformation was good (yoshiyama yuu 🙏) I'm just let down they chose to do this instead of giving them new adult cure forms 😔
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Imas Million Live Ep2
great episode, as you'd expect from imas, with an especially good performance from shizuka at the audition at the end. also got to see a bunch more girls do stuff, like anna streaming, so that was fun. I was thinking that it's a shame that the show is only 12 eps (despite being cg) cause I wanna see the girls more but then I realized U149 was also just 12 so it should be fine. it's imas anyway so I'll enjoy my time with it while I can
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Manga
Blooming Love Ch15
yknow, at the start I did say I could see this series being p short, but this chap skipped so much time and made it seem like it's ending soon which feels p abrupt. it could continue after this but I don't think it will, we'll see in some weeks I guess
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Kill Blue Ch25
I thought we'd get at least 1 more chap of this but it was still p good, just a comedic chill thing to break up the tension after that little action arc
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Witch Watch Ch129
we got to the end of this longish arc but shinohara really fooled me, ofc it wasn't gonna be that easy. I'm not gonna spoil the twist at the end of the chapter but WOW really didn't see that coming. I thought this was nearing the end but I can see it going quite a bit longer now
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//Goodness, so many comments from this arc I'm not even sure where to start but I guess I'll start off with saying;
//Thank you all for the comments and I really have to thank to everyone who work on this with me and Mod Honey - it was a wild ride and probably one of the best arcs that I really got to enjoy to viewing and working on it too!
The idea with this arc and what I feel could be interesting, is the idea of having certain parents that attended Hope's Peak from years ago being the focus; showing what has change, what they are doing now and just proving that not every parent is a total scumbag (which we know Emina and Ayato sure are. 8P) so planning on the rest of Shinji, Tenmei and Hitoshi's Classmates along with what they are doing currently and given they are a class from the 80's, y'know there was going to be a bunch of 80's references popping up. xD
Now where did the idea of the musical came up? Well, I think this started back when the idea of this arc came up, I brought up the joke of Kyoka would sing 'revenge party' and then Bubbles was like; 'Hey, let's make this into a musical!' And well, that's where we hit it off. 8P
When it came to Masa and Akira, I feel there would be a place where Masa screw up and no, I wouldn't even say she did it intentionally - it's pretty much a case where someone would need to be truth told which while yes, many would disagree with it - it does make the most sense and it would show that she's not that different from Nikei and one may question why, well... I think the difference is that Masa doesn't let her past defy her or really let it get to her, Nikei however does let his past effect him thus his rivalry with Masa could be seen as a form of jealously.
Now with Makoto; a thing with Makoto that I find surprising with many of those that are fans of him fail to notice certain flaws and issues with him - like yeah, he's the Ultimate Hope but he is surely not perfect and let's be honest, if you were a normal guy like him and you just learning all this, I think it be quite overwhelming especially if told your going to be this Ultimate Hope if you ask me.
Last we go to is Hitoshi; I felt that the idea of having someone you wouldn't expect to save the person that was going to die was something I was really looking forward to - I'm glad that people were quite surprise with Hitoshi being the savior because sure having Iroha, Rumi, Masa or Harumi save her would had some reasoning but no - instead having it be the person who not only got enroll in the same matter as Emina but even him putting a stop to her just felt fitting.
Also Iroha... honestly, if asking me; Iroha was honest to god, the best part of this whole arc and I'm happy to see how she turn out in this entire blog, it really shows how much she has grown as a person and even see her standing up to her parents plus saving her siblings really was a shining moment here and I feel that while this arc does close the chapter on a lot of Iroha's issues, I will say it surely won't be the end of Iroha's character arc - far from it. ^^
//Now... what is coming up next? Well, I'm looking forward to it, as say a lot of the questions that have been floating around will get answer and of course those that were getting pissed at Sunako's behavior, well... I think this arc is going to explain a lot so hope you enjoy the next arc. - Mod Poi from NWPM
//Yeah, a lot of things we touched on in this arc and it was really fun across the board ^^
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duckielover151 · 2 years
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THE ONE PIECE DIARIES
Episode Count: 150
These 50-episode milestones never seem to leave me in a perfect denouement area of whatever conflict is happening at the time... Oh well. There have been a lot of little things leading up to this point that I've kind of wanted to talk about but felt too small to make a whole post for.
I've reached the end of Alabasta. And while I was sad to see the end of Vivi's travels with the crew... I never really expected her to stay. It was a fun idea to entertain for that one episode. But she has responsibilities to her country. If she ran off to be a pirate, what would it have all been for?
Honestly, what I'm more disappointed in with everything that went down in Alabasta... is that there were no lasting consequences for the "deaths" we saw. I can deal with Igaram's miraculous return to life... After all, Robin is supposed to be one of the good guys, going forward. But I have to call bullshit on Pell surviving that explosion. It's not that it diminishes his actions... What he did is just as noble, because I'm sure he expected to die. But from a storytelling point of view, it feels like it diminishes the moment.
There were just a few other little moments that I really enjoyed in those final Alabasta episodes. The strawhat crew all collapsing out of exhaustion together as soon as they'd assured Vivi they were fine and she should go on ahead without them. And if I had an inkling they'd be likable characters before... I'm really fond of Smoker and Tashigi now. I love that Smoker marches to the beat of his own morals and refused to listen to his superiors glossing over the events with Crocodile to make it sound like they'd been the true heroes of the day. And I'm still really looking forward to watching Tashigi grow, because I feel like that's really going to take off now, whenever we see them next.
And onto the more recent stuff... Where episode 150 actually leaves us off is with our crew getting ready to head for the geyser that should take them to Sky Island. And with Luffy about to face off against Bellamy.
There's a lot I'm already liking about this new arc. There's just been something fun about it so far. I may not like Bellamy himself, but I really like his design, actually. For reasons I can't quite put into words. It's simple, but fitting. And I kind of hope he'll be around for more than just their stopover on this little island before they head off to the big adventure.
But moreover, I feel like Bellamy and his outlook on life has brought up something really important about the world. In a way, he's like the generic, disenchanted shounen villain. He's given up on the idea of grand dreams and mocks anyone who still believes in their own. And you know grand dreams are what Luffy's crew is all about. Pirates in this anime are portrayed in a pretty romanticized light in general, so all his talk about a "new era" being one where pirates treat their lives as something more like a business transaction... forgoing the seemingly impossible life goals and just going after material treasures and glory... is really off-putting.
And though I respect Luffy and Zoro sticking to their own morals and refusing to fight him the first time around... the greatest way they could possibly communicate that someone like him just isn't worth their time... I am really looking forward to seeing Luffy kick the shit out of him now. (I can't believe the 150-episode milestone fell on that cliffhanger! I almost didn't want to stop to write this.)
At the same time... I've kind of surprised myself. I actually want Bellamy to be a persevering character in this story. I hope he learns something from this fight with Luffy. I hope he comes back into the series later with his own dreams rekindled. And maybe just a little more humble...
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The more I play of the modern Ys games the more I think one of their biggest strengths might be that the people in the director/producer roles clearly really know what they're doing and know their teams really well, and they make some really smart decisions about what they are and aren't going to include or attempt to do and how they allocate resources.
They just feel like they know exactly how much time and money they have, exactly what their team's strengths are, and fit exactly as much as they can into that and don't try to do any more or less than that.
Now that I've also played Ys IX: Adol Goes to Goth Jail, it definitely seems like they figured out how to go from making mediocre games to making genuinely good games at some point between Ys Origin and Ys 8. They never quite manage to be the most incredible ever at anything in particular, but they do manage to do nearly everything they attempt to do well and without any major problems.
The series really is just a shonen anime (affectionate). Each game is a different story arc, and it's just guys being dudes going on wacky adventures in different locations, meeting a bunch of zany characters, and saving the day with the power of friendship.
I feel like 8 worked a little bit better overall than 9, but they were both plenty of fun. I actually liked the lack of towns/cities in 8 and focusing more on developing the relationships of the party members and other NPCs on your team instead, and the lack of money was pretty nice too. All the new movement abilities in 9 let them add a bunch of verticality to areas though, which let them do some pretty fun and interesting things sometimes (although some areas turned out better than others).
The problem with having larger areas with moderately high draw distance though is that it just makes the game run like garbage handheld on the Switch sometimes, all while not actually looking any better than 8 did. With the iffy framerate I got waaay fewer perfect dodges/guards in 9 than I did in 8, which is the main reason I never turned up the difficulty to compensate for 9 being otherwise much easier than 8.
Also it's a very confused game politically. I think it wants to say that no side of the conflict is totally correct or justified and there's nuance to it, but it ends up veering into respectability politics sometimes as a result and you shouldn't use physical violence against the people occupying your country because that wouldn't be very polite of you.
But also it feels very strongly that disabled people have just as much value as anyone else, there's nothing wrong with you if you're adopted or even if you're not human, and your experiences and relationships with the people around you make you family and not being blood related.
I think they did a little better at giving Adol a bit more personality this time too. They seemed like they were trying to give him a bit of character in 8 instead of just silent protagonist, but it didn't always do it for me there. I feel like they succeeded a bit better this time around even if he's still a fairly generic shonen protagonist.
They continue to do a good job making the other non-Adol characters fun though. I ended up liking most of them, but usually it was Doll and The Gayest Bartender in the World who stood out to me. I appreciate that while all sorts of people develop crushes or flirt with Adol in these games, he reacts exactly the same no matter what gender they are: complete aroace obliviousness. The only thing Adol is attracted to in that way is Adventure.
I guess now I need to wait a year or two for the next one to get localized and hope it makes it onto the Switch 2 or something in the meantime so it actually runs decently. If you'd told me a year ago that I'd genuinely enjoy the most recent couple games in the series as much as I did and be looking forward to the next one I would've been pretty skeptical, but here we are.
(oh also I lied about succeeding pretty well at everything they tried to do in the game with no major problems. The traps in the prison section are garbage and mostly not fun. They're clearly aware of it too because they included the option to skip those sections)
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violettelueur · 3 years
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— JUJUTSU KAISEN EPISODE TWELVE || TO YOU, SOMEDAY
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↳ featuring : fushiguro megumi  kugisaki nobara (mention of zenin maki) from jujutsu kaisen
↳ warnings : mention of violence + EXTREME grammar issues
↳ form : story
↳ published : 15 march
↳ pronouns : she/her
↳ word count : 1.9k
↳ synopsis : within the jujutsu world, there were three famous clans to be aware of, the Kamo clan, Zenin clan and the Gojo clan. However, unknown to many sorcerers there was one last family that was known to be apart of the three, only for them to disappear after the golden era leading some to speculate that they had died in battle after the sealing of ryomen sukuna, but....
↳ previous episode : narrow-minded
↳ next episode : tomorrow
↳ barista’s notes : let me admit, i can’t wait to get to the kyoto exchange arc in this series because i am on the low, losing ideas with theses episodes - this is what happens when you don’t plan in advance guys ʕ ᵒ ᴥ ᵒʔ moving on from that, i hope you enjoy today’s episode and enjoy the friendship between Y/N, Fushiguro and Kugisaki ╲ʕ·ᴥ· ╲ʔ
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BEFORE READING, I NEED YOU TO BE AWARE OF THIS:
1. the whole story belongs to Gege Akutami and the credits go to them and them only.
2. the spell curses used belong to Tite Kubo due to them being the ‘Kidos’ being used on the manga and anime ‘Bleach’ - but none is mentioned in this chapter.
2.5 for the ‘cursed spells’/kidos (bleach) i will link this video here and tell you the time stamp to check out what i am intending to show - remember i add a few twist here and there by adding the katana to link with Y/N’s cursed technique
no cursed spells used this episode..
3. if you are confused on anything, please don’t hesitate to message me since i know this whole thing is so confusing.
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In one’s own good time, your eyes begin to open only for you to suddenly cover them with the back of your hand due to the bright lighting that concealed your sight for a second before you separated your fingers to let some of the light pass through the gaps to let you adjust.
From what you could observe between your fingers, the sky from above seemed to display itself as if it was the reflection of the ocean that was down below on Earth since it was just a solid clear blue as if a painter decided that one colour was enough for their masterpiece while there was weirdly not a single cloud in sight.
It seemed too artificial for you.
However, for some odd reason, you felt weirdly strange. Even though you had just woken up from a nap, your body wasn’t as stiff as how it usually was when you would wake up, Fushiguro and Kugisaki could back you up on that fact since they always see you stretching for some time before proceeding to train again when Zenin called for you.
“Wait, where are they?” you muttered before you quickly sat up from your previous position to discover that your classmates were not right beside you under the tree where you three usually sat while taking a break from training, causing you to slowly look up to unexpectedly widening your eyes once you noticed the scenery around you.
At this moment in time, you seemed to be in a whole different location from what you remembered being at as you frantically turned your body around side to side to observe everything around you right now. Surrounding you was a vast field of purple hyacinths leading you to become completely perplexed on where you were and how you managed to get here while being asleep.
Steadily, you got up on your feet as you continued to examine your current surroundings only to discover that the only thing you could see was the blooming flowers that were surrounding you. Quickly, you looked up to finally notice there was no sun that was brightening up the sky and the area you were in, causing you to become more frantic as each second goes by.
“Where am I?” you questioned yourself in a whisper before finally turning back to face forward only to widen your eyes once again as your body began to lightly shake at the sight in front of you.
“Mother?” you quietly called out in utter disbelief at the display in front of you.
Although, it seemed like she wasn’t going to answer you at all. She was just standing there, letting the wind brush against the both of you while a few purple petals danced around you both leading you to become more puzzled than you originally were.
“Mother, it’s me,” you stated out slightly louder, thinking that you were maybe too quiet for her to hear you, only to receive the exact response that you had in the beginning. On the other hand, it seemed like the person in front of you had other ideas as the woman you assumed to be your mother started to take a step forward, yet you decided to take one step back slowly.
However, your mother continued to slowly and leisurely keep walking towards you as your footing was unexplainably now fixed onto the ground, as if vines grow out to hold them still, not knowing what to do since you weren’t even sure where to even go. There was nothing around you but purple hyacinths softening the situation that was happening, but that didn’t ease your nervousness that was sprouting within your stomach.
Without warning, your mother now stood in front of you with a deadpan expression painted on her face (void of all emotions) as her hand steadily reached down to grab a handful of the violet flowers that was enclosing you both causing you to reciprocate the same action before you both rapidly swang your arm around before suddenly pausing once you shockingly realised that your katana was now in your hand rather than the flowers your pulled out, leading your breath to halt in shock before shivering, once again, at a tiny cold feeling slyly being placed on your neck leading your eyes to shift slightly to the other side to discover a blade being pressed upon your flesh, leading you to look at your mother once again with a mix of doubt and bewilderment.
“What’s going on?” you asked with a hint of pleading within your shaken voice, only to unexpectedly spot a lone tear falling down upon her cheek catching you by surprise while a soft smile gradually appeared on your mother’s face.
“I’m so sorry…” your mother muttered with a hint of regret, leading you to become more puzzled only for that emotion to suddenly disintegrate the moment your mother violently slashed down upon your neck.
                                              ꕥ
Suddenly, your eyes widen in fear as your body immediately shoots up in pure shock as you attempt to catch your breath while frantically placing your hand on the side of your neck where your mother assumingly slashed with her blade if it was a real situation.
“Gojo!” someone called out, causing you to look up to see Fushiguro and Kugisako running towards you with worried expressions on their faces to which lead you to begin looking around the area to recognise your now familiar surroundings as the massive field purple hyacinths were nowhere to be seen.
“What’s wrong?” Kugisaki asked in a panic as she crouched down to your level, leading you to look at her before exhaling really slowly to calm your rapid heart as well as your linger shock at what just occurred in your dream.
“Sorry, I just had a really bad dream, that’s all,” you answered with a small smile, hoping that would ease her anxious face to which it slightly did. However, you knew it wasn’t enough to fully remove the feeling that your classmate had within her stomach.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Fushiguro asked, only for you to turn to look at him before shaking your head as you then steadily processed to lay back down on to the grass as your head landed on your track top that you were using as a pillow.
“Does your neck hurt?” Fushiguro questioned you once again, as he placed a hand on top of the one that was currently pressing against it leading you to shake your head once again, before placing the same hand back down onto your stomach.
Fushiguro and Kugisaki eyed you suspiciously before taking the decision to sit beside you keeping you company since it seemed like you really needed it right now, even if you didn’t mention it to them. 
When they saw you sprung up from your sleeping position, they assumed that you had woken up and was ready to train with them again since Zenin gave you a break due to you fighting all of them consecutively with the individual as well as team combat fights since they really needed to replicate the situations that would likely happen in the Kyoto Sister-School Goodwill Event. However, the second they noticed the pure shock and horror that was painted upon your face, Fushiguro and Kugisaki instantly knew something was wrong.
Although, what they had learnt from being with you for the past few weeks to nearly two months was that you were quite the reserved person and never really wanted to display any vulnerability to anyone - even those you considered teammates/comrades - and to be honest, you were an expert on hiding every emotion that showcased any kind of emotion that made you feel unprotected. 
It was just that this one time you lowered your guard.
To them right now, that was what you were doing. You were just peering at the green leaves above you with an emotionless expression as it seems you were in a trance. 
What were you thinking? Were you okay? What was the dream about? How can we help?
That was what they wanted to ask you, yet they knew you were never going to give them the answers that they wanted, you were the type that would help others but didn’t allow them to help you. It was as if you didn’t want to rely on them...but why?
As she continued to think about the possibilities of what seemed to be your trust issues, Kugisaki couldn’t help but shift her body forward before gradually lowering herself to lay next to you as if she was going to take a nap, causing Fushiguro to look at her in confusion.
“Gojo, you know...being with you is quite amazing and it’s so much fun since we’re the only girls in our year, I feel a bit bad for Maki-san,” Kugisaki rambled before turning her head to face your direction, only to see you still looking at the same direction. “I wanted to thank you for training me since I know I have gotten so much better with your guidance, but I want you to rely on me as well,” Kugisaki mentioned with a bright smile as she turned back to look at the leaves above the both of you.
‘Rely on...’ you thought, as you continued to stare upwards.
“Oh! We should get some bubble tea tomorrow since we have an off day tomorrow, right? You know the one we saw when we went shopping last week, I wonder how it tastes,” Kugisaki suggested, leading you to give a side glance before slowly letting the corners of your lips lift up slightly to form a small smile.
‘Talking away to make me forget huh?’
“Sure, I don’t mind,” you quietly answered as you processed to close your eyes once again, surprising Fushiguro and Kugisaki as they didn’t expect you to talk at all. However, before they could even get another word in, they noticed that your eyes were shut causing them to wonder if you were going to back sleep or were just closing them for the sake of closing them.
During this time, Fushiguro decided that he would do the same as he steadily moved his body forward before laying down once he ensured that he had enough space for his back, joining you and Kugisaki in your relaxing session.
However, as your classmates were resting with the gentle winds breezing by with the sunlight giving some warmth from the cold, they didn’t notice how your hand was gradually going back to your neck as internal dread slowly crept its way up to your whole body.
‘To you, what am I now mother?’ you asked internally as you casually opened your eyes again, only to notice that you were still at the Jujutsu Tech track field - slowly coming to the fact that this wasn’t another dream and you were really back.
‘Someday...will I never get that answer?’ you questioned yourself once again as your finger brushed along the skin of where the slash would have been leading to slight shivers to travel down your back as if your body remembered the feeling of her blade slicing down your neck.
Steadily, you processed to close your eyes again, enclosing yourself into the darkness that you were somewhat fearful of going back into again. However, there was no other way you could get away from the real world right now.
Yet, a single tear welled up in your eyes as it then proceeded to drop down to the side, just like how your mother was in that dream.
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© violettelueur 2021 : written and published by violettelueur - do not steal or repost
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fanfic-cave · 3 years
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Injured Pt 1.
Rating: SFW/PG-13
Word Count: 1.6k
Pairing: Subtle hint to Hunter x Fem Jedi!OC
Warnings: Shootout/skirmish, swearing, I might hurt your favorite TBB character dont kill me yet
Summary: You commissioned the bad batch to take you to Dantooine for your own personal mission in search of a Jedi temple. How will this ex-Jedi war veteran trying to hide from the Empire help the rogue clones when they inevitable get caught up in the fight? And who will get hurt?
Authors note: I had this fun idea of writing an action piece with TBB, and I've had some more fun ideas with a Jedi OC getting caught up in their shenanigans. My first draft was kinda long winded, so i'm making this a 2 parter. If this gets well received enough to make me feel more confident in my writing (like 20-30 likes or smthing) ill post part 2 :)
ALSO im a big KOTOR fan so there's the tiniest tiniest hint to that ("jedi temple" and "Bol") with being on Dantooine.
Okay now for real, enjoy!
edit: thanks for the notes! link to pt 2 here
Your speeder zoomed by quickly, passing some local Bol ranchers. Dantooine was full of them, and farms too. The rural planet was actually quite peaceful, that was, until the empire arrived. Now that they were governing over citizens, they began cracking down and enforcing strict trade and farming laws. You interacted with some of the locals, and despite the clone wars being over they didn’t seem to have much love for the new Empire.
The Bad Batch had come to make a supply run, trade for food and fuel on the very small landing station, and also to escort you to Dantooine per your request (you had paid them too). Instead of paying with credits for their supplies, they had to do some “manual labor”, helping the local farmers. Based on how quiet they had been on your comm link, you thought they had been quite busy. You had your own objective here though, one you had just completed. Now you needed to leave.
You got closer to the station, and saw a high count of imperial troopers. You swore under your breath, and suddenly you felt like the items in your pack weighed more, or would suddenly burst into flames. Kyber crystals don’t catch fire, you told yourself. I think.
You pressed your comms and began to speak “I’m en route to the ship, and we’ve got imperials at the station, I hope you’re ready to take off.”
Silence.
“Kriff!” You said aloud. You slowed the speeder to a stop. The strange group of rogue clones were known for finding trouble. You had really hoped they wouldn’t find any while traveling with you.
“Tech, Echo, Hunter? Does anybody copy?”
You heard explosions in the distance.
Kriffing idiots! You shook your head in frustration and put a hand around your vibroblade holstered at your hip. It didn’t take the force to know they were behind this.
“You’re about to have some more company” you heard Hunter over the comms, blaster fire in the background.
“What the hell did you do??”
“Get to the ship, we need to make a fast exit, with or without you.”
More profanities went through your head. You engaged the speeder, faster than you were going earlier. You could hear blaster fire. You had been making a beeline to the ship, prepared to avoid the troopers, but something tugged at your mind.
They’re in trouble. You were a very intuitive person, partially because of your training as a Jedi, and also because that was just in your nature. You thought for a moment, contemplating what action to take.
Trust your gut.
You swerved and headed straight for the fighting. You slipped your mask on, and pulled up your hood. You saw some troopers marching towards the fighting, blasters in hand. They hadn’t noticed you were heading straight for them.
Glad I came to save your asses. You thought. Well, you needed them to pilot, so you were saving your ass too. One trooper turned, and pointed at you. The others started to notice too.
You set the speeder to continue forward without needing your foot on the accelerator, and balanced your feet on the seat. It kept accelerating in speed, heading straight to the center of the 10 or so troopers. Just before their blasters fired, you leaped off the bike gracefully, launching yourself high in the air. The speeder crashed into one trooper, and spun into another 3.
You landed with no problem, and prepared for action. You dodged several blaster shots, and pulled out your vibroblade. You dashed toward a trooper to the left, and cleanly sliced at a weak point in the armor. He clutched his side, and fell to the ground. One came behind you, grabbing your elbow. You shoved your elbow into his face, and heard a crack. He staggered back, and you ducked to avoid another blaster shot, getting a quick slash into the trooper you had just elbowed with a flick of your wrist.
You jumped and did a backflip, effectively avoiding another wave of blaster fire. On your way down, you stabbed another trooper in the side, and grabbed him, using him as a human shield to block more oncoming shots. You sheathed the sword, grabbed his hand holding the blaster, and shot towards an oncoming trooper. He fell down, and you fired at the remaining two who charged, and they were quickly out of the fight. You released the trooper you used as a meat shield. The entire group was now down and injured, not able to fight.
You dropped the blaster and started to run towards the main fight, but then you halted as a thought occurred to you. You crouched down to a fallen command trooper and took his comm links. This might come in handy. You continued forward, shoving the unit in your pack. You resumed your dash towards the source of the previous explosions. You first saw Crosshair, providing cover fire while taking cover himself behind a transport.
“The cavalry’s here” you said on your com link. Next you saw Tech, using two blaster pistols. He was close to Wrecker, who was throwing barrels at a group of troopers. You think they were filled with grain. Hunter and Echo were circling the troopers, trying to get a good flank while Wrecker was effectively distracting them. Hunter spotted you and spoke through comms “What are you doing? Get to the ship!”
You ignored him, and pulled out the blade again. You managed to ambush some troopers and sliced through them easily, taking down 3 in less than a minute. “You should thank me, I just took care of the reinforcements heading this way.”
You saw a knife hit the chest of a storm trooper you were just about to stab through the shoulder. Hunter emerged from behind you and retrieved his knife from the now fallen trooper. Show off, you thought.
“Why didn’t you go to the ship?” Hunter demanded.
“I had a feeling you guys could use the help.” You replied.
He looked at you for a moment after you said this, and with his helmet on you couldn’t get a read on what he was thinking. You thought he might be shocked at what you said. You noticed a trooper approaching you two, lining up a shot on Hunter. You quickly grabbed a stray blaster from a fallen trooper and shot him down. Hunter was quick too; within a second of your shot, he shot another trooper not too far away. He looked back to you, and gave a quick nod in thanks.
“What did you guys do to attract the Empire?” You asked suspiciously.
“Well to put it simply, we severely disabled a facility belonging to the Empire as a form of payment. They appear to be quite agitated with us.” Tech replied through comms.
You ducked to avoid another blaster shot, Echo returned the shot and the trooper fell. “Gee, you think so?” You spoke sarcastically.
“We need to retreat and get back to the ship.” Echo spoke, taking cover a few feet away.
“Where’s Omega?” You interjected. You looked around for her, still not seeing her. “Back on the ship, the mission was too dangerous for her to come.” Hunter replied.
You sighed as blaster shots continued to go off in the background. “What's the plan?” You heard Crosshair speak through comms. He sounded annoyed, but he almost always sounded annoyed to you, amongst other things.
Hunter thought for a moment, and then he addressed the group. “Alright, Crosshair, you’ll provide cover fire while we retreat. We’ll need some more noise too-”
“I’ve got something that can help with that.” You interrupted. “Give me some cover.” You raised up the blaster you had grabbed, then ran over to Tech, firing shots as you went. Hunter and Echo emerged from their cover to fire at the troopers nearby you. Once you arrived you ducked down behind cover and threw the stolen comm link to Tech.
He caught it with both hands. “An imperial com unit?” Tech looked at it curiously, then shifted his eyes to you. “I thought you might be able to use it. Think you can cause some mayhem with it?” You asked curiously. Tech inspected it for a quick moment. “Oh yes, this should work.”
“Alright. Wrecker, Sera, keep the troopers off Tech. Echo and I will try to keep them on us. When Tech gives the signal, we move.” Everyone got their weapons ready, Echo nodded. “No problem!” Wrecker said enthusiastically and gave a thumbs. You also nodded as confirmation that you were ready.
Echo started firing at troopers, Hunter pulled out his knife and began alternating between slashing through troopers and shooting with his blaster. Wrecker was closer to you and actually picked up a trooper and threw him. You provided some cover fire and stayed close to Tech. He was fiddling with the unit.
“How much longer?” You asked after a minute passed. “Almost…” Tech said. You felt a sudden sense of urgency, and lifted your head up, searching around. “Somethings not right-”
Hunter leapt out of cover and ran over to Wrecker, who was laughing and enthusiastically throwing some heavy boxes at the troopers. “Wrecker, get down!”
You heard shots fire, and they were different. Wherever it made contact, there was a small explosion. This was some heavy fire power. The blasts made a sweeping arc. It fired towards Crosshair, who had to roll out of the way. You and Tech ducked as a shot came your way. You were knocked back a few feet from the closeness of the explosion. You lifted your head up and saw Echo was okay, and then you looked for Wrecker and Hunter.
Wrecker managed to avoid getting hit, he was to the right lying on the ground behind cover. Hunter wasn’t as lucky though. It looked like he took some blaster fire, and fell to the ground on his back. He was holding his side, and you saw blood on his hands.
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ukaiknowsbest · 3 years
Text
breaking down Ace of Diamond - the "Hero's Journey."
Using the model/guide presented by Overly Sarcastic Productions in their youtube video Trope Talk: The Hero's Journey, I will attempt to discuss how Sawamura Eijun's story in DnA is his Hero's Journey to becoming an ace pitcher in the Japanese HIgh School Baseball environment.
Blue from OSP put forward the 12 basic parts of the Hero's Journey Cycle. The illustration below will be our reference. I simplified a graph made by Signy Wilson in order to match OSP's less rigid guide.
disclaimer: I am by no means any kind of expert. I was just fascinated when I learned about the Hero's Journey as a general trope/framework when it came to writing stories. I want to apply what I learned by breaking down the story created by Terajima Yuuji in Ace of Diamond.
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A. ORDINARY WORLD
STAGE 1. THE HERO IN HIS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
Hero: Sawamura Eijun. Captain and Ace Pitcher of middle school baseball team. He has no formal training in baseball whatsoever but was the one who gathered and convinced his friends to start a baseball club. He's the best player in their small team. Good at sports but bad at academics .
He is generally a baseball idiot and quite a naive/simple guy with a strong heart. He does not have any idea what competitive and pro baseball looks like because not only does he not have experience but also he does not watch the broadcasts on tv/radio at all.
Ordinary World of the Hero: rural town in Nagano Prefecture, where Sawamura formed a small baseball team with his childhood friends. Acording to him, as long as they all stay together they can always play baseball anywhere.
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STAGE 2. THE CALL TO ADVENTURE
2.1 Problem/why hero's ordinary world is going to crumble: - He lessened his chances of being scouted/accepted in a good baseball school after he btchslapped an entire opponent team and the umpires in their first and only match as middle school team in Saitama Stadium.
He also has low chance of being accepted into the high school in their area (where his friends are all going to) because he struggles with his academics a lot.
Unless he does something he won't be able to be together with his friends and/or play baseball at all.
2.2 Caller of the adventure - Takashima Rei pursues Sawamura into Nagano Prefecture in order to scout him as a sports scholar for Seido High School, a baseball powerhouse school located in the West Division of Tokyo Prefecture.
2.3 medicine/ solution to hero's crumbling world: being a sports scholar for Seido. This would solve almost all of Sawamura's highschool enrollment problem and also give him the chance to play as much baseball as he wants.
STAGE 3. REFUSAL TO THE CALL
3.1 reluctance to go: Sawamura refuses to leave Nagano despite Rei's "sales pitch" to him and his family. He doesn't want to leave his friends just to play baseball in a stronger school far away because he had promised his friends that they would always stick together.
3.2 hero punished for this - his grandpa literally smacks/slaps him in being stupid and doubting his friends.!!! / technically circumstances are already punishing him for being a hotblooded baseball idiot in the first place.
3.3 do you think you have a choice - this is probably the only chance he'll get to play baseball with all his strength AND finish highschool.
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B. EXTRAORDINARY / UNKNOWN WORLD
Venturing out into more competitive/pro baseball is a world beyond him. It's scary and unknown and he'd rather defeat bigger teams than leave his friends.
STAGE 4. CROSSING THE THRESHOLD
4.1 crossing physical threshold - Rei persuades him to at least check the school out with his own eyes. They leave Tokyo together for one visit.
4.2. crossing a metaphorical threshold - in that visit, sawamura, picks a fight with a senior who's bound for baseball drafts, works together with a nationally acclaimed catcher in defeating the senior player, thus changing his worldview because he had so much fun.
4.2. conscious and irreversible decision - Because of the experience he goes home conflicted. His family encourages him in their own way to follow his guts and heart and go to Tokyo.
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STAGE 5. REALM OF ADVENTURE
5.1 hero learns to navigate the unknown world - Sawamura learns the harsh realities of being in a baseball school once he actually starts to live there. Our boy also gets educated in Baseball and Pitching 101. He also finds out the true personality of the catcher he played with before.
5.2 meeting allies/rivals/mentors - he learns about the team better when he meets a whole bunch of people: batchmates, coaches and senpais. He builds interesting dynamics with all of them.
5.3 trials and initial failures - Sawamura undergoes difficult initial training and is barely allowed to play in matches.
5.4 meeting enemies - Sawamura being allowed to play as relief pitcher in the games and face talented pitchers and scary batters mostly in tense situations.
5.5 growth, new skills - Sawamura grows with each match, thus bolstering his confidence. Sometimes he falters but he learns from his mistakes.
5.6 first major success - striking out scary batters with each new thing he learns.
5.7 major challenge that leads to downfall - seido vs inashiro finals match where he goes in full of confidence and courage but then he and his team gets defeated in a devastating way.
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STAGE 6. BELLY OF THE WHALE
6.1 lowest point of hero where hero physically or metaphorically goes down - one month after their major defeat, a lot of intense practice matches and change in team dynamics, the team find out that Sawamura has the YIPS. This condition took away Sawamura's ability to pitch in his trademark style/ the only thing he was good at.
6.2 hero's darkest hour - without the ability to pitch, Sawamura questions his reality and why he is still on the team.
6.3 Face and overcome inner demons - with a lot of help from allies and mentors, Sawamura finds a way to bring back a bit of his ability.
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STAGE 7. ROAD OF TRIALS
7.1 Discarding old self - In the duration of his downfall and eventual healing, Sawamura turns to books, meditation and becomes even more careful in maintaining his form and body.
7.2 Accepting the new role - instead of fixating on the ace position like before, Sawamura is just glad that he is still allowed to pitch as relief.
7.3 Finding path out of the belly of the whale/The road back - After figuring out a solution to fix his pitching, he focuses on it and regains some of his ability. Sawamura is then allowed to play in matches. Just like before, he improves little by little as he recovers from each failure. He gains fresher mindset and new weapons, thus becoming an even stronger pitcher than he ever was before.
7.4 more trials - they face new opponent schools and old but improved opponents which test the best of Sawamura and the team's ability
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STAGE 8. PRE SHOWDOWN BREATHER
every major match in ace of diamond has this part of the story but usually the most critical breather episode is the one before the final match.
8.1 show humanity of other characters - Somethng bad happens to the other mc without Sawamura knowing. This could absolutely wreck their chances of winning the final match. This shows that the other guys are not 100% invincible after all.
8.2 last chance to relax. - calm before the storm. It is also the time where they finalize sawamura's weapons.
8.3 quiet moment to reminisce - usually happens before each match. However the night before the finals was the major one because their old senpais went to visit their practice and encourage them.
STAGE 9. CLIMAX / STEPPING UP TO THE CHALLENGE
9.1 Final Showdown - Sawamura helps in the team defense with the best of his ability and weapons and he succeeds. Their team eventually wins Fall Tournament even with a few setbacks.
9.2 Apotheosis - Sawamura's worldview changed once he realises that even with his improvement and skill, his goal of being the ace is still out of reach for him.
9.3 Ultimate Boon - Sawamura gets to be a pivotal member of their baseball team and can play baseball as much as he wants with his team.
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STAGE 7. ROAD OF TRIALS start again after the Fall Tournament Act 1 because Sawamura faces new challenges in Ace of Diamond Act 2.
Meiji Jingu Tournament - Play in matches without Miyuki
WInter camp and break - Intense Physical Training and development and improvement of his weapons which he will use and improve on throughout the rest of Act 2.
Spring Koshien where he realises that he has to do more in order to surpass the current ace which was Furuya.
Start of New Term/ Practice Matches - Sawamura and co. meets their new kouhai and team dynamics shift once again.
Spring Tournament / Summer Tournament - Sawamura meets old foes and new enemies. He also becomes the Ace Pitcher of the team, which adds more pressure on his part.
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ACT 2 STAGE 8. PRE SHOWDOWN BREATHER
This is the big and long one before Summer Tournament Finals match where injuries and problems were discussed and feelings were explored.
ACT 2 STAGE 9. CLIMAX
Final (Or most hyped and awaited rematch) Seido vs Inashiro in order to qualify for Summer Koshien Nationals.
**everything after this point will be prediction and just my opinion
STAGES 7-9 start again
Koshien Nationals Arc.
STAGE 10. CROSSING THE RETURN THRESHOLD
Miyuki/3rd years retirement/graduation. Sawamura and his batch will have to lead the team.
STAGE 11. THE REWARD
Sawamura gets to play with his team as ace pitcher.
STAGE 12 / STAGE 1. THE HERO IN HIS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
Sawamura may become both ace and captain, same as his role back in his middle school team, albeit in a stronger school. Even if he won't be the next captain, as ace he will still be in a strong leadership position.
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CONCLUSION
That's how Ace of Diamond is written in the style of A HERO'S JOURNEY.
Act 1 writing especially followed the trope quite rigidly.
Notes:
I still don't want Sawamura to be the next captain. I hope that does not happen. However if it does, it means the story will have gone back full circle. That would be quite poetic ngl.
Gotta applaud Terajima's pacing. Can you believe that the story only reached its lowest and most pivotal point at around episode 70 of the anime???? thank godt that after ep 63 I read spoilers about yips arc in tv tropes or else i would have dropped the series completely.
I had difficulty in classifying the events after the climax stage into hero's journey stages because technically sawamura has not gone "home" yet. Moreover the challenges and trials just kept on piling up after Fall Tournament.
In this whole story, Sawamura has experienced only one true "Belly of the Whale stage" during his YIPS arc. I don't think he really came to a low point in Act 2 other than his first official match as Ace Pitcher. I treated that in the same vein as the effects of Raichi's first homerun off Sawamura back in Act 1.
I realized that having stages 7-9 recur starting from Meiji Jingu to the current summer tournament is what made reading Act 2 quite frustrating for me. That's at least 5-6 arcs of endless roller coaster ride loops.
I consider Miyuki's departure to be the "CROSSING THE RETURN THRESHOLD" moment because playing with him was the major reason for Sawamura's decision to study and play in Tokyo. Something will change Sawamura when this eventually happens.
As Blue from OSP said, the Hero's Journey is just a general guide/framework to writing stories. It is flexible, writers don't even have to use it or all of its parts to make a good story. Terajima just seemed to have adopted A LOT of the hero's journey trope in his baseball series.
I wanted to add more pictures tbh but tumblr is a killjoy :(
This was a fun thought exercise. There were probably even some parts which I have used the tropes wrongly. Please feel free to dispute me.
I talked about Sawamura's mentors here (x).
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boop-le-snoot · 3 years
Text
If life gives you melons...
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Ship: Loki x F!alt! reader
Rating: Explicit / word count 5,5k
Summary: You've heard about meet-cute, how about meet-ugly? Reader has tattoos and a tongue split. There's this joke that "bisexual alt girls go looking for a girlfriend and end up with sad, tall and skinny white bois" and boy did that hit home. Inspired by this cringy video of Hiddles [youtube link].
During a panel at a comic con, Loki notices reader and they go on a date, reader gets railed: top!Loki, choking, rough sex, unprotected sex, all the good stuff. Open ending, with a bonus of reader and Loki pranking Clint.
x. I usually fancy they/them pronouns for Loki but seeing as it's a smut-shot, I decided to go along with he/him for the sake of simplicity. Loki's at least 6'4 tall and you can fight me on that. Also, I write like a Tony stan - I feel the need to apologize to Loki stans for that. I love you guys! 🥺👉🏻👈🏻
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The long line of people appeared to be neverending. Loki was an enhanced, as the government recently had adopted a politically correct term for Earth's non-human inhabitants, but even his enhanced endurance had begun waning due to sheer amount of people wanting a piece of memorabilia signed by The God of Mischief. Loki had gained a considerable amount of fans after doing his part in killing the mad titan Thanos and by extension, saving the world. It turned out, humankind was a sucker for a good redemption arc.
Loki's hands ached where they wrapped around the pen that he'd been using for nearly 4 hours to neatly place his name, written in neat runescript, on various pieces of merchandise that his fans (and wasn't that a strange thing!) presented to him. He used to think that he would have actually succeeded conquering the earth if he had a grasp on how to use social media and his charm; now, he just wanted the torture to end. An involuntary sigh left his mouth when he saw another print of himself in full battle gear being placed in front of him by a reasonably attractive young woman.
"Um, thank you," She stammered, giggling softly, and Loki spared her a painstaking smile, scribbling his name once again. The woman briefly caught his eyes. "Um, you're the reason- the inspiration for me. I became a stripper."
Loki blanked, feeling his eyes widen and blink on their own accord a few times. He wasn't sure if he heard the woman correctly, as the unusual statement made his brain freeze.
Loud snickering from behind the blushing woman interrupted the system error that he was experiencing in his head. It wasn't often that somebody managed to render him speechless. It looked like whoever was in line behind the stripper woman had taken advantage of that. Loki's eyes snapped to the short-haired person, who looked torn between cringing and breaking into embarrassed laughter.
The stripper left without a word, and as Loki picked up the cursed writing instrument once again, the short-haired person smiled at him kindly. "That was a little weird," They snorted, "And thanks, have a nice day Mr. Loki."
"When life gives you melons, you might be dyslexic," Another woman, that appeared to be the short haired person's friend, deadpanned and gave a cynical side-eye to the departing stripper. Loki heard snickering coming from the short-haired person and quietly joined himself. The woman noticed it, winking at him as she collected the newly signed t-shirt. "Bye," She smiled kindly.
It was a split second decision, really. Something about the cheeky way she addressed the situation sparked Loki's interest. "Wait, you forgot something, darling," His baritone called out to the departing woman. She turned around, confused, and hastily grabbed the standard issue photo that he was holding out to her. With a final grateful nod, she smiled and left.
If Loki's smile had returned for the time being, none of his teammates made any remarks on it. Only his brother, Thor, gave a couple of knowing looks to the Asgardian sorcerer.
The woman in question didn't think twice about the photo that she stashed in her backpack along with the signed t-shirt. The Comic-Con had been full of people and the lines were unfairly long. The sheer exhaustion after attending a 3-day long convention had set in and she was eager to simply come home back to her apartment and crash on the nearest soft flat surface. Upon arrival, she did exactly that, flopping down gracelessly on the couch, her backpack landing next to her with a careless thud.
Unloading her trophies was a short time affair: a single white tee with a dozen signatures on it, written in what she hoped was waterproof Sharpie; one mug, shaped like an Iron Man helmet; one poster, showing Spider-Man on a picturesque NYC horizon and a signed photo of one Loki. Strangely enough, she did not remember requesting it - not that she was complaining. Free merch was free merch.
The front side wasn't signed whatsoever. Overcome by curiousity, she turned it around. A phone number was written on the back of it, the handwriting neat and the letters obviously being inked out by a thinner, more sophisticated pen than the one Loki had used for scribbling on the tee. The woman gaped silently, not believing her eyes. Did Loki himself had given her his phone number?
One margarita and a hefty helping of Chinese takeout later, the numbers persisted staring back at her mutely, the neat cursive being almost mocking in its quiet. The woman's smartphone had found a comfortable place right next to the photo, equally mum regarding the unusual situation.
An additional margarita was needed to gather the courage required to actually type out the number in the receiver box. Fruity alcoholic concoction in one hand and phone clutched in the other, the woman's eyes squeezed shut tightly as soon as the dreaded "Hey, got your number today! :)" read delivered. She'd typed and erased the message several times, groaning in embarrassment. How the hell does one approach an alien god?
"Hello! May I ask your name?" The response came after a brief moment - a moment the woman had suffered through by taking too haste sips of her drink, her common since screaming her to not overdo it and wait at least a full minute before replying. Everything felt awkward and misplaced.
In no time, she was sending the screenshots of the conversation to her girl-advice group chat that consisted of her closest friends. Chatting with Loki turned out to be surprisingly easy and he was great at upholding conversation, something that couldn't be said about all those Tinder matches she had had back in the day.
Even if using proper grammar during a text message conversation was something she had to reacquaint herself with, she was glad he wasn't just another boring, shalllow, condescending-ass white boy. Despite the cultural differences and his lack of knowledge of things like pop culture and music - something he said he was working on since New Asgard became a sovereign state on Earth - they bonded over music and tattoos and generally being rebellious against society's standarts.
The invitation to dinner didn't come as a surprise for the woman. She agreed happily, looking forward to continue their conversation outside of the internet - if Loki's part of the chat was anything to go by, not only was he charming, but also quite intelligent. And easy on the the eyes, too. They had traded selfies at some point and the Asgardian didn't look any worse in a hoodie and sweatpants than he did in his battle leathers. Loki had appeared to truly have had integrated into Earth's society.
The night of the date, the continuous text exchange did very little to calm her nerves. Loki texted as much as an overeager teenage boy: every now and then he would double-text and grossly overreact to her sending a simple meme. In fact, he smugly conveyed the fact he'd single-handedly started a meme war between the Avengers and even Steve was forced to participate; something that was, allegedly, out of character for the blonde man.
She didn't mind. Not like she had many friends to have so much fun with. Even if it took her twice the time to do her favourite eyeliner style, it was worth it. She hoped Loki would appreciate the bold, but classy make-up and the dress and shoes combo that accentuated her assets. Her date expressed curiousity about her tattoos and the difference between her preferred style and the humans he spent most time with. She guessed secret agents were not particularly fond of anything that made them memorable so she held out quite the hope for... Showing off some of her tattoos in a more private setting.
In other, simpler words, the woman came in prepared for both a friendly, leisurely stroll and a quality night. Either way, it would be a time well spent.
Loki's shiny, raven hair was impossible to miss as he towered over the rest of the people waiting by the restaurant's entrance. He wore tailored black trousers and a simple cashmere sweater, perfect for the evening's damp, cool air. Tall and lithe, Loki was mouthwateringly handsome.
"Come here often?" She wormed her way through the crowd, causing the man to smirk down at her. Her cheeks flared from the tiny gesture alone.
"Just waiting for a friend," Loki uttered lowly, extending an arm towards the woman, which she gracefully accepted as they made way towards the entrance. "Reservation for Loki," The Asgardian stated to the hostess, who, after a rapid doube-take, led them to a private, secluded area in the back of the restaurant.
Loki shouldered the slightly awkward interaction with grace, paying no mind to the girl. His focus was solely on his date and he was nothing but gallant as he took the woman's purse and held out the chair for her to comfortably sit down. As a prince, he was taught well, she mused.
"Usually I would ask 'what brings you to our little ball of water and dirt?' but I think we can skip that part," The woman stated with a sheepish grin, idly flicking through the menu and curiously eyeing the items that were unfamiliar. The desire to try something new fought with the possibility of accidentally ordering something too far out - like snails or other things that rich people fancied, for some reason.
Loki's greens briefly appeared over the top of his menu, grateful and sparkling. "I think it's best if we do just that," For a second, he looked away, before returning to the menu. "I can think of better things to discuss. I recall you didn't finish telling me about that college friend of yours, who was an anarchist... I'm dying to know..."
The waiter came and went, barely noticed by the pair, as they both poked at something that sounded the most familiar for both of them. Stoically, Loki admitted that Tony Stark did the booking for him and the woman reluctantly acquitted she wasn't very familiar with upscale establishments, being of middle-class background and working a middle-class job.
Interrupting the story she began telling hours ago, the woman took the time to point out the things she was familiar with on the menu and advised Loki to stay away from - like the aforementioned snails, and other things, slimy and salty things that she considered to be 'disgusting but rich people liked it for some reason'. The conversation slowly progressed into Loki telling her the mischief he got up to at the feasts Odin threw. The Asgardian shared the woman's disregard for influential people doing gross things to show off.
The food was good - it was really hard to miss with a traditional Italian lasagna - and seeing Loki shovel an obscene amount of food was an experience, but she didn't comment on it, tactful enough to consider his alien biology might have different dietary requirements that her human one. It was great, really, that she could order dessert and not feel guilty about it.
The gelato melted in her mouth like sweet ecstasy and she moaned with her next bite, only partly aware of how obscene really was the noise.
Loki's hand stuttered on it's way to his mouth. Wide-eyed, he stared at her lips, at her mouth, where her tongue lapped up the small drops of dessert from the spoon. "Why the split tongue?" The Asgardian finally gathered his wits, having had a good look of what he was sure was a trick of the eye at first.
She grinned, acutely aware of the effect that particular body modification had on men. "I like being different. I embrace the weird." She giggled, not at all ashamed, sticking out her tongue and wiggling both parts of it teasingly.
Loki's Adam's apple bobbed; "Weird?" He raised his eyebrow, fighting to maintain his previous cool composure.
She nodded. "Weird," She retorted coyly. "I usually don't divulge the details at least until the third date. Wouldn't want to scare my potential suitors off," The playful wink was the proverbial cherry on top. He was hooked, his eyes darkened, following the plump arch of her lips as she took another spoonful of the treat and savoured it, closing her eyes for a brief moment.
It was pornographic.
"Obviously, Midgardians don't know what's good for them," Loki scoffed in his usual bored monotone, fully aware of how fitful his attempt to conceal his excitement was. He sounded needy even to his own ears.
"And you do?" She pushed away the empty plate, chastely patting her mouth with a napkin. The raised eyebrow and the little smirk spoke volumes.
The grin he wore was hardly anything but feral; he asked for the waiter's assistance by flicking his wrist in an impatient fashion. Once the bill was paid and the woman's cardigan found its rightful place on her shoulders, Loki once again took hold of her arm, this time holding her smaller body against his larger one, taking care to slow down and keep his strides shorter.
She found the coolness of his presence refreshing in the moist, heavy air of the New York city.
"Where to, milady?" Loki asked her, looking down at the woman fondly.
"My place is a block away. Walk me, good sir?" She gave a delightfully easy smile in return.
He nodded, letting her lead the way, allowing himself to get a little bit lost in their shared presence, a little bubble of them in the middle of a busy city. It was as if someone had quickly turned down the volume of the honking cars and noisy pedestrians around them, leaving the soft breeze and the sun slowly descending below the skyscrapers. It felt far too short, partaking in the comfortable silence together, skin tingling under the thin layers of cloth where they were touching.
The sun was trapped in the strands of her hair as she smiled at him from her doorway, worrying her lip between her teeth. It was a bittersweet moment.
"A kiss good night for the good sir?" She asked hopefully, eyes darting between his face and his mouth.
Loki obliged, resting his palm flat on the door frame, towering over the woman as he gently slotted his thin, cool lips against her warm ones. The woman stood on her tippy toes, eager, placing a hand on his chest. The pair melted into the kiss - it had no business being this mind-blowing, brain-freezing for two people that have not met until that very day. The woman didn't refuse when Loki probed with his tongue, requesting entrance to her mouth; she licked into his own with fervor, fisting her hands in the soft fabric of his sweater.
With the hand that was free, Loki pulled the woman flush with himself, feeling the heat of her start a fire of its own inside of him. Her breathing rapid, the gesture only served to tighten her hold on his sweater, until a soft, barely audible moan slipped into his mouth, causing his brain to quickly reassess the situation.
Regretfully, Loki pulled away, clearing his throat. "Perhaps we should take this elsewhere," He meaningfully looked at the array of doors around them.
"I thought you'd never ask," She retorted with a fond eyeroll, tightening the grip on his sweater once more, to pull him inside her apartment and shut the door behind her. The awkward moments were few and in between; neither knew who reached for the other first, mashing their mouths with less grace than before, clutching at the other's arms and hips with hunger.
This time, Loki didn't hold back his own muted groans of satisfaction, shivering when the woman's hands snuck under his sweater and the simple tank top he wore underneath. Blunt nails scraped along his abs.
Step by step, she pushed him further inside her apartment, determined in her small quick strides. There was no mistake of their destination; no mistake in her desire: she was as hungry and as impatient as him. The crease between his eyebrows deepened, long arms extending to unzip the top of her dress to reveal a simple but tasteful black lacy bra covering her breasts. The woman barely noticed the action, stepping out of her dress as soon as it hit the floor.
He admired her. Inches of soft skin covered by intricate ink, some patterns bizarre and complicated, some beautiful in their simplicity. Loki couldn't wait to find out about the meaning behind every one of them, to trace the lines with his tongue and sink his teeth into the heated flesh.
The hands that were holding onto him for dear life tugged on his sweater and he chose to simply vanish it, too preoccupied with looking at the view in front of him. She gasped and her eyes met his: uncanny, magnetic emeralds shone with magic and power and desire.
"Fuck," She more mouthed than said, walking backwards in a trance until her shins hit the bed.
Loki grinned, advancing on the panting woman with the grace of a predator. "Darling?" His tone was innocent; his expression was anything but. His large hand encompassesed the side of her face, thumb running over her bottom lip in a possessive gesture that had her squirming in her place. He loved the way she just melted into his touch.
Their lips met again, slower this time. The kiss was once again graceful and unrushed, allowing them to explore the softness of each other's skin, mapping the arches and valleys with gentle strokes of their palms. The broad expanse of Loki's back was uneven, riddled with scars and blemishes, and she mapped every single one, blunt nails raking down it as she pressed into him, arching into his hands where he held her.
The soft flesh of her ass, barely covered by a scrap of black lace, was shamelessly grabbed - the woman didn't doubt there would be marks left - letting her feel his arousal pressed against her belly, hard and twitching. She didn't resist her desire to ge handsy and palmed it, taking note of the gasp and the twitch coming from the man occupied with the clasp of her bra. In no time, it flew away, forgotten somwhere the very moment Loki's palms took over her breasts, running a careful thumb over each nipple.
"Fuck," She parroted her previous statement, equally breathy and considerably more aroused.
"That's the plan," Loki's chuckle was hoarse.
She huffed, biting her bottom lip before reaching out to swiftly pop the button of his trousers, smirking at the hiss the friction of her palm produced against his cock. It shouldn't have surprised her that Loki was a commando kind of guy, but still, she gasped, partially from the ministrations of his clever fingers, partially from the mouthwatering sight in front of her. The thick, flushed length made saliva gather in the corners of her mouth.
He must've heard the audible swallow. "Not so haste, darling," He tutted, giving her relaxed body a gentle push, causing her to land on her back, heated skin against the soft duvet of her bed. "Let me taste you," A thud; Loki had dropped to his knees, using his large palms to spread her legs, opening her up to his eyes.
If his previous work hadn't made her so pliant, so aroused, she'd have been rendered speechless; instead, the woman arched her back, presenting herself and the desire that had pooled down below. The Asgardian chuckled, fingertips soft against the scratchy lace.
"Tease," The woman moaned, outstretching her arm to guide him but quite unable to reach him. She had to settle for squirming in her place, receiving a fraction of the desired traction against her swollen lips.
"Am I, love?" Loki asked her sweetly, caving enough to dip a single finger to run along the outside of her slit. It glided easily thanks to all the moisture gathered there, lips parting easily before his touch. The panties were vanished away promptly, another finger joining in immediately to rub slow, precise circles around her clit.
She keened low and long, fisting the fabric in her hand until her knuckles turned white. Loki knew what he was doing. It didn't take him very long to slide his long digits to the welcoming heat of her opening, dipping them inside until she began to make the noises he so craved. His mouth followed after that, long agile tongue drawing senseless shapes on the inside of her labia and dipping deeper, where her clit stood out engorged and slick.
He could smell the bittersweet of her arousal, mouthwatering and hot.
"Loki, fuck," She moaned, only half-coherent and partially aware of her own hips following his every stroke, every flick. He only advanced, hitting that sweet spot inside her with every stroke; the sparks traveling up her spine quickened with each time she changed his name like a prayer. "Loki, Loki, Loki..."
He growled, attaching his mouth firmly to her clit, and she arched for the final time, coming undone, squeezing around his fingers and gushing in his mouth, the obscene sounds covered by her own scream of delight and his impatient growling. The growling that sent shivers of aftershocks throughout her body.
"Darling, you taste so sweet," Loki groaned, still panting.
She took the time to open her eyes: Loki looked comically out of place in her bedroom, he dwarfed her bed and made her feel small, but it didn't matter at all at that very moment. His erection stood out hard and proud; despite the leg-shaking orgasm just moments ago, she wanted more, she wanted to taste him, she wanted to feel him inside-
With unsurprising agility, one swift motion was all it took for her to rest comfortably against the pillows, his throbbing member resting against the juncture of her thigh. She tasted her own release on his lips, however brief, whispering a weak, "Please," aching to feel the emptiness.
"As my lady wishes," Loki's cool breath ghosted over her cheek. She waited with baited breath until the tip of his manhood breached her, exhaling a moan into his neck and immediately wrapping her lips around a patch of skin as he stretched her so sweet.
Loki's arms shook slightly as he waited for her to adjust. He kissed her, soft and sweet; there was something vulnerable in him, something as sweet as the ache he'd taken away. Once he began to move, slow and fluid, all there was left was an all-consuming need to feel. As graceful as dancer and with a deadly precision, Loki pounded gasps, moans and screams out of the woman's slack mouth, kisses turning hungrier and sloppier by the second.
"So sweet," He cooed, relishing in the snug grip of her cunt around him.
She only keened in approval, too far gone and unused to the intensity of the feelings from a man with centuries of practice and the power of a god.
His thrusts slowed gradually until he was rutting into her, grinding his pelvic bone into her clit. The gasps and screams turned into drawn-out, longing moans; her hips followed his, meeting in a slow, sensual motion.
Loki was not a patient man. He withdrew - she gasped in protest - flipping the woman over on her fours with ease, taking but a split second to admire the curve of her body presented on display for him. Just for him.
With that thought burning in his mind, Loki sheathed his cock deeply inside her spasming cunt. It was nearly unbearably stimulating and only his own desire to prolong the bliss held back his own impending orgasm. That, and his own ego; he was naught if not a generous lover.
She slurred something, quiet and incorrigible, fucking back onto his cock as eagerly as he was plunging into her heat. The hand he'd placed on her shoulder promptly wrapped around her throat in hopes of lifting her close enough for him to hear the words but instead, it sent a full-bodied shiver throughout her. Loki grinned, tugging her that much closer.
The arch in her back looked quite uncomfortable yet she didn't mind; it was the exact opposite, in fact, her cunt tightened around him, drenching his shaft down to his balls. Her fingernails dug into the flesh of his thigh, the sting of pain going straight to his cock-
"Loki, I'm gonna, I'm gonna-" She slurred, gasping for air.
He weakened his hold on her throat enough to let her gulp the so-needed oxygen. It was her undoing: was it the rapid pace of oxygenated blood traveling to her brain or was it his cock, mercilessly pounding against her g-spot - she was violently spasming around his cock, much like she did around his fingers not too long ago.
It felt like ages, her crescendo coming in waves with no signs of stopping any time soon. Loki's continuous thrusts, his hips slamming into hers, her skin feeling like molten lava.
"Gonna fill your sweet cunt with my seed," Loki moaned lowly, holding her up by the throat, the other hand leaving fingertip-shaped bruises on the outside of her hips. "Mark you from the inside out," His voice had gone into primal territory, growling filling up the room.
"Please..." The woman rasped, oversensitive.
And he pleased, with a series of sharp thrusts, he buried himself to the hilt in her, the force of his release making her shudder and moan once against, going limp in his arms. Loki kept her in her place until every drop was inside of her cunt. Nothing was sweeter than that.
The Asgardian didn't bother with getting under the covers to hold her, conjuring a soft, comfortable throw in modest green, to cover their nudity. He didn't need the extra warmth but his companion was by far more fragile and sensitive to these things- Loki's fingertips traced the array of bruises he'd left in the wake of their passion, expression surprised as he found the woman smiling.
"Feels nice," She supplied meekly, eyes half-lidded, face trusting and open towards him.
He gave a small grin in return, placing a chaste kiss atop her head. "Yes, it does, darling."
Time after time, she didn't expect much out if their date. The sex was nice, nice enough for both of them to want seconds and thirds after their rushed first time - but it wasn't like she expected him to hand around. It was a pleasant change from the usual mutual ghosting she'd done with her previous partners, but Loki had texted again and they had resumed their conversation via text like nothing had happened.
No, that would be incorrect. Now, she had a wonderful friend who was a great conversationalist and an even better lover. There was no pressure to put a label on their relationship so the woman didn't bother with it; it didn't seem like Loki cared about the label, either, so she left the topic alone and enjoyed things the way they were. It wasn't like she had a line of suitors anyway.
She couldn't help the smile that creeped onto her face when she unlocked her phone and saw a video call request from other than Loki himself. She still had thirty minutes worth of lunch break to waste and this was a wonderful time to chat with a friend.
"Stark, hand it back or I swear to Norns-" Loki's voice sounded agitated and far away, accompanied by sounds of a struggle; the bearded, smug face on the screen was not who she expected at all. Only years of customer service and low bullshit tolerance combined stopped her from freaking out seeing none other than Tony Stark smirking at her from the screen of her phone.
"Yes?" She arched an eyebrow, taking note of the anger of Loki's tone.
"Hi, I don't think I need to introduce myself," Stark babbled, eyeing her - disheveled and with a wall full of sticky notes and miscellaneous items acting as the background to her video. "Reindeer games refused to show you to us so we decided to persuade him," Tony's grin grew wider, muted whispers being rapidly exchanged in the background all the while Loki screeched "BROTHER!" and various expletives at the top of his lungs.
"You could've, I dunno," She paused, unimpressed. "Asked me to dinner, like a normal person. Instead of stealing, you know, like a thief," The eyeroll that she performed had the team worried her eyes would fall out of their sockets.
"I merely borrowed his phone, don't be dramatic," Stark huffed, and for a moment, she could see various other people trying to look at the screen and by extension, at her. "So, what is it that you do? Because Smurf over there wouldn't..."
"Oops, bad signal. Sorry, can't hear you properly," Her side of the call suddenly shook and in a moment, she ended the call, not at all willing to deal with people that lacked boundaries. Sure, it might have been Iron Man, but if he was planning on being a snooping asshole, she wasn't gonna go down with that easily.
Exactly five minutes after she had clocked out, an incoming call from Loki had her equal parts excited and mortified. What if..? But he was apologetic. And very angry, swearing in his native language - something that he'd promised to teach her at some point.
"So, Clint did it?" She sipped her beverage, strolling home with the phone pressed snugly against her ear.
"Most of it was his fault, yes," Loki grouched on the other end of the call.
"I vote we get back at him. Invite me over, if he's so inclined to see me, and watch him get humiliated in front of everybody," It wasn't a secret she had her own mischievous tendencies.
"As much as I appreciate your vigour, darling, I doubt the Widow will appreciate you verbally castrating the Hawk in public," He replied sourly, his voice still betraying the faint notes of interest.
"I have a backup plan!" She stated without a hitch. "He'll embarrass himself and I'll be your alibi."
"I'm listening," Loki perked up immediately.
They decided to not to stall and schedule the 'family dinner', as Thor himself dubbed it, for the next available weekend. Loki had made sure Tony's AI had been made aware the trickster would be gone all day, and it took him very little magic and effort to pop in and out of the tower for the five minutes that were needed to execute their prank.
His friend barely managed to keep the snickering at bay as they ascended the elevator to the common floor where the dinner was being held. Not only that, but the woman spouted an area of dark purple love marks, barely obscured by the low turtleneck of her blouse.
She made her introductions and they made theirs. "This affair could use some background noise," She remarked off-handedly, casting a meaningful glance at the TV.
Tony Stark was known for being a great host so he entertained her wishes, flicking on the huge flat screen with a flick of his wrist.
The team froze.
"I... -" The woman stared at the screen, mouth hanging wide open at the scenes that played out. "... am not going to kinkshame, but please turn it off," She stated in a small voice, seemingly unable to tear her eyes away from the mass of tentacles commencing erotic assault on a woman's body.
Wordlessly, the TV shut down, immersing the room in stunned silence. Loki face-palmed, the slap of his palm against his face echoing in the eerily quiet room.
"Loki!" Captain America, red as a tomato, instantly accused the most obvious person.
Except, he had forgotten one thing. "Loki was with me all day," The woman replied, unkindly. "Do you need more proof?" She tugged on the hem of her turtleneck, exposing an inch of skin marked blue.
The good Captain's face changed the shade once again, venturing very well into beetroot territory. "Who was the last one to use the TV?" Rogers asked, now with a hint of anger, as he stared at a guffawing Bucky.
"I believe it was Mr. Barton," The AI piped up, mechanical voice sounding almost insinuating. Or, perhaps, it just appeared that way.
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silvertsundere · 8 months
Text
Silver Talks AniManga (10/09/23)
no zom next week cause it'll be a recap and post will be 1 day late since jump will be on monday instead of sunday 😠 anyway start of new serialization round this week so that's fun, all the artists are newbies so good luck to them surviving the trial by fire
blue - finale/completed green - new series/new to me
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Anime
Pokemon Horizons Ep21
it's funny how this worked out cause I called she was gonna catch hatenna before we even got the episode titles for this so great job myself. regardless it was a good ep, good to see riko get some spotlight and her finally catching a new mon too. some action next week with the baddies coming back so that should be nice
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Atelier Ryza Ep11
nice ep, it was nice to see ryza get to show off her big brain and get recognition from (most of) the village. considering where it's gonna end next week I won't be surprised at all if they announce a cour 2, I expect it to happen even, but we'll see soon enough I guess
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Zom 100 Ep7
nice ep, good to see that bastard get his comeupance cause seeing how he treated akira had me HEATED god. shizuka is very cute also, lots of good shots of her this ep. no ep next week cause it's gonna be a recap (oof) but hope that means 8 and 9 will be on time
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Manga
Tenmaku Cinema Ch21 (Finale)
it's really a shame tenmaku couldn't last longer while something like nue is gonna outlive it by a bit. I really liked it, only a 7 cause it got axed prematurely so it had to rush quite a bit but it was quite good regardless. tosh's art is as good as ever and you could really see tsukuda's love for movies and knowledge coming through. the only complaint I have is how fast the mom plot got resolved since it wasn't really set up beforehand but that's a result of it getting axed early. it's a shame the jp readers didn't like it but I'll be looking forward to this duo's next work. tenmaku is getting a special chap in some months (I assume it's gonna be them after the timeskip) and next year they're doing a one shot so that should be good
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MamaYuyu Ch1
new serialization round babey let's go. the only thing this author has done in the past was a one shot around this time last year but it wasn't related to this new series. the first chap was... alright. felt like a one shot really. it had some weird paneling but with some neat ideas for them a couple of times. the art's good for the most part but some of the chosen angles led to some goofy lookin faces. the monster design near the end was CRAZY tho. not really much more to say about it tho, the chap didn't set up that much. we know there's demon lords and heroes and that they've been fighting since forever but they've been at peace for 18 years now. curious to see where it's going from here since, well, they're at peace. is it gonna be isekai with the mc going to other worlds to help them? is his world gonna get invaded by more demons from other worlds? will it just be slice of life? who knows but we'll see how it goes in the next couple chaps
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Dandadan Ch120
figured this chap would be to wrap up the reiko plotline, and set up the next arc, but it was fun seeing her tease momo like this. cool to see the next big baddie is a human (looking) guy since it's just been monsters so far, he has a sword too so expecting some pog stuff
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Blue Box Ch116
nice chap, it's good to see taiki fired up and finally going all out against someone. it was also good seeing some progress on the ayame kyou romance cause I've been saying that was gonna happen for ages and there's been little crumbs before but today there was a really big one
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Martial Master Asumi Ch12
time's flying in mma and skipping right to the fight, all while hiding nito's super move, but it makes sense, no much point spending time in a "training arc" when nito has trained all his life. looking forward to the fight next week
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Cipher Academy Ch39
good chap, setting up the next arc and also giving us tayu's backstory and also saying that all this time she has been holding back which is very spooky. I'm also curious who iroha is gonna convince, my guess it's yosaimura since she said no right away but they have a really good relationship but we'll see. other guess is anonimity but I doubt it
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howlingday · 3 years
Note
nora the arc au) being in beacon two years early is one thing, it happens from time to time. but nora and jaune are officially not part of beacon but it's protectors lord and lady arc.
turns out nora's really good at being a queen of a castle. with her boundless energy and off the wall imagination she soon has the tower turning a profit due to her ideas on what she calls a food forest (nora: it's really simple jaune-jaune I made a forest that is 100% edible ... except the workers, don't eat the workers glynda might not let us borrow any more students if we do)
meanwhile jaune makes a simple rule known to the upper class of vale. you can insult him all you like, but say something about nora and he will end your entire noble house and laugh as your world crumbles around you.
... so things are going great for the new lord and lady protector of house arc (hope you have fun with evil jaune. letting the guy cut loose is always fun for me)
Meanwhile, in an Alternate Universe...
Jaune sat upon his throne, yawning as more bootlickers and doormats entered, seeking political support and favors, knowing full well his task was the protection of Beacon. Nothing more, nothing less. He eyed the crowd, noting their range from the very old to the very thin to the very lame. Each was a servant of another, sent to suck up for another's sake.
"Alright, people, you know the drill," Cardin Winchester shouted to the crowd, "line up in alphabetical order, and Lord Arc will see to your request." Jaune nodded for Cardin to step back. He didn't care for him at first, but after he proved himself a capable leader and a trustworthy ally, Jaune grew to respect the young man.
He almost pitied the rest of his team was assigned to his wife today.
The first was an elderly man speaking on behalf of some wealthy bank owner in Vale, asking for his support in funding their security. When Jaune asked where Beacon fit into this, the poor man didn't have an answer. Well, not an answer that satisfied him.
Next was a young man half his age. He was sent on behalf of his mother's bakery, asking for more time for the lady's Sunday order. When asked why, the boy responded his sister fell ill. When asked how the boy arrived, he replied he had to sneak onto the back of a carriage. He noticed one of the sycophants in the back grousing something along the lines of, 'I knew it!' Jaune waved the boy closer and hand handed the boy a small pouch of Lien. He then told him to find the Lady of the Tower, possibly in the Garden. The boy ran off, his face alight.
Jaune's smile lasted a whole ten seconds until the next servant came forward and opened his trap. Why did he have to conduct business after lunch?
The Garden was a vast forest tended to by the Lady of the Tower, Nora Arc. She was, in a manner of speaking, an eccentric woman. She suggested creating a hybrid of Forever Fall's sap trees crossed with Mistralian sweetbark trees.
After two months of research, the first row was planted, and the following summer, Forever Sweet sap was made into candies and used as ingredients in Vale's countless bakeries.
Nora smelled the spring flowers as she laid against her favorite tree. Russell, Dove, and Lark sat nearby, playing cards. Russell was winning, resulting in Dove and Lark to gang up on him. When Dove or Lark won, they were assumed to be cheating as well, and thus a new truce would be born of the betrayal. Nora didn't care, so long as she wasn't disturbed.
"Hey!" Lark called out. Nora opened an eye and saw a little boy running to her. Lark leveled his weapon. "Halt!"
"Put that thing down, Lunk!" Nora chided. "He's just a boy."
As Lark lowered his weapon with a blush, the boy stopped in front of Nora. "M'Lady," the boy squealed, "I 'ave ba' news fo' ya."
"Oh, why do the cute ones always bring bad news?"
"My sista' too' ill, an' we won' ma' thi' Sun'ay su'uh!"
"Hm, that is bad news." Nora hummed in thought, before snapping her finger. "Did my husband send you?" The boy nodded, and held up a small pouch. Nora cooed. "Oh, he's always so good with children. He's so kind and sweet." Nora stood up, and extended her hand. "Come with me; we'll help you get home, right, boys?" The three murmured in hesitant agreement. "I'll make you a deal: you go home and help your mommy take care of your sister, and I'll only ask for twice my usual sweets next Sunday, and then you can have the next Sunday off."
The boy took her hand. "Thank'u, m'lady! You're too kin'!"
"No, my husband is the one who's too kind. Why, I doubt he could harm a living soul if he tried. That is the man I married; the Lord of the Watchtower, Jaune Arc the Kind!"
Blood dripped down Jaune's elbow as he held the beaten man by his jaw. People were frightened, screams muffled by others who knew well to not escalate the situation further. Cardin stood close, eyeing the crowd for any further agression.
Jaune breathed to calm himself. Even he prayed this would work to soothe himself. He looked at the man again; he was a faunus, with black rabbit ears. On the ground was the knife he held, untouched by blood. Based on the broken mask on his face, the man was a member of the White Fang.
"Who sent you?" Jaune asked.
"Y-Your mother." Jaune sighed. He shifted his hands, freeing his right and using his left to grab the man's collar. Jaune raised his fist.
"Who are you?"
"We are the price of the Faunus Wars." Jaune gritted his teeth. He struck him once with his right, striking his cheek. The man spit out teeth.
"The Faunus Wars ended over a century ago. I want a name!"
"Nora Valkyrie." Jaune froze. Cardin froze. Everyone froze with bated breath. Anyone who knew Lord Jaune Arc knew a statement using his wife's name ended one of two ways.
Jaune loosed a breath. "I said-"
A raspy chuckle interrupted him. "She's such a good, little whore, ain't-"
Nora returned to the throne room from the stables, where she saw off the boy and his two bodyguards. She was accompanied by the remaining Russell, who quickly reunited with his team leader.
Cardin's armored breastplate was caked in blood. He also had a black eye, with a bruise on his accompanying cheek. He waved it off as if it were nothing.
The guests of the court left, business concluded for the day. Quite early as well. Jaune sat slumped in his chair.
"Jaune?" Nora inquired. "Are you okay?"
Jaune waved at the issue with his bloodied hand. His chest-plate and entire torso was more blood than garment. There were servants scrubbing blood around him.
"What happened?" Nora drew closer.
"It's nothing to worry about, Nora, I-"
A slap thundered in the throne room. All eyes fell on the Lord and Lady of the Tower. The Lord in question had a red-mark on his face, and his head was turned as though struck by a hammer. The Lady stood over him, arm extended as she huffed. She then grabbed him by his collar.
"What?!" She roared in his face, hers red as a tomato. "Happened?!"
"I killed a man, my Lady."
"Why?!" Her husband did not answer. She turned to Cardin. "Winchester! Who died?! Who was this man?!"
Cardin gulped before speaking. "We didn't know his name, but he was a White Fang assassin. He attacked Lord Arc."
"So you killed a man, a Faunus no less, because you were about to be assassinated?" Nora turned her frustration back to her husband. "Or am I missing something?"
"He insulted you." Nora dropped him.
"Everyone out of the throne room!" She screeched. Everyone slowly made their way out. "Now!"
The throne room was empty in record time. Nora huffed, facing away from Jaune. "So, what now?" Jaune didn't respond. Nora turned to him again. "Well?"
"I don't know." Jaune replied. "Someone tried to kill me. Used your name to provoke me. I just don't understand why."
"Yes, you do." Nora said. She stepped forward, and sat on her husband's lap. She stroked his hair, and spoke softly. "Who attacked you?"
"The White Fang." Jaune replied. He held her close and inhaled her scent. "Those terrorists never liked humans, but they usually leave us alone. Why now, and why just one man?"
Nora brought his head up and kissed his forehead. "You know why." She trailed down. "What makes him different from everyone else?"
"He was a Faunus." Jaune replied, kissing her lips. He pressed himself further in, roaming her body with his hands. "People won't see a murder, they'll see a hate crime."
"Exactly." Nora pulled from the kiss to chew on his lower lip. She stopped and started panting. "And who has the most to lose from this?" Jaune opened his mouth, but Nora put a finger to his lips. "Shh... Not here. We'll continue this upstairs. For now..." Nora stood up and straightened herself. "Guards!" Guards arrived posthaste. "Send word to Beacon, The Watchtower will be closed to the public. Especially the Faunus." The guards were hesitant until Nora waved them away.
"Actively banning Faunus?" Jaune asked. "Is that wise?"
"You didn't stop me, did you?"
"No." Jaune replied. "No, I didn't. If the White Fang was to wage war against us, then we'll give them a war." Jaune rose from his throne. "But first," he grabbed his wife from behind and sucked upon her neck, "I need you to stop clouding my mind."
Nora stepped away, leading Jaune upstairs with a giggle. "Then come upstairs, my Lord, so we can clear your mind."
Russell and Cardin sat outside the Tower. "So, uh," Russell began, "are we waiting for the other two?"
Cardin nodded. "And for this to heal." He pointed to his eye, with was less bruised. "I'm not getting Lord Arc in more trouble than he already is."
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charming-2d-boys · 3 years
Note
do you write for knuckle by any chance 🥺🥺 maybe like how he would ask you out or what dating him would be like if u do this expect more knuckle bine requests luv heheheh
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Honestly, he's slowly growing on me, especially after I just finished reading the CA Arc! He's adorable, along with Shoot, Morel and Knov 😍
And yes, please, I'd love that! I have a feeling I'm gonna like him a lot 😂
Thank you for the first request for Knuckle here and I hope I did him justice! 🙇
A/N: put those two together because they were similar. Hope it’s okay.
Warning: long and a little NSFW-ish
Taglist: @undercanonthots
Knuckle, despite his appearance, is an adorkable softie
the two of you met when you were walking a friend’s dog in the local park
they were extremely busy during that week and you felt bad, knowing that their dog wouldn’t like to be left alone at home for so long
so you offered to walk their dog
this also gave you the opportunity to go out a bit more often after being cooped up because of your own assignments
well, the dog didn’t really appear very strong and you got along well
at least, that's what you thought before you were snapped awake as the loose grip you had on the leash suddenly disappeared
and the dog ran
you only blinked once before running after it, occasionally yelling its name
you didn't even know where you were going
but by the time you caught up with it, you were away from the park and in a nearby market
there were all sorts of people walking about and the dog was wagging its tail and looking around, as if searching for something
this time, your grip on the leash was tight as you followed, curious as to where you were going
soon, you found yourself face to face with a guy while the dog looked as if he'd found a treasure
he looked... intimidating
or maybe he was pissed off
his clothes and hairstyle reminded you of an old-school bully or delinquent
you apologised for the disturbance and tried to pull the dog away, but it wouldn't budge
it just kept staring at the man, wagging its tail and looking happy and satisfied, almost as if awaiting praise
It's okay...
was he blushing?
he wouldn't look you in the eyes as he pet the dog on its head
if the tail wagging and happiness the dog exuded weren't enough, you felt your stomach flutter when it licked his face, making him laugh aloud
he had a really nice smile for someone who appeared so intimidating
Is it yours?
No, a friend’s. They’re busy, so I offered to walk them instead.
Knuckle thought that you were too good to be true: you were cute, kind and seemed to love animals as well
plus, you had a really nice smile
you chatted for a while and exchanged names before agreeing to meet again the next day
this proposition came especially after you had to leave due to how late it had become
and the moment you and Knuckle exchanged goodbyes and you tugged on the dog’s leash, it started whining loudly and started pulling you towards him again
it seemed like Knuckle had made a very good impression
Don’t worry, we’ll see each other again, okay?
How about tomorrow then?
Knuckle’s smile and slightly flushed cheeks made you smile back
he accepted and that’s how you found yourself meeting again
and again
and again
you’d even hung out with him and his master, Morel, at one point, when you were shopping and coincidentally met
he was a really fun guy to be around and surprisingly cute and kind, both to people and animals
it wasn’t surprising how easy it was to develop a crush on Knuckle
and apparently, he felt the same way
and you were so close to asking him out when your relationship didn’t seem to move forward
but Knuckle surprised you yet again by asking you out, cheeks red but with a wide smile on his face
that got even wider when you accepted
in a relationship, Knuckle is just as sweet and kind as before
the only difference is that now he can be affectionate and romantic as well
he’s pretty much kissing and worshipping the ground you’re walking on
swears that just one smile from you can make his whole day better and brighter
Knuckle loves hugging you so much
even in public, he always has an arm around your waist, keeping you close and making you feel safe
well, the way he looks at everyone - as if anything even remotely threatening would get its head bitten off - makes people get out of your way without anything much but a gulp and a confused stare
Knuckle looks intimidating while you talk animatedly about the cat you saw the other day
and then he just turns towards you and smiles as he asks for more details and even photos
it’s something that leaves people a little bewildered
likes taking you pretty much everywhere
it doesn’t even matter if it was your idea, his or someone’s recommendation
he wants to see places and experience things with you
he’s also okay with dates spent inside, whether at your place or his
he pretty much sucks at video games
and you beat him even at the games you suck at playing
but Knuckle doesn’t want you to let him win
he wants to win fair and square
though if you kiss him after another loss, to him, it counts as a victory
usually has you in his lap, playing together
and believe me, he doesn’t really mean to do this
but sometimes, he just puts his face into your neck, either inhaling your scent or kissing your skin softly
he’s not trying to distract you or anything
but he just loves having you in his arms
but he cooks so well
you’re going to feel as if you’re at a high class restaurant
especially when it’s your birthday or you’re celebrating anniversaries
loves doing domestic things with you: groceries, laundry, cleaning, even making the bed together
it’s always fun being around Knuckle
and even when it comes to the other sort of fun... it’s still fun
just so you know, Knuckle cares a lot about your comfort and consent
even having your first kiss took you almost 3 months - he was nervous, okay? He felt like he would combust whenever he looked at your lips and thought about what it would feel like to kiss them
so it’s no surprise that sleeping together takes quite a while as well
Knuckle just wants to be sure that you’re both okay and ready for this
he wants sex to be another way of showing how much you love each other
he’s pretty vanilla, mostly because he likes treating you like royalty
rough... doesn’t really exist in this category of your relationship
he’s going to be more passionate, but not rough
he couldn’t bear the thought of hurting you in any way
but he praises you so much and so often
both verbally and physically
even if he blushes - and sometimes feels like crying because of how intense his feelings for you are
definitely cried once or twice, even if Knuckle denied it
while wiping his tears
he’s pretty much all about your pleasure
but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t appreciate when you return the favour
he loves kissing you all over
and if you’re ever insecure about your appearance...
oho, get ready
long rant while his hands and lips move over every inch of your skin
you’ll definitely feel a lot better by the end of it
and aftercare?
Knuckle is one of the best
always ready, always helpful
secretly proud of how good he makes you feel
and cuddles you to sleep
one of his favourite things to do is keep you in his arms, glued to him and kissing wherever his lips can reach
Knuckle is whipped, that’s for sure
but it’s you, so it’s okay
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calmturquoise · 3 years
Text
Lighten Up
My Squealing Santa fic for @artymiswritesfics! I love Sokka and Zuko and while I think this reads more gen, I think it could easily be pre-relationship. I hope you like it, and happy holidays! <3
ATLA, Sokka&Zuko. Words: 1,100
“This is ridiculous,” Zuko muttered, placing his palms flat on the floor behind him as he leaned back to look up at Sokka, who was examining the small slip of paper in his hand. “You can’t play charades with two people.”
“Sure you can!” Sokka insisted. “It’s fun, and you, Mr-New-Firelord, need to have more fun. Besides, Aang and Katara are busy, and when I asked Toph to play with us, she said no! Can you believe her?”
“Wow. Toph turned down the chance to play charades?” Zuko deadpanned. “If only we could think of another sight-based game to insult her with.”
“I- you- shut up,” Sokka retorted, flushing slightly. He crumpled up the paper in his hand and shoved it into his pocket, looking determined. “You’ll have ten seconds to guess this one.”
Zuko watched with amusement as Sokka scrunched up his nose and squinted, then held up his hands formed into claws, pawing at the air in front of him. “Badgermole?”
Sokka dropped the pose and beamed at him. “See, that wasn’t so bad! Now it’s your turn.” He flung himself down on the ground next to Zuko, pushing at his side until Zuko huffed and got to his feet, snatching a folded piece of paper from the pile on the floor. “Do me proud.”
Zuko rolled his eyes and unfolded the piece of paper. He frowned down at it for a moment before putting the paper aside, then placing his arms by his sides and beginning to flap them.
“Uh, giant fly! Ant fly! Bumble fly!” Sokka exclaimed. Seeing the scowl growing on Zuko’s face he guessed, “Dragonfly? Eagle hawk? Cat owl?” Zuko’s scowling intensified as he began to move his feet, shuffling around in an arc. “Dragon? Phoenix? Oh, I know, you’re a viper bat!”
“Dragons and phoenixes don’t move like that!” Zuko snapped, crossing his arms over his chest as he drew to a halt. “And that was at least ten seconds.”
“Well, what were you?” Sokka asked, flummoxed.
“An otter penguin!”
Sokka stared in dismay. “Have you ever seen an otter penguin?”
“… no.”
“Why didn’t you try- I don’t know- swimming!” Sokka exclaimed, waving his arms in the air in an effort to convey his frustration. “Waddling? Why did it look like you were flying? They’re flightless!”
“I was waving my flippers!”
“Otter penguins have four flippers!”
“WELL I ONLY HAVE TWO ARMS!”
Sokka blinked, staring at Zuko as his cheeks flushed in embarrassment. “You know what? We’ll call that round a trial,” Sokka said consolingly, gesturing for Zuko to sit as he grabbed another paper. “Let’s try again.”
“I guess it’d be too much to ask that we could stop playing?” Zuko muttered. Sokka graciously ignored him, studying the words on the paper before tossing it to the side.
“Alright, ten seconds to guess this one!” Sokka said. Zuko watched in bemusement as the other teen placed his hands together, forming a sort of cup shape and beginning to wiggle his fingers. Then he lunged forward, making Zuko jolt back in surprise as Sokka’s wriggling fingers closed around his elbow.
“What are you d-“ Zuko broke off with a squeak when Sokka’s fingers pinched at a particularly sensitive area. Jerking his elbow away he cleared his throat. “What are you doing?”
“What am I?” Sokka asked, a bright grin on his face as he shoved his handful of wiggling tentacle-like fingers in Zuko’s face. Zuko barely resisted swatting them away.
“An… elbow leech?”
“There, you got it!” Sokka congratulated him, clapping him on the back as he handed Zuko another paper. “At least you’re good at guessing. Okay, let’s see this next one. Just try your best!”
Zuko glowered at him, then turned his frown onto the paper in his hand. To Sokka’s barely-contained amusement, Zuko slowly lifted his hands and placed them behind his head, flipping his fingers down in the shape of floppy ears. Then he bent his knees, and did a single hop.
Unable to help himself, Sokka burst out laughing. Zuko’s scowl deepened as he watched his friend rolling around on the floor, howling with laughter. “Come on, that one was obvious!”
“You’re just- you’re so- so bad at this!” Sokka hiccupped, wiping at his eyes as he sat up. “Was that supposed to be a hopping llama?”
“Yes!”
“Okay, first of all, you should’ve hopped at least five or six times,” Sokka said as Zuko flung himself down on the floor beside the other teen, looking disgruntled. “Second of all, you need to lighten up, dude. How am I supposed to guess what you are when you’re scowling the whole time?”
“I don’t need to lighten up, and I’m not scowli-ah!” Zuko jumped as Sokka’s fingers skittered across his side. He shot Sokka a glare, which the other teen returned with an all-too-knowing grin.
“You’re not ticklish, are you? Mr tough, grumpy firebender?”
Zukko gaped at Sokka before beginning to splutter. “Of course I’m nahahahaha, stohohop that!”
“What, this?” Sokka asked, grasping the hem of Zuko’s shirt and sliding his hands underneath to tickle Zuko’s bare stomach. “Wow, you’re really ticklish, aren’t you?”
“Nohohohoho, I’m nohohohot!” Zuko protested, well aware of the futility of his denials. He squirmed, not quite ready to push Sokka away but unable to hold back the growing need to escape the torment Sokka was unleashing on his belly. “Thahahahat doesn’t t-tihihihickle at all!”
“You tell yourself that, buddy,” Sokka said, looking more and more amused as his wandering hands made their way futher up Zuko’s shirt. With a yelp, Zuko collapsed onto the floor and broke into hysterical laughter as Sokka’s fingers wiggled over his ribs.
“Fihihine, that tihihihickles!”
“I didn’t expect you to admit it so quickly,” Sokka mused. “I guess your ribs are really, really ticklish.” The speed of his fingers wriggling on top of Zuko’s skin slowed, allowing Zuko’s laughter to trail off into hiccupping giggles.
“Is that your worst spot, or do you have others?” Sokka asked. His hands slid to the sides of Zuko’s ribs, then inched up a bit more so he could poke at Zuko’s armpits. Zuko squeaked and jerked back, forcing Sokka to pull his hands free of Zuko’s shirt as Zuko curled up into a ball on the floor.
“That’s it, no more tickling,” Zuko said, his voice muffled from how he was covering his face, though Sokka still caught the blush that was spreading over Zuko’s cheeks.
“I guess I’ll save the rest for later, then.” Sokka said cheerfully, leaning back just in time to avoid the half-hearted punch that Zuko threw in his direction.
“Don’t you dare,” Zuko muttered. “I bet you’re ticklish too.”
“Maayybe,” Sokka sing-songed teasingly. “But I bet you can’t find out where.”
He jumped to his feet and darted towards the door as Zuko rolled into a standing position. “Yes I can!”
“Only if you catch me!” Sokka called over his shoulder as he sprinted down the hallway, the grin on his face widening as Zuko took off behind him. It was nice to see the guy having some fun for a change.
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chidoroki · 3 years
Text
..You already know what I’m gonna ramble on about, right? What’s got us manga readers feeling a little bit like this? Yeah.. I have words.
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Yes, I’ll be chatting about possible future spoilers, so scroll past now if you wish, but if you frequently check the usual tpn tags anywhere today (or over the next few days), I’m sure you’ve become quite familiar with this guy already, so.. here we go.
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Let me start off by saying that I was beyond excited when we first found out we were getting a second season to this series. Having read the manga, I had high hopes that the anime would do so well, given the first couple arcs that follow the escape from Grace Field. From the very beginning, most of us figured it would touch upon the demon forest, the B06-32 shelter, Goldy Pond and quite possibly Cuvitidala. Of course, that was before we learned that this season had an episode count of 11 and would include some anime-only scenes, so we started to have some doubts. The new opening threw us through a loop as well, as a bunch of us speculated exactly how much this season was going to cover in terms of story and what chapter it would end off on. I was still a bit skeptical, but I put some belief in thinking we might be able to at least reach Goldy Pond. The more I thought about how many chapters this season could adapt, I remembered that Fire Force (another shonen series that has its fair share between action scenes alongside some calm, lighthearted ones) managed to fit 90 chapters into it’s first season, which was a total 24eps. I then thought it was possible for TPN’s second season to reach ch96, or maybe even ch101, since the total ep count for both s1&s2 would be 23. The upcoming arcs (GP especially) are undoubtedly more fast paced than the entire first season, which was very dialogue heavy, so naturally these action scenes would take up less time and require fewer episodes to show off. I won’t bash the second season for leaving certain scenes out and/or changing them (as the first season did this as well, albeit less noticeable), but the obvious ones come to mind. The full snakes of alvapinera scene? It was good to see the escapees overcome their first outside world obstacle on their own, sure, but overall it isn’t too important. Isabella’s scene at the gate with Grandma Sarah? Disappointing yes, but I figured they could always include that sometime later in a future episode.. at least, that’s what I’m hoping for. I can forgive the anime for those changes at the moment.. but after what episode 3 decided to pull? Oh no.. now they’ve done it!
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I’m sorry.. but who exactly thought this change was a good idea? The anime-onlys must think we’re going crazy right now but c’mon, CLOVERWORKS! Are y’all for real right now?? Yeah they never even announced his voice actor beforehand like they did with Sonju & Mujika before their debut, but damn it! Also, don’t take my word for this, as I only just heard and not completely sure about the credibility, but apparently after ep4, the rest of the season will be like.. original? And I’m not sure how to feel about that if it’s true? I’ll take whatever content we get because yes, I love this series to pieces and want it to last as long as possible, but after waiting almost a full two years to see these wonderful kids animated again.. I just wanna continue on with the story we all know and love, darn it. I know Shirai is overlooking this season and giving his approval or whatever too, so that’s comforting at least.. but still, I just wish we knew this a little sooner, rather than have us find out this way by cutting out one of the most anticipated characters of this entire series! (for the time being anyways.)
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Yeah we didn’t see him this episode, but he’s around.. somewhere. No one else is around to write on the walls like that, let alone get into the shelter without a pen. (i also noticed it doesn’t say “poachers” anywhere, so that’s a bit odd too..)
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I just hope that whenever our man does show up, whether it be this season or not, that it follows the manga because his introduction is fantastic and his interactions with the kids are so amusing. Honestly, he’s too important to cut out entirely. The same goes for the Goldy Pond arc, which I saw some others worried about too. It’s at Goldy Pond (ch73) where Emma and another man, who we’re also anxious to meet, both find out about how to cross over to the human world via the four premium farms, the supporters, and project lambda7214.
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I also saw some people concerned about Mujika’s goodbye to Emma this episode and how upon giving her the necklace, our demon friend didn’t hint at The Seven Walls at all, which is why Goldy Pond suddenly becomes that more important for us to see because it’s also there where the place is mentioned, not only by the many secret files from the pen’s cap, but from Minvera himself (ch72).
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Come on now, Goldy Pond arc also does wonder for Emma’s character and appearance. It’s here where we see just how serious she is about changing the world and saving everyone she possibly can. Even if she has to fight crazy, killing poachers, she’ll do it. (also one of those poachers becomes very helpful much later in the story, so there, yet another reason we can’t skip this arc.) Though this all gets me wondering if GP will still get blown up on Jan 29th.. oh season two, you raise so many questions.
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Now, could this season completely change some of those scenes even further? Of course, they’ve already done so with other bits of information. Ray figuring out the demon’s weakness in ch62 during the trip to Goldy Pond? Sonju already explained it.
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The letter from Minvera that we learn about in ch56 which was originally hidden in one of the manuscripts from the shelter’s archive room? Conveniently pinned to the wall in plain sight!
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I didn’t notice this when I first watched the episode but remembered just now while skimming through the manga yet again, but the episode didn’t have Gilda list off the coordinates to Goldy Pond that Minerva noted in his letter.
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So how will the duo find their way there? Well, you already know.. and since GP is such an important arc, that’s another reason I believe our beloved man will show up.... eventually.
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Going back to the changes now, but it’s Dominic who reveals the secret room behind the piano instead of our favorite father figure.
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Although this room, which is supposed to be a full stocked armory, is completely bare..
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Like.. hello? Where are all the weapons?? Are they gonna make these kids go out and raid a bunch of the other fake/dummy shelters for weapons or something? which.. actually sounds interesting and fun now that I think about it.
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I also noticed that the conversation about the mass-production farms Sonju mentioned back in ch50 was also cut, but I can see the anime easily adapting it into a future episode somewhere, since said farms are mentioned again in ch56, courtesy of the shelter’s many books.
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For now it just seems.. I don’t know, a bit easier? like I recently spoke about how Ray had to figure out how the pen worked in terms of coordinates and yet the anime just had the pen show a simple map, then Sonju flat out told them how to efficiently kill a demon, and the phone that allows them to contact the supporters? Oh, they found that instantly, whereas geezer had no idea such a room even existed in those 13 years he lived at the shelter..
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Have I spoke too much by now? Probably. None of the changes bother me too much, aside from the geezer’s obvious absence, but I’m still looking forward to the rest of this season, as I’m sure it’ll give more spotlight to some of the other kids aside from Emma and Ray. Season one just did so well with sticking to the manga that I guess we all got caught way off guard, huh?
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mianmiansimp · 3 years
Text
mdzs au: the one with wen xu (pt 1)
>>wwx has his bisexual epiphany much sooner in life bc Reasons
>>so when he starts crushing on lwj Immediately at cr, he knows it too
>>anyway: sometime pre-cloud recesses, wx and wwx cross paths and wwx is being his usual mischievous self
>>he's very dramatic and flirty and running around on roofs
>>wx is like Hey You're Cute but doesn't catch his name
>>wwx is oblivious so he didn't know who wx was lol
>>they cross paths a few more times
>>wwx just knows wx as 'that one gongzi i see sometimes'
>>then cr happens and they meet again when wwx is heading back to cr with his alcohol
>>wx is like my how charming
>>the next morning the wens show up and wc pisses everyone off
>>and then wwx is telling him off and wc gets pissed and tries to fight wwx while also insulting his status
>>and jc is like EXCUSE YOU and draws his sword bc i'm a sucker for protective jc and will throw in as much yunmeng shuangjie as i want
>>but then wx shows up and tells off wc (bc of wwx) and tells everyone to calm down
>>wx learns wwx's name, wwx learns who 'that one gongzi i see sometimes' is, only one of them is happy with the revelation
>>wx is being weird and oily to everyone and the lans begrudgingly accept the 'apology'
>>wx is publicly weird to wwx, wwx is publicly uncomfy, jc is publicly offended and pissed and defensive and also has an inkling of where wx's head is at
>>cue jc aggressively glaring at wens and shielding wwx from them
>>nhs, who's more aware of what's happening than anyone else bc nhs, helps
>>doesn't stop wwx from adopting wn as a bestie but wn is a kitten so it's ok
>>cr arc is largely the same, wangxian shenanigans, yunmeng shuangjie shenanigans, alcohol shenanigans, you know the drill
>>except for two major things
>>one - wwx has been crushing on lwj since day one but he Knows it
>>and he gets sad sometimes when lwj rejects him
>>so jc is not only angry at the wens but he's angry at lwj's audacity too
>>lwj, who hasn't a clue about anything:
>>two - wx sometimes shows up randomly to 'check up'
>>he isn't, he just drops by to make wwx uncomfy via unsolicited gifts and flirting
>>jc usually passive aggressively intervenes
>>or nhs makes some excuse that is usually 'jc wants to see you'
>>there's an incident during a wx visit where wwx panics bc he really doesn't want to deal with him
>>and essentially bolts from the vicinity and runs right into lwj
>>lwj almost starts telling off wwx but he sees quite clearly that wwx is Not Ok
>>and then they hear wx approaching and wwx basically begs lwj to Get Him Out
>>lwj dislikes wx far more than he dislikes acknowledging his affections for wwx
>>so they quickly run into and hide in a room
>>cue bonding moment where lwj and wwx have a Talk and lwj says they're friends for the first time
>>and then immediately goes silent bc wwx is looking at him with complete adoration and he has to force himself not to kiss him lol
>>this is also the point where lwj has it confirmed that wwx very much does not like wx's presence
>>which is how lwj joins the defend wwx against wx's advances club
>>jc isn't happy about it bc wwx is mooning for lwj still but he lets it slide
>>wn actually joined the club accidentally and discretely
>>jc's like why couldn't wwx get This wen to crush on him i like him so much better???
>>lwj vinegar moment + flustered wn who just thinks wwx is really cool and nice
>>wq catches wind of what's going on and is worried about wn's involvement
>>but also greatly dislikes wx and doesn't want some random innocent boy to suffer
>>which is how she too accidentally joins the club
>>mianmian joins too but loudly bc she's friends with wwx and lwj and also wx sucks
>>jzx is friends with mianmian so he gets dragged in
>>and he might be an arrogant prat atm but he's not a bad guy and wx's behavior is very despicable
>>jzx has some um Revelations about himself and his family
>>and accidentally becomes an honorary member of the club
>>they're all kinda friends now, it truly sucks, thinks jzx with a small smile
>>xuanli engagement is not broken/salvaged much earlier on bc of this whole
thing
>>anyway that's how all the major sects' youth became so closely entwined
>>lqr was very proud that his lectures enacted firm inter sect relationships
>>lxc is just egging on wangxian while also becoming an honorary member of the club
>>waterborne abyss and stuff still happens
>>jc is even angrier at the wens and straight up completely hides wwx the next time wx comes around so he doesn't even catch a glimpse
>>wx is not happy, especially when lwj is silently passive aggressive the whole time
>>cr study ends, there's this whole lingering wangxian moment when they say their goodbyes
>>wwx and lwj are close now but also lwj can sort of admit it instead of shoving it under years of repression and gay panic
>>lwj agrees to visit at lotus pier and wwx looks so enamored that jc gags and drags him away
>>mianmian snickers and pokes lwj in jest, who actually pokes her back
>>lxc is so proud, his brother has Friends
>>wx is a bit more careful around lotus pier, but he does visit once
>>jfm greets him and is very polite but yzy is very blunt and pissed
>>jc upon getting home had immediately spilled all the info on the wx thing
>>yzy doesn't like wwx but she hates the main wen and wx was being vv disrespectful
>>so she kinda tells wx that wwx isn't here (not a lie, he's on a nighthunt) and that he can go jump a cliff now thanks
>>wx is rather irritated when he leaves
>>comes back again on a later date, but this is the day that the cr friends are all hanging out
>>which isn't really an issue bc wwx is a social butterfly, it's part of what wx likes about him, obviously he has friends
>>but he sees the way wwx looks at lwj, and happens upon a moment where they're alone
>>he is Not Happy
>>in the meanwhile the cr friends are all chilling together and making fun of jzx flustering around jyl and eating lotus pods and whatever
>>yzy for once is like not overcome with irrational rage at wwx's presence bc he did something right for once in her eyes
>>so wwx gets some peace of mind at lotus pier
>>madam jin is also very delighted at the xuanli progress and approves wwx for enacting it
>>no one outside of jiangs + cr know why exactly xuanli are doing so well
>>so madam jin assumes wwx just kinda did some wingman stuff and doesn't know about the wx thing
>>anyway, wangxian is progressing quite nicely, and jc is all the more miserable for it
>>jzx kinda doesn't care lol, the rest of the club are delighted by the entertainment, yzy is further not angry at wwx bc wangxian engagement = lan-jiang alliance = advantageous
>>fast forward and we're at the discussion conference
>>jc is scowlier than usual and is literally holding wwx's hand the whole time
>>and wwx is like bro ty and ily but also this is a bit much
>>jc eventually lets go of his hand but he is never more than a few inches away from wwx's side
>>the state of wangxian at this time means we have wangxian blatantly and publicly mooning and everyone's like :eyes:
>>wx is not happy, shows up and immediately starts seeking out wwx, everyone is uncomfy
>>jc at one point grabs wwx and shoves him into the middle of all the jiang disciples
>>kinda doing that zebra camouflage thing but with jiang disciples lol
>>whenever it looks like wx is gonna ask him about wwx he crosses his arms and scowls severely
>>wx takes his seat very unhappily and the discussion conference proceeds as normal ig
>>but the friends are all taking part in the hunt together
>>wwx and lwj have a lil competition for who snags the most shots
>>lots of flirting during the competition, much to jzx and jc's chagrin
>>wn is just :pleading_face: the whole time but he does excellently and gives everyone a run for their money
>>the wc thing goes a lil differently in that wc is more incensed about wwx's existence bc he knows wx likes wwx
>>targets wwx, it backfired bc of lwj, wc leaves in a huff
>>lwj closely attaches himself to wwx after that, jc is pissed bc that's 2 wens who are making problems about wwx
>>the ribbon incident goes a lil differently
>>it happens after the competition, in front of all the sects
>>wx basically
goes oh your ribbon is crooked and fixes it gently and smiles at lwj and lwj says nothing, just quietly nods and thanks him
>>lqr approaches qi deviation, the sects are shocked, wwx is oblivious, lwj is smug, lxc and the friends are all metaphorically eating popcorn, wx is mad, wrh doesn't care, wq is worried bc wx
>>wx actually corners wwx at one point during a banquet when wwx's alone
>>interestingly, it's jzx who steps in to save the day
>>wwx doesn't need saving tbh but there's sociopolitics to consider + he's a lil scared of wx's persistence tbh
>>and he has a crisis bc on the one hand wwx can just run his mouth and hope for the best except he realizes that wx Likes when he runs his mouth
>>so yea jzx steps in and says something about jyl and wwx is like ahaha duty calls again and yeets
>>jzx just says compliments about jyl as they walk back to the jiang under the pretense of wanting to discuss the engagement
>>wwx reluctantly decides he's ok
>>the jiang keep a firm grip on wwx for the rest of the conference after that
>>jyl uses the shijie card to her advantage to get away with dragging wwx with her everywhere
>>the conference ends and wwx is relieved
>>oh btw wwx placed first by a small margin, lwj and wn following, then jc and jzx tied
>>so the sects are leaving and ofc wwx has to say goodbye to lwj
>>and lwj is like what is your request bc you won
>>and wwx is almost like kiss me but then he Doesn't ok
>>so instead wwx is like lemme think of something interesting :wink: to cover his pining
>>and lwj says mn and Smiles at him and wwx melts on the spot
>>wx catches the interaction and is very unhappy
>>fast forward to the burning of cr
>>there's a reason why wx did it personally, and targeted lwj especially
>>fast forward a bit again, wwx is a lil mopey bc his letter from lwj should've come a few days ago
>>they're pining pen pals bc ofc they are smh :rolling_eyes:
>>at this point, news of cr's destruction hasn't spread to lotus pier yet
>>jc is annoyed and yeets him into the lake and makes him swim off the pining
>>cue yunmeng jiang lake shenanigans
>>and then mf wx shows up to personally deliver the invitation to the wen indoctrination
>>jfm and yzy simply Do Not acknowledge wwx's existence at lotus pier in front of him
>>it's a very tense but quick conversation
>>and then wx leaves and hears wwx and heads in the direction of the latter's voice
>>he gets to the lake to see the jiang disciple swimming in the lake, but no wwx
>>bc jyl knew he had come and quickly run over to the lake to warn and hide wwx
>>jc perched himself on a roof to watch wx and let them know when he was gone
>>that meal they had in cql? yea it goes differently this time around
>>it's mostly yzy hissing at the wens and also having a conundrum over whether or not wwx should go
>>jc votes no, wwx votes shut up jc i'm coming with you
>>jfm concedes, jc is irate, wwx and jc go to the indoctrination
>>but jc makes wwx promise to not ever leave his side
>>and wwx is like that's kinda the whole point?? but ok
>>and then ofc that whole opening scene at nightless city happens
>>what with them standing around and then bam an injured lwj
>>ft the cr friends being all fhkjhkjsghk (/neg) internally
>>except wwx, he's very open about his concern
>>wc shows up, spends half the time glaring at wwx
>>he was supposed to be make it hell for lwj
>>but quite frankly he'd be happy if lwj snatched wwx
>>he very much dislikes his brother's infatuation with wwx
>>so yea it's roughly the same, those first few days
>>except wn secretly visits the disciples
>>slips snacks, gives info, exchanges messages between them, and treats lwj
>>wq finds out, scolds him, and then does the same, mostly treatment
>>and then the dungeon day comes
>>by which i mean that day wwx ended up in the dungeons with the dog thing
>>it goes the same as usual, except wc is particularly harsh, and is focused on wwx
>>so it happens sooner, and only wwx is involved
>>spends the night with the wolf thing, wn comes, yk the drill
>>except he knocks out at one point and wx gets him
>>and he wakes up
in a room and wq and wn are treating him
>>he's quickly given a coded warning
>>and then wx comes
>>wc had been forced out of leading the indoctrination and someone relatively competent is in his place
>>wx doesn't really let wwx go back tho
>>just makes wwx stay with him and basically invades his privacy and harasses him
>>for like. quite some time.
>>wwx also meets wrh a few times and it is. not fun.
>>wrh makes thinly veiled threats about war and attacking lotus pier and stuff
>>and wx reveals he was the one who requested and took charge of cr burning
>>and wwx is angry at wx but then wx gets angry and snaps threats
>>and wwx quiets and realizes wx is relentless
>>and that his connections are putting ppl he cares about at risk
>>it all kinda piles up and wx's insistence gets to his head
>>and then the bell scene (which started all this) happens
>>it might seem kinda ooc this whole thing but like
>>sexual trauma is very different from standard child abuse/classic asian toxicity
>>and you have to consider wwx's position as he has to put up with wx's everything
>>am i projecting? probably, but my au my choices
>>so the bell scene begins with all the heirs and their entourages gathered at that. place
>>idk what it's called but that place from cql where wc was lecturing
>>wc's substitute indoctrinator is like so. y'all can go home now. here's your swords.
>>and everyone's like omg????? but also cr friends are like ok where's wwx :upside_down:
>>and it's a very complicated moment
>>and then they give suibian to jc
>>and he almost kills someone bc he thinks they killed wwx
>>and then they're like no he's alive he just won't need that :upside_down:
>>jc is like WHAT does that even MEAN
>>and it's about to be a whole thing but then wwx shows up
>>and it's all ok for half a second
>>bc yes he's here but he is very obviously not ok
>>and it Shows, wwx is doing such a bad job hiding how not ok he is
>>cr friends are like. what did they do. who am i killing.
>>so now we enter - The Bell Exchange
>>wwx comes forward and (very poorly) tries to lighten the mood and tease jc and is like aw did you miss me
>>jc who was very much terrified is just like yes ofc come here Now let's go home
>>and wwx has this look on his face that's summed up as love and affection but also deep apology and secrecy
>>he slowly goes to jc and his hands are shaky as he takes off his bell and grabs jc's hands to give it to him
>>and wwx is very vague about it he's just like i won't be going back it's ok you're all free to go now i'm making sure of it go back home be safe
>>and jc is having the nth meltdown rn bc wwx what did you do
>>nhs has an idea of the gist, and all the c friends are very concerned
>>and then wen xu shows up and wwx does this silent flinch but in his bones and straightens up
>>and wx is mocking the others and stuff and then wraps an arm around a very uncomfortable wwx and is like
>>"you should be grateful to my fiance for his generous nature"
>>wwx is very obviously not having a good time and is not ok with this
>>he looks like he's going to launch himself from a cliff (hehehe) to avoid this
>>everyone is silent for a minute as they realize what happened
>>a lot of the disciples here were at cr indoctrination
>>so they know at least somewhat of wx's pursual of wwx and the unrequited feelings
>>and it becomes obvious that wwx exchanged something - his freedom, hand in marriage, etc - to set all the disciples free
>>jc draws sandu and is about to go for wx's head bc how Dare he
>>but wwx stops him and tells him very firmly but desperately to not try anything, just go, tell shijie i'm sorry, it'll be ok
>>lwj does that death grip on his sword, 2 seconds away from taking wx's head himself
>>jzx is having lots of feelings about this and a lot aren't nice
>>especially with the weird sort of parallels as far as betrothals
>>also he kinda likes wwx?? they're kinda friends?? and they're brother-in-laws to be anyway
>>and even despite all that, the whole situation just Sucks and jzx is kinda an airhead but he's actually pretty noble
>>mianmian is
like So offended and enraged on behalf of everyone she's ready to throw hands
>>nhs is half horrified for his friend and half cold rage and plotting
>>what really worsens the situations is just how bad wwx is taking it
>>bc he always covers up his pain and worries, and very well at that
>>the fact that he can barely even fake a smile now, and has resolved to outright desperate pleading, not even teasing anyone, says a Lot about how bad things were while he was gone
>>they have suspicions about what wx might have done to wwx while they were alone
>>tl;dr: cr friends kinda have an idea of what wx has done and really want him dead
>>but wwx is forcing them out, and eventually they all do leave, miserably
>>they don't know what had happened for them to be let go with their swords and without consequences
>>and they don't want wwx suffering for their (not really helpful atm) stubbornness
>>jc is stiff and clenching his jaw the entire way home, trying to figure out ways to get wwx out
>>lwj is drowning in his emotions as he goes back to the burnt cr
>>mianmian, jzx, nhs are having very complicated thought processes about everything
>>nhs actually goes with lwj to cr first, to make sure he doesn't do anything dumb and to be a friend
>>drops him off, and eventually heads out after a few days (lqr is appraised of the situation)
>>and lo and behold, he happens to find lxc on his way home, and brings big bro lan back to cr
[ main . ao3 ]
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izukyu · 4 years
Text
𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐯𝐚𝐬 - keigo takami x reader
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this is a birthday gift for my crackhead wine aunt, @waddle-yee​. katie i love u so much it’s unreal! i hope you enjoy the crumbs m’lady!
reblogs are appreciated bc i worked really hard on this, heart eyes.
pairing - keigo takami (hawks) x reader.
word count - 2.3k.
warnings - very vague manga spoilers for pro hero arc, possibly ooc hawks, swearing, and just. a lot of fluff.
summary - hawks needed to gain the public’s hearts once again, and attending a charity event seemed like the way to go, but falling for the cute artist in charge of him wasn’t something he planned on. 
★ - requests are open
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“your ratings are falling, hawks”
being bothered during his lunch break wasn’t something keigo was particularly fond of. the one time of the day he could let loose in his office, ruined.
“is that so?” he could only hope his agent would understand his words in the midst of his chewing, making a point he was only half-interested in the newsletter.
“the hero public safety commission reached out, you need to get your approval up again before they intervene.”
keigo gulped.
what a mouthful. they were never good news - the last time keigo met with them he was deployed as a spy, for crying out loud. needless to say, he was still their subordinate, and rejecting their demands was nothing more than a heavenly reverie.
“so, got any ideas?” keigo put down his plastic plate, lamenting the unfinished state of lunch.
“well, there’s this charity event coming up, and they’re calling for - ”
“i’m in! send me the time and place and i’ll be there,” sadly. it’s not like he had any personal vendettas with charity events or the public per se, but the simple fact he had to be shoved into one to please his superiors was enough to leave a bitter taste in his mouth.
next time he’d attend to one of his own accords.
“i’ll send it to you by email.”
keigo gave the poor intern a frown, his eyebrows drawn. “just send me a text, sheesh.”
-
maybe if he had paid more attention to the text then maybe he wouldn’t be stuck in this quandary of graphite and stillness
“you do this to every guy you meet?”
you scoffed, eyes never once leaving the canvas before you. “yes, every model i work with is required to stand still, if that’s what you were wondering.”
keigo was glad he put on a smile from the start, or else you would’ve chewed him out for moving too much.
the event was still a couple weeks away, but portraits don’t grow on trees. in all fairness, keigo was a killer model - every magazine featuring him sells out within the hour, and the photographers he’s worked with never fail to shower him in compliments and praise.
his charm didn’t seem to carry on to drawings, apparently. as you’d put it before, he was but ‘an over-energetic city pigeon that would chase around little kids for fun at every given opportunity’.
oddly specific, but it got a chuckle out of him.
“i’m almost done, so just stand still for a little longer.”
“won’t be a problem, dove, i’m already a pro,” keigo had to suppress another snicker as you hid behind the canvas, your face growing warm at the dumb pet name. another tally for hawks in his imaginary scoreboard. although standing still for longer than ten minutes wasn’t something he could see himself doing ever again, teasing you would definitely be a must in the near future.
anything for your flushed, annoyed expression.
“your wing did the thing again.”
of course it did. keigo wailed silently, dreading the sound of your pencil meeting the cotton before you, scratching and imposing.
the passing of time seemed like a foreign concept the longer he posed in front of you, amber eyes preying on you. every movement, every speck of graphite staining your hands, forever engraved in his mind. you didn’t question his sudden quietness, too engrossed in finishing the first of many portraits you’d have to make for the event.
would every other hero be as jittery and energetic as the man standing before you? 
would every other hero grow uneasy at the idea of standing still for no longer than fifty minutes?
“alright, you’re good to go.”
startled, keigo nearly fell off the small stool. “oh, was that all?”
you felt your eye twitch, choosing to ignore his wit, “it’s weird to think your portrait will probably go beyond five digits, someone’s gonna willingly pay to have those bushy eyebrows in their living room.”
keigo choked on his spit, coughs laced with laughter overruling the silence of the studio. “where did that come from?”
with a shrug and a triumphant smirk, you start to usher him out of your studio, “it had to be said, but you’re still cute, so i wouldn’t count it as a loss!” there were projects that needed your undivided attention and care, some with scary deadlines, and a birdman wasn’t exactly someone you needed to prioritize now. “see you at the event, yeah?”
“wait, hey, i wanna see what it looks like - ”
“no can do, have a great afternoon!”
before he could protest, he was already out and gone from your studio, the door nearly slamming on his wings. without much thinking, he turned around, his knuckles grazing against the door repeatedly. “c’mon, not even a sneak peak? i promise i won’t tell!”
someone clearing their throat behind him tore keigo away from the piece of wood in a heartbeat.
“endeavor-san, nice meeting you here! y’see, i left something inside, and i was just knocking so - “
“i don’t want to know.”
what was it with today and everyone interrupting him?
keigo snapped his fingers, “copy that.” from the corner of his eyes he spotted a neat pile of presentation cards, almost begging to be noticed and put to use.
fine, if you didn’t feel like letting him into your heart he’d just have to irk you over text.
knowing better than to bother endeavor again, keigo simply stepped out of the room, his fingers eagerly keying in the digits into his cellphone.
spoiler alert, it wasn’t you who texted him back, but your assistant was a delight, and set him up for another session after the event.
-
keigo has a strong, abhorrent opinion on wearing suits. they’re stuffy, constricting, and make his wings itch more than normal. despite having a custom-made, tailored suit, the sentiment of being under lock and key only ever went away as soon as he lost the jacket and shirt. something he couldn’t quite do in an event like this.
“what do you mean they’re running late?”
your second in command sighed, eyes still glued on their phone. from the brief texts they had shared, keigo would be proud to admit they’d found a friend in your friend, if that made any sense. “there were some supplies left in the studio, had to run back to get ‘em.”
keigo sighed. just what he needed in this trying time.
“but the portraits are already up if you want to check them out.”
oh.
among the sea of bidders inspecting the canvases on display, keigo’s feeble attempts to get a closer look were fruitless. his wings usually gave leverage when his height failed to do so, but flapping in such a close environment would bring more trouble than it’s worth.
with a defeated sigh (admitting to lacking in height was… disheartening) two of his feathers flew down to his feet, giving him the small boost he needed.
he most certainly didn’t expect to come face-to-face with himself.
minutes passed, and keigo remained under a trance. it was simplistic, the graphite morphing to cast an umbra on portrait-hawks. he could picture almost perfectly the light and shadow dancing together in both the canvas up for bidding and your skilled hands, the same ones that had left a nasty smudge on the back of his coat.
lo and behold, you were right, his unruly eyebrows were rather prominent.
“sorry for the delay, the traffic was horrible and the cab - don’t get me started on the cab,” you ranted as you walked through the busy hall, chanting apologies left and right. “the auction hasn’t started yet, right?”
“no, but there’s someone waiting for you.”
you furrowed your eyebrows. the people attending were either eager to see their favorite heroes in ritzy clothing or aching to take one of them home - in a canvas, of course. “don’t get me wrong, i love getting the work going, but i swear these deadlines are gonna be the death of me.”
“no need to fret,” keigo stepped down from his feathers, and you couldn’t quite read the expression on his face. happy? tired? finally becoming the paragon of tenderhearted? “i’m part of your schedule already, booked a sesh and all.”
“... you mean the one I just cancelled?”
his wings drooped almost comically, “the one you just what?”
teasingly, you pushed him back, consequently making him bump into someone else. “i’m just messing around, i’m actually looking forward to it.” you could only watch as he gave the person a brief apology, posing for a selfie milliseconds after. heroes.
“is that so? i thought i was a bad subject,” keigo tugged at his collar, making a mental note to burn the shit out of the suit once home.
“the worst, actually,” more people began migrating to the opposite side of the room before the auction started. “but you’re fun to be around, so i’ll manage.”
keigo couldn’t contain his smile this time. it wasn’t his signature snigger you’d have flooding your timeline after his photo sessions, rather just a simple, genuine tug of his lips.
“and maybe you’re kinda pretty, but you didn’t hear that from me.”
and just like that, the warm smile contorted into a smug smirk. “you got me there, dove! wasn’t expecting that to come out of your pretty mouth.”
you huffed, diving to give his cheek a good pinch before dragging him to follow the rest of the guests. “that’s one creepy way to phrase it. now take a seat, i’ve got to hand out a couple of endeavors and edgeshots.”
keigo, still savoring the compliment like a kid would with a sweet, took an extra second to process those words. “they got more than one?”
-
cut to his second private session. five minutes after your scheduled lunch break, some leftover fries and ice cream exiled to your desk.
“alright, something’s on your mind.”
keigo remained stationary. this time it was just a mere pencil in your hand, waltzing on the canvas without a worry on its nonexistent mind. calculated. precise. free. “i don’t know what you’re talking about.”
you sighed, tucking the pencil behind your ear, sparing the finished sketch a last glance before walking to the brooding bird before you. “your wings, they’re not doing the thing.”
“and what about it?”
“well, for one, it was much easier to jot them down, i can assure you they’ll look great once i paint them,” keigo shuddered as you stood closer, how did you even get a lead stain on your cheek? “but i think i know you well enough to deduce something’s up. you’re not even being a cocky cockatiel.”
keigo let out a long, long sigh. “i’m not a cockatiel.”
“and you’re not being yourself. c’mon, why’d you even come here if you’re just gonna be grumpy?”
a brief flash of cold, burning blue clouded his mind. “work’s getting to me, i guess.”
you weren’t a pro hero of any sorts, the only context you had regarding that chaotic world would come from whatever hashtag was trending, and the occasional hero dropping by your studio to talk business. nevertheless, you knew how to spot and comfort a gloomy friend.
“you wanna paint yourself?”
“what?”
that seemed to get his attention, and it brought a smile to your face. you bit your lip eagerly, “i need to go get some paints, but you look like you need some cheering up, so you’re not leaving this room without painting your own portrait”
keigo’s lip trembled involuntarily, your words tugging at his already-soft heart. “i’ve never - i’ve never touched a paintbrush in my life.”
“woah, not even at school?”
“homeschooled.”
your hand moved on its own, ruffling his naturally messy hair. “i’ll get you acrylic paint.”
he could only tap his foot anxiously in your absence, running a hand across his face. the commission, as per usual, found great joy to bother him through day and night, almost as if his suffering tickled their ribs. keigo wouldn’t mind playing the part of the asshole kid who took tickling way too far when it came to them, hero regulations and spy work be damned.
not to mention the dust-up he had with a certain cremated acquaintance a couple days back, leaving him featherless and vulnerable for a whole day.
but as you approached him once again, a number of paints cradled in your arms and pockets, keigo could feel the weight in his shoulders slowly mitigating.
“okay, what do you think feels like the way to go?”
thankfully, his wings could twitch to their content while wearing your apron. he would’ve been just fine painting without any safety measures, but your flabbergasted expression urged him to realize clothes are expensive.
keigo gripped the paintbrush with one hand, the other holding a red paint tube, “this can’t be rocket science, i got this.”
your boisterous laughter as he squeezed some paint straight into the paintbrush told him that maybe it was rocket science after all.
“it’s not a toothbrush, keigo!” god, he loved his name rolling off your tongue.
“oh my god, next time try cleaning the paintbrush before you start to paint with another color.” he was certain your giggles could keep him going through endless crimes and stacks of paperwork.
“hey, that’s cute, you’re using different colors for your suit.”
keigo chuckled, “can’t have the piss color scheme spicing up my living room.”
that was the final straw, and you both rightfully lost it. leaning into each other to prevent falling to the floor as a result of raw elation. even your snorts were adorable, your babbling a melody to his ears, and shrieks of amusement making his heart thump faster.
at the end of the day, keigo left the studio with a gorgeous painting, as you’d generously put it. the first time he’d truly felt unbound to everything to be forever remembered with a mess of colors and sloppy strokes hanging proudly atop his bed.
the first time keigo ever felt truly free on canvas.
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hawks: @witchy-anna​
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