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bellatrixobsessed1 · 4 years

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Protea

Fuck it four long fics!!!!

Fair warning tho, this one might be more of a second priority fic if I get overwhelmed lol.

Summary: Azula disappears into the Forgetful Valley. Years later, while helping her Aunt run a flower shop, Mai has a run in with a rather bold and bizarre woman who decides to help her run her flower shop.

No content warnings this time; this one is gonna be more lighthearted. If it takes a turn I’ll update the warnings.

“I’ve lied about a lot of things, but not about this.”

“That’s the thing about lying a lot. Even the truth becomes a lie…”

She swallows. She thinks that it was over before it started even if she didn’t know. Even if neither of them did. But this wasn’t a lie and the bits that were sure felt like the truth.

.oOo.

The capital is quite lively today, Mai supposes that it makes sense enough considering that it is the fire lord’s birthday. She can’t say that she has any such mirth for herself. This isn’t especially unusual, people are generally hard pressed to find something that does spark her amusement even faintly. All of this festivity, however, leaves her feeling more bleak than usual.

“Hippo-ox tail skewer?” A vendor offers.

She shakes her head and pushes her way through the crowd. The delighted shrieks of children are grating on her ears. She grits her teeth, what she would give to be at home again. Even endeavor of selling nauseatingly bright flowers would beat wandering around The Capital, being bombarded by constant reminders of the man she’d let go of. He isn’t so great. She reminds herself. And his family certainly isn’t one that she’d like to marry into. Decidedly she is doing herself a service by staying as far away from Zuko as she can. She casts a glance over her shoulder to where the palace looms both mockingly and majestically. Clearly she isn’t making good on keeping that distance. But it can’t exactly be helped, not when Aunt Mura is in desperate need of sales.

She sighs and replaces the ‘at lunch’ sign with an ‘open’ sign. For what it’s worth, the festival is doing wonders for Mura’s shop. She supposes that a few days of taxing hustle and bustle will be worth it in the long run, especially if it means that she will have more time to relax when all is said and done.

She lazily plucks a single flower and twirls in between her fingers. Honestly, what a drag. At least back in her home village, Mura or Tom-Tom would keep her company while she waited for a customer to approach.

She drums her fingers on the wood as she inhales fragrant gardenia and lily of the valley. The wind blows a helping of petals towards the ground, she will let the flowers be their own sales pitch. Contrary to what Mura believes, Mai is inclined to say that these flowers do sell themselves.

She sets her flower aside and looks up. There is a girl, a small thing, approaching the stall. Which is well enough but she is approaching too speedily. Actually it is more of a charge or a sprint than it is an innocent little stroll.

Mai cringes, she watches the girl leap over a cart of furs and onto a cabbage stall. The man gives a forlorn yelp, “my cabbages!” She is almost certain that she has heard that wail before. She shrugs, at least it wasn’t her stall.

But the girl isn’t finished she very nearly topples the flimsy stall as she bounds away, weaving in and out of the crowd. For a moment, Mai thinks that she has dodged a poisoned dart. The girl disappears into the crowd, the moment of excitement she had brought dissipates with her.

Mai shrugs again, “oh well.” She rests her elbow on the counter and her cheek in her palm. How truly boring. She supposes that she was bound to have at least one slower day. It usually is slow after lunch when everyone is rushing to the more exciting festival activities…

“Hey!”

Mai jolts, knocking a flower pot from the counter. The girl catches it and puts it back in place with a grin. “Okay, so I saved your honeysuckles…”

“They’re tuberoses.”

The girl nods. “Okay, so I saved your tuberoses, I’m a real hero so I was hoping you can do me a favor.”

Mai blinks.

“I’m gonna pretend like I care about these flowers…”

“You and me both.” Mai grumbles.

“And I’m gonna pretend like I’m about to buy one.”

“Or you could actually buy one.”

The girl feels her pockets. “I guess I can, but only if this works.”

“What works?”

“Well, I may have gotten into it with the Iwaken boys again. Except this time all four of them are here.” She rubs the back of her head and flashes a lopsided grin. She is missing a tooth, the one next to her right canine.

“I take it you don’t want them to knock out more of your teeth.”

The girl laughs. “They aren’t quite that strong. No, this happened elsehow.”

“Then why don’t you, I don’t know, go fight them?”

The girl shrugs. “I gotta pick my battles.”

Mai looks her up and down. Head to toe she is covered in cuts, scrapes, and bruises. Scuffs of dirt streak her pants and splotch her face. “New development?”

“Huh?”

“Nevermind.” Mai rolls her eyes.

“Thanks!” The girl declares.

Mai quirks a brow. “For what.”

“For helping.” She gestures to four rather burly looking boys. “I think that they bought it. They’d never guess that I’d be looking at flowers.”

Mai eyes the tuberose that the girl is brushing her fingers over. If only she’d bought it. If only anyone would just buy a flower already! “Look, kid, if you aren’t going to buy anything…”

This time the girl blinks. “I’m not a child. I’m nineteen. Twenty, in a few weeks. At least that’s what they told me.”

Now there’s a head scratcher. “Other people told you your age?”

“It’s a long story.” She taps her finger to the corner of her mouth. “I don’t remember the whole thing though.”

“Great. Well, I’ve got a business to run…”

“I can help!” She declares and holds up her coin pouch. “I’m running a little low.”

Mai sighs. “Fine.” At least things might be less drab with this woman around. “I’m Mai.”

“That’s a pretty name.”

“Thank you.” Mai replies. She watches the woman lean against the stall. “Well?” She asks after a while.

“Well what?”

“What is your name?”

“Oh. I don’t have one of those.” She flashes another smile as though she hasn’t uttered the most bizarre thing that Mai has heard all week.

#Avatar The Last Airbender #Azula #Mai #Maizula #Fanfiction

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jngsjngs · 5 years

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Hi! So, I could be totally wrong here, but you seem like you’re going through quite a bit? If that is the case, I’d like you to know that it’s okay. If it’s a creative rut, maybe doing something completely different would help? Something of the “oh that’s cool but I could never do it right??” persuasion. Just dropping hsc is okay to if it no longer brings you happiness. Don’t worry about us internet-folk. If this is how it ends, it was good while it lasted. Just hoping for your happiness :3

i know i said i’d wait a little while to catch up on messages but this one really got me :-( thank u so much for taking the time to send it! i’ve been kind of vague about my updates lately so i hope u don’t mind if i use this as a platform to let u guys know where i’m at right now.

part of the reason for this hiatus is because i fell into a creative rut around the start of the holidays, but i had some issues with my back a couple of weeks ago that made it impossible for me to move or sit up straight for more than a few minutes at a time, and that definitely set me back longer than i had hoped. i’m better now, but i still can’t stay in one position for extended periods without feeling uncomfortable, and the way i write usually requires me to type without much of a break until the first draft is completed in its entirety. most of what i‘ve been working on over the past week or so was done on my phone, which is fine, but it takes about twice as long for me to finish a section of a chapter because i can’t look at such a small screen for too long (in case ur curious tho i have the next chapter of hsc finished and am working on the next two after that which happens to be the movie arc split into two parts).

i hope that doesn’t sound like some kind of sad excuse! just wanted to give clearer reasons as to why i’ve been gone for so long, even if they’re not very good ones. i’d like to think i’m at least getting over that creative rut; i’m listening to a lot of new music which means in addition to working on new chapters i’m creating new playlists and fixing up the old ones. i admit i’ve also been making the most out of finally getting to go outside, but u gotta remember i’m one of u internet-folk, too! hsc continues to bring me happiness even on days when i’m not quite sure what to write so i can assure u that unless something utterly life changing flips my world upside down i am always going to keep coming back to it.

ANYWAY that aside i’ve been watching a lot of shows and like i said listening to a lot of music these days since that was pretty much all i could do this month (i swear this isn’t a pity party i am perfectly mobile now) another reason why chapters are progressing slower than usual is because i’ve been hopping across fandoms like the energy bunny agsjdjdkdk i’m pretty sure i managed to catch up on miraculous ladybug, fairy tail, young justice, and voltron within the same week, re-watch most of haikyuu, inuyasha, and fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood the week after, and then have time to re-read a couple of the percy jackson books just a few days ago, plus (i know) with kingdom hearts ready to drop on top of all that i feel like my mind has been in ten different places at once. in short, it’s not that i’m not doing anything right now, but because i’m doing too much, i’m having trouble sticking to one thing at a time afskshls

this is getting to be a drag to read but yeah tldr i went from being totally uninspired to going on a creative hyperdrive and somewhere in between that i was on proper medical leave from the interwebz lulz 🤟🏼 sorry for rambling on about my boring life!!! how r u!!!! did u start school yet?? watch any new shows??? got some new bops on ur playlist???? honestly ur all way cooler than i am n ur ideas (some of which are still sitting in my inbox rip i don’t deserve u) are one of the many things that keep me motivated n thriving 🖤

just wanted to end this on a question because it’s something i’ve been curious about for a while and though i have to warn u ahead of time that i might not act on it i figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask ok yeah i’m actually gonna ask it now agdjjdsks would u guys like to see behind the scenes stuff?? messy sketches, random storyboards, profiles of original characters that may never see the light of day, chapter outlines that probably make no sense because half the time i don’t even follow them???? pls lmk

also i lied about ending it there (if u read thru my author’s notes ur probably used to that lol) a couple of people have asked if i would ever consider including lgbtq+ characters in my stories and my response both times was that i would be absolutely honored! as i said to one reader my primary concern was (and still is) that as a cisgender heterosexual i wouldn't do justice to said character and their story, but i welcome any guidance from u all and will do my best to bring them to life the way they deserve to be portrayed. in the climate we are in today i thought it was necessary to express my support for u regardless of ethnicity or gender identity and hope that u feel safe in the community we have collectively formed in this space. racism, sexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, discrimination against another individual for their sexual orientation or where they come from—all of these things and anything even remotely along those lines will not be tolerated here.

(ok now i’m done)

thank u so much anon and all the rest of u for always being so patient and kind! i wish u the best 2019 and will see u guys soon!

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kaotikreviews · 4 years

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WEBTOONs Time

Since I’ve found the platform, I’ve been nothing but OBSESSED. I’ve read a lot of different webtoons by now, and caught up with several. The highlight of each day has become 9pm when the newest batch of webtoons come out. 👌🏼

Today, I read the new episodes for my subscribed comics. Here are my thoughts (WARNING - may contain spoilers):

At Arms Length, by Zushi - Chapter 9.2, Trapped: I recently found this series and binged all the previous episodes, so the story still feels fresh in my memory. This comic is unique because it tells you up front the two characters that end up together and let’s you know they are healthy and happy later on. The author uses a pretty slow story progression towards that end and focuses on emotions and mental health in each episode. Since the comic is more about processing thoughts and feelings, the pace of real world events is much slower. Even so, the epis feel a bit too short (but the art is amazing, so I get it). Full disclosure, it looks like this series can get a bit raunchy at times. 👀 I was a bit torn about this comic because of my own morals and world views (I really want to say the main characters need Jesus AND all the healthy things they are doing👌🏼), but a lot of the episodes about depression really resonated with me since that’s something I’ve struggled with for literally my whole life. Long story short, I’m hooked, so 💁🏻‍♀️. Today’s epi is more of the female lead’s back story and her previous relationship. I guess it was good. I’ve literally never been in a romantic relationship, so can’t relate to the situation directly, but it’s just one of the many reasons why I wanna be forever alone. 😳 I think I always refresh like a lunatic hoping for one more episode at the end, but today’s episode did feel pretty short. Then again, every time I catch up on a webtoon, the episodes that come out after that always feel short anyway. 😂

WEBTOON GREENLiGHT - Escape from Oz: tbh, I’m not the biggest fan of the art style and the surreal take on the storyline threw me for a loop at first, but also, super hooked ngl. 😏 I love a good sci-fi. I mean, we are in the world of fantasy and fiction and break real world rules CONSTANTLY, so why not just lean in and go crazy with it? 😌 I bet you guessed, but 3rd epi definitely got a fancy 🤍 from me and now I’m hoping for it to get green lit so I can find out what happens next! 👀

My Magical Maid - Ep 9: another recent find, it only took me a couple minutes to catch up and be wanting more. 🤩 As mentioned before, fiction/sci-fi is my jam. I can get weird about witchy story lines if they wanna be really like creepy and demonic and offensive to my beliefs and world views, but if it’s balanced enough, its nbd to me. I like the series because I like stories with people with powers. How fun would it be to have super powers? It’s fun to imagine, so I love seeing other people’s takes on a day in the life of a super. Our super (a witch in this particular story world), is a maid/personal secretary type person/doctor/friend of the ruler of the land. The relationships and interactions feel very modern, but the setting is like, fairy tale times. Like, our girl is supposed to be a maid, but she’s on peer terms with the king and can speak her mind openly. It’s different, so I like it. Very interesting dynamics, I can’t wait to find out more about their back stories. Today, they closed up a story arch that threatened our otp but now.. does that make our main dude an even badder guy? lol 🧐 I mean, second lead just made main dude look kinda awful in comparison. And I never get second lead syndrome, so this is a bit of a strange perspective for me. (I don’t get second lead syndrome because the otp has a pull to it. Good relationships take time, but also chemistry.) I’m not opposed to a bad boy redemption story, so super excited to see this all play out and glad the triangle is going away. 😅 I have no idea what this gif is from, but it looks cool so ~

Lost in Translation - Ep 18: I mean, is every comic coming out this year gonna be bout stalkers?! 👀 Today’s epi was wyld (haha, pun). After reading the beginning of #killstagram and starting up It’s Mine, this plot twist is starting to feel super familiar. There’s been a stalker story arch in several other comics in my deck as well. Can’t say I’m a big fan, tbh. I hate the fact that things like that really happen, and the fact that it could happen to me or someone I care about. I’m terrible for this, but I prefer not to think about the grittier and scarier side of humanity too much. Of course, I said “too much”. A little here and there isn’t so bad, and so overall, I’m still pretty hooked on this comic. Hopefully things start to improve for our MC soon, and I’m so glad he’s getting some support from his friend.

I Love Yoo - Ep 127: bout time we got back to the sister arch! 😂 I binged this to catch up a while ago now, and so the story is starting to fade a bit. It still blows my mind how far we’ve come in the story and yet how little progress we’ve made. I mean, the family dynamic hasn’t been sorted yet, and I’m missing the friend dude, the one with red hair (I think?) yeah, it’s been so long I am forgetting his name already! 😅 I normally am super against any form of “stealing” people in relationships, but when the relationships are super toxic and bad, I sometimes find myself shipping the better relationship. (Jim and Pam from the office for example.) Truth be told, the main girl and the red head are my favorite ship, and I hope it’s the otp. All the other dudes in her life just don’t compare to the tension, chemistry, and mutual respect those two have. They bring out the best in each other and redhead really needs some help just like our MC did in the beginning. I hope she reaches out to him more (and that he ends that shell of a ship he is currently in.)

Choco Latte - Ep 38: another recent find. It’s a silent comic, which is kinda brilliant. Sometimes I read ahead on my favorite comics on Naver in the original language, but since I only really know English, it’s a very similar experience to this comic. You rely more on the expressions and context to understand the situations and how the story is progressing. I like it. I also liked how wholesome all the characters are. There isn’t a lot of nastiness between people so far and I hope that continues. It’s refreshing given the world we live in and most of the comic I read, tbh. Recent epis (including today’s) have me a bit worried tho. I hope they ain’t breaking main ship 😬 or creating a rift that would destroy the innocence and optimistic world view of our MCs. I’m a pretty gritty, glass half empty type of person a lot of times, and I call it being a realist. Fact is, life is often cruel. But in story world, it doesn’t have to be. I hope the author preserves the sweetness of this comic, but even if not, I’m down for the ride. (Unless they break up the otp, then I may quit for real.)

Not Even Bones - so I haven’t been reading this on webtoons for a while. I found out there was a book, and when it hit a cliffhanger, I scoured the internet until I found it online for free. I finished the book in a very short period of time and then the sequel. There’s still another one out that I want to read, but I needed a break. Not sure where the webtoons version is at, but I mean, this story gets DARK. Wondering how I reconcile this with all my aforementioned morals? I don’t. I believe all humans are kinda terrible, which is why I believe we need saving from ourselves and each other. I don’t believe all the stories with hopeful endings and super hero’s and saviors are just from our wishful thinking, I believe that a part of our souls is wired to respond and reach for our creator, who is actively speaking and reaching for us. Since we’ve been effectively “kidnapped” and trapped in a broken world system, it’s like we are birds that were born in cages. It’s in our nature to do certain things that just don’t make sense for our current environment but makes total sense for the environment we were created for. I believe it’s in our nature to search for something that’s missing and to fill that void with whatever and whoever we can find - many people think it’s just the way things are and don’t think about why, or they become contented with the void inside. No matter what we try to use to fill that emptiness inside, it’s never enough. Well, not until we connect to our creator and escape from “captivity”. I’ve been a Christ follower my whole life and even so, it ain’t easy. I have mad depression and I’m not necessarily a “good” person. But I’d probably be dead if I didn’t have Jesus in my life, and that’s after doing all the self help I could. No matter what I did, it wasn’t enough until I experienced hope and love for the first time in a spiritual experience. 👌🏼 I mean, if humans are terrible, and we all are constantly trying to self destruct, who can truly help us but God? People can’t be the cure for other people, and as much as self help stuff, well, helps - it isn’t a cure either. Self help can be like relying on a flaky and unstable individual to save your life - eek! 😂

For the record, my goal isn’t to stuff my beliefs down people’s throats, just sharing my thoughts. If you find it offensive, then please skip on by or think of it as a nice story (but for me, it’s as real as breathing, so I can’t help but talk about it. 👌🏼)

Anyone else reading these comics? What are your thoughts? Are there other comics that you recommend? Are there any that you fast passed on? I was super tempted to fast pass a few, but I hate having to wait longer for a new update. 😂

Today’s top song (thanks for sending it to me, sis! 💯):

#webtoon #comics #webtoon review #webtoon club #i love yoo #choco latte #at arms length #lost in translation #my magical maid #WEBTOON GREENLiGHT #escape from oz #reviews #song of the day #Spotify

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emeraldwaves · 7 years

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Title: Cacophony Chapter 5 Mikorei Week Day 1: Fascination Read from the beginning Music/Band AU Pairing: Mikorei, side Izuseri, Rating: M Word Count: 4,640

AO3 Summary for Ch5: Suoh continues to helps Munakata experience new things. thanks to @its-love-u-asshole for reading this even tho she super busy! Sorry it took me forever to update this like a jerk

“You killed him.”

“I didn’t kill him,” Suoh grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. “I took the idiot to a concert. I didn’t murder the guy.”

“I knew you weren’t fond of him but to think you’d go this far,” Kusanagi sighed, dramatically.

“Shut it,” Suoh rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as he sat in the chair, waiting for their rehearsal to begin. As much as he hated to admit it, it was odd Munakata was late. He hadn’t been late to any of their rehearsals, and he didn’t seem like the kind of guy who was late to anything. Ever.

“Well you obviously did something. Otherwise, he’d be here. The guy hasn’t been late to any of our rehearsals,” Kusanagi said, speaking Suoh’s thoughts out loud.

“Maybe he’s living life on the edge?” Suoh mused, placing a cigarette in his mouth.

Kusanagi pursed his lips, rubbing his forehead. “I swear, Mikoto…The competition is in a week and a half and we finally found a pianist. I get that he wasn’t up to your damn high standards, but if he quits because you felt the need to scare him off—” Kusanagi was abruptly cut off by the door sliding open as Munakata rushed into the practice space.

Suoh smirked, glancing towards Kusanagi with one eyebrow raised. Kusanagi rolled his eyes, waving his hand at Suoh.

“Ah, I apologize for being late,” Munakata said, bowing as he caught his breath. Suoh watched as Munakata, red-faced and huffing, slipped off his scarf and began to unbutton his pea-coat. Damn attractive prissy boy.

“I’m shocked. The perfect pianist actually did something wrong,” Suoh murmured, though a smirk was still present on his lips.

“Yes, yes, go ahead and chide me all you want,” Munakata sighed, draping the jacket over the back of the chair.

“Nah, I’m impressed,” Suoh chuckled, stepping onto the stage, and grabbing his guitar.

“Only you would be impressed by tardiness,” Munakata scoffed, brushing some of the snow out of his hair. “I simply underestimated how long it would take me to walk here in the snow. It was rather slippery.”

“I was convinced Mikoto had murdered you,” Kusanagi teased, following Suoh’s lead. He picked up his bass, placing the strap over his head.

Munakata pulled the folder of music from his bag, smiling as he walked towards the stage. “Actually Suoh and I had a lovely evening. Quite eye opening,” he said, stepping up onto the black stage.

Suoh watched as Munakata took his seat at the piano. Damn idiot really was far too pretty for his own good. “Mmm. I hope this means you’re gonna play like a human today, instead of a robot.” Munakata turned around, narrowing his eyes at Suoh. Even angry, he looked good, Suoh thought.

“Suoh,” Munakata began, hissing out his name. “I do hope you don’t expect some magical change overnight.”

“And here I thought you were a prodigy,” Suoh teased, before they began to start the song. Listening to Munakata play now, Suoh couldn’t help but glance back at him every so often. It still felt stilted, but slightly less so than it had before. Only slightly, Suoh wasn’t going to admit to any more than that. Shrugging, the guitarist turned his gaze back towards the front, focusing on his own part and singing. Munakata wasn’t anywhere close to Totsuka, but it was better than he had expected after only one day. Munakata was shockingly talented, technical, but talented. The more time he spent with him, the more impossible it became to deny that.

At the end of the set, Suoh turned towards Munakata, watching as he sighed and sat back, resting his hands on the keys. "Better," he grunted, hating the way a gentle blush rose to Munakata's cheeks. "Let's take a break," he said, immediately stepping down off of the stage. The less he had to say to the pianist the better. Suoh sucked at talking to him, and knowing how much Munakata enjoyed talking, the ass would probably start to ask him questions Suoh didn't have an answer to.

Suoh grabbed his jacket as he walked towards the door and yanked it open with both hands, the sliding echo loud in the now quiet practice space. He stepped outside and lit a cigarette, letting it burn down in his mouth.

“Admit it, you like him,” Kusanagi chuckled, now standing next to Suoh as he wrapped his coat around himself, lighting his own cigarette.

"Who?" Suoh grunted, letting a large cloud of smoke escape from his lips.

“Munakata," Kusanagi smirked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Mm. S'fine I guess," Suoh growled. He didn't have to admit anything. As far as he was concerned, Munakata did his job and served his purpose. Suoh didn't have to like him or befriend him anymore than he already had.

"You took him to a concert."

"He needed to loosen up," Suoh replied. "Wanted him to see how other people play. S'all," he shrugged.

"Alright. I won't push it."

"Besides," Suoh smirked at his best friend. "Even if I did like him, it wouldn't matter," he grinned. "The guy's probably a virgin, and saving himself until he finds 'the one'. Seems like that type," he said, chucking his cigarette butt to the ground to stomp out.

"Nothing wrong with that," Kusanagi shrugged, taking another long drag off of his cigarette

"Wasn't saying there was," Suoh grunted. "I don't want to taint his virgin ass." A gust of wind blew past their faces, the smoke from the cigarettes floating away. Kusanagi let out a snort, and Suoh didn't have to look at him to know the man was rolling his eyes.

"Maybe he wants you to corrupt him," Kusanagi replied, tossing the butt of his cigarette onto the ground. He placed his shoe against the slushy snow, twisting it around as the lit end slowly burnt out.

Suoh tapped the end of the cigarette, dumping the ash to ground. "Doubt it."

"Why don't you ask him," Kusanagi grinned.

"You want me to ask Munakata if he's had sex?" Suoh asked.

"Why not?" Kusanagi grinned.

Munakata's fingers swiped over the keys. Keyboards really were not his thing. He didn't like the lightness of the keys...the way the plastic clicked when he applied pressure. It didn't hold the same weight as the grand pianos he was used to.

The practice space was silent, quiet enough that Munakata could hear his breath echoing in the large hall. Suoh and Kusanagi had gone outside for a smoke, and Yata had run off somewhere. He'd been arguing on his cellphone to the boy he always seemed to be fighting with. Munakata still hadn't quite figured out what their relationship was.

He sighed, wondering if his playing had actually grown at all. Yes, he was experiencing 'new things' by playing with this band, but he wasn't certain it was actually helping him develop as an artist. He wanted to try again at Scepter University in just a few months for the Spring semester, and he wanted to be ready. Though he supposed he couldn't quite 'experience life' in such a short amount of time, but who exactly could put a number on that anyway.

He felt his playing had been rough today, his fingers pushing hard against the keys. Suoh had said to try new things, and even pushed him to to be similar to their style, for the purpose of their competition...and yet, today, it hadn't felt...right. Suoh had said it was better, though he hadn't elaborated beyond one word. Munakata really should've expected nothing less by now. Suoh wasn't the world's best teacher, in fact, he wasn't really a teacher at all. He was horrible at communicating, and Munakata still didn't quite know what he meant.

Slamming his fingers against the keys, he stood up, thinking he could take a walk and clear his head. But just as he did, Suoh slid the door open.

"Break over so soon?" Munakata hummed. There was a bit of a sing-song in his voice, teasing Suoh, though really it was odd he was coming back so fast. Normally a break meant 30-40 minutes of down time.

“So, what’s your deal?” Mikoto asked, ignoring Munakata's question as he walked back towards the stage.

“My…deal?” Munakata’s head tilted, his hair swaying slightly with the movement. His deep purple eyes met Suoh's gold.

“Yeah, you know…why you got such a large stick up your ass?” Suoh snorted.

Scoffing, Munakata folded his arms, turning his head away. “Excuse you.”

“Yeah, sorry," Suoh said, stamping his foot against the stage, hopping up onto it. "It’s more like a tree ya’ got stuck up there.”

"I thought you said I was doing better," Munakata frowned. "Did you lie?"

"Nah," Suoh shrugged, sitting down on Yata's drum stool. "It was better. Your shoulders still looked like they were going to punch your ears, but better."

"What is that supposed to mean, Suoh?" Munakata hissed. He wanted to better himself yes, but the way Suoh handled his strange lessons was so incredibly childish...

Suoh's shoulders raised to his ears. "Tension."

"I do not sit like that."

"It's subtle, but ya' do."

Grunting, Munakata unfolded his arms about to speak up, when Suoh picked up Yata's drumstick, rolling it against the top of the drum.

"You a virgin, Munakata? Ever been in love?"

"Excuse me?!" Munakata asked, taking a step backwards as he almost tripped over the bench of the piano. "Have you?"

Suoh's normally tired golden eyes widened ever so slightly, a flash of pain flickering behind his gaze. He was quiet, still rolling the drumstick, but even then the movement got slower. Seemed Munakata had touched a nerve. "Not important," he said finally. "Gonna assume that deflection means no."

Suoh was apparently smarter than he let on. "The same could be said about your response," he retorted, his face feeling hot. " don't see why you need to know this information about me," Munakata said finally.

"Don't. Just tryin' to get to know you. And you know, a lot artists use a broken heart to really dig inside themselves for emotion when they play," Suoh continued. Whenever he talked so much, Munakata always felt thrown off guard, like he was hearing Suoh's voice for the first time.

"I take it that's what you do," Munakata snapped, knowing it was a low blow. Suoh was obviously quite attached to Totsuka Tatara, the writer of their songs.

Suoh grunted, slapping the drumstick against the hard, white snare drum. "Not important," he repeated again after some silence.

"I don't see why my personal information is important and yours is not..." Munakata continued.

"Just tryin' to help ya'." Suoh shrugged.

"...Well, still, not that I believe it is any of your business, but no. I have not experienced either of those things. I never had time for it, I was too busy with music." It was true, Munakata hadn't experienced love...or any sort of sexual relations. He had spent his teenage years focusing on the piano and learning to perfect his technique; A technique which felt utterly useless on this stage.

"Knew it. Kusanagi owes me ten bucks," Suoh chuckled, spinning the drumstick around in his hand once more.

"Owes you?" Munakata frowned. "I thought you were trying to teach me some kind of lesson, not mock me." He yanked his coat off the back of his chair. "I'm leaving."

"Ah, c'mon, Munakata, lighten up! This is what I meant about that stick thing."

"Stick...thing?" Munakata asked, clenching his jacket hard.

Suoh stood up and pointed to his ass. "Up there."

"I am trying to learn and better myself, Suoh, this is no time for stupid jokes," he scoffed, turning his head away, his cheeks feeling hot.

"Embarrassed?" Suoh let out a deep, prideful chuckle, as though he were beyond thrilled he'd caught Munakata in the lie.

"I'm not," he said, keep his gaze fixated on Suoh, so not to give away his true emotions.

"Just...take the joke," Suoh groaned, covering his eyes. "Look, you really wanna better yourself, meet me here tomorrow night around 9 PM."

"9 PM? But it's a Friday, we don't practice on Fridays. I have a great deal of solo practicing I need to get done. Additionally, I really need to begin working on my new composition," Munakata explained. He couldn't go gallivanting around every night with Suoh, especially when the man was insufferable to be around. He had many things to work on, and his friendship with Suoh was not one of them.

"Yeah, we don't have practice, so you're free right?" Suoh talked, ignoring everything Munakata said.

"Did you not listen to a word I just said?" Munakata asked, his brow furrowing. "Do you plan on taking me to another concert?"

"Tomorrow. 9 PM. I'll teach ya' how to loosen up."

Munakata sighed, once again waiting outside for Suoh. He should've learned from last time, should've known Suoh wouldn't have shown up at 9. He took off his scarf, and re-wrapped it around his neck, covering up his mouth and nose, the hot air from his breath blowing back into his face.

He yawned, and stretched his hands up. It was getting late, already 9:15, and Munakata wasn't quite sure what Suoh had planned for the evening, but he hoped it would wrap up soon. He'd never been one to stay out very late.

Munakata wasn't sure why he kept agreeing to these weird outings, but something about Suoh intrigued him. The red haired man was incredibly obnoxious and Munakata couldn't stand how he acted about some things, and yet he was drawn to him. Perhaps there was a part of him which truly believed Suoh had some magical answer to his problem. The guy's life seemed to be a mess, and actually Munakata had no idea what the man did besides play his guitar, but for some reason, he held the key to unlocking something more inside of Munakata. Or at least that was what he wanted to believe. Plus, he really hadn't had a bad time at the concert, it had been rather nice to experience something new and different.

"Oi, Munakata," Suoh called, cigarette in his mouth. "Ya' ready?" He breezed by him and the door to the practice space, waving his hand up and down.

"Ready for what?" Munakata asked, glancing between Suoh and the door. "Are we not going in there?"

"Nope," Suoh said, tucking his hands his pockets as he scuffed his feet along against the sidewalk.

"Then, where are we going?" he asked.

"You ask way too many questions," Suoh sighed, turning the corner as they made their way down the block. Their feet squished against the messy slush on the sidewalk, the snow had begun to melt earlier in the day with the sun out, but the night brought back the cold, meaning the wet slosh wouldn't be there for long.

After what seemed like many minutes, Suoh finally stopped in front of a door underneath an awning. A bright red light flashed above it, reading only one word: bar. The sign lit up one letter at a time and then flashed the whole word, in a increment of only about three seconds.

"A bar?" Munakata asked.

"Yeah," Suoh said, flashing his ID to the man in front of the door. "I'm buying you a drink."

"Oh no," Munakata said, shaking his head. "You are sorely mistaken. I don’t drink alcohol."

"You don't?" Suoh asked, turned to face him, the tall bouncer blocking a small space between the two.

"No," Munakata urged. Right about now was when he'd be having his late, before bedtime tea, nothing alcoholic.

"You tried it?"

"No," Munakata repeated.

"Well you wanna experience shit right?"

Pulling out his wallet, Munakata showed his ID to the man, following Suoh inside. "I refuse to get drunk."

"S'fine," Suoh shrugged, grabbing a high top table for them near the bar. "Wait here, I'll get you something you might be okay with."

Munakata watched Suoh disappear into the large crowd of people. The bass was loud here too, but in a different way than the concert. This one pounded in his head, reverberating against his eyes. The speakers amplifying the loud twisting sounds of the dance music.

It was hot, sweaty, and the club smelled like a mixture of smoke, alcohol and body sweat. Munakata thought he might choke on the heavy atmosphere, the body heat lingering all around him, even though he was nowhere near the bar or the music. This certainly was a...new experience.

Suoh returned, placing a blue looking drink in front of Munakata, and he placed a small glass of brown liquid down in front of his own chair. "Try that," he said, gesturing to the blue glass.

"What is it?"

"A...blue drink," Suoh said, taking a sip of his own. "Just trust me. It's kinda sweet, kinda sour. You'll like it."

"Hm," Munakata hummed, pulling the drink towards his mouth. He sniffed it, and it smelled almost exactly as Suoh had described. Wrapping his lips around the thin glass, he took a small sip. The alcohol, or what Munakata assumed was the alcohol, was very strong, though it did have a sour taste, making Munakata's lips recoil for a moment. "It's not...terrible," he said. "But...why did you want to take me drinking?" Munakata asked, calling over the music.

"You said you wanted to experience new things, right? I figured you'd never been to a place like this."

Suoh wasn't wrong. Munakata had never actually been out to a bar or a club before. Nor had he tried anything like this drink. It really wasn't horrible. He took another sip, a larger one this time, the liquid stinging his throat as it went down.

"A very strange sensation..." he hummed.

Suoh chuckled, shaking his head. He raised his own glass to his lips, sucking down the brown liquid with ease. Obviously, this was something Suoh had done many times before. His golden eyes stayed fixated on the drink in front of him, sadness washing over him. For a moment, Munakata couldn't help but notice how attractive Suoh was, especially when he wore that cocky smirk, as obnoxious as it was. And when he looked sad, his eyes held a loneliness Munakata found he wished to understand.

He couldn't really figure out why though, and his cheeks felt flushed just thinking about it. He took a deep breath, and took a large gulp of the liquid.

"Oi, pace yourself if you don't wanna get drunk," Suoh grumbled, shaking his head. "You've never had alcohol before and you probably ate hours ago, it might hit you fast."

Munakata didn't really know what Suoh meant, so instead, he changed the subject. "What made you want to play guitar?" Munakata called out over the crowd.

Suoh quickly glanced away, looking annoyed. "Not important," he snapped.

"Hm. I told you quite a few things about myself, don't you think it's only fair you tell me at least one thing about you." Another sip slipped down his throat, the burn stronger that time, perhaps this drink had far more alcohol than he realized. His skin felt tingly, and his face felt hot.

Suoh swirled the drink around in his hand, took a large gulp, finishing off the drink. "You want one more?" Suoh asked.

Munakata looked at the blue drink which was slowly depleting. "Why not!" he shrugged, letting out a chuckle. "Since I am 'experiencing' things."

Suoh stood up from the table, moving over towards the bar yet again. Munakata followed his movements, noting again his attractiveness. He was tall, and his hair was so wild, Munakata couldn't even fathom doing his own hair in such a way. It seemed difficult...but it fit Suoh's gruff persona.

Suoh placed the drinks down on the table, and pulled himself onto the chair. "Totsuka," he said flatly.

"Totsuka?" Munakata asked, finishing off the rest of his first drink as he moved onto the second. "The...pianist before me?"

"Yeah," Suoh grunted.

"What...about him?" Munakata asked, knowing it was a...touchy subject with the red head.

"He's the reason," Suoh said, taking a large gulp of his brown drink.

"That...you play?" Munakata asked, putting two and two together.

"Yeah. He taught me. He started writing these dumb songs. Damn they were so stupid, and he wanted to play 'em...so he gave me a guitar and started teaching me. Sooner or later, we became this."

This. Their band, HOMRA, and yet, Totsuka was gone. Suoh's reason. It all became clear; Suoh had been in love with Totsuka...or well...in love with his music, though perhaps maybe him as well...and when Totsuka was gone, there was no reason for Suoh to play anymore. No wonder he was so picky about the piano.

"Ah...I see," Munakata said, swirling the half drank blue drink in his hand. "I...hope I can do his songs justice then," Munakata said, his purple gaze focusing on the liquid.

"Mmm," Suoh grunted, the noise barely audible as he finished off his drink.

Munakata felt a little fuzzy, the pounding in his head growing stronger. He took the drink and gulped it down, slamming the glass on the table. "Alright," he called out. "I will buy the next ones!" he announced, standing up before Suoh could object. He made his way to the bar, suddenly realizing he had no idea what the drinks were called, but as he leaned against the bar, ready to turn back towards Suoh, a man stopped in front of him.

"You're pretty, for a dude," the tall man said, staring directly into Munakata's eyes.

"Ah, well, thank you!" Munakata said, confused by the strange compliment.

The man raised his fingers, running them over the blue strands of Munakata's hair next to his face. "I bet you'd be a great time for me tonight," he said, leaning closer. His breath smelled strong of alcohol, and his hair was messy, as though he'd been dancing in sweat all night.

"I am...unsure about that," Munakata chuckled, backing up against the bar. The man stepped closer, blocking him in, though Munakata's eyes darted behind the man. If he wanted to, he could duck under his arm, pushing past him and-

"Hey!" A familiar voice called over. "What the hell is going on here?" Suoh's golden eyes looked intense, angry. He stepped next to the sweaty man and glared, wrapping his arm around Munakata's waist.

Feeling dizzy, Munakata felt his arm get yanked forward, away from the strange man as he felt Suoh's face moving closer. Their lips connected, and Suoh's fingers pressed against the back of Munakata's head, keeping him in place.

Munakata blinked, the feeling of Suoh's drunk lips and smokey breath were enough to keep him intoxicated. It made his face feel even more flush, and his stomach flip flopped, turning over on itself. Pulling back, Munakata kept his eyes shut, waiting for the lips to return, but they did not.

"We're leaving," Suoh grunted instead, tugging Munakata's hand in the direction of the exit.

Suoh wasn't sure why he did it. He'd seen the man from afar earlier in the night. The asshole had been drunk, pointed almost directly at them, and Suoh knew he was pointing at pretty boy Munakata. The idiot was a walking target. Beautiful, slightly intoxicated, the man of course had gone in for the kill when Munakata had approached the bar alone.

Munakata hadn't seemed to notice what the man was doing though, and Suoh took it into his own hands to...well, ‘save’ him. He'd wrapped his arm around Munakata's shockingly slender waist, pulled him close, and when the man had taken a step forward, Suoh had possessively kissed Munakata's lips.

And man, for some stuck up virgin, Munakata sure did take to kissing well. He'd opened his mouth, as though he was waiting for the kiss to progress. But instead, Suoh willed himself to pull away.

All night, Suoh had been practically unable to take his eyes off of the blue haired man. He'd looked so damn cute, sucking down the alcoholic beverage for the first time, and he'd seemed so proud when he was going over to the bar. Suoh had watched him leaning forward over the bar and his golden had followed his slender back all the way down to the curve of his perfectly taut ass. His blue hair framed his face perfectly too, the wisps of his bangs flicking out to the side in the most perfect wave. Was everything about this asshole perfect?

And after the kiss, Munakata's eyes had stayed closed, and Suoh was fascinated by the shape of Munakata's mouth and the way his eyes fluttered. His face was so damn flushed, probably from the alcohol and heat, though Suoh secretly wished it was from the kiss too. Maybe...

"We're leaving," he grunted, dragging Munakata outside away from the club.

"What was that?" Munakata said loudly, his ears adjusting to the outdoors.

"Stupid assholes like that were going to hit on your pretty boy face all night. I couldn't keep protecting you," Suoh growled.

"Oya? I didn't need protection," Munakata said, yanking his hand away. "I was actually about to duck under his arm and move around him. He wasn't a very intelligent man, it would've been easy to get away. And yet, you felt the need to kiss me?! Why?! What were you trying to prove!? You could've just pulled me away-"

"Ya' didn't see the way he was looking at ya'. I was-" Suoh stopped, turning around to look at Munakata's frowning face. What exactly was he trying to do? "Forget it...let's just go. I'll walk ya' back," Suoh grumbled, tucking his hands into his pockets as he walked silently ahead.

"Ah yes, all is well now. You said 'forget it', so now we can move on!" Munakata called out. Obviously the alcohol had hit him by now, and he kept talking as the two of them made their way back to the pianist's apartment. "You kiss me, give me my first kiss, for practically no reason, but of course we drop it, because making Suoh talk is far too much effort for his lazy behind," Munakata rambled.

"Shut up," Suoh grumbled, his brow twitching angrily. "Or I'll kiss ya' again just to make ya'."

"Oya, oya!" Munakata chuckled, walking faster to walk next to Suoh. "I think you want to kiss me more!" he teased, which only made Suoh walk faster.

He did not wish to kiss Munakata again. He'd only done it to stop the other asshole from kissing him. The man was insufferable, and completely obnoxious, especially now he was slightly tipsy or borderline drunk.

"I don't," Suoh said finally. "I was tryin' to help," he scoffed, stopping outside of Munakata's apartment building. "Just...helpin' you experience crap."

Munakata chuckled, shaking his head. "Well, you certainly succeeded this evening."

Suoh stared at Munakata's red cheeks. His face was flushed, and his breath was heated enough to make a cloud when he breathed out into the cool air. No, he definitely did...not want to kiss Munakata again. He clenched his fists in his pockets. "Yeah, welcome."

"I suppose I'll see you Monday then," Munakata said, his voice softer.

"Right, Monday."

"Until then," Munakata said, turning away from Suoh to head towards the lobby of his apartment complex.

Suoh let out a long sigh, pulling out a cigarette. He began to walk away, wondering what the inside of Munakata's apartment looked like.

#mikoreiweek2017 #mikorei #munakata reisi #suoh mikoto #K project #K project fanfiction #AU #chaptered #Cacophony #Day 1 Fascination #fanfiction

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aberaham · 7 years

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Abesome Life: Past & Future

Heya Guys 'n' Gals,

this Mumbling is a special one. I post this one not just on my Homepage and tumblr as per usual, but on all the platforms I'm active on!

The reasons for this are two important things. First I like to make a look back at Abesome Life in a kind of Appreciation Letter and secondly, I like to explain how everything will continue based on the information I gave you the past weeks so far.

Appreciation and Evolution

I like to make an early year recap just for Abesome Life. This is important to me because I never expected what it has become in just one year.

Abesome Life began as a little fun thing I did in Design school and back then I rarely had good ideas or concepts to turn into a Comic Page. Also, I wasn't satisfied with my art back then, to be honest. So it ended up in the backyard so to speak. But at the end of 2016, I got more and more ideas and got the feeling back to work on this Webcomic. January 2017 I started the new plan for Abesome Life. Every week I uploaded two pages telling a one-page story. But eventually, the one-pager, or One-Offs as I call them now, became more. I started to create a background, a whole world for the comic. Quicker and Quicker became those backstories more detailed. Additionally, my art evolved. From simple line art, I got to Gray shading and eventually to color. That resulted in a slower Upload time tho'. I feared that my online activity would suffer from it but it didn't. Quite the opposite. There were days where the views and likes skyrocketed. At that point, I'm uploading to 5 different websites including my own homepage. Each one had different results at different times.

Not so long ago, I concluded what I call the first Volume of Abesome Life. I never expected in January, when I first revived Abesome Life that I will make a book out of it. This is insane to me!

And I have to thank all of YOU for that!

Without your feedback, your likes, views and occasionally Comments I would have improved this series as I did. Also, I wouldn't have the motivation to continue, even with all those ideas! I really appreciate your support and I hope we can even get further than this!

Now I'm working on Volume Two and it already has a different structure than Volume one. Not to speak of the Look. It is full color and there will be even more development in the future. But more to that in the second Part.

I feel like this comic will grow bigger than we expect and this all thanks for your help. So a really big THANK YOU just to you. I know those are just words but be sure that the thanks will come in a different form in the future. Stay tuned for that. :)

Hiatus with Results

First off kinda bad news. Abesome Life is going on a Hiatus for some time. That means the latest Page "Alone in the Dark" is the last one for now. The reasoning behind this is a good one tho'. I like to focus on finishing the Book for the next weeks. It is Crunchtime for me now. I really wanna release it this year and I can't do it when I have to draw an Abesome Life Page each week. So I thought I finish up this Sports Arc and go on a Hiatus.

But the Book is not the only reason for this Break. If I finished the book I could get right into making the Pages again, but I won't. This is because I want to try out a new upload schedule. As you would guess Volume two will be segmented into Arcs, beginning with the Sports Arc. For now not every Arc is completely planned out but for now, it looks like this:

Sports Arc -- 11 Pages (Done)

Dream Realm Arc -- 12 Pages est.

Vacation Arc -- 11 Pages est.

Family Arc -- 7 Pages est.

Design School Arc -- 30-40 Pages est.

I like to finish up those Arcs before starting to upload them. For example, I start working on The Dream Realm Arc in January and as I finish up the last page the Uploads will start. But not as usual. With that method, I can go back to upload two pages a week again. After that Arc is done uploaded there will be a short break until the next one will start being uploaded. And so on and so on. But don't worry, there won't be a hole in between. I will update you on stuff I do each week. The reason for this decision is that I like to try out new things with the comic and as I go on they get more elaborate. I don't want to stress out each week to finish up a page. That way I can't deliver the quality I like to have.

In addition to all of that, I finally want to finish up my other comics like Smuggler Affairs. As I worked on those I always lost the sight of it and did other stuff. With my new structure, I can focus on everything in the own time. And eventually, you get more Products from me as we go along.

As I start working with this new structure in mind, I'll open up my very own Patreon Page. In case you don't know what Parteon is, it is a website for creators like me to be supported by fans like you. As I publish, post and Upload my comics or Artworks you can leave an amount of money of your decision to support me. This can be happening as a monthly "payment" or per Upload, which I will probably prefer. For now, I earn a little bit with Abesome Life over on tapas. The Fans over there don't even need to pay themselves. Each page I upload there has an Add Banner and as you take a look at the comic you also generate a view for the Add. As this number rises I get a little bit of money for that. It's not much but it doesn't cost anyone anything. So if you don't have the money to support me at Patreon go over to tapas and read my Comics there. This will help me enormously!

Keep your desks clean

Abe

#apreciate #blog #Comic #Webcomic #Evolution #Book #Plan #past #future #look back

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