#[ and yes i know people will go 'but sae this is your opinion--' ]

[iniziareold]

Question: Sae, how do you feel about fanon takes for Tifa Lockhart? Me: I hate this place, I hate it here. I want to burn it all.

... Half of my tags were eaten alive. I oppose this.

[velchronica]

imperfect love ♬~*.°₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ itoshi sae

maybe i'll cry for a love that isn't perfect yet

but i wanna make endless stories

like the ones hidden inside an old book

or, since meeting you, all itoshi sae wants is a sappy happily ever after with you.

content: established relationship, gn!reader, fluff, sfw

wc: 1.0k

sae falls asleep to the sound of your breaths, the rise and fall of your chest underneath the weight of his arm over your waist. he’d rather fall asleep next to you every night—and most nights he does—but sometimes it simply cannot he helped, so when he’s away from home, he facetimes you until one of you falls asleep or has to go.

he easily falls asleep to your voice over call, phone on the bedside table next to him, and you only hang up once he’s quiet for at least half an hour and is no longer responding to you with a barely-there ‘mhm.’ after all, sae has never been much of a chatterbox to begin with, per se, so it’s not unusual for him to just listen, to savour your voice telling him about your day, to bask in the mimicry of nomalcy as you go about your day as usual on the phone to him, as if he’s there with you.

people are, more often than not, surprised by the sweet and affectionate nature of your longstanding relationship. while you’re all soft smiles, sunshines and rainbows, he’s terse, with sharp edges and a mind and mouth just as sharp. he’s cold, and spares no effort to sugarcoat his opinions nor fake humility to the masses, whereas you are warm and modest, never asking for anything in return for your kindness and hard work. still, despite this, your relationship is built upon strong and sturdy foundations, and the home you have built together is full of love and joy.

where he is can be too closed up, sometimes too wrapped up in himself, you encourage him to be more open-minded and compassionate. where you can be careless and impulsive, he is there to tie up any loose ends you’ve left behind. though your worlds do not excessively collide, they do overlap. while you don’t necessarily need each other to complete your own individual existence, you bring out the better and the best out of one another. you’ve learned through time and patience that symbiosis is often the better alternative to codependency.

there have been ups and downs to your relationships. you’re both only human after all, and no relationship is perfect; with personal flaws can come misunderstandings or miscommunication. the thing that sets successful couples apart from those that break up, however, is how you maintains and manages the things that strain your relationship. to maintain a balance between your independence and your time together is key, especially when sae is away from home so often.

it’s not uncommon for you to fall asleep in sae’s arms, only for the bed to be cold and half-empty in the morning. sometimes his voice or his face over the phone isn’t enough to keep out the doubt and anxiety gnawing at your heart. you don’t want to welcome him home with frustration and tears, but on the rare occasion you do, sae understands. he knows how much trust and faith it takes for you to wait for someone who will leave not long after.

but you also know it was your choice. you knew, when you agreed to start dating sae, that it wasn’t always going to be candy-floss and kitten fluff. you knew how much sae treasured his dreams, his work, his success, how much effort he had poured into crafting the formula to take over the field. you admire him for his tenacity and diligence, and you would never expect him to give up football for you.

you’d never understood why people say you should be willing to sacrifice in a relationship. compromise, yes, but sacrifice? if the person you love can’t accept you for what you are and do, then they don’t love you, not really. at least, that’s what you think.

but that’s why sae is your forever and always. sae loves you for your flaws, not despite them, and that makes all the difference in the world. he never expects you to show him the ‘best side’ of yourself at all times, because he knows how much faith you have in him to bare yourself wholeheartedly to him, to not shy away.

you’re lucky, you think, so unbelievably lucky to have sae in your life. for him to love you. for every day you spend with sae.

unbeknownst to you, sae thinks the same thing. he thinks it so often, hundreds of times a day, and he thinks you’ll say yes if he grabs that little box out of his suitcase and gets on one knee someday soon.

he hopes you’ll cry—tears of joy, not anguish or pain. that way he can wipe them away for you, hold your face in his hands and kiss you like there’s no tomorrow. hold you in his arms like the fool in love he is, so utterly enamoured and enchanted by you.

he doesn’t know how it happened, but he’s not complaining that it did. somewhere along the line he’d ended up completely bewitched by your mellifluous laughter, your sunny smile. there’s something perfect in coming home to you, knowing someone yearns for him in such a way. perhaps it isn’t this penthouse that’s home, but your warm and loving presence. he’s not quite sure. almost, though.

but what he is sure he knows is that he wants to spend the rest of his life with you. where he once wanted to write his name into history with a football career like no other, something deep inside would be wholly content to just have the memories of being yours. he wants to spend every day cherishing you, loving you, never yearning from thousands of miles away, but rather holding you close, lovesick and sappier than ever. happier than ever. happier than he’s ever known.

itoshi sae’s happily ever after is a forever after with you.

he can’t believe what you’ve turned him into. a lovesick, lovelorn fool. but still, waking up to the sound of your shallow, breaths, your body curled up into his, and the warmth of your presence—it’s fine.

this is his happily ever after, an imperfect love it may be.

© velchronica 2024

[mochikofi]

i really liked the yoichi and reo nsfw alphabet!! can i req one for rin? 🥺

Itoshi Rin NSFW alphabet

A - Aftercare (what they're like after sex)

He'd be affectionate after sex, he will leave kisses and hickeys on your body and he wouldn't care if people will see them. But after that, he will massage your body while praising you about how you took him so well.

B - Body Parts (their favorite body parts of them and their partner)

Rin loves his fingers. He would watch you squirm around his fingers while he curls them inside your pussy.

He loves your hands. He would hold them while fucking you slowly, he loves how little your hands are compared to his. He loves it when you give him a handjob with the cute little hands of yours.

C - Cum (anything to do with cum)

He'll cum on your back or stomach. He have a great pull out game tbh so both of you don't care about condoms.

D - Dirty Secrets (a secret of theirs)

He's thinking about putting a tattoo of your name on his cock. Not totally on his cock but close to his cock. He wants you to know that he and his cock are yours <3

E - Expirience (how expirienced are they)

He's not totally expirienced but he was watching porn to learn about the things he can do to you, to pleasure you, and to punish you (yes he can be a little bit mean sometimes.)

F - Favorite Position

He likes everything tbh as long as he can see your pretty tits bounce. His mouth waters at the sight of your tits so expect him always sucking your tits even when he's fucking you.

G - Goofy (are they more serious or goofy during the moment)

He's serious. He's afraid that he will mess up and make you uncomfortable so don't expect some joke coming from him. But if you wanna lessen his worries, then go crack some joke while holding his face, he will crack a smile.

H - Hair (how groomed are they)

He's fully groomed. He doesn't like the fact that some hair goes over your mouth when you suck him off.

I - Intimacy (how are they during the moment)

He's very romantic. He will ask you if you're okay and comfortable and he LOVES holding your hands. Tbh he's pretty vanila so yeah..

J - Jack Off (masturbation headcanon)

He rarely jacks off but if he's desperate of having you then it leaves him no choice. You will see him whimpering your name while holding his pretty cock <3

K - Kink (one or more of their kink)

Definitely praise kink. He will melt if you keep praising him like it drives him insane to the point that he wants to fuck you always just so you can praise him.

L - Location (favorite places to do)

Bedroom. To him, he can do many positions in the bedroom so if he's feeling horny then he will just pick you up and throw you on the bed.

Couch. It's not everyday you guys have sex on the couch but if he's feeling lazy but horny at the same time then he will ask you to cockwarm him.

M - Motivation (what turns them on)

Again, your praisings.. he will do anything just for you to praise him. Heck he fucking loves it when you say that he's better than sae.

N - No (something they wouldn't do)

He's willing to do everything as long as it's safe. He won't put you in too much pain and if you still insist then expect a silent treatment.

O - Oral (preference in giving or receiving)

He prefers giving. To be honest, he's the best at pussy eating. He will make out with your pussy if he can but nooo there's practice.

But when it comes to receiving then he'll be loud as fuck. He'll whimper, sob, and cry your name out loud. He will praise you while holding your head.

P - Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual?)

As i mentioned, he's pretty vanilla. So expect many romantic words coming from him while fucking you slow. But if you want him to go faster then you'll have to beg for it.

Q - Quickie (their opinion on quickie)

He thinks it's okay. Sometimes if he really can't take it anymore then he'll drag you to the nearest room/bathroom and fuck you there. But be aware, if he's in a mood for quickie then it means he's gonna go fast.

R - Risk (do they take risk)

Yes he takes risk. Heck he even fucked you in his brothers room just to annoy sae even tho he didn't know. But still, he does it sometimes if he's angry with sae.

S - Stamina (how long do they last)

I'd say he last about 3-4 rounds. He's too tired because of bachira going fly-day.

T - Toy (do they use toys)

Yes he uses toys, only for you tho. He loves watching you squirm, begging for him to put his cock inside instead of some stupid toy.

U - Unfair (how much they like to tease)

He loves teasing you if he's bored. He will put a vibrator on your panties and watch you try not to moan out loud. He always feel your glare when he does it. But when you're home then it's his turn to be teased.

V - Volume (how loud are they)

As i said earlier, he doesn't hold anything back. He won't have any shame of moaning your name loud to the point that sae can even hear it.

W - Wild card (random headcanon)

He got you a vibrator that is almost the same size like his cock on your birthday. You guys use it everytime you're both bored.

X - X-Ray (how long are they)

8-9 inches. This man works out A LOT so it's obvious he's packing.

Y - Yearning (how high is their sex drive)

Surprisingly average. He can manage his time between you and soccer but if he had to choose then he'll choose you.

Z - Zzz (how quick they fall asleep)

He's quick. The moment he's done taking a bath with you, he will ask for permission to suck your tits and fall asleep.

navigation. - nsfw/sfw alphabet masterlist.

[seivsite]

SPOTLIGHT SERENADE.

includes: mikage reo x fem!reader. there’s no pronouns but it’s hinted to be female, established relationship, inspired by JK’s shirtless in bed live, not proofread — wc: 352

When your boyfriend, Mikage Reo, decided to go live on Blue Lock’s streaming platform, he did it in bed, shirtless, and this instantly captivated many fans, making them smitten by him.

After the live session, you found yourself increasingly annoyed by the amount of girls claiming he was their boyfriend.

Although you knew there was nothing to worry about, as you were confident in his loyalty, you couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy. So there you were, reading all the tweets and comments from people.

“Darling, you do know I love you and only you, right?” Reo stated, smiling at your annoyed face as you scrolled through the comments of people declaring him as boyfriend material.

“But you’re just encouraging their delusions, hmph,” you pouted, not wanting to see his teasing face.

“Sorry, my love. How about we go to your favourite restaurant later?” he asked, begging for forgiveness as he hugged your waist from behind, resting his chin on your shoulder.

You thought about it for a moment before agreeing, “Fine, you’re paying,” you said.

“Who said you’re going to pay?” he questioned, playfully dragging you to get ready.

That evening, an article went viral with the headline “The Rich Heir of Mikage Cooperation, Mikage Reo, Found at a Restaurant Having Dinner with a Special Someone — Who’s the Lucky Person? Read More to Find Out!”

People flooded the comments with various opinions, some expressing support for the relationship, some feeling jealous, and others just curious about the lucky person who landed someone like Reo.

Many people played detective and soon found your private socials, where they could only see your profile picture, leaving them curious. You decided to unprivate your accounts and finally released a statement confirming that yes, you are dating the one and only rich Mikage Reo.

Reo also posted a statement about it, something he had wanted to do for a long time, which sparked a multitude of comments, both filled with love and hate. Not that you cared though. You were just happy that everyone knows Reo belongs to you, and you belong to Reo.

NOTES. its been on my mind for a while now so yuh, tbh you could also see this as sae or kaiser as well

TAG LIST. @rintosei

LIKES AND REBLOGS ARE APPRECIATED! ‹3

[krnsluvvie]

love at first, love at second, love at last

veintitres: te perdono (tal vez) (+ wc: 0.9k)

SUMMARY: sae had chosen his career and that was shortly followed by his and y/n's separation. three years pass by and amongst all the lurking and stalking each other's socials, sae is suddenly found back in their hometown. old feelings are resurfaced, current ones are questioned and a whole load of future ones are found in a blur.

veintid��s | masterlist | veinticuatro

an icon pops up on the screen. kurona has joined, ultimately.

“you can stay muted, i’ll make it quick.”

a ding.

i hate you

you briefly laugh before you say, “i love you, too.”

ew

“get to the point, y/n. we don’t have all day.” isagi unmutes himself just to utter those words out and you roll your eyes in pseudo-annoyance.

“once you reach my age, you’ll be pulling all-nighters left and right to get your stuff done.”

or we will get them done during the day, or days before the deadline ! 

“okay, kurona. i get it!”

STOP DIGRESSING.

“yes, everything oliver told you—it’s true.”

both unmute. 

“FOR REAL?”

“NO FUCKING WAY.”

“yeah, i felt almost… hm,” you stroke your chin in thought as you try to think of the exact word depicting how you’d felt in that moment. “forced? obligated? plus, yeah, sure, it was in the heat of the moment but i don’t regret it.”

you expected commotion but the guys pleasantly surprise you as they unmute once again and start talking.

“are you sure?” isagi asks, you can hear the hesitation in his voice as if he was tiptoeing around the topic. he knows when not to pry too deep. 

you nod your head. “yep, positive.”

“even if… i mean, i do try to see it from your view. you’ve always been a good person but some people just don’t deserve second chances.”

silence.

“eh… ehh— i didn’t mean sae exactly. i was just saying.”

“you’re right, yeah.” you say after a moment of stillness. 

“but also—” you cut yourself off.

“hm?” isagi hums almost immediately.

“i don’t know. i’m just so confused right now.”

“speak, we will listen.”

“who said i wo—”

isagi mutes kurona. 

“you shall continue.”

YOU……. WHEN I CATCH YOU…

“i don’t want to keep you here for long so i’ll just go over what’s on my mind quickly. the contract, my kinda job, all of that right?”

“yeah?”

“it’s not even about them at this point. sure, we are still awkward around each other but it’s mostly coming from my side, if that makes sense? i try not to let my guard too much around him.”

“hmm…yeah? yeah. and?”

“and i think i’m starting to accept the reason why i did that in the first place.”

“he hurt you, it was only right to be cautious around him, y/n…” isagi says with his sweet and caring voice. if only he was like this more often. 

“thank you, isagi.”

I AGREE IM HERE TOO.

“thank you, too, kurona.” you say between breathy laughs.

“so what’s the reason?”

“i think,” you inhale, “i think i’m falling down the same hole again.”

HUH?

“kurona, you want me to unmute you?”

NO

no i mean

“what hole?”

“the—”

“oh!” isagi interrupts you. “you’re starting to like him again… is what i’m getting… ?”

HOPEFUKLY YOURE WRONG

“yeah.” you exhale, tension in your body gradually leaving.

*RIGHT

“oh.”

“isagi, it’s okay, you don’t have to say anything. i hate it, too. i’ve been done wrong and now look at me, catching feelings again.”

“i’m really glad you’re aware. but also—”

yet another silence.

“yeah? continue.”

“maybe… give it another shot? i’m not telling you to do it, just consider it and don’t torture yourself more. he explained himself, too, right? again, that doesn’t give him a pass, but yeah, just… him saying that means something! him saying things out of his own will!”

i hate to say this but as much as i don’t like him and despite what i said about not giving second chances… maybe it’s worth a shot ? as isagi said, he also tried to explain himself (DOESNT MAKE IT OK OR EGGZCUSABLE!!) it’s been some years and you both must’ve matured .. to some extent.

“HEY?!” 

i’m just saying🤷

you hate yourself for ignoring their opinion but as you read over the message and heard the words from isagi, you knew that what you were feeling was unmistakably real.

“it’s about to be 3.”

“y/n… think about it, yeah? we will support you no matter what.”

you let a small smile overtake your lips. “thank y—”

“after football.”

“never mind.”

i’m going yall, my eyes r closing🔥

“sleep well. both of you. thank you for listening to me, as always.”

gn!!💝

“good night, y/n.”

“also guys, before you disconnect! the reason why i told him first was!!! because i already expected you to come. so if you don’t, i will be very sad, just so you know!”

isagi laughs, hitting his desk—from what you can hear. “alright, alright. we shall steal all the spotlight.”

“bye!!!!!!!”

and... end call.

you close your laptop and fall face-first in your bed. first time acknowledging your lingering feelings, out loud, too. you squeeze your eyes in embarrassment.

this can’t be real. this can’t be real.

after all the years that you were separated from each other; you desperately tried reaching out while he was living his life, ignoring your calls and messages and giving you his half-assed apology and reason for separation, you still found yourself attached to him. 

oh, god, you can only hope that it doesn’t get any further than this.

(you know you're jinxing it, so you think of reverse psychology as to counter this fact.)

a/n: not proofread i apologize + THE WAY THIS IS DRAGGING ON OMG ILL KMS (theres a reason actually!! ill explain it after the series/2nd act ends!!! eventually yes..) ....... itll end soon i promise pls bear w me :ˇ')

tag list: @kiopanxp @funtuki @silly-ez @asteroskoniiii @keijiqahara @pikibee @tamimemo @kaitfae @biaonww @y-sabell-a @kaiserkisser @winterpein @bloombb @yyoichisgirl

[katnissandpeetamellark]

Lucy Gray Baird - an innocent victim or a manipulator?

What's your first impression of Lucy Gray?

Do you think she loved Coriolanus in tbosas?

What do you think might have happened to Lucy Gray in the end?

What's your opinion about theories :

1. Greasy Sae as Lucy Gray.

2. Coin as a daughter or relative of Lucy Gray.

Thank you :)

@curiousnonny

OKAy, I saw people respond to this a few days ago so I wanted to wait because I didn't want the tag to be TOO filled with the same thing all at once lol

But... in my opinion (as a book reader - multiple times - before the movie came out)..

(LONG TEXT POST ANSWER BELOW!)

1.Lucy Gray is BOTH a victim of manipulation and a manipulator (in a "Survival" way). I mean to an extent she's a performer. And that makes her good at manipulating people to "feel a certain way".

To survive the games, she puts on her charm HARD (But I also think she's just a good person too. IMO there's a level of realness to her charm. She really does care about people and enjoys being around others.) I think she uses people to an extent to survive (and I DO NOT BLAME HER FOR THIS. Put yourself in her shoes in those situations and you can see how manipulating people would benefit you)

BUT she is ALSO a victim. To the "system" aka the Hunger Games/The Capitol's cruelty, and a victim of Snow. Her manipulation all stems from her being a victim in their world (Being an orphan, living in poverty, not being allowed to roam free in the world, Billy Taupe, the games, etc.). So yes, Lucy Gray is both a manipulator AND a victim (I don't like the word innocent though, it's a bit too black and white for me)

2.I think I immediately felt pity but you also see her "rebel" from the situation by signing and the way she's dressed for this moment. So you see her strength in a terrible situation. You have to admire someone who just says "fuck it" and rolls with the punches.

3.I don't know exactly. I think she could've let go of him if he hadn't "followed her" back to 12. I think again, to an extent she "uses" him to survive. And then when he's just there in 12 with her, she's like "well okay, I can make this work". I think she finds comfort in others (girl just went through hell) and there's definitely some sort of trauma bond there after the games. I don't wanna say yes or no, because again I have lots of thoughts and there all in grey areas lol.

So... maybe. But maybe not. Or maybe partially.

3.Again, I don't know. I don't mind it being a mystery because then it relates directly to the ballad. If she died or escaped to live in the wilderness... either would be better than being trapped (in 12, in Panem etc.). I'd obviously rather her be free, but I guess we'll probably never know and I've just become "at peace" with that.

I definitely DO NOT think she would go back to 12. Her life was in danger and 12 was never her home really. Let her be free<3

4.Hate both of those theories. They cheapen the story imo. Making Katniss "the chosen one" ruins the message.

Lucy Gray would not have gone back to 12 imo and she would have NEVER raised someone to be just like Coriolanus. She wasn't like him, she didn't shut out love and family and people. If Lucy Gray survived (which is totally possible) she wouldn't have raised someone to be like Coriolanus. It just doesn't make sense to me.

Thanks for the ask<3

[bluelockednyx]

Hey!! I loved your Rinsagi metas and posts. FINALLY someone in the fandom who doesn't infantilize Isagi and sees canon him. Yes Isagi is nice but not like.. nanase level friendly and nice. He's polite but a lil withdrawn and appreciates people's talents but absolutely will not let anyone walk over him. Also,exactly what u said, sadist Dom. Yes please.

And Rin, so many people reduce him to this one-dimensional character who's issues people treat like a joke. When that's not the case? Bachira at least knows his prblms, Rin has no idea at all. Like how horrible does your repression and mental state have to be that the guy that is literally suicidal tells you that you're in a worse place than him. Rin gives off high key depressed vibes.

It's a lot like Post WC kunigami which draws...interesting parallels esp when you look at pre WC kunigami and at how Rin seems a lot happier before the fight. I saw someone make that comparison.

What do you think? How do you think Rin would've been like if Sae had actually bothered explaining instead of what we got?

Also, any opinions on the Itoshi parents? We've only seen half their faces and nothing from them abt their kids's relationship. I mean, it kinda bothers me how we've seen the views of Isagi, Bachira, Chigiri, even Hiori's parents when he's not a main character, Yet we got no input from the Itoshis. Do they just not notice? Are they a bit neglectful esp since they let a 13 yr old Sae go to another country alone? Do they let their kids do whatever they want including fighting for a year? Who knows? I'll love to know your thoughts tho.

Again, thank you for the lovely metas which made me feel a little less alone in the fandom. Have a great day :)

Isagi stans, please rise up and help characterise him properly lmao

Stupid long response under the cut, as always.

Rant about my issues with the general fandom characterisation about Isagi. Sorry anon if this isn't what you wanted, I have a lot of Thoughts and Salt where Isagi is concerned, and I am Fandom Old who is growing incredibly sad with how divisive current fandom is over a whole host of things. Skip to Itoshi if you don't wanna read about Isagi + fandom musings. Skip to parents if you wanna read about my thoughts on the family dynamics.

Isagi is, for better or worse, the stock shonen MC. He's enough of a regular guy for the target readers, which are teenage boys, to identify with. As he's the MC, the story overall serves to validate and support him, so long as he fits the themes the author is working on, which for Blue Lock, is the concept of being the best at what you're doing, while also bringing out the best in others, and then working together successfully to achieve goals (i.e. the World Cup).

But, Kaneshiro-sensei's also a strategic writer. Isagi, because he's such a bland self-insert for the most part, combined with how he has a very weird form of Power of Heart, has wound up being an especially attractive character for those who like harem, or reverse-harem series. Which then, for better or worse, brings all the fujoshi fangirls around (the curse of so many attractive characters). But most especially the fujoshi fangirls who are a fan of all x MC ships. I am emphasizing all x MC here, because east Asian/gen Asian fandom, have grown incredibly restrictive and rigid about top x bottom dynamics, which is a whole host of other things and issues to talk about.

Look up any popular shonen jump title, you'll find that these shippers generally have the same tastes, and move around the same fandom circles. You'll usually find them shipping all x MC ships, from Izuku to Tanjirou to Yuuji to Naruto etc. Overall, how they characterise them never deviates all that much. It's the nice, 'innocent', naive, guy who is a bit of a pushover, and who has all the other hot characters wanting to get in their pants. That's where Isagi falls into as well, for these shippers. The more thorny and less 'nice guy' parts of his characterisation gets sanded down, though YMMV whether this is a skill issue by fandom or simply a cultural readership interpretation difference altogether.

On the Itoshi bros:

Yep, Rin has a lot of repression issues. I wouldn't go so far as to say that Rin has no idea at all about his issues (how else would he pick out Bachira's loneliness so quickly lol, also there's some hints from official guidebook), but he definitely lacks self-awareness. I also agree that he and Nagi seem to be on different areas at the spectrum of depression (Nagi being apathetic, Rin being hostile).

If there's anything to parallel Rin and Kunigami, I'd say that it's the 'loss of a dream' and 'loss of companions'. In the manga proper, Rin does seem happier before the fight with Sae, like how Kunigami looked happier pre-WC. However, the light novel shows that Rin was already repressing both himself and his style of football to imitate Sae long before then due to external pressures by his teammates and coach, and even more severely than Isagi, who also didn't have much of a relationship with his own teammates from Ichinan.

If Sae had tried to explain more than that one line about 'the world being vast', they wouldn't have such a strained relationship right now, honestly. While I don't think that Rin would have fully understood what Sae was trying to say because he lacked the experience and perspective, I do think he would have been more supportive, which would have been better overall, for the both of them. They were both idiots that night, lmao, though I do view Sae as having been punished by the narrative when he pushed his dream onto Rin.

About the Itoshi parents:

We know that Rin and Sae presumably used to share a room and a double bed as kids (albeit a fairly spacious one, from the looks of it), which makes me think that they're more likely to be middle class than upper class. Young Rin also accompanied Sae to his soccer practice games, rather than going off for other classes like say, art, which implies that his parents might not have been able to afford it. Sae also walked home with Rin, which further implies that they're parents are busy, though its more of a norm in JP. Possibly a double income household, to fund Sae, and later, Rin's coaching fees and time with the youth football squad. Also a household that seems to have no qualms about Sae, and later, Rin's rudeness and hostility, although they may tone it down around their parents. Sae must have picked his attitude up from somewhere.

I'm reluctant to call the Itoshi parents sending Sae to Madrid at 13 as intentionally neglectful, because there are cultural nuances there. I think the best parallel I can draw is parents from less-developed nations sending their children overseas from an early age to secure eventual permanent residency and establish a life in a more developed nation. Sometimes, home just isn’t good enough. And this is one of Blue Lock’s main story themes: that Japan’s football, as it is, isn’t good enough. They have neither the organizational structure, infrastructure, nor support to get the World Cup that Sae, Anri and possibly Ego, covets.

Sae's dream, and talent, is in football. He's been scouted by perhaps the most successful team in the Blue Lock world, with a world-class program for youths, and has been given the best chance possible, for any kid in his shoes, to fulfill his dream to be the best striker in the world. He's being sponsored, and he also left with a manager who would presumably, help take care of him whilst he was there. Sae isn't going there like say, Ashito from Aoi Ashi, who needed to go through a trial to even be considered for acceptance into the youth squad. He's going there as the equivalent of a golden scholarship student scouted for a potential future work placement, with the likely backing of the JFA.

What alternatives could his parents offer him if he stayed in Japan? His own speech to Sendou pre-blue lock vs U20 match encapsulates what could have been for him (Sendou is very much a foil to Sae, especially now that we know they're both redheads lmao). Being the best in Japan, a middle-of-the-road striker in the world, retiring with an average, albeit decent life. Sae's too egoistic, too talented, too greedy to be content with a life like that. I wouldn't be surprised if Sae had also begged his parents hard to let him go, since it's pretty much all he wanted as a kid.

That's without even taking into account the other problems his parents would face if they immigrated with Sae. How to take care of Rin and his education there, for starters. Rent and housing, finding jobs in Madrid where they likely can't speak the language, and face discrimination.

I think we don't get their parents faces because Rin and Sae's story, and their relationship with their parents, are simply emotionally distant. I don't think they have much parental control over Rin or Sae either.  Sae's been more or less looking after himself/being taken care of by Real Madrid + his manager in Spain since 13, and Rin has been strongly implied to be in much the same shoes since Sae left, to a lesser extent. I doubt they know the more minute details about Rin and Sae’s school life and team experience, both within and out of Japan. I even doubt that they know that Rin and Sae had a fight, honestly, though I can also see them being the kind of parents who will let their kids sort things out between themselves.

Overall: Itoshi parents takes care of them physically (buys them material things, makes sure they have a home to stay in, have a physical caretaker in their place), but emotionally? Rin and Sae seem to be pretty much left on their own. No wonder their relationship with each other broke down, and what little relationships they have with others seem like such a convoluted mess.

Thanks for sending the ask! I love hearing from people what they think about the latest chapters, characters, relationships etc. I hope you have a great day too!

[audio-luddite]

Dynaco Renaissance.

Well sort of.

On a lap through the classified ads I found a clean looking but not functional Dynaco 400 amplifier for $400. That much for not working? Is this an indication of them becoming desirable? Not really, just a generation of audio people dying and things getting into estate sales. I should look into those.

Back in the day I had this exact model I built from a kit. The guy wants $400 bucks for it but it needs major repair. By coincidence I have a full set of parts and pc boards for one of these. Those are spares for my Franken amp if it smoked. The only missing bits are the output transistors, and PS capacitors, I know where to get those. So I could fix it.

It has the right knobs and all the cosmetic bits which are often lost or damaged. The fundamental question is it worth fixing at that price?

It is prettier than a black box for sure. Oh and yes I would want to modify it to Franken status which disables the speaker protection and all that stuff. So strictly in the name of science I go looking for the value of these things fully operational and clean.

The prices on Ebay go from about $260 broken to $2500 CDN with the optional meters, (plus shipping). There are a couple near $600 claimed to be working perfectly. One is in Canada with only 50 bucks for shipping. So a working one for $650 all in. I take that to mean that $400 bucks needing a few hundred in parts and hours on the bench is too much money. The value of these as collectables is to leave them stock. The $2500 unit is with meters and is definitely collectable if that is your thing.

All these date from the early 1970s. The Dynacos were the equal of Crowns and better than Phase Linears according to the golden ears of the era. As is often the case people who have never heard them dislike them cuz they are old etc. This was also the era of Ampzilla and SAE who shared Mr James Bongiorno as the designer with Dynaco. Dynaco was first then SAE, then GAS (Ampzilla). They were good units.

Given the many kits of parts and upgrades and community support a lot of people share my good opinion of them. The base units all had a clever power limiting system that could be turned off, but is thought to degrade the sound a wee bit. The later 410 black boxes were stripped down to just the amplifier with no safety nets. My Franken-amp is from one of those. The mods I made were fairly brute force in the power supply with only capacitor tweaks in the amp circuit and the doubled up output transistors just like the 416. At its heart it is still a Dynaco 400. Well a Dynaco 416.

I can tell you with confidence mine is at least as good and in places better than my high end ARC Classic 60 tube amp dating from 1990. In twenty years the goal posts did not move very far if even at all. As far as I am concerned they still have not moved now in 2024.

[24hlevi]

TW: sh

could you do squid game charas when they find out you sh?? u dont have to do this if it makes u uncomfy ofc

its not likely that i’ll be uncomfortable with these requests unless it’s really descriptive of how the sh is done just so everyone knows

Warnings: Talk of Self Harming

Squid Game Characters Finding Out You Self Harm

Squid Game Characters (Gi-Hun [456], Sangwoo [218], & Sae-Byeok [067] X Gn!Reader

Gi-Hun [456]:

- gi-hun would end up finding out when the sleeve of your hoodie lifted up and he saw marks on your arms that he had never seen before

- he would ask you about it that night when you two were about to go to sleep, not thinking that you were self harming at all

- so when you told him, he was in complete shock, he even showed it on his face which he realized immediately after and quickly apologized before asking why you do it

- hearing your reason would make gi-hun extremely sad and he would reassure you that you don’t have to do that and that you shouldn’t be injuring yourself in such a kind way, not like he was demanding you to stop

- he would then ask you everyday how you were doing right in the morning then in the evening, even if his answer might be the same every time

- gi-hun would be so kind throughout helping you recover from this, he would listen to you rant about your problems instead of doing it, or he would get a rubber band or hair tie to put on your wrist and snap it when you felt like doing it (i actually recommend this bc it worked for me)

- “i love you more than anything. i would do anything for you if it meant you would be happy.”

- he would put up sticky notes when he was out for you at home to always remind you that he loved you and that he wasn’t going anywhere

- gi-hun would help you hide the scars if you wanted them to not be shown like getting you long-sleeve shirts or jackets that would cover them or buy makeup and apply it to the scars to cover them up because he looked it up and thought it might work

- if you didn’t want to hide the scars, he would be the one to answer the questions if people ask what those were from by making up random lies on the spot like your cat that you didn’t own or from being in a gang fight

Sangwoo [218]:

- he would probably flip the fuck out ngl

- he would see the marks on you somehow and would immediately know what it was and he would ask right at the moment if you were self harming, not even sugarcoating it at all

- when you replied yes, sangwoo would get more angry mixed with sadness as he walked up to you and asked how long you had been doing it

- if it had been for a while, he would feel like you lost trust in him and would be more upset than angry, but if it wasn’t a while then he would be more angry

- “you’re stupid for doing this but i understand so don’t feel bad.”

- sangwoo would have you try smoking with him as a replacement to self harming and if you did he would make sure to take smoke breaks with you whenever you were feeling the need to self harm

- he sucks at talking about his feelings but it would be noticeable through his actions that he was clearly upset that you had been doing this, but he would never admit it

- sangwoo would be much more protective over you after finding out because of the worry in the back of his head that you could have died one day because of it and how much regret he would feel for not noticing quick enough

- he would never pressure you into talking more about it in deeper context if it made you uncomfortable but if you wanted to talk about it he would listen quietly, taking in all of the words you were saying before replying with his opinion

- sangwoo isn’t one to cuddle very much, but every night when you two would go to bed he would make sure that he had at least one arm wrapped around you in some way so that he was still touching you to make sure you hadn’t gone anywhere

- he would read a lot about how to help people who self harm so he can help you the best he can and would actually buy physical copies of books about it to show how much he does care and want to help

Sae-Byeok [067]:

- she would probably take it the hardest tbh

- she found you in the middle of the act, and she ran up to you and grabbed your hands to stop what you were doing as she spoke loudly out all of what was crossing her mind at that exact moment, which was very unlike her

- after realizing that she was almost yelling, sae-byeok quieted down and asked why you were doing it before grabbing the first aid kit and helping tend the wounds

- when you explain to her why you were doing it, she would immediately hug you and pull you close to her as possible

- “you could have told me about this, y’know. but i don’t blame you for not. just know that i love you.”

- that night, sae-byeok went to sleep with you and wrapped her entire body around you, occasionally kissing your neck and whispering how much she loved you, hoping that you wouldn’t hear but you heard every word

- the next morning she was awake before you because she couldn’t get any sleep and threw away everything that you had used and made sure that it wouldn’t happen again

- cuddling happened a lot more after that even though she already likes cuddling with you

- since then, she would try to express herself more with words, even if she stumbled a little bit whilst doing so

- so everyday sae-byeok would come up with a different way to say and show that she loves you, always letting you know that you’re loved and if you left that she would be utterly heartbroken

[silvers-smuttery]

Rules

I decide what I wanna write. I reserve the right to cancel RPs and dismiss asks if I don't find them appealing.

I write my muses the way I like, according to my headcanons. Be aware of how I write them, before you send an ask. You are welcome to ask me.

No god-modding in the asks. Put my muse in lewd situations, but don't tell me how they act or react!

I do enjoy a bit of setup to get a sense of the scene and inspire me. The less details you give on what your muse does, the harder things get for me, and the more likely your ask gets dismissed.

For the sake of smut, most couples are in open relationships and screw around with other people. BUT if you are shipping muses into a relationship or make them date, I have to agree with the ship myself. Feel free to ask me on my opinions on ships.

If you want to RP, send the starter to my ask box and I'll respond when I am ready.

I won't write Scat, Gore, Blackmail (unless specifically asked) or NTR, though more consensual cucking is still on the table.

Writing many and multiple muses honestly is exhausting. I'd rather write just two muses and focus on them, than speeding through more than that. Two muses is the limit. Three characters tops, but the ask needs to be really good.

If you've read my rules and want to interact, send me [Pineapple Pizza]

I am not completely adverse to writing OCs, but I do prefer canon characters. Also, I have to at least know what they're like. Please ask beforehand if you want to use an OC to see if I'm even in the mood for OCs. I will not go out of my way to do research on yours.

DO NOT spam-like my picture reblogs. It's annoying and makes you look like a bot.

I don't answer to simple, one-word messages in the DMs. If you want something, just say it. Don't be meek and hide your intentions behind civil conversation.

Main Muse List

My Hero Academia

Ochako Uraraka, Momo Yaoyorozu, Mina Ashido, Tsuyu Asui, La Brava, Midnight, Mt Lady

Izuku Midoriya, Katsuki Bakugou, All Might, Minoru Mineta

RWBY

Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long, Nora Valkyrie, Penny Polendina, Emerald, Salem, Glynda,

Sun Wukong, Taiyang Xiao Long, Qrow, Mercury,

Open to play more if I like the setup

One Piece

Nami, Nico Robin, Boa Hancock, Carrot, Perona, Marguerite, Jewelry Bonney, O-Kiku, Ulti, Yamato, Uta

Comic Books/Superheroes

Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Raven, Starfire, Blackfire, Jinx, Helen Parr, Violet Parr

Dick Greyson (Robin/Nightwing), Red Hood, Tim Drake, Superman, Beast Boy, Spiderman, Batman

My Little Pony/EQG

Mane 6 (mainly Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy), Starlight Glimmer, Sunset Shimmer, Celestia, Luna, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, Lyra, Bonbon, probably various others

Shining Armor, Spike

Avatar

Katara, Toph, Azula, Ty Lee,

Aang, Sokka, maybe Zuko

Persona 5

Ann Takamaki, Makoto Nijima, Futaba Sakura, Sae Nijima, Tae Takemi, Yoshizawa, Sadayo Kawakami,

Pokémon

Generally accepting of pretty much all girls and Pokémon. Yes, Poképhilia too.

Adventure Time

Marceline, Princess Bubblegum, Huntress Wizard, Fionna the Human

Finn the Human

Disney

Pacifica Northwest, Wendy Corduroy, Mabel Pines, Tambry, Jackie Lynn Thomas, Hekapoo, Snow White, Rapunzel, Tinkerbelle

Dipper Pines

Nintendo

Smash: Samus, Dark Samus, Palutena, Wii Fit Trainer, Byleth,

Fe3H: Byleth, Bernadetta, Dorothea, Mercedes, Annette, Hilda, Flayn, Rhea, Dimitri, Ashe, Silvain, Felix, Ferdinand, Linhardt, Raphael, Yuri, Constance

Dragon Quest: Jade, Serena, Veronica, Mia, Luminary, Erik,

Misc

Android 18, Bulma, Chichi, Noelle Silva, Trixie Tang, Frankie Foster, Stocking, Darkness, Aqua, Rouge the Bat, Peridot, Lapis Lazuli, Spinel, Priyanka Maheswaran, Tsunade, Hinata Hyuga, Lucoa, Velma Dinkley, Daphne Blake, Gogo Tomago, Honey Lemon, Millie (Helluva Boss), Verosika, Loona, Astolfo, Seras Victoria, Revy (Black Lagoon), Judy Hopps, Rebecca, Tatsumaki

Kazuma (Konosuba), Hiro (BH6),

Kink list:

stuff in public, exhibitionism, voyeurism, misogyny, patriarchy, pregnancy, analplay, edging, rimjobs, Futanari, breast and ass envy, twerking, musk & loving relationships full of trust, commitment & sexy times

Open RP Starters

Alternate Universes:

RWBY Highschool AU, Free Use AU, Misogyny AU, Bimbofication AU, Faunus AU

[daz4i]

Ohhhhh Akechi and Kai!! I hope you don't mind me dropping this in your inbox but I'd love to hear your opinion as an Akechi expert!! :D

A good friend of mine said that they would butt heads because they are too similar and I wish it weren't so true T-T

In broad strokes, you've got the loss of their mother figures, their father's neglect driving most of their actions during canon, their deep craving for attention, their desire to be needed, the feeling that they are unwanted or that they don't belong no matter where they go, the lack of friends, them going ballistic in the thirdsem due to the desire to finally be independent and carve their own path, and the cheery smile that hides the simmering rage inside :)

(And just to be clear, Kai's cheerfulness is sincere! He is genuinely a friendly, excitable, and forgiving guy who loves being around people and getting to know them. He just also holds a lot of rage and resentment that he has barely any outlet for haha)

The resentment that Akechi feels towards Joker is also similar to the resentment that Kai feels towards Takuto. Yes, Kai cares about his dad more than anything else in the world and would sacrifice himself for him in an instant, but he's jealous of how being universally loved seems to come so easily to Takuto (and I guess this works with Joker and Takuto being foils and all but I DIGRESS) and he's very angry that he keeps being overshadowed by his dad. Everyone seems to see him just as Maruki Jr. and he hates it.

I'd like to think that there is a LITTLE solidarity between them somewhere in there. Maybe Akechi understands where Kai is coming from with the whole "defying your dad despite wanting his attention but not wanting to admit it," or maybe they can just bond over bullying Takuto in general, haha. Then again... Kai wouldn't like that Akechi takes the bullying so, so far (and he's definitely terrified that Akechi is gonna end up killing Takuto for real). And I'm not sure that Akechi would think too highly of him either :')

There might be some self-recognition through the other (derogatory) in that Kai sees in Akechi who he could become if he let his anger get the best of him, or if he had had less support in his life, while Akechi sees in Kai an obnoxious, overly naïve version of himself? Is that something that would happen? At the very least, whether they like each other or not, Kai would benefit from the company of someone who could knock his mental image of Takuto down a notch, haha. I guess it would help his feelings of inferiority a bit.

However... Kai also really really wants to be the specialest boy in the world, so being near Akechi might not actually help his self esteem too much in the end... He is kinda insecure and wouldn't take Akechi's bluntness well when it's directed at anyone other than Takuto...

I don't think it would be much better if they met before the thirdsem, though. Kai values transparency more than anything else in a relationship, so it's very possible that he would resent Akechi for... you know, pretending.

(A Kai fact that you should know, Akechi or not, is that there is no winning with him. You are too honest with him, you lose. You are not honest enough, you also lose, lmao. But at the end of the day, he will ask you to be honest and, if you aren't, he'll be upset. Thirdsem Akechi is considered an improvement)

Anyways, I'm so sorry that got so long. Feel free to correct me as an Akechi understander, haha! I'm sure you know him a lot better than I do, so please forgive me if my assessment is wrong ^^

asjdkfgjlfh these are so many cool takes tbh i love it!!!!

specifically abt that last part. it think this really solidifies my opinion that they probably won't like each other that much and have some passive aggressive showdowns (or at least it's passive aggressive for goro lol, you tell me what kai's preferred method is), kinda similar to goro's dynamic with makoto but without sae as the connecting thread so less emotional involvement (at least pre-third sem where things might become either extremely volatile or terrifyingly quiet, no in between)

i think it'd be funny to see them be rivals but like, not of the homoerotic type, just trying to one-up each other constantly for the sake of bothering the other, not even proving anything, like siblings who take things too far sort of thing but eventually have these quiet bonding moments they'll never admit happened to any outside person who may ask

but also i see them be like

goro, def after 11/20, probs during third sem: aren't you tired of being nice. don't you just wanna go apeshit

kai: aren't you tired of going apeshit. don't you just wanna seek professional help

[chuckling-chemist]

((Hello yes I am struggling to motivate myself to edit so take this unedited snippet I couldn’t get out of my head based on one line in TAFT))

“Okay, okay. Fine. I see your point that later adaptations of Moriarity make him a more compelling villain. And I’ll concede he’s a better intellectual rival if you agree to something else in return.” Ren leaned back in his seat, misplaced confidence in whatever argument he was about to make oozing through. 

“As pleased as I am to hear you swung around to my side for once, we are debating, Amamiya.” Despite his best efforts to stop himself, Goro rolled his eyes. Introducing Ren to this place was a mistake. He’s too off-guard here. He’s going to slip up. Goro felt that. The only question was when. “You don’t barter opinions like trinkets when you debate.”

Hm. No. Not nice enough. No self respecting Detective Prince sounded like that. Sounding like that is how he succeeded in having exactly zero friends before his stint with Shido.

“Though, for you, I’ll make an exception.” Goro added his best-practiced cute laugh for good measure before picking up his drink. “Go ahead. What’s your proposal?”

It was impossible to notice the sparkle in Ren’s eyes drop the exact second Goro laughed. It’s a damn good thing this flirting was all a part of the persona, and making a mistake here and there so long as Ren continued to hang around was perfectly acceptable.

Though still, he wanted to know why the stupid laugh did nothing while snarking at him kept him amused.

“Arsene and Holmes working together is far more interesting than Holmes doing anything for Scotland Yard.”

It must have been the mental association Goro made between him and Ren, and Arsene and Holmes, but the mere insinuation of the latter made his brain jump to the former. Long hours in Leblanc pouring over cases. Ren ferreting information out of suspects who don’t suspect the dorky student in glasses framing half his face while Goro listens in. Letting Ren change hearts of those who deserved a shot at redemption, while Goro kills the ones only deserving of a grave. Pretending to be Ren’s boyfriend so nobody suspects him, since if Sae’s bratty sister and that obnoxious reporter of all fucking people gets to hang all over him and Yoshizawa gets to wrap him around his finger, the least he deserves is a turn.

“Akechi?”

Hearing his name made him choke his drink, heat rushing to his face.

Right. They were having a discussion. And here he was, getting carried away at the mere idea of living in a world where the person in front of him wasn’t going to have to die at his hands.

“Yes?”

Ren sighed. It doesn’t sound annoyed at Goro’s social faux pas (has Ren ever sounded annoyed at him? Would this be easier if Ren was irritated by his presence?), but rather apologetic, if that were possible. As if Ren’s pathetically earnest behavior was something worth apologizing for outside the secondhand embarrassment it gave Goro. “You can just tell me if it’s a stupid idea, you know.”

Goro gave him a light smile. “Amamiya-kun, the idea isn’t stupid. You merely caught me off guard with the insinuation Sherlock Holmes would ever work alongside an antagonist of his.”

“If they shared a common enemy, I don’t see why not.” Ren shrugged. “One escaped death. The other escaped a life in prison, which may as well be death. Not big fans of the police. I don’t remember Holmes liking the filthy rich much either, but maybe I’m wrong.”

“They go about everything too differently.” Goro shook his head. “The only time Holmes works with a borderline criminal is Irene Adler. And, unless my memory serves me incorrectly, she thinks so much like him they mesh nicely despite her record, not because of.”

Ren smirked. “You tell me Sherlock Holmes wouldn’t impersonate a Duke for several years to catch a criminal if he had to.”

“I’m not saying he wouldn’t, I’m just saying-” Goro stopped, swallowing down his growing irritation. Ren was pushing his buttons, trying to elicit some reaction out of him, and Goro was better than to rise to it. “Yes, I agree with you that the story is more compelling. And I concede Lupin’s charisma and ability to win allies in any location combined with Holmes’ mental processing power is a scary combination. However,” he paused to take another long sip, “from what you said, Lupin only ceases his thieving antics because he fell in love. Therefore, in your hypothetical, Holmes also becomes a thief alongside Lupin. Can you imagine that? James Moriarity was enough of a problem as it is. The world would burn if they worked together, Amamiya.”

There it was. The sparkle in Ren’s eyes, the one he kept well-hidden behind his glasses, returned full force. “Then let it.”

[vgckwb]

P5R: Rebel Girl (A FeMC Story/P5R Rework) Chapter 90: Feeling the Heat

It was Sunday; the first day of summer. The thieves were preparing themselves to begin their voyage to Futaba’s palace. However, they weren’t the only ones on high alert.

Sae had been called into the office by her boss. Once there, she was face to face with her boss. “You wanted to see me?”

“Yes,” the director said. “It appears this Phantom Thieves/Medjed thing is spiraling out of control.”

“Right…” Sae said.

“With a threat this serious, I’m not sure if we can wait it out anymore,” the director said. “But you are in charge of the Phantom Thieves case, and you seem to have some insight into their thinking. So what do you think our next move should be?”

Sae needed to be careful. A lot of her insight came from the report Makoto wrote to exonerate them. There’s also some information she gathered from her talk with Naoko. However, Sae herself was not without knowledge.

Sae smirked. “I think us waiting it out will still work to our benefit.”

The director was shocked. “With the situation being what it is, I don’t think we can afford to.”

“You wanted to hear my opinion, correct?” Sae said. “Then let me finish.”

The director calmed down. “Go on.”

“Thank you,” Sae said. “Now, if you look at every previous major target, the Phantom Thieves sent out calling cards. In those calling cards, not only did they mention the crimes of their target, but also something about someone else targeting them. If you recall, before the Phantom Thieves made him confess everything, someone put out a manifesto claiming they were going to kill Junya Kaneshiro. I feel like that this ‘original Medjed’ might follow the same M.O. as these other people targeting the previous Phantom Thieves targets.”

“I see,” the director said. “So you think the Phantom Thieves will stop Medjed, but also this ‘original Medjed’ in the process?”

“I know they will try,” Sae said. “And if they don’t, they will offer themselves to us. But I do believe we also need to take some precautions. We should interrogate some of the Medjed members we have apprehended already. See if this new threat will get them to talk.”

“What of the Phantom Thieves?” the director asked.

“As much as I would like to interrogate them, we barely know anything about them,” Sae said. “All we know is that some of them might go to Shujin Academy. Besides, they aren’t the ones with the death threats aimed at them.”

“I see…” the director replied. He nodded. “Very well then. I trust you will continue your investigation.”

Sae bowed. “Thank you sir.” She left.

Once Sae was gone, the director picked up his phone and made a call. “It’s come to my attention that someone in Medjed might have a palace. You wouldn’t be betraying the master now, would you?”

“Of course not!” the voice on the other end said, nervously.

“Good,” the director said. “Because you know what would happen if you did.”

“Of course!” the voice said, continuing their nervous shouting.

The director nodded. “I’ll see what I can find on my end, but I can only do so much in my attempt to keep up appearances you know.”

“And I will continue to figure things out on my end,” the voice said.

The director was pondering something. “I’m going to ask you again. Are you absolutely sure you have no idea who the original Medjed is.”

“No sir!” the voice said. “If I did, I would have told you already!”

“Very well then,” the director said. “If something happens, call me.” He hung up. He became incredibly focused. “Let’s just hope the next part of this plan goes off without a hitch.”

Meanwhile, the thieves arrived one by one at LeBlanc to begin preparations for their first foray into Futaba’s palace. Once they were all gathered, they sat at and around a booth. “How long are you planning to do this?” Sojiro asked.

“Well, it depends,” Ann said.

“On what?” Sojiro asked.

“On if we can figure out the codewords,” Ryuji answered. Sojiro seemed confused.

“Hey Sojiro,” Ren asked, “does your phone have an app that looks like this on it?” She showed him the Metaverse app.

Sojiro looked at it. “I don’t remember installing something like that.”

“It would install on its own,” Ren said.

“Um, why are we asking him?” Morgana asked.

“Well, because,” Ren began answering, “we’ve been recruiting people whenever we find a new palace. I just figured it would be worth asking.”

“I see…” Morgana said.

“Well, I don’t have it,” Sojiro reiterated. “All I have are some basic apps, some traditional games, and that Living Love thing Futaba installed as a prank one time.”

“Wait, that idol game?” Sumire asked.

“Um, do you not know how to uninstall things?” Makoto asked.

“No, I know how to install it,” Sojiro said. “I just thought I’d humor her, and play it for a bit. Sooner or later, I got hooked.”

“I see….” Makoto said.

“So, what does that app do?” Sojiro asked.

“It allows us to go into the metaverse,” Jose answered.

“However, in order to get into the palace itself, we need a set of three keywords,” Yusuke explained.

“Huh,” Sojiro responded.

“Maybe you can help us figure it out boss,” Ryuji said

“You do know her best,” Makoto pointed out.

“Very well,” Sojiro said. “The sooner you guys leave, the sooner I can open. What do you have so far?”

“All we have is the name,” Sumire said. “Futaba Sakura.”

“And what do you need?” Sojiro asked.

“We need a name, a place, and what the distortion is,” Ren said.

“Hold, you lost me again,” Sojiro said. “What do you mean by ‘distortion’?”

“So, a palace forms when a person has a strong, distorted desire,” Ren answered. “And after what we heard last night, I can only imagine how Futaba’s desires are distorted. So, what happens is a palace will take shape in the other world based around a location in the real world.”

“Huh,” Sojiro responded. “Well, I can give you the location no problem.”

“Really?” Ann said.

Sojiro nodded. “It’s my house. Ever since I brought her home with me, she hasn’t left.”

“Oh…” Ann said, stunned by this.

“I don’t blame her,” Sojiro said. “After what happened, I didn’t have a lot in me either. And it was a lot worse for her. So, I help where I can, but let her go at her own pace.”

“I see…” Ann said, somberly.

“So, all that’s left is the distortion,” Yusuke pointed out.

“What does that usually entail?” Sojiro asked.

“Well, that’s the tricky thing…” Yusuke said.

Jose jumped in. “What’s happened so far is that whenever a crusader takes over, the distortion becomes their word, as opposed to the palace ruler.”

“But now they’re one in the same,” Ren said. “So that might be a bit of an issue to figure out.”

“That does sound tricky,” Sojiro responded. “How does a crusader’s distortion manifest?”

“Well,” Morgana answered, “It’s usually a reaction to-”

“Let me handle this,” Ren said. “Sojiro can’t understand you.

“Oh… Right,” Morgana pouted.

Ren giggled slightly. She began to echo Morgana’s words. “It’s usually a reaction to the palace ruler, and how they wish to deal with them.”

“Like, for Kamoshida,” Ann explained. “He was held up in a castle, and…the crusader…imagined a revolution to oust him.”

“I see,” Sojiro said.

“But now that they’re the same person, I can’t imagine what Futaba would imagine doing to herself,” Yusuke said.

“Hold on,” Sumire said. “It’s not just herself though, right?”

“You’re right,” Makoto said. “It’s all of Medjed. She threatened to use her talents to take all of them out. But do you think it would be that?”

“Oh!” Sojiro said. “If it is, I think I know what it would be. She usually refers to her hacking programs as ‘curses’. You know, because of how devastating they can be…”

Ren smiled. “Well, it’s worth a shot.” She stood up. “Are we ready?” The other thieves nodded. “Then let’s try this out.” They all left LeBlanc.

“Heh,” Sojiro laughed. “Godspeed, Phantom Thieves.”

Ren led everyone to Sojiro’s house. She loaded up the app. She had Futaba Sakura’s palace navigator loaded in front of her. “Sojiro Sakura’s house.”

“Match found,” the phone replied.

Ren smiled. She quickly became nervous again, knowing that if the next word was right, they’d be brought into the palace itself. “Curse.”

“Navigating,” the phone said. They felt the world shift around them.

When it stopped, they found themselves in the middle of a desert. They looked at themselves and saw that they were in the Phantom Thief outfits. “Well, it seems to have worked,” Ann pointed out.

“But where do we go?” Yusuke asked.

Jose looked up. “I imagine we can follow that,” he said, pointing up. The others looked to see a long, red, wavy, aura. They looked over to see where it was coming from. In the distance, they saw the source of the aura: a pyramid.

“Do we have to walk all the way there?” Ryuji asked.

“Did you forget we have a car?” Ren asked.

“We do?” Morgana said. “Oh, you meant me…”

“Are you not up for it, Mona-senpai?” Sumire asked.

“Well…it’s a long way away…” Morgana moaned.

“Ah, that’s nonsense!” Ann said. “You can do it Mona!”

Morgana perked up. “Well, if Panther believes in me... LET’S DO IT! TRANSFORM!” He became the van.

The thieves started stepping in. Ann giggled as she entered. “Did she…do that on purpose?” Yusuke mused.

“Scary…” Ryuji replied. They both got in.

Once they got in, Makoto was at the wheel, and it was time to put the pedal to the metal. They started driving towards the pyramid.

“How much longer?” Yusuke asked.

“I don’t know,” Makoto said “There’s not a sign saying how many kilometers there are to the giant pyramid.”

“I guess that’s fair,” Yusuke admitted.

“Man, it’s hot in here,” Ryuji complained. “Can’t the AC go up further?”

“I’m trying the best I can!” Morgana said. “I need energy to do this. You don’t want me to break down and not even make it halfway to the pyramid, do you?”

“I guess not,” Ryuji said.

Jose chuckled. “I think you’re doing great Mona.”

“Thank you Sunshine,” Morgana replied.

Ann noticed Sumire was a bit quiet. “You OK Violet?” she asked.

Ren looked over at Sumire and noticed the same thing. “Yeah, if you don’t want to take part this time, I understand. After what happened with you and your sister, and this being kind of similar…”

Sumire looked up. “Huh? Oh. Well…” She took a deep breath. “There are parallels, yes, but I think that’s what makes it so important that I be here. Being with you all has helped me so much. I know what it’s like to be alone, so I want to help her not feel like that anymore.”

Ren smiled and blushed. “Come here.” She pulled Sumire in for a hug before kissing her on the cheek. “You’re just wonderful.”

Sumire was now blushing. “Thanks…”

“We’re here,” Makoto said. They looked out to see they were fast approaching the pyramid. When they got close enough, they pulled to a stop. They got out of the van, and Morgana returned to his usual form.

They observed the pyramid. On all sides, there was an Eye of Horus, and it was emitting that aura they followed. “So, this is the palace…” Ren said. “Let’s go.” She started walking in. Everyone else followed her.

Once inside, they ventured past a pit to find a flight of stairs. The thieves started climbing them. However, Ryuji stood still. Sumire noticed this. “Is something wrong, Skull-senpai?”

“I dunno,” Ryuji said. “In adventure movies and stuff, pyramids and places like them have all sorts of booby-traps. I don’t trust this.”

“Well, we’ll be on the lookout then, right?” Sumire answered.

Ryuji smiled. “Yeah. Thanks Violet.” The two of them followed the rest of the thieves up.

They continued up the stairs. The trek was long, but uneventful. However, when they were close to the top, Ryuji stepped on a loose tile. “Huh?”

“Murderer!” a voice called out.

“What’s going on?” Yusuke asked. He backed up and stepped on another tile.

“You killed her!”

“What?!” Ann shrieked, accidentally stepping on another tile.

“Wretched child!”

“This is…” Makoto said.

“Stop moving!” Morgana yelled. However, he also stepped on another tile. “Oops.”

“Get away from me!”

Sumire cowered and flocked toward Ren. However, she stepped on another tile. “Oh no…”

“It’s fine,” Ren assured her.

“You’re the reason she’s dead!” Sumire clung to Ren tighter.

The pyramid started to rumble. “Whatever that is, it sounds big,” Jose remarked. A giant boulder appeared in front of them. “Like that!” Jose said, panicking.

“RUN!” Morgana shouted. The thieves ran down the stairs as the boulder started chasing them.

“Looks like you were right, Skull!” Sumire called out.

“Now’s not the time to point it out!” Ryuji screamed back.

They continued to outrun the boulder until they got back to the pit, where they fled to either side, and the boulder fell through. “That was way too close,” Jose commented.

“I agree,” Yusuke said. “Now let’s get back up, and…” He noticed the doors up the stairs were closed. “Huh…”

“What do we do?” Ryuji asked.

Ren thought for a moment. “Let’s head outside and collect our thoughts.”

“Good idea,” Makoto said. They passed by the pit, and went back outside.

As they walked out, they heard another voice. “Well Phantom Thieves,” they said. They turned to find a girl with orange hair and glasses, dressed as an Egyptian princess descending from the air. “You made it past the first trap. As to be expected. However, I told you our deal was terminated.”

“You must be Futaba,” Makoto said.

“That’s right,” she answered. 

“Wait, you set that up, knowing we were coming?” Ann asked. Futaba nodded. “But how?”

Futaba’s face glitched for a second, and when it came back, she had an arrogant look on her face. “Fools. I have Sojiro’s cafe bugged. I heard your little plan to try and break in. How did you think I figured you out in the first place?”

“Ummm, what’s going on?” Ann asked in response.

“Why did you choose those voices?” Yusuke asked. “They were quite disturbing, to say the least.” 

Futaba’s face glitched again. When it returned this time, she was crying. “I didn’t choose those voices,” she moaned. “They’ve been with me for a while. Ever since I…I killed her…”

Ren steeled herself. “Futaba! Sojiro told us what happened. We’re here to help.”

Futaba’s face glitched again, and when it came back, she was angry. “Why?! I’ve got it all figured out! I’m helping you! You don’t need to do anything!”

Ren shook her head. “What you’re doing won’t help us. Not in the long run. We don’t want anyone’s blood on our hands, and that includes yours. So in order to protect you, we’re going to steal your treasure!” she declared.

“Grrrrr,” Futaba hissed. Her face glitched again, and it went back to arrogant. “Well, I’d like to see you try! This place is stacked with all sorts of traps. Not to mention my guards.” It glitched again to sad. “Please don’t. You'll only end up dead. Then who will save Japan?” It glitched again to the Futaba they first met. “I believe in you.” She disappeared.

The Phantom Thieves were left confused. “Um, what just happened?” Ryuji asked.

“It looks like we’re getting a taste of what being your own crusader is like,” Jose pointed out.

“Did you notice her face would…stop existing for a second… before she continued to speak?” Yusuke said, unsure of how to phrase it.

“She must be conflicted about all of this,” Makoto said.

“I would too,” Ann said.

“Especially after hearing all those voices,” Morgana pointed out

“You OK Violet?” Ren asked.

“Yeah…” Sumire said. “Thank you for being there.”

Ren smiled. “It’s what I do.”

“Perhaps we should call it here for today,” Makoto suggested.

“Right,” Ren said. They left the place , and went back to the real world.

They soon entered LeBlanc. Thankfully, there were no customers, so they could talk freely. “So, how’d it go?” Sojiro asked.

“Well…” Ann said. They explained what had happened.

By the end of it, Sojiro went pale. “Dammit!” he cursed. “I wish there was more I could do.”

Sumire approached him. “You were there when Futaba had no one else, right?” she said. “That’s worth its weight in gold.”

Ren nodded. “You can leave the rest to us.”

Sojiro smiled. “Thanks.” He steadied himself. “Well, you all must be hungry. Let me get dinner started.”

“Thanks boss!” they all said. They sat down.

“Sooo, when are we going back in?” Ryuji asked.

“Tomorrow,” Ren said.

“WHAT?!” Ryuji shrieked.

“Hear me out,” Ren said. “Previously, both the palace ruler and the crusader needed some time to recuperate after we stole the treasure. Now that they are the same person, that might strain Futaba even more.”

“Oh,” Ryuji responded. “I guess that makes sense.”

“Besides,” Makoto said, “we need as much time as we can possibly get. Remember, we have until the 21st of August before the Cleanse and the Counter-Cleanse.”

“Tch,” Sojiro grunted. The thieves looked at him. “Huh? Oh, you heard that. Sorry.” He sighed. “It’s just, that’s the day Futaba’s mom…”

“Oh,” Makoto said.

Ryuji slammed his fist. “Those bastards!”

“Woah!” Ann reacted. “Calm down.”

“Yeah, unlike last time, what are the odds that Medjed selected that day for that reason?” Yusuke asked.

“I know,” Ryuji said, frustrated. “But still!”

Sumire snickered. “Thanks Ryuji-senpai.”

Ryuji was confused. “Uhhhhh…”

“Oh!” Sumire exclaimed. “What I mean is, I like that you’re getting angry on Futaba’s behalf. I think she needs something like that.”

“You really think so?” Ryuji asked.

Sumire nodded. “I mean, I liked it when you got angry with me when you were helping me out of my rut earlier.”

Ryuji smiled. “Heh.”

“I agree,” Jose said. “We want to let Futaba know we are fighting for her, not against her.”

“Well said Jose,” Ren said. “So, the plan is to go back in tomorrow, and try to get this done as soon as possible. Got it?” The others nodded. “It’s not going to be easy, but I’m sure we can do it!”

“YEAH!” the others called out.

“Dinner’s ready!” Sojiro said. He served them all. After they ate, they headed out. They had a long day ahead of them tomorrow, but after what happened today, they were more than willing to do it.

[isitgintimeyet]

Just A Friend

Just another Sunday and just another chapter. Thanks to all of you who read, like, reblog, comment. i appreciate it more than you know.

thanks to @wickedgoodbooks for the beta

previous

AO3

Chapter 4: From Park to Parlay

There’s something rather special about this time of year with the transition from spring to summer when everything is still so fresh and green. The long, light evenings make me feel like I’ve been given an extra couple of hours in my day.

My flat has a balcony. It’s small—just enough space for a bistro table, two chairs and a few pots of herbs—but I love it. I come home from work and sit out there, sometimes with a cup of coffee, sometimes with something a bit stronger. Of course this is weather dependent — I am in Scotland, after all.

But sometimes, like tonight, sitting on my balcony isn’t enough. I want to be outside in all that fresh air and sunshine. Plus, one of my neighbours has acquired a new hobby, apparently. It’s either learning the violin or strangling cats. Although it sounds more like the latter, I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt and say it’s the former. I have finally managed to identify the piece she’s having a crack at. It’s from ‘Frozen’ — ‘Let It Go’ and I really wish she would.

Besides, if I wander into the park, there’s a certain ice cream kiosk that might still be open. My mouth waters at the thought of their cherry bakewell ice cream. So, I grab a cardigan, keys and a bit of cash, and head out.

As I stroll through the park, I’m thankful that I brought my cardigan. The sun is still warm, but there’s a distinct chill in the shade. Not enough of a chill to put me off an ice cream, though.

The kiosk is just on the verge of closing for the day, but he spies me doing that stupid little pretend run that’s actually no faster than walking and waits. I smile gratefully as I hand over the money in exchange for a double cone. Turning away, I can hear the shutters closing.

There’s a bench nearby, overlooking the pond and still in the sun… unoccupied. I sit down ready to enjoy my ice cream in peace. After the cacophony of a violin bow being scraped painfully across strings, this is sheer bliss — only the sound of a few argumentative ducks and the occasional playful dog. No-one to disturb me, no-one to—

At first, all I can hear are two voices, coming from the path behind me. Nothing above a murmur — one low pitched, the other higher. I can’t make out what they’re saying. Not that I would want to.  The higher voice, a female, is definitely getting louder now. She’s not happy by the sound of it. The other, clearly male, keeps to a calm murmur.

“Are ye telling me I’m imagining things, then?”

I can’t hear the response, but it’s obviously not to her liking.

“I ken she works fer ye.  But she has her eye on ye. I’m no’ stupid. D’ye think I’m a mug?”

The voice sounds a bit familiar but I can’t place it anywhere. Perhaps we go to the same coffee shops or bars or—

“That’s it, James Fraser. I’m going, I mean it... Ye ken where tae find me… this is me, going… bye… I said bye.  Fine, dinna answer me, then.”

The annoyance in her voice registers in my brain. I know why she sounds so familiar— it’s little Miss James-Fraser-isn’t-here-don’t-call-again-ever. Which means that, at any moment, one or other of them might be rounding this corner and think that I was eavesdropping.

Quickly I get to my feet ready to walk away —slap bang straight into Samsonite-owning Jamie Fraser. I take a step back. The first thing I notice is he’s not wearing a white dress shirt this time. He’s far more casually dressed in a plain white t-shirt… a plain white t-shirt now adorned with a large splodge of pink ice cream right in the middle of his chest.

“Oh, gosh, I’m — I’m so sorry,” I stammer apologetically as I fumble in my pockets for a paper serviette or tissue.

He looks up. The vexed expression on his face gives way to one of amusement.

“Claire Beauchamp,” he announces. “I didna recognise ye without yer suitcase.”

“I am sorry,” I continue to apologise as I pass him a somewhat crumpled but clean tissue.

He makes no attempt to leave, but settles himself on the bench and starts to dab ineffectually at the pink stain.

“Was it good?” He nods at the battered cone I am still holding.

“Oh yes, the best. I’d buy you one as compensation but they’re closed now.”

“It’s fine. If I feel the need I can always suck on ma shirt.” He looks down at the stain, glaringly obvious against the pristine white of his t-shirt. “Sae, how are ye doing?”

I perch on the bench next to him. Apparently we’re having a conversation.

“I’m fine, thank you,” I answer politely. “And how are you?”

“Me, I’m no’ sae bad,”  He looks annoyed, then shakes his head and gives a little half smile. “Look, I’m sorry if any of that… er…weel, if ye heard any of that.”

Do I lie? Pretend that I heard nothing? I’m not a very good liar. Geillis always says that I have a glass face, you can see every emotion clearly etched on it and I think she’s right. So I choose to answer noncommittally.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“It’s jes’...” he pauses for a moment, considering his choice of words. “Jes’ … tricky.”

He seems lost in thought. Maybe I need to remind him that his wife-partner-girlfriend-housekeeper has just stormed off and will clearly be awaiting some sort of reaction from him.

“Shouldn’t you be… ?” I gesture towards the path in the direction she must have taken.

“Nah, I’m no’ going after her… no’ this time.” He adds the last bit under his breath.

“Oh, ok.”

“That's what she wants, ye ken. The attention, me chasing after her, making promises…” his voice tails off as he realises what he’s doing.

He looks at me and shrugs his shoulders. “I’m sorry. I shouldna be blathering like this tae ye. I dinna ken why.”

I do. Sometimes it’s easier to vent, to get things off your chest, to a stranger rather than family or friends. You can pretty much say what you like, confident that it’s not going to come back and bite you, or spread like chinese whispers around your peer group.

“No need to apologise. It can be easier explaining things to strangers, sometimes.”

He smiles. “Ah, but, I dinna think we’re strangers. After all, I’m well acquainted with yer holiday… er...shall we say, accessories.”

If his intention was to make me blush, he’s succeeded. I feel myself redden. “It was a hen party. I had to get into the spirit.”

“So ye say.” He raises an eyebrow as if to question my explanation.  “Och, dinna mind me, I’m jes’ teasing.”

I screw my face up in mock disgust and he chuckles.

“My mam told me never tae pull faces else ye’ll be stuck like that if the wind changes.”

I assume a serious expression.

“That’s much better, Miss Beauchamp,” his face becomes serious too. “But, aye, I get what ye’re saying— about talking tae people ye dinna ken. Ye’ve no horse in this race, as it were. Everyone else that I ken seems tae have an opinion.”

I’m suddenly conscious that the remains of my cone are still in my hand, now totally melted. Noticing my awkward fidgeting, he returns the crumpled tissue to me. I wipe my hands and deposit all the debris in the bin by the bench. He settles back, obviously keen to continue our conversation.

“Sae, are ye up fer giving me yer opinion then about ma situation?”

I’ve never thought of myself as an agony aunt, but I’m curious to know more about him. It’s reassuring to know other people have complications in their love lives too.

“I don’t know enough to give you my opinion, but feel free to unload, if you want to.”

He leans forward, his large hands resting on his denim clad knees and sighs. He has very nice hands with neatly shaped nails, no ragged cuticles or bitten nails. There’s a smattering of reddish hairs on the back. I always notice a man’s hands. Frank had very smooth, elegant hands with long, slim fingers. Jamie’s are much broader than Frank’s, which fits with his whole Viking throwback vibe. I force myself away from his hands and focus on what he's telling me.

“Ye see, ye get tae an age where all yer friends are in couples and having bairns. And ye feel that’s what ye should do, have a proper ‘relationship’.”

I inhale sharply at the way he says the word, so similar to my own thoughts. He glances at me, and continues.

“Ah, ye ken what I mean. And sae ye go along wi’ it when ye friends introduce ye tae a lass. And ye date… and it’s nice, but there’s always that feeling that they want something more, that they want the whole ‘relationship’ thing. They want more than ye can give. And that leads tae disappointment and arguments. They push, trying tae force ye to commit.”

He sits back and looks at me. “Mebbe it’s…och, i dinna ken. Jes’ ignore me. I’m a stupid dolt.”

“No, I don’t mind at all. Honestly.”

“I mean, Laoghaire is a nice enough lass, but it seems the more she pushes, the more I back away. It makes her more suspicious. If I dinna want her, then she reckons I must be after another. What do ye think?”

Do I tell him about her answering his phone? I mean, it seems like he’s coming to a conclusion all by himself. I decide not to volunteer any more information. And I know I said I wouldn’t give an opinion, but I just can’t help it. This is all too familiar to me.

“It is difficult but, ask yourself, is this fair to Laoghaire, or fair to you? Will this keep happening? I mean, I don’t know her, but will she be satisfied with what you are prepared to give? I think you already know your answer. And I think you know what you must do.”

He sighs again. “Aye, I do. But it’s no’ a pleasant thing, is it?”

I shake my head. The image of Frank’s devastation is still fresh in my mind. “It never is.”

The bench is now in shade, and it’s cooled down a lot. I shiver and wrap my cardigan tightly around me. Time to head home, I think.

“Aye, ye’re right. Time tae go.”

I’m not sure if he’s talking about the evening chill, or what he needs to do about the whole Laoghaire situation.

We both stand up at the same time. He extends his hand, and I take it in mine, which is more than a bit grubby and sticky, with the odd bit of tissue still stuck to it.

“Thank ye for listening, Claire, and fer yer opinion. It’s been a big help tae me. I dinna ken what it is but I feel I can talk tae ye. And I promise, next time, it’s yer turn. Ye can vent like ye want tae me and I’ll do the listening.”

“Will there be a next time?”

He smiles. “Oh aye, I’m sure there will be.”

[morethanaprincess-a]

@psychcdelica said:  ♛ + @cadcnce​

[ ♛ ] send me a url

My opinion on:

- character in general: There’s plenty of reasons why I don’t agree with muns who refuse to write with OCs: Bear’s Wylan is one of them. It’s clear in all of the various threads Wylan has, not only with my Sonia but in general, that there’s so much thought and care put into his character, developing who he is, his motivations, his values and what he wants out of life. He’s often ridiculous on the dash and while it’s hilarious, that’s not all he is and it’s really fun to see how different muses draw out different sides of him. I’ve especially enjoyed reading his interactions with your Sae and his Re:Zero verse (despite the fact that I’m not entirely familiar with everything about Persona, only a little bit familiar with Re:Zero, and knowing nothing about AitSF. Yes, I know I suck at staying on top of popular, or even unpopular, fandoms). 

- how they play them: I think I sort of got into this with the above question. That said, if I see our mutuals’ muses facepalming or otherwise being rather irritated about a situation (Hi, Jin), I’m usually confident that Wylan’s the culprit of everyone’s exasperation. That said, I think the following can be applied to all of Bear’s muses when I say that each one has such a distinct voice, way of thinking and how they act, that the sheer range over all of Bear’s blogs is astounding. Wylan will always act and sound different from Eira, who is different from Raguna, who is completely unlike Samus, etc. But each one is so distinct and a joy to read (and in some cases, interact with! I know I haven’t met most of Bear’s muses yet).

And like I mentioned above: it’s always a thumbstopping moment when I’m scrolling and Wylan’s involved in some sort of serious situation. Whether it’s some sort of fight, or a character who’s seriously injured, or Wylan trying to understand (or rather, suppress) what his heart is telling him, I love seeing these insights into a muse who tends to live life so lightly, or at least trying to control and deflect everything around him. When something does resonate with him, it’s really enjoyable to read.

- the mun: The first rule of Old Muns Club is complaining how tired you are/how much work you have to do at your job and at home. The second rule of Old Muns Club is constantly having a “remember when fandom/RP was like this?” Even if we don’t talk every day (though I’d be happy to!), when we do chat OOC it’s like no time has passed. We can easily pick up on conversations or just yell about “THAT THING IN THAT THREAD OMG!” I should try to pop into Bear’s streams more: I’d join up for Space Jam tonight if I didn’t work Friday nights throughout this and next month (and hell, probably some into September too with the way schedules are looking right now).

See? Complaining about work. It’s a must. Still, OOC we’re both cat owners/people with spouses/future spouses and some non-RP mutual interests, so it’s easy to chat about quite a lot of things.

Do I:

- follow them: I’d be sad if I didn’t. Now that all of Bear’s blogs are consolidated into three RP blogs, I can follow all of them!

- rp with them: It would be strange for Sonia not to be in denial she’s in love with Wylan and how she’s going to be a future terrible/great influence for Eira if we didn’t. Which one of your muses is Sonia meeting next? And by meeting, I’m guessing she’ll either confuse them, make them worry, or just be disturbed by that blonde chick obsessed with ways to kill people. And demons. And giant roller coasters.

- want to rp with them: The shortest answer: Yes!

- ship their character with mine: Wylan and Sonia are making further bad decisions involving alcoholic slushies and way too much Las Vegas research (on my part, anyway. I’ve only been once and now I want to go back) after Sonia made the first bad decision to, when faced with a situation where she needed to not be seen, kissed him in public as opposed to, I don’t know, ducking into a shop. Or onto the street. Or literally anything besides letting out a lot of suppressed emotions she didn’t know she had into a single kiss.

And now she has to never do that again, based on how he teased her after. Despite thinking about doing that again, based on how he involuntarily reacted.

She has a very high tolerance but no one is immune from grain alcohol. This interaction began the trope of “Sonia goes to America and makes bad decisions” which will now inevitably happen in any USA-set thread. It’s the headcanon.

No wonder her parents want to ban her from fulfilling any more official Royal appearances there. 

(What this means is yes of course but these two are idiots and overthinking everything entirely too much)

What is my:

- overall opinion: I came for ridiculous dash antics and shitposting, I stayed for an awesome friend who’s so fun and easy to talk to and write with. I appreciate Bear so much for taking a chance on Sonia despite knowing nothing about Danganronpa, which is entirely valid because it’s not the easiest fandom to get into: while it’s big and popular, it comes with a lot of strong opinions that can be daunting.

But yeah: we have to figure out which muses/verses for Sonia to bother next! While creating plenty of discomfort for Wylan: she managed to guess the meaning of his nickname immediately upon meeting him and managed to ditch him in the Vegas crowd for a period of time. He’s got a tall, blonde problem on his hands.

[chrismerle]

nowhere near done (I assume) but far enough in to be developing opinions

it’s still very much persona 5. the characters are the same. the style is the same. it feels like p5. more than I expected, even. but at the same time, it does feel like a few shortcuts were taken sometimes. just for small things, like screens cutting to black with just text to say where a location is. it’s not bad, but p5 seemed to ooze style from every frame, so it stands out.

the personas are...even more meaningless than they were in p5. at least in p5 they got to introduce themselves and Arsene had a few lines of dialogue. but I’m on the third jail now and so far the only ones who have talked were the masks I crafted. they are over-designed tamagotchis and that is it. you don’t even get to talk to the shadows anymore. masks just show up on the ground as item drops.

and it feels like they tried...too hard to make this an all-encompassing sequel? like, this is a sequel to a world in which Joker romanced no one and may or may not have maxed out all or none of his confidants, because you don’t get to see them, even when it would make sense to. you run around Yongen and Shibuya for the whole first jail, and you have to run up and down Central Street a ridiculous number of times. but Takemi and Iwai are only mentioned and are otherwise not there, and Toranosuke and Shinya are nowhere to be found. you have to go to Shujin at some point, but there’s no sign of Kawakami or Mishima. personally, I would have preferred if they had simply assumed that you maxed out all of your confidants and had at least a few of them at least show up to say hi or wave in the background, but nope. my feral bastard stinkman gets not a single mention.

requests are...kind of annoying? when you were mostly just eavesdropping on people in p5 it was entertaining, but now they’re all just fetch quests, and they’re really dumb fetch quests. like yes, sure, I can understand going after specific shadows to get trapped Desires back, but in WHAT WORLD is a teenage boy going to care about a random ramen cook enough to special order and custom make an arm brace? not to mention the fact that most of the requests would MAKE MORE SENSE if they were just...Mishima running the Phan-site again. like, they announced themselves on tv in Shibuya Crossing. everyone knows they’re back. it would make perfect sense for the Phan-site to start seeing activity again.

I do like how jails are being handled so far, though. the palace rulers in p5 didn’t really seem to have backstories. they were just evil for evil’s sake, with like two lines of dialogue to half-assedly excuse why they were evil (kamoshida wanted to live up to expectations, kaneshiro didn’t want to be a poor loser anymore, yadda yadda). and while I won’t say the jail monarchs are well-rounded, they do at least have some semblance of a backstory because the shtick for the jails (as I am currently understanding it) necessitates they have one, since it seems to be a sort of ‘their hearts are locked by past trauma and they’re trapped within the mindset that locked it’ thing. it seems like each thief is gonna get to identify with a monarch and talk them down, since this time the game is about undoing changes of heart instead of inflicting them; the monarchs get talked down the old fashion way, like Sae’s shadow was. anyway, it’s just a nice change of pace and I appreciate not needing to do mental gymnastics about the heroes brainwashing people For The Greater Good. no, i’m not complaining about that, i understand it was one of the themes, i LIKE that p5 made me think.

and I like the way time passes now. I dunno if the jails are bigger or smaller than the palaces, but you go through them right quick, chop chop hurry up, keep moving. when you leave the Metaverse to return to the real world...it’s still essentially the same time of day as when you went in, until the plot progresses. the game essentially presumes that the thieves just haul ass to get through a jail in like three days. MORGANA HASN’T TOLD ME TO GO TO BED ONCE. the palaces took like ten hours apiece, and i’m almost done with three jails in less than 15 hours.

and the biggest difference, obviously, is combat. I like it, but I’ve always been a button masher, which is what this game encourages, and my preferred combat has always been ‘speedy glass cannon,’ which is what Joker is. in combat, at any rate. pretty sure they slowed down his running/walking. rude.

Sophia is fun. she interacts with the others fairly naturally, despite being an AI; she doesn’t fall into the ‘why are you saying cool? it is not cold out’ trap. she understands most slang and doesn’t even speak completely literally herself, and has in-jokes with the others. she has trouble identifying her feelings, but she is at least aware that she is feeling. also she’s precious. and the cop is alright. I know he gets a persona at some point, based on the trailers, but it hasn’t happened yet. kinda waiting for him to go turncoat, but we’ll see.

also a weird amount of this game involves me tracking down supermarkets.