#Haru fucking hate them when they share those with everyone else

[bells-of-black-sunday]

His bronzed fingers stroked through inky tresses as they lounged upon pale crystallized shores - far away from the bloodied fields of the European countryside; instead the landscape was draped in silver outlines. Haruko glanced downward at Tarhos with lazy eyes, his expression softening while his gazed traced over the scars and contours of his companion's face. Ah - what thoughts ran through Tarhos' mind when he looked at Haru?

Did he feel anything?

It isn't as though it mattered. Haru wanted to offer him freedom, not at the cost of his autonomy - not if Tarhos thought he'd have to somehow pay him back somehow. Regardless ... At least there was peace here. He was sure that was one of the greatest gifts he could offer. He had found the Knight dripping in sanguine poison and bruised beyond what any human should be able to withstand. He had been beaten down over and over - until any semblance of flickering dignity was extinguished by his own blood.

The skies endless navy reflected in the pools of his iris, gleaming stars shimmered across each wave of color and glistening hue - the expanse of sea and sand, however, seemed pale in comparison to Tarhos. How could anyone or anything match what he saw inside of him? Haru found himself staring down at the man's head in his lap, his eye widening in focus as he remarked the peach sunburn reddening the Knight's cheeks; pure unadulterated intensity. That's how he always was: a burning inferno incapable of fully fizzling out. And not even the cool azure of Tarhos' returned stare could drown it.

How far had they gone now from the Knight's home? Where did he like best? Surely these white beaches and clear waves doused in moonlight had to be at the top. If not just for the fact he was holding him with a tenderness he wouldn't dare share with anyone else; he only hoped Tarhos was smart enough to figure it out. Lust was easy to talk about - a fleeting wisp of an interaction that resulted in nothing but a night of pleasure. Love was - if that's what this was - ... much harder to discuss. It held risks. Maybe too many. Fucking up this wouldn't only result in his own heart breaking, but Tarhos' too - he'd lose a friend, an ally, someone he loved to listen to. There was no way he could risk it first.

"It's nice here. I love the crew but - heh - they are crazy shits sometimes. I'm glad we could be alone for a little while, I feel like I haven't seen you at all since that storm came through." He had, but the ship was in chaos and everyone was on desk trying to keep the damn thing from capsizing. Not the best 3 days. "Is, I imagine, is a lot different than those shit and gore covered fields of your home? Or is it too warm for you?"

Pirates

The night was calm, though compared to the past three days both of them had, standing in the middle of stampeding cattle would still be calmer. He swore he got a few new scars just from the boat trying to fight him on what it wanted to do, but.... this was nice. The gentle roar of ocean waves that fell into a gentle lap once they met the shore. The knight never imagined he'd enjoy things like this so much. He usually hated the ocean. Being packed on a ship to head to some foreign field to fight for whatever noble needed their dick stroked that day. Tarhos always swore he got sick after, like the very idea of being so far from his few comforts made him ill and ate him from the inside out.

This. This was different. It was something he chose to do. Haru was someone he chose to follow and he'd yet to regret it. Not when nights of raiding turned into passionate kisses behind closed doors.... even if he knew he could never have him. He'd resigned himself long ago to knowing the captain would never hold the same affections. He flirted with men and women alike, Tarhos just so happened to be his favorite. He much preferred being his favorite dog than anyone else's even with the melancholic taste it left in his mouth watching Haru sleep. Tarhos knew he'd leave as soon as he found someone to settle down with and all he could do was cherish the moments he had.

He never had the luxury of enjoying other's company, this was new. Probably the only thing that scared him was that he craved his touch. The way the captain's fingers stroked his scars and traced his jaw like he were something fragile to be treated with care. The knight never got to feel that way with anyone else. His eyes slowly fluttered open to look up at Haru hoping his gaze didn't betray his emotion like it had done many times before. How badly he wanted to kiss him and be held close.... he didn't want to ruin the moment.

"Hm?" Haru's voice caught him off guard freeing him from his thoughts as he focused back into reality. Ah- right. Where he came from before this man became his home, "....I liked the fields. Both gore covered and not. When spring would hit it'd light up in color from the wildflowers and animals. I used to dream of dying that way... sinking into the earth and finally being one with it. I think I'd make a beautiful patch of flowers." Despite how grim it was he had a soft smile, closing his eyes and leaning into his touch like it was the last thing he'd ever feel.

"This is nice too though.... It feels like the few times I'd been to Greece. Without the statues. It's warm and it feels like summer most months, but the sea keeps it from being unbearable and it almost gets too cold sometimes below deck when we're sleeping. I miss the fields sometimes though... Just the spring. The flowers and everything, I don't need to repeat it. The ocean starts to look the same after a while, but there's good company. I couldn't imagine leaving, not now." The words died on his tongue, the ghost of a confession lingering unsaid.

He didn't need to ruin the moment.

[wayfinder-family-lover]

Hc that when Ikuya and Asahi aren’t fighting Kisumi is teasing the heck out of Haru about Makoto at lunch, once he would tease him about Makoto’s new glasses (he forget to take it off since it was the first time he had them) after he quickly say hi to them before eat with his friends from his class. And Kisumi just had to make comment like: « Geez Makoto sure is handsome with those glasses ne, Haru? » which Haru agrees with a lovestruck look before deny it in a tsund fashion lol. All of that while Asahi film all of it bc he just got his first phone and wanted to use the function and Ikuya be like: « 👀 what’s was that Haru, geez you can’t tell an completely honest answer huh 🙄 » also since then Asahi try to discreetly take photo or video of Kisumi teasing Haru and making him jealous and sometime Ikuya does too (he had to clean Natsuya room every month like that he can borrow his phone for the day which might or might not worth it depend) after they all got separated way Asahi store them on the cloud, while Nat lost them (Ikuya was maaad when he learn it, but actually Nao had the funniest ones since Natsuya show it to him and then he asked to have them for his embarrassing files of everyone bc he def own one) then they forget about them until they got reunite and at some point just remember of their existent, Ikuya asked Asahi if he still had those to show it to the group chat, which he was happy to oblige lol

[persona-enjoyer]

So we know a lot about the shippy *they shared a bed* but as someone who has shared several hotel room beds with family members I think it is also fun to consider the more boring logistics of sharing a bed with another person. How long does it take them to fall asleep? Do they move a lot in their sleep? Do they snore or talk? Are they are a heavy or light sleeper? I also think about persona all the time and thought of some headcanons/story ideas when I first played strikers that I’ve been putting off actually posting.

I would have loved to see more “sleep over” kind of shenanigans. Though it makes sense that they wouldn’t be talking a lot because it’s an RV and those inside can hear everything outside and vice versa but can you imagine like one group talking about something that they don’t want the other to hear but they hear a part of it and drama ensues?

Honestly I would also be down for whole group hang outs before going to bed. Like why the fuck didn’t we have a sitting by campfire/roasting marshmallows scene? The debates over the proper doneness of a marshmallow, eating so many smores they have stomachaches, someone accidentally getting marshmallow in Mona’s fur and it being a bitch to get out. (He also can’t stop bitching about it) Telling ghost stories by the fire??? I think Makoto is canonically scared about ghosts but it would be cool to mix it up and not have all the girls be scared and the boys be fine. I think Mona and Makato would be the biggest scaredy cats (pun intended). Haru, Futaba, and Akira would be the best story tellers.  (everyone’s a little taken aback by how dark Haru can get) I would like to think Yusuke would be good too as a creative type, but I have the feeling he would get on a tangent about some aspect of the scene. Ryuji tries but gives up part way through when no one seems the least bit unnerved. Ann can tolerate the stories well, but is trash at making them up.

OMG also fishing! I would have loved a fishing afternoon. I think that Akira and Ryuji would be the best and it would be funny to see them trying to teach the others. Ann would hate the idea of putting on worms or actually touching the fish but would get a bite on like every cast. Haru would be the one to accidentally hook someone else.

OK but back to the actual point of this post.

It would never happen in game but lets pretend that they decide have everyone double up in the beds in the RV. Maybe they put up a sheet as a makeshift curtain between the boys and girls sides. So who shares with who?

For the girls, Futaba is first choice as a bed-mate as she is the shortest and will take up the least room. I see her and Ann sharing. Ann needs a lot of sleep to function so she goes to bed early. She bought a cute eye mask early into to the trip to block out the light from Futaba’s phone. Futaba is totally the type to stay up late staring at a screen and somehow survive on a few hours of sleep.

That leaves Haru and Makoto. I feel like Makoto would be the type to have trouble falling asleep but once she’s out, she’s out. Haru on the other hand is one of those people who can just close her eyes and fall asleep. However, she is a light sleeper, so the tossing and turning of Makoto trying to sleep keeps her up a bit. She also often wakes up if someone gets up to go to the bathroom.

For the boys I don’t have as strong feelings about who shares with who. Mona and Akira are used to sharing so that might be the way they go. On the first night in strikers it is mentioned that Ryuji snores and Yusuke talks in his sleep. Can you imagine Ryuji being like “Last night, you looked me dead in the eyes and said ‘beware, that’s not it’s real form.’ “What was that man?” or like if it’s more like a yell the rest would hear it and Futaba would be like “Inari, last night you shouted “The squid approaches” at 3 in the morning, what the hell.”

Also I feel like Ryuji is restless sleeper and will kick you in the middle of the night. He usually is just trying to stretch out his leg and your body being in the way is not his problem. Yusuke on the other hand lays stone still unless he’s talking. If Ryuji wakes up in the middle of the night he has to watch Yusuke’s chest to make sure he’s still breathing.

For other options I feel like Akira would also be a restless sleeper so maybe Mona would opt for the generally more predictable Yusuke. Akira and Ryuji both move around and after Akira accidentally elbowed Ryuji a little too hard one night and since then Ryuji has built a pillow wall between them to protect himself.

I also feel like if Ryuji and Mona had to share they would both bitch about it and then wake up with Mona purring on Ryuji’s chest all sweet and peaceful and the rest of the PTs won’t stop giving the both of them shit about it.

Another thing that would be funny is if they took turns sleeping in the tent vs actual beds. How do they decide? Switching each day? Intense games of rock, paper, scissors? Dumb boys vs girls challenges? the possibilities are endless.

[nessinborderland]

Be Mine (03)

Pairing: Niragi x Reader / Chishiya x Reader

Genre: Smut, Angst, Fluff, Omegaverse

Word Count: 4.8k

Summary: You were able to stay unbounded throughout your life. You didn't want an Alpha; you didn't need one. You would rather die than to give yourself to some random male. But the man that saved your life thinks differently.

Warnings: Alpha/Omega, Dubious Consent, Vaginal Sex, Vaginal Fingering, Finger fucking, Rough Sex, Rough Kissing, Unprotected Sex, Creampie, Breeding, Pregnancy Kink, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Drama, Developing Relationship, Past Abuse, Scars

Notes: Would like to thank everyone that has been liking, reblogging and commenting on this fic, I see ya’ll and I love you. It means the world to me <3 I’m so glad people are liking my lil Niragi work. My dm’s and ask box are open if you ever feel like saying hi and/or scream over stuff in general with me lol. Enjoy!

AO3 Link        Masterlist

You had woken up to an empty bed the next morning. You had laid there, staring at the ceiling and rewinding every moment of the last twenty-four hours in your head, over and over. How things had changed so fast. How so much had happened already. You didn't know if you should feel sad or relieved by Niragi's absence; you weren't sure if you wanted to face him after what had happened last night. You still remembered the look in his eyes, his promise, how he made you feel. It was all so...overwhelming.

A week has passed without you speaking with Niragi. You barely caught a glimpse of him beside the occasional moments where you see him from afar with his group of militants, usually coming from or going on raids. You tried to talk to him on several occasions, but he was out of sight before you could get close enough. You also changed rooms after that first night, and part of you was hoping to see him barge in to take you back to his room. But it never happened.

He is avoiding you.

That or maybe he is usually that busy. Either way, you don’t like how this whole situation makes you feel. Yeah sure, maybe you aren’t exactly being the most approachable person either, but you are...scared. This is all so new for you. His scent has practically disappeared from your skin, and you can feel yourself getting restless again. Especially when he is close.

You don’t see him, but you can feel his eyes on you. You can smell the peppermint in the air every time he is close. You usually walk around the hotel alone or just stay in your bedroom. Walking around by yourself is nerve-wracking; the constant whispers, the stares, the way people either avoid you or get way too close to you. But you can feel him always close by, watching you.

Chishiya.

You honestly don’t know if you should feel safe or afraid. Afraid that he will use his influence as an Alpha to take you as Niragi did the first time you met. At least Chishiya hasn’t tried hunting you down yet. Even though stalking you around like a cat chasing a mouse isn’t much different.

You’re now in a car with Ann, exhausted, wet from head to toe, but alive. Another game where your skills were evaluated; another game where you won without particularly impressing her. You always feel like you’re alive out of sheer luck and the help of others. It bothers you more than you dare to say. You have already been evaluated in games of Clubs and Diamonds, and you’re sure you would be dead if it wasn’t for Ann and the other players.

You can’t understand how people can be so smart at these hell games. Yes, you were successful at solving the riddle that allowed you to win the game of Diamonds, but since when was that impressive? You would still have been eaten by that shark in the game of Clubs without everyone else’s help.

“How are you holding up, Kenji?” you ask the young man sitting beside you. His arm is bandaged with a t-shirt already drenched in blood and his face is pale. He turns to you with a half-smile.

“Alive, thanks to you,” he says, moaning in pain when the car rides over a bump. “Thank you for that, by the way. For coming back for me.”

“It was the right thing to do.” you shrug with a smile, “Besides, I almost got eaten too.”

You can feel Ann’s eyes on you through the rearview mirror. You wonder what she’s thinking. It’s like you’re back in high school, waiting for an important evaluation. You hate it.

The car finally parks in the Beach’s parking lot and you get out, helping Kenji to his feet before two men come to take him to the infirmary. You’re walking away to get inside when Ann calls your name.

“A lot of people wouldn’t have done what you did,” she says. “That was brave of you. And stupid.”

“Uhh, thanks?” you stand there awkwardly as she seems to assess you through those big sunglasses of hers. “I just-”

“What do you see in him?” she asks after a pause, interrupting you. “You have nothing in common.”

You don’t know what to answer; shared interests and personality traits are not exactly what attracted you to each other. You shrug, “Wolf things I guess.” It’s not exactly something easy to explain. You also would rather not give it too much thought.

Ann hums, shaking her head. “Just be careful,” and walks away before you can even think of an answer.

You’re about to make your way inside when the sound of tires screeching makes you look back. The militants arrived from the games. You instantly see Niragi as he gets out of a vehicle, and you desperately want to approach him. He makes his way to the entrance at a fast pace, rifle on his shoulder as he’s followed by the rest of the militants. His pace falters when his gaze falls on you, but he doesn’t stop as he passes by you without a word.

“Niragi!” you’re calling before you can think twice.

He stops in his tracks, making everyone behind him stop too. More than twenty pairs of eyes lock on you as you stand there, heat growing on your cheeks. Why the hell did I call him, you think to yourself before clearing your throat.

“Hmm, could I speak to you? In private?”

He sighs. “I can’t right now. I’m going back out,” he says in a dismissive tone. You can’t help but notice the dark circles under his eyes; you worry if he’s been getting enough sleep lately. “We’ll talk when I get back.” and with that, he turns his back on you and walks away, followed by his group.

He’s definitely avoiding you. You wonder why; was it all the rejecting? Maybe he finally realized you are more trouble than pleasure. Maybe he regrets his promise to you, made in an inebriated state?

It was your disgusting scars, a mean voice in your head whispers.

You flinch. Whatever it is, you hope that he will at least be straightforward and honest with you. Eventually.

You try not to overthink it as you get to your room and go straight to the bathroom, getting rid of your wet clothes before jumping in the warm shower. The thing you probably like the most about the Beach is the showers. That and the good food; there’s always a tray of delicious meals delivered to your room three times a day. You can definitely get used to those small luxuries.

You finish your shower just in time to receive your dinner tray. You eat your meal in bed, a book you found while outside laying open on your knees as you take occasional spoonfuls of your rabbit stew. The sound of laughter and loud talking makes you frown for the third time in half an hour. One of the things you dislike the most about the Beach; the constant partying.

You give up on the book and decide to sleep, hoping that your exhaustiveness will win against the noise of your next-door neighbors.

It does not.

You’re knocking on their door moments later. A man opens the door, clearly beyond drunk, if his breath and slurred speech are anything to go by.

“Could you guys please keep it down?” you ask. "I'm trying to sleep." The man stares you up and down with a smirk, and you give a small step back.

“Yo, guys guess who came to pay us a visit!” he says behind him. You can see three men sitting at a table, playing what you guess is poker, several beer bottles scattered around them. You think you recognize one of them as part of the militants. Maybe coming here wasn’t a good idea after all.

“Isn’t that Niragi’s bitch?” “Ask her if she wants to join us!” is what you hear them say above the laughter. Yes, bad idea. You put your arms around you, wishing you were wearing something more besides your cotton shorts and Niragi’s shirt.

“Listen, just keep the noise to a minimum, that’s all I’m asking.” you quickly say before turning around to walk back to your room. A hand grabs your arm before you can take more than a couple of steps.

“Why don’t you join us?” says the man. His friends stand behind him, a look in their eyes that makes you shiver with apprehension. “We could show you a good time.”

“Thanks but no, thanks, I’m just trying to get some sleep.”

“You can sleep here, we don’t mind.” he retorts with a pull to your arm. “C’mon-”

“Haru, this isn’t a good idea,” warns the guy you had recognized. “She’s with Niragi.”

Haru laughs and pulls you closer, ignoring your struggle. He sniffs your hair. “Then he has been doing a shitty job at fucking her.” he pulls at your shirt, “Isn’t this his? She doesn’t smell like an Alpha at all,” he chuckles, “And didn’t you say that he ignored her today? I don’t think he’ll care if we get his sloppy seconds.”

“Let me go!” you pull your arm from his grip and face the taller man. “Niragi is not here to kick your asses, but I am.”

“Oh look at this, the little Omega has claws!”

“So do I.”

You freeze. So do Haru and his friends.

You smell him before you see him. Peppermint and rain.

You turn around to see him a few meters behind you, standing casually with his hands in his pockets. He looks bored; like he’s just passing by and there’s an inconvenience on his path. But his eyes…

“Chishiya-”

“You aren’t very smart, are you?” he interrupts, walking slowly towards you. “Harassing an Omega when there’s an Alpha around. It’s not acceptable back in the real world, what makes you think it’s acceptable here?” his eyes flash with something you recognize. You also notice the golden ring on them, giving them a more animal look. “Now you can either let her go or-.”

Haru releases his grip on your arm and takes a step back before Chishiya can finish his sentence.  

“We didn’t do anything to her, man,” he says, hands raised. The man trembles slightly, eyes cast on the ground. “We were just messing around, that’s all.”

Chishiya chuckles and nods, “Of course, of course. Just remember what can happen if you mess with her again.” one of his hands leaves his pocket to scratch his neck, almost mindlessly. You gasp when you see the claws, the changed hand. “I would hate to get blood on my white hoodie.”

The men scatter back into their room without another word, tails between their legs. You stand there looking at him, involved in his scent. After more than a week without an Alpha, having him so close is not doing you any favors. His presence is unmistakably wolf, his scent stronger by his show of dominance. He barely had to try; Betas just instinctively know not to mess with Alphas. You start feeling hot, and you curse yourself; please not now.

“Are you okay?” his voice gets your attention.

“Uh-hm, yeah I am,” you stutter a little, “Th-thanks for the help.”

He takes a few steps closer to you, his eyes never leaving yours. You feel hypnotized; like you’re under a spell. He smells so good, and you’re so horny, and he’s the only thing making you feel safe now. You think of Niragi for a moment, until your wolf pushes the memory aside with a huff; Niragi is not there, you’re still unclaimed, and there’s an Alpha right in front of you.

You jump into his arms before you’re able to overthink things even more. His arms envelop you as your lips touch, and you feel that amazing electrifying sensation every time you touch an Alpha. His lips are soft on yours as he kisses you. His hands are surprisingly warm against your skin.

“Alpha- ” you moan into the kiss.

“Bedroom,” is all he says as he pulls you with him to your room. His lips are still on yours as he closes the door with a kick before making you lay down on the bed. His body covers yours in an instant, his hands roaming your body while his lips suck the skin of your neck. Even his kisses make you feel pleasure, and you whine as his hands go under your shirt to fondle your breasts. “Your skin is so soft,” he whispers with a pinch to your nipple. “I have been wanting to touch you since I first laid my eyes on you.”

“I- I want more,” your pussy clenches around nothing as you feel him hard against your stomach, “Please, Alpha...more,” you don’t care about how you sound. You just want that sweet release only an Alpha can provide. Niragi’s face shows up in your mind’s eye, but you ignore it; he wasn’t there for you when you needed it. Chishiya was.

His hands move to untie your shorts, sliding them down your legs to uncover your wet cunt. He sits back on his heels, hand on your thigh as he stares right at your naked core. He’s more expressive now than you’ve ever seen him before; his eyes burn with lust, his bottom lip between his teeth. You whine as he stays still, pushing your hips up; you want him to fuck you, not to stare at you.

He chuckles and licks his lips. “Open your legs wider for me,” you immediately do as he says, craving his touch. His hand slides lower until his fingers are tracing your slit in up and down movements, making you moan and instinctively close your legs. “Open,” he says with a glance at your face before leaning over your center. His breath is warm against your swollen clit.

You shiver as he flicks his tongue over your sensitive bud; it feels so good, and you want more. Your hands grip your pillow as you moan in time with his licks, almost letting out a scream when he sucks on your clit. No man had ever touched you like that; they were all inside you and over after a few minutes of thrusting. Even Niragi had gone straight to business. But fuck, does it feel good.

“Chi- Chishiya, oh my god- “ you manage to say before you’re interrupted by two of his fingers entering you. They curl inside you as his tongue keeps working wonders on your clit. You can feel an orgasm growing, toes curling at the pulling sensation in your core. You’re so close. “Please keep going, don’t stop.” you practically beg as he finger fucks you.

He stops.

You open your eyes with a displeased grunt to catch him looking at you, lips glistening with your juices. He smirks, “We’re just getting started,” he says, pulling you by the legs so your center is pressing against his crotch. You moan again at feeling him hard against you with only his swim shorts in the way.

You sit up to undress him off his hoodie, something he lets you do as he devours your lips. He suddenly pulls you up against him until you’re practically sitting on his lap. You grind against him, trying to put out the fire inside you. His mouth kisses down your neck to your breasts, without fully undressing you. You try to take off the shirt, but he makes you pause.

“That’s his shirt, isn’t it?” you nod and he huffs out a laugh, unbuttoning the first buttons only, “Keep it on,” he says before closing his lips around a nipple. You close your eyes and just enjoy the sensations he provides you. Your mind goes back to Niragi; how his tongue piercing felt against you as he sucked on you too, or how his hands never stopped pleasuring you. You almost grunt in frustration at the memories; he doesn’t matter now.

“Alpha, I want you inside me,” you beg as you keep grinding on him. It’s starting to feel like torture. Your hands slide down to work on his shorts, “Please...please.”

“Easy there,” he chuckles, pushing you back down on the bed. “We have time. Be a good girl and stay still,” he says as he gets rid of his shorts in a swift movement, now completely naked in front of you. You glance at his cock, hard as wood in between his pale thighs, a bead of precum sliding from the tip. Your mouth waters; you desperately want him to fuck you, you think as your pussy clenches around nothing.

You open your mouth to say something but hesitate, trying to follow his command. You wonder how can an Alpha have so much self-control; he should be deep inside you by now. It’s beyond frustrating. He finally covers your body with his, and you smile at the sensation of his skin on yours; it feels so good. You wrap your legs around his waist, pulling him closer as you kiss him with ferocity. It hurts how much you need him.

You finally feel his tip at your entrance, and then he’s inside you with a sharp thrust of his hips against yours. You scream at the sensation; so warm, so full, so unbelievably pleasurable. His thrusts are slow but firm, each hit of his pelvis against your clit making you see stars. His face goes to the side of your neck, and you feel as his teeth graze the skin, sucking and biting; right over the fading marks Niragi left on you a week ago.

“Go faster,” you whine as you push your hips up against his. You want him to fill you up to the brim; like Niragi had done. “Please Alpha, fill me up. Make me yours.”

He doesn’t say anything, but his pace gets faster, and you finally hear him make a sound since he started fucking you. His face is still hidden in the curve of your neck, but his hands clasp around your thighs, pulling them up until you’re practically folded in half. You finally feel him deeper, hitting your g-spot as his shoves get gradually harder.

“Tell me how much you want me to knot in you,” he grunts against your ear. “Tell me you want me.”

“I- I want you,” you whine. “I want you to knot in me, and fill me up with your cum. I want you.”

He kisses your jaw, thrusts getting even faster. You can barely think; all you want is to come and for Chishiya to do the same inside you. You want to feel him as he shudders, hear him as he moans and you milk him dry. His hand goes to cradle your cheek, and you finally see his face as he locks eyes with you; his white hair sticks to his neck and forehead due to sweat, and his eyes are more gold than the usual dark brown. However, an uncomfortable realization sparks in you; there’s only lust in his eyes. No care, no adoration, no imitation of something resembling love. Nothing like Niragi’s eyes had looked at you. Your wolf pushes those thoughts aside once again, and you close your eyes as you focus on the man currently thrusting in and out of you. He’s what matters now.

Your orgasm hits you like a wave, toes curling behind his back as you clench around him in pleasure. You feel him as he comes too, hands squeezing your thighs with enough force to leave a bruise. However, you gasp when you feel him pull out with a hiss, and he finishes spilling on your belly and breasts.

You lay there as he finishes with a grunt before laying down beside you, both of you panting furiously. The fog in your brain soon evaporates, and you have to control the impulse to run out of your own bedroom. Why do you keep doing this to yourself? First Niragi, now Chishiya. All those years of self-control wasted. They meant nothing. You were just pushing back the inevitable; the day you would be claimed with no real ability to even choose by who. Your wolf doesn’t care, but you do. The last thing you want is a relationship like the one your parents had.

But you still ended up fucking two different Alphas in a week; it’s not like you have a choice.

Chishiya moving beside you pulls you out of your thoughts. He’s looking at you with his usual expression; cold and with a pull at his lips that gives the impression there’s something that only he’s smart enough to understand. It annoys you just a little. You guess it shows on your face because he’s full-on smirking as he sits up.

“Feeling regretful, are we?” he says as he retrieves his shorts, putting them on, “I figured you would.”

“Then why didn’t you stop me?” you say in a low tone, sitting up with a moan. His come sticks to your thighs and runs down the skin of your breasts and belly. You sigh when you notice it stained Niragi’s shirt too.

“Why would I?” he shrugs, putting his hoodie on, “I can’t control this thing much more than you do. Besides- ” he says, shooting a glance at your torso, “Thought it might be fun.”

You furrow your brows at him. “This isn’t about me, is it?” you ask. Things kind of start to make sense now; his constant presence near you, the shirt he wanted you to keep, “This is about Niragi.”

His eyes lit up with something like amusement. “If I get to claim an Omega while pissing off Niragi then I’m doing something right.” he starts walking towards the door, “Don’t misunderstand though; I will fight to claim you when the time comes.” He closes the door behind him.

What have you done? You feel a sudden urge to cry, but push it back; you are done crying about this. So you just let a few tears fall before standing up and heading to the bathroom, wanting to get cleaned up as soon as you possibly can. You groan when you see yourself in the mirror, covered in love bites and cum.

You wonder how Niragi will react when he finds out; because he inevitably will. It wasn’t unheard of Alphas to fight to the death over an Omega; you just wish that isn’t what is about to happen. You don’t think you can live with that.

You step in the shower for the second time that night and vigorously rub your skin, trying to erase any and every sign of Chishiya off your body. Mission impossible, of course; his scent is still all over you as you get out of the shower. Next, you try to clean Niragi’s shirt. At least that one still smells faintly of cinnamon and wood.

As you should too, remarks the voice in your head.

You barely sleep that night.

You feel like a zombie the next morning and, as per usual, you stick to your room. You’re particularly into avoiding people today. Well, two people. So you keep to your room and jump between reading, to napping, to overthinking until you get a headache and then fall asleep.

A sudden knock on your door wakes you up, and you notice it’s almost night outside. You trip on your way to the door, opening it to reveal Chishiya on the other side. You scowl and move to close the door in his face, but his foot stops you.

“What?” you ask.

“We’re in the same group tonight,” he says, raising a piece of paper. “And before you say no, remember that you’re still under evaluation.”

“I have enough visa days,” you say, forcing the door on his foot. He doesn’t budge. You sigh and count to ten. You can do this; just another game. “Fine. But tell Ann that after this I’m only going out when I need to.”

You grab your jacket and get out, following Chishiya. You don’t say a word and neither does he. Your body feels his presence though, and you’re sure he can smell it in you. Smell himself in you.

You get in a van with your group, a bunch of people you faintly recognize but know no names. Chishiya seats right at the front, and you cringe as everyone else in the vehicle clearly knows everything that happened between you two. You hear Niragi’s name being whispered around, but try to ignore it, focusing on the road outside as you drive around looking for a game.

“Look there!” someone exclaims.

Koishikawa Botanical Garden.

The whole place is completely dark as you walk through the main gate, the familiar sound of the barrier closing behind you making you tremble with apprehension. A sign at the front says no weapons allowed, and you watch as two of the people in your group leave their weapons behind. Not really a good sign.

A single street lamp casts light on a table right next to the reception. You follow your group as they approach the table, but your attention is focused on your surroundings. You remember being there as a kid; hard to imagine that the beautiful open space full of trees and flowers of every species is now a game arena; a place of death. You wonder what exactly is the game that awaits you.

You focus your attention on the table, retrieving a phone and staring as it does the facial recognition thing it always does. It’s apparently a big game; there are already more than ten people waiting to play, and at least fifteen phones are still on the table.

You sit on a park bench while you wait, bracing yourself against the chilly night air. Chishiya is leaning against a street lamp right in front of you, and you know he’s staring, even though it’s dark and he has his hoodie up and covering his eyes. Your mind keeps rewinding the last twenty-four hours and you try to focus on something else with no success. If you’re not thinking about that, you’re thinking about the imminent game; both make you want to cry and run.

People slowly keep coming in, and you notice as the phones vanish one by one that the game is almost at its full capacity.

A sudden ruckus at the gates snaps everyone’s attention to the entrance, and you swear your heart stops as you see Niragi running in your direction with the most terrifying expression you’ve ever seen on him. He looks furious. Absolutely terrifying.

“I’m gonna rip your fucking heart out!” he screams as he gets closer. You notice his eyes are locked on Chishiya. His eyes; they aren’t human. Neither are his hands, now curved into claws. The other man doesn’t seem scared in the slightest; on the contrary, he looks like he’s having fun.

“Niragi, don’t- “ you scream as he lunges himself at the shorter man. Chishiya is fast though, swiftly dodging the punch before kicking Niragi in the stomach and stepping away.

Niragi huffs and doubles over before standing straight with a growl and trying another swing at the other man. Two men that got in with him try to corner Chishiya, but he just dodges them like it’s the easiest thing in the world.

“Not so bad without your gun, are you?” asks Chishiya in a mocking tone.

“With or without a gun, I’m still going to fucking kill you.” Niragi growls, “You fucked with the wrong wolf.”

Chishiya huffs a laugh, “Actually,” he says with a smirk, nodding in your direction, “I fucked the right wolf.”

Niragi’s eyes finally lock on you, and it’s like he’s seeing you for the first time. Only now his eyes are filled with something that resembles betrayal and pain. You hate it. You look down, trying to make yourself small; you don’t want him to look at you like that. Never.

“I’ll deal with her later,” he says in a cold tone, and you can’t help but flinch. He approaches the table and retrieves the last phone, eyes still on you. “Now I- “

You’re startled when cheery music starts playing all around you and the big screen you hadn’t noticed at the roof of the reception lits up.

“Registration has closed,” says a feminine robot voice, “The game will now commence.”

You look at your phone as it lits up.

Difficulty, Ten of Spades.

Game, “Akazukin: Red Riding Hood.”

Next Chapter

[syrenblubs]

Free Characters at a Desi Wedding (Highspeed + Hiyori)

a/n: uhh this was supposed to be scheduled for later oopsie-

Asahi

-he’s honestly just here for the snap photos and fun with “da boisss 😈😈😈🤡🤡🔫🔫🔫”

-“with da fam and my homies 😎😎😎😎🔥🔥🔥”

-“yo uncle is there any chicken korma?”

-I feel like he’d also come in a red kurta teehee

-him and kisumi are playing karem with sei and other brown bois

-the desi aunties are judging him for being too loud like 😐

-like let him live chill

-he's also the one making the lassi he drinks it like its vodka

-okay so yk those people at weddings who’ll dance and spin a duppatta around idk how to fucking explain this wow im sorry

-yeah that’s definitely him

-PLEASEEE HIM AND KISUMI ARE THROWING PIECES OF ROTI AT EACH OTHER AHAHAHAHHAHA

Kisumi

-he’s SPILLING TEA WITH THE AUNTIES LMAOAOASBAKAJAKWIWJ

-he’s also just here to make tons of connections

-him and asahi are recording tiktoks outside with the desi fangirls

-why can I see him being one of those people feeding the couple ladoo

-HES DEFINITELY WEARING A PINK KURTA LMAOAOAOA

-he’s also helping the aunties make chai

-he’s literally posting every single moment of this wedding on his sc story omg

-he def begged ikuya to take some bomb ass pics of him

-he’s literally gonna eat anything and everything he finds there

-okay kinda off topic here but, IMAGINE HAYATO IN A LIL MATCHING KURTA PLAYING WITH THE OTHER KIDS

-THE AUNTIES ARE COMING FOR HIM AND ASAHI BECAUSE THEY WERE THEOWING PIECES OF ROTI AT EACH OTHER GOTTA BLAST

Ikuya

-he’s gobbling the pischtachio kulfi in the corner of the room

-honestly he stole all the mitai and wanted to leave lmao

-him and haru are chilling in the back away from all the chaos like

-he's playing fruit ninja and subway surfers on his phone while everyone is getting drunk and eating biryani HAHAHAHAH

-he's probably playing scenes from bollywood movies in his head smh

-secretly praying someone will play bewafa on the speakers lmao

-dark green kurta please

-f in the chat for him the desi aunties are comparing him to natsu

-he keeps asking natsu when they can leave

-hiyori will bring him the chai that he doesn't want LMAOOOO

-asahi is trying to drag him into making tiktoks with kisumi and he's trying to 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️

-he's that one guy who didn't really come for anything but he's getting forced into taking pictures for people

Hiyori

-tbh he only came because ikuya was going too

-almost left tho when he heard there was no coffee

-"sorry beta only chai here. ap ko chae?"

-he's also just kinda sitting at the table eating his biryani like 🧍‍♀️

-he'll be taking note of every single person in that room and use their weaknesses and shortcomings against them if he gets into a arguement with any of them-

-okay u get the point he's not going wild like half the other ppl here

-he told himself he'd talk to the other brown boys but he could even bring himself to ask to play ludo with them lmaoo

-basically just following ikuya around not that ikuya is moving anywhere anyways

-will take pics of the food and post it on his socials like

-brown kurta mmmmmm and a silver chain goodbye

Nao

-please he's not roasting with the desi aunties, he's roasting THE desi aunties hahahahaha

-not to their face tho lolololol

-one of the other aunties favorites

-they compare their kids to him and they ask him if he needs a marriage proposal

-always having to politely decline

-he's really the only one trying to keep ikuya and hiyori from being lonely

-originally he just tagged along with natsu but then he kinda went to go get drunk

-all the other brown bois hate him because they get compared to him and he's like yeah❤️

-he'll go to babysit the kids and they all love him for being a responsible caretaker unlike someone else we know cough

-did one of girls get their bangles stuck in his sleeve? yes. did he care after a tiny interaction? no

-definitely helped clean up after as an apology for natsu's recklessness ahahha

Natsuya

-FIRST OF ALL BLACK KURTA AND A SILVER CHAIN NO I DONT MAKE THE RULES

-uhhh so he may or may not have gotten a little too drunk-

-was mainly with the uncles talking about Patriot Act because thats what u do and then he went to ikuya and hiyori but they weren't doing anything and then somehow he got his hands on some wine and then the rest is history

-definitely didn't get asked for his number like a million times from the fangirls (@makeusfreefromthisfandom come get ur mans)

-he’s not too into sweets, so maybe he’d just share keer with rose idk

-BUT HE DEFINITELY ATE A LOT OF SPICY FOOD

-he took all the seekh kebabs periodt

-also killing it on the dance floor 😍😍

-all the aunties are like 👀👀👀✋

-“smart looking man” they say 😏

-that’s until they realized he got wasted 😳

-BET HE ALSO ASKED IKUYA TO TAKE PICS OF HIM LIKE PLEASE LET UR BRO LIVE

[redxblueihateloveyou]

Ok so I've been stalking your blog for the past couple of hrs after seeing your TadaAi posts (I'm drowning in the period drama that is this ship) and I find you ship Tododeku and rinharu (god i can't stand bakudeku and makoharu) and seems like we share a lot of our views on fandom and ships probably because we're older (I'm 22). Followed and looking forward to your input in the future!

Also you might've given me the motivation to finish watching Free! XD

Hehe yay, please, we need more ppl in our “house of oldies”, make yourself at home lol. And we share a lot of ships?! Even better <3

I knooow, I can’t believe we’ve got a gay “master who fell in love with his servant” ship in the anime, just what I needed for my idiotic collection lmao

But also these two have too much going on between them, so much wasted potential in my opinion, it’d be so interesting to explore (but sadly no xD), they were still the only interesting thing for me lolz. I love complicated morons, who became the victims of a huge unrequited requited love misunderstanding, bc they’re insecure morons lmao and they just have 2 of my fav ships vibes, so it’s probably mostly this haha. 

Oh, I’m inputting *wink wink*, can’t wait to finish the vid, I’m having too much fun with it. I’ve just literally spent several minutes trying to get whether I’ve put Tadashi’s sexy mole in the right distance from his eye in the “him moaning on the table” manip lolz. What can I say... I picked the best hobby, with all the support I’m getting with my vids, I’m living a dream xD

You know, I think I’ve said it before, but when it comes to bakudeku, I at least understand what ppl hope to see there and why, but like.. it’s just not happenning. Also imagining Bakugou lovingly hugging Midoriya is just so OOC I start laughing all the time. And whatever ppl say, in any ship whether they’re enemies or rivals or anything, if you can’t imagine them being tender with each other, smth is not right in my opinion. Also once again, who needs idiotic bleating Midoriya, idk. I’m just tired of the endless “die, deku/out of my way” yelling, I like watching Bakugou going to parties and amusement parks and doing silly stuff, too. Like I’ve said before, pride won’t ever let him change the way he behaves with Midoriya, even when they’re doing “great”. If he was the one, it wouldn’t have mattered, no matter how tough you are, and it wouldn’t take that long. I also don’t think they’re that kind of relationship, like they move each other for sure, sometimes, yeah (not always in a good way tho), but be together in a relationships? Can’t imagine that. Like not all rivals have the rivals to lovers dynamic, no matter what ppl say. But I get the shipping, bc 1stly these two are playing too huge of a role in each other’s lives, 2ndly Midoriya is obsessed with him and Bakugou obsessed with him too (just in a bad way lmao) and 3rd ppl want that “enemies to lovers” dynamic, since many love it (me included, when it done right and progresses right), so they’re trying to write that “to lovers” bridge, that just doesn’t fit here in my opinion, simply bc Bakugou won’t be soft with Midoriya, like ever in a way, you’d want, and I don’t think it’s possible for them to go there.

Tododeku on the other hand, 1stly they also play too huge of a role in each other’s lives, 2ndly Midoriya is obsessed with him too and Todoroki is lovingly obsessed with him in return, 3rdly they are also rivals to lovers, and I have no problem imagining the second part, it won’t be OOC, 4thly Midoriya when he’s with Todoroki is my fav Midoriya, he’s happy, he is cocooned and he’s badass af (and like when he told Endeavor to fuck off or yelled at Todoroki “the fuck are u doing?” xD are still the best), 5thly Midoriya forgets about Bakugou, when he’s with Todoroki a lot and it’s just funny to me, 6thly they healed each other so nicely, I can’t not be into that, 7thly when they’re together I have like 0 worries, idk I’m like “he will catch him” anyways haha, Bakudeku just don’t give me this vibe. It’s like yeah, they won’t let each other die, but it’s always this chaos of “out of my way”, “I don’t want your help” and “let me punch you before I punch the villain” that I’m just “oh for god’s sake, pls bring in Kirishima and Todoroki so we could just go home, it could’ve been solved in 2 minutes” lmao. Etc, etc.

Tododeku just have too many winning points over bakudeku for me, same with kiribaku over bakudeku, even tho I 100% get bakudeku as a ship ofc. Also idk whether things would be different if Todoroki wouldn’t exist in the equation, but the moment I saw that s2 scene where Bakugou started yelling and Todoroki just ignored him and was like “was Midoriya always this good?”, there was no going back to me XD. Like they both obviously see that Midoriya is wonderful, but only one reacted to that in a way that I wanted. And I’m a sucker for the ships who don’t give a fuck and like “yeah, I find him amazing and everyone should know that”. Todoroki is also one of those guys, who if you give them the much needed love, they’ll return it tenfold with a forever devotion. And all of my fav ships are like that: Yullen, Rinharu, Mikayuu, Wangxian, Akakuro, etc. They’re like “well, I ain’t an idiot to let someone this precious go”, you know lol

On the other hand, when it comes to Kirishima, Bakugou can do all kind of ridiculous thing I wouldn’t imagine he would do to keep him or make him happy, you know. Kirishima is also the only one, who can put his arm around Bakugou without it being cut off, so I don’t make the rules here lol.

So it’s not like I can’t stand bakudeku, more of like can’t imagine this work, to me it’s easier to imagine todobaku in a relationships, but not bakudeku lolz.

But when it comes to makoharu, I just have a huge problem with it and I will never get it. Bc they don’t bring anything good in each other like AT ALL, I don’t even understand what kind of relationships this is from their shipper point of view; they give each other nothing, and one of them is totally in love with someone else and wants a future with him. And that someone also head over heals with him and also wants a future with him. And I hate how 99,9 % of mh fans don’t give a fuck about Haru or Rin whatsoever and just ignore their character’s everything. Bc Makoto. I’m also like if you love him so much, the fuck would you want him to be with Haru anyways, dude doesn’t reciprocate, like at all. I’m at confusion, like name good points of this ship and what good can they do for each other characteristically. There is none, it’s like a damn swamp. Like usually I can give my notp some points, but this is like... they’re both no good for each other... like... why would anyone even want this idk. Don’t tell me “for the childhood friends” one-sided dynamic, like why won’t you also ship Shion with Safu then, like even he seemed more invested in that, than Haru in makoharu lol.

Even if you think of them from the point of view of “the two who are always walking together” ships, that are everywhere nowdays (even tho since Haru moved to Tokyo, he was always with Asahi instead), but even if... those kind of ships are usually at least make each happy and are enough for each other. Haru on the other hand, when he doesn’t have Rin, he is walking with Makoto like a ghost, not even caring if he’s talking next to him AND he’s getting ennoyed by him. Like explain, how someone’s shipping them romantically. It’s been showed like 20 times, that with Rin, but without Makoto, he can be perfectly happy, without Rin tho, he never is.

Also someone explain, what exactly is the point of splitting up two characters, who are happy together, make each other the best versions of themselves and want to be together whole-heartedly? Like I know many start shipping smth, bc the relationships are better in the other pairing, for example, but this is like... definitely not the case here. Like what exactly is missing in rinharu, that makoharu has? Lack of progression and mutual inspiration?

So yes, if you’re into rinharu, totally finish Free! They’re like doing sooo incredible and holy shit they’re inspiring, I mean, look, they’re now the tokyo olympics ambassadors, like how many of yall gay ships reached that? you can’t miss out on them, and also they’re so hilariously romantic, they literally made a wish to swim with each other since they were 13 and did everything to get each other there, I’m.. you’re lying, if you didn’t cry watching them as chibies making wishes on a star and watching them now. One of the most wonderful development in my opinion. Like who would’ve thought back in s1, that we’ll get Haru yelling on top of Rin about how he made him want a future with him, def not me lmao and now all the olympics boyfriends fanfiction are true, I mean, idk what to say anymore. I miss them so much, I can’t wait for the movie :D

[remuswriting]

What I’ve Learned In My Creative Writing Class: Character

Disclaimer: I may sound aggressive and people may think I’m “calling them out” but I’m not.  When looking at things to address, I just scrolled through Tumblr to see what the most requested things were.  Nothing against anyone.

Here is a mixture of things I learned from my professor and have learned over creating characters the last 11 years.  In writing, character is probably the most important thing.  If you write a character that doesn’t keep the reader entertained or become attached to them, then your character isn’t doing their job. It’s similar to if we know someone super boring, typically we try to avoid them (I could just be a bad person though).  In x reader writing, Y/N is a character.  Characters need more than just a name and description but a backstory, personality, insecurities, and identity.

Backstory

I kind of blend backstory and personality in this but I think it flows together??

Y/N needs a backstory just like canon characters do.  They need a family, friend group, interests, childhood memories, and more.  The reader doesn’t have to know all these things but the author does.  How do you know what your character would do if you don’t even know your character? I’ll repeat this; Y/N is a character. We may not know how you picture them physically and can come up with that ourselves, but that’s all we can do. We can’t create a personality for Y/N because that’s your job.  I may get controversial in this.

You’re requested to write flirty reader.  Why is Y/N flirty?  How is Y/N flirty?  Are they trying to gain something from acting like that?  Are they just flirty on accident?  Have they always been flirty?  Did something happen that now they act like that?  You can tell when there is no depth to a character when you don’t have any of these questions answered.  I become more interested when a character mentions that Y/N hasn’t always been flirty like they are now and I’m curious as to why because it could answer one of the questions listed above.  I’m aware that requests like that are meant for quick fluff but I’m never satisfied with fluff.  There’s never enough substance to a character for me to really like it.  Before I point out other commonly seen things that could be enhanced, let me explain what I mean by the things I explain with one of my own pieces.

In Kisses, a Hinata fluff drabble I wrote, I pictured Y/N’s whole day as well as friends, relations to people, his college major, and why he shares government with Tsukishima before I started writing and only wrote 634 words.  I hinted at those things because it was important to in order to get the whole effect of what I’m trying to portray.

Y/N says his day is okay and his government class was boring, even with Tsukishima next to him. He hates his government class, which either means his professor sucks or it’s hot his strong suit academically. In this context, it’s the first one. He and Tsukishima share the same major: Paleontology.  He’s how Y/N and Hinata met each other and is decently close to Y/N.  They’ve matched up schedules because of this.  I didn’t write all of this because I doubt the reader wanted me to go on a tangent about it but I wanted there to be a justified reason of why Y/N mentioned Tsukishima so casually.  It also just adds more to me as a writer when writing because there’s more to work off of.

Y/N is close to Hinata’s teammates, which means they’ve been dating for a while.  He knows how Osamu owns an onigiri store and knows Atsumu well enough that he doesn’t particularly like him because of his personality. He’s nice to him though and tries to make him feel included because Y/N’s friends made him feel like the third wheel when Hinata wasn’t there.  It shows that there’s a kindness to him and makes you wonder if that’s why Hinata fell for him.

I thought of all of this before I started writing.  It adds more personality and depth to the character, even if minimal, if you know their backstory.  You don’t have to have an entire childhood backstory (unless needed) but it helps to know more about your character beyond the fact that they’re flirty.

Focus

Don’t focus a character around one thing.

The flirty character thing is part of a personality and can be woven into different things when done right. A tall reader shouldn’t be just about how scared everyone is of them because their height.  How does Y/N feel about their height?  Are they self-conscious?  Do they even care?  Also, for the love the god, stop requesting seven foot readers.  I have received four of those in the past and it’s unrealistic and annoying. So, Y/N is tall.  What else do they have about them?  Let’s say they are insecure of how tall they are, what do they do to hide that insecurity?  A fun example of what I’m trying to say is in “Roy Spivey” by Miranda July.  In the first three to four paragraphs, she mentions her height and what she does to go against it in a way.

For this reason, I always let men see me asleep early on in a relationship. It makes them realize that even though I am five feet eleven I am fragile and need to be taken care of. A man who can see the weakness of a giant knows that he is a man indeed.

This may not exactly scream “I am insecure of my height” by any means but she is aware of her height. Instead of sleeping, what does your character do to distract from their height if they’re self-conscious over it? Or do they love the fact they’re tall? If so, then what to do they do to show it off?  Being tall is something but how someone reacts to it is another thing.

This applies to more than just tall readers but also readers who blush all the time (Touma Kikuchi from Ao Haru Ride), short readers, etc.  You can use your characters so much better if you know they feel about the things you’re focused on.

Accuracy

If you’ve followed me long enough, then you know I have a thing about accuracy.  I do a lot of research for everything I write, even if I think I am extraordinarily knowledgeable about the subject.  This part is pretty optional depending on who you are as writer.  I like things to feel real and be accurate but there are people who don’t care about that. Neither side is wrong.  I do this a lot because of research I’ve done for novels I’ve written before and it makes me feel content.  For Haikyuu, I just know the timeline near exact to where I don’t have to check to see what month certain things happened in.  This is a me thing because I think it helps.  It may not, writing is all opinion based anyways.

Volleyball player/manager Y/N is a common thing I see and I have written for both of them.  I know literally nothing about volleyball, not counting what is taught in Haikyuu as well as the couple of matches my brother and I watched on YouTube, so I researched things.  Sports are one of those things that it is hard to be 100% accurate unless you know the sport.  I try not to write out game scenes because I don’t know how to explain what each move is but I can do a recap after the match of a character thinking it over. They’re thinking about how maybe the blockers blocked a spike or they fucked up a receive or how angry someone was when something happened.  If you write in third person, this creates a more first person like atmosphere and makes the reader closer to the character.

Accuracy with characters can do a lot to make them well-rounded and realistic.  This can go into other things besides sports like choir, band, cheer, soccer, basketball, etc. (I am actually decent at writing soccer because it’s the best sport ever.)

For me, realism and accuracy makes the story more enjoyable.  In my class, we discussed how flat character who are doing something incorrectly make us put a story down faster than anything else.  You have to see Y/N as a character in order to be able to use them to your full ability.  You can’t do half-assed anything with them because they are essentially more important than a canon character because it’s focused on them.  Basically, put the same effort into everyone you write but the focal character (usually Y/N) should be focused on more and should be the character you know the best.

Surroundings

Everyone is influenced by their surroundings. This typically affects their decisions and view but maybe not their personality.  I’ve discussed this before on Japan and LGBT, but I’ll do it again.

Let’s say that even though Y/N is the gayest person to ever exist, they aren’t likely to be open about it in Japan.  In my previously mentioned post, I talked about how gay relationships are still seen as taboo (it is decreasing slowly though) and usually fetishized.  Trans individuals are even more likely to not be open about it.  Wandering Son by Takako Shimura is one of my favorite mangas that talks about LGBT things but sadly it does make trans men feel slightly like a joke.  It shows the language and shame forcing trans people to stay in the closet.  From numerous articles I’ve read, the shame is decreasing but that doesn’t mean the struggle isn’t as bad as it has been.  I believe the youngest person to have sterilization surgery (what must be completed to be seen as your gender to the Japanese government) was 20 years old. Also, there are very few places they can go to receive hormone replacement and gender therapy.

I’m focusing on Japan for this because it’s where anime takes place.  I write male reader and I take this into account while writing.  It affects how they interact with others and their thought process.  Are they struggling with their identity?  What is their family like?  Even if their parents are accepting, are going to be open about it?  How far are they willing to go to hide it?

Understanding the surroundings of your character affects who they are and how they respond to things. This also takes part in their internal struggles and maybe what the conflict of the story could be if focused on their identity.

Internal Struggle

Everyone has at least one internal struggle.  Usually people have a lot more but in fiction you try to focus on one because real life doesn’t always transfer over in that regard.  Struggles make your decisions though because you’re trying to deal with it. Characters are meant to feel like real people.  My professor said that the goal is to write your character to where people will talk about them as if they’re a real person.

This can be difficult to do with Y/N but that doesn’t mean you can’t try.  I always try to think of what is a struggle Y/N is going through that is either easily seen or never addressed.  If I went through all of my one-shots, then I can tell you and explain why I did that.  Does having a struggle mean that people see them as real people?  No but at least there’s a chance they could.  I really tried to make Y/N in my ficlet First Words more realistic but I don’t think I did the best job.  It’s okay to not be perfect at it because it’s really hard to nail down original characters but reader characters are even harder.

It doesn’t matter how hard it is to make a character realistic because they do still need a struggle. There is character driven story and plot driven story; people prefer the first.  An example would be Harry Potter or there’s also Forest Gump.  We’re not focused so much on each plot point but what the character is doing during it.  We love the character more than we love the story.

[vinodiriso]

Do Yoshino and/or Shikaku have any particular opinions on the big clans in Konoha? (Feel free to answer with whomever you want since there are a lot!)

Anonymous || impromptu asks I cherish immensely.

YOSHINO + SHIKAKU. 愛 + 客

REMINDERS THAT THOSE FOLLOWING ARE MY OWN PERSONAL HEADCANONS AND ARE MOSTLY NOT SUPPORTED BY CANON MATERIAL.

Well, about Yoshino and Shikaku, I’d say they do have their opinions, they are opinionated people and they are hardly the type of person that just hangs around and do as told.

Face front, let me stay that both Shikaku and Yoshino believe in the clan system as integrated to the non-clan population. There is no better blood, just different customs that deserve to be protected and preserved (some of them, at the very least). Blind hate both towards the clan caste and the civilian class will get them to snap: Shikaku will always remind people that two of the greatest shinobi he has known (Jiraiya and Minato) came from non-clan backgrounds.

Now -- if you were curious about their opinions on specific clans, I unfortunately did never think of it before now, so I don’t know how articulated these thoughts are gonna be, nevertheless I will try my best!

Akimichi & Yamanaka: let’s start with the easy ones first. I headcanon the relationships between Nara and these two to be knitted extra-tight, so, of course, both Shikaku and Yoshino are very proud of Akimichi and Yamanaka. Not much else to say, besides: they stan.

Aburame: actually, I DID ramble about Nara/Aburame relationships in this post (reminder that this headcanon is shared with Quincy over at @natsukusaka). I like to think of Shikaku having something of a petty, non-detrimental rivalry with Shibi when they were younger, before putting it aside to stick it up to Danzo and everyone on the Konoha elder council.

Inuzuka: I mean, with Yoshino being Tsume’s sister-from-another-mister, do you wonder what her and Shikaku’s opinion on them is? She loves them and she thinks they are rad as fuck.

Hyuuga: well, ouch. Yoshino is quite passionate about the matter, having lost a friend (Haru, her ex-teammate) because of their clan policy, and Shikaku isn’t super hot on their laws either, having watched Hizashi coveting revenge and harbouring resentment for what accounts to be most of his life. Still, Shikaku can take on a cynical vision and understand why the seal is necessary, being the Byakuugan a powerful weapon at Konoha’s service; still, it doesn’t see the Cursed Mark as the only solution to the arms race.

Also, going through my headcanons to hunt the Aburame/Nara post I was reminded that Hiashi opposed Yoshino’s appointment as a clan head because she was not born a Nara, so I suppose post-Shippuden Shishi does hold a grudge against him.

Uchiha: Yoshino knew Mikoto, since Hana and Itachi are the same age, she would ask Miki to babysit Hana when Shishi was filled with work. I think Shikaku and Shishi are pretty ‘Uchiha-neutral’ when it comes to it, of course Shikaku didn’t think it right to exclude them from political matters just because of an ancient feud, but his feelings would have been much different if he knew anything about the planned coup d'état.

Senju: I mean, I don’t see them having any sort of opinion on the Senju besides “yeah, they are pretty cool, they founded the village with the Uchiha, that’s great”.

Sarutobi: same thing, but about Hiruzen being Hokage.

[lilith-swbf]

How do you think the other skaters like Minami, Phichit, Yurio, and Chris etc pamper Haru-chan once he's a toddler?

*plops down and opens storybook with flourish* I’m GLAD YOU ASKED! pfff this got long af forgive me

Imma go into more than just when he’s a toddler if that’s alright lol as well as random tidbits that crossed my mind 😄

Phichit:

• At first, Phichit is kinda wary that Chiharu doesn’t like him, cause he’s pretty quiet when Phichit holds him, but as it turns out, Chiharu is just super comfortable around him. When Yuuri goes to skate and Viktor has to coach, for example, they hand Chiharu off to Phichit most of the time, if he’s there, cause Chiharu is just so calm with him and rarely gets fussy. He snuggles his lil plump cheek on Phichit’s shoulder and watches mama skate on the screen in the warmup area, and will often refuse to let anyone else hold him once Phichit has him.

• All. The. Selfies. With Viktor and Yuuri’s permission, Chiharu becomes a co-star on Phichit’s instagram when he babysits. Gahh, imagining Chiharu with those cute instagram filters makes me melt, omg… 😍

• Can you say newborn photography??? Spoiler alert for the next chapter, but while Haru-chan is still tiny, Phichit books a flight and comes to visit with photography equipment in tow. Under Viktor and Yuuri’s watchful eyes, he poses bby nugget in several different ways and captures some truly precious photos. He convinces grumbling, reluctant mom and enthusiastic dad to be in a few of them, too. (Extra spoiler alert: one photo in particular gets chosen in a photography contest)

• Because Yuuri calls Phichit “Phichit-kun”, Haru-chan copies his mama and calls Phichit “Cheeto-kuu” while he’s learning to talk and it makes everyone in the vicinity die of cuteness every time. (੭ु ›ω‹ )੭ु (many thanks to @croaissant for sharing that invaluable headcanon with me literally over a year ago. I remembered ♡)

Minami:

• Kenji-nii (or Kenni-nii in babyspeak) is the designated wrestler, for sure. Toddler Chiharu wins every time, naturally, and Minami delights in his triumphant giggles when he pretends to fall over from tiny baby punches and head butts. ♡♡

• Catching bugs!! Especially butterflies, which are Chiharu’s absolute favorite. Minami teaches him to hold extra still so they’ll light on his finger, and he’s just spellbound by the lil bugs. For several weeks, Viktor’s lock screen is a picture of Haru-chan with his brow creased and his lip poked out in concentration, shining eyes fixed on the bright yellow butterfly perched on his chubby finger.

• If Minami is holding Chiharu, he’s most likely on his shoulders. Nevermind the fact that Haru-chan holds onto his hair and probably pulls it sometimes; Haru-chan likes to be tall and that’s the way it will be. (Bonus: imagine Yakov solemnly shaking hands with bby bean at eye level)

• Minami knows better than just about anyone how to make Chiharu laugh. Even during the stage of babyhood when Chiharu is pretty solemn, Minami is always able to coax a few gummy baby giggles out of him, and it’s the sweetest sight. Viktor and Yuuri have about a thousand videos of him doing it. ♡

Chris:

• During the stage when Chiharu isn’t great at ‘r’ sounds just yet, “Chris” becomes “Kiss”, lol. Chris tries and tries to get him to pronounce the ‘r’, but Haru-chan stubbornly insists he’s “Kiss”, at least until he learns to pronounce ‘r’ correctly. It turns out to be apropos, though; toddler Chiharu mimics Chris’ European way of greeting (kisses on both cheeks) and gives Chris two sweet, clumsy cheek kisses every time he sees him. He won’t give anyone else two successive kisses exactly like that, so it makes Chris feel so loved. 😢

• DESIGNER BABY CLOTHES. Yuuri is horrified at the thought of Chris spending that kind of money on their baby, but eventually realizes Chris is going to do it anyway and relents. Catch Chris on instagram with a Gucci diaper bag over his shoulder, holding baby bean and sporting matching Balenciaga hoodies #fashionablebaby #coolestuncle😎

• You wouldn’t think Chris would be the type to be good with kids, but he IS. If Haru-chan is fussy while they’re all out and about and mom and dad are looking tired, Chris is usually the one who ends up with him, especially when bean is fairly small. Chris just holds lil man and rocks him and rubs his back, quietly humming to him, and 9 times out of 10, Chiharu is asleep within a few minutes, drooling on his shoulder. Yuri is very jealous and thinks it’s witchcraft.

• Haru-chan is fascinated by Chris’ stubbly chin and jawline. He sleepily reaches up to touch it sometimes when Chris is bottle feeding him. ♡

Yuri:

• Let’s face it, Yuri is the favorite uncle, mostly because he comes to visit the most often. Any time he knocks on the door of either Viktor and Yuuri’s house or the onsen, wherever they happen to be, Yuuri (who of course would know Yuri was coming) will stop what he’s doing and turn to Chiharu and raise his eyebrows in a gasp.

“Who’s at the door, Haru-chan?” He whispers, hushed with excitement. “Is it uncle Yura?”

And Chiharu’s eyes get all big and starry and he hastily scrambles up from his seat with all the grace of a 2 year old and toddle-runs his way to the door at top speed with Makkachin trailing protectively behind him. He yells Yuri’s name over and over in his sweet little voice, but of course, it comes out more like “Yoo-ah” than Yura.

(Outside the door, Yuri’s struggling not to melt from the inside out cause he loves bean so much lolol)

Yuri finally opens the door, kneels down, and catches his happy nephew into his arms for a tight hug and a ruffle of his messy black hair.

(Viktor was recording the whole time shhh don’t tell Yuri)

• Despite being frigid and competitive out on the ice, Yuri is soft to a fault with Chiharu. Any game Chiharu wants to play, any kid’s movie he wants to watch, Yuri’s there for it. Even if it’s something he normally hates. Haru-chan wants to play save the princess? Yuri looks damn good in a crown anyway. Haru-chan wants to watch Yuuri’s old Moomin VHS tapes for the hundredth time? Pop that shit in, buddy, I’m sure there’s something in there we missed the first 99 times we watched.

• (Viktor and Yuuri have a plethora of pictures of Yuri sprawled on the couch asleep with Chiharu conked out on his chest after a long day of play.)

• It’s hard, but Yuri really does do his best to temper his language around Chiharu. You can bet that Chiharu’s probably heard a few things he shouldn’t, but at least Yuri’s trying. (Cue Haru-chan toddling up to Viktor while he’s washing dishes and asking what a “fuck” is. A plate is probably dropped.)

LOL I got carried away but that’s fine 😂 thank youuuuu for inspiring me to ramble about these babes cause I love them so much 💖💙

[nemirutami]

DUDE HOW ARE YOU ABLE TO THINK THINGS THROUGH SO WELL??? Whenever i come up with a story thing i can never sort things out or how i want them to go or organize things just how do you go about this junk because i live for the set ups you have

Since you seemed to like those AUS, I’ll share a few more that I’ve never talked about! Most will be pegokita bc i’m… predictable. 

Pegokita Ice Skating AU) Akira pairs up with Haru in the couple’s ice skating world cup, and they’ve been a pair for ages now, but once Haru gets injured, Okumura decides to force her to keep participating…. unless, Akira can find someone just as competent to replace her. So… Akira has to go find a skater to take Haru’s place. But since their routine is so… strict? He has to find someone that matches Haru’s height, weight, and stamina. Otherwise, they’d have to change the routine, since Akira has to be able to lift, spin, and skate next to them in that same routine. He’s about to give up when he sees Minato skate on the ice, practicing for the singles tournament. Long story short, Akira mistakes Minato for a girl because of his physique, and Minato is obviously bothered and will now refuse to entertain anything Akira says lol. The only thing that convinces Minato to lend Akira a hand is seeing just how bad off Haru is, and knowing what type of man Okumura is, Minato knows he will force Haru to skate in her condition if they don’t have a replacement. So, Minato agrees. However… there’s a catch. It’s not like Okumura would be ok supporting two dudes on the ice. Which means… that’s right… Minato has to crossdress. Incredible. Cue the frustration of having to dress up like a girl and suddenly developing feelings for your partner with worrying whether or not those feelings would ever be reciprocated because Akira keeps mentioning what a convincing girl he looks like. Minato just assumes Akira sees him as a girl or wishes he was one, which is why he never pursues anything, and Akira assumes something along the same lines. “I forced him into this, kinda. Why would he not hate me?”. Miscommunication…on ice!

RRAU King Akechi) I haven’t talked about this variation of RRAU, but I mentioned a long while back on twitter something like… “What if Akira and Minato were both retainers for a corrupt King”. Now, what if that king was Akechi? It seems like an interesting dynamic between the 3 of them, since both Akechi and Minato would be more law aligned (Messiah, Robin Hood), and Akira would be the rebellious outlier (Satanael). It also means Akira would be the first to raise his gun against Akechi if Akechi actually decided to do something that would put people in danger. Ally with an enemy, kill off prisoners for kicks/to prove a point, anything really. Or, perhaps, even execute Minato for a crime he supposedly committed just because Akechi had to do so in the name of the law. I wholly believe that Minato and Akira would become the closest in this AU, which means Akira would betray Akechi for Minato, but Minato’s alignment would mean Minato would ultimately side with Akechi if they were about to throw down. I don’t think Akechi would have a preference between Akira or Minato, but I do think Akira’s more unpredictable nature (that rebellious side) would pique Akechi’s interest more, and so, he’d favor siding with Akira, perhaps because he knows Minato will ultimately side with him if he says the word. Minato’s predictability would be why Akechi would favor Akira. Siding with Akira wouldn’t ever leave Minato opposed to his choice. So long as the order comes from Akechi, Minato will do it. At least, that’s their dynamic for this setting. I have no real plot, only a stand-off where all 3 of these idiots point guns between each other, and one of them bites a bullet. I have different scenarios for this too, just because it’s fun to think about who would ally with who and who would betray who depending on the context.

Pegokita Minato’s Palace AU) This one is different from the one I drew ages ago (this drawing, Minato’s phantom thief outfit). I have a lot of notes for this one (the whole plot actually, start to finish) but I’ll be…. brief. YES THIS IS BRIEF, I HAVE LIKE 7 PAGES LMFAO. 

Essentially, a palace forms in Minato’s heart from a distorted desire to date Akira. THIS SOUNDS OOC BUT HEAR ME OUT… In his palace, there’s multiple Akiras. They serve different purposes, and they all look completely infatuated with Minato, but Minato is never shown to be affectionate with them. You know how the shadows mistook Ann for her clone in Kamoshida’s palace? The different looking Akiras wouldn’t know Akira was an intruder because he looks just like them. They’d assume he was just walking around doing his job, but Minato (just like Kamoshida) would be able to tell who the real Akira is just by a glance (even if he’s not in his PT’s uniform. Minato wouldn’t consider Akira a threat, so he would never actually look like a target to anyone, kinda like Ann before her awakening). In Kamoshida’s case, the “real” Ann was the one in his cognition, but for Minato, the real Akira is the real Akira that enters the palace. Minato doesn’t actually consider the “clones” Akira. They’re merely… replicas. He explains as much later. However, for the time being, Akira has a crush on Minato, and upon entering Minato’s palace, it’s clear Minato also has an obsession with him. But… you can see where this is going, right? Minato’s feelings aren’t healthy if they’re this distorted. Which means, Akira has to get rid of the distortion. Which means… Minato won’t have feelings for him anymore if he actually follows through, leaving Akira with unrequited love. 

So, what does Akira do? 

Attempt to change Minato’s heart by giving in to his desires. He figures, maybe, just maybe, if he can convince Minato’s shadow/cognitive self that Akira (the real Akira) actually loves him, then maybe the distortion will go away on its own. This leads to Akira staying in his palace for… much longer. Hours. Days, even. All the while, he’s only making Minato more distorted. More clones begin to show up in the palace, and it infuriates Akira because “What am I supposed to do, nothing works, is the only option really to steal his heart?“ but Akira’s the one who’s causing all the clones to appear. You know how in P5 you can OPEN a person’s message, arrive for your date/plans, but still refuse to hang out with them? I assume Akira did this a number of times to Minato, enough for Minato to stop messaging him completely, convinced Akira had gotten bored of him. It also means Akira isn’t able to actually get in touch with Minato in the real world now, since Minato has “shut him off” for his own sake. Any message Akira sends to him like “let’s hang out” will be ignored, since he burned Minato too many times (lmao the arcana reversed). It’s funny how Akira is the reason this palace exists in the first place. Since Akira pretty much maxed Minato’s link and then… prioritized everyone else. Minato’s cognitive self pretty much asks Akira to stay “forever” which… Akira can’t do, of course… can he? He actually considers it. Though, this can’t be allowed. When Akira finally decides he wants to steal Minato’s heart (for the both of them), his PT’s uniform actually starts to show, and he sticks out like a sore thumb among all the other Akira, making him ridiculously easy to spot and capture by ALL THE OTHER CLONES. I guess i’ll leave this au off on the note that once Akira is captured, Minato plans to fuck him to death. Yes, you heard right. Wham, bam, thank you mA’AM.

As for how i come up with aus or ideas, IT’S REALLY HARD TO DESCRIBE, I usually go with “what do i want these two characters to feel in regards to one another with this scene and how will it tie into the plot”, I just write what I find interesting. My own comic works the same way. I’m very simple, if I want to see Akechi stab Minato with a sword I will create a whole scenario around it to make stabby look more fun. I don’t really care about actions as much as I care about the feelings the people behind the actions are experiencing. That’s the real fun part.

I think I have more aus… but here u go. A taste of AUS I haven’t rlly mentioned before.

[parttimespellbinder]

Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Daily Life Arc

Hi! So, this is my first review of something on Tumblr and I’m really happy to start sharing things with people. I’ve always been incredibly opinionated and I like to share those with others. Bear in mind that this is a SPOILERS heavy review, and profanity will be rampant. So without further ado, let’s get started.

This is the story of Tsunayoshi Sawada, a boy so incredibly useless he makes a standard Harem lead look like a compelling and well written character. His grades are horrible, he has zero athletic ability and all together he’s pretty pathetic. He also happens to be the tenth generation heir to the Vongola crime family and is about to be whipped into shape by a fedora wearing, gun toting infant named Reborn. Now Tsuna’s day to day life is a series of hijinxs and misadventures centering around himself and the band of eccentric weirdos that orbit him like we do the Sun.

Reborn was initially penned by one Akira Amano way back in the ye olden days of 2004. It was a big hit at the time in Weekly Shonen Jump so it’s inevetiable that an anime adaptaion would eventually make it’s way down the pipeline. For the sake of brevity I will not be comparing Reborn to it’s source material and I will be attempting to omit the manga entirely unless relevant to this particular review. Even though I like to do it in my day to day life, I kinda hate the whole “let’s compare the adaptation to it’s source material” thing for reviews. I feel here that the anime, or at least this opening arc of it should be able to stand and fall on it’s own merits so...let’s see what it does, shall we? Mind you, all of what’s to follow is my own personal opinions. Cool if you agree, cool if you don’t. 

So if there’s one thing that Reborn’s never winning, it’s a best looking series award. The animation, courtesy of studio Artland (Demon King Daimao and Mushishi) is perfectly serviceable and, if anything,  I like that all the characters have a completely distinct look to them. The hair is totally Shonen, with all of them sporting their own unique style. Points go primarily to Tsuna and Reborn’s spiky hedgehog hairdos. But really and truly, Reborn definitely looks like something that’s been done more than a decade ago, and not in the really good stylistic way like Cardcaptor Sakura. Reborn just looks like a reflection of its time in the most average way possible while sporting some nice character designs. The animation gets kinda static at some points, especially when we like to get all of the relevant characters together for whatever that episode’s activities are. Then it gets worse because then we like to have them just stand around while we exposit a bit. But these moments are rather few and far between. The animation is, of course, at it’s best when we’re doing our high comedy slapstick and points are definitely given out to everyone’s big expressive eyes that were much bigger and more expressive in the manga.

The soundtrack and vocals are much better than the animation though, probably two of the show’s highlights. The vocal cast is absolutely excellent with some of the standouts being the titular Reborn’s, Neeko, and Hitomi Yoshida as the eccentric and bubbly Haru Miura. On the boys side of the vocals, I’ve got to say that Hidekazu Ichinose and Hidenobu Kiuchi definitely steal the show as Hayato Gokudera and Ryohei Sasagawa who tend to be the loudest of the performers. Everyone else does well too, delivering performances that are equal parts over the top, subdued and everything in between depending on what’s needed. The music is great as well, perfectly capturing the moments and characters in every episode. A lot of the characters have their own musical theme that play when they appear on screen or when doing something particularly epic. Special points here go to Bianchi, who gets some jazz and a vocalizing choir as well as Kyoya Hibari who’s theme starts with a few piano keys before jumping into an epic string frenzy. 

So, in these first 19 episodes, we essentially lay a lot of groundwork for the rest of the series that’s to come. The most important concept we introduce is that of “Deathperation”. Every episode, Tsuna and his friends encounter some sort of crisis, more often than not putting all of them or one of our weaker female characters in danger. Reborn will then turn his chameleon Leon into a gun and shoot Tsuna with a “Deathperation Bullet” which kills him but instantly revives him by allowing him to fulfill his last regrets. It’s a plot device that carries the bulk of the show and will continue to carry it though its run. Used here throughout these first 19 episodes, it’s alright, again its more just used to assist with the formulaic set up of the show. The problem I have with it is that we’ve essentially got about 9 episodes too many here and could’ve easily jumped right into the plot. This arc is supposed to introduce us to the world and the characters and it does, but it’s just a bit of a chore to sit though if you’re advertised a more action packed narrative, which Reborn eventually grows into. But really and truly starting the series just kinda leaves you meandering through 19 episodes before arriving at a rather abrupt tonal shift. The series you begin watching and the series you’re watching at episode 20 are rather different creatures, which is why I’m covering the show arc by arc rather than season by season.

So in addition to repetitive formula and lazy plot contrivances, Reborn also has one of the more passive shonen leads in a genre where....yeah….no. That just doesn’t work. Tsuna’s already set up to be practically pathetic in every way and with the introduction of Rebon and the Mafia into his life, Tsuna’s left just trying to survive his day to day life. And again, unless that kind of comedy and writing floats your boat, you’d be better off just watching a few episodes here and there and then just straight skipping right to episode 20 where the actual story starts. Mind you, this is again just my opinion. Reborn was wildly popular as a manga running on this kind of comedy to the point that it was able to do it for 8 straight volumes and was doing so for WEEKS in Weekly Shonen Jump. So clearly someone was heavily invested in this since it was able to keep going like that for WEEKS back to back. So really for me it’s more of a personal preference that my shonen series start with a bang. So we have Tsuna here just kinda...reacting to the weird shit happening in his life, never able to take initiative because of his own inability to actually do anything without Reborn there to pull the trigger and force him to take action. It’s just not the kinda thing that makes for a great leading man to start off with. But how do the other characters fare?

Sadly not particularly well. As the show is primarily a comedy at this point, the characters themselves are a little lacking in layers and depth, usually only existing to orbit Tsuna as if the sun. Oh how applicable that metaphor will become in seasons to come. But as it is, our characters at this point really and truly only have a couple of prominent character traits that are played up for all the comedy it's’ worth. So naturally it gets old fast. Related to the above, Gokudera and Ryohei are likely the most annoying when it comes to this. Gokudera pulls a total 180, initially hating Tsuna and then acting like a slavish dog towards him in the course of his introductory episode. His incessant cries of “JYUDAIME” and proclamations that he’s Tuna’s right hand man are more than just a little annoying and the same can be said for Ryohei’s “KYOKUGEN” lifestyle. Lambo is as annoying as any child in real life would be, which if you hate children like I do will be a rather lovely experience, that is until he’s shot by his 10 Year Bazooka, replacing him with his future self who instantly entered my pantheon of anime men I want to fuck. Pervy Shamal’s a total perv, Bianchi believes in love and is always on the lookout for her poison cooking ingredients and I-Pin is in no way a stereotypical Chinese anime character. Nope, not at all. Yamamoto is easy enough to get behind, with his eternal optimism and stupidity being strangely endearing and Haru, while loud and spaztic is LITERALLY BEST GIRL! OMG MY WAIFU! The worst of the characters is probably Kyoko Sasagawa, or resident sexy lamp. 

Kyoko exists like so many love interest characters before her to show that while our protagonist spends a lot of time interacting with members of the same sex he’s still straight and expresses an interest in one single girl. Tsuna spends most of his time fawning over Kyoko who has just barely enough personality that she doesn’t feel like a total piece of cardboard but she walks a fine line. She literally does nothing relevant and spends most of her time being an inadvertent damsel for Tsuna can save like his life depends on it - which according to the internal series logic of these 19 episodes, he never thought of doing before getting shot by Reborn. Like, she’s not bad, she’s just kinda...there. Tsuna likes her and it’s like...why? She’s pretty, like all of the girls in a shonen show, especially a main one, Kyoko is designed to be very cute but her personality is seriously lacking so it makes you as a viewer wonder why Tsuna is so in love with her. It’s actually kinda insulting that he likes her so much when Haru GENUINELY likes him and actually HAS a personality and he acts like he’ll contract plague if she so much as breathes in his general direction. Tsuna you should be so lucky that Haru even thinks to breathe in your general direction, you insolent swine!!!

But what’s good about the show? Is there anything? Actually yes, there is. As mentioned before, from the character standpoint, Haru is the best damn thing and Yamamoto makes for a great friend to Tsuna. The running gag that he thinks the whole Mafia thing is just a game gets a little annoying but we can’t have everyone taking the whole thing seriously, now can we? Additionally, and I never thought I’d EVER say this but Reborn himself is actually a saving grace. The shit he puts Tsuna though is incredibly sadistic and over the top but he does it so flawlessly that it’s genuinely hilarious. Additionally I like the sibling-like relationship between Tsuna and Dino, the head of an allied family who ALSO instantly entered my pantheon of hot men I want to fuck when I first saw him. While the character jokes get annoying there’s just barely enough to most of them that hints that there’s more to them than what we’re allowed to see. If anything, and I’m speaking from experience, everyone will be much better once the plot is allowed to rear its ugly head. Tsuna himself exhibits very very subtle character growth. He’s less of a wimp than he starts off as but we’ll really see his growth in the arc to follow. The comedy is GREAT when the jokes are used sparingly or when they pop up for the first time. And despite him being an annoying piece of shit, Lambo is laughs aplenty when the slapstick is happening to him.

It’s honestly hard to significantly praise these first episodes and indeed this show at this point because everything about it just kinda feels like a waste of time. Aside from the initial character introductions, you don’t really need to sit through all 19 episodes. Maybe just watch episodes 1-10 and then 19 and you can skip right to episode 20 which contains the meat of the show. How do I feel about it after all these years? Well, I do love Reborn, warts and all I just don’t appreciate my time being wasted, but here I am about to go and keep watching because I know in my heart of hearts that it’ll be worth it. So, I’d this first arc a...5.5 out of 10. It’s just engaging enough to me personally because I know it’s an unpolished piece of coal at this point and I’m waiting for my diamond to break through. So...those are my initial thoughts. Join me again next time for a review of The Novice and my follow up to this with the Rokudo Mukuro/Kokuyo arc. Special thanks to my little sister Krystal for helping me form and shape the review and offering her opinions on it as well. She also helped to edit it.

[toastywindow]

tagged by @kakkoweeb​​ thanks my dude, this is one way to avoid my responsibilities and share some things that wouldn’t benefit anyone lmao 

Rules: Answer the 11 questions, then come up with 11 new questions of your own and tag 11 people to answer them. i don’t feel like doing 11 more questions just because i can’t think of anything right now tbh 

1. put your music on shuffle and give me your favourite lyrics from the first five songs. 

(I’ll do 2 parts for this, one for spotify and one for the regular playlist because i play different songs from those lmao)

SPOTIFY 

“I'm tired of being careful, tiptoe, trying to keep the water warm, let me under your skin. Uh-oh, there it goes, I said too much, it overflowed. Why do I always spill?” - Soap, Melanie Martinez 

“If I say goodbye, the nation learns to move on. It outlives me when I’m gone.” - One Last Time, Hamilton

“Let me tell you what I wish I’d known. When I was young and dreamed of glory: You have no control- who lives, who dies, who tells your story.” -  History Has Its Eyes On You, Hamilton 

“Shizuka na sanzashi no inori no you ni. Hitori de furueteru sabishii tsukikage (Like a quiet hawthorn’s prayer. The lonely moonlight trembles by itself).” - Haru wa Kogane no Yume no Naka, Kalafina 

“ I see my face“ - Sunday Morning, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812

REGULAR PLAYLIST 

“Mabushiku hagayui eien hontou wa donna mono yori ibitsu datta koto. Sou hajime kara kizuiteita no (When we promised each other was actually more distorted than anything else. I knew from the beginning that).” -  Last Cross, Masami Mitsuoka

“And filed his veins with the blood I had 'Till his blood, 'till his blood 'Till his blood was my own.” - Throwing Bricks, Florence + The Machine

“All alone. It was always there you see. And even on my own. It was always standing next to me.” - Breaking Down, Florence + The Machine 

“You can say goodbye and you can say hello. But you'll always find your way back home.” -You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home, Hannah Montana (i still love hannah montana even though her music now is kind of meeeeh) 

“Can we keep our bearing straight? Or will we be blown off course? Are we instruments of fate? Do we really have a choice?” - Boat Song, Woodkid 

2. how do you feel about kids? in general they’re okay. they’re okay in a sense that they’re not making a mess in a bad way. and they give you the weirdest story which i enjoy listening and maybe joining in sometimes lmao  

3. if you could be one fictional character for a day, who would it be and why? tintin, cause he can do fucking anything (except raising the dead) 

4. if you could have dinner with any celebrity, alive or dead, who would it be? herge tbh, i want to talk about his process, and his inspiration about so many things when he made tintin (but he’s known for disappearing out of nowhere then reappearing out of nowhere, so im not sure if he’ll even accept the dinner AHAAHA) 

5. at a glance, who is your most popular artist in your music collection (i.e. whose songs do you have the most of)? i have at least 3

1. Florence + the Machine 

2. Fall Out Boy 

3. Panic! At the Disco 

6. what would be your last meal? Instant noodles (’cause I’m not hungry lol)

7. favourite toy as a kid? Is the Gameboy Advance counted as a favorite toy as a kid? Cause that’s my favorite toy lmao (and I can’t think of an old favorite toy as of the moment) 

8. what song fits your favourite character the best? Not really a favorite character (because I have a lot) but for my original character One lmao, the song Numb by Marina and the Diamonds fits him so well for some reason. 

9. ramble about something current affairs related. not at the moment :”^( 

10. what fandom discourse makes you angry? those very popular fandoms that brings out hate for some reason. i don’t get why people are so butthurt about some certain things in shows/series/games, especially when someone is just pointing a harmless detail out and tHEN BAM EVERYONE GOES NUTS (though i’m just generalizing here, even so it’s still sad... and frustrating; however since i have character development, i tend to let all that go and enjoy the content that people genuinely share with others) 

11. what’s your opinion on smut?

i only read it whenever i am really, REALLY, REALLY bored. cause there are a lot of them these days and i just want to read something about fluff, or h/c, and character developmentssssssssssssssssssssssss (even though it’s headcannon)