#also YES okay i wanted to make a point about miki there but i just

[scificrows]

Okay, my brain refuses to think about anything other than Murderbot, so I looked at every use of the word "friend[s]" in TMBD and... created some pie charts. Normal human activities.

Some Thoughts™ I had while putting this together (under the cut):

In All Systems Red, Murderbot notes that the PresAux crew are all close friends (twice! and goes on to explain their internal relationships which I think is very cute). This is pretty much the only use of 'friends' in ASR, except for when Murderbot says that SecUnits can't be friends with each other.

It seems that this may be one of the first times Murderbot has ever really been around a group of friends before? Murderbot notes that this is not the norm for its contracts and admits that the fact that they are all friends and the way they interact with each other make it actually enjoy that contract (before!!!! the hostile attack, so it already enjoys this contract before they start seeing it as a person etc ghghhhh). [Inference: Friendship seems enjoyable.]

The first character that calls Murderbot its friend is ART in Artificial Condition. Murderbot immediately refutes this (and then goes on to call ART its friend to its clients for the rest of the book). [Inference: Maybe ART is Murderbot's friend. And maybe that is... agreeable]

Rogue Protocol has more than twice as many instances of the word 'friend' as any of the other novellas. Why? Miki. Friendship and its implications for non-humans are a central theme because Miki is friends with everyone. Murderbot initially scoffs at the notion that Miki and Miki's humans are friends. At the end of the book, after witnessing how desperately Don Abene tried to stop Miki from trying to save them, and her grief after its death, Murderbot has to admit that she had in fact been Miki's friend. [Inference: Humans can be friends with bots and can sincerely care about them]

In Exit Strategy, Murderbot tentatively uses the word "friends" for its humans for the first time (several times actually). It questions whether it can actually call them its friends or not and later realizes that it had been afraid what admitting that the humans are its friends would do to it. At the end of the book, Mensah tells Murderbot the PresAux crew are its friends, which is the first time a human has directly said that to it (at least on-page). [Inference: Humans can and want to be Murderbot's friends]

In Network Effect, Murderbot seems to be more habituated to the word 'friend', confidently calling ART and Ratthi its friends, like it is no longer just trying the concept on unsure if it fits. There are many instances in which other characters refer to MB as ART's friend or the other way around and Murderbot's humans refer to Murderbot as their friend several times. Generally, there seems to be less hesitancy, because yes, all of them are Murderbot's friends, why wouldn't they be. [Inference: SecUnits can have friends. This SecUnit has friends. They care about it a lot.]

Conclusion: The Murderbot Diaries tell the story of a construct that does not seem to consider the possibility of friendship for itself and is fine with that - until it accidentally starts caring a little too much and suddenly more and more people annex it as a friend (ew) to the point where it can no longer deny that this is happening and has to begrudgingly admit that yes, it has friends now and maybe that is actually not a bad thing.

[sunlightandsuffering]

Late as fuck Mikasa birthday drabble that I don't love lol ! I always miss my enemies AU, they're honestly hilarious. Mikasa breaking his arm and wanting to sign his cast will never not be iconic to me ! ALSO MIGHT MAKE THEM FIANCE'S, I DID HERE, MIGHT AS WELL RIGHT! “Nice gun.” It sounds like a bad pickup line, a shitty attempt to get into her pants, and well, it totally is, but the guy lingering around her Uncle’s bar also isn’t wrong. “Thanks,” she comments casually, trailing a finger over the condensation on her glass, “It was a gift.” 

At this, the guy snorts, an eyebrow raised almost into his hairline, “Someone got you a baby pink Glock as a gift?” 

Mikasa shrugs innocently, tucking the very poorly concealed weapon further into the waistband of her jeans, she’d just come back from intimidating a rival gang member, okay? She’d needed it, she doesn’t just carry her gun around with her like a monster, it’s not even loaded, it's solely for intimidating purposes. Plus, she looks very pretty waving it around while Connie and Reiner stand menacingly behind her, where’s the fun in being a mob princess if she can’t play a little? But the story of how she got her pink Glock is one that she looks upon perhaps a little too fondly, even more so when she catches Eren’s eye over her would-be suitor’s head, a little smirk on his face that he can’t hide, having heard their whole discussion. 

She doesn’t know if she should be embarrassed that he’s heard, or say fuck it and drag him to the back room all over again like she did when she was gifted the gun in the first place. 

2 Years Ago 

“So you’re not even going to wish me a happy birthday?” Mikasa asks somewhat petulantly, trying not to let the whine creep into her voice, not to show just how perturbed she is that he’s the only one so far who hasn’t wished her a happy birthday. For fuck’s sake, Connie, his number two had sent her a giant stuffed teddy bear, and she can barely get a happy birthday from him, her supposed fiancé? Eren barks out a disbelieving laugh, “Mikasa you broke my arm last month, I just got out of the cast, which, by the way, still fucking hurts–” “You had it coming to you.” “I had to learn how to shoot with my left hand!” 

Mikasa scoffs, “You love being ambidextrous, I haven’t heard you shut up about it since.” “Because it’s fucking cool! But that’s beside the point, we’re in a gang Mikasa, I get shot at semi-regularly, and you didn’t even apologize!” At this, Mikasa shoots him a glare, “I did so.” “When?” Eren snaps and Mikasa studiously looks away, “I helped you out a few times.” 

Eren balks at her, his mouth hanging open, and she thinks rather smugly that for once in his life he actually looks a little stupid, rather than the unfairly good-looking visage she’s used to. 

“You demanded to sign my cast and threatened to break my other arm,” Eren tells her glibly and Mikasa frowns, her brow furrowing up in a way her mother would scold her for, yelling about forehead wrinkles and botox. “That’s not what I’m talking about,” Mikasa snarks back, before lowering her voice to a whisper, “I’m talking about after.”

Eren arches a perfectly shaped eyebrow, a wicked smirk crossing his lips, those eyes gleaming in delight as he recalls that particular night, “Oh that.” 

“Yes,” Mikasa hisses, “That.”

That had been Mikasa jerking Eren off in the backroom, out of the goodness of her heart of course, because he might be ambidextrous now, but he hadn’t been then, and well, who was she to refuse him? That would just be cruel, and really why use his non-dominant arm when both of hers were readily available… and her mouth too, that had also been very available to him. 

“Well that,” Eren smiles fondly, his eyes glazing over a bit as he thinks about it, a small affectionate smile gracing his lips, “That was just good business Miki, payback for breaking my arm in the first place.” She smacks his now healed broken arm, vibrating with fury, “That was me helping you out, you asshole!” Eren scoffs, his smile morphing into a pout, “It wasn’t I had to practically beg–” “As you should!” Mikasa huffs and Eren growls in irritation at being interrupted, “Mikasa!” 

“You’re not even going to wish me a happy birthday?” She finishes sadly, a hint of genuine sadness creeping into her tone, she does have feelings, and he is supposed to be her fiancé. "After all i've done for you." Eren groans, “Oh my god.” Mikasa sniffles, just a little, not allowing the tears to fall, her head turned away, she’d always thought they had this very charming back and forth, that when they finally wed it wouldn’t be so bad, that maybe, just maybe they could fall in love and all the sexual chemistry they had would be put to good use. 

Her lower lip quivers just a little and Eren sighs deeply beside her, an arm hooking around her neck and dragging her towards him, “You’re such a fucking brat.” “I am not!” She protests, but she is silenced with a rough kiss to her lips, and as usual, he tastes like good whisky and a hint of mint, familiar. She melts into him, her hands finding the soft strands of hair gathered at the nape of his neck, digging into the silky whisps. Eren grunts as she tries to climb into his lap, because fuck it, this can be her birthday present. But to her dismay, Eren keeps her firmly planted in her spot next to him, his arm weighing heavy around her shoulders and his other hand buried firmly between her thighs, teasing her whilst at the same time keeping her in place. 

She pulls back questioningly, her lips swollen, silver eyes catching on soft reverent green ones, “Eren what are you–” “Happy Birthday,” he mumbles and before Mikasa can say another word he’s pulling a gun from the waist band of his jeans and she’s shocked to see it’s not his own, it’s definitely not his own. It’s bright pink, almost candy coloured, like a barbie and Mikasa gasps as he places it in her lap. It’s slightly bejewelled around the handle, and if it was anyone else, it would be the gaudiest thing she’s ever received, she’d fucking hate it. But Eren knows her far too well, probably better than he should if she’s being honest, and Mikasa squeals as she snatches it from his grasp. It’s impractical and ridiculous, and the silliest things she’s ever received, but she absolutely loves it. What says mob princess more than a pink fucking gun? 

“I love it,” she tells him seriously and Eren lets out an audible exhale, “Good, because that shit was embarrassing to ask about, do you know Jean almost laughed me out of the arms room?” Mikasa laughs in delight, checking him with her shoulder lightly before she cuddles in, enamoured with her gift, fingers trailing excitedly over the Swarovski crystals embedded in the handle, just before the grip so as not to be uncomfortable to hold. “If you lose it you’re not getting another one,” Eren tells her firmly and she leans up in a rush to press a kiss to his cheek in thanks. “Thanks,” she tells him softly, her other hand slipping down to lace their fingers together, she’s not often this affectionate, this loving with her rival turned husband-to-be.

But really, it’s Eren, he deserves a reward for this.

“Happy birthday,” he winks and Mikasa laughs, setting the gun on the table, “You were totally just afraid to give it to me weren’t you, that’s why you haven’t talked to me all day?” Eren scowls, “Why do you have to ruin everything, I was not!” 

“You totally were, I bet you’ve been agonizing over when to give it to me all day.” “I wasn’t,” He insists, and Mikasa cackles deviously, “You so were.” 

“Whatever, we’re even now, Ackerman.” She laughs in delight, pressing another kiss to his cheek, they are so not even, they are never even and that’s just how she likes it. “Don’t make me break your other arm, Yeager.” “At least it won’t be my dick this time, Ackerman.” She presses her lips together to hide her smile, “Now I know you’re not upset about that.” “Still pisses me off that I’m not the first one you broke,” Eren mumbles grumpily, and she buries her face in his shoulder because she can’t wipe the fucking smile off her face, he’d been so damn pouty about that. 

“I can break it again,” she breathes huskily against his neck, and he hums contemplatively. 

“I’d like to see you try.” 

“Back room, ten minutes.”

[fantasythetrashywriter]

Girls + Contract = Magical Girls = Witches?

—————————————————————————

“And that is it for basics on Magical Girls!” Mami exclaimed, smiling warmly at Madoka and Sayaka. “Any questions?” 

Sayaka perked up hearing that and raised her hand. “Yes, Miki-san?” Mami looked at Sayaka and offered her an encouraging smile. “So, can we like, wish for anything? Anything at all? And Kyubey will grant it?” Sayaka asked, glancing curiously at Kyubey. 

“That is correct,” Kyubey said, nodding his head. Sayaka’s eyes practically sparkled afterward. “That’s so cool!! We can wish for anything at all, Madoka!” she exclaimed and turned her head to the side to face her pink-haired friend. Madoka smiled sweetly in response. 

Then she raised her hand. “I have a question too.” 

“Yes? What is it, Kaname-san?” 

“Are Magical Girls and Witches the same thing?” 

The room fell silent. 

“W-What makes you think that?!” Mami very nearly shrieked, trying desperately to keep her voice down. Madoka jolted, but the look of seriousness remained on her face. “Sorry Mami-san, it’s just, there’s too many similarities! Like, for example…” 

Madoka straightened her back and looked back at Mami and Kyubey. “Mahou Shoujo is what you call a Magical Girl. Witches are called Majou, which takes the first letters of Mahou, and the last letters of Shojou.” Nobody responded so Madoka continued. “Also,” the pink-haired girl paused and took a Grief Seed lying on the side of the table. “Mami-san, can I have your Soul Gem, please?” Mami stuttered something unintelligible, but ultimately handed the item over. Madoka placed the Soul Gem and the Grief Seed side-by-side. “They both look similar! And they’re both in the shape of an egg!” 

Mami was just about to speak up when Madoka unintentionally cut her off. “And! Magical Girls are born from hope, right? I know it’s crazy and I don’t want to admit it either, but what if a Magical Girl despair? Witches are born from despair, right? And what happens if you don’t purify your Soul Gem? It’s in the shape of an egg so does that mean it will hatch? What will hatch out of it? A Witch?” 

“It’s not just that either! In the animes I watch, Witches are essentially Magical Girls too. They’re magical girls!“ Madoka then slammed her hands down on the table, startling everyone present. “So, Kyubey! Are Magical Girls Witches too?” 

The entire room fell silent once more. 

“W-Well Kyubey?” Sayaka stuttered, eying Kyubey curiously and suspiciously. She hated to admit it but...Madoka did have a point. 

On the other hand, Mami looked completely traumatized, unable to speak. It was concerning but…maybe she’ll be okay. Hopefully. 

Kyubey meanwhile, looked just as stunned as everyone else. He looked around, almost as if he were nervous. “W-Well…you see–”

That day Kyubey was blown up to pieces by an angry Mami. 

—————————————————————————

Oopsie daisy Kyubey, somebody found out. How do you expect to omit your way out of this now…? At least you got the mercy to be blown up by Mami, Homura is more…brutal (and speaking of her, I bet she’s celebrating LMAO)

I started rambling then I started writing and couldn’t stop. This is what happens. Oops.

Don’t know why I made this more humorously than it should be…

WELP, anyways! Hope you enjoyed this little fic! Just a what-if scenario if Madoka had her doubts about the Magical Girl system (though if I am being honest, it would be a lot more problematic than how I portrayed it. I’m just suffering from what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-my-brain disease™. Who knows, I might write an actually serious scenerio of this when my stupid brain fixes itself.)

Also I’m bad at titles LOL

[linabirb]

okay i think ive looked through linagram masterlist here is my review

not going to review these who im completely neutral towards like they're... just here... they exist

miki - i like her design and the savior complex is funny

akio - skrunkly, i think his average ass design is his charm point👍 also sorry about the homosexuality

aimi - i like her design and the ideas with bullying are interesting to me, also you should redraw her to a frame from carrie

shun - i find him interesting as a character, neutral about him as a person, a lot of things wrong with him for sure

naomi - gorgeous t2 design and i like her personality, i like the idea of a sort of childish adult. FUCK THEM KIDS 💥 i love when adult women go fuck them kids this is hilairous

eiko - the woman ever 👍👍 thank you for e-dating representation

asahi - skrunkly, happy that i got to draw him out of all people for the new year requests

yurika - i like her, idk why you all people are so mean to her, girls must be covered in blood at all times

riku - boy situationship with a person you're sick of much 👍👍 get it 👍👍 being idolized and because of that isolated since you're not Just a Person like everyone but also not ready to let go of being idolized since you cant experience affection in normal ways👍👍

i think my top of those i like the most would be like ... asahi > naomi > akio > riku > yurika maybes?

also i really like the idea with two (well now three) wardens, that makes the vds much more lively, and the verdicts more, thought through? since you can actually see how the arguments went in their conversations, and you dont have to twist the warden's personality to adapt to the verdict since each represents only one verdict

have you ever made smth like a popularity poll i want to know what is the general rating among the linagrammers im new to the fandom

YAYYYYYYYY

"sorry about the homosexuality" made me scream you're so right.. sometimes i think about how if akio was straight maybe all of this wouldn't have happened /j

AND OH WAIT YOU'RE RIGHT ABOUT AIMI AND CARRIE... NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT THAT IT FITS HER SO WELL ESPECIALLY WITH HER FIRST MV... writing this down writing this down

and yes, when i started thinking about naomi's character more, i actually had this idea that like.. "what if we had a character who's an adult woman and who doesn't like children, but she has no idea that she's actually still a child on the inside". her third mv will focus a lot on that too..

thank you for summarizing riku's character 😌😌 the guy actually probably has a god complex that's worse than akio's but his story isn't about that. he's also a god who's kinda tired of his followers but knows he won't be able to do anything without them so.. what a dilemma.. kurae ban ban ban..

actually yes, i kinda went with multiple guards bc i did have only one guard oc at first but when i started to think about the vds the conversations sounded very awkward.. so i was like two guards it is! well now three. it's okay to forget hinode exists btw i forget about him sometimes too writing him is agonizing bc this guy is just linagram komaeda

i think i haven't really made any polls like that and i don't think linagram has like. a really big fandom hdjkskssk i think people were more active when i just started, but i remember making a poll that was like "hey if linagram was a dating sim, who would you date" and kei and eiji got the most votes. sanada brothers are overall very popular i think? and i think if i made a poll like that kei and/or yurika would win djsksls

[linagram]

[ 𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚣𝚞 𝚜𝚑𝚞𝚗'𝚜 𝚝𝟸 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚖𝚊 ] 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚊 𝚝𝚞𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎'𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝, 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝?

OH GOD HIS VD. SHUN. THE MAN HIMSELF. very excited to finally reveal the twist related to how this particular milgram works hehe <3

Warnings for Shun's VD: Shun's relationship with Kei is becoming more and more unhealthy and Eiji gets a bit violent with him again. Eiji also doesn't treat him well even after Shun mentions his memory problems.

Warnings for Shun's MV: Shun can't tell what's real and what isn't and there's a mention of him stabbing someone.

(sounds of footsteps)

Miki: So.. It's Ishizu-san's turn now.

Eiji: Yeah.

Miki: .. I-I'm going to be honest, he actually does scare me a bit now.

Eiji: *laughs* What, you thought he wasn't that scary when we first met him?

Eiji: Don't tell me you thought Shun was just a shy and quiet guy.

Miki: .. M-maybe I really did think he was just shy.

Miki: But I'm not so sure anymore.

(the door opens)

Shun: Ah, h-hello! I was waiting for you two!

Eiji: Wow, you actually said hello to us this time. What a character development.

Shun: Haha.. Yeah, I guess I've changed a lot. 

Eiji: So, does that mean you're ready to be interrogated?

Shun: *nods* Yes! Don't worry, I'm sure you will forgive me this time too.

Eiji: Why are you so sure about that?

Eiji: Actually, you've been making us want to vote you guilty more and more lately.

Shun: H-huh?

Shun: No, no, you're just joking, right?

Shun: I mean.. What's the point of voting me guilty this time if I was forgiven?

Shun: That's.. kind of weird.

Miki: Ah, is it okay if we talk about how's your life in Milgram has been going first?

Shun: S-sure! It's been going really well actually..

Miki: You are sure popular now, haha..

Shun: *laughs* Yeah, I guess you could say that.

Shun: Maybe it's because of my new hairstyle? It's almost the same as my past one, but now my hair doesn't get into my eyes.

Shun: Maybe I should've asked Riku-san to dye my hair too..

Shun: W-wait, but it's already dyed.. I-it's still fine, right?

Eiji: .. You're really close with Eiko and Kei now.

Shun: Haha, yeah, we do pretty much everything together.

Shun: I-I like them! I like them a lot.

Shun: Maybe I even.. 

Shun: Haha, no, t-that's embarrassing to talk about..

Eiji: .. I thought you'd be more loyal to your ex, you know.

Shun: Huh?

Shun: My.. who?

Eiji: Your ex. What, you don't remember her?

Eiji: You killed her new boyfriend to "protect her" or something like that.

Shun: ...

Shun: Ah, that girl.

Shun: I-I guess I did kill that guy for her sake, haha..

Shun: Well, whatever, I don't want to think too hard about it.

Miki: .. Ishizu-san, is everything okay?

Miki: You're acting so different now.

Miki: During your first interrogation, you sounded like you were completely in love with her and you were okay with doing anything for her.

Miki: So why are you-

Shun: Well, uh..

Shun: D-don't you think it's better for me to move on?

Shun: Ah, Guard 001-san will agree with me, right? Isn't that what you had said to me that one time?

Eiji: You needed to move on, so that you won't have to kill her new boyfriend, you idiot. 

Eiji:I didn't mean that you have to forget about her now that you're in prison!

Shun: Y-you're being so rude..

Miki: Ishizu-san, why did you lose any interest in your crime so suddenly? I thought you were even..

Miki: .. Kind of proud of it?

Shun: ...

Eiji: .. Haha.

Eiji: Oh, now I get it.

Eiji: It doesn't matter to you who you're dating right now as long as you get the attention that you want.

Eiji: And when you stop getting that attention, well..

Eiji: You just stop caring about that person too.

Eiji: And you forget about them.

Shun: !

Shun: I-it's not true!

Shun: I really did love her-

Eiji: Yes, you loved her, but only when she was still dating you and only when there was a chance of you two getting back together.

Eiji: But now that you're in Milgram and you have a girl who keeps flirting with you and a guy who is easy to use and manipulate..

Eiji: Why should you keep caring about your ex, am I right?

Shun: ...

Shun: Y-you're making it sound like I'm the evil one here.

Eiji: Aren't you though?

Shun: I'm not!

Shun: I-it was.. um..

Eiji: Go on, say it.

Shun: .. M-maybe it was her fault.

Shun: A-and come on, who cares about her anyway? 

Shun: All I know is that I did the right thing. She should be grateful, honestly.

Miki: ".. Has he always been like this?"

Miki: "Was he just hiding this side of his from us?"

Shun: Also, Eiko-san and Kei-san really do care about me! They like me so much!

Eiji: Are you sure that Kei likes you though?

Shun: Wasn't he the one who kept flirting with me even though I said I wasn't interested?

Eiji: Ah, so now you're taking revenge on him?

Shun: Again, stop making it sound like I'm the bad guy!..

Shun: I-I'm just giving him the attention he wants, that's all.

Eiji: .. Do you know that when he goes back to his cell after spending time with you and Eiko, he can't stop crying because of how you both treat him?

Shun: ...

Shun: .. I'm just.. 

Shun: I'm just acting the same way he did before he was voted guilty. That's all.

Miki: .. Hey, Ishizu-san.

Miki: I-I have a question.

Miki: .. Is your memory okay right now?

Miki: Like, are you having any problems with it?

Shun: ...

Miki: It's just.. I've noticed that your memory problems were much worse before being voted innocent. And now your memory seems to be fine.

Miki: It's almost like-

Shun: N-no! I really do have a terrible memory!

Shun: I-it's just..

Shun: I-Isn't it a good thing that I'm getting better? L-like, you know, good for me, haha..

Eiji: Okay, let's test your memory then.

Eiji: What's your full name?

Shun: Ishizu Shun.

Shun: I-I mean, I think so..

Eiji: What's my name?

Shun: U-uh..

Shun: I don't know your last name, so..

Shun: Wait, aren't you related to Kei-san? 

Shun: That means.. Sanada Eiji?

Eiji: What's Guard 002's name?

Shun: Um.. 

Shun: I think it was something like..

Shun: I-I don't remember, I'm sorry.

Eiji: What was your victim's name?

Shun: U-uh, I don't know which one to start with-

Shun: ... 

Eiji: ...

Shun: .. Oh no.

Eiji: .. Are you kidding me?

Miki: Ishizu-san??

Shun: Look, I-I misheard! 

Shun: You said "girlfriend", didn't you?

Shun: I-I had multiple girlfriends before meeting her, okay??

Shun: I swear, I had a lot of them!

Eiji: And you killed all of them, didn't you?!

Shun: NO, I DIDN'T! THEY ALL LEFT ME-

Shun: Oh god, that just makes me sound more suspicious-

Shun: I swear, I didn't kill them. They're all still alive.

Eiji: Your memory really is better now.

Eiji: During your first interrogation, you weren't even sure if Ishizu Shun was your name.

Shun: But I'm still not sure-

Eiji: Oh, come on, you really thought I will believe you? You just pretended to sound unsure.

Eiji: You even remembered that I'm related to Kei, even though I've never said anything like that to you.

Shun: But he told me-

Eiji: About Guard 002.. I'm not sure if you were pretending, but still..

Miki: .. Ishizu-san..

Miki: Just how many victims did you have?

Shun: W-well, about my girlfriends-

Miki: I SAID VICTIMS! 

Shun: *screams*

Miki: .. I'm so sorry.

Eiji: Actually, if your memory is so good now, why don't you tell us everything about your murder?

Shun: But I've already told you everything!

Shun: And also..

Shun: .. You voted me innocent last time just because of my memory problems, didn't you?

Miki: ...

Shun: You felt sorry for me, right? 

Shun: .. Does that mean that you will vote me guilty this time? Just because I'm getting better?

Shun: I swear, I'm not.. "insane" or "dangerous" or anything like that.

Shun: I had only one victim, okay? Only one! 

Eiji: .. Hey, does your ex know about her boyfriend's death?

Eiji: And does she know that you were the one who killed him?

Shun: O-of course she does, she was there-

Shun: .. No.

Shun: No, no, that's just my memory being weird again.

Miki: S-so she was a witness??

Shun: I-I mean, even if she was, that would make sense, right?

Shun: I wanted to do this for her! Of course, I would want her to see-

Eiji: .. Is she still alive?

Shun: ...

Eiji: I'm asking you, is she still alive?

Shun: ...

Shun: W-which girlfriend are we talking about?

Shun: No, no-

(a sound of Shun's head hitting the table)

Eiji: DID YOU KILL HER TOO?!

Miki: Eiji-san!..

Shun: I DIDN'T! I SWEAR I DIDN'T!

Shun: PLEASE, STOP-

(a sound of Shun falling from his chair)

Eiji: I knew it. Of course you'd have more than one victim.

Eiji: Your crime can't be so easy. 

Shun: MIKI-SAN, PLEASE TELL HIM TO STOP!

Miki: .. Oh, so you actually do remember my name now.

Shun: PLEASE, I WILL TELL YOU EVERYTHING, JUST-

Eiji: Don't touch me!

Eiji: ...

Miki: ...

Miki: .. Eiji-san..

Miki: The prisoners.. t-they aren't supposed to be able to touch us, right?..

Shun: ...

Shun: .. Hehe.

(the bell rings, machinery sounds)

(sounds of Eiji's footsteps getting faster and faster)

Eiji: Quick, we have to extract his video right now.

Shun: Oh come on, Guard 001-san. I thought you're braver than that.

(sounds of Shun getting up)

Shun: Aren't you supposed to be the guard of this prison? Aren't you supposed to be stronger than all of us?

Eiji: Guard 002!..

Shun: Oh, look at you. Now you're asking her for help?

Shun: That's kinda pathetic, isn't it?

Shun: .. You know, now that I'm looking at you..

Shun: I've never noticed how weak you actually look-

Shun: !

Miki: Sorry, Ishizu-san.

Shun: W-what are you-

Shun: LET ME GO!

Miki: Eiji-san, now!

Eiji: T-thank you.

Eiji: Prisoner 003, Shun, sing your sins!

42% ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░░░░ 100%

[ MV Description ]

His MV would have very soft colors in the beginning, but when Shun's apartment is shown, it would go back to the darker colors of his T1 MV.

The video starts with Shun standing and watching the sunset. Someone pokes him on the shoulder and he turns around with a surprised expression. We can see a cute girl saying something to him while smiling and blushing. 

"What is this? Could it be that you love me just like I love you?

This is a dream come true, I can't believe this is happening to me

No, no, this can't be real"

When she's done, Shun's eyes light up and he gives her a genuine and warm smile and nods. She almost starts crying because of how happy she is and she asks him something before finally gathering the courage to kiss him on the lips. 

"This can't be real 'cause it happens every single day

How many times are you gonna confess your love for me?

Oh well, it's not like I mind"

However, right after this happens, the scene suddenly changes and now we can see Shun sitting on a bed next to some other girl. She's talking to him about something and she looks like she's about to cry.

"Look at you, you're crying again

Is it just me, or you cry every single day now?

I'll still be here for you, just like you would be here for me"

Shun hugs her gently and calms her down. She hugs him back and says something to him. They're about to kiss as well and the scene changes again. 

Now we're in a flower shop and we can see Shun with a completely different girl again. She holds his hand. Now we can see Shun and another girl watching a movie. Now we can see him going with someone to an aquarium. 

"What can I say, I guess I'm really popular

I always get what I want, that's how this world works"

Now we can see him marrying someone. And all these girls look completely different from each other. 

After he kisses the bride, everything stops for a second and we can see a small notification in the corner that says "Do you wish to see the special cutscene?". A small cursor that is the same color as Shun's image color clicks on it. 

Now we see Shun in a small room surrounded by all those girls from previous scenes. His face becomes red and right when he's about to leave though he doesn't want to, the girls stop him. 

"I'm afraid, being popular is not always good

They keep hoping that I can be theirs and only theirs"

It doesn't look like they're mad at him for dating all of them at the same time, they still continue to shower him with affection and give him all the attention he wants. 

"Ah, wait, maybe it actually is good

This world wasn't made for worrying about such things anyway"

Shun finally gives in and it looks like he's enjoying this a lot, but then he notices that one of the girls is standing far away from everyone and he can't see her face that clearly. 

"Ah, there you are

You're still refusing to give me my happy ending"

He walks up to her and tries to make her pay attention to him. He pokes her on the shoulder in the same way the first girl did in the beginning, but then the "special cutscene" ends with the words "Game over?" appearing on the screen.

We can see that all of this was a game and the real Shun is sitting in some kind of dark enclosed space with his phone. Even though it's dark and the only source of light there is his phone screen, we can see posters of girls from that game on the walls, a body pillow of one of them and a full-body cardboard cutout of another girl. 

"Come on, can't I be happy at least in that world?

Just what did I do to deserve this?"

Shun gets really upset after he gets a "Game Over" screen and he almost throws his phone on the floor because of how mad he is. He accidentally opens the door while trying to calm himself down and he falls out of that space and we can finally see that all this time Shun was sitting in his own closet. 

"Ah yes, I am what this society calls a complete and total loser

Sorry to disappoint you- wait, did you even expect anything from me?"

Shun sighs and gets up and it turns out that his room is, well, not in the best condition. It's full of game/anime merch, but it also looks like it hasn't been cleaned in a while and even Shun himself almost trips because of the empty water bottles left on the floor. 

"Why was I born like this? What did go wrong?

Maybe this world wasn't made for me after all

No one will ever be able to love me.. 

Except you"

He looks at his phone again.

"No matter how many memories I lose

I will never forget how I met you

And I won't let you forget it either"

He checks the time and he sees that he got a new message from someone. He immediately opens it and we can't see any information about the person who sent it, but we can see the message.

"I'll be there soon. I really hope that you're not mad at me. If you are, please tell me if I did something wrong."

Shun gets really excited.

"Maybe there is still some hope for me left

Maybe I still can get the best ending"

Some time passes and we can see him looking in the mirror and he overall looks much better now and if we ignore his messy hair, he doesn't look that bad. It looks like someone is going to visit him later and he wants to impress them. 

He's in the kitchen now and he looks at the cake he left on the table, but it looks like he doesn't care about it as much as he did in the first MV. Then he looks at one of the kitchen knives and walks closer to it. It looks like he's about to take it, but then the screen goes black and we get the text that says "You haven't unlocked this CG yet."

When we can see everything again, Shun is already opening the door for that someone to come in and we can see that this person is actually the dark-haired man from Shun's first MV. The man looks confused at first, but when he looks at Shun again, he has a moment of realization and his face expression now is the same he had in the first MV: he looks at Shun with pure anger and hatred in his eyes. 

"Say whatever you want, I don't really care

You're just my rival and I will defeat you very soon"

Shun, however, is still smiling and he tries to close the door behind him so that he won't leave, but then someone else appears behind that man. Shun freezes and he can't believe his own eyes. The screen goes black again and the text says: "You've unlocked a special cutscene. Do you wish to watch it?" The cursor quickly clicks "Yes". 

"Wait, could it be

Did you come here to see me fight for you?"

Now we can finally see the second person: it's a young woman with pale skin, short dark green hair and purple and teal eyes. She looks surprised, but when she looks at Shun, her face expression looks like it's about to change..We don't see what happens next because of another "CG that we haven't unlocked yet". 

Now Shun and those two are sitting in the kitchen, but we can only see Shun's face and his eyes look more empty and dead than ussual. He refuses to drink his tea and for some reason he keeps looking under the table. When he looks at the couple, we can see that both of them look very confused and their hair looks more messy for some reason. If you look closer, you can see some blood on the guy's head.

Shun just smiles at them and pretends to drop something under the table. The girl gets angry and stands up, but then her expression quickly changes as she sees that her boyfriend is in even more pain now. She gets worried and turns in Shun's direction and her face becomes even more pale. 

"Don't get me wrong, I'm doing this for you

Maybe there's a chance of us being happy even in this world

I just love you so much, will you please forgive me

For not even remembering your name?"

The last thing we see before the screen becomes black again is Shun standing up with a bloody kitchen knife and walking closer to the camera. We get a message that says "Congratulations! You've unlocked the best ending. Do you wish to watch the special cutscene?" The cursor clicks "Yes" and we can see Shun being genuinely happy and talking to someone while drinking tea and eating the cake from the first MV, but when he stands up, it turns out that all this time he was talking to that couple and they look like they've been stabbed. The MV ends. 

[sayakasblogg]

SCREW YOU IM SMART ENOUGH TO KNOW WHAT CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG IS. Momo loved that show.

Also Keep calling me Clifford. Please do. SEE WHAT HAPPENS.

I bet out of the three it’s Mami. It’s okay. I won’t tell. You have my permission! Sayaka Tomoe huh? Guess that doesn’t sound too bad. Personally I’d think Mami would take your name. Mami Miki? Nah that sounds weird. Maybe you should hyphen your name. Sayaka Tomoe-Miki.

Either way, I win. I get to make fun of both you. HEHEHEHEHEHEHEEHEHEHEHHEHEHEEH

But….if you actually do like her….you better treat her good. If you don’t, I don’t care how much banter we’ve had. I’ll come after you.

Anyway, I’ll get the venue ready. Do you want chocolate or vanilla cake? Hmmmmm. I saw this nice dress while I was stealing some apples early. Maybe itd make a good wedding dress.

And jeesh, you got some serious beef with Emo. What’s the deal? Besides almost killing Kyubey, stalking Madoka, and being a dick to you, she doesn’t seem that bad.

You know when I type that all out, yeah maybe it is that bad. Although I shouldn’t judge. I’m not exactly a saint either. Ask Uwasa or…Mami. She doesn’t seem so bad though. Just a got a feeling that’s all. The more I think about her, the more I feel like I’ve met her. Does she wear glasses? I feel like she wears glasses.

But…from the way she talks, she seems I dunno….lonely? Look, I don’t care being alone but I will admit….there are times….VERY SMALL TIMES…..where I admit it does suck to be alone.

-Kyoko

That was the point! I’m sorry, I didn’t know you had the brain capacity to understand that one! That show was good though, I can see why it would be a favorite to children.

Yes Clifford, I shall. Do not worry about it. Hey, while we’re at it, can I call you doggy as a nickname too? It’s a cute nickname!

…This is featured on my blog, so I’m fairly certain you’re telling everyone.

S-S-SAYAKA TOMOE?!!! I WOULD NOT MARRY MAMI-SAN!!! That’s just- THAT’S JUST NOT IT!!!! (I wonder what it’s like to be married to Mami-san…)

I’ll treat her well even if I didn’t like her that way. She’s just so good and sweet and great! There’s no way I’ll treat her rudely. I’ll make sure to protect her too!! I’ll protect her and Madoka and everybody else!

Oh?? You consider this banter? Awwww that’s so sweet~

WHAT!!!!? VENUE??? AAAAAAAAKKKKKK JUST SHUT UP!!!!! WE’RE NOT GETTING MARRIED!!! GAAAHH!!

…Seriously? How is “stalking Madoka” not a bad thing? And why would she even try to kill Kyubey? There’s nothing wrong with him!

Does she wear glasses? No…no she doesn’t. But why can I imagine her wearing them? Red glasses…hair in twin braids…shy and cute… wait, what am I saying, she doesn’t have any of those stuff… (then why can I imagine it? It feels so…natural…)

Being alone…sucks. I can tell. It’s never fun, really.

Lonely? She looks…lonely? I never thought of it like that… but why would she be lonely? I mean, she’s so popular at school, everyone wants to be her friend, there’s no way she’d ever be lonely!

[hxseok-honee]

sundress || part 18

written portion under the cut!

sundress [part 18] || make you feel better

previous || masterlist || next

a/n : [and if you were my little girl // i’d do whatever i could do] daddy issues x the neighbourhood

taglist [open] :

@deepseavibez @thetrueghostqueen @reddeathraven @dingzerenistall @skyrro @unadulteratedlyunique @ramyagovindraj @itismochirice @wwhseokjin @drpepperobsessed @monamone @thekookiecorner @army-moa75 @burningupp-replies @lele-bb @pb-n-juju @red-kebab @heonsbebe @peachyyoongs @superloverpielamp @marifujioka @butterflylion @heyitsgigi @lochness-butmakeitsexy @miki-chi @cahowlkook @worshiphoseok @lilacdreams-00 @bongsbeforebibles @miriamxsworld @oasiswithmyg @peonyplace @annewrighthglc @calling-dips-on-j-hope @yoongiofmine @loveyoongles @instantspot @missmadwoman @x-xjaeminx-x @luvtaeha @vanillxangxl @renhold-nightspear @taeshuworld @lvrseok @supahumbreon @a-noona-mous @echointhelibrary @secretlycrazyhummingbird @simpinforyoongi @ireallylikeyourwriting

_____________________________

Saturday, 23 October, 10:13pm

“Are you feeling any better?” Y/n blinks and looks over at Yoongi while she’s dropping empty McDonald’s containers in her garbage bin. He’s standing by the window, pushing it open and fanning himself, cheeks red. It’s starting to get rather chilly outside these days, and the castle’s finally turned on its heating systems to keep the students from freezing to death as winter nears.

The problem -- for most Slytherins, in fact -- is that Yoongi’s so used to the dungeons always being cold that it takes him some time to adjust to the heated rooms above ground in the winter. Y/n’s bedroom feels normal to her, but to him it’s a damn sauna, a sentiment emphasized by the fact that he’s stripping out of his hoodie as he makes his way to her wardrobe to look for thinner pajama bottoms than the ones he’d shown up in. When he finds what he’s looking for, he’s ducking into her bathroom, calling out to her through the door.

“Answer me, nerd.” Y/n hums, having forgotten that he’d even asked her something because she’s so busy trying to decide how to survive the night with that chill coming in through the window.

“I’m okay -- Yoongi, how are you expecting me to sleep with that window open? We’ll both catch a cold.” Pulling the door open, Yoongi tosses his other pants over her desk chair and points at his hoodie, abandoned on her bed.

“Should still be warm.” He doesn’t say anything more about it, heading over to where his laptop sits on her mattress, their movie paused. “You’re only feeling okay?” He’s very nonchalant about the whole thing, but he keeps bringing it up, so Y/n knows he wants to have this conversation.

“Yeah, I’m just -- I dunno, stressed. Tired. Overwhelmed. Did I mention stressed?” Breathing out a laugh through his nose, Yoongi checks that the battery on his laptop’s still fine while Y/n reaches for his hoodie. Sliding it over her head, she finds that he wasn’t wrong -- it is still warm. It also smells like him, and she breathes in the scent easily, already mourning the moment that the material will start to smell like her instead.

She’s so busy pressing the sleeves to her nose and humming with satisfaction at the smell that she doesn’t notice Yoongi’s watching her from where he sits on the edge of her bed. When she finally looks up and meets his eyes, she sees that he’s got a fond look on his face, smiling up at her while she gets distracted by the comfort of wearing his clothes.

“Having fun?” If this were any other day, she might be embarrassed that she’s been caught sniffing his hoodie. But she’s feeling warm and a little delirious both from the food and the exhaustion of such a long day, so she’s just nodding, pressing the sleeves to her face again. Yoongi’s lips twitch in amusement.

“Okay, well -- we can finish the movie or just go to bed? If you’re tired?” Y/n shakes her head, still feeling too wound up from the day to even fathom going to sleep right now.

“Let’s finish the movie — I’ll probably fall asleep at some point.” He nods, scooting back on the mattress until he can lean against the headboard and get under the blanket, beckoning her over with a pat of his hand on the space between his legs.

“Come on — I’ll keep you warm.” Unable to deny the excitement she feels at the thought of being held while she drifts off to sleep, Y/n crawls over to Yoongi, settling with her back against his chest. She sighs contently when he wraps his arms around her, hitting the spacebar on his laptop with his foot to resume the movie before bending his knees and caging her in. She feels safe here.

They watch the movie in silence for a few minutes, Yoongi holding Y/n’s hands in his and playing with her fingers to try and soothe her with small movements. It seems to work, because she’s curling into him even more after a moment. Pressing a kiss to her temple, Yoongi whispers to her.

“Is there anything I can do?” Y/n shuts her eyes with a smile, filled with adoration. Ever since what had happened on Thursday, when she’d expressed her insecurities, Yoongi had been more attentive than usual. Keeping an eye on her and spending more time attached to her physically, he’d been very affectionate the last couple of days. She’s not even sure he’s noticed. “Y/n?” She cracks her eyes open, letting out a noise of confusion. Yoongi smiles softly, repeating himself.

“Let me help you… please?” Humming quietly, she finds it hard to concentrate, feeling herself getting lost in his warmth — he’s solid against her, strong and secure. With his heartbeat against her back, his breathing in sync with hers… it’s comforting. She knows he’ll take care of her if she asks.

“There’s… one thing… that might be nice.” He squeezes her, letting her know he’s listening. Their hands are intertwined in her lap, but she’s extracting her right hand from the pile and placing it gently on the back of his. Guiding him slowly, she sets his hand at the base of her throat, feeling him inhale sharply behind her when he gets the message.

“I thought you said you didn’t wanna talk to Rough Yoongi anytime soon.” He says it jokingly, but she hears the genuine question within.

“It doesn’t have to be rough…” Blinking quickly, he starts putting the pieces together in his head, realizing what she wants. But his silence is a little too long, worrying her, and she’s turning just enough that she can see him out of the corner of her eye.

“We don’t have to… is it because it’s Saturday?” If he’s honest, he’d completely forgotten about the fact that this would technically break one of their rules, but he’s pretty sure he’d broken a rule at that Gryffindor party not long ago. Besides, she needs his help.

“I don’t care about that… I just wanna make you feel better.”

She’s already whining, and he hasn’t even done anything yet. Moving his hand, he wraps his fingers around her throat, pausing to meet her eyes before he does anything else.

“But I need you to do one thing for me.”

“Anything.”

He purses his lips, incredibly fond of her in this moment — usually, it takes a while to break her, but she’s already given in. She’s already relinquishing control, leaving everything up to him. It’s adorable, but he’s still cautious, not wanting to go too far -- not tonight.

“You have to tell me how you’re feeling when I ask. Sound fair?”

She nods quickly, breathing out a confirmation as she leans her head back on his shoulder and shuts her eyes.

“Mm… sounds fair…”

Keeping his gaze on the side of her face, he runs his thumb and two of his fingers along the sides of her neck, feeling her shiver against him. Satisfied, he presses the rest of fingers down, palm warm against the base of her throat.

When he squeezes tight, her body reacts automatically, a shaky breath leaving her while she clings to him. Her hands ball up the material of his pants when she grabs at his thighs, and Yoongi’s shocked to see how responsive she is.

“Are you that wound up, babygirl?” She whines quietly, and he squeezes once in warning. She hadn’t answered him. “Let’s try that again, hm?”

“I’m sorry…” He watches her frown as she apologizes, her eyes cracking open to glance nervously up at him. “Are you upset with me?” Removing his hand from her throat, Yoongi brushes his thumb over her cheek, shaking his head.

“Not upset… Just want you to answer my questions so I know you’re okay.” She nods, unintentionally pouting at him while she finally responds to his question.

“I’m still just… really tense, I guess…” Dragging his fingers back down the column of her throat, Yoongi squeezes suddenly — it’s not harsh or shocking, only firm, his hand steady against her. It pulls a sigh out of her, and her eyelids are fluttering closed as she drops her head back against his shoulder again.

“Feel good?” She smiles hazily, a whispered ‘yes… thank you’ leaving her, and Yoongi can’t help but smile at how honest she is. Pressing tighter, he doesn’t say a word about the shaky moan that slips out, only wrapping his free arm around her waist and holding her closer to his chest.

“Don’t worry about anything, okay? I’ll take care of you, babygirl.” Her whine is loud, and he sees now that that’s what she needs from him -- to help her forget. To give her a break… Yoongi plans on making that happen for her.

“Trust me?” She echoes back immediately, the ‘trust you’ breathy and distracted, like she’s not totally paying attention. But she’d remembered to answer, so Yoongi knows she’s still with him.

“Want me to fix it?” She whines out a confirmation, nodding slowly. This one’s delayed, prompting Yoongi to check in on her.

“How are you feeling?” A pause, and then—

“Good… feel good… better…” Yoongi flexes his fingers, pressing down for longer this time to reward her for being honest with him. When he finally eases up, she’s gasping for breath, and he can feel her heart racing through her back — or maybe that’s his heart. He’s not sure. They’ve done this before, but not like this, so he’s getting a little nervous that what he’s doing won’t be enough to help her. But he has to be steady for her, so he’s pushing forward, hoping he can do it right.

Pressing his mouth to the shell of her ear, he’s mumbling softly to her -- it’s permission, permission to forget everything and give him control. And, even though he’s unsure of himself, it turns out to be exactly what she needs.

“Just let it all go, babygirl… Don’t think about anything but me.” He squeezes for emphasis while he says it, only releasing her when he feels her exhale deeply, going lax against him. Running his fingers gently over all the places he’d pressed too hard, wondering if he’d accidentally left bruises, he whispers to her, checking in.

“Better?” When she doesn’t respond after a moment, his heart is dropping, and he’s glancing down at her quickly, fingers going to her chin so he can turn her head toward him.

“Y/n?” She doesn’t make any move to acknowledge him, only nuzzling her face into his neck slightly. Yoongi furrows a brow, blinking through the pounding in his ears because he needs to figure out what to do. Had he gone too far?

“Baby? Hey…” Taking her face in his hand, he shakes her gently, trying to get something -- anything -- out of her. She must be able to hear the slight edge in his voice, because she’s finally responding. Just a hum, but it’s enough to have him sighing in relief. “There you are…”

“…’m sorry…” Breathing out a laugh, Yoongi works at slowing his heart rate while he responds.

“You’re not in trouble… just wanna know how you’re doing.” Y/n shifts in his arms, turning in his lap until she’s curled up to his chest, her mind fuzzy. She only nods, and Yoongi knows that’s all he’s getting out of her. But he’s gonna need more than that.

“Feel better?” She nods again, stronger this time.

“Better… much better…” He’s glad, because he’s not sure he’d be able to keep going with this tonight, still a little on edge. But as he looks down at her, he can see that she’s completely at ease, all of the tension in her shoulders and face gone now. His chest swells, proud of himself for being able to help her after all.

And then a breeze is drifting in through the open window, and she’s shivering against him. He looks over at it, relaxing his hold on her as he considers getting up to shut it.

“Want me to close the window?” Immediately, she’s latching onto the front of his shirt, holding him back. Her eyes open then, expression laced with panic. His own eyes go wide, too, not having expected her to come out of her headspace that fast.

“No-- Don’t go…” Yoongi breathes out a laugh of disbelief.

“I wasn’t gonna leave, baby…” But he doesn’t push it, only readjusting his arms around her, pulling her close again. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Sliding his leg out from under the comforter, he closes his laptop with his foot, their movie completely abandoned.

Deciding he’d honestly rather risk breaking the device than letting Y/n go for even the few seconds it would take him to move it to her bedside table, he nudges the computer toward the edge of the bed, aiming for the spot where he’d left his bag earlier and pushing it off. He winces when it crashes to the hardwood floor instead. He’ll just buy a new one.

Turning to look at Y/n, he shuffles around on the mattress until they’re tucked comfortably under the blanket, Y/n’s face hidden in his chest.

“Doing okay?” He feels her nod, and then she’s lifting her head to look at him -- her eyes seem clearer now, he notes.

“I’m good now… sorry for not answering you earlier…” With a smile, he scoots down until they’re eye level with each other. He wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her as close as possible.

“It’s okay… I was just worried…” Y/n looks him over, seeing the lingering anxiety in his eyes. He must have tried really hard for her.

“I’m sorry, I was just… a little out of it, I guess. It felt nice, so I didn’t want to come out of it.” Yoongi nods, finally understanding what had been happening to her.

“Good… I didn’t know if it was a good thing or not that you just weren’t registering anything anymore…” He pauses, biting at his lip nervously. “It… was good, right? I did okay?”

Y/n just stares at him for a moment, wondering how he could possibly not be sure of himself after having just seen her fall apart. After having just made her fall apart. Smiling fondly, she leans in, pressing her mouth to his. It’s soft, their lips barely touching, but it’s enough to have him exhaling deeply, releasing the stress he’d been feeling.

When she pulls back, she’s smiling softly at him, but then her mind is flashing back to what she’d been worried about earlier, the feeling creeping up on her again. She eyes him guiltily, only voicing her concern when he lifts a brow at her.

“Is it okay… that I asked us to break a rule? I won’t do it again…” She’s unprepared for the wide smile Yoongi shoots her, his gums peeking through. He finds it incredibly cute how vulnerable she is, pouty and nervous.

“I really don’t care, Y/n. I just wanted to make you feel better… as long as you’re okay, nothing else matters.” She pouts again, this one more because she’s not sure how to respond, her face warming from how gently he’s looking at her, gaze full of endearment. Deciding finally to just curl up to him and hide her face in his neck again, she lies there for a moment, listening to his breathing. It’s just as comforting even now, when she’s free of the things that had been worrying her. He’s just as solid against her -- just as safe.

“Can we still finish the movie?” Yoongi snickers when she mumbles the question into the crook of his neck, shaking his head.

“Yeah… my laptop’s definitely broken, babe.”

[heauxzenji]

Summer School

Kōshi Sugawara x Milf!Reader

Warnings: lmaooo bitch this shit hurted I can’t even get into it just know that I don’t wish to be perceived and will not be taking questions at this time. This is also not based on a dream I had and I am completely okay and sane

WC: 2.2k

A/N: Part of the lovely Miki Mouse Whorehouse collab- @undermattsun I love you I’m sorry my appendix got in the way of having this in on time. If you haven’t read the rest of the best mf porn trope collab in the universe, check out the mlist here for more hot milfs in your area that can read to you. 💕 and also ty kwis @honey-makki for the banner because y’all almost didn’t get one... she’s the real hero of the story.

The silence in the room was deafening as you sat in front of his desk. The air was thick with tension, and your palms, though sweaty, felt ice cold. He was always jovial, except for in moments like these, moments where he commanded attention. Moments in which he was serious, an ever looming presence over all his students- over the entire school.

“I assume you know why we’re meeting, right?” he said, taking a seat at his own desk, piled high with papers and discarded paper coffee cups- you could also just barely make out... an ashtray? Maybe that was only for after hours- hours like these in which he probably stayed on the school grounds half the night grading term papers and exams- as he’s not one to bring work home with him. You remembered him mentioning that from the orientation. You remembered the gentle, kind, Sugawara-Sensei with a warm smile and soothing voice; but the man in front of you was sinister.

“Final grades?” You swallowed a lump of fear and anxiety.

“They’re not good,” he scoffed, rifling through papers on his desk to pull out one riddled with red marks.

“Something like this definitely means summer school....”

He wasn’t letting up at his icy demeanor.

“That’s- it’s not an option,” you sputtered.

“I agree,” he said. “I’ve heard about your summer plans, I wouldn’t hate for you to miss out, they really seem like fun…”

Your blood was boiling over at the condescension, but it felt ice cold as it ran through your veins thinking of what you stood to lose if you protested him.

“I’ll tell you what,” Sugawara began, rising from his desk chair and crossing over to the classroom blackboard. He started erasing the day’s earlier lessons, leaving murky white streaks across the board.

“I’ll give you a chance to raise the grade, extra credit of sorts- how does that sound?”

By now he had picked up a slender wooden pointer with a white plastic tip. You had already put forth so much effort into Summer vacation, there was no way summer school was written into the occasion. But you felt yourself suffocated by the offer, a nervous twisting starting to build up in your gut as he stared at you, twisting the pointer in his chalk dust coated hands. You begrudgingly nodded.

“Great- it’s an offer you won’t be able to refuse, I know you…”

You knew exactly what he meant.

He bought the pointer to your chin, gently lifting before tracing it down your neck and décolletage, emphasizing the curvature of your breasts as he rounded the chair to be behind you.

“Let’s start with getting this off, yeah?” His hands massaged at your shoulders, gently pulling the woolen cardigan off your body, gently exposing you to the cool air of his classroom. You shuddered in response to the drastic change of temperature. Your exposed shoulders revealed the straps to your camisole and bra, Suga snapped the straps of both against your skin, a wince forming on your face from the soft slapping pain.

“Such pretty skin,” he remarked lowering his head to your neck, lips barely grazing the surface before peppered light kisses along it.

“You smell so nice too- all of this just to meet me, huh?”

You fixed your mouth to say no, but couldn’t get anything out against his advances. instead a small moan rose through the air as his kisses turned to kitten licks and a soft sucking right beneath your ear.

Sugawara’s hands were warm and soft as they lost themselves underneath the fabric of your shirt and bra, leaving a rash of goosebumps in his wake that rose almost as quickly as the heat to your face and neck. He slowly took your nipples between his fingertips, twisting gently as you threw your head into his chest.

“That’s it, it feels good, doesn’t it?” You hummed in response.

You felt him press his body into your back, the presence of his half hardened cock becoming painfully apparent as it slid against you. Suga crossed back in front of you, hands positioned at the buckle of the belt that held his pants at his waist. He didn’t bother to undo the clasps of his suspenders, slipping them down his shoulders instead. Still exposed, your chest rose and fell at the sight of him. Your eyes were locked at his waist, his own eyes growing familiar with your gaze as he slid the khakis down his waist, stopping just above the knee and leaving his hard-on fully visible.

You can’t recall when or how the straps of your shirt and bra fell from your body, but your top half was completely exposed to him as he pushed the head of his cock between your breasts, the soft pink head sporting a prominent freckle akin to the beauty mark under his eye. His cock moved against your skin, gaining soft friction as you held your tits together around it. You couldn’t resist sticking out your tongue to lap tiny kitten licks as he thrust- a soft yet lewd chortle from your own lips offered a little more lubrication, the slick sounds of his dick against your skin now rising in the sticky air. The spit glistened against the supple skin of your breasts as your hands held them together, fingertips hovering just above your pert nipples as you continued to envelop his dick with them. You started to help him, moving the mounds of flesh against him in a matching rhythm.

“Fuck yeah, just like that,” Sugawara hissed, speeding himself up. You could see the emergence of precum at the tip, tongue involuntary darting out to lick the salty fluid. His cock grew wetter, veins more prominent with each thrust against you. Your legs were presaging together in your seat, the thin panties you were wearing had started to become uncomfortably wet at this point, as you were so turned on at how turned on he was. In the back of your mind though, the heat on your skin translated to embarrassment, sickened by yourself for stooping to this level, disgusted by your need for perfection- how could you ever live with this?

No time to think about that now, though, not when he was looking down over you like this, cheeks pale pink, and strands of silver still king to his perspiring forehead. The feeling of his dick twitching against your tits weighed heavier than your pride at the moment, and you’d rather swallow several of his loads than grin and bear the stares of all those other bullshit PTA moms looking down on you- looking down on your kid. It was time to work for your bribe- just like the one you’d worked with Sugawara at the beginning of the year to get your son into his class.

Without warning, your son’s teacher thrust farther forward, pushing his dick past your lips- the signifier he was done using your tits to get off, and needed something more. You let go, moving your hand to the base of him, twisting your wrist upward as you opened your mouth wider and granted him full access.

“Very good- open up-ngh-, pretty thing,” He cooed through gritted teeth. “Want you to take this cock down your throat.”

His hands grasped the nape of your neck, pushing your head down further on his length. You gagged the first two or three passes- after all, it had been awhile since you had been adjusted to his size, or any man in general- being a single-mother does that to a person sometimes. But it took a few softer thrusts for your throat to ease up, and he was happy to oblige. He found you cute like this, so pliant with a mouth stuffed full of him. ‘Such a good mom,’ he thought, looking down to marvel at your face, nose buried in his pubes.

There was nothing more appealing to him than the idea of replacing your tight, wet throat with your even tighter pussy- than feeling the tip of his cock right at your cervix- the sensation of him filling you to the brim with his cum, and eventually seeing you swollen and round with his own child after a few months of making sure it stuck. Amazing thoughts- at least to him. But for now, he could wait; his mind telling him he’ll have all summer to wear you down since he has every intention of keeping you at his beck and call for the break, the looming thought of how much you owe him hanging over your head like the most perfect apple on a branch just out of reach.

Looking up at him from your seat like this fit that same illusion for you too. You shouldn’t feel this overpowering desire over the stiffness of your jaw and the burning of your throat- you shouldn’t enjoy the weight of his dick on your tongue, much less crave the feeling of him splitting you open. Yes these are all things you shouldn’t feel- but if it’s so wrong, why does it feel so right?

You popped your lips off of him for a second, gasping for air as strings of your saliva separated you from him. Your hand twisted at the base of his cock, pumping him with a tight grip. You could feel Sugawara shuddering under your touch, eyes meeting his to watch him stifle a moan by pulling his bottom lip through his teeth. He bought a soft hand to your cheek, stroking it lightly with the pad of his thumb before taking both hands to press your head back onto him- pushing as far down as he could fit- a harsh gag filling the room as his cock lodged itself in your throat.

His face was stained scarlet, nose scrunching and eyes creasing as he felt himself starting to slip, succumbing to his impending orgasm.

“Such a good-hhngh- such a good fucking mommy,” he said thrift gritted teeth, sending several hot ropes of cum sliding down your raw, and most likely bruised throat. You could barely hear the rest of his obscenities as he hit his high- your blood was already in your ears the moment you heard him say the word “mommy.” You couldn’t help but swallow every last drop, thinking of how much better it would’ve been if he did cum in your now drenched pussy. It was an invitation waiting for him, but your womb simply had to wait- a dull ache forming where you felt he should be.

You had several seconds to come back into reality, the fluorescence of classroom lights bringing you back to your surroundings of tinfoil planet dioramas and baking soda volcanoes among the rows of desks in front of you. You tried taking stock of how you got here in the first place, but your brain was liquefied in lust. Sugawara took a few moments to fix himself up, slicking his sweaty hair back as he readjusted his suspenders and rifled through the pockets of his pants. Pulling out a silver engraved cigarette case, pulling two out and placing one between his teeth. Handing you one, he pulled out his matching lighter, flicking it open to spark you up first. Almost as if nothing happened, he was the same, jovial, sweet Sensei that your 4th-grade son adored- the same kind, gentleman you entrusted your child to at orientation.

“Don’t tell the PTA,” he joked, a soft smile spreading across his still pink cheeks as he finished his drag, sitting back down in his chair.

“I won’t if you won’t,” you responded, rather breathlessly for having not done much work yourself.

You sat in silence for a beat or two, marveling at how he was able to turn himself on and off like this, at how he was able to continue on in the thick, sex stained air while filling out a gradebook.

“The final grade will remark as a pass,” he commented.

“I can’t give honor’s marks or it’ll look suspicious, so I’ll put in a couple extra credit points and just write it off as a book report or something.”

“Th-thank you, Sensei,” you uttered weakly, remembering just who Sugawara was- after all, he is your son’s teacher. As you stood, you picked up your purse and smoothed your skirt to leave. You slowly pulled the cardigan back over your sleeves, shuddering yet again at soft contact against your sensitive nerve endings, goosebumps still painting your body.

“You can call me Kōshi if you’d like- I’m not your teacher after all.”

“Thank you… Kōshi,” you corrected yourself.

He continued to work, not taking his eyes off the pile of papers in front of him, one by one, marking them up and down with red pen.

The click of your high heels sliced through the palpable silence as you began to leave the classroom. The voice inside of you screamed to hold your head high, not to look back, not to address him, not to crave him but that same voice fell down inside you, mind quelling its fear with a ‘you just have to tell him goodnight, it’s the polite thing to do.’

“Goodnight, Kōshi,” you called, twisting the knob of the door, pushing it halfway open before he stopped you.

“Oh, Y/N- please don’t forget to tell S/N to enjoy his summer vacation… you enjoy yours too.”

[the-ghost-of-jason-todd]

right! so. i got a message in my inbox, i've screenshot it just because i'm not sure this person would want to be interacting with me based on their DNI and as we all know DNIs make me anxious as all fuck. IN ANY CASE, the message still brings up an interesting point!

i ran across another post in the murderbot tag that i lost in my likes somewhere that i think is interesting and related to this. basically what it said was "a lot of people in the text of the series use it/its for murderbot, and murderbot has never corrected them, ergo, murderbot MUST use it/its"

which is a valid take, but it isn't the only one there is. because i don't honestly think i could claim to know what pronouns murderbot prefers just based on the fact that there's been no pushback thus far with it/its (though my memory is definitely dysfunctional, someone correct me if there is actually a preference stated) (also yes i DO know that in fugitive telemetry there's that scene where murderbot marks their feed intro thing as basically gender=N/A, which isn't the question here, because you can use any pronouns for any gender and it all comes down to preference).

the reason i don't think murderbot not telling people to stop using it/its is a definitive answer is because as a trans non-binary person who would exclusively use they/them if i could, there are still a LOT of circumstances where i don't speak up about people using other pronouns for me. i exclusively use the pronouns associated with my agab at work, for instance. and yes, you could argue that people using those pronouns still misgenders me, but if i don't correct those people and they have no reasonable way of knowing that i don't really like those pronouns, then hey, can i really blame them? it's very possible murderbot is in the same boat--we know how much anxiety is packed into that construct, and also how little human conversational aptitude is in that same space, so the pronoun thing could VERY EASILY be a case of "murderbot doesn't care enough to correct the humans about this thing in particular when there's so much other shit to worry about"

aside from that, one thing that i DO know about murderbot is that identity and personhood are big, complex, and interesting themes/issues when it comes to the character arcs and interactions we've seen. we can have so many fascinating discussions about queer characters and how queerness relates to humanity relates to identity, and i think the fact that the murderbot diaries raises a lot of questions in that vein is, frankly, awesome. i have a lot of personal opinions about how murderbot's arcs might go moving forward, and yes, one of them is that [they] will eventually realize that the extra distance from humanity the it/its pronouns gives [them] is unnecessary. of course this won't be the case for every bot (sorry miki, i think i only referred to you with they/them once but maybe i shouldn't have), and of course not everyone who uses it/its is trying to find distance from humanity, but in my personal world i find it very comforting to imagine murderbot using the pronouns i myself use and as of right now, there's nothing particularly explicit in the text saying i shouldn't.

and as an aside... this is getting very long already, but there's also the fandom factor here. people have all kinds of headcanons and all kinds of reasons for supporting/using/talking about them. when i use they/them for murderbot it does not change the actual text of the series. if you find the way i interact with this series and/or interpret the text to be grating, then don't interact with me. it's okay to block me. it's a good thing in many cases to raise these sort of concerns, because yes, there ARE shitty people who misgender others intentionally or out of ignorance. but in this particular case i'm going to say that i'm not necessarily wrong, and even if i WAS it might be more productive to just block me than to continue to interact with me. at the end of the day, murderbot is a fictional character, and it doesn't hurt the construct to use they/them over it/its.

[goji-pilled]

The Holy Quintet (+some others) as incorrect quotes from my old side account thats on hiatus right now because fandom switching but I base all of this purely on vibes; Part 3

Nagisa: Hey Yuma?

Yuma: Yeah?

Nagisa: What's your favorite color of the alphabet? True or false?

Yuma:

Yuma: ...what.

---------

Sayaka and Mami: You look mentally ill-

Homura: Because I am. Let’s go.

Sayaka:

Mami:

---------

"I have no respect for Santa. Don’t sneak in through the chimney and undermine my authority by bringing my family presents. Walk in through the front door and fight me like a man." - A 7 year old Sayaka, probably

---------

Sayaka, holding a python: Guys I impulsively bought a snake, what do I name him?

Madokami: You did WHAT–

Nagisa: William Snakespeare.

---------

Sayaka: So how exactly does this relationship work?

Mami: I love Madoka, who loves me, but she also loves Homura, who loves her.

Mami: And Homura and me hate eachother.

Madoka: Yep!

Homura, nodding: It's not that complicated.

Sayaka:

---------

Madoka: Good morning!

Mami: Good morning!

Homura: Good morning.

Kyoko: Ugh, you all sound like robots, try spicing it up a bit.

Sayaka, kicking in the door: *loud witch screeching*

---------

Homura: Madoka?

Madoka: Yeah?

Homura: Uhm...

Homura: YouMakeMyHeartHavePrematureVentricularContractions!

Madoka: ...what?

Mami, in the background: She said you make her heart skip a beat!

Madoka: Oh...! Aww....

---------

Sayaka: You've got to learn to love yourself.

Yuma: Don't you hate yourself?

Sayaka:

Sayaka: This is about you. Stay focused.

---------

Kyoko: ...why are you on the floor, Homura?

Homura: I'm depressed.

Kyoko:

Homura: I was also shot, can you get Miki please-

---------

Sayaka: I have very high standards, you know.

Kyoko: I can give you attention.

Sayaka: Oh no! You're meeting all my standards...

---------

*everyone trying to cheer up Madoka*

Mami: It's okay to ask for help.

Homura: You're not a burden.

Kyoko: Murder is okay.

Sayaka: Your feelings matter.

---------

*Yuma and Nagisa doing something bad*

Kyoko: We are not mad. We are just disappointed.

Mami: No, we are mad.

Sayka: Yes. We are. We are livid. But we are going to let this one slide.

Mami: No, we’re not!

Kyoko: We're not mind readers, Mami!

---------

Mami: I’m telling you Kyubey, the "Holy Quintet" is highly competent.

Kyoko, rushing in: Mami! Sayaka tried to make pasta in the coffee pot and now it's broken!

Mami:

Kyubey:

---------

Madoka: You know what I learned from my relationship with Homura?

Kyoko: There’s no such thing as too mean?

Sayaka: Never let your friends know for sure if you like them?

Mami: Always hold a grudge?

Madoka:

---------

*at some point in the earlier timelines*

Homura: A mosquito tried to bite me and I slapped it and killed it.

Homura: And I started thinking.

Homura: Like, it was just trying to get food.

Homura: What if I went to the fridge and it just slammed the door shut and snapped my neck?

Madoka:

Mami:

Sayaka:

Kyoko:

Sayaka: Are... are you ok?

---------

Homura, sniffling: Calm down, I’m probably not sick. It might just be allergies.

Madoka: Okay, tell me this: are you like, really tired?

Homura, deadpan: I have depression, what do you think?

---------

Nagisa: When I get murdered, can you make sure I become an unsolved case?

Mami: What.

Nagisa: I want to be on Buzzfeed Unsolved.

Sayaka: Alright, can do.

Mami: Hey, hold on! Can we go back to the part when you said "when I get murdered"???

[aquatik]

Hello vale <3 May I request a Kuroo scenario where he jokes about wanting to spend time with his s/o so they have a “girls” day together with a at home spa and etc 🥺👉🏼👈🏼 and I would find it cute if you also wrote the scenario for one of your comfort characters too but you don’t have too! Well 🥺 thank you sm vale. Love ya -🛸

“girls” night spa hcs with kuroo, sugawara, and yaku

pairings - tetsuro kuroo x reader, koushi sugawara x reader, morisuke yaku x reader

word count - 1600

genere - fluff

fem!reader

warnings - none <3

under the cut since these got long

Tetsuro Kuroo

so you guys are hanging out, after volleyball. you were watching those old youtube videos of like vlog-style/ expectation vs. reality type of thing

the good ole’ days

anyways

kuroo was scrolling on instagram to see one of your friends had posted a throwback to one of your sleepovers on her private. you guys had on face masks and a hair mask on the picture

“baaabe?”

“yes suro?”

“when was this?”

“ooh, i remember! that was months ago. haven’t had one in a while.”

“let’s do it.”

“wait what-”

in all honesty, you couldn’t say no. what was the worst that could happen? it could actually be fun

you guys go to the store and purchase everything you need. surprisingly, kuroo actually knew what to get

well, could you be surprised? man knows everything about chemistry, it’s no surprise he knows his way around what’s good for your skin

“suro how do you-”

“don’t question it.”

you took initiative on the hair care products since that’s self-explanatory-

as you were about to pay he smacks your hand and pays for himself

like, sir ???

anyways

you guys head back and start the spa night

you both took turns in applying everything on each other, you make sure to scrub that hair mask well into his hair to at least make sure he’s a healthy rooster head

“did you just purr?”

“wouldn’t you like to know.”

you guys post a lot on instagram and snapchat.

the team group chat going off:

kenma just said kuroo looks stupid with his hair flat. lev was accusing kuroo of cutting his head off since he looked shorter, yaku was yelling at lev. kai was just telling you guys to have fun, and yamamoto was sobbing, saying how kuroo doesn’t know how lucky he is.

for sure at one point you guys went to scare kenma.

like kuroo has a key so you guys snuck into kenma’s house

you were just sitting on the couch, recording

kuroo turned his wifi off so kenma got up to go fix it

“was the cord too heavy..?”

“surprise pudding head”

“what the fuck-“

and kenma grabs a pillow and full-on throws kuroo to the ground.

like

sir-

where that strength coming from?

“KENMA MY FACE MASK-“

“WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING HERE? I JUST GOT DISCONNECTED FROM AN AMONG US GAME! YOU ASS!”

“MY FACE!”

now you have a great video

overall you both really enjoyed the little spa night, promising to do them more often.

on the plus side, kuroo had really soft rooster hair. you had succeeded.

Koushi Sugawara

okay so you being the supportive girlfriend that you are, you attended their volleyball practice. you just so happened to have finished a really difficult assignment a while ago but you were still exhausted

coach ukai gave them a break before they started individual practice. being the loving boyfriend sugawara is, he immediately ran over to you

he was too busy practicing earlier to see you stressing over the now completed assignment. even though that assignment was taking up your time, you managed to multi-task and do both the assignment and watch them

“hi my love, did you see the- woah hey, what’s wrong?”

“huh? oh, nothing. i was just working on the assignment that i mentioned to you earlier. but yeah, i saw the play you guys are doing great. you're going to practice the synchronized attack later right?”

“well- i mean yeah but you should have been paying attention to your work.”

“nah it’s fine, i got it done anyways.”

“spa night.”

“what”

“you heard me. spa night. your sleeping over tonight and staying the weekend so it’s fine. i will not tolerate this stress in you, plus it will be fun!’

“you know, you could use one too.”

“well, then more reason to do it right?”

dammit, he’s convincing.

so after practice, you guys make it on your merry little way to the store and bought everything

no really

everything.

any mask you started reading: in the cart.

any facial cleanser? consider it bought.

face serum? you got it

oh and snacks. lots of snacks.

mans didn’t even let you pay

you knew this would happen so you sneaked and bought something and just hid them in your bag

so you know you guys are spamming your feeds everywhere. tiktok, snapchat, instagram, twitter you name it

you guys took a couple of pictures with your face masks on

since you had to wait a while for the face mask to set, you guys were going to watch something while eating

but no you had other plans

“no put the controller down.”

“what why?”

“because.”

you pull out a manicure kit, you had hidden this from suga

“i’ve gotta make sure my favorite setter has well-taken care nails. wouldn’t want an injury to happen.”

“...”

“kou?”

“i love you so much.”

“i love you too kou”

so you guys take turns feeding each other little snacks while doing suga’s hands. standing up to wash the masks off then continuing where you left off.

the whole time you guys would talk about anything so it was a nice time

once your done he thanks you and kisses your nose

i love him if you can’t tell

you guys definitely have more of these in the future.

you guys used one of the pictures you took together and now have matching profiles, you having sugawara as the profile picture and him having you.

morisuke yaku

you being nekoma’s unofficial but at this point you are the manager you always go to every practice, game, you name it

so you get to see your lovely libero boyfriend practice

and also becoming the mom of the team

oh and let’s mention lev

he’s a great boy, he has potential but does he strike a nerve at yaku sometimes

it seems more recently the team has been pushing these said strikes

while thinking of ways you could help him de-stress, you look up to him smiling at you, only for it to turn to yelling at lev

“what are you thinking about bab- LEV SHUT UP!”

“hmm, i got it!”

“what?”

you point at him and he’s like ???

“you. me. spa night when we get to your house.”

“what- i mean i’m not opposed to it but any reason why? are you okay?

this man doesn’t even realize-

anyways

you take his water bottle he was drinking from and he goes back to practice

you see him working hard, getting his receives, and digs to near perfection. you can’t help but notice how red his arms are getting. more red than usual.

you made a mental note of them and to remember to purchase something at the store later.

after practice ends you guys go to the nearest store and buy everything you need. getting some snacks, face masks, etc.

he goes to the other side of the store to see if he can find any athletic tape and you take your opportunity.

you go into the aisle, pick up the items run to pay, hide them, and boom mission complete.

he comes back with the tape and he doesn’t let you pay

like wtf square up

but it’s fine he kisses you when guys leave the store since he can feel the anger seeping from you

mad —> happy

you guys get back and he throws a hoodie on you, the typical routine.

he’s actually really excited to be doing this! he’s been wanting to do this with you for a while but didn’t know how to bring it up. plus poor baby needed to relax.

“baby let’s do this one!”

“wait mori we need to do this one first”

“oh”

pouty baby

you have your masks on now, waiting for them to set. you pull out a nail file to smoothen out a nail that had chipped in the corner.

“are we doing nails?”

“nope”

”aww”

“oh wait, mori roll your sleeves up”

huh? okay..”

you pull out some massage oil and lotion, the two things you went in search of at the store.

“i’ve seen your arms mori, let me do this.”

“truth be told, i got the tape for that reason.”

you get to work, massaging the arms of the nekoma setter. the pent up stress he had was now gone, due to the fact he was talking to you about it and you massaging his arms.

after you finished, you both wanted to go pick up some food. so you guys head out.

only one thing

you forgot to take the masks off.

“wait mori-“

“oh shit”

“oh well”

so the two of you chaotic people just went to get the food with your face masks on.

before that you guys took pictures

you get to the place you guys wanted to get food from and low and behold:

most of the team is there.

“YAKKUN WHAT ARE YOU DOING”

“SHUT UP ROOSTER HEAD”

“YAKU-SAN IS DYING!”

“lev it’s just a face mask he will live”

“YAKU YOU LUCKY LITTLE-“

“i think they are adorable”

“KAI WE ARE SUPPOSED TO MAKE FUN OF HIM”

“oops”

you guys get your food then r a n

he kisses temple as you both walk out of the food place

please i love him

his arms are feeling so much better! he no longer needs the tape.

it became a silent agreement that more arm massages and more spa nights would take hold in the future.

these were so cute to write i love them-

general taglist- @drabblily @visaintes @bellesowl @miki-snake

[yodawgiherd]

End of an Era

It was fun while it lasted guys :)

>>>Read on AO3<<<

And one night, without any warning, the last piece of the puzzle came. The dream told her everything, ran over the entirety of her life, and when the old and wrinkled soldier Mikasa closed her eyes for the last time, she woke up with unshed tears brimming in the corners.

Next to her, the devil she decapitated slept peacefully, with no marks or scars under his eyes. She didn’t want to wake him yet, as there was another person Mikasa needed to talk to right now, so getting out of the bed carefully she located her phone.

“M-Mikasa?”, a yawn, “It’s four in the morning, why are you calling me?”

“I’m sorry Armin, I have to ask you something.”, Mikasa whispered, keeping her voice low not to wake Eren, “please…”

“Sure, just…” another yawn, this time even longer, “Give me a second so I can collect my brain from the dreamland.”

Mikasa could hear the phone being put down and then the rustling of bedding on the other side as Armin was most likely stretching and fully waking up. She waited patiently until he picked the device up again, speaking in a much clearer voice.

“Ok, I guess I’m functional now. What’s up?”

“In the book you are writing, does the main pairing gets a happy ending? Do they get together?”

“I… Uh… Is that why you woke me?”

“Armin, please. It’s important to me.”

In truth, the blond had no idea why Mikasa was suddenly so interested in the ending of his story. Sure, she read it during development and said that it was good, but there’s a difference between that and calling at four AM to grill him about the ending she didn’t get to see yet because Armin finished it about a week ago. Then again, her voice was completely serious and while Mikasa did like some fun pranks from time to time, this didn’t sound like one at all. So, following her wish, Armin gave her an honest answer.

“No, they don’t. The girl is forced to kill her love interest to save the world from him, but it's sort of bittersweet because their friends get to live a happy life after.”

There was a gasp on the other side as if he confirmed some of Mikasa’s suspicions.

“Why?”

“Well, people like angst, and giving everyone a happy ending is a bit of a cliché, no? I mean…”

“Why her though, wasn’t she the heroine?”

“Yes, but she can move on in time you know, forget about him and whatnot.”

There was a bit of silence on the other side before Mikasa spoke again, this time in a small and sad voice.

“Could you change it? Please, for me.”

“How?”

“Just make her happy…”

Running a hand through his sleep-tussled hair Armin puffed out air, turning the possibilities in his head. It wouldn’t be that hard to make Mikasa’s wish come true. He had a lot of supernatural going on in his book, monsters, and gods, a simple resurrection wouldn’t break the story. Plus it was rare to hear Mikasa beg like this, she was usually the “cool and stoic” type, and it tugged at Armin’s heart.

Hell, why not.

“All right, I’ll do it somehow.”

“You will?!”

“Yeah, but you’ll owe me one.”

There was happy and relieved laughter on the other side.

“Of course, I’ll do anything Ar, thank you so much!”

With a click, the call ended and Mikasa let out a long breath, rubbing the unshed tears from her eyes. It would seem that Armin wasn’t writing a story, more like remembering it, but unlike the one that happened this one would get a different ending.

Mikasa told Eren everything over breakfast, hugging a warm cup of coffee with both hands. He didn’t say anything while she spoke, just listened, his green eyes taking all of her in, both words and gestures. Only when she finished did he let out a long breath, one that felt like he was holding in for an eternity.

“This is a lot to take in.”, he said, “Especially at once.”

“I know…, you don’t have to believe me but…”

“I believe you. Every word.”

“Just like that?”

A firm nod.

“You believe it, and I see no reason why I should not. Past lives and other-universe memories can exist, it's not like the entire human psyche has been mapped.”

He looked away for a second.

“The Eren you described, he is so different than me, yet so terrifyingly similar in some aspects. I can sit here and say that I would never cause the apocalypse but in his place…? I just can’t know for sure.”

“I guess we are lucky that we don’t have to find out.”, Mikasa offered, “This life is so much better than whatever they went through...”

“For sure.”

“And that’s not all.”

“What do you mean?”

“I… I think I married someone… Jean maybe? Had kids with him too.”

“Oh my god.”, Eren threw an arm over his face dramatically, “Out of all people, why him?”

“I… I don’t know if it was him but….”

“Please Miki, I get that I died, and you wanted to move on, but didn’t your past life have any taste ?”

“Hey! Jean is nice.”

He peeked at her from under his arm.

“Nice huh?”

“Yea, nice. You know what, if you die I’m going to marry him here too.”

The fingers that were till now peacefully resting on her hip curved and dug into her flesh, a dangerous flash in the emerald that stared at her.

“You’re just trying to rile me, is that it?”

She fought the grin, not wanting it to reveal the joke.

“Maybe…”

However, Eren’s grip weakened as his face grew distant, the classic “philosophical” look entering his features.

“Would that be fair to him though? Jean is… okay I guess, and you treating him like an afterthought, a second choice? Not nice.”

Mikasa’s smile faltered when she realized that, and Eren was not even done with his speech.

“Then again, if I’ll be dead then I guess I have no agenda in telling you what to do. Plus I think I’d be happier if you moved on and had a family instead of mourning me forever. You are too young for that.”

These words hit way too close to Mikasa’s dream, and she could feel the sadness rising in the chest again. To battle it, she took hold of Eren’s chin and tugged it down until their lips were touching.

“Hey, not more talk about death, okay?”, she ordered, “I had enough of that while sleeping.”

“Yes ma’am.”

When she kissed him, Mikasa’s sadness melted away again, chased away by Eren’s warmth against her. Maybe her other self had to settle for something else, but not her. She was here and she had the love of her life right in her arms, in her bed, and she couldn’t be happier about it.

Eren mulled the facts over for a time, putting them together in his head. It was a nice day outside, and while he did all the math Mikasa simply watched him with a faint smile on her lips. It was almost noon when he came to her with a new question.

“So let me get this straight – I didn’t achieve anything In the end? My island was still nuked and the monsters…”

“Titans.”, Mikasa corrected him.

“Right, titans. Those are still around? Man, I guess I was turned into a clown at the end.”

She didn’t know how to disagree with any of those points.

“And the point of it all was nothing? That no matter how hard you struggle to save something you hold dear it will end up destroyed anyway?”

“It does sound hopeless when you put it like that.”

He snorted.

“Guess I was a certified clown then – oh well, now you see what zero pussy does to a motherfuc…”

“No, no, oh my god.”, Mikasa interrupted him, “Why do you keep making fun of it, I swear you are such a kid and…”

“W-What?”, Eren had trouble speaking because of the laughter, “It’s true! I died for nothing in your dream, I was a joke.”

“No… It wasn’t like that.”

“Take it as you will, but all my nightmares became reality and…”

Eren tapped the table a few times, most likely trying to wrap his head around it all.

“…you married Jean.”

“Well… yea, that was a bit weird.”

“Was it? I mean, the guy had a crush on you.”

She blinked at him.

“It was just a tiny one if there even was one at all.”

“Oh c’mon Miki,”, Eren’s grin was wide, “You couldn’t be that dense.”

“I-I mean…”

Jean? A crush? It reminded her of that night, not that long ago when she found out that most if not all of her female friends would like to have some sort of intimate experiments with her.

“Doesn’t matter.”, she blurted, “He’s a good friend, and I like him a lot, but not romantically!”

“He will be heartbroken…”

“He will?”

“Nah,”, Eren chuckled, “Jean got over it, he and Hitch are happy together, as far as I know.”

“That’s good, a crush is hardly a good base for a real-life relationship.”

“Then I guess we can be happy that you guys married in a dream only.”

“Indeed.”, she reached over the table to gently touch his face, “Here I have you.”

Eren mirrored her gesture, letting his thumb stroke the scar on Mikasa’s cheek.

“And I have you.”

“Forever.”

“Sadly.”

“What was that?”

“Oh nothing baby…”, a devilish grin, “Yes, forever.”

With her dreams done and finished it was time to return to civilization, to leave the cabin life behind. Eren told her that he got this, very courteously, most likely still worried about her mental state.

“Just take it easy,”, he said, kissing the top of her head, “I’ll pack.”

He did as he said, fighting with the baggage to the best of his ability. Mikasa was left to wander around aimlessly, and for whatever reason her steps took her to the big tree sitting there, overlooking a vast plain of grass. Taking a deep breath of the fresh air she leaned on the tree, but then her eyes caught sight of something that almost made her jump out of her skin.

There was a ghost sitting there, a ghost of her, dressed in a simple skirt and shirt, the scarf still around her neck. The apparition was about the same age Mikasa was, maybe a bit younger, but they looked almost the same. Her hair wasn’t short, it was long and pulled into a ponytail and there was no red highlight decorating it. The ghost looked up, her eyes meeting Mikasa’s, and a faint smile crossed her lips.

It was her perfect copy, down to the scar on the cheek - albeit the ghost’s was even more faded than hers, long years washing over it. She must have gotten her cut as a teenager. And there was also something about the eyes – it would be a lie to say that Mikasa had an easy life, but what she saw in the ghost’s eyes was something different altogether. The sitting girl saw hell and more, and it showed in her face.

“You are me.”, Mikasa finally pushed out.

The ghost looked at her curiously, tilting her head to the side.

“You… you can’t speak, can you?”

The ghost shook her head.

“I wonder why….”

The sitting girl shrugged, not understanding this any more than Mikasa did. She was just about to question her further when something else caught her attention. The ghost wasn’t sitting there on her own, there was something next to her – a tombstone with a very familiar name written on it.

Eren Yeager

Mikasa already had a suspicion, but this confirmed it – the sitting girl was the other Mikasa, the one she had dreams about, her past life. Following her eyes the ghost saw what she was looking at, her smile replaced by a look of deep longing. Gently, she caressed the stone, her eyes shining with tears.

“So the dreams were right, huh? You had to kill him.”

The ghost nodded solemnly.

“You saved the world, everyone, but you had to give the love of your life up.”

The apparition didn’t react, eyes trained at the cold tombstone.

“They say that if you love something, you should let it go.”, she told the ghost, “But I can’t do that….”

Looking over her shoulder at the man she loved so much, Mikasa let the words spill freely.

“I guess I’m selfish but I don’t want to lose this love we have, no matter what kind of symbolism it is. I want to wake up next to him every morning and spend ten minutes getting out of his hands because he holds me so tightly when we sleep. I want to see him yawn and wish him good morning and share a cup of coffee. I want him to be there for me when I come back so we can talk about our days and cuddle on the couch together…”

Her hands intertwined on the abdomen, gently stroking the fabric of her shirt.

“I want to have children with him, family, kids that will combine my and his looks and attitude. Is that selfish? Is that too much to ask? Is that…”

Lost in her speech Mikasa stumbled over the words and fell silent, letting out a short laugh after.

“I’m selfish and I don’t care. I’m never letting go simply because I don’t want to and damn everyone who disagrees with me. I deserve this, I deserve to be loved.”

As soon as those words left Mikasa’s lips she realized how insensitive those were towards her other self, the poor girl who, for all her bravery, for the act of saving the world itself – got nothing.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”, she apologized to the sitting copy of herself, “I know that you never got to experience any of that with him.”

The ghost’s face fell and she buried her face to the scarf, eyes moving towards the headstone next to her. Seeing the longing written in her features, Mikasa couldn’t help but wonder.

“Did you… did you learn to let him go? Did you come to terms with his death?”

The pain in the girl’s eyes was all the answer Mikasa needed. It resonated within her, the suffering because she could imagine how it would feel. Maybe it was because she experienced it in her past life, maybe it was because of all these strange visions but she could do it and the pain and emptiness were terrible.

“This is not fair,”, she blurted, “You did everything you could, you saved the world and this was your reward? You’ve sacrificed… everything… and….”

She was crying now, Mikasa realized, her tears matching the ghost’s. Falling to her knees next to the girl she tried embracing her only to realize that she can’t touch a figment of her imagination.

“I’m so sorry for how the universe treated you, you deserved more, so, so much more….

More flashes- this time of a child, a faceless husband, grandkids too.

“This, all that… Did it make you happy?”

The ghost girl gave her a small enigmatic smile, and Mikasa realized one thing. It wasn’t for her to know – maybe she was happy with the other family, maybe she wasn’t, that would remain an enigma.

“But still, you kept visiting his grave,”, Mikasa’s eyes moved over to the headstone and the flowers there, “You never let his memory fade.”

A nod from the other girl.

“Still, it wasn’t fair to you. You could have been, no, should have been so much more…”, this time the raven’s eyes moved to where her Eren was, “You deserved to have a happy future with him too.”

“Yet you didn’t, and I did – you got the pain and I have the rewards you fought for. I swear, I will not let it go to waste.”

Standing up, she offered her hand to the ghost.

“Please, come with me, experience all that you bled for, struggled for so much. Let me show you how the love you wanted feels in full bloom.”

But the girl didn’t move, simply looking at her. And that was when Mikasa realized….

“… you don’t have to come with me because you are already here. You are me, I am you, we are the same person.”

It was strange, realizing that this was her- this old, tired soldier, a woman broken by a war Mikasa couldn’t even comprehend. A tragic hero who sacrificed her greatest love for the greater good, being left with nothing but a memory. A girl who was thrust into a cruel world and treated unfairly, no matter how hard she tried to change it, to save those she held dear. Tears in the corners of her eyes, Mikasa clenched her fists.

Not anymore.

Now there was no war, no titans, no apocalypse over their heads. Eren wouldn’t go to commit a global genocide to save his country, only to have it destroyed anyway. She wouldn’t marry another man and have children with him, bring her family to his grave, and plant flowers with pain in her heart. No.

Mikasa wasn’t a soldier anymore – she was an MMA fighter, a professional athlete, a model. Her life wasn’t filled with a constant struggle for survival. It was dreamy- filled with everything she could wish for, whatever it was spending her time with friends, goofing around with Eren, or training her pole dancing. She didn’t care for horses or sharpen her blades.

Eren wasn’t a hopeless maniac, driven to war by the sheer necessity of survival – he was a doctor, a surgeon, helping people in need not killing them.

Most importantly they were together – an engaged couple that loved each other so much that they couldn’t put it into words correctly. No tragedy would befall them.

Keeping her hand outstretched, Mikasa talked to the ghost again.

“We are one, but I am the lucky part of us, of me. I am love, I am the nights and lazy mornings spent in bed, I am all the kisses and hugs. You are my sadness, my sacrifice, my longing and pain, my unfulfilled and tragic fate.”

She stretched her fingers closer to the girl.

“Please, take my hand and experience it all with me, learn that there is beauty in this cruel world.”

Not hesitant anymore, the ghost held her hand towards Mikasa.

When their fingers made contact a chill ran down her spine and she gasped, blinking several times. The girl was gone, so was the grave, only the tree remained and gently swayed in the wind. And in her heart, in her soul, Mikasa felt different – different yet same because now she knew everything and the pain in her heart resonated.

It would always be a part of her, or rather it always was, but Mikasa wasn’t feeling down because of it. Now she knew that she had to feel everything, every touch and happy emotion that she experienced with him because it was what her past died for. If anything the full realization of her suffering made Mikasa appreciate it even more – she was living this life not only now but for the past too.

He was her Eren, she was his Mikasa, and in this world, nothing would tear them apart. And the tears the began to appear in her eyes did nothing to deny that fact.

“Miki? Why are you crying, what’s wrong?”

Refusing to answer Mikasa crossed the distance and hugged him, burying her face into Eren’s chest. Understanding that she didn’t want words now he stroked her back patiently, waiting for her to come back to him.

“Eren, you won’t ever leave me, will you?”

“Never.”

“I mean, I couldn’t do it even if wanted to.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t think I love you anymore, it’s more like fascination, adoration maybe.”

“…Eren…”

“Hell, I’d do anything to stay with you, you want me to bark for you? Cause I will..”

Despite her sad mood, Mikasa felt the smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

“Stop, come on.”

Ignoring that, he pressed his face into her hair, a quiet bark leaving his lips.

“Woof.”, he nuzzled her gently, “There, I did it.”

She giggled at that and Eren smirked, glad that he made her smile because that was his mission in life – making the beautiful angel he was, for some reason blessed by, happy.

It made her reflect on the whole story, now that she had it whole. Eren kept silent while Mikasa was deep in thought, his fingers gently stroking her hipbone in small soothing circles. In her mind, she recalled as much as she could, brought it together and….

Mikasa took a shuddering breath.

“It makes no god damn sense.”

“What doesn’t?”

“The whole story, It… it doesn’t add up at all. You dying for nothing, me moving on so quickly I… The whole world….”

She was pouting now, that adorable expression that made Eren want to kiss it right off of her face, but he held himself back. Mikasa was talking.

“It had such a nice build-up, but in the end, it collapsed completely. I don’t understand why….”

“Well, that is the thing with dreams.”, he mumbled next to her, “They often don’t make much sense once we wake up.”

“But still..”

“Mikiiiiiiiiii…”, unable to resist her cuteness anymore, he pressed a string of soft kisses all over her face, turning that pout into a breathless giggle, “Stop overthinking dreams so much.”

Grabbing her hand he intertwined their fingers, raising it so the sun slid over their skin. It highlighted the contrast between them, how his tanned shade complimented her pale one, just as perfectly as they completed one another in life.

“This. This is important.”, he said, “This is real. You may be a broken titan slayer in your dreams, but here you are… well, still a titan slayer but one that is happy… I think.”

His voice got even deeper when he directed his question right at her.

“Are you happy with me?”

Mikasa was nodding her head before she even realized what was happening.

“Yes. Gods yes, I couldn’t be happier.”

“See?”, the flash of white teeth revealed his grin, “Then focus on that. Here, in this world, I’m not going anywhere, and I’ll stay with you as long as you’ll have me.”

“That might be a very long time Yeager, are you sure that you want to do that to yourself?”

“As if I had a choice.”, his fingers danced over her hip, “You bound me to yourself with black magic, remember?”

“Good to see that you remember that. My Dark Knight.”

The kiss Eren gave her was interlaced with a smile, and it was one of the sweetest Mikasa ever got in her life. He was right, after all, her dreams, past self, it was a tragedy that befell her, but it was so jumbled at the end that she had a hard time taking it seriously. The “ending” of her past didn’t make sense, no matter how much she tried to see the point of it. It all looked like such a tragedy, but in the end…. was it maybe a comedy? A twisted image where all the sacrifice and pain they went through amounted to nothing? Where several characters were made to be worthless, and their struggle amounted to nothing? A parody of a terrible conflict that couldn’t be solved by anything else by an annihilation?

But... why dwell on it?

She had this- this life, this Eren, and this happiness that they built together, and she loved every second of it.

And there was nothing else that the past could show her anymore.

“Let’s get out of here.”

“You sure? Didn’t forget anything?”

Mikasa looked at the tree where the conversation with the ghost took place, smiling. Tightening her hold on Eren’s hand, she felt more content than ever before, finally having an explanation and ending for her nightmares. It all made sense, and she would live her life to the fullest with the love of her life – not only for herself but for the other Mikasa too. She deserved to experience it, every second of it. After all, they were one and the same.

“Yes. I have all I need right here with me.”

[keepthisholykiss]

Hoshigumi’s “Romeo and Juliet” Roundtable Discussion (2021) - Kageki March 2021

While I normally just post a bunch of musumeyaku content I wanted to share something I thought was really fun! As the livestream for RETJ B Cast has passed this month and the A Cast stream is tomorrow. I decided it would be fun to share this roundtable discussion with the cast and directors! I absolutely (from a very biased perspective) adored B Cast and am looking forward to seeing A Cast. The insights from the cast are so wonderful and everyone has clearly thought through these roles thoroughly. It brings me a lot of joy to see what everyone thinks of a show and characters I hold so near and dear to my own heart. I hope that you enjoy these words as much as I have. ✨Note: This translation is entirely for fun!! It was not done in painstaking detail and if things are not perfect then that is okay by me. I mostly just want people to enjoy the general idea or sentiment of what is here. And, while most if it should be a decent translation, I don’t hold myself to a professional standard as this is just a thing I do sometimes. Also please do not steal this translation and pass it off as your own, it is mine, thanks!

Participants (Adaptation and Direction) Koike Shuuichirou (Direction) Inaba Daichi (Production) Takeuchi Jun [TL note: this isn’t a staff member I was familiar or could easily find the accurate name translation of so I went with this] (Senka) Ema Naoki (Hoshigumi) Miki Chigusa, Shirotae Natsu, Tenju Mitsuki, Yumeki Anru, Aizuki Hikaru, Rei Makoto, Seo Yuria, Ayaki Hikari, Arisa Hitomi, Amahana Ema, Kiwami Shin, Maisora Hitomi

Production Staff: Hoshigumi’s performance at Takarazuka Grand Theatre until March 29 will be the musical presented by Sumitomo Mitsui VISA Card, “Romeo and Juliet.” And it is directed and adapted by Koike Shuuichirou and co-directed by Inaba Daichi. This is an adaptation of Gérard Presgurvic’s musical which is an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. It was first performed in 2010 with Koike-sensei’s adaptation and direction. Rei Makoto, who played Romeo in the shinjin kouen in 2013, will play Romeo again as the top star of Hoshigumi. Additionally, Ema Naoki who has played the role of Father Laurence three times before (including the first performance) will appear again from Senka.

Everyone: Thank you very much.

Production Staff: We are looking forward to working together with all the performers so that you can feel the passion of the new Hoshigumi, including all of the new members.

Koike: “Romeo and Juliet” will be performed in Takarazuka for the first time in 8 years. The reason for performing it with Hoshigumi again is of course because so many people want to see Rei Makoto’s Romeo. And there are many people who have been in the play’s first performance as well as the second, so they have a deep understanding of the work. It is almost like jumping over a bar you have set for yourself. You want to challenge yourself again and again, to clear that bar, and show a great performance of “Romeo and Juliet” for current Hoshigumi. This time, we have Inaba Diachi as co-director and Noguchi Kousaku as assistant director. The two of them, who were young at the time of the first performance, have grown up so much since then! (laughs).

Inaba: (laughs)

Koike: Just like how Rei Makoto has grown, so have the directors. This is one of the wonderful things about Takarazuka. I feel that this is a performance that shows this off very well.

Inaba: When we are rehearsing now, I remember the crying and frustration in the rehearsal room 10 years ago. (laughs)

Koike: The agony! (laughs)

Inaba: At the time of the first performance I had watched a few versions of the “Romeo and Juliet” musical including the French, Hungarian, and Russian versions. I wondered how the work could be adapted for Takarazuka. Koike-sensei wrote lyrics for not only “Romeo and Juliet,” but also for other Shakespeare adaptations. I feel that is one of the reasons why this work can keep being performed. When I watch the rehearsals now, I see that every scene has become very elaborate in such a short period of time. This time we have a new cast as well as a change in roles, so we will keep our rehearsals fresh each day and hope to present the 2021 version of “Romeo and Juliet.”

💕- A Beautiful Love Story Returns - 💕

Koike: Now, let’s discuss the roles starting with Rei-san.

Rei: Right. When the curtain opened for the first performance, I can still vividly remember the shock of the audience at the opening and the start of the scene. I was really excited about having a rock musical because it was so fresh and the costumes and sets were so innovative. There are a lot of rock musicals, but “Romeo and Juliet” was really cool and thrilling. It was a turning point for me and a chance to work beyond my fears and challenge myself in many ways. I feel that even now it is a chance to encounter a new me again. When I played Romeo in the shinjin kouen I watched Yuzuki-san as much as I could and thought about how I could get close to her performance. So even now I find myself thinking of Chie-san’s Romeo. However, I don’t think of that as a bad thing! I think it’s because Chie-san is the one who breathed life into Romeo for the first performance and now the show has continued to be performed since then. I would like to find my own way of expressing myself and expressing my emotions for the first day of the show, while working on the details.

Koike: The powerful singing was also praised in that shinjin kouen and, in some sense, I think it was one of the best parts. But that might be the hardest thing about this new performance because now the audience is expecting it. I hope that this will be a Romeo that only the current Rei Makoto can show. When there was that first performance we had members that could have only been there, then. And now that we have the current performance we have members who are only here, now. So I think it is better not to think about it too much in the sense of putting pressure on yourself in a way that may make your vision smaller. Inaba-sensei, what do you think?

Inaba: Mako-chan (Rei) has played the roles of Ai, Benvolio, and Romeo in the shinjin kouen and really seems to be the embodiment of “Romeo and Juliet.” That’s why when I watch the rehearsals I can see so much of the previous cast members through them. If we can channel that feeling into confidence then I think Mako-chan’s Romeo can be born into a new type of Romeo on the stage.

Rei: Yes, thank you very much.

Koike: Let’s discuss the role of Juliet, played by Maisora.

Maisora: This is my first time to perform in this production and I have learned so much from each piece of advice I have received from the staff and upperclassmen who have performed in it before. I would like to learn and absorb even more! I had imagined before this that Juliet was pure, innocent, and straightforward but Koike-sensei told me that she was a person with a strong conviction and willingness to take action. I felt that I couldn’t be Juliet without strength. Usually, I think about how to express myself as a musumeyaku in the presence of otokoyaku. But this time I want to learn how to break out of my shell and expose what can come from me, and go beyond myself.

Koike: That’s right, Juliet is very independent. If she had been a passive girl, Romeo might not have come back from Mantua. The times are far more trying in this time of the story, going against your parents requires a lot of energy. She is waking up more and more to what it is that she wants. I think it is more interesting for her to gradually wake up to what she wants throughout the story, to let her world become more three-dimensional. It helps move the conversation. Maisora is very good at doing everything, a perfect student. But this could be an issue for the audience, having that perfection already. I think striving for imperfection and breaking out of your shell is a good thing.

Maisora: Yes!

Inaba: That’s right. When we think of “Romeo and Juliet” we have this image of Juliet who stands beside Romeo, but it’s not like that. Juliet is a key person who changes something with her own actions. It’s an older work but I think it still reflects the way of life for women today. I think Hitton (Maisora) has a strong core and I hope she uses this in her performance. Also I would like to see this used in Juliet’s transformation of girl to woman after her marriage to Romeo.

💙 - Thoughts of Those Living in Verona - ❤️

Koike: I’d like to start by talking with the members of the Capulet family, but we will of course speak to everyone.

Everyone: (reactions of excitement)

Koike: We can discuss your beliefs in your roles, I think that will be interesting! So let’s start with Lord Capulet.

Tenju: What is most important to me is the Capulet family, which has been around for generations, continues to thrive for years and decades and that my family can be happy. Now that my only daughter, who I have devoted my life to, is 16 years old, the question is who she should marry. When I look at my daughter (Maisora), I remember so many things about her growth, but I can never say what I am thinking. But I also feel that she is similar to me in some ways, and that is what I love about her.

Koike: Where is your daughter’s happiness?

Tenju: My daughter’s happiness is based on money and status. I believe that the strength of that status will protect her.

Koike: What about your wife?

Tenju: I love her, but I can’t express my feelings to her face to face. I feel frustrated because we haven’t had the time to spend together.

Koike: And how can you fix that?

Tenju: If we were to face each other honestly, it would be fixed. I that maybe… there is a possibility.

Koike: If you are thinking about it, then why don’t you?

Tenju: Our pride won’t allow it.

Koike: I see. What about you, Mrs. Capulet?

Yumeki: I wouldn’t want to say this in front of my husband but…

Koike: Say it as if he wasn’t here. (laughs)

Yumeki: To tell you the truth, I think that Juliet might not be the daughter of my current husband.

Koike: You think so? (laughs)

Yumeki: Yes (laughs) But I told him, “She’s our child.” I was forced into a political marriage for money and to protect my family. And then Juliet was born. But I really wanted to live my life according to my own desires and not just give up on being a woman. So I also have my nephew Tybalt and a few others. But as for my husband, I can’t say much.

Everyone: (laughs)

Yumeki: When I see my husband flirting with the maids I don’t say anything to them! (laughs)

Koike: Right. When the play was performed in Paris again, it was added in that Juliet was her mother’s illegitimate child. I felt it would be better to show her sincerity in seeking Tybalt’s help against her husband’s lack of understanding. She actually uses him as a confidant. At the end of the story, when she is with Lady Montague, she finally awakens her own love of her daughter. I think it is better to focus on the parents’ grief after the suicide because it is a difficult concept to convey for understanding. She wishes she had thought more about Juliet. But I think it’s great to have a role of a woman who truly feels that there are many arguments and demands for freedom on her own side. Now let’s look at the A Cast and start with Aizuki-san as Tybalt.

Aizuki: I have been fighting with my family each day since I was born, but I’m fighting to protect the Capulets and my beloved cousin. Even if she’s not being who she really wants to be. I am also fed up with my aunt, Juliet’s mother, who has been wooing me for years.

Everyone: (laughs)

Koike: What do you want to do now?

Aizuki: To be the person that will inherit the Capulet family.

Koike: What do you like about Juliet?

Aizuki: She is strong to her core. I think I am drawn to her because she has a strength that I do not.

Koike: I see. And what do you think of the Montagues?

Aizuki: Of course we hate each other, but we’ve been taught to hate each other since we were born, we were raised that way. So it’s natural for us to hate each other after all. But when Juliet marries Romeo, those feelings [of hatred] change.

Koike: Right. Well, let’s talk to the nurse.

Arisa: Juliet is a gift, the reason for my life, so I don’t have to think about what she wants to do. I just say, “I understand.” I can understand how she wants to become a wife to her husband, to be an adult. But I still respect the pure heart of Juliet. I am proud of her for living true to her heart.

Koike: Where is your love for Juliet?

Arisa: I did some research on the character of the nurse and learned that she herself had lost a small child. I think that she wanted to raise Juliet even at the risk of her own life. I think that Juliet’s existence itself is the source of her love. That’s why I still have regrets of not following Juliet’s wishes before her death. That’s how I can continue to grow.

Koike: In Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” there are many scenes where the nurse speaks from her heart and in the musical a song takes the place of that. The reason why that scene looks how it does is because the nurse is so loving and nurturing, wanting Juliet to have a happy marriage. I think the song reflects the emotions of the nurse that are not told on stage, so I would like the focus to be on that. Since now the nurse and Juliet are close in age I think she tends to be more like a strong older sister. But in the first performance, when she was played by Reimi-san she was the same class as Nene-san and really had a sense of someone who took care of Juliet.

Inaba: It felt as though Remi-chan was supporting Nene-chan regularly!

Koike: If Juliet needed support, I think there could be many great nurses! But Maisora-san is very capable so it feels as if she doesn’t need a lot of help.

Maisora: No, no!

Koike: I think it could be good also if we could somehow turn that dynamic around somewhere!

Arisa: Yes!

Koike: Alright, we started with the Capulets, now it’s time for Count Paris.

Ayaki: Well, I have the most money in Verona. And I might be the origin of the concept of the “three highs,” - high education, high status, and high income - a concept that would become more popular in the distant future.

Everyone: (laughs)

Ayaki: When I see the Montagues and Capulets fighting every day, I wonder what they are doing wasting their time. But it is true that they rule Verona, so if I want to rule Verona as well then I must become involved with one of their sides. When I heard that there was a very pretty girl named Juliet, I thought, “I should go there.” But, I heard that there was a troublesome successor named Tybalt. However, even if he took over I could be something like a stockholder.

Everyone: (laughs)

Ayaki: I will be in charge of Verona. But, now that everyone is dead, I am wondering how I will manage Verona.

Koike: In the original story, Paris is killed by Romeo, but in this one he doesn’t get killed. So surely he would survive. I think he’d probably have his eyes on other Montague and Capulet girls as well. (laughs)

Inaba: (laughs)

Koike: That was very interesting. Now, let’s move on to the Montague family, starting with Lord Montague.

Miki: As the head of the family, my most important responsibility is to protect the Montague family. There is no doubt that Lord Montague has been at odds with the Capulets since birth. However, unlike Lord Capulet’s complicated family, Lord Montague has a deep love for his wife as well as Romeo. However, as the only Montague son, Lord Montague imposes his own ideas of how things should be onto Romeo. He is not able to be close to his feelings. Therefore, Romeo’s mother is the one that can help him best. This is why Romeo’s mother is the only place he finds comfort. It is only when Lord Montague loses his beloved son that he realizes how much he means to him.

Koike: I think part of why Romeo is able to grow up a bit more carefree is because his parent-child relationship was fairly good. It might not have been a very close relationship. But I still think that Lord Montague was an average father figure at least. Romeo was a poetic son in a way.

Rei: (laughs)

Koike: I think that he is a fun child for the times, but his father remains fairly bureaucratic. So, what about Lady Montague?

Shirotae: I have to admit that I have always wondered why the Capulets and Montagues hate each other so much, after fighting for generations. I have been trying to persuade Benvolio and Mercutio to stop fighting. I think the biggest difference between myself and Lady Capulet is that I have doubts about conflict. Romeo is the son that Lady Montague has taken good care of and raised, so when he commits suicide, she realizes her own mistakes and helplessness.

Rei: (reacts sadly)

Shirotae: I believe that I am the first one to truly take in Romeo and Juliet’s feelings. So I hope that I can lead the house of Montague to move forward without letting their deaths be in vain.

Koike: While Juliet’s mother is more pretentious, Romeo’s mother is more of a motherly type. In this, the Montagues may have hired a nurse themselves but Lady Montague may have raised Romeo on her own as well. So if we can present it correctly, the audience will understand that Romeo is a representative of his mother as well. I think that Lady Montague now has the atmosphere of a mother.

Shirotae: Yes.

Koike: Here’s Benvolio.

Seo: Romeo and I are cousins and Mercutio lives nearby, so we’ve all been playing together since we were kids. Whenever we were studying, Mercutio would always ask us to stop and leave but Romeo would always fail to do so. We’ve always been close, with all the good and bad in each other. When we’re alone we cannot do much but somehow when we’re together the three of us have a strange power that makes us invincible. Even in the midst of the war between the Montagues and the Capulets, I feel like our power is growing. When I do something bad, I always get Romeo’s attention. But when he does something wrong, Lady Montague will find out and scold Romeo for it.

Miki: (laughs)

Koike: What kind of games have you played with Romeo and Mercutio?

Seo: When we were little, I think we used to play-fight. But as we’ve gotten older it has gotten more practical.

Koike: I see. The young people of Verona are all delinquent, as in other versions. I went on a trip to Verona a long time ago with a friend of mine. She was a tall woman and as we walked together in the park, the young people around us were teasing us. (laughs) I thought of the young friends of Romeo. I think there’s even something like that in Benvolio that’s bad-natured, even if he’s pure at heart. The bad pattern may be the least present for Seo. (laughs)

Everyone: (laughs)

Seo: (smiles embarrassingly)

Koike: I think it also comes down to a question of how to display this story. I think it’s the kind of people who are born and raised in the city, who form cliques, hang out with girls, and they go to places like the local club. WEST SIDE STORY is a story about poor immigrants but it’s somewhere you can expand this story to as well.

Seo: Yes.

Koike: Here is Mercutio.

Kiwami: Yes. I was lonely because I had no one to talk to when I went home.

Koike: Oh, I didn’t know that. (laughs)

Everyone: (laughs)

Kiwami: I was very lonely and dark inside. But Romeo, Benvolio, and Lady and Lord Montague taught me what love is. When I was with Romeo and my friends, they filled the loneliness inside of me and were more than just my family, they became invaluable. I want to be the shield that can protect Romeo.

Koike: When I see Kiwami in the rehearsal room, I feel that Mercutio is not a boy who has grown up without knowing affection but rather someone who has had love all of his life. I think he is a young man who is dependent on those around him, or somewhat spoiled. Inaba-sensei, do you think this is easier to understand in “WEST SIDE STORY?”

Inaba: It’s easy to see that conflict there. The Polish immigrants come first and then the Puerto Ricans come in.

Koike: I think that the Yankee-like image of an uptight older brother gives off a “cool” image. Everyone is doing a great job creating this appearance but I think it would be good if we could act it out similarly to how you mentioned. If the characters are played by someone who fits them it will come out clearly but if they don’t fit the character, then it will be difficult to display the role. I believe that an actor’s every move can make people feel what is inside of them. For example, when a first-year student comes into the troupe, you can tell just by how they walk when they are under a lot of pressure or if they are very happy. So, I think it is better to create a way to make audiences feel “this is how this person is,” in the little things like how someone dances. How do you feel about this Inaba-sensei?

Inaba: That’s an interesting way of thinking. I think it would be interesting for me if Mercutio could see things differently. He is dependent on Romeo and Romeo’s home, right? Like how Riff lives in Tony’s house because he doesn’t have a home.

Koike: That’s right. In the 1968 film “Romeo and Juliet,” Mercutio is portrayed in a very interesting way. The actor who plays him is not very good, but when he dies his performance does make you cry. I think it is a good example about why how you play a role matters.

Kiwami: Right.

Koike: Now, let’s go to Friar Laurence.

Ema: Yes, I’m sorry for not quite making it.

Everyone: (laughs)

Ema: He’s been around a long time, a priest serving God, and yet he still has misgivings. I’ve played Doc in “WEST SIDE STORY” so I’m familiar with the angle of being depressed by the helplessness of adults. But in the end everyone, including the adults, have hope for recovery so that is what saves me.

Koike: What about Romeo?

Ema: For Romeo, Friar Laurence was a different person than his parents. He loved Romeo so much that it was a shame to let him die.

Koike: After 8 years, what new discoveries have you made?

Ema: I have had a lot to think about since becoming a member of Senka and my role has changed. I am looking forward to appearing again!

Everyone: (laughs)

Ema: I also think it is impossible for any adult to present the right things and move the world alone.

Koike: I see. Next, is Death.

Amahana: Death is always behind each of use or waiting for us at the end of our lives so I hope I can bring that kind of atmosphere to the stage. I want to express that I felt something beautiful in Romeo’s soul and was very attracted to it. This story begins because Death wants that soul. I think this is a story with two sides to the same coin, Love and Death, and I want to express that in the end.

Koike: I hope you can continue to display that resistance to one another, between Love and Death.

Amahana: Yes.

Koike: When I was watching your Death yesterday I felt like it was Romeo’s alter ego during “Kowai.” I thought it was interesting that the creeping shadows seemed to synchronize with each other, like a phantom that sticks to you and won’t leave you. I thought it would be interesting to have them stick close to each other. Even if the choreography is the same, it won’t look the same if the performers are different, so you can color it your own way. I’m sure it’s a lot of work playing two roles. I’m sorry for that. (laughs)

Everyone: (laughs)

Koike: Let’s move to B Cast, shall we? Here’s Tybalt.

Seo: The people around him say he’s a dangerous man who will lose his temper at any moment. Some people worship him, but in reality he has no real friends. When I was a child, I had a straightforward admiration for heroes just like those I saw around me. But the Capulets suppressed that admiration. I fell in love with Juliet, the one bright spot in my life, and her presence helped me. I’ve been carrying around a lot of resentment, wondering how to get out of this situation, and these feelings come out in me towards the Montagues. But my main desire is to carry on the Capulet family.

Koike: Because he loves Juliet, he gets very upset when she is married in secret. It is nice to see that anger revealed.

Seo: Yes.

Koike: It is interesting that he gets to the point where he is willing to kill because of how he loves her. Anyway, here’s Benvolio.

Ayaki: My cousin Romeo has been like a brother to me since he was born, but he is the heir to the Montague family so we are in very different positions. It’s not something I want to be, but I am a little jealous of him. I also admire Mercutio’s recklessness, which is something I don’t have. When I’m with both of them, they show me a world that I can’t see on my own. I think that’s why I can stick by them even when we have different personalities. Although I do think Romeo himself might be unaware of this situation.

Rei: (sulking)

Everyone: (laughs)

Ayaki: This is why I think it is important for me, as the person closest to them, to teach them. I believe that when we are together, there is nothing to be afraid of, and time will last forever. I actually think ignorance is Benvolio’s biggest sin. It would have been easier if he had died along with Romeo and Mercutio. But, by surviving, he was able to realize what Mercutio realized right before he died as well as Romeo’s teachings of what it means to love. However, I became aware that I let Juliet die because I was in a hurry to tell Romeo she was dead. So the next time something happens I will think about it more carefully and do my best to lead the Montagues and make Verona a city full of love.

Koike: Well I guess either way, Verona can be yours someday. (laughs)

Everyone: (laughs)

Ayaki: Benvolio is the one who wants to make Verona everyone’s city and Paris is wondering how to make the city his. (laughs)

Koike: I see, well let’s discuss Mercutio.

Amahana: I am the nephew of the Prince, so I’ve been ostracized since I was a child. But after meeting Romeo and Benvolio, I realized there were people who would look out for me that weren’t my uncle. When I met them, I realized that there were people who could see me for who I really was. Romeo was from a good family, he was kind to everyone, and said things with a pure innocence. Things like, “we are the kings of the world,” which made me admire him more than any family or other friends. When he does something stupid, Benvolio stops him. I really love the atmosphere of being with them, I feel like I am my strongest. When I’m fighting, I feel like it is my reason to live. But sometimes I cannot admit things to myself, which is part of why I explode in the final duel. In the end, Mercutio realizes that he really wanted to stop what he was doing and that fighting was futile. In the end, he dies with the hope that his dear friend Romeo will be happy.

Koike: Right. Listening to you now, Mercutio seems like a very happy guy. It might be more likely that he is happy singing with his friends as kings of the world. Even though he is happy, I think there is a part of him that’s escaping from everyone else and it is important to see him feel that.

Amahana: Yes.

Inaba: There is a void that cannot be filled even if you are the “king of the world.” That’s why they fight for something.

Koike: That’s right. I think that quarrels and fights are an outlet for stress. So it would be interesting to learn the types of stress they are under. Now, let’s talk about Paris.

Kiwami: Paris has money and, when he looks at himself in the mirror, he sees that he is beautiful. There is nothing that he cannot have. He is surprised to find that for the first time in his life, Juliet, the woman he went out of his way to marry, avoids him. I thought I would get what I wanted but she married Romeo instead and I am stuck where I was before.

Koike: I think he probably is one of the first to get the message about Juliet’s death. He is probably thinking, ‘What’s so bad about me that she died before the ceremony tomorrow?’ (laughs) Now, let’s talk about Death.

Aizuki: Death loves to hate people. The hatred of the people in the city fills Death with a sense of love. Romeo is the one who is different from the others, I want to get into his head and turn his fate with my own hands. It’s exciting to see fate take a turn for the worse.

Rei: (looking scared with her hands on her chest)

Everyone: (laughs)

Aizuki: I would like to control the ending. Where Romeo and Juliet’s love is fulfilled by Death.

Koike: I think that can be cool and a little creepy. In the case of Ai-chan I think they are more distant so it would be good to create an overview of all that happens in the world. Piisuke on the other hand, seems to be a bit more introverted and human-like, so I think it would be good to have an image of them getting involved in people’s deaths. I think both are possible. Even if the songs are the same, the impression will change depending on how you approach it, and the audience will perceive it differently.

Aizuki and Amahana: Yes!

✨ - 2021: Hoshigumi’s New “Romeo and Juliet” - ✨

Koike: From your perspective, Ema-san, how is Rei-san’s Romeo?

Rei: (shaking head)

Ema: I’m sure everyone will say, ‘Good!’ but more than that, ‘Romeo is charming! Romeo is attractive!’

Koike: That’s right. When I worked as an assistant director for “Romeo and Juliet” 40 years ago, Mine Saori and Daichi Mao were the role of Romeo in the plays. Mine-san played the role with a sense of, ‘this is what a good lead is.’ Rei Makoto is Rei Makoto and this is the only way this Romeo can be done. I think it is better for Rei Makoto to show us something that says, ‘this is the only way this can be done!’ I think everyone will say that [Rei Makoto] has great skills but can always add more to that.

Rei: Right.

Koike: What do you think about Maisora?

Ema: The role she played in “Golden Desert” was very good, even if she didn’t have any lines. She still has a lot of room to grow, so I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of Juliet she will become.

Koike: I see, thank you very much. Lastly, why don’t you tell us about your own enthusiasm?

Maisora: Once again, I realize that Juliet involves those around her. I believe that she has a strength and straightforwardness because she grew up with a strong father, mother, and nurse who accepted her. I would like to live my life as Juliet without lying, with honesty and love for Romeo from the bottom of my heart while doing my best.

Rei: I am filled with gratitude for being able to perform in spite of the current situation. I want to take the feelings of the audience to heart and hope that they will bring home the best of that feeling for having come to the theatre. There are still many weak points for me personally and for Hoshigumi as a whole, so I want to work harder toward the first day of the show to create a performance that will impress the audience.

Inaba: I have been involved with this work for a long time, with this being the fifth time it has been performed at Takarazuka. To be honest, there was a part of me that thought I would get bored after five performances. (laughs) However, now that we are rehearsing in with a fresh mind I can feel everyone’s spirit of, ‘We must do it!’ I think the charm of “Romeo and Juliet” is its freshness. And after all this practicing, I want to be able to share this new time of Romeo and Juliet with audiences.

Koike: I am really looking forward to it because I think everyone will grow and the members will be refreshed by the rotations. I know that it is hard with a double cast but even so, I hope there will be synergy where one role can influence the perspective of the other. I believe that the enthusiasm of Hoshigumi is very much intact and I hope we can create “Romeo and Juliet” 2021 together.

[linagram]

@waiting-on-a-dream THANKS FOR TELLING ME THAT MY ASKBOX DOESN'T WORK DJFDJKDKD i kinda made this blog in a rush and forgot about it 😭😭

anyway, here's what my guard ocs would think of your prisoners!

i should explain how they would make their decision: because eiji would still want to vote everyone guilty and miki would still want to vote everyone innocent, i will explain why they think these prisoners are guilty/innocent and how they would try to convince each other to change their mind. and then i will reveal their final decision!

also, both of them try to judge prisoners only based on their crime and "ideas" at first, but.. tbh you can call both of them metavoters in some way hjdjdksks. they try to imagine what would happen after they vote and how the prisoners would react, so they often end up making their decision based on that.

Prisoner 001: Kanai Ichiro

Eiji: Everything about this guy is disturbing to him. Just why does he act like this? Well, it's not like Eiji cares, actually. Oh, is it because of lack of attention? Is it because mommy didn't love him? Then he should just suck it up and move on. You shouldn't kill people just because your parents never hugged you when you were a child. After watching his MV, Eiji would actually laugh in his face and say that Ichiro is pathetic. Also, he's so annoying.. Oh, it's okay though! Eiji will give him as much attention as he wants.. Ah, he doesn't mean hugs and headpats and all that stuff. He will make sure to think long and hard about his punishment though <3

Miki: She is terrified of him, but she feels sorry for him at the same time. He's so creepy, but she also thinks he's cute in a very weird way. During the interrogation, she would be very polite and she would make sure he's comfortable, so that she doesn't have to be afraid of his tantrums. She's sure he had to go through a lot, so.. yes, she can understand why he would do something so scary. She really wants to protect him for some reason totally not because he reminds her of someone, so.. yes, she thinks he's innocent.

How they would make their decision: Sure, maybe Miki agrees with some things Eiji says, but.. still, she thinks Ichiro had a reason for his murder and that reason is a very understandable one. Also, what's the point of voting him guilty? She's sure that this guy will snap if they do that to him and they don't want him to act even worse than he currently does. Eiji tries to assure her that he won't hurt Ichiro personally, he will just get rid of Keiko and that's all- Fine, fine, dealing with Guilty!Ichiro sounds like a pain. But hey, is Miki okay with taking responsibility for whatever happens to Innocent!Ichiro? Does she really think that affirming his thoughts is the right choice?.. Well, Miki just knows that she doesn't want to see him suffer. So for now, they have to make him trust them.

Final verdict: Innocent

Prisoner 002: Kobayashi Akane.

Eiji: Oh no. Oh no, watching her MV is very, very painful for him. When he first met her, he already had a bad feeling, but after her MV Eiji would be extremely close to having a breakdown. It just feels so familiar.. But no, he has to remember that no matter what, she's still a murderer. And that means he still has to vote her guilty. What's with these prisoners who are still in high school having problems with their parents and classmates.. Oh, he has to think about her punishment too. For some reason, he really doesn't want to do that.

Miki: She would feel so sorry for her, she would actually cry after watching her MV and she would run to give her a hug. The poor girl probably had no one who could support her when she needed help.. Um, if Akane is okay with it, Miki can be her friend! Yes, Miki is a guard and Akane is a prisoner, but.. Miki believes that everyone in this prison deserves a second chance!

How they would make their decision: Miki would try to calm Eiji down after he watches Akane's MV, but also.. yeah, she would use that to make him vote her innocent. I'm not kidding, this girl is okay with doing anything to save these prisoners. Eiji is still shaking.. Is it because he feels bad for her? Is it because he knows how Akane feels? Then he should vote her innocent. And why should they even vote her guilty? Doing that will only provoke her and she will become even more violent. That's what Miki thinks, at least. And again, they should make her trust them. Maybe they will learn more about her crime if they affirm her thoughts. So yes, let's vote her innocent, okay, Eiji-san?.. She doesn't deserve to get hurt even more.

Final verdict: Innocent.

Prisoner 003: Iwamoto Daisuke.

Eiji: Ugh. Can't he just.. vote this guy guilty already and call it a day? There's no need for interrogation, he hates this guy and he will make sure Daisuke knows it. After watching his MV, he would find him even more suspicious. Yeah, his brother's job is even worse (I never said what kind of photographer he was, did I?), but still, something about Daisuke just.. disgusts him. He's not surprised that a man like him would eventually end up killing someone. Haha, he's already getting excited just from imagining his punishment..

Miki: .. She's scared of him. Every time she sees Daisuke, she screams and tries to hide from him. He's definitely better than Kei, but.. she still doesn't want to talk to him. She thinks he's innocent though and she will still try to protect him from Eiji. She doesn't judge him for his job and she thinks that Daisuke would never kill someone if he didn't have a reason for it. Maybe he just had no other choice or he was forced to do it.

How they would make their decision: "Eiji-san, you just don't like him because he reminds you of your brother, right?" MIKI STOP EIJI IS ALREADY DEAD. Fine, fine, maybe she's right. But yes, he really is better than Kei.. though anyone could be better than him, honestly. But why do they have to forgive someone like him? He's way too relaxed for a prisoner and Eiji doubts that he really feels sorry for what he's done. Also, forgiving him means affirming his thoughts. And Eiji doesn't want Daisuke to think that it was okay to kill someone even if it was a part of his job. Also, he just really wants Daisuke to understand how serious this situation actually is. If they forgive him, who knows, maybe he will do the same thing again.

Final verdict: Guilty.

Prisoner 004: Toma Suzume.

Eiji: Something about her annoys him a lot. Also, her saying that she's uncomfortable with something only makes him hurt her even more. So.. yeah, sorry, Suzume, your interrogation won't go that well (for you). After watching her MV, he starts to understand why she's like this, but so what? It's not like her video will make him vote her innocent. He doesn't care about her relationship with that guy, she's still a murderer and she's still guilty. He doesn't think she feels sorry for what she's done, so he will make sure she begs for forgiveness. And if it turns out that she killed someone just for that guy's sake.. He will laugh a lot at first before saying that she's one of the worst prisoners here. Really, just how obsessed do you have to be to do something so horrible for your boyfriend?

Miki: She would like her a lot! If Suzume is anxious about something, Miki is always here to calm her down and make her feel safe. She really likes her outfit too! Honestly, Suzume is so pretty, haha.. Um, if she doesn't like something, she can always tell Miki about it and she will try to help her! After she watches her MV, she feels even more sorry for her. She was probably manipulated by that guy or something like that, but their relationship obviously wasn't healthy.

How they would make their decision: No, Miki, we're not voting her innocent. If we do, it means we will affirm her ideas and we don't want her to think it's okay to kill someone just because you love someone a bit too much, right? Or maybe she killed that guy. Whatever, it's still not okay to do that. And again, it doesn't look like she's sorry for her actions and Eiji will make her regret committing her crime. If they vote her innocent, she will most likely think it's okay to do things like that as long as you do it for someone you love. Miki eventually ends up agreeing with Eiji because she doesn't want Innocent!Suzume to think that her relationship with that guy was something "normal". She wants her to understand that she deserves better and also, if you have to kill someone to prove your love.. yeah, that person most likely doesn't even deserve your love.

Final verdict: Guilty.

Prisoner 005: Endo Haku.

Eiji: Don't try to fool him, Haku. He knows that the sane-looking people are actually the most dangerous ones. And Eiji will remind Haku that he hates him every single day. Haha, he wonders just what kind of reaction Haku will show him if he punishes him.. Watching his MV would break Eiji though. Yes, first it was Akane's MV and now it's Haku's.. Eiji really is softer than he looks. It takes him a while, but after he realizes what kind of relationship Haku and the boy from the video had, he actually almost ends up crying. Oh, it's not because he feels bad for him or anything. He wants to vote him guilty even more now.

Miki: She's so happy to meet someone normal in this place.. Well, at least this guy looks like a normal person. She likes him a lot and she often comes to visit him when she feels like she needs a break from other prisoners and.. uh, her partner. He's one of the prisoners she would try to protect the most. He committed his crime for someone he loved, right? And it seems like a healthy relationship unlike what she saw in Suzume's MV.. well, at least that's what she thinks.

How they would make their decision: Oh, this would be a tough one. Eiji would actually end up completely losing it and Miki would call him out for wanting to vote Haku guilty simply because Eiji's own brother would never do anything to protect him. Isn't that a bit hypocritical of him? Didn't he say that Ichiro should be voted guilty even though he didn't get much attention? How the tables have turned.. Eiji simply says that even if Kei was the best older brother ever, he would still vote him guilty because of his murder(s). Eventually he gives up and just tells Miki to do what she wants. Miki would be so worried about him that she would vote Haku guilty at the very last moment only because of Eiji. Fine, she will trust him this time.

Final verdict: Guilty.

Prisoner 006: Sasaki Yui.

Eiji: Wow! She annoys him so much! Oh, but it's like, she annoys him in a good way. He wants to vote her guilty so bad, hehe <3 He hates her sickeningly cutesy personality too. And no, he doesn't care about her requests and he will stop Miki from doing anything for her. She has to accept that she doesn't have any fans here and her popularity will not help her. That last moment from her MV though.. Huh, maybe she actually does feel sorry for committing her crime. Well, Eiji doesn't really care. She still murdered someone, her saying she's sorry won't change anything.

Miki: I can imagine Miki being her fan before meeting her in person, haha. She would lose her mind once she meets her, like WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS IDOL MURDERED SOMEONE. Yui really could go "But Warden-san, I didn't kill anyone :(" and Miki would be like "You're so right, you would never do that". And even if she did, surely it was an accident, right?.. Right? She most likely just doesn't want to accept it and she still can't believe that it happened, that's why she denies it so much.

How they would make their decision: .. Something about voting her innocent just doesn't feel right. To be honest, even Miki starts to think so. Yui denies murdering someone and if they affirm her thoughts, she will most likely think that what she did was okay, even if it was an accident. Miki doesn't think she deserves to be punished or anything like that, but.. She doesn't want Yui to act too proud. Again, this is Milgram. Her being a famous idol doesn't matter here, she's a murderer, just like everybody else here.

Final verdict: Guilty.

Prisoner 007: Shigeru Rin.

Eiji: .. I hope Rin is ready for getting slapped by Eiji every time he opens his mouth. Ugh, he hates this child so much.. What, he wants Eiji to forgive him, otherwise he won't stop crying? Good, cry more then. He won't change his mind, he's used to dealing with prisoners like him. He wouldn't understand what happens in his MV at all, but again, it's not like Eiji cares. He's still a murderer, he doesn't even have to watch his video. Also, he won't even think of voting him innocent until he hears Rin saying he's sorry.

Miki: She would literally beg Rin to stop crying and she would do anything to earn his trust. He's just a child, what is he doing here? Yes, he's older than Asahi, but still.. someone like him shouldn't be here. His MV doesn't look that bad either. Maybe his crime wasn't as scary as Eiji thinks? Sure, it's still murder, but.. m-maybe they can forgive him?

How they would make their decision: Another tough one. It's hard to make a decision only based on his crime because they have no idea what he even did. Maybe they should just judge him based on his personality?.. Though both of them don't really like the idea of voting him guilty only because he's annoying (yes, even Eiji). Um, maybe if they vote him innocent, he will agree to talk more about his crime? Eiji really doesn't want to do it, but fine, he needs more information about him to understand him better.

Final verdict: Innocent.

Prisoner 008: Watanabe Noa.

Eiji: Even if you're shy and quiet, you're still a murderer to him. It just means you won't cause as much trouble as other prisoners. Also, her personality and her MV just make him suspect her even more. Like, what is she hiding? Her video reminds him of Suzume too, so yeah, he doesn't care about what kind of relationship she had with her husband, she's guilty. Even if it was painful, even if she had to suffer a lot, he still refuses to forgive her until he hears that she's sorry. Maybe he will think about voting her innocent after that. Also her drinking habit makes him hate her even more.

Miki: She would like her so much! She's such a nice woman, Miki just knows that she can trust her! She understands her so well, this place is so scary, it's no wonder she acts like that.. S-she's not sure she's okay with bringing her alcohol every night though. She doesn't know much about her past, but.. she thinks Noa should find a better and more healthy coping mechanism. Oh, maybe Miki can make some tea for her instead? Her MV would make her cry and feel sorry for her too.

How they would make their decision: They would do almost the same thing they did with Suzume. They don't know what exactly she did, but she's still a murderer, and if she killed her husband.. well, that only makes everything worse for her. Eiji doesn't care about her motive and Miki finds her doing something like that a bit scary and she wants to trust Noa, but.. until they learn what happened, they're not sure they can forgive her.

Final verdict: Guilty.

Prisoner 009: Miyahara Kiyoshi.

Eiji: He would literally laugh for like 10 minutes after he finds out he's a cop while pointing his finger at him. After he's done, he would simply go "Sorry, you're still guilty~". He doesn't care if it was self-defense and he doesn't care just how kind Kiyoshi is. He already knows a Prisoner 009 who's sweet on the outside, but is actually just as bad as Kei, so he can't trust him. Also, something about his ideals scares him a bit. Huh? What do you mean, Eiji is just as passionate about his own ideals as him? Whatever, he's still better than that old man. At least he didn't actually kill anyone.

Miki: Finally, someone who actually seems reliable! She's so glad to have someone like him in Milgram, being a prison guard and solving prisoners' crimes is so hard for her.. Also, she doesn't think his crime was that bad? She fully trust him and believes that it really was self-defense. It doesn't look like he had any other choice and that prisoner started it first. So.. maybe they should forgive him? Something about Innocent!Kiyoshi makes her nervous though..

How they would make their decision: Eiji really doesn't want to say it, but he can't prove just how bad of a person Kiyoshi really is right now. He just thinks that he's way too perfect, like he can't trust a man like him. Miki kinda agrees with him, but also she doesn't think that voting him guilty is a good idea. When Eiji asks why, Miki simply says: "He's useful". He finds it shocking that Miki didn't just say "Well, he's nice :)" or "I don't want anything bad to happen to him :(", but then he laughs. Wow, his partner truly is something. Fine, let's make this old man believe he's safe for now.

Final verdict: Innocent.

Prisoner 010: Okura Mayumi.

Eiji: Another prisoner with their own ideals and rules? God, these guys are so annoying.. It doesn't help that Mayumi is so nice, it actually makes Eiji feel sick haha get it because she's a nurse. Her MV only makes him feel even more anxious. Actually, everything about her being a nurse and a prisoner makes him feel anxious. Every time he sees her, he has to pretend like he's not in extreme pain 24/7. Her personality actually terrifies him, he has a very bad feeling about her crime. If she tries to be nice to him, he will panic even more and try to hide it with another punishment for her.

Miki: Why would Eiji be so scared of her? Mayumi is so sweet, she's so glad to have an older sister figure like her, hehe.. Miki is so grateful to her for everything she does, she really can't thank her enough. Oh, maybe she can help Eiji with his injuries? He actually has to hold back his tears every time he has to walk somewhere, so.. Oh, it looks like Eiji doesn't want Mayumi's help. Oh well, it's not like Miki can force him to accept it.. Wait, her MV is terrifying-

How they would make their decision: She's nice. She's reliable. She's useful. But still, something about voting her innocent just.. Do they really want a nurse to believe that killing a person who was most likely her patient is a good thing? Again, they really need a person like her here, but also.. they are guards. They have to do their job. They have to make a decision, and both of them know what they want to do.

Final verdict: Guilty.

[commentaryvorg]

Digimon Savers Commentary Episode 3 - The Genius Who Returned Home, Tohma! Crush Meramon!

In this episode, we’re introduced to Tohma, whose return to the Japanese branch of DATS immediately sparks a hostile rivalry between him and Masaru. Meanwhile, Masaru’s first mission as a DATS member presents him with the tricky conundrum of figuring out how to punch fire.

We open with Masaru and Agumon stuffing their faces at the Daimon family breakfast table.

Sayuri:  “My, my. Masaru never usually gets up before the afternoon on a Sunday. This must be thanks to Agu-chan!”

Masaru habitually sleeping in on non-school days is deeply relatable.

But more importantly, it’s lovely that him meeting Agumon has changed that! Though Masaru might have got something out of fighting random street punks before, it seems that it wasn’t quite exciting enough to him to get him out of bed early for it. It was probably more just that he’d wander around town bored and pick fights with anyone who seemed up for it out of a lack of anything better to do.

But now that he and Agumon have got all these Digimon to fight, Masaru’s got a real reason to wake up as soon as possible to go do that! Meeting Agumon has genuinely made him a whole lot happier with his life.

Also it is adorable how Sayuri and Chika have already taken to calling Agumon “Agu-chan”. It’s a cute sign that they see him as exactly the dorky kid that he is rather than as some weird monster, and also that they see him as one of the family, which is absolutely what he is now.

Can we please appreciate Chika’s done-ness here. I love her.

Masaru:  “What the hell, Mom! Serve me before Agumon!”

Sayuri:  “I never said you wouldn’t have your share. Just wait for a bit. After all, Agu-chan’s still a child.”

Again with the just treating Agumon like the big kid that he is. Sayuri is so good.

We are also introduced to the glorious treasure that is Sayuri’s fried eggs! Agumon has certainly discovered how great they are.

(Technically, these are tamagoyaki, a Japanese miniature rolled omelette thing. But the subs go with fried eggs, which is close enough and rolls off the tongue quicker in English.)

Masaru:  “Gimme that!”

Agumon:  “I won’t hand over the last of Sayuri’s fried eggs, not even to you!”

Oh, won’t you, Agumon? Not ever?

(This is another line to keep in mind for a lot later.)

Chika:  “What a child…”

As Masaru wrestles Agumon in an attempt to literally get the fried egg back from out of his mouth, Chika observes that she’s somehow the most mature of the three Daimon kids. (Yes, I said three, what of it.)

Meanwhile, Tohma is… having a gratuitous shower scene. Uhhh, sure. Apparently this totally needed to be his introduction. …Look, at least I appreciate that the fanservice is being equal-opportunity in terms of gender. (For now.)

He also has a butler, and is living in a pretty big but mostly quiet and empty mansion. This sequence is about showing the huge contrast between Masaru and Tohma’s home lives, but I do not know why the writers thought a shower scene was necessary for that.

(Tohma mentioned at the end of last episode that this country is his mom’s homeland, but he sure doesn’t appear to be staying with his mom right now, does he.)

Agumon attempts to fit himself into the basket of a bike which I can only imagine is Chika’s, because I don’t think Masaru’s bike would be pink. Agumon doesn’t seem to realise this. Chika doesn’t seem to want to tell him. He is such a ridiculous dork.

Meanwhile, Tohma gets seen off in the morning by the mansion’s staff bowing goodbye to him, and then is driven around in a limo.

Masaru’s “transportation”, on the other hand, is running down the street while giving Agumon a piggy back. Apparently this is so that Agumon can stay still and pretend to be a really big stuffed toy, but he’s kind of ruining that by talking and waving his arms around to cheer his aniki on.

(Of course, the most obvious way to not have Agumon raise suspicion would be to keep him in his Digivice, but it seems they’ve already agreed offscreen that that’s not an option because Agumon doesn’t like it in there. Yoshino and Satsuma would probably have some words to say to them about that, but hey, they’re not here, so Masaru’s gonna let his follower stay outside and be happier.)

Masaru:  “Uh… what do I press again? This? No…”

Masaru, that DATS earpiece only has like two buttons on it, it can’t be that hard to figure out.

Yoshino:  “We have a Digimon signal.”

Masaru:  “Where?!”

Yoshino:  “Area C-7. Can you get there directly?”

Masaru:  “Yeah! Leave it to us!”

Not pictured: Masaru wondering where the heck “C-7” is and why he impulsively said he could definitely get there when it could be on the other side of the city for all he knows.

(Okay, that’s probably not actually what happens. Somehow we are supposed to believe that Masaru – Masaru – memorised all these location codes that DATS uses remarkably quickly. I imagine he knows the city quite well, but these codes for the areas are presumably a DATS-only thing that civilians wouldn’t be familiar with.)

Street punk #1:  “So boring…”

Street punk #2: “Nothing’s going on at all…”

PetitMeramon: “Nothing at all!”

This is the first time we’ve seen a rampaging Digimon speak… but it doesn’t necessarily seem to be expressing its own thoughts. Rather, it’s just parroting these bored dudes. The PetitMeramon goes on to float down the street and set things on fire, which certainly makes it so that something interesting’s finally going on. It almost seems as if this is happening because these dudes were bored and wanted some kind of excitement, even if they weren’t necessarily wishing for this.

This is almost immediately followed by Masaru and Agumon showing up, which… the timing of that doesn’t exactly work out for the PetitMeramon to have only just appeared, assuming this is the Digimon signal Yoshino told him about while he was still in his own neighbourhood. But I’m still very sure that the writers want us to feel like these dudes’ boredom is related to the PetitMeramon being here, and honestly, showing us that is more important than getting meaningless details like the timing of things exactly right, so I don’t actually care.

Masaru:  “Let’s fight!”

PetitMeramon: “Fight…”

Again, still not really speaking for itself, just parroting. Though this time it’s parroting a different person, so maybe what we can take from this is that there were some other bored people who originally brought it here and now it’s just parroting and acting on the thoughts of whoever happens to be nearby. (It’s true that we didn’t actually hear the sound of a Digital Gate opening just now.)

Unfortunately for our pair of dorks, a living fireball like PetitMeramon is immune to Agumon’s fire attacks and not solid enough for Masaru to punch. And without punching it, Masaru can’t get his Digisoul, so he can’t evolve Agumon either. This is the absolute worst possible enemy for them to try and fight.

Naturally, they just chase it further down the street anyway, giving absolutely no care to the random dudes who just watched a giant lizard and a living fireball duke it out. Despite being a DATS member now, Masaru is still really not here for all of the calculated government secrecy stuff.

Luckily, Tohma arrives on the scene in his limo and cleans up these loose ends Masaru left using a memory-wipe flashy thing. And, to be fair, I wouldn’t be surprised if Satsuma just didn’t even give one of those to Masaru in the first place. I’m not sure I’d trust him not to accidentally point it the wrong way when using it or something, given that he could barely figure out the two buttons on his earpiece. Masaru and technology do not mix.

(…Though I have to wonder why Gaomon then emerges from the limo and isn’t inside his Digivice. Sure, the flashy thing knocked out those dudes so they’re not a problem right now, but do you really not expect to run into any more people as you chase down the target? …But of course, the only real reason Gaomon is out right now is so that we can get a brief glimpse of him as a stinger before the opening.)

Okay! Okay!

I can jump over any limits!

Feel that excitement passionately!

Some more gung-ho opening lyrics! These feel appropriate here, as the idea of Masaru’s burning passionate excitement is going to be a bit of a thing in this episode, as is the idea that he brashly considers himself to have no limits whatsoever.

At DATS HQ, Masaru is grumpy about not being able to win.

Yoshino:  “Well, I didn’t think it would go easily for you from the start.”

Honestly, having seen how easily Masaru handled the fights in the first two episodes, I would have expected things to go easily for him, at least in terms of fighting. It only didn’t because this specific enemy happens to be immune to all of his usual tactics. The more logistical side of things, such as the secrecy and the memory wiping stuff, I can see Masaru needing a while to get used to (though, spoiler, he’s, uh, never really going to become any good at that at all), but not the fighting.

Tohma shows up with the PetitMeramon’s Digiegg, presenting it to Yoshino and not even acknowledging Masaru’s presence.

Miki and Megumi, the two young women who work the tech side of things at HQ, begin fawning over him, which is, uh, a liiittle questionable when he’s fourteen and they’re… it’s never made clear exactly how old, but definitely at least adults. Thankfully, this mostly goes away and stops being much of a thing after this episode.

There is also Gaomon! He is a good dog. Though right now he’s being as dismissive as his master and ignoring Agumon when Agumon tries to ask who he is.

Masaru:  “You bastard! You took away my prey!”

It’s so Masaru to be mad about this. That PetitMeramon was his opponent first, and now he can’t even settle the fight himself because this guy came in and defeated it before he could!

Tohma barely looks at him, and…

Masaru:  “What, gonna fight?”

…of course Masaru is ready to start a fight over this, because this is how he’s used to settling disputes.

But actually Tohma was just turning to walk towards Satsuma, still pretty much entirely ignoring Masaru’s presence.

Tohma:  “I’ve looked through the written reports, and it seems rather peculiar that there are a large number of Digimon detected in this country lately.”

[…]

Satsuma:  “Is the frequency not as high in EU?”

Tohma:  “No. It must be because it has a larger area.”

I do not understand what Tohma is trying to get at with that last part. Since Europe is bigger than just Japan, surely that means they’d expect more Digimon incidents in it, not less.

That weird part aside, though, it is a relevant point that Japan in particular has been seeing more Digimon incidents than anywhere else. There’s a reason for this.

Masaru is fed up with Tohma acting like he doesn’t exist and walks up to cough pointedly behind him. It’s actually rather unlike Masaru to be passive-aggressive and indirect like this, but it does amuse me.

Satsuma:  “Oh, let me introduce you. This is…”

[Tohma barely even glances at Masaru; Masaru gets angry]

Masaru:  “Hey! I don’t care if you’re called Tohma or Tonma… but around here, I’m your senpai! I’ve only been here for three days, but make sure to call me ‘Daimon-san’ or ‘Daimon-senpai’!”

Not that it takes much for Masaru to go back to his usual direct approach to things. Tohma just waltzing in here, easily defeating the opponent that Masaru was struggling against, getting immediate respect from everyone else in the room and barely even acknowledging Masaru as worthy of looking at makes Masaru feel inferior, which riles him up and gets him flailing to assert some kind of superiority in a really transparent way.

See, Masaru wouldn’t usually care all that much about people showing the appropriate politeness when referring to him, but when it’s this jerk who’s making him feel like this, damn right he’s going to insist that the three days more he’s been here is totally enough to count as making him a senpai. (A senpai means someone senior within the same group; it’s a Japanese concept that doesn’t quite have a direct English equivalent, hence the subs leaving it as-is and just giving us a translators’ note explaining it.)

Calling him “Tonma” – which another translators’ note informs us is a word for an idiot, so basically Masaru’s just insulting him in a very juvenile way – is, of course, not exactly the best way to establish himself as a mature and senior senpai.

Satsuma and Yoshino point out that actually Tohma is Masaru’s senpai, because he used to work here until he took a six-month trip to work at a DATS branch in Europe, which he’s just returned from.

Masaru:  “B-But no matter how you look at it, he’s the same age as I am…”

Establishing Tohma’s age as being also fourteen. (Though technically Masaru wouldn’t necessarily know his exact age and is just saying he seems similarly aged, but whatever, Tohma is fourteen as well, let’s go with it. Their rivalry has a much more fun dynamic if they really are exactly the same age rather than one having a year or two of seniority over the other.)

They also go on to add that Tohma is a genius who already has a degree (and even more than that, as we’ll later learn). And, okay, while on paper Tohma’s genius achievements are probably wildly unrealistic for anyone to have managed at the age of fourteen no matter how clever they are, it doesn’t really bother me. In practice, the genius thing isn’t here to make Tohma magically unrealistically special; it’s here to make him interesting and a great foil for Masaru. Tohma is a very well-written character whom I really like, almost as much as Masaru, and I’m looking forward to getting to talk about him a lot here.

On top of this, the Norstein family is Austrian nobility, so Tohma’s practically a prince as well. (Again, there’s very much a point to this that’s relevant to his character and not just for the sake of making him special). And they add that Gaomon is the most accomplished battler they have among the Digimon at DATS (not that there’s that many for him to compete with there).

Satsuma:  “Be sure to get along with each other, as you are colleagues.”

Yep, Masaru’s sure to have no problems getting along with this person whom you just lengthily explained is way more awesome than he is despite being the same age as him.

Masaru certainly doesn’t seem too happy about this.

Tohma:  “I think it will be futile to do so, Captain Satsuma. There is not a chance that this person could benefit DATS.”

Masaru:  “What d’you mean?!”

[Tohma only barely glances at Masaru before turning back to the Captain]

Tohma:  “People like him should be dismissed at once.”

…Though, it turns out, Tohma is also equally unwilling to even attempt to play nice. All this barely even glancing at Masaru and talking about him rather than to him is kind of a dick move. Really, Masaru and Tohma are being equally as rude to each other here, albeit in completely different ways.

Masaru:  “Say that to my face! Look into a person’s eyes when they’re talking!”

And I love that this in particular is what gets to Masaru the most. He’s always so straightforward, and being that way is important to him. He can’t stand people beating around the bush and being vague about their intentions rather than just coming out and saying what they really mean directly to the person involved.

To be fair to Tohma, he does actually listen and look Masaru straight in the eye this time.

Tohma:  “You and your partner are not suited for DATS.”

Yoshino:  “Tohma!”

I like Yoshino protesting here. Even she thinks this is going a bit far.

And it is a bit far, really – sure, Tohma caught a glimpse of Masaru and Agumon’s rather unfortunate fight against the PetitMeramon earlier, but that’s hardly enough evidence to decide that they have absolutely nothing to offer. This says less about Masaru and Agumon and more about Tohma himself: he’s something of a perfectionist, and he doesn’t like the idea of working with anyone who doesn’t match up to his very high standards.

(College degree as a teenager? Member of Austrian nobility? Yeah, we can already guess where some of that might come from.)

Masaru, being Masaru, has had enough and just tries to punch Tohma – but he blocks it easily.

Tohma:  “Really, now. You want to face me with that level of power? How incredibly pathetic.”

Masaru:  “What do you mean, ‘that level’? How strong does that make you, then?!”

This is the first person Masaru’s met in probably a really long time who’s said anything to the effect that he’s not strong enough, who’s implied that there’s some other, higher level of strength that Masaru just doesn’t have yet. He’s not used to thinking of his strength in those terms, and feeling inferior. Isn’t he supposed to be the number one street fighter in Japan? How can there be any kind of greater strength he doesn’t have?

Tohma:  “Do I have to answer that?”

Masaru:  “Yeah! Go on, show me! Let’s see the truth behind all that bragging!”

Of course Tohma has to answer that and actually prove himself! Masaru is all about actions rather than words; if someone’s claiming they’re stronger than him, there’s no way he’s going to just accept that until he tests it out for himself.

It turns out Tohma is indeed perfectly willing to put his money where his mouth is, because we cut to what’s presumably a gym somewhere in the DATS HQ, in which there is a boxing ring. I might call this awkwardly convenient, but no, actually, since Tohma used to work here (and he’s into boxing, as we’re about to see), it makes a lot of sense that he might have asked to have one installed for himself to use recreationally in between missions.

Yoshino:  “Hey! Put on your headgear!”

Masaru:  “I don’t need it! Besides, he’s not wearing any!”

Masaru and Tohma are both being reckless idiots here, pointlessly endangering themselves because of their pride. They’re both telling themselves “I don’t need to protect myself to win against him”, and they’re certainly not going to be the only one to wear headgear while the other doesn’t and end up looking like they’re only winning because they have an unfair advantage, or like they’re wearing it because they’re worried.

It is notable that Yoshino is only trying to encourage Masaru to wear the headgear. Apparently she’s already expecting Tohma to have the upper hand here? Ouch.

As you’d expect, the first few moves of the fight are Masaru throwing wild punches at Tohma while he easily dodges them all.

Tohma:  “You put all your faith in power without using any strategy or tactics.”

Which pretty much sums up the entire Masaru-Tohma contrast going on here: reckless power versus careful strategy.

Tohma:  “Why did you join DATS?”

Masaru:  “Huh?! It was so I could win, obviously!”

Tohma:  “Against who?”

Masaru:  “Against strong guys!”

Look at how Masaru doesn’t even think to specify who he wants to win against at first, because the exact opponent he’s fighting isn’t the point. He just wants to challenge himself and prove to himself how strong he is by winning those challenges, and fighting Digimon happens to be the best way for him to do that right now.

Also look at how Masaru has completely stopped caring about the part where the other reason he joined was so that Agumon wouldn’t be taken from him. That genuinely does not matter to him any more, now that he’s here anyway because he wants to be.

(So it’s actually kind of a bit much that Tohma is insisting Masaru should be dismissed from DATS – because that would mean he’d lose not only this job, but also Agumon.)

Tohma finally stops just dodging and counters with a blow to Masaru’s stomach – the first punch that’s actually landed for either of them – giving him a sense of the high ground as he says these next words.

Tohma:  “What a boring story. DATS has an important mission. Every member has an obligation and a responsibility to carry that out.”

It’s very appropriate that Tohma would be so disdainful of Masaru being here for entirely personal reasons, while he feels like this whole thing is supposed to be about a sense of duty for a greater purpose. That noble Norstein family heritage is showing just a little bit.

Obviously, DATS’s general mission of covering up Digimon incidents is indeed important, but so long as he helps them do that anyway, what does it actually matter if that’s not the reason Masaru’s here?

Masaru:  “Shut up! Stop acting all elite!”

Masaru still does not like Tohma constantly acting like he’s better than him, like he’s just this perfect superhuman who doesn’t even have any personal desires of his own other than to do as he’s supposed to.

Tohma:  (He’s beyond help.)

Geez, Tohma, that is going a bit far. Again, he’s just writing Masaru off entirely because he doesn’t fit Tohma’s idea of how things should be, rather than trying to understand his different view on things.

(But of course, Masaru is not really being any better about trying to understand Tohma’s perspective and is currently similarly writing him off as an elitist jerk who needs to be taken down a peg.)

Tohma follows this thought up by punching Masaru right in the face, implying he’s been going easy until now and has finally started getting serious, expecting this single blow to end this. Which it does, because Masaru is knocked to the ground and doesn’t manage to rise for Yoshino’s count of ten, making Tohma the winner of this boxing match.

(please appreciate this look on Masaru’s face as he realises that Tohma has arguably beaten him, that maybe he really is inferior)

…But of course Masaru’s not just gonna stand for that. As Tohma is about to leave the ring, Masaru finally manages to get to his feet anyway.

Masaru:  “Wait right there… You really are… spouting a lot…”

Tohma:  “The match is over.”

Masaru:  “Match? What we’re having is a serious fight! It’s not a game!”

He doesn’t care about anything so pointlessly official as a match or a countdown to determine the winner. Settling their differences and proving who’s strongest goes way beyond those silly arbitrary restrictions!

With these words, Masaru manages to punch Tohma just as hard in the face… albeit only because Tohma was turned away and not quite ready to defend himself. Still, as far as Masaru would see it, in terms of his usual kind of fights, that’s on him! If he turned away from an opponent who’s still able and willing to fight him, that’s just letting his guard down!

Masaru:  “A fight doesn’t end until one side admits defeat!”

That’s the only rule Masaru needs for his street fights. So long as the combatants are still willing to fight each other, anything goes!

In fairness to Tohma, he doesn’t even complain about Masaru catching him off guard and seems quite willing to accept these new “terms” for the fight, because they jump right back into beating each other up.

We cut to later in the main control room.

Masaru:  “Damn it… That bastard…”

Yoshino:  “You should be happy it was a draw!”

Who’s betting it was Yoshino’s decision that it was a draw. I can’t imagine either Masaru or Tohma being willing to even admit to that much. After a while of them trading blows and obviously being quite evenly matched to the point that this could end up going on forever, Yoshino probably stepped in and insisted they call it off as a draw before they seriously hurt each other.

Yoshino:  “Tohma’s beaten Olympic champions in the past.”

…Yeah, so also on top of everything else, Tohma is a supremely talented boxer. But I don’t mind, because something like that is necessary for him to be able to equal Japan’s number one street fighter in a fistfight. And his fighting style being the precise and controlled sport of boxing rather than anything-goes street brawls once again serves to contrast their approaches. Tohma’s boxing talent is just another part of making him Masaru’s equal and opposite. These two are such good foils for each other.

Masaru:  “Well, I’ve taken out the leader of the third Minato high school!”

That is totally an equivalent thing here, right. He’s successfully beaten tough guys, too, the context doesn’t matter. Masaru was expecting to win and not just draw, damn it!

Yoshino:  “Really, the only things worthy of a gold medal around here are your pride and your competitive attitude.”

I love her snark. She’s not wrong. (Though really, Tohma’s pride would be giving Masaru just as much competition for that medal.)

I also love how pouty Masaru is.

It’s interesting how Yoshino’s putting band-aids on Masaru’s bruises, yet Tohma then walks into the room (still barely acknowledging Masaru) with an equally bruised face, and Yoshino’s not trying to tend to him. It’s like how she was only trying to get Masaru to wear the headgear earlier and not Tohma.

At this point, I doubt this is so much about thinking Masaru is weaker and more in need of this than Tohma, since she just watched them match each other in a fight. So maybe it’s more that Yoshino finds Masaru more approachable than Tohma. For all his reckless stubbornness, Masaru’s basically still a regular person, while Tohma’s from a whole other world to her. Perhaps she simply feels more comfortable directing this mom-friend behaviour at Masaru rather than Tohma, despite having known Tohma for longer.

The Digimon-signal alarm blares and Masaru instantly shifts to this excited grin. What a dork.

It’s more PetitMeramon. A lot of them. Turns out that if even the tiniest flame from their body is left behind, it can develop into a new PetitMeramon. Hearing this prompts Masaru to recall his earlier unsuccessful attempts to punch it, which only succeeded in sending little embers from its body flying everywhere.

Masaru:  (This is my fault…)

It’s admirable of Masaru to immediately acknowledge this rather than stubbornly try and make excuses to himself and pretend he totally didn’t mess anything up at all. But it is notable that he’s not saying that out loud. Which is probably because Tohma’s in the room, and he doesn’t want to give Tohma even more ammo to keep claiming that he’s a liability here.

Kudamon:  “It’s up to you, Tohma, Gaomon.”

Masaru:  “Wait! Those fireballs are ours to beat!”

Masaru insists this partly because he’s still frustrated that he didn’t get to finish the fight himself earlier, but almost certainly also because he feels responsible for this. This is his mess, and he wants to at least make up for it by being the one to fix things.

Tohma:  “Are you 100% certain you can secure these Digimon?”

Masaru:  “Damn right! We’ll pull it off somehow using our spirits!”

Such certainty. Masaru is definitely the kind of person to optimistically throw himself into things without being sure what the outcome will be. Usually, it might be reasonable to bank on that, but against this particular enemy which Masaru and Agumon currently have no way of even damaging… probably not.

Satsuma:  “This time, Tohma and Gaomon are best for the job.”

Satsuma realises this, too, of course. I like how he’s specifying that this is only because Tohma and Gaomon are more suited for this particular job, which is extremely true, and not that they’re better overall, which Masaru would not respond well to.

Satsuma:  “Yoshino. You and Lalamon will go to support Tohma.”

Which is to say, Yoshino will drive the car, because Tohma isn’t old enough to do that. (Lalamon won’t really be doing anything at all.) Tohma came to the earlier fight from his limo, but it seems that was only because he was being driven to DATS HQ and happened across the Digimon on the way. Limousines are not the usual DATS-approved method of transportation to Digimon incidents, funnily enough.

Masaru, having been ordered to stay behind and just watch them, is left feeling frustrated and inadequate.

(It’s really only because you can’t punch fire, Masaru!)

Gaomon fighting alone against the swarm of PetitMeramon achieves basically nothing, so Tohma very quickly switches from “Plan A” to “Plan A-2” and evolves him. (I like how it’s not “Plan B” and is totally just an alternate version of the first plan. It’s definitely not that trying to fight a swarm of several Child-level Digimon with a single Child-level was ever a bad plan and really he should have evolved Gaomon from the start.)

It’s a neat detail that Tohma clicks his fingers to summon his Digisoul. Yoshino does kind of a similar thing, not clicking her fingers but instead making a very particular emphatic motion with her hand. It’s like they need some sort of psychological trigger to get it to work – which then also makes it slightly less ridiculous that Masaru needs to outright punch a Digimon to get his to show up. It’s just a stronger kind of psychological trigger, is all! And Tohma and Yoshino have been doing this for a long time. Maybe it usually takes a lot of practice to be able to get one’s Digisoul to show up on command, and the reason why Masaru’s has this extra condition to trigger it is actually because he’s new at this.

I want to take this moment to inform everyone that Gaogamon is a very good fuzzy doggy. He’s one of my favourite Digimon designs.

As an Adult-level, Gaogamon is exponentially stronger than these Child-level PetitMeramon and can easily take down the entire swarm of them in a single attack. Digimon evolution levels, everybody. This isn’t even Gaogamon being especially impressive; this is just how it was always going to turn out.

Tohma:  “3 minutes, 47 seconds. We shortened it by another minute.”

Okay, so, some of Tohma’s genius traits can come across as a little bit silly in practice, such as this idea here that he and Gaomon have been timing themselves in their fights against rogue Digimon and constantly bringing that time down. It doesn’t take a genius to understand that each opponent they fight is different, so really it should be completely unreasonable to act like their times for each fight are at all comparable and that completing one fight faster than another means anything. (Plus, this is a thing that’s never going to come up again.)

Still, I do appreciate the narrative purpose of this bit – to show that Tohma is always pushing to improve himself and be better, despite being so incredibly hypercompetent at everything he does already. A lot like Masaru is always striving to challenge himself and get stronger despite already feeling like the strongest fighter in Japan! They are really not so different in a lot of ways.

Also, note how Tohma is getting to fight here, but it’s not the climactic fight of the episode. Just like I talked about for Yoshino in the previous episode: even though this is his introduction, this is not actually Tohma’s episode. It’s still Masaru’s. Tohma gets to have this fight and win it not for his own sake (the whole thing is so effortless that it’s not at all an interesting narrative from his point of view), but rather for the sake of Masaru’s conflict in this episode, because seeing how good Tohma is at this contributes to Masaru’s feelings of inferiority.

Agumon:  “Wow…”

Having watched Tohma and Gaomon’s performance from HQ, even Agumon can’t help but be impressed. But then he catches himself and looks guiltily at Masaru, realising he’s just making him feel worse. Aww.

It is interesting to note how, despite all the similarities between him and Masaru, Agumon himself doesn’t seem nearly as bothered by being outclassed by Gaomon in the same way. After all, he’s still a kid who knows he’s got a lot to learn from his aniki; Agumon has never tried to present himself as the best person around at fighting like Masaru does.

Kudamon:  “Understand now? This is the difference in ability between you and Tohma.”

Kudamon is apparently quite happy to imply that Masaru is significantly inferior to Tohma. Satsuma, though, doesn’t say anything to agree. I get the sense that Kudamon was a lot less on board with bringing Masaru into DATS, even though he ultimately accepted Satsuma’s decision to do so.

Masaru rushes out of the control room in frustration, with Agumon following.

Kudamon:  “Aren’t you going to stop him?”

Satsuma:  “Leave him alone.”

I like that Satsuma gets that this is something Masaru needs to figure out on his own, and that trying to talk to him directly about this is probably only going to make him feel worse.

(It’s this kind of approach of Satsuma’s that makes me think that him being so indirect about recruiting Masaru was on purpose out of him wanting Masaru to make the decision for himself.)

Masaru runs out of the DATS building through a tunnel that I’m pretty sure incidentally happens to be the same one we saw Agumon escaping through at the very beginning of the first episode.

Agumon:  “Aniki… Why are you angry?”

Masaru:  “Shut up!”

[Masaru trips in his running and falls to the ground]

Masaru:  “Damn it…”

I enjoy how Masaru tripping over serves to illustrate how his unthinking recklessness doesn’t always end well.

Agumon:  “Well, I think Tohma and Gaomon are nasty guys too, but…”

Aww, Agumon, trying to show that he’s still on his aniki’s side. And, yeah, he agrees that Tohma and Gaomon have been kind of dicks to them so far, but… (but still, he doesn’t get why Aniki is this upset about it.)

Masaru looks at Agumon with this bitter look for a moment, almost like he’s tempted to agree and just keep sniping at Tohma… but then he drops it.

Masaru:  “No… It’s myself that I’m mad at, not them.”

Of course that’s been what this is really about. This is the first time in a long time that Masaru’s been given any sense that he’s not good enough at something he really wants to do. This isn’t about Tohma; Tohma’s presence just brought this out of him.

And hey, big props to Masaru for being willing to admit this! He couldn’t quite do so at HQ in front of everyone, and especially not in front of Tohma himself, but at least he’s willing to do so here in front of Agumon. A weaker person could easily have kept insisting that, no, this totally is all about that arrogant jerk Tohma, and avoided the necessary self-reflection, but Masaru is generally pretty good at being emotionally honest about things, even when it stings.

He also happens to pull the band-aid off his face at this moment, which I enjoy – needing his wounds patched up is a sign of weakness that he doesn’t like having.

Masaru:  “Damn it! What am I doing? Really… what the hell am I doing?”

You’re doing your best, Masaru! Just like you’ve always, always been doing!

I really like how Masaru can’t actually properly articulate what the problem is. He knows there’s something wrong, something that’s frustrating him about himself, but he can’t put it into words. It doesn’t seem like he’s properly consciously aware of why he’s so into his whole fighting thing, and why he wanted to “fight stronger opponents” through joining DATS, so he can’t quite grasp why feeling like he’s not good enough at this bothers him so much.

Also, my compliments to the animators, and to Masaru’s VA. He looks and sounds like he’s on the brink of tears here, and it is good.

Masaru reaches the end of the tunnel… and who should he run into but the old man who gave him his Digivice, who’s sitting there cooking a fish like nothing is more natural.

Old man:  “It’s hard lighting up a fire… The sparks go out easily whenever the wind gets a little too strong.”

Masaru:  “Well, obviously!”

Old man:  “But… once I get a larger flame going, it burns strongly no matter how much the wind blows. Fire is an interesting thing, isn’t it?”

What we learned about the old man last episode is that he finds Masaru interesting and likes randomly showing up whenever Masaru is acting in a way that he considers to be interesting. Apparently, he got wind somehow of the fact that Masaru has been having these doubts, and so he showed up to just… observe, and express his observations in metaphor form. He’s comparing Masaru to the fire, saying that right now his “sparks” aren’t quite strong enough to keep going when something challenges them – but that soon enough, if he just keeps growing more, he’ll become so strong that nothing will be able to stand in his way.

That said, I highly, highly doubt that the old man expects Masaru to actually learn anything from this metaphor – I’m sure he must know well enough to expect anything and everything metaphorical to go right over Masaru’s head. This isn’t actually an attempt to give Masaru advice. This guy just likes being a mysterious old man who makes abstract metaphors about people he finds interesting, that’s all. Sooner or later, Masaru’s flame is going to burn so brightly that nothing at all can blow it out, and won’t that be fascinating to watch?

(I agree, old man. It will. That’s why I’m here, too.)

[Masaru stares intently at the fire the old man has managed to light]

Masaru:  “This is…”

And naturally, Masaru, who wouldn’t understand a metaphor if it punched him in the face, completely failed to pick up on what the old man was getting at. Instead, what this metaphor also coincidentally (or maybe not so coincidentally?) happened to be was some pretty useful advice on how to deal with the very literal, practical problem he’s been having today.

Before he can think on that further, Masaru hears a conversation over his earpiece. There’s more PetitMeramon signals, in a place where gas tanks are – not a great place for living fireballs to be flying around – and Yoshino and Tohma are 10 minutes away in their car.

Masaru:  “Leave it to me!”

Yoshino:  “Huh? What are you saying?”

Tohma:  “You can’t do it!”

Masaru:  “Shut up! I can get there in 3 minutes!”

The perfect opportunity for Masaru to get the chance to prove himself! Under other circumstances, it’d be arguably better for Masaru to stay back and leave this to Tohma again. Having shown some self-reflection on things, even Masaru himself would probably be willing to accept that and relent. But in an emergency like this, when he’s the closest one to it? Damn it, he has to at least try.

Since the “there” in question was only described as being “Area B-42”, what we have to conclude from this is that somehow Masaru has magically memorised all those location codes already. He doesn’t seem to be making this up to save face; he’s looking at an area off in the distance that he’d probably reasonably be able to sprint to in that time.

(Well, either that or he just assumed based on knowing that this is the only remotely nearby area with gas tanks. Maybe it’s that.)

Satsuma:  “I won’t approve of this!”

Masaru:  “Whatever, just watch! I’ll get ‘em this time!”

This isn’t Masaru arrogantly trying to show off and refusing to acknowledge that he’s unsuited for this. This is Masaru genuinely caring about trying to prevent the crisis if he can – and this time, he does have at least some idea of how to go about doing so.

Masaru makes it to the gas tanks, where there are indeed three PetitMeramon floating around.

Masaru:  “Agumon! Use Baby Burner!”

I’m… not sure how Masaru knew that Agumon even has an attack called Baby Burner, since he’s never used it before. I would say he could have had some kind of offscreen fight as a DATS member already in the three days he’s been here, but Yoshino’s response to his failure earlier suggested that today was indeed his first proper DATS mission.

Agumon:  “My attacks don’t work on them!”

Masaru:  “You heard me, do it!”

Agumon:  “Okay…”

Agumon is such a loyal follower! He doesn’t understand why this is a good idea – in fact, it seems like a thoroughly bad one – but he trusts his aniki’s judgement and does it anyway, even as it only seems to make the PetitMeramon stronger and Masaru keeps ordering more.

After enough fire, the three PetitMeramon grow strong enough to fuse together and evolve into Meramon. (Hey, at least this one’s a non-partnered evolution that makes sense to be happening right now.)

Agumon:  “It evolved! What now, Aniki?”

[Masaru grins]

Masaru:  “This is perfect!”

I love Masaru’s cocky taunting face here. He knows he’s got this, and he’s so ready to just have a good old fight again, like always.

Masaru:  “Fire sparks easily go out whenever the wind blows on them. But… Once they burst into flame…!”

[Masaru leaps to punch the Meramon quite solidly in the face and lands with his Digisoul flaring]

Masaru:  “They won’t be extinguished so easily!”

This was what he got out of the old man’s words. Not metaphorical advice about his emotional struggles, of course not – instead, just very literal advice on how to punch fire. He couldn’t punch the PetitMeramon because they were small enough that the wind of his punches just blew the flames out before he could connect. But if he makes the fire bigger and stronger? Then it’s no problem!

And you know what this is? This is Masaru using strategy. It’s a strategy that he needed someone else to nudge him towards – he’s still not really the kind of person to come up with something like this on his own – and it’s also a much more straightforward, reckless, Masaru-style strategy than someone cautious like Tohma would ever dare to use. But hey. It worked.

(Also, please appreciate this ridiculous shot of the DATS car skidding sideways as it dramatically arrives on the scene. That is not how cars work, but okay. …In fact, surely it’s been less than seven minutes that Masaru’s been here; I guess Yoshino floored it to get here as fast as she could, hence the dramatic skidding? She drives like a badass.)

Tohma:  “He got it to evolve on purpose… by making the fire stronger…”

See, even Tohma appreciates what the strategy was, even if he’s kind of gobsmacked at it being something so reckless.

And then, as usual, GeoGreymon wins the fight in a single attack. But again, I don’t really mind. The interesting part was getting to this point in the first place.

The Meramon disintegrates into three eggs, appropriate for the three PetitMeramon it came from – but it kinda raises some questions that this single Adult-level Digimon was effectively three individual Digimon in one. It also raises some questions that PetitMeramon was able to multiply itself just by its embers setting stuff on fire, and each of those multiplied offshoots also had its own individual egg. Is this just a particularly unique method of Digimon reproduction? I am definitely not supposed to be thinking about it this much.

Masaru:  “How’s that? I was able to take out the PetitMeramon, too!”

Having shown that he can do just as good of a job as Tohma after all, Masaru has bounced right back from his self-doubt and is feeling good about himself again. This kid doesn’t stay down for long.

Tohma:  “Don’t let this go to your head. You were just lucky this time.”

It really was not luck. Masaru used an actual strategy that he had good reason to believe would work. Tohma himself even just about acknowledged this during the fight… but not now, now that Masaru is properly listening to him and he’d have to acknowledge that to Masaru.

(A bit like how Masaru only acknowledged his own sense of inadequacy when Tohma wasn’t around.)

Masaru:  “It’s just like I told you. The ones who don’t give up until the end win the fight!”

Masaru claims this is like he told Tohma, but is it really about him? After all, Masaru himself was the one who had almost given up for a moment. It’s more like he’s saying this to remind himself that he shouldn’t have done that and should have just believed he could do it all along. (Like the old man said, he just needs to let his sparks grow into a bigger, unstoppable flame!)

We cut right from the location of the fight back to DATS HQ, while the argument amusingly continues as if there was no timeskip at all. They were probably arguing like this all the way back in the car, too. (Poor Yoshino.)

Tohma:  “Don’t be absurd. You don’t come up with any strategy or tactics. Do you think using force all the time will let you win at everything?”

He literally did come up with a strategy, though, Tohma! Maybe a strategy that relied on force, maybe not the kind of careful, cautious strategy that you’d use, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t count as a strategy!

Masaru:  “Hah, sounds like a sore loser to me.”

Yeah, I think Masaru’s spot on with this one. Tohma refusing to acknowledge Masaru’s approach in that fight as a legitimate if risky strategy really does seem like he’s just being a sore loser.

(Though I like how Masaru himself isn’t even trying to argue that it was strategic of him. Clearly that’s not something that he sees as being worth bragging about.)

Tohma:  “What did you say?”

Masaru:  “Wanna make somethin’ of it? I’ll knock you out with one hit to the face this time!”

Oh my god, Masaru. Look at this competitive dork. Now that he’s got his confidence back and feels like he is just as good or better than Tohma after all, he’s ready to have a rematch in the ring and certain that this totally means he’ll win this time!

Satsuma shuts them both up with his, quoth Yoshino, “thunderous demon roar” – apparently a regular thing of his – and declares that Masaru and Tohma will be working together as a team from now on. Naturally, they are both Not Happy about this.

Yoshino:  “This is the worst…”

Neither is Yoshino. This is a catchphrase of hers, which is sometimes used when things are going badly in a crisis, but is just as often used simply to express her sheer exasperation at the people around her. I love her role as the Only Sane Man among these two ridiculous over-the-top dorks she’s wound up working with.

Overall thoughts

I like this episode a lot! It’s a great introduction to Tohma, specifically in the context of him serving as a foil to Masaru.

There will be a lot more things about Tohma’s own issues and situation (like I said, there’s a reason for all the genius stuff, I promise) that we’ll eventually get into, but that’ll be a gradual process, because Tohma is not the sort of person to talk about his personal problems to anyone else. For now, since Masaru is the single main character of this series and we therefore see a lot of things through his perspective, it’s appropriate that Tohma is introduced in terms of how he differs from Masaru (as well as a few hints at their similarities).

Then, because of this, we get spend a lot of the episode on Masaru feeling outclassed and how he deals with that, and it’s delightful and subtle and I love it. The first two episodes were setting up the deal with Masaru encountering Agumon and joining DATS, but now that we’ve settled into a little more of a status quo, it’s the perfect time to start digging into Masaru’s character and have things begin to challenge his conception of his own strength. There will be more of this, and I’m looking very much forward to covering those episodes in particular.

This won’t really ever come up again, but it’s incidentally neat to see Masaru struggling with an enemy he can’t punch, and eventually coming up with a strategy by interpreting the old man’s metaphor about his issues literally, because of course he does.

I also just love the old man being there making metaphors about Masaru’s issues simply because he felt like it and finds Masaru interesting. He serves as a nice little narrative device to help draw the audience’s attention to when things are going on with Masaru, as we’ll see in a few more episodes in this arc. I can’t help but appreciate that about the old man, because it’s also basically what I’m doing with this commentary.

---

[Dub comparison]

[hxseok-honee]

sundress || part 8

written portion under the cut!

sundress [part 8] || weirdly normal

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a/n : ['cause you're a one in a million // there ain't no man like you] streets x doja cat

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Saturday, 18 September, 4:33pm

“Sex?”

“No sex.”

“Not even a little bit of sex?! Just like, once a week!” Y/n lifts her head to level Yoongi with a glare, one that has him shrinking back and whispering ‘okay, no sex’. With a shake of her head, she’s dipping her head again, focusing in on the roll of parchment in her lap.

They’re sitting face to face on her bed, each holding some parchment and a quill as they try to ‘negotiate fair terms for their arrangement’, as Y/n had put it when Yoongi had complained about not needing rules.

Y/n’s making the final list of rules on her own parchment, Yoongi tearing off scraps of his and submitting suggestions, most of them sexual in nature. There’s a pile of rejects next to him, but he’s yet to lose hope. Ripping off another piece of paper, he scribbles ‘blowjobs?’ quickly and folds it in half, handing it over to her with a smile. She doesn’t even look up or open it, immediately crumpling it and throwing it back at him. It hits him squarely between the eyes.

Blinking once, he tears off another piece, unfazed - this one says ‘so no head?’. Somehow that one also hits him between the eyes.

“Okay — what do you think?” Y/n sits up straight with a smile, offering Yoongi her draft of the Rules List. He looks it over, eyebrows raised.

No sex!!

Romantic affection is to be kept to public situations as much as possible.

Saturday Night Routine is to remain untouched and untainted.

Min Yoongi must keep his scumminess to a minimum in private.

He finishes reading before looking up, eyes deadpan.

“You are so fucking boring.” Y/n scoffs, reaching out to take the parchment back, but he’s holding it above his head, grabbing for his quill. Quickly he scribbles a fifth rule, one that says “MAKE JEON JUNGKOOK SUFFER” in his chicken scratch. And then he looks up at her, another thought on his mind.

“We should have practice sessions.” Y/n furrows a brow, eyeing him with suspicion.

“What does that mean, and why do I already not like it?” He taps a finger on Rule #2, underlining the words ‘public situations’ lightly with his quill.

“We’re gonna be doing most of this stuff in public, so you’re gonna have to get used to getting freaky with me in public spaces. Library, broom closets, empty corridors and classrooms — that’s what I’m known for.” He looks almost proud when he says it, and Y/n can’t help her amused smile even as she shakes her head in disappointment.

“How are you so fundamentally gross as a person?” He grins back because she’s clearly fond of him, so he feels no shame in how he is, only explaining further.

“If the entirety of Hogwarts is gonna believe I’m taken and off the market, you’re gonna have to keep up with me, babe.” Y/n rolls her eyes, knowing he’s right despite not wanting to admit that. If Yoongi’s putting in the work to make it seem like he’s committed to her, she should at least meet him halfway. And Min Yoongi is a lot of things, but being a total sex fiend is what most people know him to be. She is gonna have to keep up.

“You realize it’s obvious you’re just trying to find somewhere to let out all your sexual frustration, right?” He doesn’t respond, only lifting an eyebrow, silently asking if she’s okay with that. After a moment, she’s sighing, pointing down at the list in his lap.

“Alright, fine. But we need rules for that, too.” He groans, throwing himself backwards onto her mattress dramatically.

“Why do you enjoy ruining every good thing in my life?” When she kicks at his thigh, he’s rolling over onto his stomach, flattening the parchment out in front of him so he can write the word ‘Sessions’, underlining it quickly. And then he looks at her.

“What are you comfortable doing?” She purses her lips, a smile dancing there, because she notices that he doesn’t make it about him and what he is and isn’t allowed to do. He makes it about her and respecting her boundaries. And she knows, by the way he’s tilting his head in confusion when she only smiles down at him, that he has no idea that he’s made that distinction. If he were anyone else, she’d be incredibly attracted to him right now.

But he is him. So she’s blinking that thought away, humming as she considers his question.

“Nothing below the belt…” He nods, writing as she speaks.

“Can I touch your butt?” When she lets out a noise of confusion, he’s looking up at her again. “Like, hand in your pocket while we walk, ass grabbing— that stuff.”

“Oh.” She hadn’t thought of that. She nods after a moment, not seeing the harm in him doing that. “Sure? Not my boobs, though.”

Immediately, he’s flopping backwards onto the bed again, whininess coating his voice when he complains.

“But I already felt everything in the shower! What’s the difference—Ow! Okay!” She’s pushed her feet up against his torso, kicking at him aggressively until he’s rolled away to where she can’t reach him. And then he’s pouting, making grabby hands at her for emphasis while he continues, at a distance now where he can complain safely.

“You know I’d pick tits over ass any day! You’re just doing this to hurt me.” Y/n only smiles mockingly, reaching out to tap a finger on the paper.

“Don’t forget to write ‘no boobs’ there, too!” Yoongi grimaces, rolling back toward her and picking up his quill, angrily scratching the words into the parchment.

“Okay, anything else?” He’d made a big fuss about not being able to touch her boobs, but he’s already over it, and — again — Y/n finds herself full of adoration that Yoongi will never push her boundaries, already having accepted them even when he was complaining about them.

You’re just all bark and no bite, aren’t you?

“Actually, I do bite. I like biting. Why do you ask?” Fighting the urge to smack the palm of her hand to her forehead at the realization that she’d said that aloud, Y/n shakes her head at Yoongi, who seems innocently confused. He shrugs when she doesn’t explain, his eyes lighting up when he thinks of something.

“We should do kinks.” Y/n rolls her eyes.

“Absolutely not—"

“Why not?! We’re gonna figure out what we like eventually if we’re doing these practice sessions, so why not talk about it?” He looks childishly enraged, his pout returning. She only laughs at him, shaking her head.

“Because we’re not doing anything sexual, so what’s the point?” He sighs, sitting up and facing her, crossing his legs as he goes.

“Kinks don’t have to be sexual, you big nerd. It’s not about the sex — it’s about the trust.” Y/n blinks, not having expected him to say something so serious.

“Okay… but if it’s about the trust, how are you acting on all your kinks with the other people? You don’t really know them.” He smiles softly, shaking his head.

“I usually don’t, actually. I just do whatever they want.” Y/n gapes at him, unable to believe that Yoongi had been holding back this whole time.

“So, if someone’s into choking—"

“It’s up to them if they want to trust me to do that for them. Obviously, I’d never go too far, but everyone’s trust thresholds are different. Mine’s just really high, so I always made it about them instead.” He shrugs while he says it, as if they’re talking about what he’d had for lunch and not the surprising weight he puts on trust in sexual situations.

“And you wanna explore that stuff now? With me? We’re not even together.” He tilts his head in confusion again.

“Yeah? There’s no one I trust more than you.” Y/n thinks her head might actually start spinning, because Min Yoongi’s brain is just not wired the same as hers. His ability to be both incredibly simple about his life outlook and shockingly nuanced about the inner workings of his mind — he’s more than just confident and sure of himself. He’s completely self-aware. It’s not the first time she’s been stupidly fond of him, but right now, she thinks he’s amazing.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Y/n blinks, realizing she’s just been staring at him that entire time. She shakes her head, slightly dazed, not even noticing that Yoongi’s looking at her with suspicious eyes. Pointing back to the list, she clears her throat awkwardly.

“Yeah, sure, kinks. But — I’m not telling you shit, it’s embarrassing. Figure it out yourself.” Eyebrows flying to his hairline, Yoongi reaches for the quill slowly, uncertainly.

“For real? You’re down?” She nods, trying to move on already, but Yoongi’s not letting it go, even as he writes it down. “Like… a game, then? We just test shit and see how we react? Because I already know you like having your hair pulled—“

“Oh my— Yoongi!” He snickers at her embarrassment, shaking his head. She has no reason to be shy, he thinks to himself. I’m the last person she has to worry about.

“So…” He glances up at her from where he lies, his eyes full of mischief. Y/n eyes him suspiciously, because he’s definitely about to say something stupid.

“Should we start now, then?” Lifting himself up onto all fours, he starts to crawl over to her, a smirk dancing on the edges of his lips — one that’s hidden quickly by the hand Y/n’s planting on his face, stopping him from coming any closer.

“Get out of my room, Yoongi.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Redirecting, Yoongi heads for the edge of the bed, sliding his sneakers on before standing. “I’ll be back in a couple hours—“ Turning, he cuts himself off, leaning down into Y/n’s face and smiling fondly when she backs away, rightfully wary of him.

“Kiss, please.” She’s immediately glaring, and he’s pointing down at the list on her bed, affronted. “You said Saturday Night Routine has to remain untouched — I still have like 2 hours until then. Kiss, please.”

With an irritated sigh, Y/n leans up, cupping Yoongi’s face and pressing her lips gently to his. Even knowing he’s probably got something up his sleeve, she’s unprepared for him to nibble at her bottom lip, trying to deepen the kiss. Pulling away quickly, she’s smacking at his arm indignantly, glaring when he laughs openly, his shoulders shaking as he does. He leans down quickly, pressing one last kiss to her lips before ducking out of the way of her swinging fist, chuckling to himself as he slings his bag over his shoulder and heads for the door.

“Don’t forget to choose something for us to watch while I pick up our food, okay? I’m not tryna let my dinner get cold because you’re indecisive.”

“That only happened once!” He shoots her a grin over his shoulder as he’s pulling her door open, his eyes amused.

“Love you!” Y/n rolls her eyes at the sing-song way he says it, responding with an annoyed ‘yeah, love you too’ as he’s closing the door behind him. She sits on her bed in silence for a few moments, vaguely disgruntled as she looks down at their list of rules and thinks about that entire conversation.

That was… weirdly normal.