#I know we say Kyoko before but it was her birthday

[skeletonnerdy]

Sayaka Maizono and Kyoko Kirigiri

[dominoblues]

To celebrate my little gremlin's birthday!!!!! Happy birthday Mokuba!!

You can also read it on AO3 here

____

The roar of the McLaren Elva reverberated in the middle of the jungle of cars, concrete, glass and steel that was San Francisco at noon. In the passenger seat, the older Kaiba could not care less about the scenery flying around him: the same buildings, the same landscape he had been acquainted with for a long time now. Besides, the clouded sky and the lack of sunlight took all the charm away. A gray San Francisco was not a pretty San Francisco. Not that behind his sunglasses he could have told the difference.

Seto peeked at his little brother in the driver’s seat: Aviators on, dark hair ruffled by the breeze blowing on his new roadster speeding up on the asphalt. Every now and then, he would let out a soft impatient growl at the red light forcing him to stop, nervously tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. Then, even before the green light would appear, he would shift gears, wheels screeching, and pass the cars in front of him at full speed, meticulously steering through the traffic at the intersection, to the irritation of some drivers whose curses would be lost in the rear wind.   

Seto smirked. Stylish. Free. That was Mokuba Kaiba. The ‘hot’ Kaiba, as people would call him.

“Are you that hungry?”

Mokuba met his gaze.

“I just want to spend as much time with you as I can without the fucking downtown congestion slowing me down.” He complained.

Warm sensation heated Seto’s chest at those words. Twenty-seven years and he was still not used to how straightforward Mokuba was when talking about his feelings. Whether it was anger, frustration or happiness, that simple way his little brother had to put into words his thoughts and emotions always took him by surprise. 

“It’s alright, I took a couple of hours off. We have time.”

Seto diverted his attention to his phone and to the list of messages and mails that seem to never end, not before noticing the smile on his brother’s face.

“Isono says David Stella wants to meet.” Seto raised his gaze on the road ahead with a sigh he immediately regretted.

Mokuba turned to his brother, probably pausing enough to understand the reason behind Seto’s poorly hidden frustration.

“I can do it. I can fly to New York next week.”

“No I’ll do it. You go to Frankfurt.”

“I can do both.” Mokuba insisted. “It doesn’t make sense for you to do it. What are you gonna do? Fly back to Japan tomorrow and then come back next week?”

“Maybe I can meet him on a call.”

Mokuba shrugged. Whatever Seto’s choices would have been, he knew better than keep complaining when it came to business. After all, he was just the Chief Operational Officer. All the ultimate decisions were up to the CEO, and god knows how stubborn and workaholic he was.

“How’s Kyoko-san?”

Seto stopped typing on the phone and tossed a sloping glance at his brother. Mokuba’s question seemed to come out of nowhere. He was keeping his eyes on the road, feigning the most natural expression. The little rascal. Is this what we’re doing now?

“She’s fine.” He hoped that would be it, but he knew Mokuba too well.

“Have you seen her this week?”

He was an open book, not even trying to conceal it this time. Seto let another deep breath for there was no point in hiding anymore.

“She’s busy. I’m busy. We don’t see each other often lately.” He could feel Mokuba’s gaze on him, that annoying ability his brother had to X-Ray the shit out of him every.single.time. Which compelled Seto to add

“I’m fine. It is what it is.”

The silence that followed felt almost pitiful.

“It’s almost eight years since you started dating.”

“We are not dating.”

“Whatever. Agreement, friendship with benefits, whatever you wanna call it. Point is, it’s been quite some time so maybe it’s reasonable for things to slow down. Right?”

Seto stared at Mokuba behind his sunglasses, incapable to formulate a reasonable sentence.

“Even though,” Mokuba continued. “Didn’t she turn forty-seven this year? I heard milfs are quite… passionate.”

“I’m not having this fucking conversation with you.” Seto cut it with a sardonic smile, split between the urge to smack his brother’s nape, enjoying Mokuba’s poor attempts at cheering him up or go back at him. He settled for the latter.

“Are you two slowing down?”

“Nope. Still fucking like rabbits.” His face brightened with a big grin. “But we’ve been together for what? Three and a half years? We’re still in the middle of it.”

Seto delivered one of those rare awkward laughs of his which for some reasons were so contagious to Mokuba.  

“I’m sorry you won’t get to see Jaeson this time. He’s been quite busy too.” Mokuba added.

“Is he taking you out to dinner tonight?”

“No, we’re staying home. He said it’s going to be a surprise, he will probably cook dinner and then…doing some other indoor activities.” Mokuba cheeks tinged with red.

“Right. Like rabbits.”

Mokuba let out his usual vibrant deep husky laugh. Seto smiled, looking at the road again and resting his elbow on the car door. He finished typing his e-mail.  

“How’s it going with the new house?”

“It’s great. I think we’re gonna finish moving by the end of the month. Next time you’re here we’ll probably be able to show it to you.”

“Do you like it?”

“Oh yeah. It’s big. There’s a lot of rooms and the garden is amazing. We can have barbeques and breakfast outside. The neighborhood is nice too. It’s going to be a dream.”

Mokuba’s voice overflowed with excitement. Seto was sure if his brother did not have his sunglasses on, he would have seen his deep grey eyes lightened up like the sky at dawn. Still the same, twenty-three years ago as now. No, it was different. There was a time when his eyes were empty and lifeless, mistakes after mistakes. There was a time where Mokuba has stopped smiling at him, laughing with him. A time when Mokuba did not call him niisama anymore, not that often anyway, and would just address him with his name. That one devastated him. Was it all that really over now? It seemed like a lifetime had passed. He looked at the young men driving his favorite car, his enthusiasm melting him inside. He patted Mokuba’s head.

Gazes met, silent falling.

A small gesture. It was enough.

***

The MKT restaurant at the fifth floor of the Four Seasons was a grand place and the food was simply outstanding. If Mokuba did not have a planned dinner already later that day, he would have definitely given the dessert a try and maybe something else too; but for now a margherita flatbread and a nicoise salad was all he allowed himself to try.  He was not going to disappoint his husband’s cooking, after all. He did not dispensed with the wine though, even if both he and Seto were bound to return to work in an hour.

They had talked business and life, as they were used to every time they would meet once every couple of months. Seto’s visits used to be recurring the first few years that he had started college but since Mokuba had taken the position of COO in the company, their in-person meetings had become less frequent, mostly because now Mokuba could deal with company stuff to unburden his brother. They would still call each other every day. It had become an important habit to both of them. Even eight thousands kilometers and sixteen hours of difference would not have kept them apart. Mokuba would have sworn on it.

It had been hard the first few weeks alone in San Francisco. Yes, of course, his best friend was with him the whole time and then he had met Jaeson who had literally changed the entire direction of his life. Yet, he still remembered the tears he cried that late afternoon at the San Francisco International when he waved goodbye to his older brother. Nineteen years they had spent together with their highs and (many) lows up to that point. The separation felt like something had ripped inside him. The first nights alone in the penthouse had been rough. Promise me you’ll call me every day, he had asked him. Niisama complied. Every day since.

It was such a small thing, something Mokuba was not even sure he could rely on and yet, somehow, it had made a huge difference. Seto would visit every month on business trips and they would talk about college, about life, about themselves. Not that his brother was the most outgoing when it came to feelings. Nonetheless, they had their own thing, the gestures, a simple word. One   of the moments Mokuba would treasure for the rest of his life was the day he came out to Seto, two months in as a freshman. Crying, shaking, the confusion, the fear of being rejected, as he was something impure and wrong. A warm hug and the pride in his brother’s eyes settled the dust. Somehow, this is how they managed to communicate. It took them years to found this balance. It took them a trip to the quantum dimension, a brain damage, quarrels, arguments and many efforts. Still, they had been surviving just fine.    

The only fear left in Mokuba, that would resurface from time to time, was the thought of Seto spending too much time alone.

“Have you seen Yuugi?”

“Not much. Everyone seems to be busy lately.” Seto took another sip of wine.

Mokuba softly bit his lower lip. “Why don’t you take a couple of weeks off this summer? I can cover for you and you and Kyoko-san could spend some time somewhere nice.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Not enough.

Seto looked at his watch.

“So, do you want your present? We still have some time.”

Mokuba’s eyes widened.

“You have a present for me?” He looked around and was sure he had not seen his brother with a bag when they got out the car.

“Of course I do.”

Seto pulled an envelope from the inner pocket of his jacket resting on an empty chair and passed it to his little brother. Mokuba received it in his hands and explored the little package. It was small but heavier and thick at the center as if it contained something solid in it.

“Please don’t tell me it’s car keys. I don’t know where to put my cars anymore.”

“It’s not car keys.” Seto rebutted shaking his head. That little gremlin sure loved cars even more than he did.

Full of curiosity, Mokuba slowly opened the envelope on one side with the help of a knife, and then, he peeked inside. He lingered for a few seconds, eyes still looking inside the package. Then he moved his gaze to his brother with a mix of confusion and emotion in his look. Seto gestured him to keep going with a wave of his head.

Mokuba slipped his hand in the wrapper and extracted a familiar locket. It was no different from the one they used to wear: it was a small box, with the Duel Monster cards’ original backing printed on both sides, and a long thin string tied to it. It’s just that it couldn’t have been the same locket because the older one was still hanging in his bedroom. He looked back at his brother, his face revealing surprise. Seto’s eyes met his, and there was a mix of satisfaction and cockiness in his enigmatic smile.

“Go on. Open it.”

The younger Kaiba, fingers trembling, sprang the locket open and gasped. Inside there was a picture. He had seen it before not long time ago. Actually almost two months before, the day of his graduation: both he and his brother facing the camera, hugging, Seto placing his mouth on the top of Mokuba’s head,  Mokuba’s cheerful beam. A happy day. The picture showed only a cut of the original, which Mokuba was sure it was still in Jaeson’s phone.

“You asked Jaeson to send you this picture? I remember he was the one taking it.”

“He sent it to me already that same day.”

“But why though?” Mokuba gazed back at Seto, with big eyes and it was as he had turned back into a child.

“I thought it was about time for an upgrade. Look, you don’t have to wear it. We are not kids anymore and we sure have a different sense of fashion than before. But-”

Seto noticed his brother’s eyes getting wet, emotions flowing through his face. Pulling the most serious expression he could manage now, Mokuba stretched his arm holding the locket in front of his brother who answered him with a puzzled look.

“Last time I put it around your neck. It’s your turn now.” Cheeks slightly reddish.   

With a sigh, Seto took the locket from his brother’s hand and, holding the gaze, he shortened the distance between the two and slid the locket on Mokuba’s head placing it around his neck.

Without moving from their closeness, he whispered.

“You are the last piece of my heart and I will always come back to you.”

At that moment, the little brother grabbed Seto’s hands into his own. Throat hurt like something heavy was stuck in it. He needed to grip onto something or the overflowing of sensations piercing him would have made him drift away. He knew. He had always known. No matter the distance, no matter the different paths taken in life, they will always be there for each other no matter what. They had already been through too much shit. He wanted to say something. He wanted to say it. How much he loved him. He could not. Only tears sliding through his cheeks. However, there was no need for words. It is how they communicated. The little things.

Seto freed his hands from Mokuba’s grasp, cupped his brother’s face with them and kissed his forehead.

“Happy birthday Mokuba.”

[andromebaa]

Despair's Legacy

A Danganronpa AU

Part 3 - More Legacy Students

Here are the younger Legacy students!

Lolita

Lolita only exists because my brother forced me to make her and I am so glad he did because she's so fun and silly. Another stupid mish-mash idea cuz she's basically a younger and more obnoxious version of Tsumugi (she's a cosplaying otaku-ass nerd). My only wish is that I was a better character designer because her clothes would look more flashy and ridiculous. I just based her main outfit on something I used to wear when I was younger lmao.

Yes, she's also supposed to kind of look like Princess Piggles that was intentional.

Jin

Our protagonist, everyone! His main personality trait is that he's a little wussy baby. He's spent most of his life thinking he's been watched in the shadows and uh, he wasn't really wrong actually. I think the whole story was supposed to be kind of a coming of age/test of bravery for him. Overcoming his fears and all that. Apart from that he is a little bland. Sorry Jin.

Yes yes I did the stupid cringe Albus Severus thing to him I'm sorry I'm sorry. I didin't mention it before but Kyoko's dad actually died during the whole purging Junko thing at the start of the AU. So yeah we got the carrying on the name thing from that. Fun fact the first name I gave him I ended up using as Daiya's actual name. Funny how that kind of stuff happens.

Naomi

Everyone, our deuteragonist!

She's just a small version of Kyoko. No, but yeah, she likes being a little detective and getting into mischief. Kyoko sets up little crimes for her to solve. She's definitely a lot braver than her older brother and will ask the questions everyone else is afraid to say. I think they make a cute crime-solving duo.

I only realised fairly recently that she's very autistic-coded so I'll definitely canonize that.

Haruhi

Second youngest Legacy student! So young that she doesn't have a card yet totally did not make one for her because I didn't get far enough in the play-by-post to do it.

She's kid-sized, her birthday is on the 5th of June, she likes tending gardens and fantasizes about playing outside (where the real sun shines!!). She dislikes sitting still. Her parents are, according to her records, Leon and Sayaka. I like to imagine that Sayaka dressed her up like this against her will. The wings were a compromise.

Shion

This little asshole doesn't have a card either. Baby sized; August 8th; likes drumming; dislikes not having object permanence. You're never gonna fucking guess who his parents are. I think me and my brother made a joke that in this AU Monokuma poked holes in all the condoms.

Now I know what you're thinking - you didn't seriously put a baby into a killing game. Why? I dunno, it's funny.

His only personality trait is that he's wicked good on drums. It's played off as a joke to go with the whole family band stupid dumb fucking schtick I made. Haruhi was going to be part of it too but she kind of evolved into having her own personality and I'm so happy for her that she did.

And that's all of them! Looking back I kind of wish I made maybe one or two more kids cuz it's a pretty small roster but I managed to roll with it. As before, I have an embarrassing amount of lore about all of them so please feel free to ask if you want!

Part 2 - - - Part 4

[emma-is-swaggy-and-epic]

Hi guys!!!! I just finished playing danganronpa trigger happy havoc ALL THE WAY TO THE END and i'm REALLY proud of myself so i wanna give my thoughts on the game! (WARNING: spoilers and some brief mentions of suggestive themes)

Now tbh i'm not really one to finish games once i play them for the first time (the only other game i've finished was pokemon sword) so this is REALLY exciting for me!!! I even got out some ice cream to celebrate!!! And let me just tell you this: I. LOVED IT. (The game i mean....though the ice cream was good too lol, it was birthday cake flavored!) I would've loved it SO MUCH MORE if i didn't spoil it for myself YEARS BEFORE i even played the game but that's okay, in my defense this was before i got my nintendo switch AND before the dangan trilogy got PORTED to the switch so i didn't think i was ever gonna play it....also if there wasn't so much problematic stuff in it like ableism and transphobia that would've helped...but anyway! Where do i even begin? This game is just AMAZING!!!!! The characters are really REALLY interesting and cool, the writing is absolutely SUPERB and despite having the game spoiled for me, it still managed to keep me on my toes and i just COULDN'T HELP BUT WONDER WHAT HAPPENED NEXT!!!

When i first started playing the game, my favorite character was hifumi! I sorta felt a bit of a kindred spirit with him since we both write fanfiction and are huge nerds (don't worry though, i've never sexually harrassed anyone!!!) Though as i played through the game a little more, i found that my favorite characters changed to toko, byakuya and celeste. Funnily enough i actually didn't like toko AT ALL at first! She REALLY didn't give me a good first impression; though the more i played, the more i started to warm up to her and i actually kinda realized that i relate a LOT to her....we're both child-like, antisocial brunettes (well....toko has purple hair but it just LOOKS brunette..) with blueish eyes, a passion for writing and a not-so-great relationship with romance/sexuality.....hell, without the DID part and y'know....the sexual harrassment, i'd say toko literally WAS me!!! I AM A TOKO FUKAWA KINNIE AND IT'S CONCERNING EVEN TO MYSELF!!!! That being said, i feel like some of probably know why byakuya and celeste are ALSO my favorites...ngl i never really expected myself to ship them as much as i do, ESPECIALLY considering i got into the ship because i was listening to the song gold digger by kanye west one day and had an epiphany. Though i'll leave my thoughts on the ship for when i make another cringey longpost talking about how much i like it (and when i get around to that, I'LL HAVE SOMETHING OF ACTUAL VALUE TO SAY ABOUT IT AND NOT JUST "THEY'D PROBABLY HAVE HATE SEX AND THAT'S AWESOME" LIKE MY LAST ONE!!! LIKE WTF WAS I THINKING WHEN I WROTE THAT???).

Y'know...usually when i play a game, watch a show or whatever, i never really go into it with critiques and reviews in mind so i usually tend to enjoy my experience and if i don't, i just stop engaging with that thing!! That being said, while i do ABSOLUTELY LOVE danganronpa! I have a couple criticisms, for starters: i've noticed a couple typos in the dialouge, they were VERY few and far between but it was still somewhat noticable and i'm a bit surprised that they were never patched out (hell, idk if it's just my monkey brain being dumb but i'm pretty sure there was even a typo IN THE VOICED DIALOUGE THAT THE VOICE ACTOR STRAIGHT UP JUST READ OUT) not only that but they replayed the voice clip of kyoko saying "mukuro ikusaba, the 16th student lying somewhere within this school, the one they call the ultimate despair, watch out for her" WAY TOO FUCKING MUCH, LIKE B R O WAS IT TOO HARD TO JUST SHORTEN IT OR SOMETHING???? I CAN SEE WHY THIS LINE IS SUCH A MEME IN THIS FANDOM AGHHHHHHH!!!! YOU KNOW IT'S BAD WHEN I CAN LITERALLY WRITE THE WHOLE THING FROM MEMORY OMGGGGG!!! Not only that but they played that one flashback of monokuma saying there were actually 16 students WAY TOO FUCKING MUCH too! Honestly i feel like this game sorta just has a problem with replaying flashbacks too much IN GENERAL!! Also tbh i feel like the final class trial was a bit too drawn out, like i understand that it's the end of the game and they kinda needed junko to explain why she's the bad guy but tbh the whole time i was just kinda thinking "CAN WE JUST KILL THIS BITCH ALREADY AND GET IT OVER WITH?????"

Sooo....yeah, i guess that sorta wraps up my thoughts on danganronpa THH. Ngl i'm gonna miss this game....i know there's school mode but tbh idk if i'll ever get around to playing it, if i ever do i'll probably only get the kyoko ending since i ship naegiri. Tbh i'm kinda nervous about starting up danganronpa 2 now since i've gotten so used to the characters and the storyline from trigger happy havoc that i feel like the sequels are just not gonna be the same....

Sooo.... yeah! I gave this game an 8½/10! Also genocide jill says nonbinary rights (just in time for pride month too!)

Oh yeah, and also SHIP CELESGAMI FOR CLEAR SKIN!!!!!!!!

[drakenology]

Operation Deku Day- Izuku Midoriya

author’s note: hiiii! so today’s inspiration is drunk sex. anyone who’s ever had drunk sex before knows that shit hit different. Something about it is soo nasty and hot ugh I’m a sucker. I firmly believe that izuku is an insatiable sex god don’t let that innocent sweetness fool you so he was the perfect candidate for my idea. please enjoy! all characters are aged up 18 +

warnings: cussing, smut!, alcohol use, breeding kink? and sex under the influence. also light degradation

summary: For Izuku’s 21st birthday you and the girls decide to throw him a surprise birthday party. As the night progressed, you and Izuku got real drunk and couldn’t keep your hands off each other... in more ways than one. 

word count: 2.4k

You spent all week preparing for this surprise party for Izuku. It was his birthday and you really wanted him to feel special and appreciated for being a great friend and loving boyfriend. You were pretty good at pretending that all the things you snuck home were just “things for the apartment” instead of decorations and all his favorite foods for the party. Bakugo being Izuku’s childhood friend couldn’t pass up on helping you and everyone from your graduating class of 1-A prep for the party, keeping everything hidden from Izuku. 

“MIND YOUR DAMN BUSINESS DEKU!” He’d yell at him if the green haired pro hero asked one too many questions. Today was finally the day to set up the party. You just had to keep everything hidden for a little while longer. You woke Izuku up with kisses and a plate of his favorite breakfast. He’d always loved pancakes but for whatever reason, he loved your waffles. Izuku could eat them for dinner if you’d let him. He smiled and ate his food, gushing about how he’s finally 21. 

“I can drink with you now, Y/N.” He said with a mouthful of waffles. You grinned and kissed him on the cheek as he ate. “So, what are we doing today?” He asked. Even though today was his birthday, the hero still had to work. 

“Oh.. uhm.. well.” You struggle to tell Midoriya that you had “nothing planned” knowing that he’d be hurt by that. 

“Maybe we could just go out to the bar and have a few drinks?” You lie, wincing at the upcoming disappointment in his voice. He nodded with a weak smile, trying not to seem too disappointed at the lazy plans. But he was grateful anyways and kind of excited to see the bar scene. After eating his birthday breakfast, he stood up from the bed and got ready for the day. While he was in the bathroom you text the mass group chat with the entire class in it named “Operation Deku Day!” Mina had already been messaging you all throughout the morning reminding everyone that the party starts at 9 pm; right when Izuku is expected to be home. 

“So what kind of cake does he like? I’m at the bakery right now.” Todoroki texts followed by an image of the options of cake the menu had. 

“Get him chocolate.” You text, giggling at the plan all coming together nicely. You wait for a response while looking at all the gifs and memes everyone’s sending sharing the same excitement for the party.

“Cool. I’ll have them decorate it and drop it off at your place, Y/N. Just let me know when Midoriya leaves.” Shoto texts back, you responding with an Ok and answering any questions about the party from the others. 

“Your phone’s going off a lot today, Y/N. Who are you talking to?” Izuku asks, his hips adorning a towel as he just got out of the shower. You look his wet body up and down, almost forgetting to respond to the question before he gets too curious.

“OH! Uh, It’s just the girls. Yaoyorozu wished you a happy birthday.” You laugh nervously, clearly awful at keeping secrets. Izuku just smiles and tells you to tell her he said thank you and got dressed in his hero costume. 

“Well, I’m off. I love you Y/N. I’ll see you later tonight.” Izuku says giving you a small peck on the lips as he leaves your shared apartment. You wave goodbye as he shuts the door and jumped up from your bed, texting the group chat

 “THE EAGLE HAS LEFT THE NEST. OPERATION DEKU DAY IS AGO.” 

Momo, Mina and Uraraka spend all day decorating the house and setting the ambiance for the party. Todoroki brought the cake and put it in the fridge and starting making a small ice sculpture in the shape of All Might for the spiked punch he made (He was known for making a good cocktail). Kyoka made a playlist for the party, she was the DJ afterall. She tweaked the stereo so the sound system would be JUMPIN and laughed maniacally as she knew she was gonna rock the fucking house down. Katsuki insisted on cooking since “You can’t cook half as good as he can.” Or at least that’s what Katsuki said. He handed a hot dish of buffalo chicken dip (my favorite) to Mineta, who insisted on helping with... idk something.

“It’s hot on the bottom, idiot. If you drop my dip I’m gonna drop my fucking fist down your throat.” Bakugo shouts, making Mineta nervous as he walks carefully with the dish. Sero and Yaoyorozu were putting the finishing touches on the decorations as you check the clock on your phone. Shit. It was 8:59. You see a text you received from Izuku 30 minutes ago saying he was on his way home and another from just now saying he’s coming upstairs. You squeal and start panicking. He was probably already on your floor. 

“Everybody ready? Izuku’s home!” You yell over everyone’s excited chatter. Everyone replied in a harmonious yes and took their places. You run towards the door and adjust your strapless dress, turning off the lights. You stand behind the houseplant by the door and almost squeal in excitement as you hear the door click unlocked. 

“Y/N?” You hear Izuku say nervously as he turned on the lights. He gasps as everyone jumps out from their hiding places and yell 

“SURPISE!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY IZUKU!” 

He smiles brightly and grabs you, giving you the biggest hug while lifting you off your feet. 

“Wow, thanks everyone!” He says excitedly, looking around the room to see all his friends. He became a little emotional knowing that you all went through the trouble of planning a surprise birthday party for him. You wipe his tears and give him a big fat kiss, earning an excited spin from him. 

“We love you Izuku. Now, let’s enjoy your party!” You said as you let him to the delicious spread of food to start Izuku off. Kyoko started the music and danced along to the beat to get everyone to join in on the fun. Mina pulled Uraraka towards the living to dance with her as she waved Asui over to join in. Shoto manned the punch bowl, serving everyone with a half smile hoping they like his punch. Midoriya walks over to grab a plate of food from Katsuki.

“Yo, Ka-Chan!” He yelled over the music. Bakugo smirks and gives the birthday boy his plate. They chat over the food and laugh together as they have a good time in each other’s company. Katsuki seemed to cease the usual teasing, just for this one special night. You giggle and run over to the dancefloor with your cup of punch in toe. You drink and dance at the same time, spilling a little bit of punch as it ran down your chin. Mina laughs and takes your hands dancing along to the beat with you. The night was young and the party was a success. You were just glad Midoriya seemed to be having a great time. 

Drink after drink you feel yourself get extremely tipsy, stumbling around with a drunk Mina and Asui. Uraraka had passed out on the couch from all the drinking and dancing. Even Momo was drunk, creating a phone to drunkenly call in some pizza since there was no more of the food Katsuki made. It was 1 am and everyone was still partying like there was no tomorrow. Including Midoriya. You had never seen this shy boy act so boldy and confidently. It was kind of a turn on. He was in a chug contest with Bakugo, seeing who out of them both could drink the most drinks the fastest. Ida, Shoto, Kirishima and Kaminari crowded around the two chanting chug chug chug as they both drank themselves into a drunken stupor. Izuku finished first, erupting into a loud and boisterous burp. Bakugo grunts and raises Izuku’s arm in the air claiming him the victor. When the hell did Katsuki EVER admit to defeat?

“ *hic* IZUKU’S THE FUCKING CHAMPION! *hic* And he’s one of my best fucking friends! I- I love you bro.” Katsuki says, slurring his speech and stuttering over his words. Midoriya winks at you, who was watching the whole thing go down from across the room. 

“L-Love you too, Kaaaachan.” Izuku slurred, stumbling over to you to give you a kiss. He wanted to celebrate his victory the right way; with a kiss from his girlfriend who was looking sexier than usual tonight. Midoriya approached you, smelling like beer and sweat as he pulled you close to him. Without warning he crashed his lips into yours, turning a sweet kiss into an intense and passionate make out session in front of the whole party. Something definitely took over in Midoriya. He was more aggressive with you than usual. You hear encouraging whoos and a jealous aww from Mineta who wished he was the one kissing you. Izuku waved him away as if he was shooing a fly and lifted you up, carrying you away from the party and into your bedroom. He shut the door with a slam, you squealing with excitement as he heatened the kiss. Izuku’s hands were all over you, groping your ass, squeezing your boobs and leaving sloppy kisses all over your neck. He was a beast, hungry for his well deserved prize. 

“Do you know what you do to me, Y/N?” Izuku asked, pulling away from the sloppy kiss as he throws you on the bed. You can’t even answer as you stare at him dumbly, still shocked at your normally sweet and gentle boyfriend turn into a lust stricken beast. He hovers over you on the bed, drinking in your body in that tight little dress you wore. Izuku feels himself stiffen at the sight of you, pulling your panties down under your dress. 

“’M gonna leave this dress on. You look so good right now, ya know that? Your tits are popping out of this little thing” Midoriya hisses, taking his calloused hand and rubbing tight circles on your already sensitive bud. You moan at his dirty words, intoxicated on his touch as you grab a pillow and cover your face with it. Izuku snatched the pillow away and threw it across the room, eager to hear your moans no matter who else was around to hear them. 

“Let everyone know how good I’m making you feel.” He said, easing two fingers inside you wet walls. You moan like a pornstar, grabbing onto Midoriya’s arm for dear life as he fingered you with a steady pace. Izuku’s eyes were glued to your face, watching you make those faces he loved to see pull on your features as he pulled your breasts out of your dress suckling on your swollen nipple. You pant, gasping at the euphoric feeling as the pit of your stomach tightened, threatening to snap as you approach a fast climax. Izuku noticed you body language automatically able to tell you’re about to cum. He quickened his pace as he watched you arch your back as you came undone before him. 

“Good girl.” Izuku coos as he takes his hand and sucked his sweet juices off his fingers. You flutter your eyes open as Izuku pulled his pants and boxers down in one swift movement, his impressive length springing out as you lick your lips at the sight. You wanted him in your mouth so you grab his dick and stroke it with a tight grip earning an eager moan from Midoriya as he grabbed your hair. 

“N-No. As much as I want you to, I have to be inside you.” He stutters, pulling your dress up over your hips. He kissed you sloppily, slipping some tongue in as you moan into the kiss. He motioned for you to bend over and you do so with excitement, wiggling your ass to tease him as he smacked it with fervor. 

“You ready for me?” Izuku asked tapping his dick against you as you nod and back yourself onto him, feeling his dick slide inside you with ease. You both moan at the feeling as Midoriya grabs your hips and thrusts harshly inside you, holding nothing back as he pulled your hair and smacked your ass. The muffled sounds of the music along with the sinful noises coating the walls of your room were all you could hear as you feel his hand reach forward to rub your clit as he brushed up against your g-spot repeatedly. You scream, trying to keep up with his swift and hard strokes as you throw your ass back on him, gripping the sheets for dear life. You’re sure everyone can hear your loud moans over all the music as you approach a second climax. 

“I’m gonna fill that pretty pussy with my cum, baby. You want me to fill you up don’t you, you filthy whore?” Izuku said, earning a frantic yes from you as you whine for him. You’re shocked at his words but more so turned on by them as you clench around him, cumming for him a second time. Izuku hissed as he rode out your orgasm, chasing his own. Soon enough, he’s coating your insides with his hot seed, grunting and moaning as he ruts into you a few more times. You whine at the loss of his dick as he pulled out of you. Izuku watched as his thick sperm dripped out of you, satisfied with the job for now. He grabbed a towel and cleaned you off sloppily, still heavily intoxicated. You giggled and grabbed your underwear and slipped them back on to rejoin the party. Izuku and you were both a visual mess. It looked as if you both just had sex, your hair was an absolute wreck, your dress was disheveled and you were missing a shoe. Izuku was just as bad, sweat glistening on his forehead and he had this big cheesy grin plastered on his face. You hoped you were both inconspicuous enough for you both to just rejoin the party as if nothing happened in your bedroom. But Mina took one look at you two and erupted into laughter. 

“You two just had sex didn’t you?!” 

[telehxhtrash]

I tend to see a lot of people say that Togashi will leave things uncertain and ambiguous in between Killua and Gon, and while it’s a possibility, I honestly don’t think it’s the most likely thing to happen, and if it did, ambiguous wouldn’t be the correct term to call it.

People often say that Togashi likes to play with ambiguity when it comes to queer matters. Yes, Togashi likes to play with gender. We get to see that through Kite, Pitou and Kalluto in HxH (although its arguable because Kite is definitely not cis). But when Togashi decides that a character is queer, or that there is a relationship going on between two characters, he doesn’t leave it ambiguous.

Togashi has created queer characters in 3 of his main works : Yu Yu Hakusho, Level E and Hunter x Hunter. And everytime he created those characters, he made damn sure that everyone knew that these characters were queer. No room for any sort of ambiguity.

The first examples I have are from Yu Yu Hakusho, with a character named Miyuki, and the other is from Level E, with a character named Kyoko Mikihisa.

For these two characters, Togashi made it so that they emphasized themselves that they were trans. It’s painted extremely clearly, that they were born in the wrong body. There’s literally no room for any sort of ambiguity here.

Togashi could’ve easily kept things ambiguous. There are plenty of ways he could’ve done it, keeping the character’s gender confusing. But he didn’t. He made it EXTRA clear that these characters were trans. This is mostly why I genuinely don’t believe you can describe Togashi’s queer rep as “ambiguous”. Because when the characters tell you themselves that they are, it’s canon. It’s not ambiguous.

Now, sometimes, Togashi likes to play it more subtle. He doesn’t make his characters say “I’m gay” or “I’m trans”, but he finds another way to say it.

In YYH, Togashi wrote a gay character : Itsuki. And he’s canonically gay, because when talking about another man, Sensui, he mentions that he sees him as a lover.

It’s subtle. It’s not ambiguous.

Same thing for Alluka, Alluka never comes on screen and says “I’m a trans girl !”. The reason we know that Alluka is canonically a trans girl is because the Zoldycks insist on misgendering her, while Killua emphasizes that she’s a girl.

And once again, it’s subtle. Not ambiguous. Even though I’ve seen a lot of redditors say that “Alluka’s gender is ambiguous”, Togashi is literally doing his utmost to highlight subtly that yes, Alluka is a trans girl.

But subtlety is not canon’s enemy. Not everything has to be painted clearly for it to be canon. Sometimes, you just have to piece every little clue together yourself. Just because the word “trans” is never canonically stated in HxH concerning Alluka, it doesn’t make her any less of a trans girl. Because as the audience, we UNDERSTOOD from the subtext and from the clash in gendering that she is trans.

So, yes, Togashi likes to be subtle. But subtlety doesn’t make things any less canon.

I’m drifting a bit to non-queer matters, but I also want to talk about two relationships in Togashi’s work that were canonically romantic, but subtle.

The first is Meruem and Komugi. It’s canon that the nature of their relationship was romantic. They never did couple-y things, or even kissed. But it doesn’t make the nature of their relationship ambiguous. Because it was once again, subtle, but drowning in subtext that Togashi deliberately put there.

Togashi paralleled Killua saying that him dying with Gon would be a shinjuu (lover’s suicide), only for it to not happen in the end - but Togashi wanted to throw that word in. So we could have it at the back of our heads. Because when Meruem and Komugi died, it was a shinjuu. It was two lovers dying by the same method with the belief that they’d be united in the afterlife. Meruem only cared about spending his last moments playing with Komugi. They both said that they were only born to experience this moment, of being in pure bliss as they die together. When Komugi replies to Meruem and says that she’ll join him in death, she uses an old phrasing used to accept marriages proposals. They died holding hands.

It was subtle, but canon. Because of all these clues and all the subtext Togashi planted, it is undeniable that their relationship was romantic. And they never kissed, never said “i love you”, but we still know : and that’s the beauty of subtlety.

Because yes, romance can be subtle AND canon.

Another example of a canon romantic relationship that was never officialized by a kiss : Keiko and Yusuke in Yu Yu Hakusho. Correct me if I’m wrong, but while they kissed in the anime, they never kiss in the manga.

But a relationship doesn’t need to be canonized by a kiss. I’ve never seen/read YYH, but while I was doing research, I read that their relationship grew naturally over the course of the manga. That they grew together, were affectionate with each other, but never told each other the nature of their feelings. Until one specific moment towards the end of the manga where this happens:

All of this came naturally. No big confession, just a confirmation of what they both felt. And no kiss either ! No hand holding, no true “romantic” actions, either before or after that chapter. Just feelings. I’m quoting one of the post I used as reference, but “On one hand it's beautiful to finally hear it, but on the other, it's not even surprising. You find yourself caught off guard by how easily you're willing to accept that these two have felt this way throughout the entire series.”

And while it’s subtle, because you’d expect at least a kiss or something, it’s canon and undeniable that their relationship is romantic. It’s clear that the two of them are in love, even if they never kissed. Because it was clear from the beginning that this was where their relationship was going : all the building up to that one moment where they both basically tell each other “oh yeah, btw, i love you”. A simple confirmation of what they both knew, and of what we as readers knew too.

I guess my point is that Togashi can insist on the nature of his characters and relationships. He insisted that Miyuki, Mikihisa and Alluka were trans. But sometimes he also likes to be subtle, and not put everything plainly. But the subtlety doesn’t discredit its the canon legitimacy.

Now, onto what it means for Killua and Gon. 

I emphasized that Togashi liked to highlight when his characters are queer. There are absolutely NO DOUBTS that Miyuki and Alluka are trans girls, Mikihisa a trans man and that Itsuki was gay. It’s in canon. But they were all brought up differently, and it was either confirmed by them saying it themselves or by the context and subtext surrounding their queer identity.

But Togashi never left it ambiguous. We always had canon confirmation that they were queer. What I’m saying is, there’s a very, very high probability that Killua is gay and in love with Gon. We’ve seen it in the incredible amount of subtext deliberately placed by Togashi. And like I said, Togashi never left the nature of his queer characters ambiguous. So it’s highly likely that Togashi will confirm in canon at some point that Killua is gay. 

Now, while it’s likely Togashi will canonize Killua being queer plainly by either him saying it or subtext (just like Alluka), it doesn’t mean that his relationship with Gon will be canonized plainly too.

I mentioned earlier that Komugi/Meruem and Keiko/Yusuke’s relationships were subtle, while undeniably romantic. So maybe this will be the case for Killua and Gon’s relationship too. It looks like Togashi’s style for writing romance is show, not tell, thus making it a possibility that it’ll be the same for Killua and Gon.

But I can assert with 100% certainty that Togashi will NOT leave their relationship ambiguous. Maybe it’ll be subtle, but NOT ambiguous. Just like Meruem/Komugi and Yusuke/Keiko.

Killua and Gon’s relationship is the backbone of HxH, and it’s very clear that Togashi’s intent from the beginning of the story was to canonize it as a love story. When Togashi wrote Killua, he incorporated elements of Tanabata, a legend about two lovers, in his story, and made Tanabata his birthday. Togashi queer coded Killua from the beginning, and I honestly doubt that he would never canonize it, when it was his intent to queer code him from the beginning. He made the both of them have an extremely deep relationship, being each other’s most important person. Combine this with all the subtext, and yeah, it’s pretty clear that HxH is a love story.

So yes, Togashi wouldn’t leave ambiguous something he planned from the beginning of the story. Especially since HxH is his first chance at writing a manga and being able to do everything he wants with it. Especially when Togashi’s gay manga got turned down 30 years ago.

I mentioned Togashi never leaving stuff ambiguous, but rather either putting it plainly or more subtly. And honestly, I’m thinking it’s going to be a mix of both for Killua and Gon. A mix of subtlety and undeniable proof of the romantic nature of their relationship. Exactly like Yusuke and Keiko’s relationship. 

I feel like Killua and Gon’s relationship perfectly mirrors Yusuke and Keiko’s, and I can totally picture it following the same patterns. By having their relationship grow even deeper as they reunite, with no explicit romantic gestures, just deep, deep feelings. Until ultimately, they both confirm it one way or another. 

I could literally picture Gon turning to Killua, telling him out of the blue something they’ll do when they get married, Killua being confused but Gon saying something like “Well, I wanna get married to you Killua. Don’t you want to?” and Killua almost choking but saying that yeah, he’d like that. Plain and simple. No romantic gesture. No kiss, no hand holding, no feelings confession under the stars. Just a mutual assessment of what they both already knew.

But honestly, I’m saying all this to try and be objective, but I’m not in Togashi’s head. Togashi could also very much go absolutely crazy and make Killua and Gon share a kiss, hold hands, affirm their love out loud, Because it’s his first chance at being free to do what he wants with his manga. And because he’s been wanting to draw a gay manga for a while, he might want to emphasize that HxH is queer.

Especially when it seems like Togashi likes to incorporate shoujo elements in his work.

And as @/sincerelysamedt mentioned in her wonderful post, queer relationships are often dismissed as platonic in media, and that it’s important to overplay it to canonize it efficiently. And Togashi is probably aware of this. Hence Killua’s stuttering, blushing, the constant gay poetic lines Gon tells Killua about how he’s so glad he met him, Killua’s inner monologues comparing Gon to light itself, multiple characters highlighting their mutual love, a date under the stars where they mutually affirm their want to stay together and travel the world while they both blush.........Togashi didn’t have to go THIS hard, but he did.

These panels highlight the difference between the subtle relationships I talked about above. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think Togashi represented Yusuke or Keiko having internal monologues about how they wanted to stay with the other forever or poetically comparing each other to light. It proves that while Togashi likes to play it subtle, he's also not afraid to put extremely cliché shoujo tropes and heartfelt moments in his narrative too. Maybe he’s aware that internalized homophobia might pose a problem to the narrative he’s trying to convey, and thus he might be enclined to overplay it. 

When you keep in mind that Togashi most likely wrote Killua and Gon with the intent of making their relationship a love story, you can see that he’s never really written with the intent of being ambiguous or even subtle, providing us with multiple intense scenes of mutual devotion. And that’s one thing that’s leading me to believe he wouldn’t shy away from delivering highly emotional scenes that would canonize their mutual love. Because their relationship has never truly been portrayed as subtle, or ambiguous, it’s just.... developing.

So yeah, it could go either way ! Either Togashi will decide to paint it subtly like every relationship he’s painted in the past, or he’ll either decide to go all out and maybe show us an extremely heartfelt confession under the stars, maybe even an on-screen kiss (the latter option being highly likely considering all the very emotional scenes between them we’ve already had) - (EDIT : i wrote a post on why i believe there’ll be an explicit confession if you want to read it !)

But one thing is certain : it will never stay ambiguous, because Togashi has never painted any of his queer characters or the relationships between his characters as ambiguous, Subtle, yes. Ambiguous, no. 

[hopeswriting]

I meant to do a post about my thoughts on the Daily Life Arc now that I finished rereading it, but I can't seem to find the time and it's been a while now, and if I keep it up I'll forget what my thoughts are to begin with lol, so here's the long story short:

I know it's a long arc, as in it starts being boring and more or less unbearable past some point, because the "gag of the chapter" format only takes you so far, and not actually very far if Amano's humor doesn't work on you much, if at all. I don't think it's an arc you can reread right away/soon either, lest you feel that one flaw even faster.

And I felt it too, starting with the fourty-something chapters I felt like it was dragging on too much, though to be fair that probably had to do too with the fact I knew things much more interesting were coming after that.

Still, all that said, like, it's an enjoyable arc. Amano's humor happens to work on me, and she does it really well, and I liked reading the arc. There are some chapters where you're really asking yourself why they were written for lol, but even then you read it for the characters, and it somehow keeps you going.

And like, even though I think Amano could have seen the fact the comedy was going to turn repetitive and thus boring at some point, and try to diversify it or something, it's just how comedy/humor/gags works? Some jokes land and some doesn't, but for me at least a lot more of them worked than not.

The DLA is a good enough arc is what I'm saying.

------

On than note and on the contrary, of course it's fine if you think it's a bad arc, to each their opinion, but personally I really don't agree it's an unnecessary one.

I'm saying this because apparently it's not uncommon to advice new fans to skip the arc and directly start with the Kokuyo one? (Or so I learned on TV Tropes anyway, this might or might not be still relevent/accurate.)

Now don't get me wrong, the DLA does fail to hook the readers to the story for the reasons stated above, I agree with that, but it literally introduces the main character? And all the other characters, and gets us to know them, and establishes the dynamics between them and why they're the way they are, and, though only in a more or less superficial manner (and more than less) by design of the arc's purpose (not being deep in any way lol), it still gives us an insight into the characters and why they're the way they are. A glimpse into the core of their personality, the "stakes" of their characters, the flaws they have to overcome.

And all that in the context of their daily life, so if you skip it to go directly to the arc that challenges them, you can't appreciate fully how they rise to the challenge, how it shows their growth or reasserts their core values. You can't know how much or what it means, for example, off the top of my head, to have Yamamoto sacrifice his arm to beat Ken, when only a year ago he tried to kill himself over his broken arm. Or Hibari losing against Mukuro, thus telling us how much of a real threat he was. Or Tsuna screaming at Lancia for having hurt his friends, anger on his face, clearly despite himself, that Dame-Tsuna.

All these just wouldn't hit you the same, and it'd be such a shame? I mean I guess the ones who start with the Kokuyo arc go back to read the DLA, or you could compromise like the anime did by splitting the DLA between more serious arcs, but like I said I personally don't find the DLA that bad, so I still wouldn't advice it lol.

Even if, I suppose, it'd mean they might give up on the manga somewhere through the DLA, but like? Some mangas just don't speak to you, and that's fine, and it'd be a little of a shame from my POV as a KHR fan, but still, no big deal.

------

I'm still very impressed with how smoothly Amano went from a gag manga to a shonen one, and how she made it so the DLA still fits with the rest. I mean the sudden change in tone/stakes/etc is jarring, sure, but it's all based on stuff she introduced in the DLA, which she presumably came up with with no intention to ever make it something deeper/more meaningful.

It's easy to believe the foreshadowing, and generally speaking the worldbuilding was planned all along, which, again, probably not, and like? Super impressive.

(Though once more don't get me wrong, there are inconsistencies/plot holes in Amano's plotlines and worldbuilding, but not, like, at their seams, if I can say it like that? It's more often in the details, and it's fairly easy to fill in the blanks ourselves.)

------

Finally it was a lot of fun to rediscover the characters in a new light, and a bit of a disbelieving surprise tbh.

For context before I started my reread of the manga, all this time I was going with the time I read/watched it years ago plus the times I skimmed it, but mostly by all the fanon I was consuming. And it's not to say fanon is wrong per se, but it latched on one to three character's traits, or slapped an easy character archetype on them easy to "relate" to within, and apparently never looked back lol. And also often dialed up those traits (good or bad) in a very noticeable manner.

What I'm saying is, fanon is, in fact, wrong sometimes zldnslsz, and the characters are much more nuanced even in the DLA! (Which still leaves us at a more or less superficial level, because, you know lol, but still!)

------

To name the ones that stood out to me the most:

Nana isn't abused by Iemitsu, nor is she unhappy in her marriage despite Iemitsu being an absent husband (which is not relevent in the context of the DLA, but still, you can tell). She isn't an abusive mother to Tsuna either, and she is literally never an airhead. She literally just isn't, she actually does react very normally to the crazy Reborn brings with him, but much like Yamamoto as long as no one gets hurt (or walks it off), she just brushes it off.

And she has friends she goes listen to piano recitals with, and tries to save on money by eating rests, and gets in two-way arguments with Tsuna, and raises his allowance if he gets better grades to push him to work harder, and all around is just your average mom that really didn't read as just The Mom, if you know what I mean.

She has her flaws, definitely, she's not a great mom, namely is apparently used to call Tsuna Dame-Tsuna, but she's not just that.

She takes care of him, worries over him, and seems to be the only one who hasn't given up on him yet when the story starts. She supports him (though sometimes in a tactless to hurtful way), praises him when he does well, and trusts him to watch over the kids.

She's not that bad is what I'm saying, and 100% redeemable (that is, if you think she needs to be redeemed to begin with, which I actually do think she does, calling Tsuna Dame of all things is just a really shitty thing to do.)

(Though it's interesting to note that she doesn't do it again after what happened with Kyoko iirc, even if she might very well still talk to him in a belittling way at times. I just wish Amano would have commit fully to acknowledge it and resolve it, what with already having made it Kyoko's Dying Will Regret.)

(Edit: I had forgotten but she literally forgets his birthday while preparing someone else's birthday, so I take back that she is 100% redeemable because it's being too nice. But my point still stands.)

------

Haru is literally such a fun character, it makes me even more sad now to know what Amano did with her (nothing ansknslq 😭😂).

She's unhinged, has zero impulse control, does not reflect on the consequences of her lack of impulse control as Tsuna points it out, is ready and willing to throw hands at any given moment and is unapologetic of it, and is the one Amano actually calls an airhead.

The only problem she had with the mafia is that she thought Tsuna was forcing it on Reborn, and when she confirmed it was all true she literally didn't even blink at it, and immediately called herself the future Decimo's wife djosdkkd.

On that note she is literally mafia right from her first appearance, is more or less involved in almost all the mafia shenanigans, was right there with Tsuna & Co when they went to destroy the Tomaso's headquarters.

And like?? Amano could just have left it at that if she wasn't going to do anything else/more with it. Haru had so much potential, and not only Amano did nothing with it, she actually watered her down and took away all her distinct character's traits 😭.

------

Hibari is so much more feral and playful than his fanon cool, overpowered, quiet badass counterpart. Which I love too, don't get me wrong, but these two sides of him don't have to be exclusive!

He talks and smiles and jokes often, and shows off and casually insults you, and licks the blood away from his lips after having beaten bloody other middle schoolers who dared to defy him (I know this happens in the Kokuyo arc, but it illustrates my point the best).

Not much more to add than that, we should just acknowledge that and put it in our works more often.

------

Gokudera is a compelling character from the get go, and as far as the DLA goes, he's the most compelling character second to Tsuna. He's the only one to actually have flashbacks and a backstory. And what stood out to me the most that I don't see often in fanon, is that he's really a good friend.

Yes he has a short fuse and snaps easily and is easy to anger, but he's not always angry. And is seen having and being capable of positive exchanges outside of Tsuna (I'm thinking Yamamoto namely, who's made with Ryohei to be the one he gets angry with the most).

And yes he holds Tsuna on a pedestal and sees him through heavily tinted pink glasses, but even through that he's earnestly a good friend. And tries his best, and is hardworking and overachieving, so much so he messes up without meaning to, but he only ever has honest, straight-forward good intentions behind it all (well, maybe not always lol).

I love him a lot more now is what I'm saying.

------

And Tsuna. I'm not sure I'll be able to articulate my thoughts properly, but like... he's just your average teenager. Which of course is his whole thing, and I'm saying it in a very not judgy way whatsoever, but he's often made to be at least a little more than that, namely about his bullying.

Like, it's kind of dramatised in fics? And I'm not going to elaborate on that more because it might come out wrong and I don't want that, but it's just, like—canonically he is just bullied, simple as that. Like many other teenagers are.

And it's all in a "chill" way (for unfortunate lack of a better word, I don't mean to trivialize bullying at all, it's wrong and unfair and never deserved or okay, just so we're clear), and by the time the story starts Tsuna is used to it and has given up fighting against it, and actually finds refuge and a twisted comfort in embracing his Dame-Tsuna's monicker, because at least he's not gonna hit rock bottom deeper than that if he does.

And I'm not actually going anywhere with this, it's just? It hit me how differently canon and fanon portray his bullying.

Back on the note of him being a (below) average teenager, Tsuna is not an uwu pure cinnamon roll too good for this world.

He's literally so quick to judge and criticise, whether in his head or out loud when he knows more the person (namely Haru lol, poor girl), it was actually a bit of a shock tbh lol. He snaps easily, and is lazy, does not want to try even one bit, and is happy to run away from his responsibilities whenever he can.

And not only I'm not saying that in a judgy way this time either, but I'm actually saying it in a good way. He really felt like your average middle schooler, and it was so refreshing to see. That, plus the fact the narrative never holds it against him, let alone punishes him for it even if he's made to grow out of these traits, and it's literally part of his character arc, is kind of unique for the shonen genre (maybe, I'm not exactly a specialist of shonen mangas lol).

And I can see why you'd want to change it in fics, but personally I think it really makes his character's arc even more meaningful.

[thetravelerwrites]

Monster Match 33: Futakuchi-Onna

The Traveler's Masterlist

For @artless-whimsy : “I'm a bi cis lady, she/her. During non-pandemic times, coffee shops are my natural habitat. I'm quite small and get cold easily, but love sweater weather. My passions include cat/kitten rescue, reading, long walks, D&D, writing, and mental health advocacy. I write and edit for fun and profit, and I crochet to help manage my anxiety. I'm shy but friendly, and my family says I talk too fast. :p

In a partner, I love wordplay and being able to talk for hours, particularly about stories, but the most important thing is kindness (whether that's something that comes easily to them or something they work hard at). I'm happy to be the talker that draws someone else out, as long as they give me something back. My love languages are quality time and physical touch, but my partner's don't have to be exactly the same.

Monsterwise, I love creatures that are pretty but deadly (or misunderstood)—think vampires, faeries, ghosts, shapeshifters, demons—but honestly? Please just have fun with it; I can't wait to see what you come up with! As for NSFW-content, I'm happy either way and would rather you write what you're inspired to! I do love kisses, and I think I'd prefer more lime than lemon, if you go that way?”

You’ve been matched with a Futakuchi-Onna!

A futakuchi-onna, or "two-mouthed woman," is a type of Japanese monster characterized by their two mouths; a normal one located on her face and a second one on the back of the head beneath the hair. The origin of a futakuchi-onna's second mouth is often linked to how little a woman eats. In many stories, the soon-to-be futakuchi-onna is a wife of a miser and rarely eats. To counteract this, a second mouth mysteriously appears on the back of the woman's head. The second mouth often mumbles spiteful and threatening things to the woman and demands food. If it is not fed, it can screech obscenely and cause the woman tremendous pain. Eventually, the woman's hair begins to move like a pair of serpents, allowing the mouth to help itself to the woman's meals. While no food passes through her normal lips, the mouth in the back of her head consumes twice what the other one would.

TW: Eating Disorder, Abuse, Mental Illness, Hospitalization

“Cute girl!”

“Shut up!”

You looked up from the counter at your favorite cafe and tried to find the source of the voices, but you only saw one woman sitting alone by the window. You could tell when you looked at her that she had been staring at you and had looked away just as your eyes met.

“Talk to her! She’ll leave!”

“Stop it!”

“Hey,” You said, walking over. “Are you okay?”

She sighed and looked up with a strained smile. She was Asian and very pretty, with long, dark hair flowing down her back, though she seemed rather thin, perhaps unhealthily so.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” She said. “I have… a… growth or something.”

“That talks?” You asked.

“Unfortunately,” She replied, turning in her seat. Her hair lifted of its own accord and sitting among the tresses was a mouth, identical to the one on her face, except with sharp teeth.

“Hallo!” It said at you.

You blinked in surprise. “Well then.”

“Yeah, sorry,” She said with a sigh. “I used to hide it, but it’s gotten so loud lately that it’s just easier to explain and wait for people to run off.”

“Well… I mean, it’s unusual, but I don’t see why people would run off in this day and age.”

“If people look human and then aren’t, it weirds people out.”

“I get that, I guess,” You said, sitting down. “So, does it have a mind of it’s own?”

“No, no, it’s just says what I’m thinking but don’t normally say out loud.”

“So you think I’m cute?”

She looked up in shock and blushed hard. “Oh… I was hoping you hadn’t heard that.”

“You’re pretty cute, too, you know,” You said, smiling. “Can I buy you a coffee?”

“Oh!” She said, a surprised, shy smile creeping across her face. “Yeah, thanks, that would be wonderful.”

Her name was Kyoko and she was a yokai, or Japanese demon. She’d apparently once been human and became a demon over time, which is something that happens pretty regularly to both humans and animals in Japan. By the end of having coffee, you’d left with her number and a promise to see each other again.

The two of you went on a few dates together, and it was about a month before you realized something: you’d never seen her eat. Not once. Maybe as a yokai, she didn’t need to eat, but you’d seen her drink coffee and tea and things, so you weren’t sure. You decided to ask her about it.

On your next date, you went to a local park to feed some ducks. The mouth on her head was chattering incoherently. It was doing that more often, you noticed

“Hey, Kyoko?” You began, throwing out some peas and corn for the ducks to peck at. “Can I ask you something kinda personal?”

“Yeah, sure,” She said, holding out a handful of oats.

“Why don’t you eat?”

“Hungry!” The voice in the back of her head said.

“Stop!” She said, smacking the mouth lightly. She took a heavy breath. “I’m a futakuchi-onna. Do you know how my kind are created?”

“No,” You replied.

“It happens after years of under-eating and malnourishment,” She said. “In stories, it’s usually a stingy, selfish husband that causes a woman’s suffering, but for me it was my mom.”

“What do you mean?”

“My mom used to make fun of me because of my weight. I wasn’t even that overweight, but she decided when I was really young that I needed to diet and start fasting. She would make me not eat for days, and then feed me broth twice a day to make me lose weight quickly. She used to say that if I wasn’t thin and pretty, no one would ever love me and that I’d never be worth anything. Around my eighteenth birthday, the mouth appeared. My mom kicked me out when she found out I was a monster.”

“You’re not a monster, Kyoko. Your mother is.” You took her hand and squeezed it. “Why has it been getting so loud recently?”

She looked away. “I haven’t been very nice to myself recently. The mouth eats at night when I’m asleep, so I don’t eat during the day because I don’t want to gain weight.”

“How long has it been since you’ve eaten anything while you were awake?”

She shrugged. “Two weeks?”

Your mouth dropped in shock. “Kyoko, that’s not good! Are you seeing anyone about this? Like a therapist? This is an illness and needs to be treated.”

“I know,” She said, ashamed. “But I don’t want anyone to judge me or…” She stopped when her hair grabbed a handful of the oats and stuffed it in the mouth. “Stop it!”

“Come on,” You said, getting up off the ground and holding out your hands. “We’re going to the hospital.”

“What?” She said. “Why the hospital?”

“You need help now,” You told her. “I’ve been concerned about you since the day we met and this just confirms my fears. I don’t think we should wait.”

“Will you stay with me?” She asked, beginning to cry.

“Of course I will,” You said, pulling her into a tight hug. Her hair wrapped around you. “I’m not going anywhere.”

The doctors discovered that Kyoko was thirty pounds underweight and immediately recommended that she enter an inpatient rehab facility. Kyoko sobbed but agreed to go. You swore you would visit her as often as they would let you.

The two of you visited at least twice a week and talked to each other on the phone every day. Despite the fact that you couldn’t be with each other while she was in treatment, you’d grown very close during that time. After sixty days, she was released. She had lost her apartment during the time she was in rehab, so you moved all her things into your apartment and asked her to stay.

You went to pick her up and take her home, and she threw herself at you, laying a big kiss on your lips. It was the first kiss the two of you had. She looked radiant.

“How are you feeling?” You asked.

“Better,” She said. “The mouth hasn’t spoken in weeks and the staff said it quit trying to sneak food days ago.”

“That’s wonderful, babe, I’m so proud of you.” You gave her another kiss and set her down, taking her hand and squeezing it. “Let’s go home.”

To get your own Monster Match, buy me a Kofi!

Since my work is no longer searchable, please do me a favor and reblog this story if you enjoyed it. Help me reach a wider audience! To help me continue creating, please consider becoming a Patron or donating directly to my PayPal.

Thanks for reading!

My Masterlist

The Exophilia Creator’s Masterlist

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #679: Joker's Birthday Speech (Persona 5 X SSBU)

It was a nice and beautiful afternoon Smash Town and the Smash Mansion itself has gotten loud and lively inside for a certain Phantom Thief's birthday party today.

After being genuinely surprised and then become very happy by the fact that his friends and newfound family had went out of their way to prepare this special occasion for him, Ren Amimaya took it upon himself to do something that he never done before. And that is to.....

Ryuji: GIVE US THAT BIRTHDAY SPEECH, BRO!!!!

Everyone: SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH!

Peach: (Standing Behind the Microphone) Everyone! Let's all calm down and-

Everyone: SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH!

Peach: ('Sigh') Guys! Please! Let Ren-

Everyone: SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH!

Peach: (Already Starting to Lose her Patience) QUIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEET!!!!!!!!!

Everyone: (Finally Silenced Themselves with Fear in Some of Their Eyes) ...........

Peach: (Smiles Brightly) Thank you. (Turns to Ren) Everyone's ready for you now, Renny dear.

Ren: (Makes his Way to the Microphone With a Bit of a Scared Look in his Face) Thanks for that, your majesty.....

Peach: You're welcome!~

Ren: (Turns to his Audience While Clearing his Throat a Little) You know....('Heh') If I knew sooner you crazy people would throw me a party at all today, I would've already written down my speech last night. Or even earlier this morning if I was ever that lucky.

Almost Everyone: (Starts Chuckling Lightly)

Bayonetta: (From the Audience) LOVE YOU, SWEETIE!~

Ren: (Waves at Bayonetta) Love you too, witch mom. (Chuckles Lightly Once More Clearing his Throat Again) But in all seriousness though, I just wanna thank all of you for.... literally going out if your way to do this for me.....(Starts Shaking his Head a Little) You know what? No. That's not the only thing I wanna thank you all for today. It's also for.... making a really huge impact in my entire life. For some of you who don't know already....('Sigh') Let's just say that my life before all of this was.....(Frowns a Little) far from great...or even good for that matter. So much so that I... almost thought about giving up all together....

Peach: (Covering her Mouth in Shock While In Tears)

Ann: (Frowns Sadly for her Friend) Oh Ren.....

Ren: (Starts Smiling Softly Again) But meeting you all over those three or whatever years has helped me become more of a better and stronger person, inside and out, and to have confidence in myself than I ever had before. You even helped me realize that there's more to life than just being sad and miserable everyday. And honest, I wouldn't be how I am- Scratch that. I wouldn't be STANDING HERE, speaking to all of you in a microphone, right now if it weren't all of what you've done for so far. To all of the amazing friends I made along the way....

Ann: (Smiles Softly in Tears While Holding on to Shiho's Hand)

Ryuji: (Already Starting to Grin Happily While Tears Are in his Eyes)

Futuba: (Starts Clapping her Hands Loudly While Tears Are in her Eyes)

Lavenza: (Softly Pats on Futuba's Back in a Reassuring Manner)

Yusuke: (Smiles Softly Towards his Friend)

Haru: (Begins to Crying Softly Holding Onto Morgana, Who is Smiling Proudly at his Partner and Friend)

Ren: To those who actually stepped up and continue to raise to this very day.......

Palutena/Bayonetta: (Already Crying Loudly into Each Other's Arms) OUR BABY BOYYYYYYYY!~

Sojiro: (Chuckles Lightly) Honestly. If anything....(Wiping a Single Tear Off his Eyes) I should be thanking you for making a better man.

Ren: To those I already considered as my brothers and sisters.....

Pit: (Already Starts Crying his Eyes Out While Viridi Starts Rubbing his Back Reassuringly)

Dark Pit: ('Tch') Crying already, Pit-Stain? (Turns Away While Crossing his Arms) Pathetic..........(Tears Starts Falling Down on his Eyes Before Getting Pulled into a Group Hug by Kyoko and Misako)

Ren: (Turns to Makoto) To the beautiful queen whom I love each and everyday, for the rest of my life.

Makoto: (Heart Begins to Melt in Pure Happiness While in Tears) ('Sniff') I love you too, Ren-Ren. ('Sniff') So much. (Begins to Cry Softly)

Sae: (Put her Arm Around her Baby Sister Reassuringly)

Ren: And to all the people who put with me since day freaking one! I wanna say, from the bottom of my phantom heart, from all the crazy shit we been through over the years. All I wanna say today is.....(Tears Fell Down from his Eyes with a Sincere Smile on his Face) Thank you. Thank you all so, very muc-

Before he could finish his speech, Makoto, Ryuji, Futuba, Bayonetta, Palutena, and eventually almost all of his friends and family has begun to Rush over to Ren and overwhelmed him with all the love and hugs they could all give the young Phantom Thief. This was, indeed, the best birthday he ever had in a very long time.

Happy Birthday Joker

@keyenuta

@princekirijo

@26shann

@cyber-wildcat

@albion-93

@ma-lemons

@caleb13frede

@italian-love-cake

[kumeko]

A/N: For the @furubazine! I wanted to give Kyoko her dues, I just love the snippets of the past we get in the series.

…

…

…

…

When she was younger, Kyoko hadn’t been big on traditions. Customs like that had to be taught at childhood, had to be given importance and love to carry through to adulthood. There had been no one to teach her to care and so she hadn’t. Birthdays were just another day to trudge through, holidays an extra day to sleep in, and gifts were always given by oneself.

Then came Katsuya and his sly smirks, Tohru and her big eyes, and now all Kyoko had were traditions. There were big ones, like birthdays and test results, where they’d grab a special treat from the bakery nearby. Small ones, like the morning goodbye and the bedtime kiss. There were so many, many ways to let a person know I love you and Kyoko never tired of finding a new one.

Even a visit to her husband’s grave was one steeped with routine. Standing at the gated entrance to the graveyard, she waited patiently as her father-in-law ambled toward her, a soft smile on his face. Dressed in a suit, he looked more put together than the absent-minded grandpa who liked to cuddle with Tohru in the kotatsu.

“Kyoko!” Noticing her, he waved as he came to a stop in front of the gate. His sleeves were slightly wet from cleaning the grave. “Right on time, I see.”

“What, is he taking appointments now?” Kyoko asked, raising a brow. If the dead could talk to the living, she could picture him doing it too. He’d probably even ask for money.

Her father-in-law chuckled, a raspy sound. She’s only ever known him for his kindness, for his soft edges, and it was strange to think that at one point, Katsuya couldn’t bear the man. “No, nothing of the sort. He’s grateful for any visitor, I’m sure.”

“That’s not the man I married.” Kyoko snorted, shaking her head. It wasn’t hard to remember how much he teased her, his lips curling into a playful smirk as she fumed. While she wasn’t sure where Tohru got her naïve personality, she was grateful she hadn’t picked up anything from her father aside from his polite speech. It would have been hell having two Katsuyas.

She wished she still had one.

Forcing a smile, she crossed her arms and asked, “You know, you could always come with us. You don’t have to visit alone.”

Perhaps reading her mind, he reached out and squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. “After all those years apart, I need a little alone time with him. Though, he’s as talkative as ever.”

Kyoko guffawed. Her father-in-law was a riot, and she could see the traces of her husband in him. “If you say so.”

“I do.” Smiling, he stepped away. While he was getting older, Kyoko was certain that all of his wrinkles were from laughing. She could only hope it would be the same for her when she grew old. “I’ll see you for dinner?”

Another tradition. Kyoko nodded. “My cooking’s improved since last time. Maybe not as good as Tohru’s, but nothing is.”

Her father-in-law laughed as he headed away. “As long as I don’t join him today, it’ll be fine.”

She almost didn’t want to wave goodbye. Really, in that cruel honesty, he was just like his son. Would Katsuya have looked the same if he’d reached that age? Grey-haired and balding, his sides round from eating too many of Tohru’s dishes. Before she could linger on the idea, on the image of her husband as anything less than handsome, Kyoko heard a familiar voice calling her name. Turning around, she smiled brightly. “Tohru!”

“Mom!” Tohru waved back eagerly, her long skirt swishing around her heels as she trotted down the street. In her hands was a wicker basket, filled to the brim with this morning’s cooking. All as usual.

What was different, however, were the three people following her. Hanajima, Uotani, and Megumi trailed after, all dressed casually as they looked around curiously. Well, Kyoko assumed it was casual wear—it was hard to tell with Hanajima and Megumi sometimes. The siblings looked like they’d stepped out of a Victorian funeral and it was impressive on so many levels, not the least how hot it must be in the August heat. “You just missed Grandpa.”

“Oh no.” Tohru’s jaw fell open. Her eyes darted everywhere in a desperate attempt to catch his back. When she didn’t see him, she hunched over, depressed. “I should have come earlier,” she moaned.

“It’s fine.” It was impossible to resist the urge to hug her adorable daughter and Kyoko immediately gave in to the impulse. As she wrapped her arms around Tohru, she glanced at the others and smiled. “I’m glad you all could make it.”

Uotani brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear, looking awkward. Maybe it was the way she held herself, her gangly body looking like it wanted to curl up and disappear, but Kyoko felt like she was looking at a younger version of herself. While she had no idea how Tohru came to be, she knew intimately what it took to make an Uotani. “Are…are you sure we should be here?” She peeked at the graveyard, then back at Kyoko. “Shouldn’t this be a family thing?”

“Are you saying you aren’t family?” she asked, raising a brow. Uotani flushed, looking both pleased and flustered, and Kyoko chuckled. “It’s about time Katsuya paid attention to Tohru’s life.”

Tohru nodded happily, still buried in Kyoko’s arms. “I want you to meet him!” she chimed in, her voice muffled.

“See? Not a problem.” Kyoko paused. “Unless, you don’t want to come?”

“No, that’s not…” Uotani was a bright red now.

While she floundered, Megumi pushed forward. “I’m in the company of four gorgeous ladies. I’ll stay.”

“Are you sure you’re in elementary school?” Kyoko asked, finally letting go of Tohru. She wasn’t sure which was worse, the wink he gave when he said that or the way that his expression and tone stayed flat the entire time.

“He’s very wise for his age,” Hanajima explained, looking as cool as a cucumber as she entered the graveyard.

“I could say the same about you,” Kyoko replied wryly. Tohru’s friends were an odd bunch. Katsuya would have loved them.

“Ready, Mom?” Tohru asked, grabbing her hand.

Kyoko felt herself melting again, but this time she resisted the urge to hug. She had to have some semblance of self-control, otherwise, they wouldn’t get anywhere today. “Yeah.”

The Honda family grave was already clean, the stone gleaming in the sun. Several white lilies were laid in front of it, a gift no doubt from her father-in-law. Setting down her picnic basket, Tohru dashed toward the buckets. “I’ll get the water.”

“Should I help?” Uotani asked, uncertain as she turned from the grave to her friend and then back again.

“The water isn’t that heavy.” Kyoko knelt in front of the grave, her fingers brushing the stone lightly. How strange. They hadn’t had that many years together, in the end, and she was now more familiar with the feel of stone than her husband’s hand. Tohru must remember even less, if she even remembered anything at all, and Kyoko’s heart ached. Lost time, lost chances, a void that never had the chance to exist.

Setting out three incense sticks, Kyoko slowly lit each one. Standing up once more, she said, in a stronger voice than she’d expected, “Katsuya, these are Tohru’s friends.”

“Hi?” Uotani mumbled, even more bemused. Gingerly she lifted her hands, looking like she wasn’t sure if she should wave or pray and she’d tried to do both.

Megumi nodded his greeting. “Hello.”

Looking up, Hanajima stared at the sky for a few minutes. Her smile was mysterious before she finally nodded. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Was it? part of Kyoko wanted to ask. It was impossible to speak to the dead, but that didn’t feel like the case with Hanajima. The more she learned about her waves, the less she understood.

“I’m back!” Lugging a heavy bucket, the water spilling over the top, Tohru struggled toward the grave. “Sorry I took so long.”

“Tohru!” Uotani scrambled toward her, quickly taking the bucket out of her hands. “I’ll take that.”

“I can’t let y…” More water splashed over the edge, hitting the bottom of her skirt. Biting her lip, Tohru reluctantly handed the bucket to Uotani. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Uotani grinned as she held the bucket with a hand. “See? It’s nothing, really.”

Kyoko watched as the pair sprinkled water over the grave. There were very few things she could deny Tohru, so it hadn’t even been a question when her daughter had asked if her friends could tag along. It had been a good idea. “You know, you should pray to him for your marks.”

“What do you mean?” Uotani asked, looking over her shoulder curiously.

“He was a teacher, after all. And very smart. Maybe he’ll slip in your dreams and give you all the test answers,” Kyoko explained, trying hard to keep a straight face. Her husband had never been that kind, and any help he gave would be trapped inside a riddle. “And looking at your grades, you need it. You have to get into high school, after all.”

Stricken, Tohru gulped. “That…we can do that…”

Uotani already had her hands clasped, her lips silently mouthing out many, many prayers. Kyoko covered her mouth, forcing her laugh to turn into a cough. Only Hanajima and Megumi didn’t move and when she turned toward them with an inquisitive look, Hanajima only smiled. “You can’t cure my stupidity.”

“She’s actually really smart,” Megumi added, hands in his pockets. “She just has to be motivated.”

“And he’s always very smart,” Hanajima fondly added, her eyes soft as she looked at her brother. “Besides, we’re not good at riddles.”

“Oh.” Had she read her mind? Kyoko wasn’t sure if she wanted the answer to that question. Instead, she pulled out a blanket from the forgotten basket and spread it out on the stone ground.

“What are you doing?” Uotani hissed, glancing around furtively.

“Setting up for lunch?” Kyoko answered slowly, her lip twitching slightly as she bit back her laugh.

“Here?” For an ex-gang member, Uotani was surprisingly serious sometimes.

“Yeah, we’re eating with him. We’re celebrating his memory, after all.” Kyoko knelt next to the basket and pulled out Tohru’s carefully prepared bentos. When Uotani still looked troubled, she patted on the blanket. “You don’t want Tohru’s hard work to go to waste, do you?”

Having no such qualms, Megumi already grabbed a bento and opened it. “Wow, you made all this?”

“Yes!” Tohru sat eagerly next to him and grabbed another one. “And there’s some karaage in here if you want.”

“Your cooking is as tasty as ever,” Hanajima complimented, sitting on her other side and effectively sandwiching Tohru between her and her brother.

It was a lost battle. Grumbling, Uotani sat down and held out her hand. “I’m hungry anyways.”

The graveyard was filled with sound, a stark contrast to the usual silence when it had just been her and Tohru visiting Katsuya. Kyoko liked it better this way. Maybe this would become yet another tradition, a lively one that kept friends and family close no matter what boundaries separated them.

“As you can see,” Kyoko murmured to her husband, “Tohru’s made some really good friends.”

And though she couldn’t see him, she knew he was smirking at her, the bastard.

[wonderwoman6199]

MAJOR NEWS!!!!!!

Guys, I just read chapter 280, and oh boy are we in for a hell of a ride. Because of the arrrival of a certain character, the whole story is about to take a big turn. DON’T READ IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE SPOILED!!!!!

Okay, now that the warnings are out of the way, let’s get down to business. In this chapter, a very big event happened, and I’m not talking about Kyoko’s response to Ren’s confession. Though while I’m mentioning that...AHHHHH SHE NODDED! HE KNOWS! SHE KNOWS! THEY BOTH KNOWMHOW THEY FEEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😍❤️😍❤️😍❤️😍❤️😍❤️😍❤️😍❤️😍❤️😍❤️😍❤️

Ehem, nevertheless, that’s not the biggest development in the chapter. The biggest development is the arrival of this guy.

Cedric D. Bennet

Some of you may remember him, some of you may not, but going forward in the story, he will be EXTREMLEY IMPORTANT! Let’s do some backtracking to see what we know of this character and his importance.

Chapter 258

We first hear Cedric’s name during the Momiji audition arc. His name is brought up in chapter 258 during the confrontation with Kimiko Morizumi. After Yashiro comes across Morizumi and her manager trying to throw Kyoko off the roof, the group is joined by the wheelchair bound Erika Koenji-san, claiming she can prove Morizumi tried to harm Kyoko.

Koenji shows that all security cameras in the area were recording the incident and threatens to post the videos online. The threat truly frightens Morizumi when Koenji mentions one particular person who might see it.

This frightens Morizumi as she has worked hard to create an image for herself to fit Cedric’s belief that “all Japanese women are pure and loving.” With this threat, Morizumi finally agrees to back off.

Chapter 272

The next time Cedric’s name comes up is in chapter 272 when Moko-san is asking Kyoko to be her English partner to help her prepare for her role in the American production she will be in. It is during this conversation we learn the name of her co-star.

In chapter 280 he is most likely in Japan because of this role. In chapter 272 we learn that Cedric comes from a family of famous entertainers. We also learn that we have already met one member of his family, his grandfather Mr. Duris, or as we may remember him...

Yep, the guy who was the diversion before Maria’s father came out at her birthday party. We also learn more about Uncle Tiger, specifically his reputaion in the entertainment industry.

Uncle Tiger was also the man looking for the “fairy” actress Amamiya mentioned.

This has outlined all the ways Cedric is connected to Kyoko’s story. Now for the really important part, how he connects to Ren...

Chapter 273

During chapter 273, we overhear a very important phone call between Lori and Uncle Tiger. Lori and Uncle Tiger seem to be talking about a decision Ren recently made, perhaps about a job. Uncle Tiger asks Lori if Juliena and Kuu, Ren’s parents, have been informed about his decision. Lori says he will call them after Uncle Tiger. After a brief pause, Lori says,

Uncle Tiger jokingly says he wishes he could cast a curse on Lori so that Maria will only call him “uncle” for two weeks. When Lori says this is hardly a punishment, Uncle Tiger responds,

This conversation has lead to a very interesting theory by some fans, is Uncle Tiger Ren’s grandfather? Going off this conversation, it wouldn’t be too far fetched. Lori says that Uncle Tiger helping Ren would ruin all Ren worked for. Ren has been working hard to be recognized based on his acting talents alone, not his family connections. We thought this only applied to his parents the famous actors Kuu and Juliena Hizuri, but could it also apply to his grandfather, “the father of winners?” We have further proof when Lori implies that Uncle Tiger will be called grandfather again once Ren makes his American debut.

In the latest chapter we learn that Cedric is Uncle Tiger’s grandson. So, if the theory does prove to be true that Ren (or rather, Kuon) is his grandson as well, does that mean they are related? Perhaps cousins? 

Chapter 273 provides us another bit of interesting information when Uncle Tiger says

The “him” Uncle Tiger says he’s going to protect is Ren, however, who is he protecting him from?

After looking through previous chapters I think I have the answer. The person Uncle Tiger is protecting Ren from is the man who ruined Kuon’s life. The man who constantly tortured Kuon. The man who made Kuon run away from America. The man who was at least partially responsible for the death of Rick...

Cedric D. Bennet...

As I have outlined, we first heard Cedric’s name in chapter 258. However, now that we see what he looks like in chapter 280, it appears that we saw Cedric long before we heard his name.

Chapter 178

During the Heel siblings arc we see many glimpses of Ren’s past when he was still Kuon. In these flashbacks, there is one man who makes several appearances, this man.

Similar to the picture shown above from chapter 178, whenever we see this man, he is harrassing Kuon for his mixed heritage. Looking closely at him now, he bares a strong resemblance to Cedric. 

Chapter 180

We see this flashback continued in chapter 180. In this continuation, it appears that the gang that was cornering Kuon has now been beaten to a pulp. Despite their defeat, Koun continues his assult, only to be stopped by Rick with a quivering Tina behind him.

We then see the ringleader (the man who is likely Cedric) running away.

Kuon is having none of this and chases after him, shortly followed by Rick. The flashback ends here. It is several more pages before we see the outcome.

This, this right here is why Cedric’s arrival marks an important point in the story. He was there for Rick’s death. He was the one who, just like Tina, put it into Ren’s head that he was a murder.

Chapter 185

We can see that Cedric’s words, just like Tina’s, still haunt Ren. In fact, when Ren attacked Murasame-san on the set of Tragic Marker in chapter 185, it is because he reminded him of Cedric. 

The arrival of Cedric D. Bennet will have an irrevicobale effect on the story moving forward. With his arrival, we will now know the full story of the incident that set Kuon Hizuri on the Path to become Ren Tsuruga. In other words...

The shit has hit the fan!!!!!!

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

The 12 Days of Christmas: Day 1

Ah…That’s it!

*Makoto leans back in his seat, shaking off his energy as he finishes up the work for the day.

You seem to be in a good mood tonight. Any plans this Christmas Eve?

Well, I spent pretty much all of this morning making preparations for a Christmas Party tomorrow, plus throwing you a birthday party.

Huh? A b-birthday party for me?

Your birthday is just as important as Christmas for me. And the rest of us too.

Since you joined Future Foundation, we can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done.

I haven’t done anything…I’m just cleaning up my mess…

Not only that, but I also have a date with Kyoko tonight. I need to make a reservation as soon as possible, but I had no time this morning.

Oh…I see…

Well, here’s the phone. I assume you already have your eyes on a place.

There’s a lot to do. I need to book, buy some flowers, etc.

*Makoto takes the phone from Mukuro and rings up the restaurant.

Reservation: Thank you for calling sir? Were you hoping to make a reservation?

Yes please. Dinner for two sir.

Reservation: I’m sorry sir, but you see, tonight we are already fully booked.

What!? Aw…

Reservation: I’m sorry sir. Please accept my humblest…hm?

Huh? What’s the matter?

Reservation: Oh, really? Hah. Well then.

Is everything ok over there?

Reservation: Worry not sir. You see, you may have had a stroke of luck just at the right moment. One of my colleagues has just informed me that one of our prior reservations has had to cancel after being unable to make it. They also wanted a table for two, so if you’d like, you can take their space.

Really!? Wow, that’s amazing.

It is a shame though. I feel bad for the couple who weren’t able to make it.

Reservation: It is nice to hear such sympathetic words sir. We will have a table ready for you.

*Makoto hangs up.

That was lucky…!

Well, that’s kind of standard for me at this point…

*Makoto suddenly hands Mukuro some money.

Th-This is…!

Good work today Mukuro. Make sure you take a break tonight.

You don’t have to spoil me like this you know?

Don’t worry about it. You’ve been overworking yourself lately, so you deserve a few days off…

Well, if you insist.

Goodnight Mukuro. Enjoy yourself.

Goodnight.

*Makoto and Mukuro split off, and Makoto starts packing away his things.

Now I just gotta get some flowers, then it’s off to the aquarium, and then dinner!

Wow…it’s amazing.

*Makoto and Kyoko begin their Christmas date at the aquarium, with Kyoko peering through the glass at the several colorful fish.

Have you ever been to an aquarium before?

No, not really. My father never took me to one, neither did my grandfather. What about you?

My parents took me and Komaru to one when we were younger. That was quite a long time ago though.

I kind of forgot just how magical this place is…Although, that may just be because you’re here with me.

...

Well, when we finish up here…How about we go and grab some dinner?

Where will we be going?

Oh, you’ll see. I may or may not have made a reservation.

What? Really?

Ahaha…Now you’ve got my hopes up. I can’t wait.

I really hope it goes well. I got really lucky with the reservation, so I hope it’s worth it…

*Later, at the restaurant in a high rise building, the man at the desk ushers Makoto and Kyoko to their seat.

This restaurant is amazing. How’d you come across something like this?

It was…recommended to me by a friend.

Oh, really now?

Well, if you can call it that. He may be a bit irritating and awkward, but Kuripa really does have the best intentions half the time.

I see, so you put your faith in Kurafto again?

I know, it’s a bad habit, but he’s not a bad kid.

You don’t say…

Although, if I’m being honest…this is probably the most smooth and adult I’ve ever seen you act before.

You really think so…?

Not to say you can’t be mature when the time calls for it…

But when it comes to large scale events like this, you usually act a lot more uncomfortable and awkward. When you went to talk to the staff about our reservation, you were really cool and composed.

Aw shucks, you’re making me blush.

*All of a sudden, the lights in the building dim.

Huh? What’s going on?

Haha…Just wait a second…

Announcer over loudspeaker: Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you for joining us on this very special night. We wish you all an unforgettable Christmas eve, with one last present from the staff here.

*All of a sudden, the curtain in the window next to where the couple are sitting opens up, to reveal a view of the entire city from where they sit.

…! W-Wow…

…Kyoko…Here…

Huh?

*Makoto hands Kyoko a bouquet of flowers he was concealing since they arrived.

Wh-What?

They’re bellflowers and lavenders. They reminded me of the color of your eyes, so…

*Kyoko takes the flowers from Makoto.

Merry Christmas.

…

Um…what are you?

!!?

*Makoto is cut off as Kyoko suddenly leans in and engages a long kiss with him.

…

My apologies…I know initiating things like that isn’t very much like me…but I’m so happy right now, I think my heart could burst…

This almost all seems like an elaborate story from a TV show of book…but now it’s happening to me and…I’m not sure how to react.

I’m…really happy…

…Kyoko…

Maybe if I was more used to being in a relationship, I’d have more of an idea of what to say…Though I’m not too sure…

To be honest…who really cares about that? Even if you had, do you think you’d be this happy?

…Though, to be honest, while I didn’t expect any of this…It’s no surprise that it comes from someone like you Makoto…

What do you mean?

Whenever you put yourself through a long and difficult trial, it’s almost never just for your own sake.

There are many who should probably take a page out of your book…

I’m just trying to do what’s best for people…and in this case, I’m doing what’s best for the girl that I’ve decided to marry…

…

Um…hey…

Yes?

Do you…have any plans after this?

No, this was the last one…why do you ask?

I’d…like to spend some time with you for the night…

I’m not trying to come off as obsessive but…I feel like my serotonin levels are higher than they ever have been before. I’m not sure how to deal with it.

You really don’t need to be so wary. I love you. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have gone this far to appease you.

And…

*He moves around and nestles into her shoulder.

Christmas is a time that you should spend with the ones you love, don’t you think?

…

I love you Kyoko…

I love you too…so much…

[dangan-happy]

P: Too much artsy, not enough fartsy. We talked about this, clown!

Okay, so before I begin, if any of what I’m about to do somehow breaks any of the rules (and thus, you can’t answer any of my asks), then I completely understand /g However, I care deeply for this person; pup’s a hard worker who does his very best, and he absolutely deserves this. Pup truly does. So maybe I’m going overboard for him; maybe you mods will end up despising me for doing something like this. But when I care about someone, I go all out, and he deserves some good stuff in his life. Heavens knows the amount of bullshit he’s been through and, hell, continues to go through! So if you don’t mind me doing this for him, then my gratitude is forever yours /srs /pos

Oh, and by the way, you can just refer to me as Teto!

And with that out of the way, Ask #1 for the birthday person is a go, with this being addressed to Kyoko, Junko, and Mukuro!

Hey, you three! I hope all of you are doing good so far. So there’s this super duper cool person who works hard and has gone through a lot known as Ollie. Ollie really likes you three (amongst a few other cool gals on this blog), and I am (politely) asking if you three could give him some birthday hugs and kisses on the cheek, please? I think (and hope) that’ll make his day and make him smile with so much joy!

Thank you very much!

~ Teto

HAHAHAHA!

So the little guy likes me, does he? That’s so sappy of him. But what can I say, I’ve seen the guy. He’s preeeetty cute that it’s disgusting. I can’t lie though, he’s pretty fucking crazy.

No wonder we really get along soooo well! Yeah, birthday hugs and kisses on the cheek sound good.

Although I do not normally allow such peasants to join my side, I will allow him to always be at mine, sure I am the queen. But every queen does need her king! And he’s so full of despair that I could just cause a tragedy with him!

Huh? We’re not allowed to do that?…fiiiiine. Man, leave it to the rules to be boring as hell. Well, I’m still going to give my little Ollie Pop affection like he deserves.

-

How interesting, I didn’t think anyone would ever find interest in me. I cannot say I’m too surprised. He has displayed many hints of his attraction towards me, I could deduce it with my hunch.

However, I won’t deny him of your request Teto, perhaps it could be me displaying a sign of emotions. But I have Naegi to partially blame for that.

Hugs and kisses on the cheek, correct? Alright Ollie, come here so I may give you what you would want as a gift. Don’t - take that out of context, I know how people's minds work, I don’t want to be mixed up with something so vulgar.

-

It’s going to be a while before we get a turn Kirigiri, Junko likes to hog all the attention for as long as she can. Which is completely okay, I don’t mind. I hope you don’t either, especially when it comes to Ollie. She’ll spend however long with him as much as she can before she gets bored. If she ever gets bored.

I can fulfill this as well Teto. Whenever Junko is ready to give us a turn by giving Ollie birthday hugs and kisses on the cheek, we will do so. For now, I think we’ll need to be patient.

I also hope he doesn’t mind that I hold his hand…I’ve always wanted to. I just never got the courage to do so.

[benichi]

I played Chou no Doku (so you don’t have to) - Mizuhito’s Route Part 1

By popular demand - here is Onii-chan. If you haven’t seen my previous entries here’s [Prologue 1] and [Prologue 2].

The story continues after Yuriko’s Father was murdered on the night of her birthday. The Manor is in disarray and Yuriko is obviously not feeling well either. How nice that someone has come to pay her a visit:

The “nameless” man 🤦 Said “nameless” man aka Shiba is here because he wants to marry Yuriko (in exchange for money). What better way to woo a woman who has just lost her father than wispering filthy nothings into her ear. Fujita eventually steps in because stranger danger. Shiba is undeterred however, stating that “one day he’ll be able to do whatever he wants to her” ewww. Nii-chan also joins the party to back her up, reliable as a...

... floating weed. Shiba leaves soon after - and during dinner that night our reliable floating weed clearly shows us his priorities.

Yuriko’s Mother ends up collapsing due to stress, since Shiba finally offered a way out of their misery but Mizuhito doesn’t want to take it because he’s got totally platonic lurv for his little sister.

Hmmmm...

Shiba returns and apparently he’s become familiar with “you could at least buy me dinner first” because that’s his new plan to woo Yuriko. Hideo is also present for some reason (I forgot why and don’t feel like going back to read it lol).

Like you and me Shiba also noticed that Mizuhito specifially said “I won’t let my sister get married” instead of “I won’t let my sister get married to you”. Yikes.

No one likes Shiba’s new dinner plan however, except Fujita who states that it wouldn’t be bad for Yuriko to spend some time outside the manor for a change. Not on Onii-chan’s watch however. He says that Yuriko is only allowed to go if she takes someone with her.

HMMMM... Anyways I guess I appreciate them telling me that Majima can’t be selected for the first run. But I’m sure I could have figured the rest out myself. Being the rebel that I am, I at least tried to bring Majima along.

Nii-chan does not approve. However, he definitely approves of himself coming along.

Can you guys not. Honestly after seeing this I really don’t get why Shiba doesn’t abort mission cause adsgjfkdl wtf. At least Hideo understands me:

So Shiba takes the two to a (it was french I believe) restaurant. The conversations are pleasant... not. Shiba brings up that the Nomiya family used to do quite well financially, but started having problems after monopoly became prohibited. He also takes a jab at Mizuhito’s frivolous behaviour while he’s got the chance.

I thought you’re a floating weed and not a willow tree. After a bit more back and forth between the two men Shiba has to leave. Before making his exit however he puts a Rose into Yuriko’s hair.

Onii-chan immediately pulls the flower out...

... and probably chugged the enitre thing lol. The two decide to go home and after talking about how that restaurant didn’t “fit” Mizuhito...

Dread. He claims he wants to wash her hair because it’s been “a long time”. We all know that’s not the real reason, so he finally admits that...

Don’t let Mizuhito hear you say that, he’s gonna shave your entire head so that there’s no hair left for Shiba to adorn with flowers.

True. Yuriko has some bright moments at least. During night time (and before her “romantic” hair washing session with her brother) Yuriko decides to visit her bedridden mother. Mum has some... interesting? things to say

Excuse m-

W- ... I mean I guess her meaning is a little bit ambiguous but it’s like she’s saying incest galore or something afashskjsak. How convenient that we’ve got a date with a certain someone lined up...

If you start serenading about scents again I’m going to-

I hate you. Being the scent connoisseur that Yuriko is she notices that her brother used a lemon scented shampoo to wash her hair. After she asks him about it Mizuhito says that he got it from one of the Ladies he frequently “visits”. Yuriko gets upset and demands that her Brother stops going to “that place”. He says that he can’t stop craving woman due to the fact that his Stepmother never showed him love. So he seeks out woman that give him the feeling of being loved. Yuriko gets mad, stating that these woman don’t love him truly, which doesn’t deter him because “true love doesn’t exist anyways”.

↑ Me going through several stages of suffering reading this stupid conversation

Yuriko ends up professing her love, but Mizuhito remarks that it’s not the kind of love he’s thirsty for (he literally says thirsty xD). Since Yuriko doesn’t back down Mizuhito ends up asking if she’s willing to give him the kind of love (aka sax) that “those woman” do. You can say yes or no but it’s obvious which choice we have to take. In the end he embraces her, vowing that he’s not going to meet other women anymore. Luckily the scene ends here and we don’t have to witness Yuriko showing her love (yet).

On the next day Yuriko notices a strange man slithering around the Mansion. It turns out that he was a journalist, trying to dig up some information about her Father’s murder. None of the guys want to talk to Yuriko about what’s going on - but never fear Kyoko is here. And Kyoko reveals that...

... because there were no signs of a struggle, which likely means that her Father knew the murderer. Concluding: one of the guests is the killer.

So what’s the truth behind her father’s death? And when will Mizuhito paint Yuriko like one of his french girls? Stay tuned for the next part to find out!

[maulie-dyke]

A Small Lumberjanes Fic

So, I was thinking about the headcanon I sent to @luminouslu about Jo’s past, and I made myself sad. Thus, I wrote a fic. I’m not new with The Lumberjanes, but I am not the most confident with my writing of the girls, so this is the first time I’m posting a fic for this fandom. (I have 3 others in the works now!) I swear the flashbacks are supposed to be in italics on mobile why does Tumblr hate me.

Fic under the cut:

It had been six years. Six years that included some interesting revelations, from Jo coming out to her dads as trans three moths before camp, to said camp, which she was currently being allowed to leave for two days with the rest of her cabin. Sitting in a seat in Ripley’s family’s van, she stared out the window and remembered.

Mothers’ Day, 2014.

Climbing out of Uncle Alan’s car, she she watched as April, surprisingly carefully for a seven-year-old, pulled a box out of the passenger seat. Reaching behind her best friend, she grabbed the vase of flowers and envelope still on the seat, and nested them into her arms, along with her lunchbox from school.

“Come on, Alex! You’re so sloooooow!” April shouted from the steps.

“I’m coming!” she replied, climbing the few stairs leading to the front doors of Group Health Central Hospital.

Following April inside, she reached the receptionist desk and grinned.

“Hi, Ms Betty, how are you?” The greying receptionist smiled at her words, an odd expression on her face (She would later find out Betty thought she was adorable).

“Hello, Alex, April. Here to visit your mother, Alex?”

At Jo’s nod, Betty reached for a clipboard and a pen.

“Since it’s regulation, you still have to give me your names, first and last, please,”

Looking at April, a silent understanding passed between them.

April spoke up, “April Burnett, ma’am.”

Following April, she added, “Alexander Sakiyaki. Do you need it spelled?”

“You’re here every week Alex, I think I know how to spell your name.” Betty made that weird expression again as she filled out the paper in her clipboard, “You can go on back, you know the way.”

Laughing, she raced April through the halls to her mother’s room. Reaching the door, they stopped to catch their breaths and compose themselves before knocking on the thick white door.

“Come in!” a voice, a bit rough, but still musical, called.

While April walked in calmly, with a bit of bounce in her step, Jo ran in full speed and jumped to hug the woman sitting in the armchair by the window.

“Mama!” she shouted, laughing as she was peppered in kisses.

“Alex, April, hello darlings!”

April waved, a grin splitting across her face. “Hi Aunt Kyoko! Happy mother’s day!”

Scoffing, Kyoko opened her arms more, bringing April into her hug as well.

From her place tucked into her mother’s side, Jo spoke up, “We brought you some things!” Sitting up, she grabbed the flower vase and card from April, and presented them to Kyoko with a flourish, at the same time as April with the box.

“Thank you, darlings!” Opening the card, a pile of glitter fell on the Asian woman’s lap to reveal the classic slogan of the holiday. After reading the card and admiring the flowers, she opened the box.

“Look! They’re cookies! We decorated them ourselves!” April pointed at the cookies, half covered in glitter and mermaid scale like designs, one with a shaky Japanese character written on it, and one, pristine, almost perfect flower. “Uncles James and Leo did that one.”

“They’re wonderful!” Kyoko said. Dropping her voice to a whisper, she added, “To be honest, I like yours the best.”

April and Jo beamed.

“How did you and Papa get married?” Jo asked, out of the blue.

“Let me tell you a story.”

April and Jo sat expectantly at Kyoko’s feet, star struck as she began her story.

“Many years ago, at a museum in Paris, was my first ever art show as a professional. I was bored out of my skull, having to talk to so many stuffy business people. Then, I met a man who was charming, funny, nice, and incredibly good looking. I asked him out to lunch, and he complied. At said lunch, I confessed to him that my parents (who were pretty famous business people in Japan, at the time) were expecting me to marry a nice, rich MAN so I could continue the Sakiyaki familial line. I continued with the fact that, as a lesbian woman, I had no plan to do so. The man laughed, and added in he was gay, with a partner back in America. We quickly became friends, so when my parents pressured me into getting married, I married him, with consent from his boyfriend. A year later, I had a baby, a small boy with a head full of hair and very long fingers, that we named Alexander Hiroki Sakiyaki. Then, we got divorced so your Papa could marry Dad, but we still lived together because we were best friends, like you two. The end.”

After a few moments of silence, April blurted out, “You went to Paris? Did you meet Emilie Agreste, the famous actress?”

About an hour later, Kyoko was teaching April how to draw while Jo worked on a project.

Hearing a small bang, then an ouch, Kyoko looked at her child.

“Alex, love, what are you doing?”

“No! You can’t see yet, It‘s a surprise!” Jo leaned over her project, glaring at her mother. “You’ll get to see when you come home! When is that gonna be?”

“Saturday, love. The doctors say I’ll be well enough to go home then!”

Cheering, April and Jo jumped up, bouncing around the room in a hug.

“Mama’s coming home on Saturday!” was all anyone passing by heard.

Two days Later, 2014

It had been a nice day, sunny and not too warm, to get prepared for Kyoko’s move back to the house. Leo and James cleaned and redecorated her bedroom while Jo ran around finishing her project for her mother.

Nice until the phone rang, at least.

Jo watched silently as Leo answered the phone.

“Hello? Yes, this is him. Oh...oh my god.” her heart froze as the normally so composed man’s hand went to his mouth and tears filled his eyes. “Yes, I’ll tell him. And Alan and April, they deserve to know too. Email me the papers and I can send them to you.” hanging up the phone, her father just stood there, hand over his mouth. Sighing, he bent down to Jo’s level and took her hand.

“There’s no easy way to say this, but mama won’t be coming home this Saturday, or any Saturday.”

“Friday?” Jo asked, her heart still frozen.

“No. She’ll be coming home never, love.”

Her eyes widening, Jo dropped her Papa’s hand and walked to the door in a sort of daze. “Nope, nope, nope, nope...”

Now halfway down the long driveway, she startled when her dad picked her straight up off the ground.

“I’m so sorry, buddy.”

She buried her face in her dad’s suit jacket and cried.

Present Day

“Jo! Jo! Jo! Jo!”

A voice broke her out of her thoughts. Ripley’s voice, presumably, as the small girl bounced in the seat behind her.

“Where are we going? Is it somewhere fun? Is it-” The blue haired ball of energy was cut off by Jen, who had placed a hand over Ripley’s mouth.

“Why don’t you leave Jo alone, Ripley? The place we’re going is not fun, it means a lot to Jo.” Jo looked at Jen, then, silently thanking her. “Also, we’re here.”

Once the Roanokes, Jen, and Ripley’s parents were out of the van, Jo started down the familiar path that she had walked on this day for the past six years. Her dads falling into step with her, with April holding her hand tightly, Jo spoke up.

“It’s my mom’s birthday. I want you to meet her.”

“If we’re meeting here, why are we in a graveyard?” Ripley had broken free from her mother’s grasp, and was now bounding along behind Jo.

She heard Mal and Molly go to shush the 12-year-old, but waved them off.

“We’re in a graveyard because she died a few years ago. When I was seven.” she looked down after her statement, kicking at rocks on the path as a silence fell over the group.

“We’re here.”

Her mum’s grave wasn’t anything fancy, just her name, years she lived, and an engraving of her favourite flower on a basic stone tombstone.

After a few moments of silence as the rest of the Roanokes digested this information, Molly spoke up.

“I bet she was amazing.”

“She was. She would have liked you guys.”

“She taught me how to draw, how to be a good investigator, and how to use a sword. She was the greatest.” Jo sniffed, fighting back tears as April grabbed her hand and guided her to sit down in front of the tombstone.

“I bet, wherever she is now, she’s smiling at you, glad her beautiful daughter has such good friends.” her dad said, placing a hand on her shoulder (the most he could do, with all the Roanokes hugging Jo at the same time).

Tears freely dripping down her face now, Jo nodded slightly.

Maybe it wasn’t okay. But it would be.

//END//

A few things explained for clarity:

The idea behind Jo’s mom being said to go home on one day but not doing so was shamelessly taken from My Neighbor Totoro.

This is in the same universe as Miraculous Ladybug, but only because I don’t know of any famous french people besides musicians.

This was completely un-beta’d, so if there are any mistakes they are all mine.

I based the years off of this present year, hence Jo’s mom dying when she was seven, in 2014. Jo in this fic is 13, as one of the writers for Lumberjanes has stated the only one with a concrete age is Ripley (12), but all the other girls are somewhere in between 12-14. 

Jo’s deadname is entirely headcanon.

Thanks for reading my long, rambling thoughts!

XO,

Nath

[suitov]

Komaegi Week: Garden

“I’m sorry it’s not a normal kind of date.  I just remembered I’d agreed to help Shikiba and I didn’t want to cancel on you outright...”

“For all the experience I have, this could be a completely normal date!” said Nagito cheerfully.

“But do you know what Celeste said when I told her?  She said ‘Well, I wouldn’t trust you pair of submissive lambikins around any kind of tools’...”  Makoto unlocked the garden shed.  “But then I asked if she meant she wanted to come help, and she said ‘That’s what I have men for, dear’.  Like, make up your mind!”

“It’s not as though we’re doing anything dangerous,” said Nagito, picking up a trowel and giving it an uncertain heft.

“He even labelled them for us, he said.”  Sure enough, Makoto found the small sack marked Early Onions without difficulty.

Nagito had found some gardening gloves; he handed Makoto a second pair.  See, they were off to a great start!

“All right.  He said it’s this bed over here, the one under the cherry tree…”

Nagito followed him with the rest of the gear, sparing the tree a wry look.  It was bare, of course, being February.  No blossoms for Makoto’s birthday.  But maybe there would be for Nagito’s!  He could take Nagito to look at them.  Yes, they’d go together and they’d hold hands—Nagito would finally agree to let people see they were dating, he’d realise he was worthy of Makoto—better yet, he’d realise there was no such thing as worthy, and then maybe… maybe they’d kiss!  In front of the trees and everyone!  Now there was a hopeful thought.

Makoto tripped over his feet in excitement and planted his face in the bare earth.

“Are you inspecting the beds personally?” asked Nagito with all that subtle irony he displayed sometimes.

“Yeah, something like that.”  Makoto picked himself off, brushed off his nose and the knees of his uniform pants—on reflection, he should’ve done like Nagito had and changed into something more casual before heading off to grub around in the dirt.  He’d been too excited to think about details.  Cute guy and all that.

Nagito smoothly folded his long legs into a kneel.  “Ah… Shikiba really didn’t leave much to chance.”  He held up a hand-drawn diagram of a bulb, tiny feathery roots and all, firmly labelled PLANT THIS END DOWN.

They set to work.

“I guess everyone thinks we’re that hopeless,” said Makoto with a rueful grin.

Nagito’s laugh was gentle, as if apologising for its audibility.  Makoto wanted to hear it more often.  “Then they’re wrong.  It’s never hopeless with Makoto around.  By definition.”

“Are you talking about—ah, Nagito, you know Ultimate Hope is just a nickname my classmates came up with!  Now I think about it, it must have been after I tried cheering Toko up one too many times…”

“That many Ultimates can’t be wrong, that’s what I always say,” said Nagito, who was capable of digging in his heels on certain topics every bit as effectively as he was currently digging in the onion bulbs.

Makoto stuck out his tongue, but he continued in Nagito’s wake, patting down the soil and giving the bulbs their first watering-can baths.

It looked as though, in spite of certain people’s expectations, their task would soon be finished without any disasters at all.

“I wonder how long until we see them growing,” said Makoto.  Dim recollections arose of the time he’d planted an acorn and checked back hourly on its progress, before running to his mother at dinner time in tears because it hadn’t become a tree.  Hey, he’d been five, all right?!

“Assuming my accursed presence hasn’t poisoned them somehow,” Nagito offered cheerfully.  “Knowing my luck, they’ll all wither and the soil will go completely barren, or they’ll grow into homicidal monsters, or…”

“Or,” said Makoto, before the ball of hypothetical horrors could really get rolling, “what if it’s good luck instead, and they all grow big and beautiful and tasty in stir fries?”

“Oh, no, I think I’ve already identified the good luck in this situation,” said Nagito with hooded eyes.

“Really?  What’s th— Nagito, why’s your bag glowing?”

Nagito followed his eyes.  He took off his gloves and opened his book bag.  “Ah...” he said.

Makoto realised what it was just before Nagito produced his wand.  The weird, dark metal wand, one of the pair they’d found by accident while out walking together.  Glowing, which was why they’d originally seen them, but hadn’t happened since then.

“Do you think it senses danger?”

Makoto picked up his own backpack.

“Ha!  So you don’t want to be far from yours either?”

“I feel all uneasy and lonely if I get too far away from it, a little like when I’m away from… um, from home,” Makoto quick-thinkingly unadmitted. Ha, and to think Kyoko had called him an open book!  “But mine isn’t glowing, look, so either it doesn’t mean that or… heehee… I’m the threat.”

Nagito gasped dutifully at Makoto’s fierce face and intimidating flex.  But he did grin a little.  “If I ever find the Ultimate Hope is my adversary, I’m switching sides.”

Makoto zipped his backpack up again.  “So maybe yours wants you to transform.  You could try it.”

“I don’t even know how it happened the first time.  Do you?”

“Um, no.” Makoto frowned and touched his chin with a knuckle, a gesture he’d unconsciously picked up from Nagito.  “Maybe wave it around?  Twirl with it?  Is there a magic word written on it…?”

“No, no and no,” said Nagito dizzily.  “I don’t even think I was thinking anything special that first time.  All I remember was—um, well, that surely wasn’t it.”

Makoto leaned forward like a puppy seeing a ball.  “What?  What?”

“Oh, nothing… um.”  Nagito squirmed.  “I was just feeling very… extremely ga—”

It happened immediately.  Nagito’s formerly quivering fingers clamped firmly around the wand and he struck an unlikely pose, spine bent such that somehow his chest and his rear were in view at once.  Blood-red ribbons of light spilled out and cocooned him.  Makoto even thought he heard a faint theme song.

Nagito’s high heels touched the ground again.  He looked down and smoothed his slinky red cocktail dress.

Makoto choked on a giggle.  At the questioning look, he said, “They’re back…”

“What are—oh no.”  Nagito reached up and tugged at one fuzzy cat ear. “Magical girl and catboy now?  How is this reasonable?”

“I don’t know about reasonable, but it’s cute.”

“Yes, but we didn’t even turn into cats… dog… animal people on the same day—they were completely separate incidents!”

“Maybe your magic wand found it cute too.”

Nagito’s fluffy white tail lashed.  He started to lick a hand, then thrust it embarrassedly behind his back.  “And what was even the point of this?” he demanded of the magic wand.

“Ooh…” said Makoto.

“…just trying to have a normal date with a very adorable boy and you go around glowing and, and giving people hairy ears willy-nilly…”

“Um…” said Makoto, who was all squeaky inside after being described as very adorable.

“…appreciate some idea of what you want me to do here.  I mean, magical girl powers aren’t exactly something the guidance counsellor can help with, and I’ve asked her…”

“Nagito, look!”

“…said it wasn’t even the weirdest thing she’s been asked by a student at this school, which is saying somethi—yes, Makoto?”

Makoto mutely pointed.

“…oh,” said Nagito, accurately.

The onions were growing.

The onions were growing big…

“Nyaow!” Nagito hissed and swiped his wand at a waist-high bundle of leaves.  The leaves took no notice, neither to attack him nor to quail away from his indignant hiss.  The bulb at the base of those leaves, half submerged in soil, was massive, more like the size of a pumpkin.

The onions stopped growing with a self-satisfied chlorophyllic creak.

“Uh,” said Makoto.

“…Yeah,” said Nagito, slinking farther away from the garden bed before anything else could happen.

“So that was…”

“It sure was…”

“Do you think that’s your magic power?  Nagito, that’s such a cool power! They’re blooming like crazy!”

“I don’t think onions bloom, do they?”

“I have no idea, but I’m pretty sure they don’t normally do that, either.”

They stared at the vegetable garden a little more.  Then, both at once, they started laughing.

“Onions, right? Pungent and making people cry.  Perfect imagery for me!”

“Nooooo, onions are good!  They’re good in cooking, they give things flavour, and… they have like, circles.  What’s the word?  Like layers!  They’re complicated, just like you!”

“You think I’m good?”  Makoto realised Nagito had stopped laughing.

“Yes, silly catboy, I think you’re very good.”  He stuck out his tongue, just to be extra convincing.

Nagito wordlessly reached out and brushed a petal out of his hair.

“And I’m not sorry we’re dating, even if weird stuff like this happens every time.”  A falling petal tickled his nose.  He rubbed it with the back of his gardening glove.  “At least I get to experience the weird stuff with you.”

Nagito shuffled his feet.  Or maybe he was just trying to keep the heels from sinking into the grass.  He rubbed the back of his neck, trailing the red veils that formed part of his distractingly alluring outfit.  They looked kind of nice, spangled with pink petals.

“Wait a minute,” said Makoto, looking up.

At the riotously blossoming cherry tree.

They gawped at each other, framed in falling flowers.  Then one of them reached for the other’s hand, and later on neither remembered who it had been.

They did remember the kisses, though.  So it was a pretty good date after all.