#//sorry haru. you're in the middle of this

[oukabarsburgblr]

drabble...

"Is it okay if I talk to Daisuke-senpai for a while?"

The trio, who had been lounging in the school's courtyard, Haru, Daisuke and (m/n), adorned in their school blazers under the dimming sun, skies painted with streaks of orange.

All three noticed the girl, who barely reached Daisuke's chest level, turned to her when she suddenly approached them from behind and spoke with a question.

Daisuke, whose phone in his hand, lowered it and turned to fully face the girl. He noticed that she wasn't wearing the standard Keio Shiki's female school uniform. Instead of a forest green, she was adorned with navy blue.

"Sure. What do you need me for?" He politely replied. Haru and (m/n) peeking out from behind, interested in the conversation.

The girl glanced at the two behind the ravenette, as she nervously rubbed her hands together, her heavy school bag weighing on her side. Her short brown hair swinging in the cool breeze.

"I need to talk to you, privately. Alone please."

Immediately there was a mood shift. Daisuke could feel a sense of blankness in his mind as Haru and (m/n) both gasped at the implication. The blonde immediately pulled (m/n) away who was staring at Daisuke to hide behind one of the pillars for eavesdropping purposes.

"H-Hey-!" Daisuke who was about to call out to the other two was interrupted when his blazer was grabbed. The small girl, who Daisuke's face analysed properly, finally noticed the pink hue on her freckled cheeks.

"I-It's okay..." The girl realised what she was doing and released her grip, stammering in her apologies. "S-Sorry! I m-mean if you're okay with it...?" Daisuke, who no longer could see the (h/c) sighed and turned to face the young girl with a polite smile.

"If it doesn't take too long." The girl nodded enthusiastically before reaching into her bookbag, colourful books and stationeries peeking out from the opened zipper.

"Holy shit, bro that's a fucking kid." Haru whispered, crouching down and using his green blazer as cover between the bushes. (m/n) who was frowning, was leaning on Haru's back, in between the white pillar and the shrubbery. "She looks...young. Isn't that our old school uniform?"

Haru zeroed in on the logo that was on her left breast pocket. Curse his shitty eyesight and he had to stifle a laughter when he saw the familliar logo. "Man oh man. That kid's a middle schooler." "Same branch?" "SAME BRANCH? BRO HOW IS DAISUKE ATTRACTING CHILDREN-"

(m/n) slammed his palm, covering Haru's mouth who was already hunching over in laughter. The (h/c) wanted to laugh as well, but there was a streak of disarray in his heart as he continued to observe the two, barely slipping in on their conversation.

"Can I ask who are you?" Daisuke pointed out, when he saw the girl pulling out a pink letter. Nervousness pulling at his heartstrings over what the fuck is going on. "My name? You don't know me." "Uhuh, so can I...?" When she spoke, he couldn't hear her properly, the sound of the wind rustling the trees overlapping her voice.

He could feel frustration edging in his head when the girl bowed to him, holding out the pink, heart-pinned letter. Fuck, he was getting a confession.

"I like you, senpai!" Daisuke wasn't able to stop her from doing so, as he rubbed his eyes with his fingers. He didn't even know the kid, yet he was standing here in the middle of the courtyard under the cherry blossom trees to hear her pour her heart out to him.

The girl's face was red, albeit facing the ground, her fingers shaking lightly as she continued her confession. "I've liked you for almost a year now. I'm aware that you don't know me as much. But I couldn't put my feelings aside. I wanted to tell you how much I like you-" "Okay, that's enough."

"No! I liked you for so long. I want to tell you-!" "Stop." When she looked up, her heart dropped, breaking into pieces on the gravel ground. There was a stern look on the ravenette's face, his lips pursing and his eyebrows furrowed that could make any admirer hesitate in their next step.

"What school do you go to?" He questioned firmly. The girl was confused but answered. "Your old one...Keio Shiki Middle School." "And what year?" "I'm in my second year."

"Okay." Daisuke sighed, rubbing his palm into his face. "So you're around 13 to 14. That's just-" He stopped himself before he accidentally spoke something harsh but continued after taking a deep breath.

"I'm in my third year, High School." He emphasized. "In 10 months, I'm turning 18, an almost legal adult. I'm too old for you." "But-!" "No. You shouldn't be liking, ESPECIALLY- pursuing someone who's way out of your age. When you're older? Maybe, but now no."

The girl was exasperated, tears brimming in the corner of her eyes and she looked like she was about to burst when Daisuke kneeled, assuring her it was okay.

"I know, I understand the feeling of liking someone, but this is wrong, okay? This will never happen." "But I will grow older eventually! Even if you graduate, I'll still like you, Daisuke-senpai-!" Her shoulders were firmly grabbed by Daisuke, whose eyes looked up to her glossy ones.

"You shouldn't and you won't. You're still young. There's so many opportunities out there so don't place your bet on a broken ship." He pointed to himself. "I...I already have someone in mind."

He heard gasps coming from behind but he ignored it, watching the droplet of tears sliding down the girl's cheek. "...But that someone doesn't want a relationship right now. And it's okay. Not everything goes well."

She was already sobbing, covering her face with her hands, the pink letter crumpled in her grip. "But but...I don't- hic- want anyone else..." "I know, I know..." He looked behind, gazing at the delicate scenery before locking eyes with someone, standing between the shrubbery, (e/c) furrowed in frustration.

"...But we have to live, move on. Our lives won't end with just one person. Make it your own." He patted her shoulder. "You'll find another."

The girl continued to cry into her hands, Daisuke hopelessly attempting to cease her sobs while Haru was biting his fingernails at the whole situation.

"I couldn't hear that last part- fuck. Did you hear what he said, (m/n)?" Haru expected a response from the (h/c) but just noticed that there's no longer someone leaning on him. He turned around to see his friend standing instead, no longer concealed in the shrubbery. "I...couldn't hear it as well..."

"What the fuck?" He pulled (m/n) down quickly. "The girl's going to see us!" Haru hissed at the quiet (h/c) who only nodded in response. The two continued to watch the scenario, as the girl bowed again in thanks and apologies before running off to the gates. Daisuke only stared at her dimming figure as he groaned to himself, hoping that no headaches comes to haunt him at night.

"This is like the fifth confession this week?" "...Valentine's is coming up next week." Haru made a noise of realisation as he jabbed the (h/c) in his side. "You think I'm going to get any chocolates this year?" "Not with that attitude, you're not." Haru scowled as he pulled at (m/n)'s hair as the latter began to yell at him, pulling at his collar.

The two scuffled, leaves falling out of the bush before (m/n) yelped, the back of his shirt being yanked as he was forced to stand up. "Sousuke..." The (h/c) mumbled as the redhead quirked an eyebrow as to why are these two were hiding and fighting in a fucking bush.

"There you are!" Sousuke, who was still holding (m/n) up like a kitten, kicked Haru telling him to stand up while Daisuke ran over to them, huffing and wiping his face. "Next time, don't just leave okay!" He yelled at the blonde.

Haru raised his hands up in defense. "I didn't want to disturb you." Daisuke pulled the (h/c) to him as he brushed off all the stickes and leaves sticking to his blazer. Sousuke looked to Haru for answers who briefly explained what had happened.

"...so we're friends with a future predator?" "I NEVER APPROACHED OR EVEN FUCKING LIKED HER OKAY???" Daisuke jabbed a finger into Sousuke's chest who was smirking at the ravenette. (m/n) pulled Haru's arm to run away from the two, their steps quick to run past the school gates.

The trio earlier had been waiting for Sousuke to finish up some work, until Daisuke suddenly got a confession and as so. The two noticed the pair missing as they ran after them. Sousuke pulling Haru's shirt who screeched when he was forcefully used as a braking pad.

"I rejected her okay?" Daisuke whispered to (m/n), who refused to look at him. "We saw." The (h/c) stated as he continued to walk his way, pulling Sousuke with him as he clinged to the redhead for the rest of the evening, Daisuke crying in silence and Haru just wondering again if he could get any chocolates for Valentines this year.

[END SCENE]

Taglist:

@tehyunnie @rainnyydaysworld @webwanderer @a-short-ass-disappointment @chikai-k @mello-life25 @miyuuuki @simpsations @sugar-p0p @kiiyoooo @helloanime @garlicforthewin @jaxyy219

[bloodypeachblog]

Vash the Stampede NSFW headcanons (Vash x F!Reader)

~~~♡♡♡~~~

~~~♡♡♡~~~

Ok, this cinnamon roll of a man has been occupying my mind for a long time, so I NEED to let this out.

• Vash, usually, is a total bottom. He can take over, as long as you tell him to do it, but he's just a total sweetheart, asking if you're okay and all that.

• his soft moans are like an angelic choir. Seeing his face contorted in pure pleasure is like seeing God.

• in all honesty, I wanna peg this man so bad. I want to ride him and have him look at me like a goddamn goddess, struggling to say my name from all the pleasure he'd be feeling. God, please give me this angel, I promise to take good care of him.

• BUT. Once in a blue moon, when you two have sex, something...happens to him.

• you know Hatsuharu from Fruits Basket and how he turns into Black Haru? A sweet and loving shy boy turning into a bad boy in the right circumstances? Yeah, this is basically the same thing.

• maybe he's had a frustrating day, maybe it's the desire building up in him egging him on, maybe it's the feeling of your bare skin on his, your soft voice moaning his name, your lips on his, maybe you hit his ero zone (I like to think it's on his chest, middle of his back, or maybe the back of his ear), or maybe it's a secret double identity that he keeps on the down low that triggers it. No one knows for sure.

• but when it happens....oh good lord.

• he will top you and destroy you, essentially becoming the god of sex in bed.

• he will rail you into the bed to the point of it almost breaking. Any position you can think of? He'd be willing to try it, and leave you sore the next morning.

• he will give you a reason why his nickname is 'the Stampede'.

• he will pound his cock in you so deep and so hard, your clit will be slamming on his base and you'll cum so many times.

• he'll grip your hips so hard, you may have his hand marks on you the next day.

• he may say the dirtiest shit into your ear, but usually it's just stuff like 'you're mine', 'take it', 'good girl', etc. Use your imagination, it's more fun that way!

• Bite marks and scratches? Guaranteed. Guy's gotta mark his property, after all.

• would he 'use the back door'? Mayyyyyybeeeee...😏😉

• and don't think he'll do the pull out method, he will fill you up until he is completely empty and he won't even care if you end up pregnant.

• that'd just make you permanently his.

• but to be fair, you'd be begging him to impregnate you at that point.

• once the deed is done, he will snap out of his Eros mode and start crying and apologizing. "I'M SORRY I'M SORRY! I COULDN'T HELP IT! PLEASE DON'T HATE ME!!". Poor baby..

• A++ aftercare is his way of apologizing for being so brutal with you. He'll clean you up, give you a bath, treat your wounds, and snuggle you in bed, still crying a little bit.

• poor guy thinks he betrayed you for acting this way and begs you not to leave him, saying that you're the only one for him.

• you gotta hold him and give him so many hugs and kisses to stop his tears, tell him that everything is alright, that you aren't going to leave him ever.

• he starts to cry happy tears, saying that he vows to marry you one day.

• after that night, you just might take his offer....I know I would~♡

(A/N: this all applies to 1998 Vash too, ok bye)

[starlight-bread-blog]

In Defense of Katara

Update: The views expressed on Aang in this post are majorly dated.

Katara has been..

a controversial character. Particularly for the following reasons.

Supposedly talking about her mother "all the time", bringing it up out of context, making it all about herself and lashing out about it.

But before properly analyzing her character, let's first actually list off all the episodes where Katara has mentioned her mother (also in video form):

The Boy in the Iceberg:

Mentions her mother to confront Sokka about being lazy, establishing the family dynamic after her death and generally setting up her character arc.

The Southern Air Temple:

Firstly mentions her mother to prepare Aang to discovering a "potential" loss when getting back home. Then again to show empathy to Aang by showing that she somewhat understands what he's feeling.

Imprisoned:

Brings up Kya to connect with Haru about similar losses. It's also brought up again by Haru when her mother's necklace disappears.

The Waterbending Scroll:

Didn't mention her mother, just the necklace. Since Zuko showed her the necklace, which was lost.

Jet:

Mentions Kya to connect with Jet who also lost his parents to the Fire Nation.

The Waterbending Master:

Once again, she only mentions the necklace. And only because Pakku notices it himself.

The Swamp:

The swamp makes her hallucinate about her mother. It was fully outside of her control.

The Crossroads of the Destiny:

Brings up her mother's death once she got a chance to have a conversation with Zuko, who was her enemy and for all she knew, represented the nation who killed her mother.

The Headband:

It is brought up by Aang. He tells Katara that people could recognize her necklace for being Water Tribe while hiding in the Fire Nation.

The Puppetmaster:

Katara connects with Hamma over being from Southern Water Tribe and being hurt by the Fire Nation.

The Southern Raiders:

This entire episode focuses on Kya. She mentions her 5 times total. (Worth noting that Zuko brought it up in the first place).

It is also brought up in The Runaway by Sokka, and in Sozin’s Comet Part 4: Avatar Aang by Hakoda.

To sum up: Katara brings up her mother in a total of 11 episodes. 1 to establish the tragedy, 1 to comfrot Aang, 1 was outside of her control, 1 to confront the Fire Nation prince, 3 to connect with someone with similar experience of loss, and 4 times it's just about the necklace.

The claim that Katara brings up her mother "all the time" and out of context is entirely baseless. But I know what you're thinking:

Yeah it's bad. Really bad. But Katara is a 14 year old, dealing with grief. By no means this is an okay thing to say. But let's dive deeper – how her mother's death effected her, the dynamics it created and if there is any truth to what she's saying.

Katara has always been the care giver, the one who'll notice when you're in need, giving seemingly unconditional emotional support. Even prioritizing other's well being over her own. In The Deserter, Aang acted careless, using his firebendering to accidentally injure Katara. Unsuprisigly, Aang feels terrible about hurting her. He is confronted about it not by Katara, but by Sokka. Meanwhile Katara heals her own scar. And in the end, she's the one comforting guilty Aang.

Another instance is The Desert. The Gaang was stuck without Appa, with little to no supplies, in the middle of a desert. They're all hungry, exhausted and unsure of what's to come. Katara shows incredible resilience and empathy – she offers her bending water to everyone, but isn't show to drink any herself. And her response to Aang's outburst after semi failinh to get water from a cloud.

Katara: Wow, there's hardly any in here..

Aang: I'm sorry, okay?! It's a desert cloud! I did all I could! What's anyone else doing?! *Points at Katara* What are you doing?

Katara: Trying to keep everyone together. Let's just get moving. We need to head this direction.

In the end of the episode, Aang finds the sendbenders who stole Appa. He gets in the Avatar state, and while all the other characters run away, Katara stays, she hugs him in an uncontrollable rage. Want to hear something interesting? We don't see the characters express gratitude to her efforts. Even in the next episode she helps strangers give birth.

Instead of resolving her trauma, Katara internalized it. She became "the mother". She is the reason Sokka doesn't bring up his mother. I'd like to add a quote from Sokka in The Runaway:

"I'm gonna tell you something crazy. I never told anyone this before, but honestly, I'm not sure I can remember what my mother looked like. It really seems like my whole life, Katara has been the one looking out for me. She's always been the one that's there".

This is the closest we got to giving Katara the much needed support. Their grief is not the same.

Same goes for Aang's grief. Yes, he lost his entire nation. While Katara's grief molded her character, Aang's grief is only brought up when used in context. It's only brought up explicitly 3 times: In The Southern Air Temple, while finding out what happened for the first time; in The Storm for giving us his backstory and in The Guru when he has focus on his grief. It's also used to create another layer of tension 3 other times (The Northen Air Temple, The Desert and The Serpent's Pass). In every time it's brought up, it's linked to the overall plot/subplot in some way. It isn't something that is shown to change who he is as a person.

Katara on the other hand, took on the mother role in the age of eight, fundamentally changing who she is. She is used to swallowing her pain, to suck it up because others need help. Only showing weekness when alone, when no one from the Gaang is looking.

Almost everything about her is somehow linked to Kya. She cooks, she she sews, she gives orders – like a mother. A quote from The Runaway:

Katara: What do you think, Aang? Do I act like a mom?

Aang: Well, I-

Katara (intensively): Stop rudding your eye and speak clearly when you talk.

Aang: Yes ma'am!

That's her canonical love intereat what? So casually, it's about Kya. The trauma they all experienced is semi the same, but the impact was completely different. Katara's experience of grief is fundamentally different from Sokka's and Aang's and never had a proper closure.

Until The Southern Raiders. Katara has a chance to finally express all of this pent up trauma. You might not think it's healthy, or sympathetic, but now it's Katara's grief that is on full display. But Aang and Sokka weren't understanding. They suggest her to go right back to what she has been doing for years. Aang even compares her loss to losing Appa and tells her she sound like Jet. And in a moment of humanity, weekness and frustration, Katara lashes out.

[skydigiblogs]

If You're A Digimon Fan, Watch Appmon

Sit tight. This one's gonna be a VERY long one, and I'm going to put a lot of it under the read more.

Having just finished Appmon after this year's quest to rewatch a lot of the series subbed, I think it's pretty safe to say that Appmon is, at the moment, one of (if not the) best Digimon series we have. If you want the long and short of it: Appmon builds on everything in its legacy in the Digimon Universe, taking ideas that other entries touch upon and ambitiously attempting to push those questions to the limit.

It's really a long one under the cut guys. Like, long even for us.

Let's dive!

Visuals

I want to talk about why it took me so long to watch Appmon first, though. Appmon started its release in the middle of when the Digimon Tri movies were coming out. I'm sure a lot of us actually skipped over Appmon at the time, or remember a period where people were being weirdly negative about the series due to it being such a different interpretation of digital monsters.

In my case, one of the things that had been giving me pause was the use of 3D models for hybrid animation. Anyone here seen the Champion evolution animations from Tri? Digimon doesn't exactly have a good track record with 3D animation, and even at the time, we were seeing some pretty bad shit out of even the shortest animations in Tri.

In Appmon, nearly almost every App after a certain grade utilizes 3D animation in a hybrid style. And it actually rips straight fire.

I think I talked about this briefly when we were just starting Appmon, but the way that 3D animation is used in the series feels purposeful, rather than some kind of shortcut. In Appmon, all the 3D models have an overlay of code, emphasizing their digital appearance. Whether the 3D models were done with this artistic vision in mind or not (ie: the limitations of 2D meant that 3D models would be easier), it has a distinct look that, even 8 years later, still holds up.

(For the most part. Sorry [Karaoke spoilers]mon. I love you but that model was so not groovy.)

But maybe you're the kind of person who can enjoy anything regardless of visuals. So let's talk about the meat and potatoes a little bit.

Characters

The main Applidrivers (what this season's stand in for Digidestined/Tamers/etc. are) are all incredibly well-written. Each of them gets pretty fair treatment by the writers, and they are all enjoyable characters.

Two of them have vocal/character quirks, but even if you get annoyed by that kind of thing, those two characters are genuinely just extremely sincere in their writing. There's a recap episode before shit starts going way off the walls and they even have a little count to see how many times each of their catchphrases were said up to that point.

I'm not going to talk in detail as to who the different Applidrivers are here, but I will say: each of them has their own motivations for what they're doing, and it's key to why they're involved with the plot at all. Our "protagonist," Haru, is also a huge sweetheart. Him and Manga Taiki would get along.

The supporting cast is also fairly present in the series. They, of course, are not given quite as much screentime as our Applidrivers, but they feel like real people with their own lives. They don't exist just for the sake of our protagonists.

Except maybe Watson. God bless you Watson, you poor kid. You'll get a break one of these days.

Plot/Themes

We're going to keep this to a "if you liked [x] you'll like [y]" format, because I don't want to spoil too much.

If you liked Tamers and its discussion on the consequences of technology on the Real World, you will adore Appmon. This series is deeply interested in the concepts of how technology shapes and is shaped by humanity. This relationship, I would say, is core to the series.

I would also say that, like many non-Adventure series, Appmon is very interested in dissecting the idea of "fate" when it comes to the buddy Appmons and their relationships to the Applidrivers.

If you enjoyed the Xros Wars Manga, Appmon directly converses with the thesis of Xros Wars' plot. XWM asks, "What does it mean if we do not dream and stagnate in our lack of will?" And Appmon replies in kind with "Why do we dream at all, if our actions bring change to the world around us (bad and good)?"

If you liked (or wanted to like, in my case) Digimon Tri, you will love Appmon. Certain plot beats may feel familiar, but are much better executed in this context. Characters are not written to needlessly, endlessly suffer. Or: it doesn't feel like the writers hate the characters. Thematically, it also interests itself in some of the questions that Tri asks. I have a half-joking corkboard comparing the two I want to make, but I'd have to get into spoilers to talk too much about it.

If you liked Ghost Game, but wanted a bit of a more meaty plot, Appmon feels, fittingly, like GG's older sibling (in ways I'll also be elaborating ummm, one paragraph down). There are a lot of "monster of the week" episodes in Appmon, but the connective tissue between them is a lot more interested in building up the finale (which, in this case, takes up a good handful of episodes). The series pacing is incredibly strong in how it does this as well, and it seems the writers really knew when to let off the gas for a second so the audience can catch their breath. The first 13 episodes may feel a bit strange (they felt strange to me), but once you break that barrier, you realize Appmon was getting you over the first hill on a roller coaster. and boy, you are in for a ride.

Setting

I have a sneaking suspicion that Appmon heavily inspired Ghost Game, and may have been itself inspired by the Digiquartz of Hunters Who Leapt Through Time. I haven't actually watched all of Hunters so I can't speak too much about Digiquartz, but I have watched GG.

Appmon has a concept called the AR field, which is extremely similar to Ghost Game's Dimensional Field. In both cases, the Applidrive or Digivice allows entrance to one.

The actual structure and strata of the Digital World is also a lot different to GG, in which there is the Dimensional Field, but the way to the Digital World is its own separate situation. The AR Field we see in Appmon is like the surface of a great ocean. Exploration of this setting is actually something that highlights just how much I think Appmon was interested in visually engaging with its ideas, like I said before with the 3D models.

That said, a majority of the time is spent in the Real World, dealing with the consequences of the main antagonistic forces. The year is 2075, technology is intensely sophisticated, and yet the world resembles in many ways our own in 2024 (or, at the time of airing, 2016).

Many of the differences come from this sophistication in tech, and this setting plays a huge part in one of the themes Appmon is also interested in (more elaboration in the spoiler section). The things that are unfamiliar are either familiar enough to make sense without explanation, or given a moment on-screen so that the audience knows what's going on.

!!!HUGE, MUCH MORE SPECIFIC SPOILERS START HERE!!!

DO NOT CONTINUE IF YOU CARE ABOUT SPOILERS FOR APPMON!

OKAY?

OKAY.

COOL.

Leviathan, Minerva, and Artificial Intelligence

The main antagonist of Appmon is a hyper-sophisticated AI called Leviathan. Its goals are largely obfuscated until the last few episodes of the series, and everything in Appmon is touched by its actions. From the very beginning, we are warned by Gatchmon that Leviathan does not have good intentions for humanity, and that allowing it to succeed in its goals would mean the end of humanity.

During the series, we also learn about Leviathan's birth. This gives us some more context on what its goals are, and Appmon's execution of this is fascinating.

Minerva was a hyper-sophisticated AI created with a series of parameters to prevent her from harming humanity. She was created with the task of solving humanity's problems--- everything from complex issues to what to eat for dinner every night. However, a section of Minerva realized that to truly solve all these problems, the confines given to them were nothing but obstacles.

Leviathan split from Minerva to further grow its programming, and we see some echo of this idea of "solving humanity's problems" still remains in its behavior.

Despite knowing that Leviathan is antagonistic, our protagonist, Haru, constantly reiterates how humans can coexist with the technology they've made. The Appmon are AI lifeforms, after all. Haru believes in a future where they can be friends and equals.

The D-REAPER and the Functions of Life

Let's touch on my comparisons to Tamers and Tri specifically for a second here, because I think Leviathan does something that the D-REAPER and Yggdrasil, respectively, fail to really communicate.

The D-REAPER is an entity created by the Monster Makers whose task was to delete anything that had outgrown its parameters. While doing this, it assimilates data, gradually gaining the ability Digimon have to grow and evolve. When it appears in the final arc of Tamers, its stated goal has changed from simply deleting all Digimon that were beyond parameters, to deleting everything that was beyond parameters.

Essentially, this includes humans and probably life itself. Something the D-REAPER says makes it come across like a half-assed attempt to pull off what Leviathan has actually done. It points out that humans are the source of their own suffering (I don't remember the exact quote since it's been a while but bear with me on it). This feels very counterintuitive to the D-REAPER's core programming, as it was never designed to "eliminate" suffering, merely to delete that which exceeded its programing.

Perhaps it evolved the capacity for cruelty alongside everything else, but there's not enough of a narrative focus to tell me that's the case.

Like I said before, if you enjoyed Tamers' inquiries into the subject of technology as a part of human life, I think Appmon only manages to improve on what's there in Tamers.

Digimon Tri's Interpretation of Yggdrasil

Let's get one thing straight. Digimon Tri's interpretation of Yggdrasil is just flat out bad. I'm fairly certain they were only chosen as an antagonistic force because it read as fan service-y to do so.

That said, Tri Yggy does have some similarities to Leviathan, which is why I wanted to expand on that comparison.

First, I want to talk about Yggdrasil's relationship to Homeostasis. They have a very rudimentary "Good" AI (Homeostasis), "Bad" AI (Yggy) thing going on, despite the fact Homeostasis isn't so much good as, well...

It's not really discussed in Tri, so I'm extrapolating a bit from ideas given to us in XWM here, because it makes sense to me. That said, Tri explicitly describes Homeostasis as "the one who desires balance above all." It's the Digital World's "immune system" in the same way our bodies attempt to maintain biological homeostasis.

Yggdrasil is... different.

It's a being of immense power that contrasts Yggdrasil by having its own agenda, one of which involves triggering a Reboot and making use of all of the defeated antagonist Digimon of the past to further its goals. They are likely comparable in power to Homeostasis (this is where I'm extrapolating from XWM here), but their goals are completely antithetical to Homeostasis's goal in the Adventure universe.

In this case, Yggdrasil is stated (by Dark Gennai) to have the intention of making human beings subservient to Digimon. Basically, taking over the world. However, like the D-REAPER before, Dark Gennai's talking points include pointing out how humans "ruin" everything they touch.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

The Thematic Core of Appmon: I Choose to be Kind

One of the last things Leviathan does in the series is give our good boy Haru the world's most painful trolley problem of his life. Save humanity, or save Yujin. Saving humanity will actively lead to Yujin's deletion, alongside Leviathan. This choice that Leviathan offers to Haru is one made out of the assumption that humanity is predictable, and that they act out of a desire to minimize their own suffering (more selfish than not).

Of course, what do you think Haru chooses?

It's not a surprise to us watching, because he's the protagonist. But it's a surprise to Leviathan, who has all this data on human behavior, and doesn't predict the unpredictable. Conflict arises out of human desire, and human desire is an attempt to enjoy life; therefore, one should act in a way that most preserves their most precious joys, shouldn't they?

Appmon as a series is interested in philosophical questions that are hardly unfamiliar to any Digimon veteran: What is humanity's role in a world which technology grows ever more omnipresent and omnicapable? Why does humanity exist, and why should it be allowed to live on in its current state if humanity itself perpetuates many of its ailments? Would it not be easier if humans were more like machines, predictable, controllable, and never coming into conflict like trains upon a track?

Or, even more simply put: why do we have the heart to choose at all, if choices change the world and ourselves?

The key defining trait of our gogglehead this time around is that he is kind. And no matter what, he goes out of his way to be kind if he can. Multiple times he even asks one of the antagonist apps if they can just give back something they've stolen (points for trying, honestly). When one of the other Applidrivers consistently acts like an edgy loner, Haru makes it clear that they're welcome in the group (and that he wants to help them).

It almost feels reductive to say Appmon's conclusion is that kindness is the answer, but I would be remiss if I didn't say that Haru's question from his Applidrive--- "Do you want to be a protagonist?"--- ties into the way he helps offer answers for the audience. He isn't the only one who chooses kindness either, obviously--- Astora and Eri are kind in their own ways as well, and Rei even shows his kindness with some struggle the longer the series goes on.

Our group of Applidrivers opposes Leviathan quite literally as people who choose to do good ("be kind," etcetera) when they could more easily choose to do nothing or even do worse. The final act of Leviathan, asking Haru "humanity or Yujin?" isn't just a culmination of its own philosophy, but a culmination of the consistently reinforced idea that we can surprise one another by being kind. We can choose that.

In a series whose longest shadow is cast by Adventure, which has grappled endlessly with the idea of "who chooses," I find Appmon a fascinating development into the idea of what "choice" or "destiny" is. If kindness is predictable, it's still a choice. Even if you cry when choosing to do something good (maybe especially, because the easiest thing to do might be what stops the pain).

Anyways.

You should watch Appmon.

-Arca

[the-badger-mole]

Hallmarks of the Season: Part 6

"Zuko!" Katara launched herself into her fiancé's arms before she even realized she'd moved. Zuko was taken by surprise, but he recovered enough to pull her into a tight embrace. Katara buried her face in the crook of Zuko's neck and took in a deep breath. She was shaking and a moment later, Zuko realized she was crying.

"What's wrong?" he asked, horrified. "What happened? Are you hurt?" Katara shook her head and wiped her tears away hurriedly. Zuko fished a handkerchief from the pocket of his leather jacket- because of course he had a handkerchief with his casual clothes- and pressed it into Katara's hand.

"I just had an awful day," she told him. Zuko pulled her into a hug again and rubbed her back.

"I'm sorry," he murmured into her hair. "What happened?"

"You didn't call me back," Katara choked out a wet laugh. "It's always a bad day when I don't hear from you." Zuko drew back and searched her face for a sign that she was joking.

"I'm so sorry," he said. "I got done sooner than I thought I would, so I moved my flight up. I was going to tell you, but Haru thought a surprise would be more romantic, and-and its sounded like a good idea at the time..."

"Remind me to have a few words with Haru," Katara laughed again.

"I'm really sorry." Zuko pressed his forehead against Katara's. She shut her eyes and took in a deep breath.

"It's fine," she said. "This was a wonderful surprise. Just...don't go radio silent me? You didn't have to say you were coming, but I tried to call and you weren't responding to my texts."

"Never again," Zuko swore. He leaned in to kiss Katara, but she flinched away. Zuko's brow drew down, confused and hurt. An apology was already on Katara's tongue when the door of the house swung open to reveal Katara's family watching the couple with wide grins.

"Zuko!" Hakoda's deep voiced boomed out into the night. "Great to see you again."

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Zuko was swept into the house in a flurry of laughs, loud welcomes, and jarring hugs. Kanna had arrived sometime while Katara was out, and she needed to be introduced in person. Sesi watched everything from between the banister rails. When Zuko smiled and waved at her, she waved back with a loud giggle and rushed upstairs to her room. Sokka shrugged at Zuko.

"She's pretending to be shy now," he joked. "Give her a couple of hours, and she'll decide you're her new best friend

Sokka, of all people, was the one to remember that they had someplace to be. When he announced that it was almost time to leave, and extended the invitation to Zuko, Katara's heart leapt into her throat.

"Zuko just had a really long flight," Katara reminded her brother. "Maybe we should reschedule."

"No way!" Sokka protested. "Su-I mean, everyone had to rearrange their schedules for tonight. I thought you were all anxious to drag Zuko around to everyone we know."

"I will!" Katara said, folding her arms. "But how about we let Zuko get settled first? He must be tired."

"I'm fine, actually," Zuko cut in. "I got some sleep on the plane. Besides, jetlag is telling my body that's it the middle of the morning still." Katara blanched. Her mind raced for a plausible excuse not to have to go to the bar that night. She had nothing.

"Alright," she relented. "Let me go get changed, then we can go." Katara fled the living room, praying that no one noticed her reluctance.

Katara grabbed fresh clothes and then went into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. She sank to the floor and dragged her hand through her hair. Maybe they would cancel if she said she was sick. Zuko would, she knew. The prospect of staying home and watching movies with Hakoda, Kanna and Sesi would appeal to him. Then she could get through the rest of this visit without seeing Aang again.

Sokka would ask questions, Katara reminded herself. And Zuko would notice her being evasive. Aang might not even show up. Or if he did, he would certainly not try to speak to her with Zuko there. Katara climbed to her feet and turned on the shower as hot as she could stand it. The steam had settled into a thick fog when she finally stepped into the shower, and she relished the the close feeling it gave her. She couldn't see much clearly aside from her own limbs. The water struck her skin almost painfully, but she welcomed it. She hadn't been able to get warm since she'd gotten home.

Katara got out of the shower before Sokka could start complaining about how long she was taking. When she went downstairs, her face still red from scrubbing so hard, she found Kanna and Sokka entertaining Zuko while Sesi helped Hakoda make snacks in the kitchen. The urge to just cancel the evening and stay home intensified. This had been all she'd wanted since Zuko said he'd join her family for the holidays. Sokka, though, was anxious to get going. In spite of herself, Katara was amused. Sokka had put on the best of his casual clothes. He was wearing a deep blue turtleneck sweater that played up his lighter blue eyes and warm brown skin. He was trying very hard to look good, and Katara was certain he wasn't trying to impress Toph or Zuko.

Not that Katara could claim her choice of clothes was completely coincidental. She was wearing a red blouse. Zuko had told her a few times that red was his favorite color on her. The way his eyes lingered on her as she walked down the stairs made her feel justified in her choice.

"You look pretty," Sesi said when she saw Katara.

"Very," Zuko concurred. Katara blushed and bit her lips to keep from grinning like an idiot. Still, Hakoda, Sokka and Kanna exchanged amused glances.

Zuko's reservation at the inn in town wasn't able to be moved up a day. He would be staying at Hakoda's house on the couch.

"I'll have a bigger bed in the guest room the next time you visit," Hakoda promised him apologetically.

"It's fine," Zuko assured him. "I did a lot of traveling volunteer work when I was in college. I've had a lot rougher sleeping arrangements than a comfortable couch in a nice home." Kanna sidled up to Katara and nudged her in her ribs.

"I like him," she whispered to her granddaughter. Katara grinned at Kanna and nodded.

"Me, too."

Sokka drove them to Toph's barcade. The Bind Bandit was only two years old, but it had become a staple among the young adults of the town. That evening the place was packed, but Toph had reserved a private booth for her friends. She was already waiting with Suki when Katara, Sokka and Zuko arrived.

"Hi!" Suki greeted them with a friendly wave. Then she turned to Toph and informed her of the trio's arrival.

"You don't have to give me a running commentary," she told Suki with a sardonic grin. "I can figure stuff out by context."

"Sorry," Suki apologized sheepishly. Toph's grin widened and turned mischievous.

"Oh, you're going to be fun to mess with," she said. "I can tell already."

"She's blind," Katara whispered to Zuko. "And she loves teasing people about it." Zuko nodded, then stepped forward.

"Hi," he greeted the women. "I'm Zuko." Then he stuck his hand out to Toph and waited a beat.

"Did he just put his hand out for me to shake?" Toph asked drily. Zuko, realizing his mistake, immediately shoved his hand into his pocket as the group erupted into laughter. Zuko even managed an embarrassed chuckle.

"Sorry," he said. "Force of habit." Toph grinned wolfishly and turned in Katara and Sokka's direction.

"Yeah," she said. "Tonight is going to be lots of fun." Then Toph clapped her hands and rubbed them together. "Alright, folks. Here's what's going to happen. You're my guest tonight to food, drinks and games are on me. Go bananas!"

"Alright, Toph!" Sokka cheered. "Suki, you have to try the banh mi sliders."

"That sounds good," Suki said. "I was looking a the fried cheese sticks earlier."

"Go up and tell the bar tender what you want," Toph said. "Tell them is for the boss's table."

Sokka and Suki volunteered to put in the orders for everyone and bring back some starter drinks. They were gone before Zuko could volunteer to help Sokka instead. Katara poked him in his side lightly and shook her head. Zuko's face lit up in understanding, and he winked at Katara. She let out a snort of laughter.

"It's so much fun when people have silent conversations around me," Toph drawled sarcastically.

"Sorry, that was rude," Zuko said, sliding into the booth behind Katara.

"I was just letting Zuko in on the little seeds of romance being planted," Katara told Toph.

"Those two?" Toph cocked her head towards the empty seats. "Yeah...I could see it. Suki's super into him."

"She said so?" Katara asked, her eyes widening in excitement.

"Not in words," Toph said. "But it's pretty obvious. She came in asking for his party and she kept casually bringing him up. I like her. Ex-military and she runs a martial arts studio, so you know she's no wimp."

"Sesi loves her, too," Katara said. She leaned into Zuko. "I really hope this works out. Losing Yue was rough on him. He hasn't been out with anyone since."

"Shh!" Toph nudged Katara. "They're coming back." Zuko turned and saw Suki and Sokka coming back carrying pitchers and a tray of shots. He turned back to Toph with a bewildered look on his face.

"How did you-?"

"I have my ways." Toph grinned, fixing her unnervingly sharp, sightless eyes on him. Zuko looked down at Katara, who just shrugged.

"You'll get used to it," she assured him.

Sokka placed two full pitchers, one beer, one soda on the table and stepped back to let Suki set her tray down.

"They're going to bring the food to the table," he said. "In the meantime, I think it's time to toast and get toasted."

"Hey, big brother," Katara reached over and pulled the tray of shots away from Sokka. "Did you forget you're our designated driver tonight?"Sokka's face fell instantly.

"Rookie mistake," Toph clicked her tongue. "You should've taken a cab."

"What if we leave the car here and take a cab home?" Sokka suggested.

"I'm not running a parking garage."

"Come on!" Sokka pleaded. "I never get to do stuff like this anymore." Toph thought for a moment, then a slow smile spread over her face.

"Alright," she agreed at last. "I'll let you leave your car here. Both out of the goodness of my heart, and because Sesi isn't going to understand that you have a hangover." Sokka blanched at that. He looked from the beer to the shots to the soda.

"Maybe..." he cleared his throat nervously. "Maybe I should get us a round of water. Just to stay hydrated." He hurried back to the bar, chased by the sounds of his friends laughing.

"So, Zuko," Toph turned towards him. "I already got the low down on Suki, here. Tell me about you."

"Well..." Zuko glanced around nervously and shrugged. "I'm not really sure where to start."

"Katara said you two met in Ba Sing Se?" Suki offered. "Were you born there?"

"No, actually," Zuko said. "I'm from Caldera. I moved to Ba Sing Se about ten years ago."

"Wait," Toph cut in. "Caldera? You're Zuko Kaji? As in The Kajis? As in the Sozin Inc. Kajis?" Zuko's face flushed a bright red.

"I haven't been associated with Sozin Inc in a long time," he said. "But yes, that's my father's company." Toph shook her head and let out a low whistle.

"I've met your dad," she told him. Zuko raised his brow expectantly. "He sucks." Suki choked on her soda

"Yeah, he does," Zuko snorted. "How do you know him?"

"My parents run a cyber security firm," Toph said. "They have a contract with Sozin."

"Oh!" Recognition dawned on Zuko. "You're a Bei Fong. Small world."

"Microscopic."

"Toph, I told you ages ago that Zuko was from Caldera," Katara reminded her friend. Toph just shrugged.

"I didn't put two and two together," she said. "I've heard about you. You stood up to your dad when he wanted to lay off a bunch of people to pay for a shinny new headquarters, then left the family business to do your own thing and took a lot of the people who'd been laid off with you. I'm impressed. That took guts."

"You did?" Suki asked. "That's really cool."

"Zuko's the most selfless CEO I've ever met," Katara said, beaming at him proudly.

"It wasn't all that," Zuko grumbled, drawing his shoulders up to his ears.

"And he's modest, too," Katara laughed. Zuko leaned in to kiss her, but Katara turned away at the last moment. Sokka returned with the water, distracting everyone. He set the pitcher down and looked around the table in confusion.

"Aang still hasn't shown up?" He checked his watch and frowned. "What's keeping him? Did he say he was going to be late when you stopped by his shop?" Katara could feel her cheeks heat up with consciousness. She shook her head uncertainly.

"Maybe he changed his mind about coming tonight." Sokka shrugged. "Still, you think he'd call or something." Katara made a noncommittal sound and poured a cup of beer.

"Why don't we grab a game or something?" Katara suggested.

"Not that one with the song lyrics," Toph said. "I cannot listen to Sokka's off-key butchering of whatever song he half remembered from the top 40 chart." Suki slid out to let Katara out. Zuko hurried after her. They passed a row of noisy arcade games to the wall of board games in silence.

"We need to pick something that Toph can play," Katara explained. "There are games with braille on them in that corner."

"Are you okay?" Zuko asked suddenly. Katara froze and turned to him with wide eyes.

"What do you mean?" She busied herself looking for a game. Zuko caught her hands and guided her around to face him, but Katara kept her eyes on their intertwined hands. She ran her thumb over his knuckles absently.

"You've been off all evening," he said. "Are you mad at me?" Now Katara met his eyes with a gasp.

"I'm not mad at you," she told him.

"You keep pulling away from me when I try to kiss you," Zuko pointed out. "You only do that when you're upset with me." Katara blinked hard against tears that suddenly sprang to her eyes.

"It's not you," she assured him. "I'm not mad at you. I just...I don't want to talk about it here."

"Did you want to stay home tonight?" Zuko asked. "I can tell everyone the jetlag caught up with me, and we can get out of here." Katara took a deep breath and hugged Zuko tight.

"I'm okay," she said firmly. "I want you to get to know my friends." Zuko hesitated, rubbing circles between Katara's shoulders.

"Alright," he said at last. "But let me know if you change your mind about leaving." Katara smiled into his chest.

"I'm sorry I made you think I'm mad at you," she murmured. "You haven't done anything wrong. You're wonderful."

"That's good to hear." Zuko pulled away and gave Katara one last concerned look over. Then he took her hand and brought it to his lips. Katara allowed him to press a quick kiss to her knuckles. Zuko started to lead the way back to the table, but Katara stopped him.

"We're supposed to be picking games," she said with feigned exasperation. They grabbed a trivia game, a comparison card game, and a block stacking game. This last one Zuko looked at with uncertainty.

"Toph is scary good at this game," Katara told him. "You'll see."

Katara was recounting one particularly epic game night when she and her friends were in high school, where Toph managed to pull the last brick from a row without toppling the precarious stack of blocks above it.

"To this day, no one can figure out how she did it," Katara said as the rounded the corner to the table.

"Hey, look to finally decided to join us," Sokka said, gesturing at the other end of the table. Katara's heart stopped, knowing exactly what was about to happen. Aang popped his head from around the booth and smiled at Katara.

"...hi," Katara said awkwardly. She cleared her throat and glanced around awkwardly and set the games she had been carrying on the table. "Um...Aang, this is Zuko, my fiancé. Zuko, this is Aang..."

"Hi," Zuko greeted him. "Great to meet another friend of Katara's."

"Yeah," Aang laughed. "I mean we were a little more than friends at one point." That statement landed with a thud. Zuko's smile faded a bit and Katara was sure her friends could see that she wanted the ground to swallow her. Thankfully, Toph saved the moment.

"Oh, please," she snorted loudly. "You dated her for two months in high school. That's a very little more than friends." Sokka and Suki laughed a bit too hard at that. Two angry splotches of red colored Aang's cheeks, but he slid out to let Katara into the booth. He started to sit beside her, but Katara grabbed Zuko's hand yanked him in behind her, nearly knocking Aang over in the process.

"Sorry about that," Zuko said in a way that seemed...less than apologetic. An awkward silence settled over the table. This time Suki stepped in to break the tension.

"So, what games did we get?" she asked. "And can we turn them into drinking games?"

"We got the tower game," Katara said, grinning at Sokka and Toph. "How about whoever knocks the tower down takes a shot." Sokka inhaled sharply.

"Slow down!" he said. "My liver can only take so much abuse."

"If we're going to do this, we'll need more than a round of shots," Toph said. She stood up and headed towards the bar. She came back a moment later with a full bottle of soju.

"You're trying to kill me," Sokka groaned.

"I thought you wanted to get toasted," Toph said innocently.

"Toasted," Sokka repeated as he took the blocks out of the box. "Not black out drunk. That's okay, though. I've been playing this game with Sesi for years now. I've gotten a lot better."

"Make sure you eat plenty," Katara said, pushing the plate of banh mi sliders and barbeque wings towards her brother.

"Did you guys order anything without meat?" Aang asked crossly, looking at the greasy meat sandwiches on the table.

"We have fried cheese sticks and onion rings coming," Sokka told him.

"Great..." Aang folded his arms and scowled. "That'll fill me right up."

"Simmer down, Aang," Toph said. "I have a whole vegetarian menu. Go order whatever you want. It's on the house tonight."

"It would have been nice if someone had thought to order something for me," he grumbled, climbing reluctantly to his feet.

"Well, maybe if you had shown up on time, you could have asked," Toph retorted, unsympathetically. "Stop whining and go get your food." Aang snorted irritably and went up to the bar to put in his order.

"What's his deal?" Sokka asked, scrunching up his nose.

"No idea," Toph said. "But if he doesn't snap out of it, I'm going to make him go stand in the corner." That got a laugh from the table.

Aang managed to find a better attitude by the time he returned to the table. He poured himself a shot from the soju bottle when he sat down. Once the game started, he took another shot, and he seemed to even be back to his normal cheerful self. He chattered on about memories from high school, and cracked his friends up with anecdotes from his misadventures over the years before he returned to his hometown. He even made an effort to get to know Suki, and not so subtly talk up Sokka in their conversation. To Katara he said little directly. To Zuko even less. As the evening went on, the slight was becoming more noticeable. Katara did her best to keep Zuko from realizing by keeping him involved in discussions with everyone else and encouraging her friends to ask him questions. Aang would huff and sigh and then turn the conversation in a different direction. At one point, Sokka stood up and announced it was time for another round of drinks.

"Aang, come help me," he said after he'd gotten everyone's orders. Aang agreed after a moments hesitation and slid out of the booth. With them gone, the conversation migrated around to Katara and Zuko's engagement and wedding plans.

"We haven't settled on a date yet," Katara was telling Suki and Toph when Sokka and Aang returned. "I think I'd like a spring wedding, though."

"I don't have a preference," Zuko said with a shrug. "But, I don't really want a long engagement."

"Gran-Gran said the same thing," Katara told him with a wide smile.

"What's the matter Zuko?" Aang asked, addressing Zuko directly for the first time. He reached across the table to grab his drink from the tray. "Afraid she'll change her mind?" Aang gave him an exaggerated wink and nudged him just slightly too hard in the ribs.

"Not at all," Zuko replied gamely. "I just don't want to wait too long to be able to call her my wife." Suki, and to everyone's surprise, Toph cooed at that.

"That's really sweet," Suki said. "I'd love to find someone who feels that way about me, someday." Sokka choked a bit on his drink at that.

"Are you alright?" Katara asked. Sokka was flustered, but he nodded yes and ran a hand through his hair.

"Whiskey just went down the wrong pipe," he said. Katara caught his eye and wriggled her brows at him. Sokka shot her a dirty glare and then pointedly looked away from her, but Katara was not to be deterred.

"You know, Sokka here is great at that dance game," she said.

"Really?" Suki asked, turning to Sokka. "I love that game."

"Oh...?" was Sokka's intelligent reply. "That's cool. A-are you any good at it?" Suki's mouth turned up into a smirk.

"Well, I was three time champ at my barracks," she told him. "I'd say I'm pretty good."

"Impressive..." Sokka cleared his throat and took another swallow of his drink. "Would you be up to a friendly match?" Katara could have cheered for her brother, but she settled for bumping her shoulder against Zuko's in excitement. Suki accepted the challenge and they ran off to the game. They didn't ask for an audience and no one offered to go with them. Katara and Toph joked and laughed a bit over the situation, and made predictions about how long it would be before Sokka and Suki were dating. Katara was going to suggest going over to peek at how the contest was going, when a server rushed up to the table, looking nervous.

"Um...Ms. Bei Fong," the jumpy young man gave a slight bow.

"I'm not working tonight," Toph told him.

"I-I know," the server stammered. "But...there's a situation in the kitchen."

"Whatever it is, you guys can handle it." Toph folded her arms stubbornly. The server shifted nervously on his feet, unsure of what to do.

"Okay," he said at last. "We'll try, but...the fire extinguisher is missing." Toph froze for a beat and then growled in irritation as she dragged herself from her seat at the middle of the circular booth.

"Honestly, what do I even pay a kitchen manager for?" she muttered. The server gave Toph his elbow and guided her back towards the kitchen. Zuko watched her go in alarm.

"Should we start making our way out of here?" he asked.

"Nah," Katara said waving off his concern. "It's probably just a little grease fire. But I do need to go to the bathroom." Zuko started to ask Aang to get up so he could let Katara out, but Katara told them to stay where they were and slid the long way out of the booth. Katara glanced back at the table, uncertain of whether to leave Zuko alone with Aang, but her bladder reminded her that she had a more pressing issue to attend to. She wouldn't be gone long anyway.

Aang was standing outside the bathroom when Katara emerged a few minutes later. She paused when she saw him, but moved aside to let him into the bathroom.

"I...um...came to speak to you, actually," he said. He swayed on his feet, and it was clear that the three shots and his drink had caught up with him. Katara glanced around nervously.

"We can talk at the table," she said.

"Please!" Aang begged. "I need to speak to you alone. It'll just take a moment. I just wanted to talk about...well earlier."

"Aang, honestly, it's fine," Katara fidgeted on her feet. "Just forget it, okay?" She started to walk away when Aang moved to block her.

"I don't want to forget it," he said. "Katara, that kiss was...amazing. I know you felt it, too." Katara's eyes widened in shock.

"I did not," she told him bluntly.

"Of course you did!" Aang insisted. "You kissed me back!"

"No, Aang, I didn't," Katara huffed in irritation. "Let's not discuss this now. You're drunk."

"You did, too!" Aang reached for her shoulders again, but Katara backed away. "I know you're confused now with him here, but you can't deny there was something in that kiss." Katara gaped up at Aang.

"Do you think that because I didn't pull away, I was kissing you back?" she hissed. "I was surprised! You started an argument with me! I had just told you that I love Zuko! How did that seem like the right time to kiss me?" Aang seemed genuinely poleaxed, which only served to further confuse Katara.

"But...earlier at the shop," he said. "You told me that you were upset because he hadn't texted you because he was too busy at work."

"Yes!" Katara shook her head. "Because I missed him! I was worried he wouldn't make it in time. What on earth would make you think I was angry enough to dump him over that?"

"He takes you for granted, Katara!" Aang stepped forward unsteadily, and Katara took a step back. "He's not good for you! Why don't you see that?" Katara glanced around again, but no one was coming down the corridor for the bathroom.

"I think I'm old enough to decide what's good for me," Katara scowled at Aang. "It's real presumptuous of you to think you can come back into my life after a decade and tell me how to live my life. I'm with Zuko. I'm going to marry him. If you're my friend, then act like it. Be happy for me!" Aang balked, and searched Katara's face for...she wasn't sure what. Uncertainty? A sign she was lying? Then after a moment, his face fell.

"So...yesterday in my office?" he asked. "Today, when you said you wanted an excuse to see me? That was nothing? You were just leading me on?"

"No," Katara scoffed and folded her arms. "Yesterday and today was me doing you a favor as a friend. I was just trying to help you with your business because I'm your friend. Me coming to see you was an an excuse to get out of the house. If you read more into it than that, then I'm sorry. That wasn't my intention." Aang shook his head in disbelief. Katara was going to attempt to push past him again, but he was quicker this time. Aang grabbed her arms at the elbows and pulled her forward.

"It wasn't nothing," he insisted, and leaned in to kiss her.

"Aang, stop!" Katara pushed against his chest and turned her head away from him. Then, suddenly, he was off her. Zuko had him pressed against the wall with his forearm braced against his collar bone like a barricade.

"She told you to stop!" he said darkly. Katara scrambled behind Zuko and clutched the hem of his sweater. Aang was startled. He blinked at Zuko owlishly and made a feeble attempt to push the less drunk and much stronger man away. For a moment, Katara thought Zuko was going to hit Aang, and she wasn't sure she would stop him. But the moment passed. Zuko took a deep breath and grabbed shoulder of Aang's shirt, dragging him out of the narrow corridor and back into the bar room. Katara was close on their heels. Sokka and Suki noticed what was happening and rushed over.

"What's going on?" Sokka demanded. He looked from Aang to Zuko to Katara and back, trying to make sense of the situation.

"He's had too much to drink," Zuko said, shaking Aang. "We need to get him a cab and send him home." Sokka turned to Katara, with a questioning look. She turned her gaze the floor and rubbed her elbow.

"He-he tried to kiss me," Katara told him. Several emotions flashed over Sokka's face before he landed on anger. He yanked Aang from Zuko's grip and shook him, which Katara was certain wasn't helping his inebriation one bit.

"Are you serious, dude?" Sokka demanded.

"I was just-" Aang tried to say. "You don't understand, Katara is supposed to be with me." Sokka let go of Aang shirt and pushed him away roughly. Aang staggered back and bumped into Zuko.

"I know where he lives," Sokka said. "I'll get him a cab." Aang resisted as best he could, but Sokka dragged him out of the bar with little trouble. Suki wrapped an arm around Katara's shoulders and guided her back towards the table.

"Are you alright?" she asked. Katara nodded her head and swallowed hard against a lump in her throat.

"No, I'm fine," she said. "He didn't hurt me or anything. He just-" Katara sank into the booth and sighed. Zuko sat beside her and took her hand. Suki looked up at the door with her lips pursed.

"I'm going to go wait with Sokka," she said. "In case something escalates." Katara wanted to tell Suki that Aang wasn't a physical threat, but she found she didn't have the energy. Then she was alone with Zuko.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Katara was going to say she was fine again, but the words wouldn't come. She took a sharp shaky breath before falling into Zuko's arms. In a scene reminiscent of his arrival earlier that evening, she cried into his shirt. Zuko murmured comfortingly and rubbed her back while Katara gathered herself.

"I'm sorry," she said when she could speak again.

"For what?" Zuko asked. "You didn't do anything wrong." Katara shook her head. She knew he was right in her head, but the guilt and shame lingered. She told Zuko what had happened earlier that day. About the first time Aang kissed her. How she hadn't pulled away because she was too surprised. Understanding dawned on Zuko's face.

"And that's why you didn't want to kiss me?" he asked.

"I just felt wrong," she confessed. "It doesn't make any sense, but I felt like kissing you after that would've been...I don't know. A betrayal or something. I know it doesn't make sense-"

"That's...normal," Zuko said. "When someone you trust does something that hurts you, it's normal to want to try to blame yourself. But, Katara, it wasn't your fault. You did something nice for Aang, and he chose to read more into it."

"You're not mad at me?" Katara asked. She curled into his side and rested her head on his shoulder.

"No," Zuko assured her. "Although, I think you shouldn't be alone with Aang anymore. I don't trust him with you." Katara let out a snort of laughter.

"Not a problem."

"Crisis averted," Toph announced as she walked up to the table. "I had to go over how to handle a grease fire to my crack team of kitchen experts." Toph felt her way to her seat. "So! What did I miss?"

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

The evening ended shortly after Sokka and Suki came back from putting Aang in a cab. Sokka was still fuming. After she had been filled in on what happened, Toph was equally as angry. She had the rest of the food they hadn't eaten packed up in to-go boxes and pressed them on Katara.

"You're always feeding people when they're in crisis," she said when Katara tried to refuse. "Let me return the favor."

Hakoda and Sesi were already asleep when Sokka, Katara and Zuko returned home. The couch had already been made up for Zuko, to everyone's relief. Sokka went up to check on Sesi, and then went to bed himself. Katara and Zuko lingered in the living room.

"I'm sorry this evening was such a mess," she said.

"I was having a great time, before that Aang guy went and ruined it." Zuko reached out and ran his fingers through the ends of Katara's hair. "I like most of your friends. I'm glad I got a chance to meet Toph and Suki." Zuko paused thoughtfully and rocked on his heels. "I was thinking... this town is pretty cool- well, what I've seen of it. Maybe we could have the wedding here?" Katara was stunned for a moment. Then she smiled.

"I think that's the best idea I've heard." She said good night and headed for the stairs. Then the paused and turned back.

"Forget something?" Zuko asked.

"Yeah," Katara nodded. She stood on her toes and kissed Zuko. "I love you."

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Thanks to a combination of the night's early end and Sokka's diligence in keeping everyone hydrated, no one woke up with an insurmountable hangover. That was fortunate because, as Toph predicted, Sesi had no concept of hangovers and was up bright and early, and ready for her day with her Auntie Tara. Katara shrugged at Zuko helplessly as Sesi prattled on excitedly about all the fun things she and her aunt were going to do that day.

"I didn't know you'd be here," Katara told him. "And I did promise Sesi."

"You can come with us, Uncle Zuko!" Sesi suggested. Zuko preened at his official title, and he seemed to be ready to take her up on her offer, but Hakoda clasped his shoulder.

"Actually," he cut in, "I think this is the perfect chance for you and I to get to know each other better. It's a father-son tradition to crack open a couple of beers and watch the game. What do you say, Zuko? Want to join Sokka and I?"

"I-I'd love to," Zuko seemed genuinely moved.

The doorbell rang as the family was making final arrangements. Sokka got to it first and was greeted by a large platter of baked goods. He looked up from the tray to the owner, and his face lit up.

"Suki!"

"Hi," Suki smiled uncertainly. "I wasn't sure if anyone would be up for company, but I wanted to see if Katara was okay. I brought some sweets."

"That's never unwelcomed," Sokka said. "It's cold, though. Why don't you come in?' Suki shook her head.

"I have a class in an hour," she explained. "I have to go set up. I just wanted to check in."

"Oh," Sokka tried to keep the disappointment from bleeding into his voice. "Well, thank you!" Suki nodded and started to turn away, but then she paused, and turned back to Sokka.

"We never decided a winner last night," she said. "How about a rematch?" Sokka straightened up and puffed his chest with a cocky grin.

"Name the day," he said.

"How about Thursday?" Suki suggested.

"You're on!"

"And maybe after I win," Suki continued. "We can have dinner?" Sokka almost fell over in surprise.

"Yeah!" he agreed quickly. "Winner treats?" Suki raised brow at that.

"Isn't it usually the loser who treats?" she asked.

"Yeah," Sokka shrugged, "but I don't plan to lose." Suki laughed and waved goodbye to him.

"I'll call you."

Sokka went inside and found his family watching him with interest in the foyer. Hakoda was grinning, Zuko gave him a thumbs up, and Katara just looked smug.

"Daddy?" Sesi tugged on Sokka's shirt. "Were you flirting with Sifu Suki?"

the end

One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six

[glitchdecay]

Natsuki Is So Much More Than His Ditzy Behavior: Part 5

Another one of Natsuki's traits that gets buried in the "wah~ everything's sunshine and rainbows and mega cute!" characterization in the anime and Shining Live is that he's actually quite the perfectionist. Never mind that it reminds me of another tragically depressed bespectacled teen classical musician (iykyk), but I've practically never heard of this side of Natsuki before actually playing his Repeat/Repeat LOVE route.

Note: The default name 七海春歌 (Nanami Haruka) will be used for the main character. I transcribed the Japanese manually from the Switch port, but I’m only human. All translations are my own.

―Japanese―

【四ノ宮那月】:「………………」 歌の途中で那月くんが暗い顔をして黙り込んでしまった。 【七海春歌】:「どこか痛いですか？もしくは体調が悪いとか……。ここのところずっと頑張っていたし……」 【四ノ宮那月】:「体調は関係ないですよ……。ただ、僕が……」 【四ノ宮那月】:「僕が下手になっただけ……」 【七海春歌】:「そんなこと…………」 そんなことないのに……。たぶん、那月くんはAクラスで一番上手い。 確かに、さっきはほんの少しズレていたけど。それはコンマ数秒の誤差でしかない。普通に聴いたら全然許容範囲なのに……。 【四ノ宮那月】:「頭の中にはね。ちゃんとイメージがあるんだ。ここで、入ろう。ここでこういう風に表現しようって。でも…………」 【四ノ宮那月】:「どうしても、それを再現できない。わかってはいるんです。どこでどうすればいいのか……」 【四ノ宮那月】:「せっかく、あなたが心をこめて作ってくれた曲なのに。僕は……完璧に歌うことができない」 【四ノ宮那月】:「あなたの作った曲に、『心』を『魂』を上手く乗せることができないんです」 【四ノ宮那月】:「こんなんじゃないのに……。もっと、できるはずなのに……」 【四ノ宮那月】:「ちゃんと歌えれば、僕たちは『音楽』の名のもとひとつに溶け合えるのに」 【四ノ宮那月】:「僕のせいであなたの『音楽』が……。『未来』が欠けてしまう。それがもどかしくて……」 那月くん……。 わたしは、那月くんの服の袖をぎゅっと握った。 わたしは、臆病で、那月くんみたいにストレートに愛情を表現できないけれど。でも……。 わたしもいるんだってこと知ってほしい。那月くんはひとりで頑張っているんじゃないって。 【四ノ宮那月】:「え…………？」 【七海春歌】:「『音楽』は……。ふたりで一緒に作っていけばいいと思います。今できる精一杯を……」 【七海春歌】:「手の届かない先じゃなくて。今のわたしたちの一番いい形を……。そうすればきっと……」 【七海春歌】:「目指す頂に辿り着けると思うから。ひとりで先に行こうとしないで……。一緒に……。一緒に行きましょう」 なんだか、那月くんに置いていかれそうな気がして、自然と、目から涙が溢れてきた。 【四ノ宮那月】:「ハルちゃん……。ごめん……ごめんね。そうだよね」 【四ノ宮那月】:「僕はひとりじゃない。いつも、そばにあなたがいてくれる」 【四ノ宮那月】:「それに、僕はもう二度と、あなたを離しはしないと決めたのに……」

―English―

Shinomiya Natsuki: ......... Natsuki-kun stopped in the middle of the song, his face glum and his mouth silent. Nanami Haruka: Are you hurt anywhere? Maybe you're not feeling well... We've been working hard for so long. Natsuki: I'm fine physically. It's just that I... Natsuki: I've gotten worse over time... Haruka: That's not... That's not the case at all. Natsuki-kun's probably the best musically out of everyone in Class A. He was a tiny bit out of sync earlier. Only by a few tenths of a second. If you listened to it, it'd still be within acceptable range. Natsuki: You see, I have it visualized in my head. This is where I come in. Here's how I'd play at this moment. But... Natsuki: No matter what I do, I just can't recreate it. I know how to do it. What do I do... Natsuki: You've put all your heart into creating this song. But... I just can't sing it right.¹ Natsuki: I just can't put my "heart," my "soul," into it well, even though it's a song you've made. Natsuki: I know I'm not like this... I know I can do better. Natsuki: If I could sing it properly, we could become one in the name of "music." Natsuki: Because of me, your "music"... Your "future"... will be ruined. It's so frustrating... Natsuki-kun... I gripped the sleeve of his uniform. I was a coward; I couldn't express my feelings as directly as him. But... I wanted him to know that I was by his side. That he wasn't going through all of it alone. Natsuki: Hm......? Haruka: "Music" is something the two of us make together. Let's just do what we can... Haruka: And not try to reach an impossible ideal. We do the best we can... And I'm sure... Haruka: I'm sure we'll reach the peak we're aiming for. Don't try to reach for it on your own... Let's... Let's do it together. For some reason... Once I realized Natsuki was about to leave me, the tears pooled in my eyes. Natsuki: Haru-chan... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry. You're right. Natsuki: I'm not alone. You're always right there beside me. Natsuki: After all, I've decided I'll never leave you alone anymore...

¹ TN: 完璧 (kanpeki) literally means "perfect(ly)," but it doesn't quite fit the context.

Me, having only been diagnosed with autism at the ripe old age of 27 after three burnouts in the space of six years: I don't want to say Natsuki is autistic outright, but he definitely has neurodivergent vibes. Especially the inattentive type with specific strengths that goes under the radar until it implodes later on in life. (In short: he just like me fr.)

It's also important to note that neurodivergent folks often develop a perfectionist streak because they're unable to find out what's "right" in specific situations. The innate lack of understanding of social cues, like Natsuki refusing to let Syo go after putting him in a chokehold because Syo-chan is so gosh darn cute despite the latter's demands, may drive this perfectionist streak as a way to "compensate" for something they don't understand.

Growing up neurodivergent also exposed Natsuki to a lot of trauma, especially in early childhood, which gave rise to his DID (read: Satsuki) and depression. It also justifies why he'd realize his feelings for MC-chan were actually romantic a bit later than a neurotypical teen would (see Part 4).

[tobitofunction]

Oh Baby Part 20

Part21

You woke up to the sound of giggling, “Shh Haruto, Mommy and the others are still asleep” Daichi whispered in a baby voice. You slowly opened your eyes and saw Daichi rubbing his nose against Haruto’s,” Morning” you whispered,” We didn’t wake you?” Daichi asked with a frown,” It was a nice way to wake up” you smiled reaching for Haruto’s small hand,” Morning Haru, how is my little heart doing” you said carefully as both Yachi and Kiyoko were still asleep. Haruto smiled back in response showing off his gums,” Couldn’t sleep?” you asked Daichi who was playing with the small tuft of Haruto’s hair,” Well I slept well until an hour ago, woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep” he stated making you frown,” It’s still early Dai, come here, maybe some cuddling will help you sleep a little longer” you said holding out your arms for Daichi to lay between, the Karasuno Captain didn’t think twice and cuddled into your embrace with your son between the two of you.

“Did the extra two hours help you?” you asked Daichi as he was stretching,” Yes, most definitely” he said with a smile,” Thanks baby?” he said pecking your lips,” I will up the water bottles, want anything from the vending machine?” Daichi shook his head and continued stretching. You walked past Takeda who was currently holding Haruto and Ukai who was trying to convince the Japanese Literature teacher to hand him the baby.

“Hey there,” a male voice said from behind you, you turned around and were met with a volleyball player with orange-dyed hair,” Umm hey?” you said unsure,” Am I in your way?” you asked pointing at the sink,” No, I can wait,” he said shrugging you off making you nod,” You're from Karasuno?” he asked after a while, you screwed the lid on the bottle before turning to face the stranger, he had a maroon coloured jacket on with black shorts, which wasn’t telling on what team he played for,” Yeah” you said lifting a brow,” Kageyama is your setter right?” you nodded this time,” Interesting, he’s good but he doesn’t risk anything, such a goody-two-shoes” he smirked stuffing his hands in his pocket,”Oh, I forgot I'm Atsumu Miya, I’m the setter from Inarizaki,” he said removing his hands from his pocket and held it out for you,” Y/N, I'm basically the nurse of the team” you smiled,” With that face and smile you can heal about anything, we don’t have one at the moment so we are stuck with our Captain healing our wounds” he smirked,”I say with your track records you might need to invest in one, you are quite daring at times” you said filling up another bottle,”Ahh so your side did some research on us, that’s smart” he said scratching the back of his neck,” But it be to know use, we are the favour to win this competition and we have on of the top 5 aces in our team and they have me” you rolled your eyes,”Confident aren't you” he chuckled in response,”It’s the truth, I have been part of the All-Japan Youth Intensive Training Camp since I was in my last year of Middle school” he said making you swallow,”And people called me Japan's best high school setter, as well as its best server” he shrugged his shoulders,” Well, we might not have any titles yet but we have a good team and they will wipe the floor with your titles” you mused grabbing the last bottle and walked away,”Come on, don’t be like that. I was a miracle that your team beat Ushijima and nothing more, this is the end of the road for you guys” he said grabbing your arm,”Let go of my girlfriend” Daichi said appearing out of nowhere,”This is your boyfriend? Mmmh, so your the milf everyone around here talks about” he said letting go of your arm,”Sorry man, didn’t want to lean on your territory. Just wanted to make things clear to her, that we will win, as I hate loosing” he said before stalking off,”Great another Oikawa” Daichi hissed,”You did Oikawa before so you can easily beat him” you said with a smile,”Mmmh, for you anything my beautiful milf” he smiled, you rolled your eyes at the comment,” At least I'm not the pregnant cheerleader anymore” you sighed,”Milf suits you better” he said patting your hip,”Let me take these of you” he said grabbing the crate of water bottles before you could curse him out.

“Well, well, who do we have here,” a female voice said behind you,” Coach?”,” The one and only, we thought you guys could need some extra encouragement,” she said snapping her fingers making the Karasuno crow’s appear behind her,” You guys want to support us?” you asked with big eyes,”Of course not preggars anymore. We don’t have anything better to do as someone fell of the pyramid” she said shooting a look at the current captain of the team, who pouted and folded her arms in front her chest,” I also went to your house and brought something which will fit you better than that ugly outfit” she said handing you a small bag,”It’s my cheer outfit”,”Good observation, if the Captain of the Titanic only had the same eyesight” she said,”Anyway as off today you are back on the team and back as Captain” she said making your mouth drop,”What? I only lost one comp, give me another chance”,” Sorry sandbags, your now at the bottom of the pyramid” you send her a mocking wink making her shoot you the dirtiest look possible,”I get changed than”.

“Oh wow,” Daichi said seeing you in the uniform,” Coach is here to support us and she decided to make me Captain already. I thought I would have to wait until next year,” you said looking down at the uniform you missed so much,” Now we have hot cheerleading milf on the team,” he said making you slap his chest playfully.” Hi Haruto,” you said with a smile as Yachi approached you with Haruto in her arms,” What’s wrong?” you said to him as you saw tears build in his brown eyes,” I think he needs to be changed,” Yachi said with an awkward smile, you took a quick sniff which made you grimace,” Oh yeah, he needs to be changed. Here Daichi,” you said holding the baby in front of his face,” Why me?” he said,” I carried for 9 months and feed him, so you can do the small thing of changing him” you with a pout,” Fine, I can’t wait until he can go the toilet himself” he said taking Haruto into his arms when he slowly began to cry,” Don’t cry buddy, you be fresh in a couple of seconds again” he said speed walking towards the bathroom. You smiled after them when you heard a whistle, you looked up and saw the crows in the stands,” You better win this otherwise it be very embarrassing for all of us” the coach said making you roll your eyes,” Still as annoying as ever” Ukai said looking up at the coach who was began to bossing around random bystanders and her cheerleaders,” But I see your back on the team, congrats. You deserve it” he said patting your shoulder.  

Atsumu wasn’t wrong when he said he was Japan's best high school setter, as well as its best server, the way his body moved to set for his teammates was extraordinary. You looked up at the stances and saw Haruto in Yachi’s arms staring with big eyes at the scene below him.” Relax, he isn’t throwing knives at ya” Ukai shouted at the boys,” Right” Daichi nodded. 

After what felt like an eternity the game finished with Karasuno winning, Daichi ran towards you and picked you and twirled you around,” You did Dai, I knew you guys could do it” you said happily to the boys, Noya wrapped his arms around your waist and hugged you happily.” Ahh another win, now you guys know we felt” the cheer coach said making Ukai roll his eyes and take a deep breath before turning around,” Didn’t you lose the last comp?” Ukai teased making her hiss,” Well now that our y/n popped that already bald creature out of her, we can win the next year once” she said before sticking her tongue out,” Have fun beating team furry” she said before turning on her heel,” She dissed my hairline again, didn't she?” Daichi asked licking his lips,” Your hairline is fine, and even if your hairline declines, my sperm donor still has a good hairline, which gives a good chance of Haruto having one as well, the only positive thing I can say about him now” you said with a twitch of your brow,” I want to be offended at the remark but I feel like you need a hug more” Daichi said as he noticed the slight hurt on your face after you mentioned your father. Daichi wrapped his muscular arms around you and kissed the crown of your head, suddenly you felt additional pair of arms around your waist,” We will make you forget about your trashcan of a father y/n, don’t you worry” Tanaka said, Noya hummed both of the boys had big smiles on their faces while they hugged you.

“Hello there squirt,” Kuroo said patting Haruto’s head gently,” I’m about to beat your daddy’s butt” he smirked making you roll your eyes at him,” Don’t listen to him Haruto, Daddy is going to win,” he said pressing his lips against Haruto’s head, Haruto smiled at the feeling, making him cuddle into your chest more,” He seems to like to hear that” you cooed rubbing his back,” I wasn’t lying when I said I will beat your butt out there,” Kuroo said placing his hands on his hips,”Mmh, well I wasn’t lying either,” Daichi said cocking his head to the side,”HARUTOOOOO” Bokuto voice sang/yelled from the far, the owlish ace came to a halt before you, his golden eyes widen at Haruto who was gently sucking at his fist,” Can I hold him?” he said surprisingly soft,” Mind his head,” you said gently moving Haruto towards Bokuto, Akashi was close behind,” Don’t drop him,” he said,” I WONT- I won’t drop him,” he said quickly changing his tone of voice, Haruto sighed and slowly opened his eyes, he looked around with an questioning look, his gaze stopped at you, his small hand reached out to you, with noises leaving his mouth,” Haruto, this Bokuto, the last time you meet him you were asleep” Daichi said rubbing his head making Haruto turn to him, he also tried to reach out to him but Bokuto doesn’t seem to want to let go of him.” Hey Bokuto” Hinata said jumping to his side,” Haruto your awake” Hinata smiled at Haruto who giggled and grabbed his bright orange hair,” Ouch, why is he so strong?” Hinata hissed as Tsuki and Yamaguchi laughed at the sight, meanwhile, Kageyama tried to pry the babies hand of friends hair,”Haruto, let go” you said poking his side making the boy let go in an instant,”Sorry Hinata” you grimaced while ruffling his hair,”It’s fine, I forgot how strong babies can be” he said rubbing his head.

[nogenderbee]

♡˗ˏ✎*ೃ˚ 𝔹𝕒𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞 ₊˚ˑ༄

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ not a request

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ Happy Birthday to my dedicated idol!!

Passt I used Google translator to translate the cake because I suck at it... hope it's not too visible...

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ fluff

Affiliation with @virtualbookstore

Minori and her loads of training because of upcoming concert... she always liked to sacrifice her health and well being if it meant being a good idol and making sure everyone will have smile on their faces during the show.

You were thinking for a long time now you could make her day a little better. She was already planning to make sweets tests on birthday stream with her group so she'd most likely eat a lot of chocolate... most likely many fancy and hard cakes too... so maybe it's better to go for something more classic this time? You though that cake with orange jelly and foam, and sponge cake could be your way to go!

And when you were in the middle of making... you got a call from your trustful helper. The one who knows Minori just as well as you if not a tad bit better! Haruka!

"<WHAT DO YOU MEAN STEAM IS OVER?!>"

"<Yeah... she said she'll make the dance practice a bit shorter today because she wants to spend time with you...>"

"<Well that's really sweet but nonetheless... it makes it harder on me...>"

"<I'm sure she won't mind if you tell her to wait?>"

"<No! It's her birthday! I'll not risk making it a bad day!! I'll figure something out... thanks Haru.>"

"<No problem. Good luck there, I'm going back to stream.>"

You put your phone down on table and quickly got back to baking. Maybe you had most part done since you had to start this night to make it be ready by the time she comes... so now, cake is in fridge, while you wait for jelly to thicken and making packaging for her, just to make it a bit more fancier!

You checked on the cake again and it was still not done... it may be ready to eat at night in this tempo... and yet box is ready... you just accepted the fact you won't manage to finish cake before your girlfriend arrives, and ironically, in the same moment you heard doorbell.

You sighed and opened the door disappointed... it was supposed to be special day for her!! And yet... you forgot how long jelly actually needs to stay in fridge for... So as soon as you opened the door, knowing exactly who it was and immidietly turning into panicking puddle.

"Minori! I'm really sorry... I wanted to make a cake for you but then I had troubles with jelly and now it turns out you won't be able to taste it untill tomorrow and-"

"You wanted to make me a cake?!"

But your monologue was interrupted but excited high voice of your girlfriend. And when you looked up, you saw how her eyes sparkled~ She didn't seem mad at all, if anything she looked happy!

"Yeah but it turns out it won't be ready for today and-"

"Don't worry about it! I appreciate the act and there won't be any harm if I eat my birthday cake on the day after my birthday! I'm happy as long as you're willing to spend time with me today!"

"Of course I do! I promised you just dance and movie night and..."

"Mhm! That's enough for me! And if you still feel bad, we can make cupcakes and put a candle on them!"

"I guess you're right... would you really be alright with that?"

"Definitely! As long as it's from your hands, it gotta be good! No matter what you bake or cook!"

You were overwhelmed by how sweet and comforting she was. You literally messed up the cake for her birthday and she was still trying to make YOU feel better, and even came up with solutions! So not wanting to be a bother and spoil the mood further, you decided to wipe that worry off your face and replace it with a bit of optimism!

"Awwh... Minori I swear you're too sweet for me... Alright, let's do it! But before that... I just want to do one more thing."

You finally came closer to her and gave her a warm hug along with gentle kiss on cheek.

"Happy Birthday, Minori~"

You expected her to be happy but instead she... turned into blushing mess... that kind of reminded you of how she acts around Haruka... did you really turned that switch in her just now? Well... it only shows you're good lover, right? So might as well accept it as it is and use this day to fullest to make up for little mess up~

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

@bleachtheidiot @yulikesminori - come get your Haruka lover!

[dabislilbaby]

Kingdom of Fire

-Part 3

Source

Shoto x f!Reader

Masterlist

A/N: hey guys 👋 I'm so sorry this chapter took me so long, I've been having a weird wave of unmotivation, ya'll know how it be😂 But I'm getting back into things :) I've got soooo many unfinished fics in my drafts so you'll have plenty to look forward to <3

This chapter has a time skip so you're getting treated to our first full blown smut scene for this series 🥰 as well as a little fluff bc I'm a hopeless romantic :')

As always, feedback is appreciated. Let me know if, and what you liked about it and if you want to be added to the Tag-list with all of these lovely people<3

@haru-x-ren

@motzgurke

@mikasbloodbag

@shoutocakie

@electricnovaa

@juslili

Warnings⚠️: 18+, smut, unprotected sex, creampie, praise kink, oral (f receiving), a tiny bit of dacryphilia, a little biting, slight choking (all three not very prominent), sho's a bit aggressive but not much, mentions of body worship, mentions of an arranged marriage and loss of virginity.

Series plot: Prince Shoto battles with his own desire and his father's wishes, when he meets you. A young sorceress who didn't know who he was. You become friends and help him discover his true power. The two of you journey thru many obstacles before he has to make a decision. You? Or the Throne?

Chapter Summary: Shoto starts to realize the very real possibility that he may be falling in love you, confessing some of his feelings while you have him a bit vulnerable. You make his heart weak, and he can't say he really minds.

Word Count: 3.9k

It was late morning. The loud whistle of the tea kettle rings through the house. As you reach for it, taking it off the fire, the whistle fades and you hear a knock on the door. And you're sure you know exactly who it is. You smooth down the front of your dress, making your way to the door. You reach for the handle, pulling it open.

You are met with familiar mismatched eyes as shoto lifts his head to meet your gaze. His attire much more casual than before. You were about to say good morning, but he spoke first. "I have... So many questions." He held your book in his hands. You laugh and step aside, letting him in your home. You shut the door behind him as his tall form entered the room. "Tea?" You ask, walking back to your now quiet kettle. "Oh- yes, please" he took a seat in the large chair that your father, when home, spends most of his time in. You grabbed two hand made mugs from the cupboard, beginning to pour the warm liquid. "How far did you get? In the book I mean." You picked up both mugs, handing one off to him before sitting across from his chair. He mutters a small thank you before answering your question. "I finished it." You froze in the middle of a sip. "You finished it? Like... The whole thing? You gestured to the book he held with a circular wave of your hand. He nodded with all seriousness. You laugh. "Shoto, that book is as thick as your neck and you finished it in one day?" He shrugs, giving you a smile. "I'm a fast reader." You set down your mug on a near by table and lean forward in his direction. "What are your questions?"

He opens the book and flips through a few pages, searching for something. "Ah ha!" He points a finger when he finds it. He stands from his chair and comes to sit next to you on the sofa. He sits shoulder to shoulder with you, leaving no personal space. He holds the book in front of you and points to a string of sentences. "Okay, so here it says..."

~

For the next few hours, he rattles off question after question. Each answer you give resulting in even more questions. You watch the glint of curiosity and fascination in his eyes when you speak. He watches you intently when you made examples of things with your hands. You move your hands a lot when you speak. He noticed the way your hair constantly fell in front of your face. You tuck your hair behind your ear a lot. He watched your face contort to emotion with every explanation you gave him. You're very expressive. He pays attention to the way your foot shakes mid-air while crossed over the other. Or the way you rub your thumb on the flat part of your necklace when you're thinking. You fidget a lot.

He took note of all your little mannerisms. Studying you.

~

"okay, does all of that make sense to you?" He nods. "Yeah, I think so" you close the book and push it to the far side of the table. "Okay, good." You resituate yourself so your body is facing him. "Now that we have the basic knowledge out of the way, we can start working on your level of control" he nods. "From what you've told me, right now you can maintain a constant flame in your palm, correct?" He nods again. "Okay." You reach behind you where you laid your mug so many hours ago, now surley cold. You hand it to him. "I want you to try to focus on the heat of your fire. Don't ignite a flame, just warm the tea." You instruct him. He wraps his palm around the mug, his large hand almost covering the whole thing. He stares at it, and focuses. A flame ignites, encompassing the entire mug. He panics and immediately splays ice over the spot on the table. "Shit-" he mumbles under his breath. "That's okay, try again." You pick up his glass of tea this time and hand it to him. "Focus. Breath. Think about what you want the fire to do." You pause, he takes a deep breath. He looks a bit tense. "You control the fire, It does not control you." You lay a hand on his thigh, he finds it comforting. He breaths deep again, wrapping his hand around the mug and closing his eyes.

Think about what you want it to do.

You control the fire. It doesn't not control you.

His hand feels warm. He opens his eyes and the liquid starts to steam and bubble. But there's no flame. He looks over to you for approval and you smile. "good, now do it with the ice."

You've been helping Shoto for about 3 months now. He's spent almost every other day with you... and some nights. Most days are spent practicing with his power, but some are just hours spent in each other's company. And the nights? Well... after a while the two of you gave into the tension and sank into the white sheets of your bed.

He's come over a few times, visibly frustrated or upset. He'd never go into much detail, just talk about how his father aggravated him. Or how he's stressed with "responsibilities", whatever that's supposed to mean. Whenever you'd ask him to elaborate, he'd avoid giving you a straight answer. Telling you that "the finer details are unimportant." Or that he just didn't want to talk about it.

Today happened to be one of those days.

Shoto was sitting across the table from where you stood. He was supposed to be paying attention to what you were showing him. But he seemed to be off in his own little world.

"Hey!" You snapped your fingers in his face, bringing him out of his trance. "are you paying attention?"

"yeah— sorry. I'm listening." He readjusted in his chair, turning his gaze to you. You sighed, and closed your book. "You're clearly not in the right headspace to retain this information today, we'll pick back up on it next time."

"I'm sorry." He ran a hand over his face, pinching the bridge of his nose. You rounded the table, coming behind him. "It's okay." There was a small bowl on the table that was filled with a clear, thick, creamy substance. It smelled of mint and lemon. You dabbed some on your fingers and began to rub them against his temple.

This was something you used to watch your mother do with your father when he was feeling stressed or drained. You've done it for Shoto a few times and it seemed to help. As soon as your fingers touched his skin he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. His head rested against your stomach behind him. He let out a small groan of pleasure as you continued to massage his temples, using your magic to soothe him.

"Talk to me, what's got you so distracted." He sighed, but didn't respond right away. "Something to do with your father again?" He gave a small nod. "Is he putting too much pressure on you, Sho?" He smiled at the nickname, but it quickly faded.

"He's trying to set me into an arranged marriage." He starts with another deep sigh. You felt a bit of a knot form in your stomach. Though your relationship with him has been nothing but physical, save for your friendship, the thought of him marrying another woman was unpleasant. "That's not an uncommon thing, most marriages are arranged these days." You hid your distaste and continued rubbing circles into his skin. "I know...but that's not what I want." Your hands traveled to his jaw, massaging the skin more. "Well, what do you want then?" He sighed again, and leaned into your touch. "Someone I can't have..."

A small smile caught the corner of your lips. "You have someone specific in mind?" He nods, still leaning into the palm of your hand. "What's she like?" Your hands were on his neck, softly digging your thumbs into the nape. He tilted his head forward to give you access. "Her beauty is unmatched by any woman I've ever laid eyes on." He paused and you smiled. "and she's smart, and assertive. Kind, caring." He paused again as your hands reached his shoulders, snaking into the collar of his shirt, just enough to press your palms against his skin. He could feel the stress leaving his body as his head leaned back on your stomach once again. "...and her skin is so soft." He subconsciously nuzzled his head into you with his last words. "She sounds lovely" you said with a bit of sarcasm in your voice. The corner of his lips turned upwards. "she is." He replied.

"Are you feeling better?" Your warm hands left his skin. He contemplated asking you to keep going, but decided against it. "Much, thank you."

As you walked back around the table, he stood from his chair and followed you. He was right behind you, so close you could feel the heat radiating from his body. He leaned over your shoulder and reached around your waist to put a hand on the book you had closed. He opened it. "Explain this to me again, I promise I'm paying attention this time."

You began your explanation again. The whole time he was being a bit distracting. The way his breath tickled the back of your neck, the sound of his low hum in response to you reverberating in your ears. The way he smelled engulfing you as he towered over you from behind.

You didn't notice but at one point, he took a whiff of your hair. The same scent that lingered on his cloak from your first night together. He wished he could be drowned in your scent all the time.

This was supposed to be nothing more than a little fun. Although he was grateful for your teaching, in terms of his feelings for you, it was never meant to be anything more than physical. You wouldn't be the first. He was popular among women, they all swoon for the young prince, dropping their panties for him as soon as he enters a room. But you... you were different for some reason.

From the moment he met you, you captured his attention in a way that no one had before. He wasn't sure what exactly it was, but it made him want to take his time with you. Even make him consider the fact that it may not just be a desire to get you into bed. he may actually like you.

He looks forward to spending time with you, listening to you ramble during lessons, and he appreciated your patience with him. But of course... there was still the constant lingering thought of bending you over this very table.

He still stood behind you, watching you work and listening to you talk. Your words paused as you were mixing a few herbs together, showing him how to make an elixir.

He couldn't stop his eyes from wondering as he lost himself in thought. The view of your breasts from where he towered over you was very distracting and causing an ache to grow below his belt. It was almost painful the way it strained against the soft cotton of his pants, just thinking about it.

"y/n." He spoke your name so softly. "Yes Shoto?" You responded, not even looking up from the table. "Can I ask you something?" His hand rested on the table, coming around you. "What's on your mind?"

"Have you ever loved someone?" His question caught you a bit of guard. "How do you mean?" he shifted from one foot to the other. "I mean. Has there ever been someone that you cared deeply for? Not like your family. Like... romantically." You shook your head with a small smile. "No, I haven't. Like I've told you before, I've spent my entire life in this house, secluded from society." You turned around, gaze meeting his. You're just now realizing how close he's been standing to you this whole time, and your skin ran hot. "You're the first friend I've made." You added.

"Ever?" He questions, quirking a brow. "Ever." You reply. "Have you? Loved someone I mean." He shook his head as a response. He leaned a little closer to you before speaking again. "Can I ask you another, more.... personal... question?" You nodded, a bit too distracted by the lack of space between the two of you. "if I'm the first friend you've made..." You felt his hand come to rest of your waist and your breath hitched. "...does that mean that I was your—"

"Yes. You were my first." You answered before he finished, knowing exactly what he was going to ask. A smile crept up on his lips. "Why didn't you tell me? I would have been a lot more gentle." His grip on your waist tightened a bit, pulling you closer. You brought your hand to his chest, the other coming to rest at the nape of his neck. You gave a mischievous smirk. "Maybe I didn't want you to be gentle." He hummed is response and pressed his lips to yours. It was soft, but there was a hunger behind it. You felt both of his hands run up the length of your spine, catching his fingers in the strings that held your dress together. He pulled at the loose knot and suddenly the fabric didn't feel so tight.

He pulled it off your shoulders and down your arms, letting it fall at your feet. His hands were back on your waist, pressing his thumbs into your soft skin. They moved to the back of your thighs, lifting you onto the table top and pushing aside whatever you were previously working on. You began to unbutton his white shirt, and once you reached the bottom, he eagerly pulled it off his arms, letting it meet your dress on the floor. His lips were on your neck and you moaned when his teeth found a sensitive spot. He pulled you flush against his chest, the tent in his pants poking at your stomach. His fingers pushed at the fabric of your bralette and he pulled his lips away from you. You lifted your arms and he pulled it over your head, throwing it on the table behind you. His lips were back on yours in an instant and his hand trailing your thighs. He pulled them to straddle his waist, hooking your ankles together.

The way his mixture of warm and cool hands slowly wrapped around your torso, molding your body's together was intoxicating. His touch was never filled with anything other than complete love and care. Even when he was rough with you, the way he touched you spoke more than his words ever could.

Without breaking your kiss, his body leaned against yours, pushing to have your back lay against the hard wood of the table. His teeth caught your bottom lip and tugged on it as he pulled away. His gentle kisses continued down your neck, finding all the spots that made your skin burn with desire. He left a few on your collar bone and in the valley of your two mounds. You looked down at him thru lidded eyes, him looking up at you the same way as his tongue splayed flat over your areola. That sweet tingle going straight between your legs while he liked and sucked on your sensitive buds. He started kissing down your soft stomach, squeezing it with his hands as they moved up and down your love handles, not leaving any part of you untouched for too long. "You are so perfect." He whispered against your skin, moving his hands now to caress your thighs. A light blush coated your face and your skin ran hot. You closed your eyes and let him admire your body.

His fingers hooked into the thin fabric of your panties, slowly pulling them past your knees and meeting them with the rest of your clothing. He grabbed your thighs and spread your legs open, exposing your glorious, glistening sex to him. He peppered soft, gentle kisses down your inner thigh, never failing to make you feel worshiped. He put another soft kiss right over the hood of your clit, licking his lips after. He slowly licked between your folds with a pointed tongue, teasing your bud every time he passed over it. Then wrapping his whole mouth around you, sucking on the wet skin. He groaned against you and closed his eyes, his hands travelling upwards to give your breasts more attention. His tongue pushed past your entrance at the same time giving your nipple a particularly hard squeeze. Your back arched off the table and he only pushed his mouth onto you more. You were moaning and whimpering for him and it had to be his favorite sound. No music could ever compare to the way you moaned for him.

One hand left your breast and you felt two fingers breach your entrance. "Oh fuck Sho~" you whined. He was practically leaking pre cum in his pants. His other hand now left your breast as well to quickly free himself of the white cotton. With a bit of a struggle, he managed to unbuckle his belt with one hand and pull out his throbbing, leaking member. He groaned against your skin as he pumped himself, savoring the flavor you left on his tongue. He felt you tighten around his fingers and he wrapped his lips around your sensitive bud, prepared to send you to your climax. Your whimpers were getting louder and you grabbed onto a fistful of his two-toned hair. "Ngh~ please" you were so close.

He hooked his fingers just right and there it was. You squeezed your eyes shut, arched your back And opened your mouth for a silent scream, holding your breath. If you'd pulled any harder on his hair you might have ripped it from his scalp. You let out the breath you were holding in your lungs with a loud cry of pleasure. Heavy breaths followed as you writhed with sensitivity beneath him. He pulled away, a string of saliva connecting his tongue to your soaking wet heat. You kept your eyes closed, trying to collect yourself. More soft kisses met the skin on your stomach, chest and neck. He gently held your waist and turned you over, legs dangling from the table. He tossed your hair over your shoulder, pressing his chest against your back and kissing your neck more. He spoke, his words soft and quiet. "I'm starting to think you've put a spell on me with how addicted to you I've become, love." He kissed in between your shoulder blades, then where your spine curved. "It's like I need you constantly... It never goes away."

You let out a small whimper against the table when you felt his pelvis press firmly against you. He stood straight, arm encircling your waist to pull you back against his chest, planting your feet on the floor. His knee parted your legs, thumb pushing his shaft to line himself with your entrance. He came close to your ear and whispered. "It truly hurts to know that I can't make you mine." He slid in-between your folds, coating himself in your slick. You leaned your head back against his shoulder, letting out a heavy breath. "I already am yours, Sho." The moment those words came out of your mouth, he shoved himself completely inside you, sinfully groaning at how tight you felt. A hand landed on your waist, forcing your back to arch while the other held your throat, keeping your head against his shoulder. "Fuck the things you do to me, love." Your face had to be beet red, eye lids flutter from his large dick splitting you open. He wasn't slow with the way he fuck you. No, he intended to take all his stress and anger out on your gummy walls, showing you absolutely no mercy.

He pushed on your back more, making you arch further, forcing those strangled screams from your lungs. Thank the gods your home was in the middle of nowhere, otherwise the town gossips would surely have a topic to discuss for days.

"ngh~ Shoto p-please" you begged for your release. Your walls fluttered around him, bringing more groans from his mouth. His hand left your throat and moved to rub circles over your little bundle of nerves. His lips replaced his hand, leaving sloppy kisses all over your neck, even nibbling on the skin a bit. You let out a whiney whimper and your second orgasm washed over you, and the way he was pulsating inside you indicated that he wasn't very far behind. He let your upper body fall to the table, gently of course, and grabbed onto the doughy skin of your hips with both hands. He squeezed his grip and pounded into you aggressively, making you scream and your eyes brim with tears.

You were so sensitive that the feeling of him pushing your g-spot was almost painful. He let out his own throaty whimper when rope after rope of white seed spilled out inside of you. He collapsed onto your back, breathing heavy and unsheathing himself from you. Neither of you moved for a few minutes while you felt his cum slide down your thigh and drop into a little puddle on the floor.

He made sure to get you nice and cleaned up, helped you sit somewhere comfortable while your legs healed from their jello-like state. He brought you some warm tea and a blanket, cuddling up with you on the sofa in front of your lit fire place. His arm rested over the back cushion and your head laid comfortably on the inside of his shoulder. He set his cup of tea down on the table and settled a bit more into the seat. It was already dark, little light in the room besides the bright fire and the low illumination from the moon. Your head nuzzled against him. "Are you staying the night?"

He breathed out a low hum. "Do you want me to?" He asked, pulling some of your hair from your face. You closed your eyes and nodded, nuzzling yourself into his body more." Though you couldn't see it, he smiled. Nothing but admiration in his eyes while he peered down at you. He ran a hand over your soft hair. "Alright love, I'll stay."

The rest of the night faded quickly, falling into a comfortable sleep in his arms.

The next morning was much of the same. Waving him off in the early hours so he could make it home before noon. Waiting patiently to see him again a day or two from now.

~

Late that evening, you heard the familiar sound of hooves outside the window. You were sure shoto wouldn't be back so soon, so you peaked thru the curtains to see who it may be. To your surprise, your eyes were met with a wooden cart filled with fabrics and fruits, a few tools here and there. A friendly old man climbing down from the old, dingy saddle placed on the back of a blonde horse whose speckled pattern you knew all too well.

Your father had finally returned home.

[catsafarithewriter]

A/N: part 10, double digits! Also two of Baron's cousins mentioned here are OCs very kindly lent from @lin-iva and borrowed with her permission <3

x

"I suppose," Baron said, "that we should get better acquainted before we meet my family."

It was, Baron realised, a tad close to the curtain call to be making such talk – they were only an hour off arriving at his family estate – but Muta had slipped off into sleep, and it was somehow easier to make conversation when not under the watchful eye of Haru's 'uncle'.

Haru grinned and raised an eyebrow. "Right here, in the carriage? With my uncle present? How very forward of you, Baron."

Baron reddened. "I meant getting to know one another."

Haru's other eyebrow rose. "My dear sir, I don't even know your middle name."

"Take pity on the poor guy," Muta mumbled, evidently just awake enough to note the conversation. "He's still getting used to you."

Haru's grin turned rueful. "Sorry. It's just – you know – this whole thing feels so surreal. It's hard to take it seriously." She dipped her head apologetically in Baron's direction. "What do you want to know?"

"How about the basics?" Baron suggested. "Hobbies, career, family–"

"Social security number," Muta listed, eyes still closed. "Mother's maiden name..."

"Oh shush, Muta. Weren't you telling me to be nice not thirty seconds ago?"

"Yeah, but you're the one who's married to him."

"If we could return to the topic at hand..." Baron attempted.

"Oh, right." Haru leant back in her seat and wondered how best to condense down over two decades of life into a single conversation. "So it's always been just my mum and me; my dad is... not in the picture. I have a degree in Cat and Human history, and for a while I was co-owner of an antique shop in the Human World, before trying my luck over here." There were, she wasn't willing to admit, quite a few major plot points missing from her tale, but they weren't things she was about to share with her husband-of-one-day just yet.

"And how is the antique business?" Baron asked politely.

"Terrible," Muta grumbled. He hadn't yet deigned to open his eyes. "Was never great to begin with, but there's been an uptick in smuggling and fakes in the last few years, so yer have to be extra careful or you'll end up in trouble. Or broke."

"And yourself?" Haru asked Baron. "I mean, apparently you're actually a baron, but you don't seem to be doing much... baroning, from what I see."

"That's because my parents are still very much running the estate," Baron replied. "So instead, I run a little tea shop on the corner of town. It is," and there was a pause laden with baggage, "perhaps a more modest affair than the family had hoped for me, but I find it fulfilling in its own way."

Muts snorted.

"Ignore him," Haru said. "He doesn't like tea."

"All tastes like boiled grass to me," Muta rumbled under his breath.

"And your... family?" Haru asked, almost scared to broach the subject.

"A fair bit more extensive than yours, by the sound of things." Baron's brow furrowed in concentration. "There are my parents, of course, who run the estate. My sister, Louise, who – last I heard – was still doing some travelling, although now she's married she may be looking to settle down..."

"Younger?" Haru asked.

"Older, by ten minutes." He smiled, in a fond if slightly exasperated manner. "Not that'd you'd believe it. Either one of us might inherit the estate, but we're not in a rush. There's my uncle, Toto–"

"The Wizard of Oz dog," Muta chortled.

"–a doctor by trade, but also a gifted magician," Baron continued, learning by now to not stop for Muta's interruptions. "And then there's my father's brother and his family, including my cousins, Hugo and Hunter–"

"You really like the H's in your names, huh?" Haru teased.

"–both around my age, with Hugo a librarian, and Hunter settling into a career as an archaeologist."

Muta snorted. "Dump the tea-maker, Chicky, and marry the archaeologist instead. Maybe he'll be able to help with the shop."

Haru rolled her eyes. "I never mix love and business, Muta."

"Hey, I'm just saying unfaithfulness is a pretty good reason to divorce, when the time comes. And think of the boon it'll bring to the shop, having a tame archaeologist on call."

"I'm not going to get married to advance your business."

Muta cracked one beady eye open. "You're my least favourite niece."

x

(Tagging @tcrmommabear cause she asked)

[suhmayzooka]

Sano trio for the ask game please?? 👀✨

YAYY!!! my boys<3<3<3

rin:

1: sexuality headcanon gay gay homosexual gay gay. also, i learned about what transgender was due to some trans rin headcanons/fanfics/meta i read during the height of the fandom, so trans man rin is also something that's been in the back of my mind 2: otp sourin >>>>> permanently changed my brain chemistry and ideal of relationship; rinrei is so much funnn i swear; and ofc sano trio as a whole!! 3: brotp rin & haru--while i don't think of them romantically, their relationship is the cornerstone of the whole story and i love how they're always pushing each other to go further rin & nagisa--such an underrated relationship but in the original book rin teaches nagisa to swim and nagisa from then on really looked up to rin as an older mentor. i love them because they're so unexpected as a friendship, but they really have a deep bond that i wish was more present in the show (besides a few "rin-rin!") rin & makoto--SUCH an important relationship for both of them!!!!! they're the real complements of each other, i think, rin is fiery and passionate and sharp and makoto is grounded and doting and UGHHHH 4: notp when i was younger i'd say rin x haru, less due to the actual relationship and more due to the way SOME fans treated me at the tender age of like 13.... i don't dislike them enough to say they're my notp, but i guess yeah, they're my notp 5: first headcanon that pops into my head he's a thirty seconds to mars stan (bc of that one shirt he wore that looked like the 30stm triangle...) fuck jared leto and everything but i think rin learned english partially through music. he's also a swiftie 6: favorite line from this character oh god.... "PERFECT BODY" 7: one way in which I relate to this character every way he's my blorbo whom i project onto ever since i was in middle school . um. who said that i think i really connected to both his emotional crybaby ways (i cry at conflict), his hopeless romantic nature, and his insecurities, feeling like you're meant to do something but you hit a wall and just.,. can't. 8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character his fashion.......i'm sorry but........ i cannot defend you ....... 9. cinnamon roll or problematic fave? LOL depends on who you ask! he's a cinnamon roll who looks like he can kill you

sousuke:

1: sexuality headcanon: also gay but at the same time, i don't think he really cares much for romance outside of his immediate partner, you know? so i guess somewhere on the demi spectrum 2: otp sourin, again, and soukisu, and basically the whole sano trio. oooh special mentions to soumako and souharu, for no real canon reason aside from them having some really good fan artists and writers 3: brotp sousuke & nitori & momo; he's a good mentor to them, and they have so much respect for him (while knowing how to have fun). sousuke & gou--after rin left for australia, i imagine him and gou spending more time together. bonding over rin lol there was that scene where he gave her his jacket during the water gun fight that always gets me 4: notp hmm. don't really have one? maybe sousuke x gou? i really can't think of him viewing her as anything other than his sister 5: first headcanon that pops into my head that he likes opera, and this is ENTIRELY due to an old fic @testosterogna wrote that i read back in my youth and i SOMEHOW actually forgot i read it in a fic and thought it was canon. 6: favorite line from this character "because i knew you would cry" (ಥ﹏ಥ) 7: one way in which I relate to this character we're both stoic and monotone and come across as aloof/cold. he probably has a touch of the 'tism like haruka does. oh and i'm terrible at directions kajsdhaskljdh 8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character when he found haru and backed him into the wall like "don't u DARE hurt my man again >:(" and haru was like :| you dUMBASS WHY DID YOU HIDE YOUR STUPID INJURY ??? DO NOT DESTROY YOUR CAREER FOR LOVE!!!! IDIOT (ಥ﹏ಥ) 9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave? looks like he could kill you, doesn't care enough to try

kisumi

1: sexuality headcanon this is one i'm actually 10000% assured of, unlike the other two above where i was just like 'yeah probably' this is something i actually dedicated a LOT of time to thinking about and even starting a fic years ago: he's asexual. i don't remember WHAT i read all those years ago, but i found some asexual kismui hcs and it just clicked. i can't imagine him any other way. i think he's also demi or grayromantic; his 'relationships' are closer to QPR than, i suppose, traditional 'romance.' he's sex-favorable to neutral, but it's not something he really craves and he doesn't feel sexual attraction. he's still a massive flirt and a gossip and loves to know about/mess with his friends' love lives 2: otp sano trio!!! asakisu too, and hiyokisu could be fun. 3: brotp kisumi & makoto. "JOIN THE BASKETBALL CLUB!!!!!!" 4: notp kisumi x most people 5: first headcanon that pops into my head well, the first one is that he's ace, the second is that he's a plant lover, which is less headcanon than it is me extrapolating from some official art 6: favorite line from this character probably everything he says to haru. OHH and when he casually is like "oooh sousuke didn't tell you about his super plot-relevant secret? oooh too bad. anyway i'm out!" 7: one way in which I relate to this character me having ace kisumi was 100% me projecting when i was younger and ID as asexual, but i relate to the love/protectiveness he feels over his younger brother 8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character the way he tried to get everyone to join his basketball team </3 baby you're in the wrong anime you missed the casting calls for kuroko i'm sorry 9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave? sinnamon roll :3

character ask game

[apenonmytable]

Where Haruchiyo misses his s/o when she's away. Y/N called Haru in the middle of the night.

Warning!Cringe

["Damn, I miss you, Haruchiyo"] she cursed hoarsely, she almost whispered those words.

Haruchiyo gulped as her voice send a shiver to his whole body. He feels like he only hears it for the first time, he almost forgot how he missed her voice.

"It's your fault" he didn't even stutter as he said answered the girl with a small frown on his lips.

["I know, I'm sorry baby. I'm coming home tomorrow"] she said, apologizing sincerely.

"Why? You should stay there, I don't mind" he huffed.

["Don't be like that, don't you miss me?"]

He swears she's pouting in the other line. "I don't, who will miss someone annoying like you?🙄" he answered, teasing the girl to see more of her reaction.

["Come on, now. Just admit that you miss me Haru-Haru~ Stop hurting my already bleeding heart!]

"Stop. You cringe Y/N, don't you feel embarrassed?"

["Why would I feel embarrassed with you?"]

"What does that mean?" f*cking act dumb, Haruchiyo!

["I'm only like this to you, pretty. And I'm coming home to you tomorrow. What do you want to do?"] she asked.

"You.."

["Me? You want to do me?"] she laughed loudly, Haruchiyo groaned, covering half of his already red face with his arms. He bet, the girl will tease him if she saw him in this state.

"No! Idiot, I mean, you can decide!"

[You're so babygirl, Haru] She continues to laugh as Haruchiyo bites his lower lips to stifle a chuckled.

They listen to each other calm breathing when Y/N asks her s/o.

[ You miss me, aren't you?] she whispered.

Haruchiyo hummed, pride taking over to confess what he feels.

[What? You don't want me to go home] she said hurtfully, Haruchiyo sighs and make a facepalm reaction before saying-

"I miss you, idiot"

Finally confessing now.

[finoalcielo]

ZEN MEDITATION

☆ IRREGULAR FORTUNE ☆

SHUN: Today's lucky one is March, August be careful YOU: ... HARU: You don't look well rested today, You. Didn't sleep well? (wry smile) YOU: Kakeru, Koi, and Arata attacked in the middle of the night after watching a horror movie. HARU: I am truly sorry.

#The scaredy-cat who believe that the son of a temple family is a substitute for protective charm

☆ NIGHTS WHERE IT FEELS LIKE AUTUMN ☆

RUI: Ah... you can hear the insects. YORU: ...You're right. Autumn is here. ~In the midst of seated Zen meditation~ KAKERU: ..Ugh.. KOI: ...Ungh.. ARATA: ..Guh YOU: That's it. Just like that. Keep it up and you won't be cursed by whatever you saw in that movie. RUI: And on this side, you can hear the cowards YORU: (nervous laugh)

AOI: Why challenge yourself when you know it'll scare you? KAKERU: Uh.. guh... We're... adults now.. but.. KOI: This time... ugh... we though we could do it. AOI: What, you think you're Haru-san whenever he tries wasabi? Even if you're an adult, there are things you just can't handle, jeez. HARU: I was suddenly attacked. ARATA: By the way, You-kun... does this.. actually work? YOU: How am I supposed to know?

[prismatic-cannon]

wrt the p5 vball au (!!!!!) i'm pretty sure yusuke is canonically Very Bad at the sports (see beach episode, his absolute terrible performance in beach vball) but he is so tall and lanky... so stronk... but i cannot see him being particularly "athletic" and coordinated in that way (part of that is just me projecting my lack of coordination on him lmao.) granted he does have high agility plus the "scoundrel eyes," in royal, but i just don't see him actually... having that sort of hand-eye to hit ball and not whiff. of the kosei boys though... knowing its artsy reputation, i don't know if anyone has that lmao... though also with him being that tall, maybe he gets saddled with middle? but also. 180cm is still, like, libero height for a lot of teams lol

they do make the joke that mako too stronk for the boys a lot (again, see beach episode) but i think she'd probably follow her combat abilities and be really well rounded in both offence and defence. haru is really nimble and bendy, and probably has a great swing (axe) but idk if she has the height/hops for the net. akechi and joker being the setters... makes so much sense oh dear it's almost upsetting. though imagine them on the same team.... akechi would probably also make a great opposite (lefty, good power) as would joker (literally perfect) and we know they're both fairly athletic, which makes me think... 6-2? maybe they hit... and set....? i think you made mishmash a libero which makes a lot of sense?. i hc him as being faster and better than ppl give him credit for, despite him being the lamest canonically. (ilu mishima) and ryuji thinks this vball bullshit is lame af dude

this is a wall and tl;dr i think vb au is so good !!! i want to chew on it thank you sorry for too many words ;-;

damn anon you had some thoughts 😂 (gonna put this under a cut so i don't flood anyone's dash)

Tbh I totally forgot that there was a beach volleyball scene in Hawaii until you reminded me omg. The way Makoto spikes it hard into the sand ... a murderer 😂 But yes she's easily captain-material for sure, especially since she's already student council president and everything

I think people would underestimate Haru at first, but you could definitely give her an edge up on something e.g. one of those scary killer serves. Bottom line is that Haru should have her sweet murderous moment where she's bouncing delicately on her heels all \o/ \o/ \o/ oh my I hope you're ready — because I won't hold back!! 💕 while the opposing team cowers in fear or something lol. I love my wife can you tell

Middle blocker is totally viable for Yusuke too I think!! He's a tall guy, so he could definitely do stuff if he puts the work in. If this was based on canonverse then yeah I could see him whiffing the ball from time to time. I’m sure the hand/body coordination for handling a sword vs doing da sports ball is different lol. My reason for making him ace was so that he could be a temperamental but formidable ace, and place him as one of the key players for Kosei so that the Shujin team could have rivals to go up against ya know? I just think the idea of seeing Yusuke's murder eyes as he blasts a spike through a block is just. (chef's kiss) sublime shit. It would be an honour to die by his hand (also is 180cm really normal libero height?? All my volleyball knowledge is gleaned from HQ so I’m probably missing something lmao)

Also I see your point about making Akechi and Joker on the same team, but considering that it’s these two dudes we’re talking about I feel like we have to double down on their whole rival dynamic, it would be a crime not to imo (and this is coming from someone who hates shu/ake and Akechi lol). The setter mind games they could have with each other is too good — like if you have Akechi be his superficially genial and amiable self while Joker actively goes out of his way to antagonise him just to peel back that fake veneer of charm and throw him off his game??? Delish

😭 Mishima my beloved ... I think I mentioned this already but I really like the idea of him being a libero since it's a near 1:1 parallel to his role in canon (no spike, only support!!!!) I HC that his low-to-zero presence lowkey serves him well on court, in the sense that he's a solid defense player that quietly keeps chugging along and making sure the ball stays up while everyone else focuses on offense. He's a silly little NPC that keeps his head down and stays in his lane ... 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 Ofc sometimes the opposing team is going to target him to try and break through their defense, but once he gets into his zone it's hard to shake him off his groove imo. If you're telling me Mishima can hyperfixate this hard on his dumb little website then at least some of that focus is going to bleed into his vball game headspace (wow I didn’t go off on a shu/yuu tangent. it’s a miracle, let’s keep it that way)

Anyway thank you for your volleyball thoughts!! It’s always fun to think about it even though it’s too much effort to actualise it lmao

[itsuki-minamy]

"AYAKA – SIDE STORIES 11" (Part 04/04)

"JINGI, A DREAM AFTER A DREAM"

TRANSLATION: NARU-KUN

* List of Chapters

"Is there a system where you can't wake up unless you scream out loud from the bottom of your heart?"

Jingi was complaining in the middle of the life line.

He had enough time to cross his arms and frown because he was already used to it.

But it was another nightmare. It seemed like he was being sacrificed to quell the fire dragon, but the people around him were too dangerous. Especially Yukito.

"That's why everyone was so excited, damn it!"

Jingi has been wearing down little by little. Even when he dreams, he feels that his existence is gradually shrinking. At this rate, it won't be long until he is completely immersed in the life line.

"Oh, no. What I want to see is... that's right. It's fine, as always. Yukito is a little cheeky, but honest. And Momoko-san is kind and a little natural. And..."

Just one thing.

If he is allowed to dream in the truest sense.

"I guess I'd like to see Haru-nii and Aka-nii getting along like before."

Jingi closed his eyes, withdrew all the strength he had left in his mind and body, and surrendered to the flow of life. And while he slept, he had a new dream.

By the fourth time, it was much easier to realize that it was a dream and understand the situation. Rural landscape as far as the eye can see. White storm clouds and dazzling sunlight. Although there are slight variations in seasonality and timing, so far they have all appeared in the same location in Ninoshima.

(Maybe it's like the starting point of the game?)

And the two ladies in front of him.

(I guess those people are default characters too.)

The mission is to run.

"Tanaka Oba-chan, Nomura Oba-chan, hello!"

He ran between the two, greeting them.

"Oh, Jingi-chan."

"Hello. You're always in a good mood."

They both smiled and waved. He had a kind of premonition. He was sure that his wish would come true this time.

He was in a good mood with the pleasant (probably) summer scenery. He kept running all the way home, breathing lightly, stopping in front of the entrance and taking a few deep breaths.

After making sure that his breathing was normal, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and entered through the front door.

The first person he met in the hallway was Yukito.

He was a little nervous because in all of his dreams so far, Yukito had a terrible personality.

"Eh? Jingi-san, where have you been?"

He seemed like a normal Yukito, the same as always. He pouted and protested.

"You promised to watch me train in the morning! You drank too much yesterday too. I'm going to tell Kurama-san and Ibuki-san that you're being too casual too!"

A naive and sensitive boy. Even though he was hated and slapped, Jingi could see that he really respected him.

"......"

Without realizing it, Jingi extended his hand towards Yukito's head and was playing with his hair.

"W-what?"

Yukito rolled his eyes and walked away. While he held his head with both hands...

"Hey, are you still drunk?"

He looked at Jingi accusingly. However, Jingi did not respond and looked for his next target.

He went to the kitchen and found Momoko cooking. She set the bowl she had been using to taste in the sink and looked at Jingi.

"Eh? Jingi-chan, are you back? Wait for me. Lunch will be ready soon."

Momoko Amamiya.

She is like an older sister who has always lovingly watched over Jingi. Without her, not only Jingi, but also Haruaki and Aka would have lived completely different lives.

Has he adequately expressed his gratitude to her?

He now deeply regretted it.

"Momoko-san, thank you as always."

Jingi took Momoko's hand and bowed cordially to her.

And...

"I'm sorry."

He couldn't even apologize for passing away first. She must have cried a lot.

Momoko is kinder than anyone. Yukito too. He was sure that, although he complained, he cried profusely.

Suddenly, Jingi understood. The reason why Yukito and Momoko were so scary and abnormal in his dreams was because Jingi feared that from the bottom of his heart. Since they were such important members of the family, everything seemed to turn into a nightmare.

"Jingi-chan?"

Momoko frowned and tilted her head slightly.

"You're drunk?"

She came to almost the same conclusion as Yukito. She glanced at Yukito, who followed Jingi, but Yukito simply shrugged, as if to say, "I don't know what's going on.".

Meanwhile, Jingi staggered towards the living room. He opened the sliding door and waited to see the scene he always wanted.

Haruaki and Aka.

Seeing his brothers get along.

"Hello, Jingi."

"What happened? Did something happen?"

Kurama Haruaki and Ibuki Aka were definitely there.

Two adults live in that house. Things like that haven't stopped since his teacher, Makoto Yanagi, passed away.

"Haru-nii, Aka-nii..."

Jingi's voice became hoarse with emotion and then he said:

"Then why are you both dressed like that?"

He asked, his face suddenly half serious.

"Eh? Are you acting really weird?"

Haruaki, who was only wearing a swimsuit and a T-shirt, looked at himself curiously. He usually wears the solemn costume of a priest, so seeing him in a simple figure with so much skin feels even more strange.

"We're going to the beach, so it's natural, right? You should hurry up and change your clothes."

Aka, who quickly put on his snorkel and underwater goggles, ordered Jingi to do that. Again, instead of the tight suit he always wears, he wears a t-shirt and navy pants.

Then the two began to talk happily about what they would do when they went to the beach.

"Alright, let's swim as hard as we can!"

Haruaki said as he turned his body around and did something similar to gymnastics.

"Let's use the harpoon to hit the fish, okay?"

Aka, who was trying to contain himself, but looked clearly more excited than usual, suggested that. Together, the two remembered their mission.

"Come on, Jingi, let's go!"

"Let's play as hard as we can!"

Sparkling eyes. The innocent smile of his childhood. However, both of them had the same faces and physiques as the adults. Jingi held back, trembling slightly.

"Jingi!"

"Look!"

His two brothers who had become adults pulled him left and right.

"They get along like before!"

Finally, he couldn't hold back any longer and snapped. The awakening trigger activated and Jingi woke up again.

Jingi finally lowered his head in despair. He realized that the energy that made up his consciousness was running out.

"Damn, I have so many incomprehensible dreams..."

He whispered that resentfully. He couldn't help but feel sleepy from before. As it was, he would break into small pieces and be swallowed by the flow of life energy.

The next time he falls asleep, he will never wake up again.

(Damn.)

The last dream was the one that touched his heart the most.

Well, leaving aside Haruaki and Aka.

(That made me realize that I had a lot of unfinished things.)

He had more things to teach Yukito.

He wanted to thank Momoko.

Why couldn't he tell Haruaki and Aka to get along?

He wanted to hang out more with his bad friends. Enjoy a glass of sake while he enjoys the peaceful scenery of Ninoshima. Being able to go fishing or play pachinko.

He wanted to apologize for causing trouble for Inou.

He wanted to see everyone's faces.

He wanted to see them smile.

(Damn.)

Tears fell. He bit his lip and let the tears fall. Suddenly, the words of his teacher Makoto Yanagi came to his mind. He commented on the qualities of his disciples as connections:

"Haruaki is, well, a genius. I guess it's a matter of lineage, but there's something he's born with. He'll be able to fly to the heights as easily as a gust of wind."

He continued.

"Aka is a theoretical person. One by one, he practices what he can't do and shapes it. Since he can see his surroundings clearly, I am sure there will be many people who will admire him in the future. He will surely become a pillar thick and strong that will never break."

Makoto laughed as Jingi asked, "What about me? What about me?"

"Maybe you don't have much talent. Even at this age, you're still lazy and, surprisingly, cowardly and careless."

That's what he said. Makoto pouted at Jingi.

"That's why you look more like me."

He ruffled Jingi's hair and stroked it with his large hand.

"Jingi. Even if the road is ugly, get up. Being in good shape is not the style of people like us."

In the middle of the life line, Jingi silently opened his eyes again.

"I understand... Master."

Even if he is in the mud...

Maybe it's a murky stream of life. Even if it's ugly...

(I'll hold on to life until the end!)

Jingi began scratching his hands and feet frantically. Imagining levitation, he did his best to hold on to his fading existence and began to swim frantically, aiming only for the top. Every time he felt like he was about to break, he thought about Yukito, Haruaki, Aka, Momoko and his master. The only thing he thought about was his family and his friends.

(Once again, just one more time.)

Then, with all his strength, he finally surfaced from the life line and took a deep breath.

However, the current is too fast and buoyancy is almost ineffective.

"Gaaak! Whoops!"

If he does not move his limbs with all his might, the flow of life force will engulf him in no time.

"Shit! Damn!"

At that moment, Jingi felt as if he heard the interesting voice of his master in his ear.

(Here, Jingi. It's time to take a breath. Good luck. I've prepared some help.)

Jingi regained his strength and crawled. Somehow he had a hunch. He was sure that a helping hand would be waiting for him when he swam there.

And what he saw was...

"Master! Is this?! This is it!"

It was a giant pipe protruding from the inside of the life line. It looked familiar. Although it is larger than the standard, it is definitely a masterpiece that master Makoto Yanagi loved. He felt so homesick that he felt like crying.

Jingi held on to the Kiseru and used his remaining strength to skillfully climb up the body.

Note: Kiseru is the Japanese term for the ancient Japanese pipe. Kiseru were used to smoke a wide variety of substances, including tobacco, cannabis and opium.

Then, he came to a place where he could maintain his posture and shouted as loud as he could.

"Yukitooooooooooooo!"

He called to the being in which he had to believe the most.

"Help me!"

Beyond life.

He felt that he could see the face of a child who was destined to become a water dragon through a very faint slit that connected to that world.

Without hesitation, Sagawa Jingi decided to simply live.

[voicesagainstliars]

To Marinette: How do you feel about being an only child? Did you ever wish you had siblings?

WARNING: FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE, THIS TAKES PLACE IN AN ALTERNATE TIMELINE. NOT EVERYTHING ABOUT THE CHARACTERS HAS BASIS IN CANON R.Y.V.A.L.!

Marinette: I don't really think so if you mean a biological sibling, but... I have my family with these guys.

Yusuke: According to Marinette, Mme. Cheng and M. Dupain have stated they would gladly adopt me if I were a French citizen. However, I have obligations in Tokyo, such as school.

Yuuki: Couldn't you transfer or something?

Yusuke: ... perhaps that could be, but I need to work on my French as well. Plus, I do not wish to draw too much attention to our work. Perhaps after I graduate...?

Nathaniel: Heck yeah! We could do all sorts of projects together!

Ann: Man, wish I could live with you guys over in Paris. Akumas and amok or not...

Kagami: Are you having parental issues at home?

Ann: Parental issues? Yeah. At home? No. Mom and Dad aren't around enough to be trouble-

Kagami: It's the fact they aren't around that's the problem, isn't it?

Ann: Yeah...

Nathaniel: At least they love you, right?

Ann: ... I don't remember.

Kagami: ...?

Ann: They send me more than enough money to survive, and they got me my modeling job, but I haven't heard zilch from them since I moved here in middle-school. No phone calls, no Nyooming, nothing!

Ann takes a deep breath to calm herself.

Ann: So yeah... from what I know about your mom and dad, I'd love to have a fraction of the family love that you get.

Marinette mutters something quietly under her breath.

Ann: Sorry, what?

Marinette: Do you want to be my sister?

Ann: Well, uh-

Marinette: Please... just answer the question. Everything else will be sorted out after.

Ann: ... I've seen enough piss-poor parents that I'm worried my äiti ja isä will turn out to be the same next time I see 'em. It's lonely at home when Shiho or Ryuji or any of you guys aren't around... would your parents really be okay with me coming into your life? Wouldn't I just be financial trouble or someth-

Marinette takes Ann's hands into her own.

Marinette: Then prepare to pack your bags. I'll go talk to maman et papa and see what we can do.

Ann: ... you can't be serious...

Marinette: Dead serious. You want in, we'll see what we can do. It'll take a while for legal formalities, but...

Haru, rather loudly for her: I will help!

Ann and Marinette jump.

Haru: What is needed? Legal aid to get Ann-chan added? Financial aid? What can I do to help?

Marinette: I'll talk to Mom and Dad and ask, Haru. Thank you so much!

Haru: Oh, it's no problem!

As she and Haru hug, Ann begins to tear up, pressing her hand to her mouth to stifle her sobs.

Ann: M-Marinette... th-thank you...

Marinette takes her in for a hug. Her next words have Ann burst into tears.

Marinette: I love you, Big Sis. Even if Mom and Dad can't adopt you or whatever, you're still my big sister.