#WHEN DID JUDO STOP BEING COOL GUYS???

[rodatirhaalo]

Man... I've been really wanting to get back into martial arts classes to help fight off The Depression, but it seems that covid really did kill them all off in my area... :(

[flyingtornado]

One of my least favourite things about the heroes of Olympus series, is just how DIRTY Rick did Percy.

Like in the og series, Percy was an actual good character who was actually portrayed as someone strong with character development.

In the heroes of Olympus, he just made Percy downright dumb. Like, Percy was my favourite character for a while but then I read heroes of Olympus and he annoyed me SO much.

Like… where’s the Percy who tricked Briaes, the hundred handed one, into a game of rock, paper, scissors, and WON?? Where’s my guy who fought Ares at TWELVE??? Where’s my dude who gained ARTEMIS’ TRUST??? PULLED 5 PEOPLE IN A SINGLE BOOK??? WHERE ARE YOU???

Rick honestly made Percy so… annoying? Boring? Weak?

Like EVERYONE ELSE, including Annabeth, had SUCH good Chapters (yes, including Jason bc I love him), but PERCY WAS LITERALLY JUST SO DUMB.

I’m not kidding when I say I downright LOATHED him.

Rick even changed his FATAL FLAW???

What happened to personal loyalty??? When did it become not being able to step away?? When Kym told him that he would finally have to face his fatal flaw, there was only like a sentence where Frank stopped him to not join Jason, Piper and Leo???

LIKE THE REASON I AGREED WITH NICO SO MUCH IS BECAUSE HOW DISAPPOINTING PERCY WAS?? When he saw Percy as a regular guy and not some cool hero, I FULLY AGREED.

WHAT WAS THAT RICK???

He downgraded Percy so much just to make the newer characters have bigger parts, which I get, but absolutely hated.

I was so excited to see Percy in a new series and only got disappointed. His chapters? Mainly used for comic relief. His fights? After Mark of Athena his only good one was with Akhlys, which he never actually got to win (still mad at Rick for making Annabeth stop him 🙄) and all the others he either got pretty injured and the others did some AWESOME stuff while he literally just sat there??

Like no wonder Piper wasn’t impressed. I WOULDN’T BE EITHER???

EVERYONE treated him like he was a dumbass, which I would normally argue with if you told me he was dumb in his series, but in HOO?? I’d be wrong if I did.

He has honestly just no point in being there?? Like Annabeth spent MONTHS searching for him, and I feel like she just doesn’t really care about him that much anymore and has probably become more used to being alone than being with him. She had more dynamic with Piper and Reyna than she had with Percy.

They had like… the judo flip?? That’s it. They also had like a kiss in Athens underground?? Piper made it sound awkward for her so it made me feel awkward.

Annabeth got along super well with Leo, Jason and Piper, so why didn’t Percy talk that much with Hazel and Frank?? They literally all went on a quest together and they spent more time with Leo.

Everyone on the Argo was all friendly and connected. Ex: Piper with LITERALLY EVERYONE EXCEPT PERCY. Annabeth with LITERALLY EVERYONE with the OCCASIONAL PERCY.

He was basically only connected with Annabeth, who kinda grew used to not needing him, while Percy still absolutely loved her. Heck, Annabeth was scared AND angry at Percy after Tartarus.

Once again, Annabeth had honestly a whole bunch of character development while Percy was SOLELY used for comedy.

That fight with Kymopoleia? WHY WAS HE SO DUMB?? Like in the Percy Jackson series, HE WOULD NOT HAVE JUMPED IN HEAD FIRST. It also made me mad that JASON was the one who ending up bringing them to victory when they were UNDERWATER? LIKE WHERE WAS COOL, DARK PERCY?? I know Percy said he was afraid of controlling the poison since Tartarus but still??

His chapters? Bleh. His fight scenes? Even more bleh. His character connections? I’ve had more dynamic with my morning toast.

I have SO much more to say, but I’ve literally written an essay so I’ll end this here.

[kimbapisnotsushi]

i started writing this back in the last week of december going on into january bc we had so many karasuno bdays back then so uhhh TECHNICALLY this is a late bday post honoring like four people LMAO but let's go!!

during kageyama's first birthday at karasuno he gets a mysterious series of texts from an unknown number that goes like > happy birthday > not that this means you're forgiven > just thought it was the right thing to do > i know it's your first since. well. you know > you don't have to text back or anything!!!! > fuck fuck fuck just pretend this never happened BYE

he brings up it up two years later when he, kindaichi, and kunimi are better friends and kindaichi buries his red face in his hands and screams and kageyama isn't sure why

kunimi pats him on the back and tells him not to worry about it

ennoshita has a playlist that is solely just like white noise and creaking sounds and generally just things that would make you shit your pants alone in the dark and when asked why he just goes "it's the only way i can feel anything inside"

tsukki will NEVER admit it but he ASPIRES to be the level of deadpan that ennoshita is

tanaka: "so . . . why do you like him again?" ennoshita, watching a video he recorded of futakuchi walking straight into a lamppost bc he was playing pokemon go: "he makes me laugh"

no joke i think ennoshita is a dateko celebrity bc everyone knows about the guy that futakuchi kenji pines over bc futakuchi kenji is just known in a million ways and maybe like 90% of them are Not Good

a third-year has futakuchi by the collar and they're like "all right PUNK get ready to have your lights punched out you'll be seeing stars when i'm done with you" and futakuchi just sighs longingly and goes "ennoshita has eyes like stars . . ."

daichi is that type of upperclassman who knows very single friend of his juniors' but not in like a cool older sibling way he does it in a cringefail modern parent kind of way

kogane used to be soooooo scared of him before finding out what a huge dork he is

actually kogane isn't scared of asahi bc he's so used to aone and asahi cries over it

(sorry for plugging in dateko so much i just genuinely think they have such a fun relationship with karasuno i ADORE it)

onagawa: "man idk how you do it" narita: "do what?" onagawa: "being the only normal person on your team"

yeah no narita is carrying the weight of the world as the only person with the brain cell on karasuno

sometimes it's ennoshita but he's been dead inside since first year so

suga tells the first years he knows martial arts but all he really did was go to one (1) judo club demonstration during his second year of middle school and somehow managed to flip the captain over by sheer luck and never tried again

for takeda's birthday everyone teams up to get him a really nice fountain pen, a classical poetry book, and a quality bottle of sake. for ukai's birthday tsukki leads a powerpoint presentation on why smoking is bad for you and that he really should stop, backed up with everyone else standing behind him with their arms crossed and nodding along

okay that and they also get him a really cute apron (embroidered with crows!!) for him to wear around the store and a bag of good coffee

kiyoko has all - and i mean ALL - the snacks from the local convenience store on a tier list and when the vbc asked how the fuck she managed to do that she just went "my track team was a lot weirder than you guys"

actually the reason why daichi asked kiyoko to be the manager wasn't because kiyoko was the only one with no club activities going on it was because she gave asahi a hair tie when nobody else would and asahi had been trying to befriend her since (and also return said hair tie) but was too nervous to make the first move

asahi: "noooooo daaaaaaaiiiichiiiiiiiiii i caaaaaaaan't i'm so awkward and embarrassing!!!!" daichi, with all the confidence of a fifteen-year-old constantly winging it: "it's okay, i've got this!"

yeah he's just as surprised as you are that it worked out

especially considering he pitched it to her like a used car salesman

kiyoko carries a lot of hair ties with her when she starts just for asahi and when he leaves the team she doesn't stop bc she tells suga, daichi, and the second-years, "he'll come back, just wait and see"

THEY WERE FRIENDS TOO!!!! THEY WERE FRIENDS TOO!! THEY WERE FRIE -

[possibilistfanfiction]

Oh my gosh! How have I just found this amazing tumblr? Please can I ask for any prompt from the AU in which they’re surgeons? Maybe domestic with their child or building to the ‘I love you?’ and maybe anything extra from 🐸?

[lil smth w their kiddo from surgeons au]

//

'hello, little dr. choi-silva.'

you roll your eyes with a laugh. 'hey, aunt cam.'

sometimes, when your moms are on overlapping shifts, you'll come to the hospital from school when you don't have violin or judo or tennis or something planned with your friends; you're old enough now to take the train, and they always let you hang out in the attendings lounge while you do your homework or watch something on your phone.

your aunt camila — a very fancy researcher, as you've come to understand as you got older, mostly because you've known her as your funny, kind, cool aunt since you were little — sits down next to you at the table.

'oh cool, trig. my favorite part of ninth grade.'

'ew.'

'hey, you can't drag math that much. i do all kinds of cool things with it, and your mom and i —'

'yeah, yeah, stem cells and rebuilding severed spinal cords. blah blah.'

'you were way nicer when you were four.'

'do you want to do my homework for me?'

your aunt camila laughs. 'i'm happy to do it with you, if you want.'

you, like, really don't want to do your math homework, but nora had wanted to come hang out at your house tomorrow and she makes you so nervous it's hard to focus. 'i want to get it done fast, so that would be sweet.' you scoot your chromebook and graph paper closer to your aunt. 'thank you.'

'does this speeding through math have anything to do with —' she looks around to make sure no one is listening, even though you're the only ones in the lounge — 'your girlfriend?'

horrifically you feel yourself blush. 'nora isn't — she's — ugh.'

'have you told your moms yet?'

'suddenly, trig seems so appealing.'

your aunt laughs but grants you a little grace, thank fucking god. you work for a while and, with your aunt explaining things patiently and clearly, you're just about to finish when both of your moms, a little surprisingly, come into the lounge.

'hey, tai,' your mama says, kissing you on the top of the head softly.

'what's up, kid?' your mom grins and squeezes your shoulder. you don't remember being adopted — you were just a baby anyway — but every time your mom smiles at you like that, or your mama gently corrects your form when you're sparring, or they both listen to you clumsily practice a new piece on the violin, before your fingers have gotten the hang of the notes you don't know yet — you think you're the luckiest person in the world.

your mom glances over your shoulder as your mama goes to, presumably, gather their things. 'one, my surgery got canceled — my patient had a fever, so you're stuck with both of us tonight.'

'however will i survive.'

your mom rolls his eyes. 'you're lucky you're cute.'

you know he knows you're kidding, but you still nudge his hip anyway and he ruffles your hair. 'two, did you finish your math?'

'i have, like, two more? but aunt cam helped a lot.'

'you knew your stuff all on your own,' she says, which is relatively generous but makes you feel better about your test in two weeks.

your mama comes over with her neat overnight duffel and your mom's messy cotton tote. 'does this efficiency with math have anything to do with your girlfriend coming over tomorrow?'

your aunt cam laughs — total traitor — and your mom grins, tapping. your chair with her cane when you groan and hide your face in your hands. 'i was gonna tell you guys, i swear.'

your mom rubs your back gently. 'you are your mother's daughter.'

'i'm adopted,' you whine.

your mama laughs. 'nurture is so strong, my love.'

she starts gathering your things too, straightening your backpack, and normally you would scoff and ask her to stop, because you're fourteen and way too old for that. but you love them both, a lot, and, like. your folders were out of the order you like — your class schedule, which your mama has memorized too — so you don't say anything.

'tai, since we're both off now, want to go get some pizza at roberta's?' she asks you, slipping into a fleece that's definitely your mom's — department of neurosurgery embroidered on it, but whatever. it's an enticing offer; your favorite.

'what's the catch.'

'we gotta put olives on half,' your mom says, handing you your coat as you stand.

'deal.'

'and you have to tell us about how you got together with nora.'

'i'm gonna run away. i swear.'

your moms and your aunt laugh — you love them so much you don't want to go to college out of the city; they're your favorite people in the whole entire world — but you pout for posterity. you grumble as you go to the car, and then while you're waiting in a booth for your order.

'out with it.' your mom grins.

your mama pats your hand and amends, 'if you're ready.'

you take a deep breath, but then you smile. 'okay, i've been dying to tell you guys.'

your moms grin.

[kbondoxxxxav]

Both for Kaito and Shuuji, 11/16/18/20/23 (pick any number you want for either of them!)

Yes my favorite divorced couple 💗

11. What’s the first thing you think about when thinking about the character?

Kaito - his design is super neat, his unbleached roots, his 🚫 eyes, piercing, black shirt, boots, etc—his partner is so cool too like damn that’s a hell of an evolution line, he’s The Cool Guy™ but he’s also the biggest loser lol

Shuuji - He’s overhated and he deserves better and after rewatching the playthrough again, he’s not even that bad like i don’t know i used to get annoyed with him like others too but after knowing more about him, he really is just traumatized kid being thrown to strange situation of course he would lost a lil bit of his sanity

16. A childhood headcanon

Kaito - I like to think he took some martial art lesson, i read a fanfic mentioned he took judo so it would be nice!

Shuuji - He’s the type of the kid their parents forced to go to Kumon even they didn’t want to lol, also i want to think every time he wanted to play with his older brother, their parents always stopped him with some excuse like “Your older brother is busy studying”

18. How do you think they were as a kid? (Like, were they shy, noisy, wild, etc)

Kaito - He’s just loud noisy kid, i just liked to think he used to be friendlier but not social butterfly either, so maybe he had a handful of friends to play with, and he always took care of Miu and fought every kid who mess with her (and also i liked to think Miu used to admire him until—well until that incident)

Shuuji - He seemed to be obedient kid who didn’t cause any trouble, or it’s just how he raised by his parents after all. I just think Shuuji might be a little bit more difficult to be disciplined than his brother at first until his dad started comparing him and he stopped rebelling and just did what his father wanted

20. A weird headcanon

Kaito - he’s quite infamous in school, i just think he’s that type of shonen protag delinquent who always had beef with the school gangsters, and maybe some of those gangs actually were interested to make Kaito join their gang coz he was strong but he was just like “nah i don’t have time for this bullshit i need to pick up my little sister from school bye assholes!!” and then he left

Shuuji - Shuuji once helped tutoring Saki and Minoru and they asked to play some songs, Minoru commented how boring Shuuji’s playlist was and started playing current pop songs on Shuuji’s account. Shuuji ended up listening to those pop songs secretly but he won’t admit to anyone ever he actually enjoyed listening to Doja Cat

23. Future headcanon

Kaito - So i don’t know why that Kaito having a band is pretty popular hc (maybe because he’s yamato expy etc etc) but i do like it and i will go along with it too hehe, i actually headcanon him to move to the city since high school, he started this band he met online so he left to the city to be serious on it, he wasn’t the type to continue college but not because he’s stupid or anything, but even if he continued going to college he would work first taking some part time jobs and performing in some gigs with his band for some years, and it would be funny if he took some major that was unexpected for him to take

Shuuji - i just like to think he worked with Prof Akiharu as his assistant, pupil, etc i don’t know something like that i’m sorry haha, his dad wasn’t really happy with it because yeah when his dad was satisfied anyway? I just think his dad didn’t want to do with him anymore since well, he’s already an adult anyway, he would just think Shuuji as a failure, but Shuuji already made peace with that issue, as long as he’s happy with what he’s doing now, it’s all that matter. Also i wanted to think Shuuji and his brother actually started communicating more and had better relationship

[absolutepokemontrash]

May I request the brothers with an MC who does martial arts and is kind of a menace? Like, they won't start conflict with anyone, just for the sake of violence. But of some jerk/bully demon harassed them enough they'd definitely kick the bully off his feet and throw him. I'm thinking the kind of MC who would try to strike Belphie's throat when he starts doing what he does in ch. 16. (I love your writing BTW. I hope you're having a great day. Remember to hydrate, rest and eat. :D)

(Awww! Thank you! I’ll definitely be sure to consume all my daily requirements! :D)

MC is a Martial Arts Master!

Lucifer

When Lucifer first saw MC flip a demon twice their height, he just about had a stroke then and there. What the hell are they feeding the humans up there??? Steroids and raw eggs???

According to MC, who was happy to explain, it’s just a matter of safely shifting one’s opponent’s weight. Well… at least MC will be somewhat safe down in the Devildom… who would expect a human to be able to do that?

Lucifer goes about his business as usual, but on one particular day, he gets curious.

He asks the human what kinds of fighting styles they’re sufficiently trained in, and they reply with “Judo, Karate, Ju Jitsu, Kung Fu-”

Lucifer’s eyebrows nearly shot upwards off his face. The human was this talented???? Huh… oh well. Impressive, but Lucifer had other matters to attend to-

MC IS NO LONGER ALLOWED TO GIVE LUCIFER’S BROTHERS LESSONS. THE PEACOCK HAS BEEN FLIPPED. I REPEAT, THE ELDERLY PEACOCK HAS BEEN FLIPPED.

Mammon

Honestly, Mammon is really hyped. He loves action movies, and any good action movie has a hero who can kick ass!

Any time the two of them watch an action movie together, Mammon points at the screen and asks “hey can you do that?”

No matter how ridiculous, he’s gonna ask. No Mammon, no normal human can backflip-kick someone while falling from an on-fire train.

Oh well! Not all is lost! Maybe he can set up some kinda underground fight club in order to rake in some extra dough… hmmmm… heh, oi, human, ya interested?

Even if MC says yes, Mammon will be promptly stopped by the brothers with brain cells at their disposal. Tsk… damn. Hey, MC, ya wanna teach your first man some fightin’ moves?

Leviathan

Woah! This is just like in every shonen anime ever! MC’s just going to get stronger and stronger, until eventually they’re able to destroy anyone who dares challenge them!

Levi is going to sit and watch from the sidelines with popcorn and some glow sticks to cheer his favourite human on!

*sigh* his human is so cool…

Now, Levi knows hand to hand combat, but… he’s just better at it in games. He’s more of a strategist. Huh… maybe he can hire MC to train some of his troops! Or maybe… he could teach MC how to use a sword, or a trident!

MC and Levi are battle buds now! Good god Levi, why did you give them a sharp object?

Satan

Now, Satan has spent thousands of years studying all manners of things, including fighting techniques and styles. He might be a bit out of practice, but he’s up for a sparring match-

Aaaaaaaand angry nerd got flipped. Easily… pathetically easily. Wow… is MC free for lessons? He’d like to… find a way to royally embarrass Lucifer.

After training, Satan is always ready to elegantly decompress. And by elegantly decompress, he means flop on the library couch right next to MC and… groan. He’s a little sore.

Once Satan’s body gets used to the constant fighting exercise, he’s the one who starts taking care of MC after training. He starts reading to MC as they relax on their bed together… wholesome stuff like that.

Now, Satan’s a smart guy, whenever MC is off being ridiculous and a menace, he’s nowhere nearby. But he’s got eyes everywhere… he’ll be sure to find out about all of MC’s shennaniganery for inspiration on how to fuck with Lucifer!

Asmodeus

“…hey, Mx. No Name Kid, 🎶 just who might you be? And would you fiiiiiiiight for me~ 🎶?”

Asmo just thinks it would be very romantic if someone fought someone on his behalf… save him from something dangerous, whisk him away to a lone retreat for some-

Okay that’s enough. Anyway, Asmo isn’t one for intense exercise or physical fights. Our sweet Avatar of Lust is more on the side of easily ripping someone to shreds and then moving on, a whole long fight just seems… yucky.

But Asmo is always ready to run MC a bath if some of their shenanigans gets them all messed up. He’s also willing to play nurse if MC wants~

All in all, supportive demon bestie/boyfriend, he’ll cheer MC on and film their ridiculousness!

Beelzebub

We all know Beel is a big dude, but MC has flipped bigger! They can do this!

No they could not. Beel got half-flipped then nearly landed on top of MC. It wasn’t even romantic! MC almost died!

As confused and bewildered as Beel was, he was quick to make sure MC was okay. Would Beel hugs fix this? Probably not considering MC was trying to prevent broken bones.

As different as Beel’s kind of fitness and MC’s kind of fitness is, he is totally down to train with MC.

Listen, when you see Beelzebub weight training the human exchange student, mind ya business, they’re trying to get shredded.

Belphegor

Okay listen, the throat punch and the absolute ASS BEATING that was given to him in the attic before he was finally able to “kill” MC was not very becoming of Belphie… ugh… it was very embarrassing, but in his defence- he uh… was half asleep! Yeah!

Anyway, Belphie doesn’t exactly care too much about MC’s fitness and martial arts training. He’s more concerned with fitness this whole blanket around the two of them while they nap together.

Well, okay, saying he doesn’t care is a bit of a stretch. It is impressive, but Belphie is more amazed by MC’s penchant for causing chaos and turning more of Lucifer’s hair grey.

Call him MC’s lazy new assistant because FUCK YEAH, HE’S GOING TO JUDO FLIP THAT PEACOCK IF IT KILLS HIM.

(It probably will)

[yandere-mha-blog]

Chapter 12: That’s new

How, hot, hot was all Tomura could think about, leaving the house in a black hoodie during the middle of the day and he was sweating, You on the other hand who was wearing just a T-shirt and shorts and Panchan just had a coat of fur, who you were caring at the moment, because he got so tired and wouldn't budge.

“Panchan you are going to have to go on a diet.” you said, “you are too heavy when did you get so fat?”

“Arf.”

“Well it's true,” you said

“Maybe you should make him walk.” Tomura said

“I'd just be dragging him across the street.” you said, Tomura stopped and put his arms out

“Here I'll hold the fuzzball.” he said, you smiled and handed Panchan over

“Thanks, my arms are getting tired.” you said “how are you feeling?”

“Sweaty and miserable, can't believe you are making me walk outside.” He said

“Well you didn't have to leave today,” you said, since when did you grow a backbone, Finally arriving at the Game shop and standing in line, when a couple of teenage girls stopped and saw Panchan.

“AWW your dog is so cute, can we take a-sorry!’ one said and walked the other way, must have gotten a look at his glaring eyes, who just gets into someone's personal space like that. This dog was drawing too much attention.

“Want to set him down?” you asked, Tomura nodded and set your dog down as you held the leash and finally u two were up

“Sorry, no dogs allowed.” The man at the entrance said

“Oh my bad, here Panchan wait out here for a second.” you said tying his leash to a pole “be a good boy okay I'll be right back and sit.”

“Panchan sat and stayed, as the two of you went in and, Tomura finally got his hands on the game, you were walking out when you heard your dog barking for some reason, you walked out to see some random guy tugging and pulling his leash as Panchan was not having any of it and continuing to bark at him

“HEY WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING TO MY DOG!” you yelled, the guy looked behind you and dropped the leash and ran, Panchan ran back to Tomura and stood in between his legs, and before you could think you booked it after the guy shoving people out of your way if there was one thing people didn't mess with when it came to you, it was your dog, you grabbed the guy by the back of his shirt and grabbed his wrist before flipping hi over your shoulder and him landing face-first on the ground, as you placed your knee right in between his shoulder blades making sure you were twisting his arm.

“Ah shit I left Tomura.” you thought as you saw Tomura running up holding Panchan leash, he was huffing but he caught up to you.

“Tomura, I'm so, so sorry I left you there, I was seeing red.” you said “Crap, I'm sorry.”

“Get off of me you bitch-” “YOU CAN SHUT THE HELL UP AND WAIT FOR THE POLICE TO GET HERE YOU DOG NAPPER!” You said pressing your leg further into his back.

“I-it's okay.” Tomura said, “Panchan was running after you so I had him tugging on me.” Before noticing all the eyes on him and the crowd.

“Hey Tomura, look at me, can you call the police for me?” you asked, snapping his attention away.

Seeing that guy smack his head on the back of the cop car was something to behold. You were talking to the officer as Tomrua was standing in the corner holding Panchans leash, and his game in the other. Once you were done giving them your statement, you walked back over to Tomura.

“Again I am so sorry I left you there.” You said

“Don’t be, if someone tried to steal my pet I would have done the same.” Tomura said handing you back the leash.

“Still, the fact that of all days this would happen, I'm sorry, really.” you said bowing your head

“Hey, no need to do that!” Tomura said “But question, where the hell did you learn to do that?”

“Do what?” you asked

“Tackle someone like that?”

“OH that, ahha kinda embarrassing for you to see me lose my temper like that, But in junior high, i was the three-year running Judo master of my school.” you said

“You didn't further it in highschool?” Tomura asked as the two of you walked back

“I would have, but during a match, A girl pulled a move that was not exactly judo and I suffered a head injury and a concussion, doctors said to lay off for a year at least, and well rest is history,” you said

“Well it was really cool to see, it looked like a move I would see in a fighting game.” Tomura said, only realizing how cringy that complement sounded

“Aww thanks.” you said “I'm just glad Panchan is okay.”

“Me too.” Tomura said

You left Tomura once you both got back to his apartment, and told him to at leash use eye drops if he was gonna play all night. Tomura placed the video game on his desk and started searching up key words

Three-time junior high school judo champion foul play.

Took him a bit to find but someone must have uploaded a video of it and labeled it as Epic fail, Junior highschool girl gets the crap punched out of here in Judo tournament, how original. He watched the video and saw the younger version of you, short choppy hair and a winning determined look in your eye, only for the other girl to do a right hook across your face when she was losing, and the referee coming in disqualifying her from the tournament, And you being taken away by a medic.

“What an embarrassment.” he said as he saw your so-called orpiment yelling when she was disqualified “she must have gotten the Judo torment mixed with the boxing tournament.”

He wondered what else you had hidden under that smile that came to greet him every day.

[dragonrajafanfiction]

Caesar Gattuso - Year One

Cassell College, Norton Hall

Norton Hall was not accustomed to this level of decadence. The stately hall had hosted its own manner of events that catered to lords and ladies in the fashion of high society, but this event had the formality of a massive rock concert-slash-frat party. Although the sun had set, it was still technically Freedom Day and Caesar Gattuso had made his presence known in his first year by winning the contest. Now it was time to cement his legacy. As soon as the announcement of the winner was read, trucks rushed to surround Norton Hall and opened their back doors to reveal equipment that had to have been ordered weeks in advance. Huge speakers, stage equipment, sound, lighting and confetti. By the time the guests arrived, the music was loud enough to shake the building. 

The blue and white Sikorsky helicopter, the mother of all helicopters, swooped over Norton Hall blowing the hair of the women and sending decorations flying. A rope was lowered down and Caesar Gattuso - year one - swung down recklessly, a vicious cold smile on his face, firing a gun in the air. There was a moment of gaiety and joy as the new students of the Student Union welcomed their President with cheers and raised glasses and thunderous applause.

Caesar landed cleanly in his Cassell Uniform, that old green, but he quickly tossed away that jacket to reveal his bare muscular chest. A huge crate landed on the ground next to him and he opened it and pulled out a huge gun that looked like a bazooka and fired it into the air. The rocket exploded into bright red fireworks and he laughed, like a joyous king on conquering the enemy capital. The jacket soared into the gathered crowd in the garden where the women in bathing suits pounced on it, tearing and yanking on it like packs of hyenas.  The day was hot and humid and the perfect time for a pool party. There should not have been any time to build a real pool but Caesar anticipated his win so far in advance that he ordered the sculpture garden revamped. The water was just ready enough as he made his entrance and all the guests dove into a new pool that stretched the length of the backyard.

Dancers surrounded the pool in sequined bathing suits waving feather fronds in their own individual spotlights. The walls of the outside of the building were covered in billboard-sized LED screens so people could watch themselves party. The sound and lighting alone had to cost a few hundred grand and the power demands were so great that generator trucks sat outside. But Caesar doesn’t care about time, money, or restrictions. That’s why he hires people. He just wanted it done and Caesar had over staffed. The attendance was bloated with waiters pouring champagne, valets taking clothes to lockers, cooks replenishing the buffet and cleaning up crew to cart away the bottles. He never wanted his guests to wait or wonder when the next plate of hors dourves would pass by. He wanted everyone to get roaring drunk. And they weren't drinking from some old well. They were drinking the finest, top-shelf liquor and spirits a Gattuso could afford.

And that meant all of them, open bar. 

Security detail especially was huge.  Caesar was accustomed to party crashers. Before you could even approach Norton Hall on this night you had to get through layers of checkpoints. If you weren’t on the list, you couldn’t even approach the street the building was on and had to watch and listen from a distance, knowing that you just weren’t good enough to make the cut for Student Union.

Nono was poolside, cooling her toes in the water. Her bikini accentuated the curves of her body and the length of her legs. If anything was worthy about Cassell it was her. Despite the rich and joyous smiles of everyone around, their eyes met easily over the fray and the noise. She was calm as though this was a nice day at the beach and that unruffled manner in a sea of revelry just made his heart beat faster. He made his way over to her and offered her her own glass of Champagne which she accepted with serene grace. 

“Enjoying the party?” He asked, sitting down next to her.

She sipped, her eyes taking in the scene in front of her.. “Hm. It’s certainly fun watching everyone have such a good time. But I’m more curious about what’s happening next door.”

He followed her gaze. The revamping of the backyard to accommodate the pool had left a gap in the shrubbery and they could both see the cars parked out in front of Amber Hall as a shield. “Those flags on the antennae of the cars don’t come from any coat of arms or country I’ve ever seen. What about you?”

“It does seem like a state visit. The student inside registered as His Royal Highness.” Caesar smirked a bit. “But results on his exam are still pending. We’ll see how much of a King he really is.”

“Are you planning to start a war?” Her eyes sparkled with intrigue, that unique shade of crimson that fascinated him the moment he saw it the first time.

“Well, they’ve drawn the battleline already haven’t they?” Caesar’s eyes glittered with malicious humor. “Kings are meant to be conquered.” He finished off his glass and a waiter was there to take it immediately. “But since you’re so interested. Shall we go spy on the neighbors?”

“You’re going to ditch your own party that you paid millions for?” Nono snorted.

“I will if you want to.” He said softly, so that only she could hear.

Nono suddenly felt a perverse rise in rebellion at this but, in fact, she was curious who those people were. She didn’t answer verbally. She just stood up and started walking. Caesar followed. 

The only way to see over the trucks was to rise to the second floor but this mystery family had even thought of that and installed black tarps over the garden where people could go outside if they wanted fresh air. These tarps extended from the second story windows of Amber Hall to the SUVs. The rest of the grounds were empty of people. Nono had her bare legs over Caesar’s bare shoulders on the open air balcony, using binoculars to peer in though a tiny gap between the tarps, watching people pass by a single window. Because they thought the tarps would hide it, they left that window uncovered.

“They look older. The people in attendance aren’t students. But they must all be hybrids. Some of them are armed. I saw one with a gun earlier.” Nono said. “They look antique though. Nothing modern.”

“Old men come to cosplay? Typical royal family. Turns out this isn’t as interesting as I thought it would be.” Caesar said.

As soon as those words left his mouth, a sound reached his ears, soft, but unmistakable. A gunshot. Caesar blinked in confusion, not sure if he had heard right. Then another and another! 

“Something’s happened, the crowd is scattering!” Nono said.

He lowered Nono from his shoulders.. “Get down!”

“Hey, put me back up!” 

But Caesar had already vaulted over the balcony and landed on his feet, dashing towards Amber Hall. Nono followed him, determined not to let him get to know what was going on before she did.

-------------

While Dominic was taking his royal vows, a pair of green eyes watched him from the upper floor of Amber Hall. Those Green eyes belonged to Tjark - silent T - Beninga. He was also in a Cassell Uniform but stayed in the shadows. He’d heard of Dominic from his family after he got accepted to Cassell, his parents had applied for him to go here as a ‘special assignment’. His family were underground merchants, mercenaries, and the rich people below needed someone to watch their favored son and with his high level blood, he was a shoe in for the job. It wasn’t until after his arrival did he understand that his job wasn’t to protect the little prince, but to keep him from escaping.

Apparently, he didn’t want to be a prince. Tough break. You can’t pick your parentage.

But he didn’t mind being on watch duty. Dominic was easy on the eyes. If he played his cards right, perhaps he could be promoted to his closest side rather than being a peripheral.

When Dominic fell to the floor, he sat up straight watching Sylke race to him with a feeling of jealousy. That is until his black sword nearly took off her head and the gun fired. Dominic was running up the stairs, firing the pistol, efficiently dropping people one by one and he felt his heart flutter with amazement, excitement, and admiration. He hadn’t really believed this guy was an escape artist. Now he could see it with his own eyes. His job was to stop him from getting away at any cost.

The man was racing right for him towards a second story window, but Tjark simply raised his foot to catch his shin. Dominic fell forward but twisted his body immediately to face him. His eyes were crazed and desperate. He was running for real.

Tjark was top of his class in Taekwondo, Karate and Judo and immediately as he saw that fiery bright light in Dominic’s eyes he felt it spark in him. He no longer had to hold back for sporting rules of competition. He wondered how many hits this guy could take as he lashed out with his fists against and again.

But each time he struck, Dominic continued to back away, ducking, keeping his distance and blocking with one arm. Until he reached the window. Tjark saw his plan and hurried to block him from jumping through. That glass wasn’t the safe kind that could break into little pebbles but the kind that would shatter into sharp blades.

Dominic raised the pistol and fired at Tjark’s head and Tjark ducked away.

Dominic recklessly leaped through it, crystal shards tearing into his suit as he rolled down the tarps to the vans with Tjark right behind him. “Are you insane?” He asked, laughing. 

Dominic didn’t answer, he just turned, fired the gun once, but his aim missed.  He leaped down from the SUV and took off towards where Caesar and Nono were approaching with stunned looks on their faces. He passed them with the full unnatural speed of a hybrid.

 “Nice ass, buddy!” Tjark hollered as he passed them. “Just let me handle this and go back to your party! I’ll see you later!”

Caesar sneered.

When Tjark turned back around, Dominic was on him like a tiger. As soon as he realized Tjark was distracted he turned right back around, ran back to him and destroyed his temple with a roundhouse kick that knocked him flat to the pavement. He pulled a pistol and shot him once before turning and running away.

Nono gasped and rushed to where Tjark was lying on the ground.

“He’s fine. That was an alchemy round. He’ll wake up in about thirty minutes.”  

At this time, people were pouring out of Amber Hall. “Find him! Don’t let him get away!”

Caesar’s eyes widened. This was way more fun than a frat party. A game of hide and seek, a scavenger hunt, a chase. He had to keep this in mind for the next Day of Liberty. He turned and ran back towards Norton Hall.

“Where are you going?” Nono asked.

 He shouted over his shoulder. The cold light in his eyes was replaced by a fiery challenge. “This is way more interesting. You’re right! I’m going to join in!”

[seiin-translations]

2.43 S1 Chapter 3.1 - The Dog’s View and the Giraffe’s View

1. FRESHERS

If my one accomplishment in life is teaching everyone how cool Odacchi is...I’m okay with that

Translation Notes

1. Volleyball and ballet in Japanese are written in the same way (バレー)

2. Yuichi Nakagaichi is a former volleyball player who played for Japan in the 1992 Olympics

3. Tadahiro Nomura is one of the most famous judo competitors in Japan who won three Olympic gold medals in a row

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When he first entered high school, “Oda” was second from the top for the boys on the class register. The seats in class were temporarily allocated according to student number, so he was second from the front, two files from the window.

However, he couldn’t see the board very well in this seat due to an obstacle. If he were to apply a nicely fitting expression to it, then it would be as though a tree had spurted up from the seat of the chair. An extremely tall back completely blocked his sight. His shoulder blades were at the height of Oda’s line of sight, who was sitting normally.

“Whoa,” Oda bent back in shock, then leaned over his desk and poked the tall guy. “Hey. Hey!”

“Mmm?”

The tall guy twisted his long back around and placed his elbows on the back of his chair. His sleeves of his brand-new blazer, the same as his own, was already a little short at that point in time, his wrists peeking out quite a bit. His arms look long too… Oda, out of habit, imagined how far he could reach if he added the reach of his arms to his height.

“You’re huge. The biggest in this class. How tall are you? Were you the biggest in middle school too? What club are you in?”

“Club? I’m not in any, but…”

When he showered enthusiastic questions on him, the other boy leaned away from him suspiciously. A mild personality could be inferred from his gentle-looking features reminiscent of a horse-like creature, as well as a low voice like his throat was slightly stuffed, coupled with a relaxed way of speaking, however…

“Huh, with that height? You’re kidding, right? What a waste.”

Oda’s eyes widened, and the boy frowned, as though he had said something that hurt his feelings.

“You’re prejudiced to think that if someone’s big, they’re in some kinda sports club. I don’t really like exercise. There’s a lot of guys who say stuff like that, but it’s annoying.”

…He was the type of guy who spoke harshly and without restraint from the first meeting. Oda felt daunted at the gap from his first impression of him, but he immediately collected himself. They would be classmates from now on. It was much better to have someone to state clearly what they hate rather than let it go vaguely.

“Hey, wanna join the volleyball team together? I played it all the way through middle school and was thinking of playing it in high school too.”

“Volleyball? The ball sport?” (1)

After a short while,

“You?”

He said with a faint mockery in his voice. Oda was discouraged. It was the first day of school. Anticipation bounded in his chest and there was still absolutely no reason to doubt his own future.

“Well, it’s true that I’m small now, but I’m gonna grow tall in the future. They say there’re guys who grow thirty centimeters in high school, so I’m sure that I’ll have caught up to you by third year.” For some reason, at that moment he never doubted that he would be as big as the guy in front of him after two years. “And then I’ll be a super ace, like Gaichi.” (2)

“Super ace? What’s that, sounds strong.”

Oda’s eyes sparkled like he had been waiting for that question.

“It’s a team’s coolest, most dependable attacker.”

After that, he enthusiastically talked about how Nakagaichi Yuichi was from Fukui Prefecture and how amazing of a player he was until the new homeroom teacher arrived and made them stop chatting. The tall guy didn’t seem particularly impressed as he listened, but after school that day, he followed Oda, who immediately went to visit the boys’ volleyball team.

This was the second boy in attendance, Oda Shinichiro’s encounter with the first boy in attendance, Aoki Misao, who was one spot before him. That was exactly two years ago from now.

***

I. Prohibition of the posting and distribution of flyers other than in designated posting areas

I. Prohibition of any solicitation activities that obstruct traffic, on campus or off campus

I. Prohibition of any solicitation activities accompanied by the transfer of money, goods, privileges, etc.

I. Prohibition of any solicitation activities that could be seen as coercive or intimidating, as well as forcibly making someone join a club

The above was the notice handed down every year by the student council during the welcoming period for new students in early April, but practically no club strictly adhered to those rules. In actuality, the student council took a stance of toleration unless some sort of problem occurred.

That was why, during this season, as soon as school let out, the hallways became so crowded with people that it became difficult to walk. Those who indiscriminately pushed flyers on any new student coming out of their classrooms, those who tried to get their attention by offering sweet conditions such as answers for past exams or joint training camps with girls’ schools, those who wrapped their arms around the new students’ shoulders and trying to bring them into a room, extortion showing through beneath their friendly behaviors—. A large number of flyers were trampled underfoot, staining white like a cherry tree-lined path after a spring storm scattered all the petals.

Oda was considerably fed up with the tumult that filled the hallways, and he advanced through the crowd while hugging his enamel bag to his chest. Although he thought that the student council should manage it a little more, every time he saw the innocent faces of the new students whose shoulders didn’t quite align with their uniforms, he thought that it might be insensitive to say so. Although they were overawed by their upperclassmen’s overbearing approach and backed away, their cheeks were flushed with excitement and anticipation and their eyes were sparkling. He probably had that same face as he walked down this hallway two years ago.

The him from two years ago who triumphantly entered high school with pure anticipation and groundless self-confidence had already somewhat transformed into being part of his dark history, and he felt embarrassed when he recalled it. That was two years ago. At some point during those two years, I think I was forced to acknowledge my own limits…

“Hey, you, yeah you, walking over there.”

Someone heartily placed their arm around his shoulders from behind.

“Ooh, nice abs. If you’re this fit in your first year, you must have been in a decent sports club, right? Which club? Baseball? Soccer? Wanna try judo? You’ll be in the lightweight division at a tournament in no time. If you do soccer, there’s a chance you’ll be on the bench until graduation, you know?”

His abs were being rubbed while a huge guy was leaning on him and making him slouch over. “Hey, stop it!” Oda twisted around and pushed the other person’s elbow aside.

“Ah? Oh, what, it’s Oda. Sorry, sorry. I got it a bit wrong.”

“Not just a bit. You got it completely wrong.”

“Well, you’ll do too, Oda, you’re an instant asset. You can still switch clubs now, right? I’m seeing a second Nomura Tadahiro (3) in you, Odacchi. I don’t care if you’re in two clubs at the same time either, if you want. Let’s accomodate each other, seeing as how we’re both minor clubs.”

“I don’t know who Nomura is. If you have the time to invite third years, then go get a first-year.”

“We already lost all the good first-years. It’s all about soccer for them. I guess judo really is that uncool. It has a stinking image I guess.”

“Well it is uncool. I’m in a hurry.”

He was getting bitter, so he dealt with him bluntly and started walking.

“Odaaaa!” A rough voice chased after him. When he turned around, the stern face of the tall judo club member popping out from above the heads of the students crowding the hallway.

“I’m serious. The only club that wants you is us, you know? You don’t have to do volleyball… Why volleyball of all things?”

It’s none of your business, he cursed in his mind, faced forward, and squeezed through the crowd of people. Even when he thought he got out, his enamel bag that was wider than him got caught and he stumbled backwards. He frustratedly pulled on the strap and held it to his chest once again.

Why volleyball of all things, you ask? He had already asked himself that a long time ago without being told that by others. Did he miss the chance to give up? Maybe if he had switched at an earlier stage, there would be something else he could have displayed his power at? I don’t know, I don’t think there is something like that in this world, but maybe there is.

But, this year would definitely be the year where I’m glad I continued. This year, we’ll definitely get stronger. Even if I can’t do it by myself, the actors are coming together.

A feeling of exhilaration gradually welled up from the pit of his stomach. His steps, which become a bit heavy, lightened. He held his bag, raised his head that was hanging down, and looked forward. Unable to suppress his excitement, he hastened to the room.

For the Nanafu Seiin High School boys’ volleyball team, today was the first day of practice for the new first-years.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

When Oda changed into his practice clothes and went to the gym, the second-years were in the center of preparations with the new first-years helping out as well. When the third-years were all there, they would look good as a team. After all, during his second year, after last year’s third-years retired, there were two people in Oda’s grade and three in the grade below, so the total was a meagre five people. It was a situation where they didn’t even have the head count for a game.

Four provisional admission forms were received three days after the entrance ceremony. That could be called an excellent result. I don’t know how many people will stay after this, but assuming they’ll all join officially…

“Eight people…ah, nine including me?”

How can a court not look so lonely when there’s nine people?

As he stood in place at the gym entrance for a while to take in the scene, Aoki approached him with a wry smile.

“Oi, oi, don’t tell me you’re getting emotional from just this?”

“I’m, I’m not getting emotional!”

He looked away to gloss over the embarrassment. In the first place, his neck got tired when he looked this guy in the eye and talked. Not liking how the shoulders of Aoki, who was standing next to him, trembled slightly as he suppressed his laughter, he made a stern face on purpose.

It was just as Aoki said. How could he be feeling satisfied with this stage? The Inter-High-slash-prefectural qualifiers were at the beginning of June, two months later. He would be picking the starters from these new members at once.

“Whew, this really puts the high in high school.”

A first year said with his mouth wide-open, after the first- and second-years finished putting up the net. He seemed to have volleyball experience. His shoes were Mizuno Volleyball, and you could see that they were worn in. He still has iinnocent, middle school student features, or rather, he seems spoiled, but…he’s big. Though not as big as Aoki, he was definitely over one-eighty. It seemed he would be useful just by having him stand in the center.

“Wanna try hitting one?”

Oda called out as he walked up to the court.

“Is it okay?”

It was a look of irrepressible joy despite his shyness. Yeah, that’s nice. That’s a good face.

“Where are you hitting from? You can just choose your strong spot.”

“Then, I’ll start from the back, right in the middle.”

He was a bit surprised that he requested to do back row attacks without hesitation. Not center, but a side hitter? The first-year flexibly used his knees to bounce twice before lightly running to the court end. “Kanno, give him a pass.” The second-year Kanno picked up the ball Aoki rolled to him and assumed the position of receiver. Oda went to the setter’s position, close to the right front. His position wasn’t originally setter, but he wanted to get a first taste of this raw material to see how good he was.

Kanno sent forward a light overhand pass. As a preliminary test, Oda started with a slow high set—

“Oi!?”

The first-year kicked the floor with his legs, and by the time the ball might or might not have left Oda’s fingertips, he was already jumping. It almost looked like the floor itself had elasticity and added power to his jump—he was that high! And not just that, but far! His body, which was bent back like a bow, jumped nearly three meters in one go from the front of the attack line to the net.

But of course, the set didn’t meet him at all. Before Oda’s high set even reached the top of its parabola, the first-year refreshingly and very energetically attempted to hit it and missed, and unable to kill his momentum, went under the net and tumbled all the way to the other side of the court. There was even time for Kanno to nonchalantly walk right underneath the ball and catch it as it fell after drawing a huge arc.

“O…oi, are you okay!?”

He was stunned for a moment, but then realized what happened and rushed over. They couldn’t afford to have a new team member get injured on the very first day. “Sorry—!” The first-year said. He was relieved to see him suddenly raise his upper body up from his spread-legged forward bending position, looking surprisingly unconcerned.

He’s pretty flexible…with that height…? From Oda’s experience, big guys had stiff bodies. He himself was fairly flexible, having properly did stretches since middle school. He secretly thought that it was one of the few physical advantages he possessed. This first-year had easily overturned that. This is a bit…no, very frustrating.

But, what was that timing just now? Didn’t he jump after he saw the set? “Huh, that’s weird,” the first-year muttered to himself, tilting his head.

“Well, that’s enough entertainment for now. Assemble!”

Aoki clapped his hands and called the other team members over.

Facing the captain and vice-captain Oda and Aoki, the three second-years and four first-years stood on the right wing and left wing respectively, standing moderately spread out. Kanno was also participating today’s gym use day, so it felt good to see everyone’s faces and start the new year off right. The new members, including that astounding first-year from just a moment ago, looked a little nervous, their cheeks unconsciously slackening with their innocence.

Aoki handed him the forms they were made to fill out when they tentatively joined the team. He flipped through the four forms in his hand. The provisional admission form had a common format for all clubs, requiring students to write down the club they wanted to join, class, full name, and middle school. Obviously, all four forms had “boys’ volleyball team” written for the first item. That one line written in poor handwriting on each of them was dazzling…If he got emotional here, Aoki would laugh at him again.

“Now, we’ll have each first-year introduce themselves. Class, name, middle school, height, and position if you have experience. If there’s another position you want, you can say it. If you don’t know because you’re a first-timer, don’t worry. First is…”

He read aloud the first form.

“Nagato Ryo. Where are you?”

The first-year on the far left answered with “Here!” almost immediately. He wasn’t badly built either. He remembered seeing his face at the middle school prefecturals last year.

“Nagato Ryo from Class 1-E. I’m from Monshiro Middle. My height is probably around one-seventy-eight now. My position was pretty much the center.”

Fourth in the prefecture, Monshiro Middle. He exchanged a glance with Aoki and nodded.

“All right, next. Kuroba Yuuji.”

This time, there was no one who answered immediately.

“Hmm?”

He looked up from the sheet of paper. The one who had introduced himself as Nagato earlier poked the person to the right of him with his elbow. It was the first year who had swung and missed earlier who answered “Here” while looking down with Nagato’s elbow in his side.

“Kuroba Yuuji from 1-C, I’m from Monshiro Middle, now I’m probably one-eighty-three or four or something like that. I played left-side and right-side…”

While talking, that Kuroba was glowering at Nagato next to him. When he looked, he saw that Nagato had his hand to his mouth with his shoulders shaking.

“What’s going on here?”

The two’s faces stiffened when Oda’s tone turned sharp, but…

“It’s nothing. I’m Kuroba Yuuji.”

Kuroba named himself again while seemingly reluctantly giving Nagato the side-eye, a “pff” sound burst out from Nagato’s mouth.

“…Senpai. It’s Yuni. The reading.”

Kanno interjected from among the second-year right side players. “Ah,” Kuroba said and turned protesting eyes to Kanno. Come to think of it, Kanno was also from Monshiro Middle.

“Well, if that’s true then say it earlier. Why didn’t you correct me?”

“It’s fine. I will change my name starting today.”

Kuroba said with a solemn face while the tips of his ears were bright red. “You’re gonna change your name starting today?” Oda’s temple twitched. Is this guy an idiot? Nagato was clutching his stomach and bending over like he couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Senpai, apparently his name got laughed at a lot in his new class today. When he was asked the reason for it, he said it was Yuni from ‘universe’, and everyone said it was a super over-the-top name. That’s why you’re sulking, right, Yuni?”

“Shut up…no one said anything in middle school.”

“Nah, I thought that too, but I knew you since first grade so I missed the timing.”

“Say, say stuff like that earlier! You’re making my wounds worse.”

The other two first-years, who had been just standing there with confused faces at the back-and-forth between the graduates of the same middle school, laughed reservedly. “Sto-stop laughing at me!” Kuroba said, aghast. Oda sighed.

“Isn’t it fine, Yuni from ‘universe’? Who named you?”

When he interjected, all four of them reflexively straightened their postures and contained their laughter. “Grandpa did…” Kuroba answered embarrassedly with his head hung. “The Buddhist priest at the temple decided the number of character strokes and read it as Hirohito at first, but Grandpa said he changed the reading since he wanted it to mean ‘May you be able to reach the universe…’”

The person himself didn’t seem to like it very much, but Oda was impressed by that origin. That’s nice…he thought again. The other first years other than Nagato seemed to have come out of their shells with this episode. They were already familiarly whispering and poking each other. He made the people around him like him, perhaps because he had a strange, hopelessly unguarded character to him. There was a big difference between having a moodmaker like that on the team and not having one. And of course, the first thing his eyes were drawn to were the height he was blessed with, and the jump power he displayed earlier. The suppleness of the body led to less chances of injury.

That’s nice…but…it’s frustrating. Two feelings were jumbled within him—the sincere feelings of welcome as a captain, and envy mixed with jealousy as a fellow attacker.

“Kuroba Yuni, eh. I don’t approve the name change, so keep it. Okay, next!”

When he turned over another temporary club entry form, he saw that there were no more people from Monshiro Middle School. He looked over them starting with the last one first, just to be sure, but that was also wrong. I assumed that he’d be among these four, but…

“Kuroba, Nagato, there’s another guy coming here from your school, right?”

The two first-years, who had gone from poking each other to joking around with each other, immediately froze. Kuroba’s reaction was especially conspicuous. His smiling face stiffened in an instant, and his huge body seemed like it shrank a size.

“What’s wrong?”

The two made noncommittal answers and looked away from Oda.

“Haijima goes here, doesn’t he? Haijima—Kimichika.”

When Oda impatiently repeated that, Nagato gave Kuroba’s profile a meaningful glance before nervously speaking.

“That guy, Haijima, stopped showing up to practice after prefecturals, and he doesn’t seem to be playing volleyball anymore.”

Previous || Index || Next

[side-effect-of-the-meds]

PLEASE write about Andrew & Jean being chaotic and bitter bffs on the same team the power they would have the intimidation level the fashionable goth energy,,, w ow also I want Andrew to learn French so badly which we all know he would if Jean started insulting him in French

IT WON’T BE UP ANY TIME SOON but I’m writing a fic about Andrew visiting Renee’s for winter break in his final year of college in which he’s forced to spend the week sharing a space with Jean. 

Over the course of said week, they form a tentative alliance that’s essentially that We’re Not So Different You And I bit by John Mulaney 

Anyway, that’s like mid-way through Andrew’s fourth year. They don’t speak again until a little before Andrew’s graduation. The Foxes have just won the Championships they made it to finals last year and lost the last  game :’( and so they’re having a party. Andrew needed some air so he stepped outside and, a little while later, he hears footsteps on the porch behind him. Jean sits down, leaving some space between the two of them so as not to crowd Andrew, and just sort of slides a piece of paper over. Andrew keeps up his cool guy facade for a while, assuming Jean will break first. He does. 

“Would you just look at it?” Jean snarled. Andrew flicked him a cool look before, picking up the paper painstakingly slowly. He held it up to his own face, not bothering to actually read it. “Illiterate too, I see.” Andrew could barely keep the scowl off his face. He squinted at the stack of papers he picked up. 

“Why?” he asked. 

“Our goalkeep is, how you say? A piece of shit.”  

“You’re giving him more credit than he deserves,” Andrew cut in, his lips curling in a sneer. 

“I’m getting tired of being the last line of defense. It’s hard not having anyone to watch your back,” Jean said, shooting a meaningful look at Andrew. He elected to ignore it in favor of taking another drag of his cigarette. Jean muttered something that sounded like a curse before standing up and disappearing back into Abby’s house.

A month later, Jean stepped out of his apartment wondering which horrid little monsters the Cardinals had signed now. Turning towards the stairs, he found his answer waiting for him. 

“There’s no point in both of us driving down there. You make breakfast and I’ll drive,” the gremlin said. It wasn’t an offer or even a demand. He said it as though he were stating a fact. 

“The arrogance of Americans never fails to amaze me,” Jean shot back. 

“You’ve got dual citizenship, Frenchie. I’m sorry to say it, but that makes you one of us.” With that, the little monster turned on his heel and headed down the stairs. Jean muttered a steady stream of curses as he followed Andrew out to the Maserati

Having Andrew on his team is literally the worst. All he ever does is laze around. Sometimes, he’ll just lay down in the middle of the goal and stare at the ceiling. Jean gets a lot of shit for it bc he’s the one that recommended him for the line. It’s the day of their first game and tensions are high at practice when Jean loses his temper. He picks up an exy ball and hurls it at Andrew. Without even looking up, Andrew catches it with one hand. He stands slowly and throws it back so fast that Jean doesn’t have time to react. The ball wedges itself into the grate of his helmet, the force of it knocking him off his feet. Everyone assumes that Andrew isn’t going to play that night or will just be his asshole self but, when Jean finds himself struggling to hold the line, Andrew gets sent out and he’s an absolute monster in the goal. Every shot that comes his way gets deflected all the way down the court. The last goal of the night is made in the final seven seconds when Andrew slams a shot all the way down the court into the opposing goal. It lights up red and the crowd loses their shit. Exhausted, Jean collapses on the floor. 

“It’s hard not having anyone to have your back,” Andrew said as he passed by. By the time Jean found his voice, Andrew was already gone. Catching a ride home with one of the strikers, Jean felt a tightness in his chest. Andrew was an annoyingly lazy little bastard but Jean should have trusted him.

Jean doesn’t know how to apologize. Words are wasted on the likes of Andrew so he says nothing. He wakes early to make breakfast the next morning and says a silent prayer. Andrew is never late to anything but, when 6:30 rolls around and he isn’t there Jean’s heart plummets. He leaves the plate out on the counter while he eats. The ticking of the clock is deafeningly loud. At 6:47 there’s a knock at the door and Jean nearly faceplants in his hurry to answer it. 

“Your food’s gone cold,” Jean blurted out. Andrew turned a glare on him but said nothing as he shouldered his way into the apartment. Dark circles rimmed his eyes. His shoulders sagged, weighed down by exhaustion. There was no way he’d gotten a wink of sleep last night. 

“Moreau,” a voice said from the door. Jean whipped around to see Matt Boyd standing at the door. How he’d missed such a tall person standing in his doorway, Jean didn’t know. “Mind if I come in?” Jean stepped aside and Matt moved in. 

“Are you hungry?” Jean asked, haltingly. Boyd was the starting backliner for the Virginia Cavaliers, a whole state over. What the hell was he doing here? 

“I could eat,” Matt said brightly. He grabbed hold of a chair and dragged it over to where Andrew sat. 

“Not out of my plate,” Andrew snapped when Matt made to steal his eggs. Jean made his way to the kitchen to fix a third plate. From the dining room he could hear Andrew’s voice and Boyd’s laughter. Handing the plate over to him, Jean took his seat at the far end of the table. For the next quarter of an hour, Boyd rambled on about something or the other. If you asked Jean what he’d talked about, he wouldn’t have been able to say. He was far too absorbed in watching Andrew. 

The usual tension that pervaded his form had fallen away. Despite the obvious lack of sleep, Andrew seemed far more relaxed than usual. Every now and again, Jean saw his lips twitch up into the barest hint of a smile. From what he’d heard, Andrew had never had a good relationship with any of his teammates save Josten. But that made sense. Neil was his lover. What was it about Boyd that softened him so much? 

As soon as breakfast was finished and the plates cleaned, Jean disappeared back into his room to grab his phone. By the time he’d returned, both Andrew and Boyd were gone from the dining room. Jean found the pair blocking the open door. He stopped short when he heard Boyd’s voice. 

“I’ve missed you so much, Andy.” His words shook Jean to his core. 

“Yes or no?” Andrew asked quietly. Jean watched in stunned silence as Matt leaned down, mumbling yes a hair’s breadth away from Andrew’s lips. The second the word left his mouth, Andrew closed the distance between them. A soft moan slipped from Boyd’s lips and Jean watched in horror as he tangled his hands in Andrew’s hair. “Stop staring, Moreau,” Andrew said as he broke the kiss. 

“I thought that you and Josten-”

“We are,” Andrew cut in dismissively. “Matt is too.”

“Oh,” was all Jean could think to say. Back at the Nest, there had been no exclusive relationships. While most relationships in the real world weren’t like that, Jean had heard there were still a few. Boyd said his goodbyes before heading down the hall to the back stairwell. Andrew started off in the other direction. Jean had to run after him once he’d locked the door. Neither of them spoke in the car. They never did but there was a weight to the silence now that Jean didn’t know what to do about. A thousand small talk topics flitted through his head but he knew Andrew wouldn’t appreciate any of it so he kept his mouth shut, contenting himself to stare out the window. 

Jean is ready to run by the time that they pull up at the court but he doesn't. He needs to prove that he’s going to have Andrew’s back so he stays with him. 

It’s kind of awkward for a while. Andrew doesn’t like having Jean towering over him from behind bc it makes him feel vulnerable so he’s always really tense. 

The turning point in their relationship is when a striker from another team tries to start a twitter feud with Andrew. He gets asked about it in an interview and the interviewer pulls a Kathy Ferdinand and reveals that the striker is backstage. Jean is sitting with Andrew for the interview and when they try to start shit live on air, Jean snaps. He cuts the striker a new one, roasting them within an inch of their life and the interview is forced to end bc the striker throws a punch. Andrew steps in front of Jean, catching the punch with ease and judo flipping them. 

Neither of them really acknowledge that it happened but, when Andrew comes to breakfast the following Monday, he brings a loaf of sweet bread that he baked over the weekend. 

Things kind of settle after that. Sometimes Andrew leaves recipes for foods he wants and Jean starts filling their silences with something other than the news. He complains about Americans and moons over Jeremy and starts teaching Andrew French too. 

Jean has his own tiktok and most of his vids are of himself cooking and have Andrew reacting at the end but there’s a few subsections tho. One of them is Andrew and Jean and their baking escapades. It’s always super messy. Another is their ‘date nights’. On the weekends, the two of them get a little extra dressed up and go out to sample new restaurants.  They’re both massive foodies so they like to try new restaurants together. Andrew is a surprisingly picky eater and listening to him critic food is the most Jean has ever heard him speak. Platonic dates are actually incredibly nice n more ppl need to indulge in them. 

The final subsection is fashion/makeup. Jean likes to do makeup bc… why not? Sometimes, he manages to convince Andrew to let him be his model and does some really interesting looks on Andrew. Those videos never see the light of day but it’s something they do and it’s very important to Andrew. There’s something very intimate about letting Jean touch his face for hours on end but it also kind of feels nice. Also he loves the way Neil and Matt fawn over him when he skypes them with his makeup done. The fashion videos,  however, do go up. The two of them go to the mall p often and take turns styling each other. They do style challenges too where they’re both given the same horrible item (something like crocs or a really ugly sweater) and they have to make the other person look good in them. 

They do little nice things for each other. When Neil has a game against Bluefield, Jean gets Andrew front row tickets for him and manages to convince Matt to come down too. Andrew learns how to make french pastries that he leaves on Jean’s counter pretty often bc it reminds him of home. He also gets Allison to help him pull some strings and arrange for Jean to spend Christmas break in France with Jeremy. Jean doesn’t cry but he does tear up a little bit. 

Andrew is still a menace and you see that on his tiktok. He rigs ridiculous pranks like setting up a tripwire to dump glue and feather on him or wrapping all his stuff in plastic wrap.

[kkita]

Heroism doesn't need quirks ⟨ Kirishima, Bakugou and Mirio⟩

—A quirkless reader that's still heroic

—Word count: 1.1k

—Genre: Fluff

—A/N: This is my first time writing for Mirio, sorry if he's ooc. But hope you enjoy!~

—Kirishima is super proud of you, despite being quirkless, you still had the sense for justice.

—What he doesn't like though is when people underestimate you, because when you see someone needing help you're the first one there, then the pro hero just gets there but you already helped them. It's like you took their job 😂

—So there was this one time where you and Kirishima were walking down the marketplace, looking for street food when an elderly woman got mugged, there weren't any pro heroes around.

—You decided to handle it yourself, Kirishima holds you back, "Y/N, it might be too dangerous, what if he has a gun?" He said, worry laced in his words. "And? Kirishima! There's an elder that needs help, what if all her money's inside of her purse?" You said, trying to get Kirishima hand off

— "We can just wait for the pro heroes to get here, I don't want my license to get taken away right now" He said, scratching the back of his head, you didn't want do to that so while he was distracted with his talking you made a run for it

—What Kirishima didn't know was you've trained judo for a long time that you can literally beat up this big dude without help. So that's what you did, after he got k.o-ed by you. Kirishima comes running after you, "Y/N! Why did run.. off..?" He said, looking at the thief laying on the floor, unresponsive.

— "Don't worry Kiri, they're not dead. Here you go miss" You smiled sweetly as you gave the old lady her purse back. "Thank you so much dear, I wouldn't know what I'd do if I lost this.. My husband's memoirs were in here, so thank you" she smiled back, bowing.

— "You're welcome miss, just glad to help" you said, "Ahh such a sweet kid" she said, "You better take care of her, she's a keeper" She winked at Kirishima, "A-Ah..! Yes I plan to!" Kirishima said, growing red as his hair.

— "Thank you again, I'll be going" she said, walking away. "Woah Y/N I didn't know you could beat up grown men?! So manly~" He gushed out, "I've trained for so long Kiri, of course I'm gonna use that skill" you said,

—You and Bakugou were walking down the street to get some food together when you noticed someone crying in the alley way. You were gonna walk straight to it but Bakugou's grip stopped you.

— "Ah you're so cool Y/N~" He complimented one last time, as the two of you walked hand in hand to enjoy the time remaining.

— "Where the fuck are you going?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowed as usual, "There's someone crying over there, what if they need help?" You said, "Y/N, you're quirkless, what if there's a villain waiting over there? What are you gonna do?" He asked, his eyes now widened.

_ "Then I'll do my best to help them!" You said, trying to free yourself from his hold, "I'll go with you, I've been looking for someone to blow up anyways" he said, letting you go and shoving his hand into his pockets

—There was this group of boys surrounding a single girl, they looked as if they were in middle school. You walk up to them, Bakugou following shortly after, "What are you doing?" You start off, seeing the girl crying.

—You move the boys out the way as you attempt to grab the girl out of there but a boy blocks your way, "What do you think you're doing? This isn't any of your business, leave!" He yells, "What'd you say you little shit?" Bakugou looks as if he was gonna blow that kid's face up.

—Bakugou let out a few explosions from his palm, his face contorted to this horrific face, making the boys scram, leaving the little girl sitting down, sniffling

—You crouch down to her level, patting her head, "Did they hurt you?" You gently ask, she shakes her head. "Good, those mean bullies better not come back, if they do tell them that Bakugou will get them, they'll surely leave you alone" You wink at Katsuki as he rolls his eyes.

— "T-Thank you" She says hugging you, "You're welcome, you know I was bullied back then as well.. I don't have a quirk, so I got targeted for bullying. So I know how you feel too, and I want you to know that I'll be here" you smile at her, she smiles at you back. You hug one last time as she runs off to go home.

— "I didn't know that about you.." Katsuki says, as the two of you walked, "Well, I didn't really want to tell anyone" You smile, "You should tell me what the bully looks like so I can hunt them down" He says, "Katsuki! It's all in the past now, besides I've got you to protect me now" You say clinging on his arm as he blushes.

—Mirio is very happy at how much you love to be heroic even though you have your own struggles, like not having a quirk. But he ensures you that even without a quirk, you're still viewed as a hero.

—There's this one time when there was a young girl that was getting pestered by a bunch of boys, and you were not having any of it. "Can you keep it down? Or better yet, stop pestering her? She clearly wants nothing to do with you boys," You roll your eyes at their advances.

— "D-Don't do this right now baka!" He says trying to swat you away but to no avail. He gives up in the end.

— "Shut it woman, you jealous we aren't doing it to you or something?" The guy joked as his friends laughed and high fived him, "Haha very funny. But you know harassing someone is actually an act of—" you get cut off by one of the boys.

— "Ugh, she's no fun you guys, let's just go.. Stupid bitch.." He muttered underneath his breath, but you decided to leave it as it is, you were just glad they stopped bothering the poor girl.

— "Thank you for making them leave, they've been bothering me for the past week.. I didn't know how to tell them off," She explained, you walk up her, sitting beside her. "It's no problem, I just hate boys like that.. no girl deserves to be treated like that," you smile as she stands up.

— "Ah! I just forgot, I need to get back home to eat. Thank you once again miss!" She says as she runs back home, Mirio appearing behind you.

— "What's up Ms. Hero?" He jokes, "Those boys were annoying to deal with, just glad they won't bother her again," You sighed, "You did great Y/N, let's go enjoy the rest of our day" he said, offering a hand.

— "Sounds good," You said taking his hand in yours, as the two of you decide to get ice cream.

☆彡Sen

[sparrowkingsley]

I'm Not Okay

Laurel had been awake for hours. Her mind was on overload. Sleep eluded her as she glanced at her phone over and over checking the time. After three hours of restlessness she had gotten up. Her body exhausted but her mind forcing it to move.

She couldn't stop thinking about the conversation that her and her mom had. What did she want? What did she want to do?

As a kid her interests were many yet sometimes so fleeting. Although she was a master at martial arts she didn't want a career in that. Oplympic fame had seemed cool but ultimately unexciting to her heart's desire. As a kid she had wanted to be a pirate, not a career her parents would want her to pursue to say the least.

Treasure hunting. Time jumping. Exploration was what she really wanted. Hadn't she just wrecked her best chance at that though? Would she be able to finish the Legend Program now? Would she even get back her time license? Most importantly what would this mean for her time with Heywood?

Heywood. Another dilemma her mind was fixated on.

It's not like Laurel hadn't noticed. Sure a lot of times she missed social cues. Her mind usually pulled her away from the things right in front of her. Distracted or overwhelmed by her own mind she usually annoyed most people. But not Heywood. Heywood always put up with her.

The looks they shared had changed recently or rather maybe she had just began to notice. She remembered feeling this change before when she had started to date Josh freshman year. He and her had been close and their relationship had went from, "he is a really great guy to hang out with" to "I really want to kiss him".

Before him she never even really thought about wanting someone to kiss her. It was confusing that she didn't want what other high school classmates seemed to. Then things changed when she connected with Josh.

Two months later it was over. Logically Laurel knew it wasn't her fault. As they spent less and less time together, Josh focusing on track and her devoting so much energy on her time schemes, the feelings had just dwindled away.

She tried to figure it out. Hoped they could work it out. Except she couldn't. She couldn't change things back to how they were when they started. So she broke it off and she lost him. Lost their connection and then lost their friendship.

So now, with Heywood, her best friend, the person she trusted and cared about more than anyone else ... if she ruined things with her? She couldn't lose her. She just couldn't.

Steady vibrations of a familiar sound pulled her away from her worries.

"Hey Sprout, you hungry?."

Her bullfrog continued his bellows till she dumped a few crickets into his large tank. As he hopped out of the water to devour them Laurel began to feed her other pets as well. Grab more crickets for Luna, her leopard gecko and her chameleon Judo. Open up her mini fridge for her scorpion Calypso's meal worms and one large, thawed rat for Sunshine, her boa.

As she opened up Sunshine's enclosure the snake slunk her head out demanding Laurel's affection. Laurel let the snake climb up her arm, up to her shoulders, the snake's tongue flickering against her cheek as she began to sing 'You are my Sunshine' softly. Sunshine satisfied with the attention then willing slid back into her home to enjoy her meal.

Now what?

Laurel tried to distract herself from thoughts of her best friend. Push ups. Sit ups. Pull ups. A few rounds with her punching bag. Still her mind wandered to the same thoughts.

Punch. Those amber eyes that were warmer than sunshine. Punch. Her long, wavy locks of brown hair that she pulled into a ponytail whenever they sparred together. Punch. What about the fact Heywood had three inches on her. Punch. Their height difference was just infuriating and she never was gonna stop teasing her about it. Punch. The way she would switch from English to Korean and back again and not even realize how amazing that was. Punch! And her singing voice, her singing gave Laurel chills no matter what song it was. Punch, punch! Her laugh was just the same. No it was even better! Punch, punch! When Heywood laughed it gave her the best feeling in the world. Punch, Punch! It was the most beautiful sound in the universe. Nothing could ever replace it. Punch, punch!

And it was all- Punch! Punch, Punch! PUNCHPUNCHPUNCHPUNCHPUNCH!

It was all too much.

Just too much.

Think about something else. Anything else. Anything but her.

Laurel threw off her combat gloves, wiped off her sweat with a towel, then made her way downstairs. Maybe she could distract herself by eating something? She figured she could at least try at this point.

"Good morning, Laurel."

Laurel practically jumped out of her skin when she rounded the corner and saw that Ava was already in the kitchen.

"Oh fu- oh um hey mom. You're up early? What time is it? I mean it's Saturday and usually you and Momma sleep in on Saturday so, wait... it's Saturday right?"

"It is 6:32 am on Saturday, October 6th 204-!"

"Um okay mom, chill with the play by play of our current timezone okay. I get it. I'm grounded. Stuck in this time till my community service is over. Geezzz, you don't have to rub it in."

"Very well dear. Would you like to eat breakfast together? I am preparing something special for you."

"Um, sure? If you want."

Laurel was super puzzled by the way her mother was acting. She was super stiff this morning. Like she was on auto pilot. What was more odd was that she was dressed in her pantsuit. Which she rarely ever wore anymore except when meeting with the Time Tribunal or helping out on timeline case.

Laurel began to dig her way into the fridge, "Are you meeting some of your time cop buddies today or like are you and mom doing some nostalgic role-playing thing? Cause if so I don't actually want to know about it. But like if you are please make sure to play your annoying music super loud okay. I don't need to hear you getting sweet with each other like ever."

"Sara is at the dojo. She is with a client this morning."

Laurel froze. Did she just... did her mom just call her momma Sara? She slowly pulled a jar of peanut butter out the fridge and turned around to look at her.

"Um? Are you and mom fighting?"

Ava pulled a cooking sheet out of the oven, not even looking up at her, "Your mother and I are fine, honey. Why do you ask?"

"Cause you rarely call her by her first name. And yesterday you both seemed fine so like, did you get into an argument about my situation or something?"

"Of course not, sweetie."

Laurel opened up the silverware drawer and grabbed a spoon. Something was off. Laurel felt her gut twist into a knot of uneasiness. Then she saw what her mom was pulling out of the oven and the pit in her stomach only grew.

"If nothing is wrong why are you making snickerdoodles at 6:30 something in the morning? You only bake them this early when you are upset or your mind is on something. Mom, seriously what is going on?"

"Nothing is going on. I made them for you. They are your favorite after all. I thought you might enjoy them since you will be stuck at home for the time being."

Laurel opened the jar of peanut butter. She swirled the spoon around for a bit. Her foot tapped as she watched her mom set the cookies on the cooling rack and turn off the oven. She couldn't hold it in any longer. She really needed her mom.

"Mom, I was wondering if we could maybe talk? It's about, well it's about me and um Heywood. I know I said nothing was going on between us but I, I really need your advice."

"Of course, kiddo. Ask me anything you need to."

Her throat tightened. Her fingers clenched against the jar. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end. A chill ran down her spine. All because of one word her mom had just said. "Kiddo?"

"Yes. Kiddo. Do you no longer like to be called that term of endearment?"

Laurel blinked. Once. Twice. And for a few moments just started at Ava. Afraid to look away.

"Hey mom... can you look at me for a second?"

Ava looked up. Her eyes looking straight into Laurel's as she took a huge spoonful of peanut butter into her mouth and immediately put it back into the jar.

"Yes dear?"

Laurel took a few moments to swallow the peanut butter. Silence settling uneasy between them. Tension set into Laurel as she leaned against the countertop.

"You know, I've always been an obnoxiously clever kid. Over the years I have found a lot of ways to intentionally annoy my parents. Years of practice you see. So I'm going to break down a few things for you, okay? My mom, Ava, absolutely hates when I eat directly out of the jar of peanut butter. Seriously it is one of her greatest pet peeves. She likes to call me by a lot of embarrassingly cutesy nicknames. Things like sweetie, honey and her little beam of sunshine when she wants to really irk me. But fun fact only my Momma, Sara, calls me kiddo. Interesting, right? So I'm going to give you one chance. Just one to answer me before things get ugly. Where are my moms and who the fuck are you?"

Next thing Laurel knew the person who most certainly was not her mother was diving across the countertop. She immediately defended herself. Starting by using a jar of peanut butter followed by a right hook to her opponent's face. She was going to thank her mom later for insisting on buying the organic peanut butter in a glass jar.

The imposter had recovered quickly, grabbing a kitchen knife as they began to square off with each other. Laurel had scooped up the closest item near her. A rolling pin that had been knocked off the counter at the initial struggle. Not the ideal weapon. Laurel would make it work.

"It is a shame that you discovered the truth so quickly. This means I must aquire or terminate you at this time. Stand down or perish."

"Not gonna happen. I'm going to take you down. You will tell me where my parents are."

"An unacceptable outcome."

How many times had she sparred with her moms. Countless times. Sometimes for hours at a time. They had drilled into her ways to fight. They taught her how to defend, attack, to adapt to all the things she might have to face. Except what was right in front of her. Someone trying to kill her. Someone who was wearing her mother's face.

Sweat trickled down her neck as she bobbed and weaved waiting on a opening to strike. The blade thunked against the wood of the pin as she blocked strike after strike. The sound of it sending trembles down her whole body as she backed her way into the living room to gain more open space. Tight in the kitchen her movements had been constricted. Now she could move freely and she took the opportunity to switch to the offensive.

Everything was fast. Her body and mind in sync with the furious thumping of her heart. Adrenaline pushed her forward as the knife dug deep into the rolling pin. Then she pulled it back, ripping the knife out the hand of her enemy giving her the full opening she needed. One jab to the chest followed by a roundhouse kick right to the face. That is how she should have won.

Pinning her down Laurel had grabbed her by the collar. Her other fist was raised to strike again. She had been ready to demand where her family was. She had been willing to do whatever it would take. Till she saw the necklace. It was a result from her first heist.  A jade frog she had spent actual time on to carve with the help of Axl for weeks. She had made three of them. One for herself, one for Sara and one for Ava. It wasn't supposed to be there. It shouldn't have been there. She had froze.

That's how she ended up on her back instead. Wheezing for breath as she looked into eyes that pretended to be ones she had known all her life. It didn't feel real yet it was happening. Her fingers grasping at hands closing around her throat. Her thrashing slowing down against her will.  The darkness seeping into her vision. Laurel was going to die. Her time had run out.

[takaraphoenix]

percy jackson for the ask game

Thanks for playing! ^^

Top 5 favourite characters: Percy Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Clarisse la Rue, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Silena Beauregard

Other characters you like: Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Thalia Grace, Leo Valdez, Charles Beckendorf, Tyson

Least favourite characters: Hera, uuuhm I mean Drew I guess and Nancy?? I don’t know, I’ve gone through so many cycles with PJO, I’ve come around on most characters

Otps: again, let’s make that a Top Five? Nico/Percy, Jason/Percy, Octavian/Percy, Triton/Percy, Will/Pery

Notps: Percy/Annabeth, Leo/Calypso, Grover/Percy, Tyson/Percy, book Luke/Percy

Favourite friendships: Canon? Grover & Percy, Clarisse & Percy, Nico & Reyna

Favourite family: I meeean technically they are ALL family since all of the gods are siblings/cousins! ;D Okay, okay. Paul, Sally, Percy and Tyson! A very obvious pick

Favourite episodes: doesn’t have a TV show adaptation yet? xD

Favourite season/book/movie: The Battle of the Labyrinth

Favourite quotes: not really a quote-kinda-gal

Best musical moment: haven’t gotten to see the musical yet!

Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: I mean obviously when black on white it was confirmed that Nico was in love with Percy? Like? You can imagine, yes? :D

When it really disappointed you: …so often *whispers softly, voice breaking* but to sum it up basically from The Mark of Athena through to the end. The above mentioned confession was honestly like the only highlight out of those three books...

Saddest moment: WHEN THEY KILLED OFF BECKENDORF AND THEN KILLED OFF SELINA. I CRIED THE WHOLE FUCKING DAY

Most well done character death: Luke’s death was shit, Ethan’s death was frustrating because it was a cheap cop out of an actual redemption arc I really hate the “chose the wrong side and now immediately dies in a Heroic Sacrifice”-trope (which plays into why Luke’s death was shit), Bianca’s death was ridiculous - the fact that out of ALL of the Huntresses they picked the one who had been a huntress for 0.2 DAYS was just pathetic and literally projectd “this 12 year old child with zero combat training is totally gonna die” all along and it pisses me off so much, while Silena and Beckendorf made me cry they were also frustrating because they were avoidable had people used their brains, Octavian’s death genuinely made me furious because it was played for cheap laughs... I guess Bob and Damansen by default then...?

Favourite guest star: uuuuuuuh I got nothing

Favourite cast member: Leven Rambin as Clarisse la Rue?? Holy shit blessed casting thank you

Character you wish was still alive: ...one? I only get one? *distressed Phoe-noises* Silena? Charles? Ethan? Urgh. How dare you make me pick only one...

One thing you hope really happens: ...I know there are people out there still reading the new books and I wouldn’t wish this for them because they clearly still enjoy it, but good gods do I wish Riordan would just finally stop and give Percy a rest. Like, not even stop writing - he could write new things. but stop dragging Percy Jackson personally into everything, be that visiting the Norse because hey it’s his gf’s cousin, or getting dragged into Apollo’s weird shit, seriously just... move on, please

Most shocking twist: quite truthfully that Ares was the traitorous god in The Lightning Thief and not Hades. I am so used to Hades being painted as The Bad Guy and the Evil Mastermind bullshit that it was genuinely so refreshing that no actually he’s just wronged because he wants his property back too and he’s not actually the bad guy??

When did you start watching/reading?: 2010, I guess, right after I saw the movie for the first time

Best animal/creature: BLACKJACK BLACKJACK BLACKJACK. No wait Mrs. O’Leary is also there! :O Both? Both!

Favourite location: THE UNDERWORLD

Trope you wish they would stop using: Everyone Needs To Be Paired Up! Seriously, obsessive shipping in canon is cringey but if you have a literal ship with seven crewmates and it turns out to be three couples and the seventh is first in a Love Triangle with one of the couples and THEN gets his own girlfriend, that’s... that’s genuinely pathetic, like I would raise a judgemental eyebrow at a fanfiction that ships everyone off this perfectly paired up, but a published actual work that is not the author’s very first publication? That’s embarrassing, man

One thing this show/book/film does better than others: portrayal of Greek gods and myths

Funniest moments: snarky Percy sassing gods :D

Couple you would like to see: This implies a non-canon couple I’d like to see become canon and just honestly, genuinely, none, good gods there is already too much romance as it is, dial it back

Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: honestly, the second movie took the two only fancasts that were dear to me and actually cast them. Anthony Head as Chiron and Nathan Fillion as Hermes. That was such perfect casting and were my only casting wishes, so like... I got nothing

Favourite outfit: Clarisse’s movie outfit?? It’s? So? Good??

Favourite item: I mean, Riptide is really practical?

Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?: A very dear friend of mine gave me the movie poster for the second movie and it is hanging on my ceiling :D But other than that, sadly enough this franchise is not exactly heavy on merch - which is ridiculous to me... the opportunities. Please make this into a cartoon and start producing ALL of the figures and toys. All of them. Seriously, the toy opportunity on this franchise is so huge??

What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: uuuuuuh honestly no god really fits me so I don’t know

Most boring plotline: Annabeth’s third book side-quest really bore me

Most laughably bad moment: When they had a prophecy about an “angel’s breath” and Annabeth Chase, daughter of ATHENA, stood right there, not figuring it out - but Piper did. That... That did Annabeth such a freaking disservice, seriously the disrespect from Riordan there. Why did you even make her a daughter of wisdom if you aren’t going to use her to be clever? That actively made me bang my head against the nearest wall because it was such an obvious part of the riddle like seeeriously

Best flashback/flashfoward if any: I loved learning more about Annabeth, Luke and Thalia’s past together

Most layered character: I mean Percy, but that’s also due to getting five books exclusively from his POV

Most one dimensional character: lol like the dozen or so characters who only exist as First Name Only? And yeah, I get it, you can’t flesh them all out more. But Jason Grace had a whole-ass life before he came to CHB and we got name-drops of his closest friends in The Lost Hero, but most of them remained a name only and Jason not only didn’t get to team up with them later on, to try and convince them to join his cause, he also never actively thought about them. I don’t know, but if I’d spend months away from all my friends, I would definitely spend some of my POV thinking about them...

Scariest moment: thiiis was not a scary series

Grossest moment: When Riordan tried to sell domestic violence as cute, aka Annabeth judo-flipping her boyfriend in punishment for getting abducted by a goddess :D”““ what the fuq

Best looking male: if we go by actors, I guess Chris Rodriguez? xD

Best looking female: oooh definitely Clarisse when we go with the movie faces *^*

Who you’re crushing on (if any): mmmh yeah no

Favourite cast moment: I do not know any xD”

Favourite transportation: shadow-travel! It’s so cool

Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): them entering the underworld was pretty damn cool??

Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: NICO’S AGE. CONSISTENCY. Stop posting things that contradict each other like just stop tweeting canons out if you don’t have a fixed list of what is canon. ALSO SALLY’S MOTHER IS NAMED LAURA, SHE WAS NAMED LAURA FOR YEARS BEFORE YOU FORGOT THAT YOU NAMED THAT CHARACTER LAURA AND NOW SALLY NAMED HER CANON DAUGHTER FUCKING ESTELLE AFTER HER MOTHER’S NEW NAME. Good gods. How do professional authors not have lists to crosscheck about vital information of their own characters, like their birthdates and their parents’ names.

Best promo: I don’t watch promos

At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: Honestly before I watched the movie already, when I read on wikipedia that a son of Hades was not just A Good Guy in this bookseries but also a main character :D

IN DEPTH FANDOM QUESTIONS

[shnuggletea]

Marichat May Day 1: Dance Off

Alright, I'm going to jump feet first into a new fandom again! This is for marichat may posted/hosted by @moonwalkiingbae. Before we begin, I want to say thanks to some truly amazing people. @darkenedhrt101 for joining me in this madness. @nebelflecke, @knowall7k, @master-ray5, @sailormoonserenity489, @goligolak, @sailorsilverladybug, and @astraearose93 for being truly wonderful people And to @beautymercurydragon for encouraging me to enter into this fandom! Thank you all for always supporting me and believing in me. Love you guys. 

Extra shout out to @darkenedhrt101 and @nebelflecke for showing me how to do the ‘keep reading’ thing lol!

Okay now that’s been said, let’s get to the fic! This might be a stretch for Marichat. It’s AU where dancing is a metaphor for their miraculous. Below are the songs I used for inspiration, in order of appearance/use in the fic. The video is the choreography that inspires the big dance scene on the roof. It’s beautiful guys and I tried to capture it with my words.

https://youtu.be/4DuNkr3oAEU

https://open.spotify.com/track/0McMlTPzi5QjtrQUOCffaZ?si=_At7rGiiQJ2d5TCwiJh4rg

https://open.spotify.com/track/5Vsk37sNQA8OaAgzUFhMGH?si=-6h4lXzfQrK4XWGVePicvQ

https://open.spotify.com/track/01iyINEYgPQ7ThMZuHUsqS?si=v7Be4MdlQoKE3j-RDFJXzw

Day 1: Dancing on rooftops

Dance Off

All my life, I was invited to places. Or rather told by my father when and where. With those being my only chances out of the house, save for school, I was pretty darn happy to have them. And everyone there was happy to see me. It made sense, I was the heir to the fashion throne and they were all hungry fashionistas.

So this was the first time I’d ever felt so out of place and unwanted.

“Nino...are you sure this is okay??”

Nino looked back at me over his shoulder, a smirk on his face as he turned his cap ‘backward’. “Yeah man, it’s cool. Everyone here just wants to dance. Same as you.”

“Then why are they looking at me like I’m lunch?”

Nino looked around with me, catching a few glares my way and laughed. “Fresh meat, man. They’ll warm up quickly. Trust me, dude. Once they see your moves, you’re in.”

I wasn’t as confident as my best friend. But he’d never steered me wrong before. Or rather, he’d never done it on purpose.

We split, Nino heading to the DJ booth while I pushed towards the large raised platform for the dancers. They were in between at the moment, a few gathered and talking. They looked really chummy, laughing and pushing each other around like friends teasing.

Everything changed when a girl jumped on the stage.

Her skin-tight jeans were black and ripped in all the right places. Knees and on the back of her thighs just below her butt. And on top...she wore a red tank with black spots on it. She wore some kind of face paint, it shaded her eyes and nose. Add in the dark lighting of the club and I couldn’t tell anything about what she looked like only that, once she was there, the crowd got a little quieter and the group on stage started to get ready.

Nino was at the wheel, his newest mix filling the quieting club. It bounced off the walls and rocked my bones. I loved his music. I didn’t have any interest in dancing until I heard it. And then, it was like I didn’t have a choice. Good thing my father insisted on things I once thought were stupid. Like ballet for balance and grace on the catwalk and judo for my safety. I had to beg to take fencing but it did help with my agility.

The beat was heavy, a woman singing about being insane. I’d heard the original before but Nino was mixing so I couldn’t recognize the original song. But the little Ladybug didn’t care or wait. Taking the floor first, she slowly worked her body up like a robot, jolting with each bang of the piano in the background. Clapping started, on the track and with the crowd and Ladybug went with the beat, twisting and rolling until she had gone all the way up with her hands and down to the floor. The music built and she grabbed her head, thrusting and spinning it around as if insane.

Another girl joined her, reddish-brown hair, tan skin, and a mix of orange and brown on her body. The two locked hands and with a surprising show of strength, Ladybug threw her friend around in a half-circle. Her friend returned the favor until the two had worked their way across the stage. Their last move? Somersault back, their hands hitting the stage in perfect sync as they did three back handsprings to the other side of the stage. The one in orange did one last big move, twisting upside down with her hands on her chest. When she landed, the two were out of breath and the crowd was wild.

And I was in love.

I had my eyes on Ladybug while my feet moved on their own. Soon, I was standing before her, the rest on stage stepping between to stop me from getting too close. Ladybug waved a hand to them and they took their hands off my chest while she flashed me a smile.

“Can I help you?”

“Yeah. Dance with me.”

She balked and shook her head. “You’ve got balls, I’ll give you that.”

“Ladybug doesn’t dance with anyone.” Her friend went off. “Especially not some Jeunot with a hardon for her!”

The others seemed to agree so I didn’t have much choice. “Fine. Watch me.”

Turning, I was stopped again. “Sorry. It doesn’t work like that here.” I glared up at the tall boy that stopped me. He had an interesting streak of aqua in his black hair. He also glared right back at me with far more malicious intent in his eyes.

“There’s a hierarchy here. Rules. Newbies have to wait their turn and tonight isn’t your night, friend.” The boy spoke as if nails were in his mouth at me.

I looked back, Ladybug wearing a soft smile as if she was the sweetest girl in the world. If I went off her smile alone, she wanted to let me dance. “You can come next Wednesday? That’s when they allow new people on the stage.”

“So. I come and dance Wednesday and you’ll be here?”

Her eyes went wide and while all other eyes looked to her, she and I only looked at each other. Then she nodded.

“Good. Then you’ll dance with me.”

“She never said that!” Her friend cried.

I grinned, confidence coming from where I had no clue. “She will after she sees me dance.”

Ladybug’s eyes changed, a smile spreading across her face. Challenge accepted. “Alright. We’ll see on Wednesday.”

And then she winked at me.

As I stepped off the stage and into reality, I lost most of the feeling in my legs. Luckily, Nino was there to catch me before I made even more of a fool of myself.

“Duuude. What was that??”

“I don’t know. What did it look like?”

“It looked like you challenged Ladybug to a dance-off?”

“Shit. Did I?”

Nino nodded and I cursed again. Then Nino chuckled, “I didn’t know you had that in you?”

“Me either man. I’m screwed.”

An arm around my shoulders, Nino started to lead us towards the exit. “Nah man, it’ll be fine!”

oOo

“Are you sure about this, Nino?”

When did I start doubting my friend? Oh yeah, when he told me all would be fine and I ended up challenging the first pretty, talented, amazing girl there.

Guess that was all my bad.

But now Nino was leading me into what was apparently a bakery and I really didn’t get it. The place was quaint, it screamed ‘cute’. And the food looked amazing. However, Nino had assured me this was about me and my dance-off in a couple of days.

“Pretty sure overdosing on sugar isn’t going to help me. Or would it? It’d be a great way to go…”

“Your father would kill me.”

Nino said straight-faced as a pleasant-looking Asian woman with interesting blue hair walked up to our table. “Hello and welcome. Can I get you, boys, something?”

“Coffee, black,” I told her.

“An Americano and a dozen chocolate macaroons please.” Nino turned to me once the woman was out of earshot. “Watch the girl.”

I didn’t get it until another blue-haired beauty appeared. She was in charge of the coffee it seemed, brewing Nino’s then pouring mine. She was at our table a moment or two later and Nino grinned like the Cheshire Cat. “Hey, Marinette!”

She smiled, her happy beauty burning through the gray and dull morning. “What do you want, Nino?”

Even though she was clearly annoyed, Marinette still giggled and maintained her smile. “Well, you still haven’t introduced me to your friend Alya.”

“Introduce yourself, Nino. You’re a rockstar, you don’t need me.”

I liked her instantly.

“This is my friend Adrien. He’s the one with the favor actually.”

She looked at me for the first time and I liked how her eyes went wide. It made me feel like she really saw me. Just like Ladybug. “Oh um...hi?”

Her cheeks flamed up, turning an adorable pink. Then it was like she didn’t know what to do with her hands. First, she crossed them over her chest but it looked like it was awkward. So she tried to rest her chin on one but that was worse. Finally, after a few amazingly cute moments of awkwardness, she settled for sticking them in her front pockets. After she found them under her apron that is.

“My Bro here got himself in a bit of a sitch and we need your expertise.”

Was she going to keep me in caffeine so I could practice until my feet fell off?

“Okay. I have a few minutes now. Would you..uh could you..do you mind….hum?”

I didn’t understand but I was pretty sure she wanted me to follow her. After several sets of stairs, I was sure I was about to walk out on the top of the Eiffel Tower. Instead, I was enveloped in warm blush-colored walls that only enhanced the girl before me.

“Pppplease excuse the mess.” She said, rushing around and picking up things to throw in her closet.

I said nothing, taking in the sites when I noticed her 13 dials Gex in the corner. “You’re a designer?”

“Wwell..sort of? I want to be. But now? All I do is make costumes for dancers.”

Now I got it. “You make the costumes for underground dancers?” She nodded. “Did you make Ladybug’s?” She nodded but a lot slower this time. “Can you tell me who she is?”

“NO!”

It was my first time meeting this girl but I had a feeling, that response was way out of character. “I’m sorry?”

“No, I cannot and will not tell you or anyone ever.”

There was nothing but finality. The pleasant air that had been in the room was now replaced with awkward silence. Awkward for me, angry for Marinette. Finally, when I’d had enough and she was finished measuring me, I caught her hand before she disappeared on me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to piss you off.”

Softening instantly, the girl I met at the beginning of all this returned. “It’s fine. I just get a lot of people asking. And it’s...not my place to tell! She doesn’t want people to know!!”

“Okay.”

oOo

I said okay and I really thought I meant it but, I couldn’t stop thinking about Ladybug or Marinette.

Which was why when her outfit for me arrived, so fast it was scary, I put it on and stepped out the door.

I blame my father’s obsession with turning me into my own survivalist and the all-black costume Marinette made me, but now I was sneaking out of my house and heading to Marinette’s. Not all black actually, there was a bright green paw print on the back of the zippered hoodie. Along with the black cap, I felt very much like a caper especially as I scaled the side of Marinette’s house up to the balcony. I prayed only she had access to.

It wasn’t until I tapped on the glass above her head that it hit me. “What. The fuck. Am I doing??!!”

But it was too late now, she saw me, her eyes going just as wide as the first time. Her mouth was still hanging open as her head popped up from the hatch in her room. “What are you doing here??!”

She hissed at me. And here I thought I was the cat? “I… wanted to show you your work? It’s amazing by the way.”

She looked me over, just a designer checking out her design. I still felt sweat on my palms especially when she got to my butt. I only ever wore pants this tight for modeling jobs. The stretchy material was far more comfortable than what I usually had to wear. And it breathed even though it looked like jean material. All in all, my butt looked good and I hoped she agreed.

“It turned out...pretty good right?”

“Yeah, I was thinking my stage name should be Chat Noir.”

She huffed and turned away. “I think you’re getting ahead of yourself, Kitty Cat. Can you even dance?”

“Better than anyone you’ve ever seen!”

Now a ‘safe’ distance from me, I took in her face, the moonlight making her pale skin glow. She had a dark blue brow raised in interest and amusement at me. “I doubt that.”

“Is that a dare?”

Marinette shook her head but I made for the hatch to her room. What was it about this costume? It was filling me with such confidence, I was about to invite myself into the room of a girl that I just scared the crap out of by showing up uninvited on her ROOF???

But I couldn’t stop myself. Something inside me told me I had to show her, show someone besides just Nino. What if I wasn’t as good as Nino made me believe? Tomorrow was my ‘debut’ and I’d rather know now if I sucked than in front of a ton of people.

Before I could make even more of an ass of myself, Marinette caught my arm. “What are you doing??”

“I’m showing you my moves.” Her brow rose again and I caught how it sounded. “My dance moves! I’m going to show you my dancing skills!”

A beautiful giggle escaped her and she pulled me back from the entrance to her room. “Not in there Chatton. My parents will hear you thumping around and call the cops.”

Before I could ask, she started pulling me towards the back of her balcony...and then on top of her roof. “Are you crazy??”

She shrugged, “Probably. Here I am, leading Cat Man around to dance for me? Not exactly something you tell people is it?”

A nervous laugh burst from my lips. It helped a little as Marinette took us to the precarious tip of her roof. Dangerous slants that led to a long fall to the pavement below were on both sides of us and yet, Marinette looked like it was any other day. She stretched her hands up to the dark sky, the moon hanging low behind her. It looked like she might just reach up and grab it. Her personal pillow, La Luna.

It was then that I realized she wasn’t just stretching her arms. She was stretching her legs, chest, and back. Was she going to dance with me? “You gonna stretch, Kitty?”

The grin she wore was contagious. “Pretty sure I did that scaling your house.”

“Yeah, next time, just ring the bell. We have one you know?”

“Oh...sorry…”

She shook her head but looked elsewhere across the skyline. “Next time.”

There was going to be a ‘next time’? She didn’t think I was just a psycho? A weirdo punk who didn’t understand boundaries?

She pulled her phone out of her pocket, playing some music and turning it on high and suddenly, the last thing I wanted to do was dance in front of her. I’d rather eat it in front of thousands of people than look any more foolish than I already did in front of Marinette.

It was slow. Very slow and I could barely hear it at first. A woman started singing. More like calling out. The synth got louder and a dark beat joined it. Then a man started singing. Marinette looked at me expectantly but when I didn’t move, she did.

Dropping her hands, she twisted them together in front of her thighs. Rolling her body left and right, she brought her elbows up and made circles like a windmill with them. Then dropped them again all while moving closer to me. Now she stood directly before me with a small smile on her face.

I smirked back, hopping up on my toes and spinning in a full circle before her. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her move back, both of us careful as we balanced. She was wiggling her body to the beat while I dropped to my knees. The next move I did was completely showing off, something I learned from a few gymnastic classes years back. My legs were scissors as I twisted around on my palms, balancing on the edge and twisting around. I was back on my knees before Marinette who wore a big bright smile.

Holding up a hand, she rocked her hips back and forth and then fell to me. Complete trust in me and I didn’t let her down, catching her as she flopped over my shoulder. Only to keep on going until her feet were up in the air. I felt her kick a few times and realized, I really wished I could see all of her dance.

Her arms secure around my chest and her legs on the back of my head, I crouched like a turtle and spun us around. Then put her back down where she started. She did a little dance away from me, her back turned, and I took a moment to get my phone out. Superhuman speed I backed up, set it against the wall of a chimney behind us, and hit record. Marinette was looking at me when I turned around and I knew I’d been caught. But if she knew, she didn’t care, tiptoeing as she ran up to me.

We dropped to our knees as the music dipped to low and slow. Marinette crawled to me and gently grabbed my hand. I grabbed hers back and then I found her face in my hands. It was as if she was looking right through me and I swore I’d never seen eyes so blue or so clear.

The beat dropped and she grabbed my wrists, tugging them away in tempo but not letting go. So I twisted her, spinning her and pulling her off the roof to put her crossed arms above my head and her body behind me. Now we’d switched places.

Spinning, I faced her and she dropped to her knees again with a roll of her body. I reached out for her but she dodged, letting my hand sail past her face as she rocked back. Pulling back, I grabbed the back of her head with one hand, then the other, and helped her to her feet. One foot between mine, we balanced our weight between one another and I put my hands on her hips. Her arms went around my neck as she rolled her hips back and forth again. When she fell against me, laying her weight on me, I instantly wrapped my arms around her. But she pushed them away, out straight behind me. On reflex, I pushed back and she spun out away from me. And yet, I still didn’t let go.

Only when she was back on ‘her side’ a leg in the air did I release her and take up her offered leg instead, using it to pull her into my arms. Bridal style, she laid there or a second before rolling her entire body upward. She did the worm in my arms.

The song was still going after that but we stopped, catching our breath and staring at each other. At some point, I had forgotten we were on the roof. I had forgotten that we were dancing. I had forgotten why we were dancing until Marinette spoke.

“You’re not bad. I’m sure...Ladybug will love you.”

oOo

I didn’t notice until I got to the club and flipped the hood up that it actually had ears on top. How was it that Marinette knew me so well after only a few minutes? The pants were a little out of my personal preference but they were for a dancer so she had little choice. But it was almost eerie because I swear she knew me better than I knew myself, loving every little detail of the outfit she made me.

The neon green zipper on the hoodie? The baggie fit of the sleeves? The only thing I didn’t like was how it stopped before covering my ass but again, dancing. I had a white tank underneath for when I got too hot but I really didn’t want to take it off. It branded me.

Nino stood to the side tonight, Ladybug and her orange and brown covered friend joining him. I choked on a laugh when I saw the bright red, glee filled face of Nino as his little Vixen stood close to him. Meanwhile, I was shuffling with the other ‘new guys’ on stage. Standing to the side, waiting for my turn, I watched each of them do their best. They were all very good and yet, I wasn’t nervous. I should be nervous. Why wasn’t I? It was like Marinette’s cloths covered me in comfort and hid me from anything bad. Or...was it something else?

“Next up is...Chat Noir!!”

A few chuckles made it through the loud banter as I took center stage. At least I knew the song that was picked for me but it was still a remix of it. The DJ ‘hesitated’ on the first line, making it skip and play several times before releasing it to play on. I froze, shifting my body back and forth like I was the record and the crowd started to cheer. Their noise made my heart race but in a good way. It was then I realized, I wasn’t nervous because it didn’t matter anymore.

The rest of the dance, I just let go. I have no clue what I did save for a few moments where I busted out some more acrobatics. And just because I was a cocky son of a bitch, I walked over to Ladybug and held out a hand. She laughed but took it, allowing the Newb to drag her on the stage with me.

Tonight, she sported a tight, cropped tank of her usual colors and dark gray joggers. We twisted together with ease. And it was familiar. But it wasn’t the same, the rush mixed with ease and didn’t hit me nearly as hard as it had the other night.

When it was all over, I still couldn’t tell you how either of us danced and yet I had my dance with Marinette seared into my brain. And not just from watching the video I took, I didn’t even need it. I took a few looks at it just to see the face she made while we danced. I missed how a smile split her face when I twisted her behind me and how she gasped when I spun her on my back. Little things like that only enhanced my memory of it. So much so that when the song ended I was already leaving the stage and Ladybug behind me.

“Hey! Where are you going?!” The Vixen called after me.

I found her wrapped around Nino, a stupid look on his face. “I got...I got somewhere to be.”

“What the hell? You beg to dance with Ladybug and then once you do, you drop her just like that?”

The Vixen had a point so I stopped and returned to the Bug. “I’m sorry. I had a blast but I have to go. There’s someone I...really need to talk to. And it really can’t wait.”

I didn’t pretend to understand the sad smile she wore but she nodded and released her hold. I had taken her hands in mine to beg without realizing. “Good luck.”

oOo

It was late, past midnight, when I got to Marinette’s. She said to ring the bell next time but no way in hell was I going to that at this hour.

So I scaled the wall again. This was so going to get me arrested but I just couldn’t wait another second.

Her room was dark and she was either a deep sleeper or she wasn’t home. But where the hell would she be at this hour?? God, she wasn’t climbing up some other guy’s house like me right now was she??

I slapped myself and the images out of my head and tried the hatch, finding it unlocked and slipping inside. I had officially broken and entered some girl’s room.

I landed on the loft which housed her bed. I’d been wondering, ideally, what was up here when she brought me up here to measure me. Now I knew and I found it neither disappointing nor surprising. Except that it was empty, that had my heart dancing around, unsure of myself again. Either way, I knew it would be too much if she came home and found me sitting on it.

So I sat on her chaise, trying to feel...normal. Which was impossible. I was just about to get the hell out of there when the sound of weight on the ladder below made it pop. Someone was coming and it was either her parents or Marinette. And either one might call the cops so I had no choice but to grin and bear it.

A tired and scraggly Marinette appeared, t-shirt and jeans with a backpack on and she was every bit the adorable girl I remembered from the few times seeing her. And her eyes went wide again at the sight of me.

“Hi.”

Turning, she looked around as if I might possibly be talking to someone else. When her search was over, she tossed her backpack hard into a corner and stared at me. “What are you doing here??”

Still in my Chat Noir get up, the one she made me, I...lied. “I wanted to tell you how tonight went.”

“I know how it went,” she said, arms crossing over her chest in either anger or defense, I wasn’t sure, “you impressed Ladybug and she danced with you. Congratulations.”

“How do you know that?”

She flinched under my scrutiny but didn’t falter. “Because I...I saw you dance the other night? Remember? My roof? And I...I was there. At the club, I saw everything.”

Was that where she was? Did she go to see me?? Calm down, Kitty, don’t get your hopes up. “You were there?”

“I go sometimes...see how my designs hold up…”

Oh, so that was it? It didn’t feel right because she wouldn’t look at me when she spoke. That was something I noticed right away about Marinette, how she looked you in the eyes while she talked to you.

Getting to my feet, I took brave steps closer to her. “That’s not the truth.”

“It is!”

Her eyes to the floor, I knew she was lying. She wasn’t very good at it. A finger under her chin, I tilted her head back to look at me. “Why were you there tonight?”

“I asked you first.”

Swallowing my shock, I quickly recovered. She knew I lied too huh? Then I guess it’s only fair I answered her first. “I’m here because dancing with you is better than dancing with anyone else.”

Now it was her turn to swallow. And answer. “You don’t even know me…”

“You don’t know me either and yet, you managed to make an outfit that fit me perfectly and dance with me as if for years. We know each other. Everything else is just semantics.”

Her hands were on me now, gripping the hoodie she made me in tight fists. Like she was afraid I’d run away from her. “I went to see you dance…”

“Cool,” I said, cutting her off with my mouth twice. First with my words and again with my lips as I crashed them to hers.

If there was any worry that all of this was going too far, it was washed away by her fingers twisting in my hair and her tongue brushing against mine. Ever since I saw them, thick pink lips, I wondered what they felt like, tasted like. They were soft and gentle, wrapping around mine in comfort again and again. And they tasted sweet, like strawberry macaroons. Pressing my hands into the small of her back, I got her as close to me as possible, all of her pressing into me. Just like when we danced.

Then it hit me so hard, I pushed her back without thought or control. “Shit! You’re Ladybug??”

“You didn’t figure that out when we danced tonight??” She was genuinely surprised and confused.

So I pulled her back to me, “All I could think about tonight was how much I wished I was dancing with you.”

I twirled a curling strand of blue that had gotten loose around my finger and she giggled up at me. “That would explain your distant look and sloppy dance moves.”

“Excuse me??”

“You were clearly not all there tonight…”

“Yeah, because I was too busy thinking about you!”

“For someone who wanted in the group, that was very irresponsible of you…”

I cut her off again with my tongue in her mouth and it was glorious.

[kny-secret-santa2019]

from: @sacrasm to: @bi-hop merry crimmus! you asked for something about the nightmare before christmas, but ive never seen the full movie so i hope you like my gift to you!

fast times at fujikasane university

Tanjiro found himself standing in the entryway of an eight person dorm at Fujikasane University, arms full of bags.  He could see a living room straight ahead, a few couches and a low table the only thing decorating the space. Well, if you could call the mess of boxes ‘decoration’, then he supposed those counted as well.  His sister Nezuko skipped into the dorm before he could, eager to explore the new space.

“Hello?” He called out, walking further into the dorm.  There was some loud, crashlike noises coming from one of the rooms off to the side, but it didn’t seem like many of Tanjirou’s dormmates had arrived yet.  Nezuko looked at him quizzically, but he just shrugged.  

All of a sudden, the room farthest from them burst open and two boys tumbled out.  One of them was fairly standard as strangers go, but his hair was the color of fake cheese that comes in a can.  The other one was wearing what looked like a brown fursuit of some king. They were both yelling at each other and seemingly unaware of Tanjirou’s presence.

“Get off!  Get off of me!”

“RAAAAAAAGH!”

“AAAAH SOMEONE HELP oh you, right there, help me!” The blonde noticed him first, and stopped screaming now that there was a third person in the dorm.

The other one continued yelling and flailing around, so Tanjirou headbutted him.

“Ow!  Hey, that’s fucking rude!” The other person grumbled, rubbing where Tanjirou assumed their head was.

“Thanks for getting that madman off of me!  He suddenly jumped on me and started yelling, I don’t know why!  Please protect me from that feral thing.”

The blonde pointed a trembling finger at the furry lump that was still growling, then shrieked in terror as it lunged at both boys.  “RAAAAAAH!”

Both of the boys ducked behind the couch and let the feral thing go flying.  It landed with a heavy thump, and didn’t move for a few seconds. When it did, a blanket fell to the floor and revealed another guy, except he was fully clad in what looked like a boar onesie.  Tanjirou tilted his head quizzically, while the other boy stopped screaming for the first time since they met.  

“HEY-”

“IT CAN SPEAK!”  And then the dorm was full of screaming again.  If the RA hadn’t heard by now, Tanjirou was willing to bet they had.

“IT-”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

“Stop yelling!” Tanjirou shouted, waving his arms wildly.  The guy in the onesie stopped, but the blonde continued until Tanjirou bodily picked him up and set him down on the couch.  “My name is Tanjirou Kamado, this is my sister Nezuko, and we’ll be your roommates for the year!”

He patiently waited for their own introductions, but all he got was a grunt of  “Inosuke Hashibira,” and a very timid “I’m Zenitsu Agatsuma…”

“Nice to meet you!  Now, why were you guys yelling?”

Zenitsu peered over the back of the couch to look at Inosuke, who was still glowering a few feet away.  Nezuko drifted over to him and pet the soft looking fur of his onesie, and Inosuke just. Stopped glowering.

“I came in and was minding my own business, and that guy over there was just standing in one of the bedrooms!  He was staring at a wall like a complete weirdo.”

“Hah?? Who’s the weirdo??  You were the one who screamed first!” Inosuke shouted.  

The two boys started bickering again before Tanjirou intervened.  This time he made sure to stay in between them, and kept them from yelling too loudly.

Apparently Inosuke had gotten to the dorm first and picked a room for himself.  He also apparently slept sitting upright in a onesie, which scared Zenitsu. That’s when he started screaming, then Inosuke roared back, then Tanjirou walked in and the rest of the chaos ensued.  

Once they were done talking, Tanjirou found that he liked his new roommates.  Zenitsu seemed very kind and understanding if a bit of a ‘fraidy cat, and Inosuke was very blunt and wasn’t afraid to voice his opinions.  He also learned that though they were in an eight person dorm, there were only going to be five of them. Their fifth roommate had yet to appear, but Tanjirou was hoping that he’d get along with them as well. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent unpacking and organizing his dorm with Nezuko.  Tanjirou hung up all his clothes in the closet, made his bed, decorated his half of the room, and helped his sister unpack in the time it took for Zenitsu and Inosuke to finishing fighting over which dorm who would be staying in.  Despite there being three rooms to choose from, they decided to share one. Tanjirou could hear something about Inosuke being there first but Zenitsu liked the view and in the end neither boy was willing to leave.

The fifth roommate made a brief appearance, introduced himself as Kyogai as quickly as Tanjirou would let him, and proceed to move in six tsuzumis, one (1) ton of loose papers, and what looked like an entire library.  He took the room next to Tanjirou and Nezuko’s, and didn’t come out for the rest of the night. More power to him, Tanjirou supposed.  

  On the first day of actual school, Tanjirou left his dorm with Zenitsu and Inosuke to go to Inter. Karate.  By some stroke of luck, they had all signed up for the same 8:30 karate class. They’d even ended up in the same workout group, along with two upperclassmen.  Tanjirou knew one of them; his name was Giyuu and he was a longtime friend of the Kamado family. They’d been neighbors from middle school onwards, and part of the reason why Tanjirou wanted to apply to Fujikasane.  The other student was a short girl with sections of her hair dyed a vibrant purple. She looked too frail to be in a martial arts class, much less an intermediate one.

“Hey, aren’t you too weak for this class?” Inosuke bluntly asked the girl, making Tanjirou and Zenitsu drop their jaws in shock.  

“Inosuke, you shouldn’t say things like that!  It’s rude!” Zenitsu exclaimed.

The girl laughed in response and took a step forward.  In the blink of an eye, Inosuke was laying on his back, staring up at the ceiling.  Giyuu snorted and gestured at him. “Is this the roommate you were texting me about?”

Tanjirou vigorously nodded. “How’d you know, Tomioka-san?”

“He’s still wearing the onesie.  And don’t call me that.”

The girl who’d brutally judo flipped Inosuke howled with laughter.  “Tomioka-san! Ahaha, that’s adorable. You know this kid? He’s a real hoot.”

“Do me a favor Kochou, and just stop talking.  Forever.”

“Awww, that’s cruel of you Tomioka-san!  Young man, don’t you think he should be nicer to a poor defenseless girl?”

“You just threw Inosuke, I don’t think that’s very defenseless of you-”

Kochou continued to laugh.  Giyuu closed his eyes and let out a long suffering sigh.  When Inosuke finished getting to his feet and glared at her, she only laughed harder, especially when the younger boy rushed at her.  It resulted in the expected outcome: Inosuke fell to the floor in a graceless heap again when Kochou sidestepped and tripped him.

“Man, this kid is a real hoot.  Do you want to try again, Inosuke-san?” 

He grunted in response and tugged the boar shaped hood of his onesie over his blue-black hair.  

The rest of the class went by in a similar manner; though Tanjirou and his roommates were proficient in martial arts, the two older students consistently beat them.  Tanjirou eventually got tired of being thrown around by Kochou and started practicing with Giyuu, but the other two boys were determined to best her at least once. By the time class ended, neither Zenitsu nor Inosuke had succeeded.  Kochou had given them several opportunities, but the two of them got in each others way or bickered about who got in whose way.

“You two numbskulls are kind of entertaining, I’ll give you that.” She laughed.  

“Did she just insult us?” Zenitsu asked Inosuke.

The other boy gave him a hard look.  “Do you think I know what an insult is?”

“Ah, oh man, you’re going to make me cry.  Tell you what, I’ll give you two a consolation prize: a frat bid.”

“A fraternity?” Zenitsu’s eyes bugged out of his head.  “Like the ones where students drink?”

Giyuu sighed for the seventh time.

—

“And that’s how we ended up here, in the middle of the woods,” Tanjirou finished.  “Otherwise, my roommates and I probably wouldn’t have shown up to Rush Week!”

Kanao nodded in understanding and signed, ‘My older sister is a Pillar, so I’m going to pledge with her frat.’ To Zenitsu who relayed it back to Tanjirou.

She was a sophomore that he met in the library a week back, and now they were study buddies.  He’d wanted a tutor for Biology and met Kanao, and became quick friends due to his friendly nature.  She was also mute like Nezuko, and he made sure to introduce them.

“Oh, that’s so cool!  My friend is a Pillar, too!” Tanjirou replied, thinking of Giyuu.

“The fuck’s a Pillar?” Inosuke grumbled.  “I showed up for free beer, and because you ‘n Blondie stole my room key.”

‘Pillars are the officers for Delta Sigma Chi.’

Inosuke grunted in understanding, but Tanjirou was cut off by the music that began to come from the loudspeakers on the makeshift stage a hundred feet away.  An older student with bright pink hair and unique striped tattoos was hanging from the lighting which struck him as dangerous, but the guy seemed to be just fine.  The pylons were shaking so much that he should’ve fallen off, but his legs were firmly hooked around the supports.

“Welcome to Rush Week, plebs!” He shouted into a mic.  Some of the girls in the crowd screamed his name, but their voices got lost in the blasting music coming from the sound system.

With his shout, the giant party kicked off and all the students went wild.  A lot of the freshmen flocked to the drinks table and the dance floor, while another substantial chunk wandered towards the frat court.  

“Hey, I think it’s this way!” Zenitsu shouted, barely audible over the bass boosted music blaring from the speakers.  “There’s the sign for Delta Sigma Chi!”

Tanjirou nodded and linked his arms with Nezuko, Inosuke, and Kanao to keep them from getting lost in the sea of partygoers as they followed Zenitsu.  His blonde hair made a surprisingly good beacon amongst the crowd of dark haired students, even more so with the neon lights.  

“Who’s that group of glitter munching idiots?” Inosuke asked, looking in the direction of a platform that had been erected a little ways away.  There were twelve individuals standing on top of it, looking down on the crowd. There was a banner hung up behind them, but he couldn’t make out the words on it from that far away.

“I think that’s Alpha Kappa Mu,” Tanjirou replied.  He’d heard about them from some of the older students; not everyone was cut out for AKM.  They were one of the only fraternities who still engaged in hazing its pledges, and were known for sometimes being the nastiest students on campus.  Tanjirou wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt, because he was taught not to judge based on appearances, but there was something about its officers that struck him as a little off.  Alpha Kappa Mu was also Delta Sigma Chi’s long standing rival, so he made sure to steer clear.

Some girl, probably an officer, had tried to recruit Nezuko as an AKM pledge earlier in the week, but she’d refused.  The officer hadn’t been happy and continued her attempts to coerce Nezuko, but Giyuu spotted her across the quad and hurried over to intervene.  When he made it clear that Nezuko wasn’t interested, she reluctantly slunk off and Giyuu walked Nezuko back to the dorms in case the girl was waiting to try again.

They continued to make their way through the crowd until Kanao tugged the three of them towards a slightly quieter part of the clearing.  There was a small gathering of students already there, but based on the sign that read ΔΣΧ in big, sloppy painted characters.

“HEY HEY HEY!” Someone shouted, making poor Zenitsu shriek in fear and Inosuke roar in response.  “Well that’s not very cash money of you,” the person calmly said to Zenitsu, tsk’ing at his reaction.  

“Uzui, don’t scare the fresh meat.” Someone called, most likely one of the frat officers.

“I’m not scaring them, I’m just looking.”  Uzui huffed. “They seem kinda small this year, don’cha think?”

“Hey!  Just cuz I’m short doesn’t mean I can’t bite your fucking face off!” Inosuke shouted, making the Pillars blink in surprise.  “I’ll fuck your mom!”

“Inosuke, calm down-” Tanjirou said, trying to placate his friend.  Inosuke just snarled and glared at Uzui.

“Shinobu was the one who gave him a bid.” Giyuu deadpanned, making his way through the crowd to Tanjirou and his friends.  Kochou followed not long after, waving her hands in the air. Kanao beamed when she saw her, though Tanjirou didn’t know why.

“I thought he was interesting!  It would’ve been criminal to pass up on kids like them!  Don’t you think so too, Rengoku-san?” “Haha, of course!  I welcome anyone who’s proven themselves to a Pillar!  I’m sure Oyakata-sama would too!”

A fourth upperclassman had wandered over, well-muscled arms crossed over his chest.  Tanjirou recognized him as one of Giyuu’s college friends, though he didn’t know his name.  Whoever he was, Tanjirou had to admit that he was cute. He was obviously attractive, but his himbo tendencies made him 10x cuter.  

Kanao waved, obviously familiar with everyone.  ‘This is the Flame Pillar, Rengoku Kyoujurou, the Sound Pillar Uzui Tengen, the Water Pillar Tomioka Giyuu, and my sister!  She’s Kochou Shinobu, the Insect Pillar.’

“She’s your SISTER?!” Zenitsu shouted.  “A nice girl like you has an ogre like that for a sister?!”

“Watch who you call an ogre,” Shinobu said, shooting Zenitsu an ominous smile.

“Now it’s my turn to remind you not to scare the fresh meat.” Uzui shot back, smirking down at the other Pillar.  

Shinobu flipped her bangs and huffed, paying no mind to his words.  She opened her mouth to say something else, when a hush fell over their section of the woods.  It didn’t take long for Tanjirou and his friends to notice that a new person had arrived, and that they must’ve been the president of ΔΣΧ based on the way all the Pillars silently deferred to them.  As they drew closer, Tanjirou could see that it was a man not much older than the rest of them. The strangest thing about him was that his eyes were kind of glassy, almost like they couldn’t focus. He thought that the man was blind, but he looked at each of them with such ease that he didn’t think a sightless person could possess.  

“Hello, Rengoku, Uzui, Giyuu, and Shinobu.  And hello to you as well, though I don’t know your names.” 

“I’m Tanjirou, and this is my sister Nezuko!” Tanjirou brightly said, vigorously shaking the man’s hand.

Zenitsu and Inosuke introduced themselves afterwards, but Inosuke refused to shake his hand.  The man didn’t seem fazed, and began talking to the Pillars. Giyuu introduced him as Oyakata-sama, the president of the fraternity as Tanjirou originally thought.  His real name was Ubuyashiki Kagaya, but it was apparently tradition to call the president Oyakata. Something about a holdover from the Taisho Era, but history was never Tanjirou’s best subject.  And he was, in fact, blind, but he Ubuyashiki was so well adjusted that aside from the IV cane he held, no one could tell that he couldn’t see. “Well, I think it would only be proper to give them all bids,” Ubuyashiki said, snapping Tanjirou back into the conversation.  “You’ll get a flyer about initiation in a week or so, so make sure you keep an eye out for it.”

They all thanked the fraternity president, and then he was moving on to greet another group of pledge hopefuls.  Having gotten their bids, Zenitsu and Inosuke headed back to the dorm while Tanjirou, Nezuko, and Kanao stayed behind to chat with their Pillar friends.  

—

Stage 1: report to the delta sigma chi frat house to begin the initiation process

—

Like Ubuyashiki said, Inosuke found a flyer slipped under their door regarding initiation.  He almost threw it away thinking it was trash, but Zenitsu stopped him before he got rid of it.  They also found another flyer, but it had ‘Alpha Kappa Mu’ written across the header. Tanjirou guessed that Kyogai must’ve pledged with the rival frat, since he, Nezuko, Zenitsu, and Inosuke had all gotten bids from Delta Sigma Chi.  

It said to find the Delta Sigma Chi house on Frat Row to find out about the first part of initiation, so Tanjirou and his three roommates (plus Kanao) made their way over and found themselves on the porch waiting for someone to answer the door.  Kanao had just knocked again when the door swung open, revealing a bright eyed Shinobu. 

Instead of a standard ‘hello’, Shinobu looked at each of them and immediately asked, “You kids got any comfy blankets?”

“Uh…” Was Zenitsu’s answer.

“Why?” Tanjirou asked, ever curious.

“Eh, you’ll find out.  I hope you do, at any rate.  GIYUU!” She shouted into the house. “YOUR PLEDGELINGS ARE HERE!”

The sound of several doors slamming and slippers on stairs could be heard, before one (1) tired Giyuu Tomioka appeared wrapped in a weird half magenta half yellow green geometric patterned blanket slash cape.  It looked a bit like a fashionable Snuggie, but also nothing like a Snuggie because there was no front. His hair was in its trademark ponytail, but some of it was falling out and into his eyes. He tucked most of the flyaways behind his ear and tried to redo his hair as he came down the stairs, but it didn’t fix much.

“Stop fucking yelling.” The Water Pillar grumbled.

“YEAH, KOCHOU!” Uzui bellowed from somewhere inside the frat house.   

“SHUT. UP.” Someone else screamed, immediately followed by the slamming of another door.  

“Ugh.”  Giyuu scrubbed a hand over his face and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.  “What’s this about pledges?”

Shinobu pointed at the three boys plus Nezuko and Kanao in the doorway and Giyuu sighed.  She cackled and left him with the five freshmen, who filed into the house and into one of the smaller living rooms.  They settled on one couch, squishing together to fit four on a loveseat for two. Giyuu took an armchair and pointedly looked at the four other available couches, but none of them moved. 

“Okay, I’ll bite.  Why are you here? Tanjirou comes every other day because we’re friends, and so is Nezuko, but why are the rest of you here?”

Nezuko handed him a slip of paper that read ‘report to the delta sigma chi frat house to begin the initiation process.’

“Oh.  Stage 1 is just making yourself one of these,” he gestured to his weird blanket, “and wearing it for the rest of the semester.  A lot of members wear it afterwards, since it’s just a blanket. Sort of.”

“IT’S CALLED A ‘BLAPE’, TOMIOKA!  GET WITH THE PROGRAM!” It sounded like Uzui, but someone else yelled at him to shut up (again) so Tanjirou couldn’t tell. 

“That’s it??  Just wear one of those?  Easy!” Inosuke asked.

“For the semester,” Tanjirou reminded him.

“Yeah.  It’s a little weird, but bear with it.”  Giyuu said, shifting his blanket cape so it wouldn’t fall off.  “It’s been one of the few traditions Delta Sigma Chi’s held onto since its founding.”

“Inosuke can barely keep his shirt on, I don’t think he’ll be able to -” Zenitsu paused as he turned to see Nezuko draping a blanket that’d been on the couch around her and her brother.  “Seriously?? Am I the only one against this?”

“It’s really not that bad, Zenitsu…” Tanjirou admitted.  “This might make my eight A.M. lecture a little more bearable, actually!”

“Now that’s the spirit!” Rengoku boomed, appearing at the top of the stairs in his own gaudy fire patterned blanket cape.  “I knew we had some good pledges this year!”

He came downstairs and congratulated them for making it to the frat house before any of the other pledges had.  The Flame Pillar even showed them some sewing patterns Kanroji and Himejima had put together as the standard blanket cape for Delta Sigma Chi members.  Most of the other pledges would be left to figure out how to make their own by themselves, but out of courtesy (plus Tanjirou and Kanao’s connection to the frat), he decided to lend a hand.   

Another one of the Pillars wandered downstairs while the five of them were there, someone that Tanjirou didn’t recognize.

“If you guys come back at five, we’re doing a movie night for all the pledges.  We’re going to vote, but honestly? We’re just going to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas.” He said, tossing said blu-ray to them.

They ended up staying and texting Inosuke and Zenitsu to come back later in the evening and had a fun movie night, meeting the other pledges and eating pizza while Jack Skellington waltzed around on the TV.

–

Stage 2: all pledges have one month to play as many funny temporary and NON-LETHAL pranks on any and all members of alpha kappa mu regardless of their membership status

—

“What do you mean you ordered a pizza for AKM’s president?!” Zenitsu furiously whispered.

They were sitting in the lecture hall listening to Professor Urokodaki give a presentation about the Sengoku Period.  There were a few members of Alpha Kappa Mu scattered around them, but the president himself was sitting all the way in the back.  Tanjirou had seen Kibutsuji Muzan terrorizing other freshmen and lording his seniority over them. He figured that he’d focus most of his pranks on Kibutsuji for that, and also because Kyogai came back to the dorm once with red eyes and bruises.

“I paid Murata-kun who works at the Jake’s down the street and told him to bring it here.” Tanjirou shrugged.  “Who doesn’t like pizza?”

“Are you crazy?”

“Well, Professor Urokodaki is a family friend and I asked him beforehand-”

“Tanjirou, you paid Murata-kun to give Kibutsuji a pizza in the middle of a lecture and he’s the president of Alpha Kappa Mu who is our Rival Fraternity??!  The guy who is infamous for being evil???”

The student sitting in front of them turned around with a quiet laugh.  “Oyakata-sama said pledges have to prank AKM again this year, didn’t he?”

“Uh, yeah.  You are?” Zenitsu suspiciously asked.

“Tokitou.  I’m one of the Pillars.”  The boy said, giving them a distant smile.  “I just got back from my study abroad in Kyoto so I haven’t heard much about what’s going on.”

“Well, if you wait about fifteen minutes, you’ll see, or whatever.” Zenitsu sighed.  “I can’t believe you’re seriously trying to one up Kibutsuji, of all people! He’s terrifying!”

‘Not everyone is as scared of AKM as you are, Zenitsu.’

“You’re supposed to take my side, Kanao!!”

Tokitou laughed at the pledges and went back to taking notes, when someone hesitantly knocked on the door and stepped into the hall, effectively interrupting Urokodaki’s lecture.

“I, uh, have one medium vegetarian pizza for Kibutsuji?” Murata nervously said, shaking just a little bit.

All the heads in the lecture hall turned to face the back where he sat, red eyes almost glowing with rage underneath the shadow of his fedora.  The professor disinterestedly looked at Murata to his student, with the air of someone who’d seen it a million times.

“Well, Kibutsuji?  Are you going to come and get the pizza you so carelessly ordered?”

Through clenched teeth, he said, “I didn’t order a pizza.”

Urokodaki rolled his eyes.  “Well the delivery man said your name, didn’t he?  I don’t know how he’d benefit from lying in this situation.”

“Just pay for the pizza,” one of Kibutsuji’s friends was saying. “You can deal with the prof later.”

There was some mild grumbling from the man but he paid Murata for the food and told him to leave it by the door.  For the rest of the hour long lecture, Tanjirou, Zenitsu, and Kanao could feel someone’s venomous gaze on the backs of their necks.  Tokitou, on the other hand, leaned back in his seat again and made a face in Kibutsuji’s direction. A few students in between the two of them gasped, but the Pillar remained unfazed.  

When Zenitsu’s jaw dropped, Tokitou said “Michikatsu, the senior next to him, is my second cousin.  Or something.” By way of explanation. Not that it explained much. 

—

Stage 3: hang out with a Pillar or Delta Sigma Chi member of choice for one week

not to do menial labor, that’s hazing

it’s for fun and a chance to get to know your fellow frat members

—

The frat member Tanjirou decided on, obviously, was Giyuu.  He was going to go meet up with Rengoku as well, just to call things even, but he and the Water Pillar went to one of the on-campus cafes for drinks one Friday.  That’s how Tanjirou wound up standing at the order counter with Giyuu’s recyclable cup with the words ‘ur cute hmu?’ staring back up at him. 

Tanjirou blinked, hard.  Then he pivoted on his heel and marched the innocuous cup back to Giyuu.

“Um, your coffee’s ready?”  

He stiffly placed the cup in front of Giyuu who briefly glanced at the message written on the coffee cup.  His face remained devoid of emotion while he read the short note, and without a single reaction he took a sip of his still steaming drink.  Tanjirou looked back at the (cute) barista who made a questioning gesture. When Giyuu still hadn’t reacted, he apologetically shrugged and mouthed ‘sorry’ before being yanked down into a chair.

“People are staring.” Giyuu flatly said.  

“But - the nice student who made your drink thinks you’re attractive?” Tanjirou asked.

“Ignore him.”

The girl at the table over from theirs giggled and leaned towards Giyuu.  “Tomioka, isn’t it rude to do that?” Tanjirou recognized her as Mitsuri, one of the Pillars.  He had yet to personally meet her, but knew she was a friend of Giyuu’s and part of Delta Sigma Chi. “You should at least say hello!”

“Yeah,” Tanjirou agreed.  “You should at least turn him down if you’re not interested, Giyuu-san.”

The Water Pillar tiredly sighed.  Mitsuri grinned like a cat that got the cream, but Tanjirou had no idea why.  Then Giyuu got up, walked over to where the barista was still waiting at the order counter, leaned over it, and kissed him with little fanfare.  Tanjirou’s jaw dropped in shock and Mitsuri laughed at him. The barista fistpumped and Giyuu gave Tanjirou a look that said ‘are you satisfied?’.  On the way back to the table, they both stayed silent. The Love Pillar was still laughing by herself, although there was someone sitting with her now.  He’d appeared out of nowhere, and Tanjirou almost fell out of his chair.

“Obanai,” Giyuu said by way of greeting.

“Asshole,” the man said back.  “I’m still mad at you about last month.”

Obanai and Giyuu started passively arguing about something petty one of them had done in response to something the other did while Tanjirou watched.  He wasn’t entirely sure who was right and who was wrong, but he was leaning towards Giyuu mostly out of personal bias. Kanroji tried to step in and resolve the argument, but Obanai just kept talking.

“And you,” he said, pointing a finger at Tanjirou.  “I can’t believe that you made Oyakata-sama give your sister a bid.  Delta Sigma Chi is about undeclared majors and acceptance, and she’s declared a major!”

“Obanai, leave it alone,” Kanroji suggested.  “Anyone is welcome in the frat, major or no.  Plus, Oyakata-sama already said she could pledge.  If you keep eating sour lemons, then that’s the only thing you’ll be able to taste.”

Tanjirou tilted his head in confusion.  “But Obanai-san is drinking hot chocolate?”

“It’s a saying, Tanjirou.” Giyuu said.  “As for what he’s saying, he’s just annoyed Oyakata-sama let in someone with a major.  He’s usually stricter about it.” “Oh, I see.” He hummed.  

Giyuu took another sip of his drink and Tanjirou found himself not only talking to his friend, but the other two Pillars as well.  Half an hour passed like that, until a newcomer approached their tables and sat themselves square on Giyuu’s lap. It took Tanjirou a minute to realize it was the barista from earlier, mostly because he too was wearing one of Delta Sigma Chi’s blanket capes.  It was the same yellow-green geometric pattern as Giyuu’s, and he couldn’t help but wonder if Giyuu had used the leftover fabric from his or if he had used it to imitate Giyuu.

“Isn’t that-”

“This is my boyfriend.  He works in the cafe and likes to flirt with me, even though we’re already dating.” He explained.  

“I’m Sabito,” the barista said, giving Tanjirou a smile reminiscent of a fox.

Immediately, the gears clicked.  “You’re Sabito! Oh, Giyuu’s told me about you!  He talks about you like you’re the sun and didn’t you go to my high school?” 

“Yeah, I think so.  Natagumo High?” Tanjirou nodded.

“Wow, that’s so cool!  I’m looking forward to being in ΔΣΧ with you!”

Sabito gave him another one of his fox’s smiles and Giyuu let out yet another long suffering sigh. 

—

Step 4: congrats, you’re now a full member of ΔΣΧ!  make sure to have fun as part of delta sigma chi at fujikasane university!

and remember to antagonize alpha kappa mu as often as you humanly can!

dont forget to set your heart ablaze 🔥🔥🔥!!!

[prorevenge]

Try Picking a Fight at my Club? Enjoy Loosing All Your Students and Dojo

TLDR at the bottom.

A few years back a known local fraud we'll call Big Wiener (BW), from the local martial art community is a teachers assistant by day, and a vicious samurai warrior by night, in his head at least... He's gone to many legitimate schools long enough to earn a rank, yellow belt, first stripe, yellow sash, whatever. He's tried many legitimate arts, and I wouldn't take that from him, but he exaggerates what he's done to the extreme. This is all until one day he's a 10th degree black belt of McDojo U! A McDojo is what we call a fraudulent school with no basis on any practicality in anything. Obviously the martial art community rolls our eyes and basically tell him, you can't do that, so what does he do:

"Well Bruce Lee did it!" The classic line any fraud says...

Whatever, he's a bum, he'll never get any students and he doesn't make enough to get a place to start a school. He'll crash and burn, who cares. Unfortunately BW convinced the school board to let him do an afterschool martial arts program. Who are his students? Every emotionally vulnerable kid from highschool with low self esteem with a wish to prove themselves to everyone. Soon they get their 30 year old friends to join in! Suddenly he has an omnipresence with his students. His students from the AV club made a religious-like documentary about him for class. It was up on youtube for a while, but unfortunately I can't find it now.

Most students stuck around for a month or two and left, most complained to the school about it because "O-Sensei" BW obviously doesn't know what he's doing. 30% of his students however would have honestly given their life for him, loyal without measure. Soon enough the school board complies the complaints and tells him to get lost. So of course he starts operating a for profit school in a baseball diamond when games aren't being played. His fees were another thing, you pay a monthly dues of $80 to the BW school and an annual dues of $200 to the BW International Federation which is just him scamming inner city high school students for more money! Days when he's rained out, BW and crew sometimes makes unannounced drop ins to other schools around, any school that offers free demo classes that is.

My dojo, a multi-diciplined school that specializes in Jujitsu and Kickboxing, but we've got certified Teakwondo, Jeet Kune Do, Judo, wrestling, Yoga instructors and more. We strongly encourage our students to cross train all disciplines. Admittedly there are better fighters and competitors in town, but I think it's safe to say we're the nicest school around, and those who do compete do well, but that's not our focus. Honestly, that's what we're known for and that's the way we want to keep it.

BW and his loyal enforcers show up at our school on a typical Tuesday, Jujtisu, kickboxing, judo and grappling. They choose to do all the classes. Jujtisu is focusing on self defense tonight. BW was admittedly respectful and watched and took in what we were showing. His cronies however snickered and laughed under their breath, and always had an extreme hypothetical "what if they do this..." situation for every single thing we do. No joke, we were doing a BASIC defense from a wide punch, the student asks "What if they do a scorpion kick to follow up?" Anyway we showed them some stuff, they scoffed at it, no biggie, it's self defense stuff, it can be theoretical some times.

Next up kickboxing, focusing on Thai drills. BW is overweight and it's a hard class, you get a good work out. He's pooped and of course it comes time to spar, the announcements made: "Of you're new go with some one experienced and GO EASY!" BW partners up with our beefiest instructor (Beefy), he's slow but can pack a punch. With no energy BW tries his best to show his students what he's made of and goes full force on Beefy

"Whoa, slow down, don't hit hard, I'm going easy, it's all about respect, I'm working tomorrow, we're not going hard"

BW doesn't heed the warning and goes all in again, Beef slides and dances around him.

"I'm not telling you again, I will knock you down if you keep going hard"

BW puts all the power he has behind one final superman punch. Beefy bobs and weaves and pushes him to the ground, no punch necessary.

The room stops and EVERYONE stares at BW, his honour has just been tarnished in front of all these people... BW biggest Enforcer Dude (ED) walks over to Beefy verbally glove slaps him and challenges him to a duel.

At this point Beefy tells him:

1 - We don't do that here.

2 - You've been disrespectful to us all night.

3 - Cool your ass down unless you want to get kicked out of here!

Tensions are high but they clear soon enough. Judo and gi-grappling starts, everyone's calm. Despite being throwing masters of a 'Japanese martial art' BW and Co can't fathom the most basic throws, o-goshi, seonagi, osoto gari (white belt judo throws). By now a few of BW enforcers are coming around and learning that maybe BW isn't all he's cracked up to be, he's outskileld by our orange belts.

So now it's grappling, the class is rolling around, BW is done, he can't do this anymore, he grabs a seat and watches. ED however wants vengeance, but first he works the room. He's going to show off and tries to partner up with the scrony 16 year old. I give my 16 year old freind the thumbs up and go for it, but decide to 'ref' the match. 45 seconds in, ED taps. Next match, 30 seconds, taps... ED is pissed, and BW has seen the whole thing, what a disgrace! That's it it's now or never. He rolls up his sleeve and reveals a BW Martial Arts McDojo TATTOO! He's been branded!!

"Listen Beefy! I want to roll with you, I'm a former military and I'll make you tap hard"

Beefy is unimpressed, tired, and just doesn't want these guys to come back.

"Ok, lets roll..."

Match starts, BAM! What happened? ED is tapping he doesn't even know how he got there or even remember how this technique was applied. They go again, BAM! He does the same thing. BAM! Happens again! ED gets up and leaves. He doesn't wait or acknowledge BW or anyone else. Most of BW students leave but one oh his guys, Mouth Off Boy, gives us a hard time

"Why'd you have to disrespect a grand master like that?! You guys are garbage, fuck this school, no respect!"

"Ok, leave now or we're calling the cops"

Not long after that, BW lost most of his loyal students, save for Mouth Off Boy whom would eventually branch off and start BW Sidekick's School of Killology For Cool People McDojo in Ottawa. It didn't last when he couldn't keep students and soon moved back home.

BW moved his school into his mom's garage and started to focus on teaching younger kids, but never keeps anyone for more than a few months. His school comes and goes, it's been down for a few years and has recently he tried to resurrect his club but it didn't work out. BW doesn't go to other clubs any more.

The good news in all this, ED became a regular at our club and good friends with Beefy. Initially he came back to challenge him and eventually was won over by his kindness and high skill level. The two hated each other but in a few months would go to lunch and the movies on days off or double dates with their wives. Turned out he was ex-military, think like Bill from King of the Hill, and last I heard he removed the tattoo.

TLDR: McDojo Master comes to our club with his top students, they make an ass of themselves and learn their masters a fraud, McDojo shuts down not long after.

(source) story by (/u/linkhandford)