#Going to include a snippet from that session later

[breezey907]

Macaria and Alias in their Winter's Crest clothes.

(This is what they wore during most of the Epilogue session after C2 ended.)

She wanted to be fancy when they went to Magnus' house and had to convince Alias not to wear is battle-ready Doctor's Robes.

(He also had a dark coat but I didn't want to draw it.)

[firstprincehornyramblings]

Hello everyone, thank you so much to @thighzp for the tag that made me get off my ass and post a snippet. It's been a big day here in America, writing felt nice, and so if anyone needs a cheer up, I'm including a huge snippet of Sugar Baby Alex. So big, and so nsfw, that it's under a cut. Everyone take care of yourselves, sending so much love to everyone <3

-----

“Are you apologizing for sexualizing me? When I’m laying here with my dick out literally begging you to fuck me? Also, calm down you just used the word ‘immaculate’. You sound like you’re critiquing art, are you like… actually horny?” the brunette asked, his face scrunched up as if confused. But he wasn’t confused, Alex was nervous, dreadfully anxious under the gaze of this man he wanted so badly. The man who would soon be the first man he’d done more than give a quick blowjob; but that wasn’t the part that concerned him. It wasn’t that Henry was a man, it was that he was Henry; and for some reason that Alex couldn’t quite place yet, he felt a desperate need to impress Henry. “Must I be crass?” the blond huffed, averting his eyes for a moment, a slight flush to his cheeks. “Of course, I’m horny,” his voice was low, like maybe he was embarrassed by that fact, or Alex’s question. “I will have you know that when I was your age, I had quite the reputation around Oxford.” “Oh, did you?” Alex teased, sitting up on one elbow so that his face was closer to the other man, “Well, why don’t you give me a lil taste of Henry the Oxford slut?” “You’re a demon.” “Oh baby, keep talking dirty to me.” Any retort that might have come after that was cut short as Henry’s hand grabbed Alex’s jaw and he was pulled into a stomach dropping kiss. If he’d thought the kitchen makeout session had been intense, Alex was currently being proved that he had no idea what Henry was capable of. No one had ever kissed him like this, like they were drinking the air out of his lungs. He felt Henry’s tongue slip into his mouth as he felt the blond’s palm run down his stomach. Experienced fingers wrapped around Alex’s shaft, stroking slowly and making a shudder rock through his body. It was impossible to stop the moan bubbling out of him, the one that made Henry lick into his mouth. Their kiss was broken moments later, only so that Henry could speak. “You’ve got such a nice cock, darling, I’ve been dying to get it in my mouth since the first time I saw you. You’re going to be a good boy for me and let me take it down my throat, aren’t you?” Breathless and near helpless, all Alex could do was nod eagerly. “No, I need better than that,” the blond’s thumb ran over Alex’s bottom lip as he spoke, locking their eyes together, “I need enthusiastic consent from you before we go on with this. I need to know you want it. Tell me what you want Alex, do you want me to swallow every inch of this gorgeous cock?” he punctuated that question with a flick of his wrist that made the brunette see stars for a moment. “Do you want me to spread you open? Press you into the mattress and take you apart slowly? Do you want my teeth on your neck while you feel your body stretching to take my cock? Do you want to be split open and feel me in your stomach, fucking you slow and deep, so that every time you make one of those pretty moans you feel me throb inside of you? Is that what you want, Alexander?” “Yes,” Alex tried to inhale but his breathing trembled, catching in his throat, “Yes, please Henry, I want you so bad. You’re… so fucking good at that. And it’s just a handjob, fuck. I can’t wait to see what you can do. I need it so bad, please, take me apart,” he panted, leaning in to chase Henry’s lips, only to be stopped by the hand on his jaw holding him in place.

I know it's late, but I'm throwing in some tags for anyone who might want to join in. I know being tagged inspired me. But of course no pressure as always lovelies.

@taste-thewaste @onthewaytosomewhere @henrysfox

@mikibwrites @eusuntgratie

@softboynick @catdadacd @sheepywritesfics

@henryspearl

@basil-bird @caressthosecheekbones

@henfox @anti-homophobia-cheese @redlipstickandglitter

@thesleepyskipper @tailsbeth-writes

+ literally anyone else I'm tired and forgot.

[sayakae-ao3]

How would Yaga's sessions with Geto look like in Safe and Sound

Here is the link to the story if you stumbled across this post by accident and have no idea what I'm writing about: https://archiveofourown.org/works/54699220/chapters/138624646

So, I cannot really put it in the story as an interlude because it would destroy the already suffering pacing, but I thought that I can include some snippets here, so you have an idea what I have in mind. This is just a rough sketch, nothing more. Also, my grammar probably sucks but yeah.

So, I imagine that at first Yaga wouldn't even attempt talking to Geto, he would just take him to the gym and train with him (something like he did with Panda in Panda's flashbacks). There would be no words exchanged, only physical workout, the comforting repetition of performing jabs after kicks, after right hooks.

Then, after a few days of this, Geto would break and ask what was the point. Why was he here, wasting time on training.

Yaga would stop his workout and then tell him that if his mind is too clouded, it's good to focus on something tangible, like training. 

"The strain of muscles and the sweat of one's body can distract from the unwanted thoughts," Yaga would explain, taking a break and grabbing his water bottle.

And then he would say the same thing he told Yuji: that he noticed things but kept quiet because he hoped his students would either resolve it or reach out to him.

Geto wouldn't be convinced yet. With a frown and a huff, he would continue with the training during the mandatory hour and then quickly leave.

The end.

But then, after the mission with Yuji and the break up with Satoru, he would say something to Yaga, for the first time attempting to open up.

"What if some things are set in stone? What if I'm destined to hurt people close to me?" Geto would murmur during the break, his gaze fixed on the hard floor instead of his teacher.

Yaga would give him a hard look before sighing heavily and taking a sip of his drink.

"I believe that we shape our own future. We may fail but what you do with that failure is entirely up to you. Do you give up already? Or do you keep trying to succeed?"

"You sound like Yuji. Not everyone has such perseverance," Geto would be frowning and not liking this at all.

"Your first mistake is compare yourself to Yoshino," Yaga would then say, not unkindly. "The second one is your perfectionism. Life of a Jujutsu sorcerer isn't pretty. There is death, blood, and so much pain."

"I know that."

"You may know it but you do not understand it. No matter if you're from a prestigious clan, from a fairly small family, or from out of nowhere, pain and death will follow you around sooner or later. The mindset of a Jujutsu sorcerer has to be strong."

Silence would follow this statement.

Yaga would then sigh again because he would realize this was getting closer to a scolding rather than a therapy session.

"Geto, instead of worrying about future, it's better to focus on the present. You have friends who care about you. They ask me about you even if you don't speak to them right now."

Geto would keep quiet, mulling over those words, almost sulking. His hands would play with his water bottle, his gaze would be clouded as he chewed on the words exchanged.

"Life of a Jujutsu sorcerer is already so lonely. Treasure the bonds you can still have," Yaga would say with another, smaller sigh, tilting his head up and thinking of his own past.

Or idk, something like that. It was just an example mostly but I imagine that it would go this way. Geto would be reluctant and unwilling to participate in those sessions but slowly he would open up a little and maybe even listen to his teacher. Or at least contemplate his words.

[memento-morri-writes]

hi !! I was wondering if you have any dnd characters you wanna talk about :) (in response to ur tags on my post)

ARE YOU KIDDING ME, OF COURSE I DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this is going under the cut because I talk too much!

So, the love of my fucking life is my swashbuckler rogue, Rook. (art of him here and here.) He has a very, very fucked up backstory, which I talked about here. (mind the tws on that post.)

I posted several snippets of the prose version I did of my favorite session I've ever played with him here. (again, mind the tws.) (I will gladly share the link to that entire doc if anyone wants to read it, as I'm very proud of it.)

But to be brief, he's the bastard son of a nobleman who's father hated him. He ran away from home as a teen, booked it to the nearest port town, and joined the crew of a pirate ship, captained by a woman named Zara. She was his mentor for YEARS and taught him everything. She also gifted him his magic rapier.

He got named first mate, which some people took issue with since he was one of the youngest crew members. They betrayed him and kidnapped him, giving him to rival pirate captain Kora Wolf, who kept him prisoner for two years before he was able to escape.

He ran away and entered the Feywild and was hiding there for several months before he was recruited by the party.

Currently, my poor man is having a terrible time. Two of the his party members are close with Captain Wolf, and one of them bought her lies about Rook, and now doesn't trust him. On top of this, he's been cursed by a demon lord, which is currently affecting him by not letting him sleep, partly due to terrible nightmares.

He's a super interesting character because on one hand he's very paranoid and mistrusting (especially now with his lack of sleep), but he also has never been shown much kindness in life, and it doesn't take all that much for him to be willing to die for you. He's incredibly reckless and will dive into dangerous situations without a second's thought, especially to save his friends. He joined a pirate crew because he was terrified of getting stuck in one boring place, and that says a lot about him. He idolizes Zara, and I have NO IDEA how he'll react when he meets her again, since he never got to say goodbye and has changed so much in the nearly 3 years since he saw her. Our party's gunslinger lowkey adopted him, and after the scene I linked above, he told someone "I missed having someone to take care of." which almost broke me.

As you can tell, I'm obsessed with this man, and I love making his life miserable. But don't worry, he'll get his happy ending. I have plans for an Inigo Montoya-style revenge duel between him and Wolf, and it's gonna be great.

My other current character is Cyra (she/they), a fire genasi barbarian/fighter. She was raised by a cult-like warband following the destruction of her hometown as a child. Later, she ended up falling in "love" with the daughter of the leader, and having a very toxic, fucked-up relationship with her. She eventually realized how bad her situation was, and realized there was no saving her gf or changing her mind, so she ran off, stealing a sand skiff as she left. They're currently becoming buddies with our party rogue, which was completely unexpected to all of us, players and characters. Last session we left off mid-combat with undead pirates in attempts to get some cursed treasure. Oh, and they have a flaming metal quarterstaff that they can summon by pulling it out of their chest. Which a major villain (who happens to be the rogue's ex-wife) wants so badly she tried to rip it out of Cyra's chest...

As for other characters, I have some very, very fun concepts for a few, including:

Zenara (they/them): tiefling warlock who was an accidental mix of a bunch of character from Critical Role Campaign 2. Occasionally gets possessed by their patron and wakes up with no memories of the shit they've done.

Avra: shadar-kai/reborn assassin who should be dead, but woke up somehow "alive" again after a mission gone wrong.

Morana: character for a future pathfinder game that will happen someday. Autistic necromancer witch with a raven familiar. Creepy as hell and very morbid. No empathy and very practical, to a degree that other people occasionally find disconcerting. Exiled from her hometown for graverobbing and necromancy. Apprenticed under a guy who turned himself into a lich.

I have literally over 30 other character concepts, but most of them are not well-developed, and this post is already WAY too long.

Now, PLEASE, TELL ME EVERYTHING. I wanna hear about your characters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how long have you been playing? what's your favorite class? Tell me all about your fucked up little guys!!!

[canarydarity]

howdy! it's day 1 of MCYT fanfic appreciation week, and i was wondering if you had any future writing projects or other ideas that you wanted an excuse to talk about :D no pressure whatsoever to answer this ask, just thought i'd reach out ♡

HI :')) this absolutely made my day to receive, and also served as reminder to me that yesterday was that events start day!!! so thank you for that!!!!

i will always always always take an excuse to talk about the fic ideas that are rotting my brain <3

I'm going to talk about 3 projects; 1) yet another DL rancher one-shot 2) my current brain rot go to: speed racer au 3) and a worm tried and true classic: gay baseball au

cut here because....i am a rambler

I'll start with what y'all are most likely to see next,,,

After the second session of Limlife came out, I wrote a little vignette from Tango's pov that included a throw-away scene from DL where someone left a golden apple on the ranchers porch in the middle of the night as an extremely un-funny joke. And that. idea has haunted me since I thought of it,,, I outlined it months and months ago though never got around to writing it... but for some reason a few days ago I opened that doc again and it just sorta. happened.

it's only about halfway done right now, but if all goes well it might be up by the end of the week :)) small preview mayhaps:

The door not yet having been opened, the possibility of what was waiting for him on the other side yawned and stretched towards endless. In a way, not knowing but speculating was worse than just opening the damn thing and facing the one singular scenario that was, but that was why he struggled to do it. Schrodinger’s danger—this was stupid; Tango opened the door.  No one was there.  He blinked in the face of its emptiness for a moment. Of all the situations he had considered, absolutely zero of them included opening the door to nothing. The one definite thing a knock spoke to was the presence of someone—something. So, what, they risked the middle of the night in peace times to come to the ranch they all loved barging into any time regardless to ding-dong ditch? That seemed, like, a gazillion times more unlikely. 

---

Then...the thing that is currently carving out its home in my brain...speed racer au. Tango-centric, more tango & etho angst than it is team rancher tbh.

The au is based solely on the 2008 movie speed racer, not as much the rest of the franchise! I guess /warning for speed racer spoilers, but the movie came out 16 years ago and the anime is from the 1960's...............so like.............also come on

I...have absolutely 0 clue how to describe to you the plot of speed racer. imagine you drive a race car so good and look so hot while doing it that you take down the mafia AND defeat the evil that is capitalism. That's speed racer. Like most worm aus its...not a comprehensive story. it's mainly me taking scenes from the movie that i adore and reimagining them with life series characters in those positions.

Tango is our titular character, an up and coming, widely known and celebrated automobile racer. He's the only racer not sponsored by some big company, he'd rather his pals—his family—be in control of his car, the Mach 5, and his racing career.

This is so so silly to try to explain you have no idea. I'm just going to say it. So when Tango was a kid, his older brother Etho died in this really dangerous unofficial non-track race thing. Two years later, theres a new racer in the league calling himself Racer X. No one knows his actual identity, and, at all times, he is wearing this. mask. thing. umm. anyway so Racer X is secretly Tango's older brother who Tango thinks is dead. And he now races under a secret identity because he is trying to take down. the fucking mafia. who own a whole bunch of racing teams and do crime and things. cause why not. Im going to stop over-explaining speed racer, just take this snippet and go:

“Look, can we cut the bullshit?”  If Tango’s mounting poor mood had any effect on X, he didn’t show it. He maintained the stillness of a wildlife photographer, danger not a warning to flee but more the promise of a shot worth sticking around to capture. Tango had felt studied since they’d cut the engines, since X’s head had popped up over the wheel, smirking—but now he’d felt seized.  “Alright.” His mouth opened, all the energy to press on but none of the gall. As usual, he’d gotten too ahead of himself; clutch pressed to the floor, shift it into first gear, every intention to move with no promise to follow through. He didn’t ease off the clutch so much as he ran away from it; he’d stalled, his mouth shut dumbly.  There wasn’t the time to wait it out, and Tango didn’t think he’d afford it to himself if there were. This moment had been promised to him since Casa Cristo began. He might not have then, but standing here now he knew it to be true. He thought X knew it, too—this was inevitable. He knew it like you knew you had minutes before your mom found that thing that you broke, like you knew someone was about to walk away from you for good. It was no less natural to him than knowing he was going to be a driver, no harder to glean from his future than being able to picture Jimmy by his side. He wouldn’t squander the chance because he hadn’t been adequately prepared for it to arrive.  Tango choked, “Etho?” “You think I’m your brother.” When he said it it was a statement, not a question.  “Aren’t you?”

---

And lastly...gay baseball au :')) or rather, "against all odds"

yes I'm still stuck on that, YES I plan to keep writing it.

I posted a little bit ago,, beginning of January, that I wanted to post the first chapter of baseball au if possible around/on my birthday, which is the first week in March. I can't PROMISE that will happen, because I am working on grad school applications at the moment and I also. know myself. and want to have the UTMOST MAJORITY POSSIBLE of the writing done before I post it. otherwise. I won't go back. But...tentatively that is hopefully the plan <3

Once again: plot summary, snippets

Have another for free :))

“What about you, Jim Jam?” Jimmy frowned at Skizz, only somewhat confused and mostly sure that he shouldn’t have been. “What about me?” “The question—what would you do if you weren’t doing this?” With clarity came even more confusion. It had felt normal for the others to ponder what-ifs and other lives where they did other things, a rightness that immediately soured when the spotlight had shone on him. There were no alternate versions of Jimmy, this was the only one in existence; he was a model toy that had never made it off the drawing board, no plans for mass production—too little consumer interest.  “Oh…I dunno.” He thought baseball might be the only thing he was capable of, and even then that didn’t mean he was good at it. “I’d never thought about it, I guess.” 

Anyway, I will exhibit exemplary self control and stop talking now. Thank you again so so much for asking <33

[bluejay-in-write]

Writing Accountability Day #1

So uh i lied and ended up writing today even tho honestly i hadn't been expecting to feeling the urge to or even having enough energy to do so. But since it happened i guess that makes this day 1 of my accountability pact.

I wont be including any snippets on these posts since these are only check ins and I'm not trying to pressure myself even more so than I'm already doing with this 😅 i will share a bit about what i wrote tho cause this would be kinda boring otherwise,

Today i wrote based on a prompt from this year's writemas ran by: [will insert wonderful person later] i ended up writing [will add wordcount as well tomorrow when i feel like it cause i wrote in my notebook].

It ended up being about a boy who although a non-believer spoke to god every day about anything and everything because although he didn't expect them to be listening he was familiar with that due to his past experiences. The boy preferred the answering silence as he opened up to an uncaring or non existent god way more than the verbal and/or physical abuse he was used to.

So that was about it not too much going on with today's writing session but I'm happy i ended up writing at all even though it made me start this way sooner than i planned. Again feel free to join in on holding me accountable when it comes to writing tomorrow! Have a nice night everyone 💙

[vultruntrash]

The Plan

Hey, yo, been a hot minute eh?

Me? Hyperfixations and work. Not Voltron related.

What IS Voltron related, however, is some ideas I've been having.

I still have all of my research notes from back during the binge sessions, as well as the timeline and canon event logs. Still waiting on the dvd release for seasons 7 and 8, but at this point, I'm just assuming that's not going to happen; which makes me sad because dvd releases would have more goodies to look through (And I like my dvd goodies)

So, what's The Plan?

I haven't gotten anything in a document yet, they're all still disjointed scenes floating around in my head. It's essentially a rewrite. A script, moreover, honouring the showrunner's ultimate decisions in the series and justifying them with character growth and development. With some notable changes. And some expanded explanations of included elements.

Zarkon still dies. The first time. The Robo-version is a corpse puppet.

Allura and Lance still end up together. And it's believable.

Shiro still retires. And gets together with whatshisbucket, but doesn't marry yet.

Keith still comes into his own as a leader.

Lance grows as a Second, and starts taking others, and himself, more seriously.

Pidge is still a gremlin and Hunk is still a cinnamon roll.

Some of the more notable changes I'm planning out are actually some of the more important instances of the series that I feel could have been handled much better than they had been.

Allura's apology, for one, is an actual apology; and is moved to much later in the series to after Shiro's disappearance. It's a quiet moment, with nothing on the line, and most importantly it's something she does on her own.

Keith's decision to leave Voltron to work with the Blades of Marmora is related to how weird Kuron is acting. Keith knows something is up, but he doesn't know what, but he DOES know that he's more likely to find out working with the Blades. The private conversation with Lance is still originally Lance wanting to give up being a Paladin, but becomes Keith revealing his suspicions and asking Lance to watch over everyone and keep them safe while he's gone.

The Zarkon Fight at the end of season one has more thematic appropriateness, added to later when the team is attempting to get back to earth as soon as possible and go one that "vision quest" to unlock ftl travel. The 'fight your predecessor' scenes are going to be added in as the Paladins are being submitted to a final trial before officially achieving full control of their lions.

Adding on to that, the fight at the end with Haggar is not a multiverse-traversing mess, but a "battle in the center of the mind" that ultimately ends with Allura sealing herself and Haggar together until one of them is defeated. This is done with the knowledge that, regardless of who wins, there's not really a way to escape.

Spoiler alert: Allura wins. And escapes. And finds her way to the Paladins somehow. How? Something something Altean Magic, idk.

The final change I wanted to talk about is at the very end of the series. When the Lions reactivate and leave the planet, the Paladins are piloting this time. This is to symbolize that, though the conflict is over, their job is still not done. They've earned their place as the Paladins of Voltron, and in doing so have vowed to defend the universe from any that wish to harm it's inhabitants.

So, it's a lot, right? It's a lot.

I make no promises if or when anything will be written, but after seeing the reblog about how quickly it came and went, it makes a little more sense why things were the way they were and it continues to leave a bad taste in my mouth to know that. So I wanted to share the plans I've been very slowly chipping away at for a while now. I've got enough on my plate between work, my comic, my other fics, and commissions, that Voltron hasn't really been a priority.

I'll try to start writing things down and post snippets now and then, but do bear in mind that this isn't a full fic, or a narrative, or a webcomic. It's a script. Written with the full intention of taking pre-existing clips and rearranging them to match. Complete with scene calls, expression and read notations, and a sound track.

So forgive me for being reluctant to want to dive right in

[leanders-halcyon]

I have a few things I'd like to address here.

This is a struggle so many writers and creators have and I wish that there was a one size fits all solution to it. But what I'm discovering is everybody has a different strategy that works for them and usually this is only found through discouraging cases of trial and error.

I think having a variety of other peoples' techniques can be incredibly beneficial to figuring out which configuration of tips and tricks can help you personally when you're blocked or stuck.

For me, I have developed really bad task paralysis which has made writing incredibly difficult. It sucks because sometimes I have the motivation to write, but I just cannot do it. I also usually feel very inadequate in my writing sometimes because of my perfectionist tendencies. There are a few ways I've been working on overcoming these obstacles and combining them together is incredibly helpful.

The first is to tell yourself to work on your project for 5 minutes. It's such a small amount of time that there's little pressure. But even the smallest amount of progress is still progress. Usually, though, the hardest part is starting and once you've started, that's often enough to get you to keep going. But even if you were only able to work on it for 5 minutes, that's still 5 minutes of something. However, once I've started, I oftentimes have a difficult time stopping, so this has been generally helpful for me.

Number two is to let your work be shit. Perfectionism is severely debilitating and I'm frequently upset and disappointed that I can't translate what's in my head on to paper in the way I want. To work around this, I've begun to almost purposely make my first drafts absolute shit and then I have control over its quality. Then the only way from there is up with improvement. After awhile I can sort of just let myself write and, knowing it's not perfect and I'm not trying to make it perfect lets ideas flow much more fluidly and, more often than not, what I chug out in a first draft isn't half bad.

Third is being messy. I've found a technique that works for me is to have a notebook intended to be a mess. A hodgepodge amalgamation of first draft text, random ideas I want to add put in the middle of paragraphs, random scraps of dialogue I want to include later. To differentiate that these are half-baked ideas, I usually draw a rectangle around them or draw arrows to them in the margins. That way I'm not overwhelmed when I think of a good idea to include 8 chapters down the line while I'm still working on chapter 2. You can also use separate notebooks or the notes app for random snippets, too.

I also have a combination of ADHD and autism so I can hyperfixate on a task like writing and then get completely burnt out. This has also been quite a struggle for me to navigate. Sometimes I can write for 6 hours straight one day, and then nothing for a week. There are two main ways I've been dealing with this. One is to kind of let it happen. If I write for six hours one day, that's great. I know because of that amount of work I'll probably need a few rest days and that's okay. You're not a failure for taking breaks and rests between bursts of work. But if this isn't a process you want or like, then there needs to be a system to prevent burnout in the first place which means instead of takes day-long breaks, the points of rest come between writing sessions. Write for 45 minutes, then do something else. Find something fun and "unproductive" to do. Do some things you need to get done. Then go and write for another 45 minutes.

Going outside, getting exercise, and reading can also be helpful. Relaxing your brain and giving it room to think and breathe without pressure. Reading is good because usually the more you read the better you write. So if you're reading, in a way you're still working on your own writing. (Reading books from authors about writing can also be beneficial).

All of this is way easier said than done and there's still good days and bad days. Even though I have all these ideas to help for motivation, sometimes they work and sometimes they don't and I'm still trying to figure out what works best for me, too.

This whole long spiel of mine is probably not what OP thought of when posting this and maybe I went a little overboard. But motivation in writing has also been hard for me and I relate to the struggle a lot.

how do you motivate yourself to write? do you have any tips or nice websites that make planning and worldbuilding a bit easier?

[f1-stuff]

for the wip asks: the mechanic au 👀 there is no where near enough mechanic aus and a charlos one sounds INCREDIBLE.

(P.S. i actually love ur blog. you always make me laugh 🫶)

🥹 Aw, I'm glad!! Thank you for sending an ask! This was actually one of my first F1 WIPs, but it was requiring sooo much research that I took a break that turned into a complete abandonment. But hopefully, I'll go back to it one day!

Here's a little snippet I wrote for Charles' first day in the paddock 💪

The only word his brain has the capacity for after the first day is tired. 

The minute they land in Melbourne, they’re heading to the track to begin setting up the garage for the arrival of the cars. Charles gets issued a full team kit, including socks with the Ferrari logo. As soon as he puts them on, he finally feels like it’s real. It’s really happening.

“You’re, Charles, yes?” one of the mechanics asks him in Italian while they’re setting up. “From Monte Carlo?”

He nods. “Yes, nice to meet you...”

“Alessandro. But you can call me, Alé. I believe we’re roommates.”

“Nice to meet you, Alé,” Charles says, shaking his hand. The other man seems young, but still older than Charles. “What do you do?”

“I’m a gearbox mechanic,” Alé says, smiling. “And I operate the front-right gun for the pit. My first race was Melbourne in 2017. So I know what you’re feeling right now.”

“And what am I feeling?” Charles asks, arching a brow in challenge.

“Scared as shit,” Alé says, grinning. Charles laughs, but he doesn’t have the heart to correct him. He’s not scared - if anything, he’s the most ready he’s ever felt. But he doesn’t think anyone would believe him if he said so. “Your Italian is not bad.” 

Charles knows this means it’s quite good, otherwise Alé wouldn’t have said anything. “I’ve been learning since I was a child.” Alé nods.

“Is it ‘Sharl’ or ‘Charles’?” Alé asks, pronouncing it with and without the ‘s’ sound at the end.

“Either is okay,” he says, shrugging. “I like both.”

“Well, you’re very easygoing,” Alé says, chuckling. “Very polite.” Charles smiles, but it occurs to him that maybe he’s being made fun of. He brushes it off though, focusing back on what he’s doing.

Everything, of course, becomes even more real when the cars arrive and he has to begin his real work. He’s been assigned especially to the brake department, as they’ve started to see a brake overheating issue and needed someone dedicated to monitoring them and replacing parts if necessary. 

He records the thickness of all of the brake pads and discs, so he can later examine the wear after practice and qualifying sessions. It’s a clockwise circuit, so Charles in addition to putting the slightly denser brake pads at the front of both cars, installs the heaviest at the left-front brake. They’re meant to all be the same size, but there are always slightly heavier pads and discs.

In addition to this job, he’s also part of the car crew for what will this year be Carlos Sainz’s car. He knows a bit about Sainz - he’s had a successful few seasons in Formula One already, particularly last year where he’d raced surprisingly well in the sub-par McLaren car. It was what had won him his seat, replacing Sebastian Vettel in what had been a slightly shocking decision to Charles. He’s not the only one interested in what Sainz might be able to pull off in a Ferrari.

As soon as the car is built, they’re doing pit-stop practice until late into the evening. There isn’t a curfew for Thursday, so they take advantage of every moment of time available. Charles has been assigned to the left-rear corner, where he removes the old tire from the car when it pits. 

There’s definitely a learning curve, and the tires are heavier than most people think. He’ll need to step up his workout routine if he wants to keep up with the other mechanics. On top of the sore arms he’ll surely have tomorrow, his feet are killing him after hardly sitting down since disembarking the plane. 

At one point, he takes off his shoes and walks around in just his Ferrari-issued socks, the floor feeling blessedly cool on his aching feet. However, he soon has to put his shoes back on or risk injury, which is when he discovers that he should never take off his shoes again because putting them back on is its own hell.

When he gets to the hotel room that night, he hardly says a word to Alé, who is indeed his roommate, instead collapsing face-first onto the bed, still fully clothed. He doesn’t remember closing his eyes, and he’s not aware of anything until the alarm goes off the next morning. That, of course, is when the real fun begins.

[scripted-downfall]

An Interpretation of Confidentiality

I’ve been doing a rewatch of Lucifer, and I forgot how much I hated the season 6 episode “Save the Devil, Save the World.”  There are so many things that piss me the hell off about this episode, and I find myself disliking most of the people in it for various reasons.

I mean, first there’s Linda, and I cannot express enough how much I dislike her in this episode.  For all she spoke about Doctor-Devil confidentiality across the seasons, she started a very, very long book based on what should have been confidential therapy — and not just therapy with Lucifer, either, since it featured components of everyone’s conversations with her — and intended it to be mass-published eventually.  When Lucifer found out, he had every right to be pissed (and, frankly, I was hoping he would be)... and yet he sees the best in the gesture and is legitimately enthusiastic about it… and then, later, she turns the entire situation into being about herself.  It’s selfish and unethical.

Then, there’s the collective response to reading the book.  Everyone jumps on Lucifer for how he portrayed them in the story, but the fact is that it’s not just his account that’s been put into the book??  It’s really unfair for him to get all the blame when the fact is that Linda knew everybody involved, that she’d had counselling sessions with all of them, and that the book contained things that Lucifer literally couldn’t have told her.  I mean, the snippet about Maze and Dan feeding Chloe’s father’s killer to the Russians wasn’t something Lucifer knew about, or, at least, certainly not in as much detail as was contained in the narrative: not the exact wording, for example, of what they’d said.  Linda quite clearly took information from everybody in the celestial inner circle — quite possibly including Ella — for her book, so blaming Lucifer for how everyone is represented is idiotic at best and purposefully unfair at worst.

And then there’s Chloe and her damn, “What if you think I’m smart and… and beautiful and ‘perfect’ because you’ve never stuck around long enough to see me at my worst?”  I mean, on the one hand, I guess that I kinda get where she’s coming from, but also…  She broke into his penthouse, trashed the place, stole his stuff, and tried breaking into his safe in a fit of pique because he and Ella had to go deal with a case on her birthday.  She tried to poison him and send him back to Hell.  She got addicted to super strength from Amenadiel’s necklace and tried to kill him permanently with Azrael’s blade to keep it.  He’s very clearly seen her at her worst and consistently stuck around anyway, so acting as though she’s been a picnic the entire time is ridiculously naive and kinda insulting to him.

All of this is made so much worse by the fact that Lucifer legitimately doesn’t seem to recognize there being a problem.  He takes the book-writing as a good gesture and makes the best of it; he does the same with Chloe’s decision to renege on their plan to go with him to Heaven without any notice.  I’ve talked about the way he seems to view his own rights as not especially important in the post Needing the Eggs, but this entire episode showcases it.  I really wish that someone alive had pointed out to Ella that three other humans had found out about Lucifer’s devil nature, and that it had prompted one of them to have a slight breakdown and two of them to try to kill him; Lucifer certainly wasn’t going to point that out and, while Dan kinda tried to do so, he had to do it through Linda’s book, which meant that it was contained in a single line that Ella didn’t even seem to register.

Honestly, the only two characters in the episode for whom I truly, completely felt bad were Ella and Lucifer.

I feel for Ella, I really do… I fully understand why she feels hurt.  (I would say that I’m not sure that Lucifer actually knew that she lost her faith in the aftermath of Charlotte Richards; I don’t remember precisely what was going on, but I recall him being absent/extremely preoccupied at the time.  I think that it might have been when he was worried about salvaging his relationship with Chloe post Devil-face-reveal/when she was trying to kill him, but I very well could be wrong.  Either way, I’m not sure he was that aware that she lost her faith such that it’s fair to say that he just stood by watching without helping.)

And then Lucifer… I mean, Rory’s appearance was already a pretty vicious cut to any progress he’d made towards not hating himself (telling him that he’s no better than the father he hated, saying she hated him, trying to kill him, etc), but this episode… Slowly but surely, the entire cast of characters — including Ella, if I’m being honest, though, again, she’s the only one at all justified in it — spend their time jumping on Lucifer, slowly but surely eating away at that same progress.  By the time the episode ends, he’s internalized everything into “You think I’ll fail, don’t you?  My own therapist doesn’t actually believe that I’ll become God.” and “I’m not capable of real change.”  (Oh, and then Chloe acts all surprised by that statement, trying to excuse her earlier accusations with “What I said back there… I was scared” as though that fixes anything, but not intending to hurt someone does not erase the hurt, especially since she’s supposed to be the one person who supports him, who has faith in him, etc.)  All in all, this episode was the very last thing he needed.

I’m not sure that’s everything I dislike about the episode — it’s probably not — but I felt the need to express at least some of how I felt… Honestly, it might be one of my least favorite episodes of that season.

[snickerdoodlles]

grasshoppers and elephants - future scene

a little ~1.5k snippet of architecture & engineering being friends while Pat and Pran flirt obnoxiously in front of everyone. set in the far future of grasshoppers and elephants (tag). relationship has semi-recently been revealed to all friends, but the parents don’t yet know

setting: the friends are still working about 14x harder than they need to in their quest to be aggressively supportive of PatPran. here, they’re coordinating a short run of workshops so that architecture students can learn civil engineering surveying, aka the different methods civil engineers use to get a lay/understanding of the land they’re working on. the friends’ excuse is it benefits both faculties. lowkey, it’s an excuse for Pat and Pran to be required by the university to hang out, and also help sell Pat's little lie about his actual degree. none of it is necessary, but the friends are Doing It Anyways

(*engineering degrees have different emphases, ie civil engineer, mechanical, chemical, aerospace, etc. different emphases cover different subjects, and these different classes begin to pop up in the 2nd/3rd year of the degree. hence why korn--a civil engineer--is taking point on this. pat’s dad thinks he’s following his footsteps to be a civil engineer as well, but his emphasis is actually mechanical, like mo’s.)

(:(  ):)

Korn, Wai, and Pat begin plotting the next day after practice. They commandeer a little table not too far from the gym and Wai dumps a forest’s worth of registration and requisition forms across the table because the administration’s still in the dark ages and requires paper for everything. About fifteen minutes later, Pran and Louis show up to help. Korn grimaces as soon as he sees them, because they’d just gotten everything sorted into a dozen stacks scattered across the table and their bags are taking up half of Pat’s bench.

Wai follows his grimace and wrinkles his nose in irritation as well. “Hey,” he greets as soon as the others join them. Louis takes the seat next to Wai, leaving Pran the only one without. “Uh--”

Pran sits in Pat’s lap.

“Is this everything?” Pran asks casually as he digs through his bag.

The three friends blink silently, off-kilter as Pat gently nudges Pran into a more comfortable position and then flops against his shoulder like a contented puppy. These two are feared and respected by their seniors. They’d gotten into an ethics debate so intense last week they’d scared their professor. They’re so sweetly comfortable wrapped up in each other Korn’s embarrassed just looking at them.

Pran looks up and raises his eyebrows at them pointedly, and Korn snaps out of it, feeling scolded. “Right, uh. Professor Thana agreed to oversee the sessions. I’m drafting the request for additional activity hours for the survey class I’m already taking. Professor Thana will talk to the faculty director for us to ensure non-civils can also join, the administration just needs a formal request from us students expressing interest.”

Louis snaps his fingers and digs out a few sheets of paper from his bag. “I got a list of architecture students interested in the survey activity. I just asked around and started taking down names, there will probably be more if there’s an official announcement.”

“Ooh, that’ll help, thank you.”

Wai points to two stacks in front of him. “Safe and I talked to our administration too. We can receive credit for our degrees by submitting this form after we’ve finished the course, we’d just need Professor Thana and one of the faculty directors to sign off on it. But each person would have to do it individually. If we have enough non-civil students, the administration may setup something more suitable and Professor Thana could just submit all of our information like professors normally would with grades at the end of term, but the form is the way to go until then.” Wai taps the second, much thicker stack. “This might not be necessary, but the administration aide also suggested including some time slot possibilities in the proposal. If we make sure the schedule won’t clash with any of the other survey classes and that the equipment will be available, it might fast track the proposal.”

Pran’s eyebrows are near his hairline. “...I’m impressed.”

Wai and Louis stick their tongues out at him in matching scowls. “We’re not total flakes,” Wai grumbles guiltily.

Pran smiles in an apology and waves the comment off. He skims over the other stacks like he’s checking off a mental list while also spreading out a napkin in one of the few remaining empty spaces on the table. “It’ll fill a requirement, not just credits?” He empties a small packet of nuts onto his napkin and eyes them, then wrinkles his nose, just a little.

“Mhmm,” Louis reassures as he looks through his email on his phone. “Dr. Rung said it’d count to our overall activity hours requirement--ah!” He holds his phone out for Pran.

Pran hums as he checks it over and discusses some degree requirement with the other two, oblivious to Pat staring at the back of his head with hearts in his eyes. Still up to mischief though—Korn watches as the guy subtly and sweetly nuzzles Pran’s shoulder right before he steals a few of his nuts.

“Eh-- Pat!”

Pat shoves the nuts in his mouth and blinks at Pran with guileless eyes as the man scoffs. Wai and Louis roll their eyes alongside Pran, though they don’t share Pran’s small smile and helplessly besotted look when he turns back to them, hiding his face from Pat. Pat beams triumphantly, happily munching on his prize.

Korn just stares at Pat judgmentally. He, Wai, and Louis are only just sitting here, enduring this nonsense while they help orchestrate a lie mostly for him. He’s watched Pat be ridiculous in love, but he hadn’t realize how much Pat had been holding himself back. Korn cannot believe this shit.

Pat finally meets his judgy stare and turns a little sulky. “He doesn’t like eating an odd number of nuts,” Pat says defensively, as though that excuses anything.

Well. Korn glances between Pat, Pran, and the little napkin with apparently a now even number of nuts. He thinks about that time Pran restapled a final because of a crooked sheet, or that time he switched Pat’s even chopsticks with his crooked ones, and is horrified to discover that some deep and repressed part of him finds Pat eating an odd number of nuts for Pran charming. What the hell.

Pran fidgets shyly under their collective stares, definitely misinterpreting their silence. “It’s weird when chewing’s uneven,” he protests mutedly, flustered. Korn doesn’t understand a single thing happening here. This man stuck his tongue down Pat’s throat in public last week just to shut him up and then acted like nothing happened, but this (whatever this even is) makes him blush? Un-fucking-believable.

Pat’s hand darts out and he snatches up another small handful of nuts, and Pran’s protest shatters the stiff atmosphere. Pran grabs Pat’s cheeks and squeezes, but Pat just continues to chew and bat big doe eyes at him. Pran looks between Pat, his napkin of nuts, and back again, and quirks an eyebrow irritably.

Pat swallows. Still blinking innocently, he says in a pouty voice, “Oh no… It’s an odd number of nuts again… Guess you’ll have to feed me another one…”

Korn and Wai exchange disbelieving looks, judgmental as hell. Pran offers a single nut for Pat to eat from his fingers, only to pull it back at the last second and eat it himself, sticking his chin out daringly.

...Seriously? They’re right here.

Pran turns back to them with a huff. “What,” he says, not asking a question but throwing down a challenge.

Good for him. Except Korn actually wants to get this work done sometime today. “We’re bonding over you two being gross,” he says flatly.

“Yeah,” Wai whines, “Save the married bickering for the bedroom. Think of our poor innocent eyes.”

“Oi,” Louis barks, wagging a finger at Korn and Wai. “You two should be nicer to our good friends here. You especially Wai--” Louis’s stern demeanor cracks, lips twitching with mischief “--Pran stayed up with us all night on our project. He never got to go home to his honey.”

“Oh,” Korn gasps, hand over heart. “Pran. Why didn’t you say so?”

Pran rolls his eyes so hard his head shakes. “Guys--”

“No, no, Louis is right,” Wai says tragically, slumping against Korn in his dramatics. “How could I have been so cruel when you’ve both been separated for almost twenty hours.”

“Ohh,” Louis and Korn wail, swooning. “Twenty hours!”

“Oi!” Pran yells, slamming his fist on the table. He points at each of them menacingly and, unlike Pat, actually looks threatening doing it. “You can shut up, or I can leave you to do all of this yourselves.”

The three straighten dutifully and put on their most apologetic airs. Then Korn leans against Wai conspiratorially and says in his normal volume, “I think we’re in trouble.”

Wai winces and bends his head in shame, and says in a voice just as loud, “Do you think Mom’s gonna put us in timeout?”

“Ooooooohh,” the three of them chorus together as Pran’s nostrils flare and he raises his fist at them.

Except Pran would be a lot more threatening if he weren’t so unwilling to leave Pat’s lap to threaten them. He’s not even leaning forward much, his back still plastered against Pat’s front. None of them manage to fully muffle their laughter and Pran finally scoffs and looks away.

“I hate all of you assholes,” he says, as though he’s not smiling too.

Korn snickers. The other two make kissy faces at Pran and Korn waves a form to catch Pat’s attention. “Hey lover boy, you actually gonna help us with any of this?”

Pat shrugs, or as much as he can when his arms are still wound tight around Pran’s waist. “You said it yourself, I haven’t gotten to hold him for almost a day.”

Pran smacks Pat’s arm for them, not that it does anything to change Pat’s shamelessness. Korn rolls his eyes fondly. “We’re doing this for you, asshole.”

“Ah, ah,” Louis protests, “We’re doing this for my future laziness. Who cares about that guy?”

All of them laugh, Pat the most. “Could I pay you people to be nice to me?” Pat asks, trying to hide his grin behind Pran’s shoulder and failing entirely.

“Wouldn’t be worth it,” Wai says immediately.

“We are nice,” Korn protests at the same time.

Pat flips both of them off, arms still wound around Pran’s middle because he’s ridiculous.

“Okay, okay,” Pran waves all of them down, grabbing Pat’s hands to force him to put his middle fingers down. (Which, come to think of it, was probably his plan all along. Kudos to him. Korn’s going to give him so much shit about it as soon as they’re alone.) “How should we split up the work?”

(:(  ):)

[dustedmagazine]

Listening Post: Broadcast

British band Broadcast was active in the late 1990s and early 2000s. They began life as a fairly conventional indie-rock band with a retro-futurist aesthetic and bookish sensibilities, but over time developed a burgeoning interest in analog synths, field recordings, the occult history of the British Isles, and what came to be known as a “hauntological” sound in common with artists on the Ghost Box label. Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Trish Keenan and her partner, multi-instrumentalist James Cargill, were the main members of the group, and early incarnations also included Roj Stevens on keyboards and Tim Felton on guitar. They released a handful of widely praised albums, from Work and Non-Work, a 1997 compilation of their early EPs and singles, through to 2009’s Broadcast and the Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age. Keenan tragically died of pneumonia in 2011 after complications that arose from contracting a virus. Following Keenan’s death, Cargill worked on the soundtrack to the 2013 horror film Berberian Sound Studio, which featured music that the couple had created together.

On 18th March 2022, Warp makes widely available three rare Broadcast releases. Maida Vale Sessions compiles four live performances recorded at the BBC during 1996 and 2003, both for the Evening Session and legendary DJ John Peel, mostly comprising songs from 1997’s Work and Non-Work, 2000’s The Noise Made by People and 2003’s Ha Ha Sound. Microtronics Vol. 1 & 2 is a 34-minute collection of instrumental vignettes, originally available in 2003 and 2005 as tour-only CDs. Mother Is the Milky Way is a 20-minute collage originally available as a tour-only CD in 2009.

Intro by Tim Clarke

Maida Vale Sessions by Broadcast

Tim Clarke: What I’m finding most interesting about these releases is how they present a continuum of Broadcast’s range of approaches, and they remind me how much I enjoy all eras of the band’s music. At one end of the spectrum you have the more song-based material of Maida Vale Sessions, where you can hear them working through the arrangements for a lot of the songs that would appear on their first few releases. I get the impression that later in their career, Keenan and Cargill felt a little embarrassed by their earlier music, that it was too pretty and conventional, and was easily lumped in with other bands like Stereolab and Portishead. Many of these songs still stand up, though, especially “Come On Let’s Go,” “Lights Out” and “Pendulum.”

At the other end of the spectrum, you have Microtronics, a series of short, distinct sound experiments in which they repurpose drum tracks from their album sessions, dabble in analog synth sounds, and explore their rhythmic and timbral palette. Then, in the middle we have Mother Is The Milky Way, which feels like a close cousin of Broadcast and the Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age, employing that album’s wonderful approach of collaging field recordings, instrumental snippets and elusive snatches of song into a flowing, kaleidoscopic tapestry.

How’s everyone else finding these three releases?

Ian Mathers: Tim, I think you sum up the releases very well, although I'd say the two Microtonics volumes were maybe the biggest surprise for me on the first couple of listens, they feel a bit more like the earlier full-band material in sound but with the pace and structure of later stuff like the Berberian Sound Studio soundtrack. It's probably the release I was least excited to hear (although still very much so), and it was the one that most upended my expectations. At times it's also a lot heavier than I expected!  

That said, though I do love Broadcast's later work (very much!) the early EPs and The Noise Made By People have a special place in my heart. As someone who really doesn't tend to track down stuff like BBC sessions unless they're actually collected and release like they've been here the Maida Vale Sessions was the part I was most excited to see, and it does not disappoint. As far as I can tell, the only song unique to this release is "Forget Every Time" (the closing "Sixty Forty" is also new to me, and also great, but has also been released on a Warp anniversary compilation), and while I'm suspicious of both recency bias and how rarely you get to have the experience of finding a great new song from a band you love who's no longer active, I'm at least a little tempted to say it's worth the price of admission on its own (I really love the organ tones on it). But even if the rest is 'just' great radio performances of great songs, it's a thorough delight, and spirited readings of early songs like "The Book Lovers" just confirm to my ears that my sense at the time that dismissals of them as "kind of like Stereolab" were missing something. (Not a knock on Stereolab, and you can definitely hear some kinship, but still!)

Ian Mathers: As for Mother Is the Milky Way, it not only reminds me of things like the record with The Focus Group, but Trish's Mind Bending Motorway Mix. Posted by Cargill (if I'm remembering correctly) shortly after Keenan passed, it was just a mix she made for a friend, but something about the sweep and scope of it reminds me of that collage-like effect here. I've already seen some griping on twitter about the 19-minute length, but honestly as someone who loves all the phases of Broadcast but tends to resonate most strongly with the more song-y stuff having a more compact way to dip into that side of them is very welcome to me. I honestly can't think of many bands who ranged as far afield within their sound or genre as Broadcast did without ever having any of it feeling like a radical break. Some bands (including some great ones!) try a new effects pedal or drum pattern and it feels like practically a whole new outfit, but for me somehow Broadcast can move from "Come on Let's Go" to "Milling Around the Village" and it all makes sense as one arc. Am I in the minority here, do others find the changes (which as noted include a pretty significant shift in personnel down to a due) more jarring or separating, in terms of their work?  

Tim Clarke: Astute observations, Ian. While I appreciate hearing the songs I've never heard before, like "Forget Every Time" from Maida Vale Sessions, that's an example where you can hear why they may not have included it on an album: the verse chords and snare rolls are reminiscent of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" and the theremin is very Portishead. I like the chorus and agree with you on the lovely organ tones, but I think it's an example of the kind of sound they were purposely moving away from, simply because it was quite derivative. I saw them live in Sheffield around this time and they really leaned into the noisier aspects of their sound, ending their set with an extended jam on "Hammer Without A Master." 

I haven't found their evolution to be jarring, mainly because there's still a lot of sweet songcraft in an album like 2005's Tender Buttons, even if the arrangements are a lot more dark, growly and minimal compared to earlier albums. They're a really interesting band in that I would consider the lesser-known compilation The Future Crayon to be one of their most essential releases as it showcases so many facets of what makes the band compelling: their ear for melody is always wrestling with their impulse to experiment with texture and atmosphere.   

Ian Mathers: A couple of quick side notes: I randomly discovered that "Sixty Forty" is actually a Nico cover, because the original version showed up on a soundtrack a friend of mine was commenting on, and if anyone takes a look at the Listed we posted today from the bassist in Cloakroom, he has The Noise Made By People as one of his picks.  

The Future Crayon is actually one of their releases I'm less familiar with, but I think these three new ones are going to have me going through their older material pretty comprehensively soon. I really like the Pendulum EP and I know those tracks are all included. And I hadn't made the "White Rabbit" connection with "Forget Every Time", but now that you've mentioned it — yeah, definitely there! I wish I had seen them live myself, they didn't come over to Toronto that often and at least once I had the chance, but I remember thinking to myself that I'd catch them next time. Contrast that to a band like Ladytron (who in 2001 or so I both much more would have connected to a band like Broadcast, and who I also skipped on seeing at the time), who went on to not only diverge in terms of sound/structure/etc but who put out far more than Broadcast's three studio LPs and who I did in fact see in 2019 on a triumphant tour for their first album back from a hiatus. Sometimes it's more than just the music of Broadcast that feels slightly ephemeral or otherwise on the edge of vanishing; a lot of what they did is so rich, to me, but when you tote it all up it's a fairly specific amount of... stuff that they actually did, in a way that feels like it was pretty deliberately crafted or selected. Not sure whether the move down to a duo plays into that as well.

Ian Mathers: One thing I've been thinking about is how I would have taken the Microtronics collections if I'd heard them when originally released. I think they're described explicitly as "for links and bridges," which is different from a full-on soundtrack. I can imagine this kind of thing being used on the vintage educational tapes they used to play sometimes for us in grade school or even high school science class, burbling away as they demonstrate an experiment, between voiceovers. It makes me both wish someone had taken them up on the implied offer, and how much their approach might have varied if they'd had the chance to do more than one soundtrack — after all, the released Berberian Sound Studio is a whopping 39 tracks with an average length of less than a minute. Each individual track here is a bit more substantial. I think BSS works really well both in the film (which I watched without knowing who did the soundtrack!) and then listened to as an album, and I wonder what else they could have done with other projects.

Mother Is The Milky Way by Broadcast

Bryon Hayes: Ian, I was lucky enough to see Broadcast play with Fly Pan Am at Lee's Palace back in 2003. My memory is rather fuzzy, but they were very striking to watch, from what I remember. Trish's bangs hid her eyes, and she was rather stoic on stage. They sounded not unlike that show they played at Radio France that's circulating online, The Black Sessions. A hybrid of jagged electronic wizardry and 1960's soft pop-influenced psychedelia.

Tim, one thing I noticed while listening to the Maida Vale Sessions was how much clearer and prettier the music is than I remember, particularly Trish's voice. I had to go back and re-listen to the first two records and realized that the band produced those themselves. So, the production team at the BBC studio really put a new spin on the songs for me.

I enjoy the electronics-forward Microtronics tunes as well, but by far my favorite is Mother is the Milky Way. I'm particularly fond of speech samples in music, especially how the band employed them here. Also, is it me or was the 00s the decade that a lot of bands put out tour-only releases? I missed the band on the tour for this one, so I'm glad that it's getting a "real" release now.

Ian Mathers: I hadn't heard that Black Sessions before (thank you for sharing) and it's kind of a revelation compared to the Maida Vale disc. Maybe some of this is down to the French format having a live audience in the studio (I don't think the BBC did for those sessions?) or the fact that the Maida Vale album collects four shorter sessions versus the Black Session being on continuous performance. But it's certainly significantly harsher and noisier (I don't want to spend too long on it since it's not one of the new reissues, but that guitar on "Dead the Long Year" is just vicious!), in fact I'd say it's the closest I've heard Broadcast come to being a rock band. And that's something else that interests me about the sessions on the Maida Vale disc, which date from 1996 to 2003 — if you could arguable Broadcast were a rock band as a five-piece, by the time they were a duo of Keenan and James Cargill on Tender Buttons (from after these sessions) they were certainly something else. So, while the Black Sessions is a great striking portrait of Broadcast-as-band, the Maida Vale sessions give more of a sense of the arc of their journey.   

But while I absolutely immediately filed Broadcast as at least something akin to synthpop back when I first heard The Noise Made by People (particularly because of how out of step they seemed with a lot of their contemporaries) and then later by the time I'd heard Tender Buttons et al that earlier work did seem more rock and less electronic by comparison (and certainly the homaging of certain bits of 1960s music was clearer to me too), by the time of something like Mother Is the Milky Way I probably wouldn't offer up much more in the way of genre tags than a cheerful shrug. You're right about tour-only release, Byron, and I wonder if this was a representation of what they sounded live by that point, a kind of swirling synaesthetic collage. 

Microtronics - Volumes 1 & 2 by Broadcast

Tim Clarke: What I'm finding most interesting with repeat listens of these new releases is their emphasis on music as process. Given that Microtronics and Mother Is the Milky Way were originally tour-only releases, the band presumably felt they weren't necessarily worthy of wider release, but nevertheless wanted to give fans some insight into their musical dabblings on the margins.

As far as I'm aware, Keenan and Cargill were in the midst of working on the official follow-up to Tender Buttons when Keenan passed, so I wonder if any of this newer material will see official release? Cargill has released Keenan's mixtapes and demos on SoundCloud to celebrate her birthday each year since her passing, and these three releases obviously plug the gaps in any Broadcast fan's collection. Fingers crossed they're a precursor to new unheard music that may or may not comprise an album proper.   

Marc Medwin: I'm just digging into the Microtronics comp, which I've never heard before, Wow!! Yes, process is certainly one way to look at it, but each of these little gems has a certain static quality about it, something that sets it outside of the flow toward something I usually associate with the term process. Even if they encapsulate a process, like the various levels of simultaneous descent and crescendo in the sixth track, they don't actually go anywhere. I'm beginning to think that my conception of process is flawed!!

[writerforfun]

How to Develop a Daily Writing Habit: 10 Daily Writing Tips

Here’s a few ideas not only on how to make time to hit your writing goals, but how to build habits that will make you a better writer.

First, set up a writing space. It’s easier to stick to your daily writing habit when you want to spend time in the place where you write. You don’t have to have a beautiful view and an expensive desk. Privacy and intention are more important than the quality of your surroundings. Maybe it’s a desk, a table, or a comfortable chair at home, or the library. Some writers prefer to stand while they work. Do whatever you prefer and refine it as you go along. Keep your inspiration, books, and research materials close at hand. Tape favorite quotes to your computer or a nearby wall. Keeping your space clean can have a powerful effect on your determination. Work at this space at the same time every day for seven days in a row and pay attention to any changes you experience as you progress. You may find that habituating yourself with a ritual time and place makes it easier to get into the zone when you start writing each day, and, while you’re there, will make it easier to stay inspired and fresh.

Start each day by journaling. Many writers have turned to the routines to build self-confidence and harness creative potential. The Morning Pages exercise—in which you write three pages every morning, by hand—is particularly useful for developing a solid writing habit. No one has to read it, and it doesn’t have to be beautiful. By giving yourself something to write every day, you warm up those creative muscles and clear space for all the good stuff.

Set a word count goal. Maybe you decide to write 500 words a day. Or 50. 1000. When you’re actively working on something like a novel, don’t worry if your word count isn’t what it needs to be. You can be gentle with yourself about the amount you produce, but continue to be tough with yourself about the consistency of your practice. Just try to get the words on the page. Think of it like carving a sculpture from a block of marble—for a long time it just looks like a shapeless blob. Try carving the whole form first, and then go back to the finer details once you’ve got the overall shape.

Set aside writing time every single day, without exception. Holidays, weekends, vacations—they’re all fair game. Find time. Does it need to be a full eight hours every time? Definitely not. But if you can, stick to a consistent time of day and duration of time. If you need to, create a dedicated space without distractions like email, internet, or your phone. While you’re writing, don’t stop—not even to do quick research. Make notes in the text at the places where you need to go online to do research, and follow up on it later. Be firm with yourself (and others) about your routine: the world will try its hardest to tempt you away.

Don’t start with a blank page if you can help it. At the end of your work period, prepare for your work on the following day—consider it “setting the table for breakfast”—by writing a paragraph or a note to yourself about what to keep working on the next day. It’s a good way to remind yourself of where you left off and what ideas you may have for continuing a scene. You can include some writing prompts to jumpstart the next day’s writing.

Include brainstorming sessions in your writing process. Allow yourself to come up with bad ideas. Every once in a while, you may stumble on a good one.

Don’t discount thinking and planning. Writing is not just sitting at your desk. It can be talking into a recorder, creating lists of bullet points, even writing snippets of scenes on scraps of paper. It’s also helpful to stay physically active. Move around frequently, and set a timer to remind yourself to get up from your desk. Movement can stimulate fresh ideas. Sometimes engaging in a mundane activity can do the same. Record audio notes and jot down quick thoughts in one place.

Gamify your creative writing ritual. Track unbroken streaks. Give yourself gold stars for every day you meet your goal, or download an app that holds you accountable.

Time your writing sessions. Decide on what you would like to write. This can be a scene, a chapter of your novel, or simply a page of freewriting that will help stimulate an idea. Set a timer for 25 minutes and write until the timer rings. Take a five-minute break and repeat these three steps, sticking carefully to the clock.

Group goals and deadlines. Projects like NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), in which you complete a 50,000-word first draft of a novel in the month of November, are a great motivator. Plenty of successful writers have gotten their start this way, and gone on to publish their NaNoWriMo projects as bestsellers. No matter how lousy the daily sessions feel, your fellow writers will push you to keep writing until the last minute on the very last day.

[wishingstarinajar]

Kill or Be Killed (snippet)

A thick droplet of sweat ran along the curved line of his jaw. Bony fingers clutched the front of his tight shirt. His toothy grin twitched at the edges, hidden beyond an eternally grinning mask. Eyelight flickered persistently against the brightness he was staring at.

It was time to go.

The portal awaited like a beast’s maw with jagged teeth, showing nothing but a white void beyond the shredded edges framed by multiple tiny ones and zeros. He came to learn that those numbers were his universe’s coding, still a strange concept to process and one he didn’t fully understand. At this very moment, he didn’t wish to linger on what it all truly meant.

What he did know was that his home was damaged beyond recognition, perhaps beyond saving; there was hardly anything left of it, corruption had permanently erased or altered all and everyone he knew. But the fact he still had some hope to find a solution and stop the corruption festering in this world was the very reason why he stood before the portal. Just a snip with his massive scissor-like weapon and there was a way out; it was as simple as that. Leaving, however, was not.

It was time to go, Sans told himself. He had told himself this far too many times but it lessened when he finally took the first step. He still needed to urge himself. What if he can never come back to this place, his home?

No. No, he thought about this for way too long. Papyrus is with him, that’s all that matters. There was nothing else here that kept him, not anymore...

He clenched his socket shut as he pressed on, through the rift he’d created and away from all he knew. What would it be like on the other side? He had no idea; he never dared to peek his head through during previous testing attempts to create stable portals. A gasp left him when solid ground simply disappeared after he stepped forward, his feet sinking away into a crisping softness before he became aware of the chill. Snow. His socket snapped open to gaze at the knee-high powdery snow he stood in, at first standing like frozen until he dared to wiggle a foot before trying the other. Damn, it felt like forever ago since last he saw and felt snow, including the cold of winter. The corruption had overtaken Snowdin Forest so damn quickly through the many RESETs. He didn’t think he’d miss it until it all was gone. But if he’s standing in snow at this very moment, then—

Sans searchingly patted his chest upon the realization that the journey through the portal was a success, panicked and haphazardly checking if Papyrus was still with him.

Did he make it through??

Calling forth the projection of a heart-shaped anomaly kept hidden in his ribcage, Sans breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of a familiar monster soul pinging into existence above his held-out hand. The right side of the orange-hued soul was fragmented and in a permanent state of dusting. Tiny particles moved slowly like dust in a ray of sunlight falling through an attic window, fading in and out in an eternal dance of life and death.

It was his brother’s soul… The one he managed to salvage before dust would take it completely after the poor monster was ruthlessly assaulted by that damn demon child. The soul was damaged beyond healing but oddly enough unaffected by the RESETs that followed Papyrus’ final death; it has been in Sans’ possession ever since. Aside from the red scarf wrapped around Sans’ neck, this was all he had left of his dear younger brother and without it, this whole quest would be for naught.

Speaking of which…

The broken soul was returned to its hiding place after Sans’ worries were stilled, his single eyelight wandering to take in the surroundings. A snowy forest, not a hint of corruption in sight. No glitching, no void spaces. It’s like… before everything went to shit.

Wait, did he go through another RESET? No, no, that can’t be! That’s not how the portal is supposed to work!

He clutched for his face, fingers wrapping around the elastic broad strap he wore around his skull and his pinky hooking behind the mask hiding his grimace, the look of horror simmering down after he nearly succumbed to searing disbelief and rising anger. He hadn’t changed in the slightest, still wearing the same clothes as before he stepped through the rift; this was no RESET, thank fuck, so where exactly did he end up?

Glancing around, the first thing he noticed was the loss of the portal’s bright yellow-hued glow behind him, the binary coding and gaping hole gone. The way back home had closed during his panic session and he wasn’t certain if that was a good or a bad thing. He stretched his arm and extended his hand to summon the ridiculously oversized scissors he had made the portal with, but no magic responded to his calling and no weapon materialized.

Shit.

It seems the cooldown on the scissors he aptly nicknamed ShortCUT was no joke or a miscalculation. How long does it last again, an hour or two? Damn it, he should have tested it more before he decided to leave. Well, no point in getting frustrated and he’s sure as hell not going to sit here for an hour and do nothing.

Hoisting himself out of the snow, the eyepatch-wearing Sans ventured further into the forest with the hope to find anything familiar. The trail he followed was untouched, not a single footprint defiling the fresh snow aside from the ones he left behind. He dared to say the surroundings felt incredibly familiar but the hole he came across was an obvious difference.

Lingering by the edge, Sans peered down into the dug pit that was once tied off by barricade tape, the snapped long strips of white and red fluttering weakly in the breeze. Although a thick blanket of snow covered the bottom of the pit, pointy ends of sharpened sticks pierced through the white, indicating it was once upon a time a very dangerous trap. One careless trip down and you’d be dust.

What madmonster would place a trap like this?

And that wasn’t the only kind of spiky trap he came across after Sans continued on. There were several more along the trail, most out of commission and warned about by the same bright tape or crudely painted and crafted warning signs. Why the energy poured into taping things off or creating signs wasn’t used to remove the traps was beyond Sans but one thing was for sure; this wasn’t home anymore, or at least not a timeline he’s familiar with.

The flashes of red and white tape amidst the monochrome surroundings no longer caught his eye but when more red appeared up ahead and seemed to come closer, Sans’ attention and curiosity were piqued. Someone was approaching.

-To be continued-

=======================================

I figured I'd share the first two pages of a short story I've slowly been working on. It's about Rewind and his very first venture into the multiverse. (He's is called Sans in this short story because he doesn't take on the Rewind alias until later.)

I'm not sure why I felt compelled to share this small preview xD but it's a small glimpse into Rewind's story and I hope that whoever reads it will enjoy it.

[illyria-12]

AOT Headcanons

I’ve been thinking of posting some of my headcanons and other shit here a bit more. I’m much more active on other platforms, but figured, why not? 

So have something I threw together at... I dunno, maybe 3am Monday morning? :)

Warnings: None that I am aware of.

Includes: Eren Jaeger, Armin Arlert, Levi Ackerman, Erwin Smith, Hanji Zoe, Reiner Braun (At present, maybe more added at a later date.) 

AOT Characters as Study Buddies:

Eren Jaeger:·        

Do not expect this boy to remember that he agreed to study with you. He could have agreed to study with you just a few hours ago, and would forget. He needs regular reminders.��        

Remind him a couple of days before, the day before, on the day, during lunch and definitely make sure you text him after school.          

Is always late.         

He starts off really focused. Pulls out his books and notes and is eager to help.     

But he also gets very easily distracted. 

Will often check his phone. It’s a really bad habit he can’t seem to control. Whether it’s just checking the time or clearing notifications, expect his phone to be in his hand at least 60% of the time. Clearing notifications often leads to him scrolling through social media, sending snaps or replying to texts too.   

Will always involve you, telling you why he is laughing, showing the funny video or meme he has found or explaining a conversation he is having.

It’s entertaining, but not exactly the reason you are here...        

He doesn’t have a preference of where he studies, he is pretty content anywhere, but if you go to his place, he will frequently bring in snacks or order pizza. Also is much more easily distracted when at home.         

His attention span isn’t great, and although he loves the idea of being helpful and studying with you, he gets bored quickly.         

Can also get confused with his own notes.       

Will often try and get you to call an end to the study session rather than do it himself. It makes him feel accomplished that way; like he has done his job and you are the one who has had enough.Will often groan things like: 

“Are we done yet?”        

“My head/back/wrist/eyes hurt.”         

 Occasionally he will suggest ‘taking a break’, but once that has been agreed to, it is pretty much the end of studying for the rest of the night.

Likes to try and make studying as fun as possible. Bright colours, highlighting, bubble diagrams, sticky notes. You best believe his version of pop quiz is to write random answers on a sticky note and stick it to your forehead and then get you to ask questions until you get the answer right. 

Will definitely reward you with a kiss when you finally get it right.

Sometimes leaves sticky notes in your book of ‘motivational quotes' to make you smile when you eventually come across them.

Armin Arlert:-       

By far, the most committed study buddy you could have hoped for.

You have weekly study sessions at the library every Friday after school. 

Armin is always there before you, fully prepared; books laid out neatly on the table. Sometimes he even starts his homework while waiting for you. 

Is very much a fan of making a little itinerary of things you are going to work through on the day.         

Doesn’t mind odd conversation but is an expert at getting you back on the subject at hand. He can often even relate whatever you’ve said back to the topic... although sometimes it doesn’t make sense. But it’s still funny and endearing. 

“You know who else thought Mrs Bratton was a bitch? William Shakespeare.”         

Is incredibly patient.         

Is a great supporter, always encouraging you and praising you when you get things right.         

Would never admit it but he finds it cute when you just can’t wrap your head around something and then out of nowhere, the penny drops.

The faces you pull entertain him. Either when realization finally dawns on you or if you’re thinking very hard.       

“Hey, don’t worry, you got this... let’s just go through it again.” “That’s it! See? Told you you’d get there.”          

Will always make sure he brings you something to drink and snack on during session. Usually a sandwich, crisps or some chocolate to give you a bit of a boost.          

Doesn’t push you too hard, if you say you have had enough, he will generally leave it there, or try to convince you to do just a bit more, but never in a demanding sort of way.         

“Okay, shall we finish this page first?”     

“One more section? Promise.”         

Armin's biggest downside? He is so soft on you.         

Very often gives you the answers as opposed to forcing you to figure it out. 

Absolutely can not be stern. If you are feeling playful, or really not in the mood and start teasing him,he is quick to admit defeat rather than stand his ground and force you to get through the work.         

Absolutely will do 99% of the work on group projects but share the credit with you.

Levi Ackerman:·         

Will make it seem like he doesn’t want to study with you, but will ultimately agree. 

“Why don’t you ask ...... instead? Tch. Fine.”

At first he will always read what it is you have to do, and then proceed to tell you what you have to do, but not necessarily tell you how to do it.

Eventually he realizes you already know what you’re supposed to do... (you can read, Levi.) And then proceeds to actually help.          

Expect a lot of sarcasm and insults. He doesn’t necessarily mean them, but he will say them anyway.         

"Whining about it isn’t going to magically speed this up. Get to it.” 

Very rarely strays away from what it is you’re meant to be doing.

Complaining gets you nowhere with him.         

“No, we’re not taking a break, you should have eaten before.”         

It’s not that he doesn’t care, he does, but he also knows you will do anything to get out of studying when you’re frustrated, and tend to over-exaggerate. You’re not ‘starving’, he saw you eat at lunch... which was only a couple of hours ago.          

Likes to prioritize your subjects. Will take into account when assignments are due in, how difficult they are going to be and how long it will take to get done.         

Strict. Very strict.          

Prefers to study in a quiet and familiar place. Libraries or either of your houses where there are minimal distractions. 

Absolutely will not let you copy his notes. You’re welcome to read them, but he expects you to refer to your own. That doesn’t mean you don’t steal snippets here and there though, much to his annoyance.   

“Do you pay attention in any of your classes?”          

Very good at breaking things down and explaining things. You actually pick things up pretty quickly when studying with him, probably due to his ‘no nonsense’ approach.          

Will occasionally randomly test you to see if you’re actually paying attention and remembering what you are doing. He always smiles a little when you can answer his questions.          

Is not going to do the work for you, and certainly isn’t going to give you answers, you have to really work for them.          

Is patient until you start misbehaving.     

His occasional praises are a treat.

Erwin Smith:·         

Loves to study with you in different places. This man will plan a whole day for it.          

Will always bring a picnic when you study in a park. Happy to share a cocktail if you go to a bar, or a milkshake and burger if you go to a diner. 

If you do happen to study in a library, he will always take you for food afterwards. 

His notes are detailed and beautifully written and he has no problem with you using them.         

Don’t expect him to give you the answers though. Erwin is the sort of person who will ask you what you think. 

“How do you think we figure that out?”   

“What do you think we need to do?”       

“What do you think this means?”         

It’s not that he doesn’t know. But he wants you to try and figure things out yourself. As long as he can see you’re making an effort though, he is happy to guide you and let answers slip here and there, or word things in such a way that you suddenly have an epiphany and get the answer.

Is a great motivator and supporter.          

Doesn’t mind taking breaks every so often and uses this time to have general conversation with you. Nothing work related in the breaks, it’s meant to be a break.         

Is not above bribing you. Whether it be with food, physical affection, surprises... 

Yes, Erwin has in fact brought you gifts and refused to give them to you until you do the work and get it right.         

And he would do it again.        

Erwin knows a decent amount about a lot of different subjects and sometimes shares random facts regarding topics you’re studying about. Sometimes they are not at all relevant. But they are usually always interesting.         

You have this man’s undivided attention throughout the study session. Erwin is usually very busy , so when he does dedicate time to help you, he likes to be fully committed.          

Will ignore his phone completely. Texts, phone calls... everything, until you both take a break.

Hanji Zoe:·         

When the two of you get together to study, it is very hit and miss as to whether you actually get the work done. She is so intelligent, but also, such a ditz at times.          

Hanji can talk.         

Like, a lot.          

She very often will start off talking about a topic and swerve off into other lanes and get completely side-tracked.          

You once started off writing a biology paper and somehow ended up getting a history lesson about Ramses II, after learning all the details of the Black Death and even touching on Jack the Ripper.   

 But she is highly intelligent under her scatterbrain-iness.        

But can become very easily distracted. Especially if you start talking to her about something she is very excited or passionate about.          

Will sometimes forget to bring textbooks you need to use.         

Will hyper focus at times. Sometimes a bit too extensively. It can be very draining.        

Can be known for getting lost in the details.          

Never comes to a study session without a coffee for the both of you.

Absolutely has no problem sharing her notes with you, will often steal yours too.        

“A fresh set of eyes and all that.”        

“Ah, this is good! Who knew you were a certified genius?!”        

Has no problem pulling her weight on group projects, but also has no problem letting you take the lead... or do all the work.         

Tends to be much more productive closer to the end date of an assignment. 

Fidgets a lot. Always tapping a pen, nibbling on the end or twirling it between her fingers. Knee bouncing... almost constantly.          

Likes to take regular breaks to analyse and go over what the two of you have learned and accomplished so far and decide where to go from here.

Procrastinates.

Reiner Braun:·         

Reiner is always happy to study with you. Even though his calendar is pretty full, he will always make an effort to squeeze you in.          

Definitely the kinda guy to put a game night on hold, telling his friends online he will be back in a couple of hours to help you first.          

Always greets you with a kind smile and asking if you’re ready for the session.       

Doesn’t mind where you study, but does prefer to study at his house so he can give you a snack or something to drink.   

Really likes it when you go and study in the garden. It is probably his favourite place to study with you. Just because it is nice, quiet and peaceful.          

Very chilled out; will often make jokes and try his best to keep the mood light. 

Very patient; has no problem going over things multiple times and trying lots of different ways to try and help you understand.          

Likes to be close to you when you work together. Knees occasionally touching, shoulders brushing. Just give this man a reason to touch you in anyway shape or firm. A reassuring hand on your shoulder, a quick one armed hug in the chair, ruffling your hair, squeezing your hand... he is all about that shit.          

Will celebrate your victories and praise you constantly.        

“Hey, well done! See I knew you would get it.”         

“We’ve done a lot today, I’m proud of you.”         

Always down for a cuddle or a movie afterwards, or maybe even a walk through the park to get some air and unwind.          

Will digress sometimes but it’s very fleeting and he picks up exactly where he left off again easily.          

Has no problem with you taking some of his notes, or searching the Internet for answers.          

Will explain how he got the answer and break things down into manageable chunks for you.         

Chocolate is always on the table.        

If you get too stressed he will let you take a break.         

Will offer to give you neck, back or even hand massages if you get too stiff. 

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[lizbotw]

Kageyama, Tanaka, and Daichi When Their Younger Sister is Dating Someone from the Volleyball Team

Anonymous said:

Hello can you please write hcs for how Kageyama, Tanaka, and Daichi would react to finding out that their younger sister is dating someone from the volleyball team ? I feel like they’d have the most reaction from the team lol

they definitely would have a big reaction, i agree with you!!! this was really funny to think about aha. lots of protective big bro headcanons ahead! i hope you like them because i spent a bit too much time on them and they almost morphed into actual scenarios lmao so please let me know what you think! ♡

Kageyama Tobio

This idiot is so focused on himself and volleyball that he would barely even think to worry about what was going on in your life.

Sure, you guys shared snippets of your day as you tossed a volleyball back and forth in your backyard during the evenings, but most of the time he was so tired from afternoon practice that he just wanted to eat dinner and crash (you had to shake him awake and drag him out of bed several times to remind him to do his homework because you were just that nice to him ♡ he didn’t seem to appreciate it though).

You didn’t always need verbal communication though because the comfortable silences of your walks home and the way you always slipped each other snacks whenever one of you was up late (you usually studying for a test the next day while he was just staying up late for the novelty of it all—laying down in bed and tossing a volleyball above his head, watching volleyball videos, staring out the window dramatically thinking about volleyball… you get the idea).

For all you knew about each other and your routines, Tobio seemed unable to even think about change in a context that included you—you were his little sister and it would always stay that way, and he was caught up in his own life and the changes he had to go through to grow. You were meant to be a constant.

That’s probably why he was the last person to expect you getting in a relationship—and with someone from his team no less.

Popping your head into the gym one day—holding a bag of meat buns you had bought for him and he had forgotten on the counter at home—turned into a regular routine once his teammates seemed to take a liking to you.

They bombarded you with teasing questions about the “King” and his personal life, and you were asked how it felt to be “royalty” (“Nice one, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi snickered at some point in response to that).

You stole glances out of the corner of your eye at Tobio aggressively chugging water on the sidelines and hiding his flustered face, finding him looking back at you intently. You gave him a knowing smile and it was as though another silent pact was formed.

You made small jabs at your brother as you joked around with the teammates, but you always steered the conversation away from topics you just knew he would throw a volleyball at your head later for answering.

Lighthearted conversations were always expected when you paid short visits to the gym, and the overexcited members always immediately abandoned their drills to talk to you, earning them quite the earful from Coach Ukai, although that never seemed to stop them.

But then your visits started getting longer and longer until suddenly you were staying for the entire afternoon practice sessions whenever you had time and even helping with manager duties on the side. You had always gone to your brother’s games (he forced you to come, even if you protested that you had already made plans with your friends that day) so you weren’t all that interested in what he was up to because you had dealt enough with his self-obsessed phase in middle school.

However, you were interested in Tobio’s latest move—just not the Tobio part. The infamous quick was now all yours to see up close and while the genius setting abilities of your brother came at no surprise to you, you couldn’t help but go slack jawed every time you saw the energetic orange-haired boy Tobio always bickered with leaping into the air.

(Actually, you were still in awe of your brother, but you were reluctant to admit it and inflate his ego so you stayed quiet. Also, you wanted to take the time to admire other volleyball players too, not the same one you had been cheering for for years. Tobio seemed to understand your emotions without you needing to explain them though and didn’t take them to heart—you two just knew things like that about one another.)

The game moved fast, as volleyball had the tendency to do, but even as you watched the practice matches and drills, your eyes locked onto the short player each and every time he sprung into the air, hair flying and arm drawn back for a powerful spike.

Hinata Shouyou—his name was about all the useful information you got out of Tobio when you asked him later during the walk home before he went back to complaining about how Hinata can’t do this and Hinata can’t do that. You rolled your eyes and tuned him out—just sibling things, you know.

Thank God he had told you that at least because you had embarrassingly forgotten a majority of the team’s names after they hurriedly introduced themselves when they first met you and then never made an effort to remind you of their names afterwards.

Hinata wasn’t the only one you had your eyes on though.

Tsukishima Kei—tall and blonde with a feisty attitude that was strangely alluring, mainly because he managed to get under Tobio’s skin almost better than you ever could. His blocks were clearly calculated, and his demeanor was cool and effortless, or snarky when he wanted it to be. His height definitely helped his cause (both in volleyball and in you noticing him).

The first year Tobio seemed to talk to the least was Yamaguchi Tadashi, but only because he wasn’t a regular in the volleyball rotation and Tobio tended to have a one track mind that included not paying attention to those he didn’t need to. You saw the boy practicing his floating serves though and you were instantly hooked. The way the ball effortlessly fluttered to the ground once he served it over the net? Way cooler than whatever Tobio was doing (once again, an exaggeration, but you didn’t want to fawn over your older brother that already knew he was a genius). You couldn’t believe you had been missing out on seeing all this action just because Yamaguchi wasn’t a regular.

Since Tobio was constantly stirring up trouble with the others in his grade, you ended up getting to know the other three pretty well at first, but soon you become well acquainted with the other players and the upperclassmen.

The older members of the club moved with a certain grace and sureness that came from pure experience with the sport for so long, and you were drawn to the way they built up a solid foundation for the underclassmen, filling the holes where Tobio and the others stumbled and made mistakes.

The entire team was amazing to you. It was breathtaking to watch them play now that you weren’t bound to sitting in the stands at some tournament, and you found your eyes darting about constantly throughout the game.

Everyone there was definitely amazing, each in their own special way. This is what Tobio had been keeping you from when he said not to come to his practices because he thought you’d just get in the way?

You made sure to let Tobio know how lame you thought he was afterwards and he gave you a punch in your arm in reply as he sipped from a milk box on your walk home, scowling before turning back contently to focus on his drink.

You admiration of the Karasuno boys wasn’t one-sided at all though, and they thought you were an absolute joy to be around, whether it be your helpful nature when it came to offering your assistance to Kiyoko (Tanaka and Nishinoya were especially a fan of that one), your sweetness in complementing them whenever they perfected a technique, or the way you could easily joke around with them as though you had known them from the start. Even Tsukishima had to admit you weren’t that bad.

If you were dating Hinata, Tobio would most likely find out when Hinata kept messing up his quicks whenever you were watching—wanting to impress you but also getting too overexcited and losing focus. Cue the arguing between them until Tsukishima made a snide comment about Hinata wanting to impress his girlfriend—you.

“What the hell? No??? Why would you even say that about my sister, you idiot?” Now Tobio was all up in Tsukishima’s face, eyebrows furrowed in anger. “She would never date a dumbass like him, right?” At that he turned to you, ready for your instant confirmation—but then you hesitated and he started to get worried. “Right?” he asked again, this time almost pleadingly.

Tsukishima snickered at your brother’s crestfallen expression when you shook your head, not knowing how else to answer, and Tobio knew it was all over. He snatched Hinata up by the collar of his shirt faster than lightning and shook him in the air, yelling at him because what the fuck.

Hinata managed to wiggle out of Tobio’s grasp and shoved him back, saying that you actually liked him and it’s not like he blackmailed you or anything so what’s the big deal.

The rest of the team had to break up the fight before it got out of hand and the two of them had to be separated for a while to cool down. During all of this, Tsukishima was standing next to you, watching with an amused expression while you were simply in shock because you had no idea what had just happened.

Tobio bombarded you with a lot of questions on the walk home about why Hinata of all people and you had to explain to him that you don’t get to chose who you love because if you did you wouldn’t choose someone you knew would deliberately piss him off (he thought that was pretty stupid because just like he chose to play volleyball, you could choose not to date Hinata—sigh, he really doesn’t understand these things).

Tobio and Hinata had a lot of competitions after that to settle it once and for all who you liked better out of both of them.

(“She chose to date me, dummy!” Hinata would shout.)

(“I’m literally her brother! I’ve known her longer!” came Tobio’s reply, slightly out of breath because their latest competition involved seeing who could run the farthest and the fastest—as if that was an accurate representation of how much you liked someone.)

Tobio would keep a careful eye on Hinata and you, and there would definitely be lots of bickering between the two, although that was normal.

He would mellow out at some point and become less intense about trying to get rid of Hinata and break you two up, but if you two ever showed PDA in front of him Tobio would make sure to grumble and huff as he watched it happened, or turn away and cross his arms—if you ignored him, he would just keep doing it louder until you noticed and were forced to stop because talk about mood ruiner.

When Tobio is just completely over it and is just like ‘whatever, I guess this is happening now,’ he’ll actually tell Hinata that he… kind of trusts him with you, and Hinata would be all shiny eyed and sparkly at the complement and reassure him that he’ll do his best to always keep you happy.

There may even be a time where you’re feeling sad, perhaps after a fight, and Hinata hesitates—wondering if he should run after you, if he should bother pursuing you, if you even really want to see him again—and Tobio would be there, arms crossed and raising one eyebrow as he looks down at him.

“What are you waiting for? Go after her, stupid.”

Hinata, lost expression being replaced with one of surprise, would shift to peer up at him. “Wha- You really mean it?”

Tobio would turn away, forcing the grumpiest expression on his face possible. “Well, yeah… you’re her boyfriend. That’s your job. She wouldn’t listen to me anyway.”

With Hinata’s spirit reinvigorated, he was quick to run off after your retreating figure, shouting back at Tobio that he won’t let him down. Your brother couldn’t help but crack a smile at that.

For the love of God, do not date Tsukishima if you don’t want Tobio to disown you.

Tsukishima wouldn’t really care much about being public with your relationship—to him, who knows knows, and who doesn’t just doesn’t, simple as that. And it wasn’t like you were itching to tell your brother you were basically dating his arch nemesis (okay, that’s dramatic, but it felt like your life had become some dramatic secret—a soap opera brought to life —and you were living a double life by keeping this a secret from your brother), so Tobio basically knew nothing for quite a while. Tsukishima also didn’t show too much PDA in general so your brother remained oblivious.

That is until Tobio and Tsukishima got into another argument and Tsukishima was getting so annoyed that he just let it slip, using it as leverage to get a leg up on Tobio.

Tobio immediately clammed up and went stone-faced, mainly just at the mere thought of that, not because he was accepting it as his reality. But then he watched Tsukishima’s smirk grow and he broke out of his trance, definitely being like, “What the fuck??? She’s not dating you and I will beat you up for saying that you fucking idiot.”

Tsukishima found it sooo funny how Tobio was fuming and gave you a smug look from the sidelines. Oh boy, Tobio did not like that and was like, “Hey??? I’m talking to you, pay attention to me and don’t look at her!!! I bet she hates you!!!”

Even Hinata wanted to get in on the action, and of course Yamaguchi didn’t want his best friend to get ganged up on so he stepped in and started listing off all off Tsukishima’s good qualities that were definitely likable enough to date him.

It was getting embarrassing just how much Tsukishima had made Tobio lose his cool, so you had to step in and diffuse the situation, although no one could step away from the argument until they knew the truth so, begrudgingly, you told them that yes, you were dating Tsukishima. That didn’t really help much though because Tobio was still losing it and arguing with Yamaguchi because Tsukishima didn’t feel the need to defend himself and now Hinata was asking you if Tsukishima had blackmailed you into saying that.

To pour gas on the already flaming and wildly out of control fire, Tsukishima went up to you while the others were distracted and gave you a kiss on the forehead right in front of everyone—absolutely no shame. Oh my god, it was a whole mess and a half and everything was falling apart.

You have no idea how, but everyone calmed down at some point, although there was a lot of tension as practice continued. Things were fairly back to normal the next day once everyone had time to sleep on the issue and come to terms with it on their own.

Tsukishima loves throwing it in Tobio’s face and it’s horrible, yes, but you have to admit it’s sort of funny at times and you still love your boyfriend regardless.

Tobio goes back to hating Tsukishima even more for a while (and they had been making some progress with their relationship too so talk about a major step back), but after a while of silently fuming in his room every day for almost two weeks, he’s mostly normal again. Definitely still eyes Tsukishima suspiciously whenever he so much as looks in your direction though and reminds you that you were not supposed to date until you were like fifty (you had never agreed to or even heard of that rule before for that matter so that was a nice surprise).

Generally expect Tobio to give you guys a hard time for way too long before he sees some instance of Tsukishima actually being very caring and helping you out of an emotional rut whenever Tobio is unavailable to do so, and then his opinion of your boyfriend shifts into a somewhat favorable light. Don’t expect too much from him though.

And, well, if you were with Yamaguchi? That’s a little too close to Tsukishima for Tobio’s liking, but at least it’s slightly better.

There’s literally no way Tobio would really find out unless one of you explicitly told him. Yamaguchi might confide in Tsukishima about his relationship and there might be a chance Tsukishima uses it against Tobio in an argument, but generally he would probably decide that it’s not his place to say anything.

Tobio already doesn’t interact with Yamaguchi all that much anyway and their relationship is mostly fine (minus the times he joins Tsukishima in being a major pain in Tobio’s ass), so there’s no chance of your boyfriend blurting it out on his own in the heat of the moment either. He’s also too shy for PDA most of the time, so everything is very much hidden.

It actually starts to get ridiculous when you’ve been dating for months though and Tobio still hasn’t realized. You decide that it’s important for your brother and your boyfriend to be on better terms with each other if this relationship was going to last—which you most certainly hoped it would—so you were forced to take matters into your own hands.

Sitting Tobio down at the kitchen table, all serious with your hands neatly folded in front you, you would break the news. Tobio’s fidgeting and complaining about how this was stupid and why couldn’t you just talk to him in his room, ugh, would all fall away instantly while he processes the news.

“…Really?”

“Yeah.”

Tobio would still argue with Tsukishima whenever he was with both you and Yamaguchi, telling the blond to “back the fuck off, you overgrown bean sprout,” but he would also look to the root of the problem and take a special interest in harassing your timid boyfriend.

Although Tobio could be intimidating at times, Yamaguchi had seen it all before, so he does his best not to be freaked out when Tobio starts directing threatening glares at him instead of at Hinata or Tsukishima like normal.

After seeing that Yamaguchi is the pure definition of harmless though, Tobio would try not to keep a cold exterior, since his protectiveness didn’t seem to be doing much anyway because there was nothing to fix when it came to worrying about Yamaguchi hurting you, and would slowly try to get closer to your boyfriend. Forcing out compliments when it came to his serves, giving him little tips along the way, and making sure to greet him and bid him farewell every practice.

It was awkward at first because he was clearly trying to force the friendship for your sake, but when you told him to just be himself because he was freaking Yamaguchi out, that seemed to do the trick and it was now a mixture between his earlier aloof behavior and his newer friendly one. A happy medium.

Yamaguchi knew that he didn’t need shining compliments from Tobio every second of the day to know that he had accepted him as your boyfriend and he was fine with that—that was just how Tobio was—plus Yamaguchi was really here for you, not your brother, so it didn’t matter much anyway.

Things were pretty mild between them, although Tobio would occasionally let Yamaguchi know that he… appreciated (yes, he had to choke it out) what he was doing for you and all that jazz.

Dating one of the upperclassmen would be a much less chaotic affair, and you would probably go about things the “mature” way and tell Tobio about your relationship near the start, rather than waiting a long time like the Yamaguchi situation, or having someone else tell him like the Hinata and Tsukishima situations. The upperclassmen are also generally more mature than those in Tobio’s grade—even Tanaka and Nishinoya would have a bit of sanity in this situation—so they would say it’s up to you if and when you want to let your brother know.

When you tell him, Tobio will kind of blink at you for a bit, just absorbing that fact because you looked dead serious.

“Don’t think you can just boss me around during practice now.”

“I do that anyway, so shut up.”

He wouldn’t know what to say to your boyfriend—yeah, he wants to be all like don’t mess with my sister, but also they’re older than him and he’s supposed to be respectful or he’ll be forced to run extra laps as punishment while Hinata laughs at him from the sidelines—so the first few practices after you tell him just end up with him studying your boyfriend very intensely from across the gym while tightly clutching a volleyball. It’s very unnerving and your boyfriend begs you to talk some sense into Tobio because he is ruining their concentration so bad and Coach Ukai is definitely considering if he should have them do extra drills to make up for it and they do not want that.

In order to save your boyfriend from such a fate, you encourage both him and Tobio to talk it over. It consists of your boyfriend doing the typical upperclassmen thing of being very reassuring while at the same time being very overbearing with their intense presence and Tobio is sweating because this is your boyfriend, don’t say anything weird or you’ll hate him forever, just keep cool.

He’s not usually one to be that worried about this sort of thing, but no matter which upperclassmen it is and no matter what kind of relationship he had with them before, he’s going to be very stoic and try to come to terms with the fact that you’re actually dating them.

While your boyfriend is all like “Don’t worry! I’ll take care of her!” and “Sorry, I know this is a little weird, but I really do like her!,” Tobio’s like “mhm,” “yeah,” “okay” so to the untrained eye he seems very nonchalant about the whole thing, but internally his mind is working a mile a minute. He probably starts sweating a little and your boyfriend is like, “Uh, you okay?” and he’s just like “mhm, yeah,” while sweat starts dripping down his forehead and he feels like he’s going to go into cardiac arrest.

Rather than the conversation between the two consisting of Tobio asserting his dominance as your brother and threatening your boyfriend, it’s just him being forced to accept his fate while your boyfriend says his piece and is like “Wow, I’m so glad you’re okay with it!” at the end of it all.

You try to minimize PDA because your brother looks like he’s going to blow a fuse anytime he witnesses it and always turns away very embarrassed, blushing furiously. Come on, you can’t really blame him. Like when did his little sister grow up so fast? Uh, a long time ago, you moron, stop being so focused on yourself.

He makes an extra effort to ask more about your life now and wants to know everything, so now your usual routine silences or shallow talks have turned into midnight discussions either in one of your bedrooms, lightly tossing volleyball back and forth, or in the kitchen as you two sit at the table and binge eat snacks.

That actually helps him a lot with coming to terms that yes, you have your own life and it’s just as important as his volleyball one and that he should really make an effort to keep up with you. He feels really bad that it took him so long to realize that you were even dating someone and after getting your perspective on the matter, he comes to accept it, trusting them to do a good job because he’s seen what they can do on the court and for the team and has known them firsthand for quite a while.

Dating anyone on the team would have its fair share of ups and down and bumps in the road, but it’ll also be a great wake up call for your sometimes too-dense-for-words brother and actually end up strengthening your relationship in the long run, especially because now he knows you have someone reliable to lean on whenever he falls short.

Tanaka Ryuunosuke

Oh man, your entire life was just filled with him constantly butting into your personal life, playing the big scary guy at anyone who looked at you funny and always asking if there were any so called “punks” you wanted him to beat up (the answer was always a firm “Ryuu, no” because you didn’t want him to get in trouble, but you always looked at him with a sparkle of admiration in your eye at his bravery).

Just like with Saeko, he’d get embarrassed when you showed him affection sometimes, or would kick you out of his room if he had his friends over (your teasing revealed one too many embarrassing personal secrets of his that his friends made fun of him for ages for).

He still made his love clear through his protectiveness though and he wasn’t any stranger to giving you a good-natured pat on the head in public. Basically, as long as it didn’t ruin his tough guy appearance (he said that reputation was important and that he had to keep it up so that no one would even think about messing with you in the slightest), he would be very clear of his pride in your achievements and just how much you meant to him. This meant it was mainly at home or in private that he would flip the switch and give you hugs, or get started with comments of “look how much my pupil is growing” (you punched his arm when he said things like that, but you were always grinning when you did so).

(His overly affectionate moments were mainly to get back at you for teasing him in front of his friends and he gave you the same treatment, but he also really did mean it.)

He taught you how to be “tough” (hence the “pupil” nickname sometimes and the feeling he had of taking you under his wing) and you eagerly studied him with shining admiration because he was your cool older brother after all.

You were always in the know about each others lives and while he ranted to you about volleyball and school, you let him know about how you totally put some kid in their place today in class like he taught you to or if you needed his advice for things (as much as you liked to make fun of each other, you still looked up to him and his “worldly” experience that simply came from being older, plus he was very attentive when it came to solving problems in your life and giving you his input).

Finally the day came that you two were reunited and going to the same school once again when you started your first year at Karasuno. Ryuu gave you a pep talk before you went inside about what to expect of high schoolers and reminded you that the same rules still applied and that if you needed him to take anyone on for you he was just one floor away (he cracked his knuckles for good measure at that)—he reassured you that you were never too old to rely on your big bro.

Despite your protests, he decided to walk you to class on the first day, saying it was on his way to his own class anyway. He spent the walk bragging about how he was a second year now and how it was so nostalgic to walk in the first year halls now and how he remembered this and that in the hallways (he pointed to specific spots as he recalled the memories of sitting on the floor for lunch with his friends, or telling you something hilarious he spotted from the windows one day), and while you rolled your eyes and reminded him that he had been a first year just a few months ago (he shushed you when you said that), you listened with rapt interest, wondering what your own high school career would end up looking like. He also gave pointed glares to several students you passed by in the hallways, especially the guys, and made sure to loudly repeat how you must be so glad to have a second year who can fight as your older and protective brother, relishing in the way some of the first years gulped in fear.

It wasn’t long until you two reached your classroom, and you lingered just outside the doorway with him, ready to say your final goodbyes as you got ready to embark on your first day. However, when you turned to him, you realized he was looking at you strangely, his eyes sparkling with pride, but it also seemed like he was trying to hide his face from you.

“Ryuu? Are you… are you crying?” You had to try extra hard to keep yourself from bursting out laughing.

He dramatically turned his head away. “Of course not! Anyway I’ve, uh, got to go, so bye now! Have fun and trust no one!” And then he was off back down the hallways you had come from, ready to ascend the stairs and begin his own new school year.

He brought you to volleyball practice with him as soon as it began for the year, waiting for you outside of your classroom so he could lead you there and you wouldn’t get lost trying to find the gym. He wanted you to know where he was going to be spending a lot of his time outside of school in case you ever needed to find him, so he figured it would be best to let you know from the start, especially since they wouldn’t be doing much on the first day anyway.

“Hey guys!” he greeted the third years as he walked in, “I brought my sister with me, hope you don’t mind.” You followed after him somewhat timidly, not sure what the captain and vice captain he had told you so much about would be like.

Daichi and Sugawara were more than welcoming though and reassured both of you that it was fine. They asked about your interests and how your first year of high school was going so far. The duo was kind and funny, and you felt instantly at ease joining in with their antics.

You already knew the other second years from when Ryuu would have them over, so it was basically smooth sailing from then on in terms of you being friendly with everyone on the team.

That is, until the first years showed up and you had to watch the drama between them unfold—everything from Kageyama and Hinata’s initial disagreements once they realized they were on the same team, the entire storm that came with the duo of Tsukkishima and Yamaguchi, and, last but most certainly not least, the match between all of them.

Ryuu kept you updated about all of it, even letting you know of his plan of allowing Kagyeama and Hinata to use the gym before morning practice (you thought he was the coolest for taking a risk behind Daichi’s back to help the first years out), and you were so caught up in wondering how it would all turn out that he invited you to the match that Saturday.

Of course you were cheering for your brother once he was dragged in to be a part of the match and let him know afterwards how cool it was. You had been to his volleyball games before, but it was entirely different seeing them up close with everyone practicing.

You slowly began to spend more time with the boys’ volleyball team, always one to cheer on your brother and admire his skills, and once you got acquainted with Kiyoko, you began to help her out with simple manager duties in exchange—Ryuu always tried to use you as a gateway to talk to Kiyoko and having him be jealous of your friendship with her gave you a sense of triumph because you finally had something to hold over him.

You even became fast friends with Yachi once she joined the Karasuno crew due to you both being in the same grade and she became one of your favorite people to talk to whenever the day was particularly slow. You showed her the ropes of being a manager and gave her your own personal anecdotes about what it was like to be new to the team so she didn’t feel so nervous about the whole thing knowing that someone else was once in the same boat as her.

At last you were able to socialize properly with the first years now that their dispute had been settled and, similar to your experience with the rest of the team, you instantly took a liking to them, even if some of them were snarky or could be blunt sometimes (Kageyama and Tsukishima). You grew especially close to them since you were all in the same grade, although the upperclassmen still looked over you and you had a good relationship with all of them as well.

Ryuu would be able to tell right away if something was off with you once you started acting a little strange. He would be concerned and probably ask you what was wrong when you two were home and just hanging out on the couch, and since you’re so used to confiding everything in him, you end up blurting out that you were dating one of his teammates, immediately covering your mouth after and staring at him with wide eyes, unsure of what he would say.

All of the first years would need to watch their backs once he found out if it was one of them that you were dating.

“Seriously? Him?” he would ask in disbelief when you told him and shake his head. Then he would get all sentimental again and lean back, hands behind his head. “Ah, young love,” he would muse.

“Ryuu, shut up, you’re not that much older than me!”

Ryuu would constantly be lurking nearby anytime you were with your boyfriend, and during practices he would take a special interest in teasing them. Definitely glared at them a lot, gave them lots of scary faces, and threatened them whenever he had a chance during the beginning and found it hilarious if they ever seemed scared or uncomfortable. He kept that up until you told him to knock it off or else you would stop talking to him for a whole week (he can’t go that long without his little sister so he was basically forced to comply).

Tsukishima wouldn’t be all that phased by his threats anyway though so Ryuu would continue trying to intimidate him no matter what you said. (“What? Why do I need to stop? That kid needs someone to put him in his place!”)

Tsukishima wouldn’t really care at all about trying to appeal to Ryuu, but the any of the other first years would probably try to show that they were doing their best to be a good boyfriend so could he please stop looking like he wanted to murder them, please they are begging you.

Depending on the first year you chose, it may take him different lengths of time to warm up to the idea, but once he did he’s always teasing you two and “Aw, Noya, look at the tiny first years in love. If only that was us and Kiyoko. Minus the tiny part. And the first years part.”

If you choose one of the second years, when you told him he would groan and cover his ears, screwing his eyes shut because he did not want to know that.

“This is a joke, right? I can’t believe you’re dating one of my friends! Gross! I’m never going to be able to look at you two the same again.”

Nishinoya is his best friend, so once he got over the initial weirdness of it all, you three went back to being the most chaotic trio of the team. Tanaka even forgave Noya for betraying Kiyoko since he was dating you after all. Those two were basically your protection squad before, but it was ramped up to the max now that Noya was actually dating you. Anyone come near you? They were about to enter a world of pain with two feral volleyball players guarding you at all times. Lots of hanging out between the three of you, and Ryuu would get all pouty when you told him that no, he can’t come on your date tonight (lo behold, unbeknownst to you, Noya had also invited Ryuu over because “bro code” so you couldn’t escape him anyway).

Ryuu had a lot of respect for Ennoshita, so if you were dating him he would trust him to take good care of you, although since Ennoshita always kept him and Nishinoya in line, you basically had that same power now and he was not happy about you bossing him around.

Overall, Ryuu would have a hard time accepting the fact that his friends were dating you because how in the world did this even happen (the first few weeks would have him cringing and turning away if he ever saw any PDA because please spare his eyes), but ultimately he knew he wouldn’t trust anyone else to treat you better than the guys he already knew so well, so he would try his best to be supportive and make sure you knew to come to him if you needed anything as always.

Decide to date a third year and Ryuu is going to stare at you in silence for a very long time once he hears that. He’s just sitting there blinking, waiting for you to burst out laughing at the joke, but when you ask him if he’s okay, he realizes you were most definitely not joking and now he’s having an existential crisis.

“How can my precious baby sister be dating someone older than me? How am I supposed to keep that guy in line if I’m supposed to be respectful to him?” He’s freaking out because suddenly you and your entire life in his mind could no longer be considered to only consist of people younger than him that he could easily intimidate and be seen as your cool older brother by—no, you had entered uncharted territory and this was so weird.

He couldn’t do much in terms of threatening the third years, but once you let your boyfriend know that you had told your brother about your relationship, they would go talk to him themselves after seeing how tense he was acting during practice. They’d let him know they intended to take good care of you and everything like that, and Ryuu knew that he trusted their word.

Whether it was Daichi, Sugawara, or Asahi, Ryuu told them he was fine with it, but that if they ever did hurt you, he doesn’t care if they were older than him, he will come after them. He also definitely keeps a watch on you two when he can because of course he’s worried about his younger sister dating someone older than both of them.

Just like with the second years though, he knows the third years are responsible and trustworthy, and he feels pretty safe leaving you alone with them.

Eventually, no matter who it is you’re dating on the team, Ryuu will come to accept it because he wants you to be happy, but he’s constantly ready to jump to your defense if your boyfriend ever does anything wrong because he’ll always be your caring, protective older brother.

Sawamura Daichi

Daichi was the responsible older brother every parent dreams of having (albeit a bit overdramatic at times).

Once you started at Karasuno, you were stuck to his side constantly—although it wasn’t through your own choice, no. Your dear older brother was convinced he needed to keep a close watch on you at all times and that if he wasn’t there something bad would happen and he would be the one who had to deal with the blame from your parents.

He gave you your freedom, especially because he was busy with his own life, but he was always waiting right outside the school to walk you home, and if he saw you at lunch you better believe he’s going to embarrass you in front of your friends and say “hi.” (Your friends would then proceed to ask about the “hottie upperclassman” that had just talked to you, and you would gag and stick your tongue out, letting them know that they did not want to date your brother. Listen, living with him meant that you had to see a side of him that wasn’t the perfect boyfriend facade your friends seemed to see in him. You knew the truth.)

When the time came that most people were signing up for clubs they were considering and attending club interest meetings, he invited you to stop by the gym after you were done looking around after school. This was mostly because you two could easily meet up there and then head home right after, but he also thought it would be fun for you to see what antics his team got up to, even if you couldn’t join.

You poked your head into the gym and glanced around, instantly spotting your brother on the far end of the room. “Yo, Daichi! I’m here!” you called out in a sing-songy voice, making your way across the gym. Your strides were confident, even as the rest of the team turned to stare at you, because it was your cool brother that was the captain after all and that automatically made you the star of the party, or something like that.

He would be glad to see you and introduce you to the rest of the team right away, mainly to get them to quit staring and actually get back to practicing. That didn’t help much though because you were bombarded with questions and practice was entirely derailed by your arrival.

You already knew Sugawara and Asahi from when Daichi would invite them over and you even hung out with them a few times when Daichi would host a movie night for them at your house and you would join them in the living room.

Depending on if you were a first year or second year, you might even be acquainted with the underclassmen as well if they were in your class, especially once they learned that you were related to Daichi and would go to you whenever they needed to pass on messages to him, such as if they couldn’t make it to practice later that day or requests for him to pick up supplies for them if they needed it or questions about their training. Yeah, they could easily go to him most of the time, but it was a lot more fun going through you in an unintentional game of “telephone.”

Even after you decided on the club you wanted to join, you still kept coming to the practices. Your club usually finished earlier than the volleyball team did, especially because Daichi usually kept them pretty late, so for the end of practice you would sit quietly in the corner, finishing up some homework. You could technically go home on your own if you wanted to, but the sounds of the team practicing were comforting background noise to your work, even when you had your headphones in, and Daichi preferred to walk you home anyway and make sure you were safe and nothing happened. It just sort of worked out that way and since no one had a real problem with it, everyone simply went with it.

At one point, Kiyoko asked for your help with refilling the boys’ water bottles and you agreed, setting aside the notebook you had been scribbling in as you reviewed your notes from the school day. After that, you asked her occasionally if she ever need help, or would step in on your own if you saw she or Yachi was struggling since they usually didn’t want to bother you, and soon it became a regular routine with you helping out during the practices most of the time and doing your homework on the side if you had a chance.

You got to know the team members much better now that you were actually participating, rather than tuning them out and focusing on your work, and their dynamics were intriguing and hilarious, especially how they always seemed to drive your brother up a wall while simultaneously impressing him constantly. The duality of it all kept drawing you back for more.

Now Daichi wasn’t the only one who would say “hi” to you at lunch. Some of the other boys would greet you if they saw you—if Yamaguchi dragged Tsukishima over to you when he went to say “hello,” the blonde might give you a slight head nod of acknowledgement on a good day—and the comments from your friends on the rapidly increasing number of boys that would come up to you just seemed to multiply. Expect it wasn’t just Daichi—your nice but occasionally stupid older brother—they were talking about, it was actual boys you talked to.

When you had first started attending the volleyball club practices, you had regarded everyone there as family, since that what they always said they were and that was the dynamic they had with Daichi, so you thought you automatically fell into that category, but the offhanded comments from your friends about “Ooo, what did you think about that one?” and “Yeah, he was nice, but that one from yesterday was cuter,” had you reconsidering your thoughts about a certain few of your brother’s teammates.

You would probably feel guilty keeping your relationship a secret from your brother and would decide to break the news to him somewhere near the start of when you began dating one of his teammates, choosing to do it as you two walked home one night, the air chilly and refreshing after being in that stuffy gym all afternoon. It felt right to do it then because you didn’t want to make it a big deal, rather fitting it into your daily routine so that hopefully he wouldn’t take the news as hard.

You two were in the middle of a discussion about practice that day when you bite your lip and steel yourself to tell him, shoving your hands in your pocket and staring down at the ground as you walked. “Um… Daichi… there’s actually something I wanted to tell you…”

He would immediately stop walking and turn to face you, the tone of your voice making him concerned—so much for not making it a big deal. “(Y/N), you’re not getting into any sort of trouble, are you?”

That made your eyes go wide, quick to correct him. “What?! No, no! You’ve got it all wrong! It’s just that…” And with a deep breath you would break the news to him, holding your breath right after as you watched him to see what he would do.

“That’s all? Oh, thank God, I thought you were about to tell me you joined a gang or something,” he’d chuckle, and you would hesitantly join in with your own awkward laugh, a little scared at how well he was taking this.

The fact that you had almost given him a heart attack and he was so glad that the truth wasn’t the worst case scenario he had come up with would initially have him not reacting that much to the actual implications of you dating someone, just relieved that it was something normal.

But then he would dwell on it some more as you two continued walking, your chest much lighter now that you had gotten that secret off of it. You weren’t off the hook just yet though, unbeknownst to you.

He wouldn’t say all of his thoughts out loud just yet, although he would muse, “I guess I should have seen that coming. You have been spending a lot of time with him lately,” as he reflected on the past few weeks.

“Wh-what?” you would choke out, stumbling over your steps and then rushing to catch up with him. And here you thought we were being slick the whole time. Brother knows best as they say (or something like that).

Literally start dating any of the underclassmen and Daichi is going to have to pull them aside to have a little “chat” as soon as he finds out.

When they emerge, your boyfriend looks absolutely terrified (even Tsukishima would be a little shaken), but Daichi is grinning widely and gives them a hearty clap on the back, thanking them for their time.

“N-no problem,” is what they would probably stammer out before slinking away to continue practicing.

You don’t even bother asking Daichi what he told them because you already know he’s not going to tell you, or just give you a watered down version, but you do give him your own lecture about how he should be nicer to your boyfriend and quit giving them a hard time. Daichi ends up being the one coming out of that talk a little shaken so it seems as though justice has been served for your boyfriend.

Daichi tried to make an effort to be nicer after that, but you can feel him watching you guys like a hawk across the gym whenever you’re so much as talking with one another. As soon as you turn to glare at him though, he looks away, going back to whatever he was doing, whether it be sipping from his water bottle, having a conversation with someone, or cleaning up a section of the gym, even whistling a little tune as though he hadn’t been giving the death stare in your general direction just five seconds ago.

If he really wants to know what you two are up to, he’ll pretend he’s doing something, such as picking up a ball, and inch closely to eavesdrop on your conversation. Leaning in for a short kiss? Oops, he accidentally bumped into you two very hard, he’s so sorry about that, and oh, would you look at the time, shouldn’t they get back to practice now, that break seems like it was long enough—tight-lipped smile and all to accompany it.

If your boyfriend comes to pick you up at your house to go out on a date, Daichi is there. Whether he opens the door himself, or is looming behind you as he bids you two farewell and no, he’s not trying to communicate threats using his eyes, what are you talking about?

Inviting your boyfriend over for dinner with your family? Daichi is there of course. Movie night? I’m sure you wouldn’t mind if he joined, right? Studying in your room? Hmm, maybe you should leave your door open. What? It’s just to let some fresh air in, that’s all.

Of course you want to do that whole romantic walking home together thing, so you tell your boyfriend to hurry up and change early after practice so you two can start walking before Daichi even finishes.

But somehow, without fail, no matter what you do, he’d always be there right behind you two, walking a few steps away.

You turn around to shoot him a glare. “Daichi, I swear-”

“What? I’m just walking home. I live here too, you know.”

“Go walk with Suga or something like you usually do!”

Somewhere in the distance you can see Suga running up the hill to catch up with Daichi, panting loudly and calling out for him to wait up, he was still getting dressed, can’t you have some mercy, you stupid captain.

Daichi would be generally overbearing at first and although it’s annoying it’s clear he’s just looking out for you. Plus, your boyfriend is lucky Daichi actually knows him because the treatment would be much worse for anyone else.

He may be a bit more hesitant when to comes to the troublemakers of the team, such as Tanaka or Nishinoya, versus if you were dating one of the more mature underclassmen, but ultimately he knows that even those who cause him headaches almost everyday can be just as responsible as the others when the time comes.

Daichi will probably still keep up the overprotective act for quite a while, although it gradually decreases over time, but deep down he really does trust his teammate to take care of you and will let them know as such if he sees they’re actually ever feeling unsure during the relationship and thinking that you deserve someone better.

If you’re dating one of the two in his grade, dear God, he has zero control.

Suga just amps up his playful bullying of Daichi if he’s being too worrisome.

“Suga, be careful, don’t hold her hand too hard, she has a paper cut on that finger- oof.” Cue Suga punching him in the gut with a devilish grin and reassuring him you two will be fine and to quit hovering so much.

Daichi is actually at Suga’s mercy in this case and while you feel a little bad, it’s just so funny. Whenever he looks over at you for help because please, someone stop Suga from making fun of him for being an overprotective brother, you burst out laughing and tell him, “Sorry, but I have to side with my boyfriend on this one.” Please stop rubbing salt in the wound, he looks like his spirit is about to leave his body.

You and Suga are a fearsome duo against Daichi and he has absolutely no control over either of you. As reckless as he can be sometimes, Suga is still high up on Daichi’s list of people he trusts and his caring side more than makes up for the trouble he gets you in, so Daichi feels as though you’ll be fine.

With Asahi, Daichi would try to pull the whole scare tactic on him, but he feels bad when Asashi gets all worried about Daichi hating him and ends up barely touching you if he’s around—this winds up with you complaining to Daichi about how’s he’s getting in the way of your PDA and he actually tells Asahi he should ramp up the romantic act (even if it pains Daichi to say it). Plus, he knows you’re in good hands with Asahi and he’s always careful and treats you with the utmost care in the world, so Daichi begrudgingly accepts that there’s no reason for him to step in and that you deserve to be in a relationship with the ace.

Both of the third years worm their way into Daichi’s heart in some way and he just knows he can’t control either of the people he’s spent the last few years playing with, so he simply comes to accept it, secretly glad that you chose one of them because he couldn’t think of anyone better to entrust you to.

Dating anyone on the team will have Daichi wary at first, but ultimately he knows all of them and he knows they’re good people and will likely be even better boyfriends, especially if they know he’s always lurking close by when you’re involved, so although he may try to give some of them a hard time, it all comes from a place of love and wanting to make sure that you know he’s always there for you no matter what. Once he cools down the act and sees that you’re open with him about your relationship and let him know if you’re unsure about certain things—no matter how small—he’ll be more comfortable since he knows he can be sure you’ll never keep him in the dark if it really is serious.