#also i make some assumptions on how chan feels/how things work

[echo-rambles]

love don't know how to rest

words: 2,679 summary: a quick phone call with your boyfriend chan turns into a mini vent session. tags: swearing, established relationship, long distance relationship, minor argument, fluff, making up note: this started off as me clowning on chan's new hair because as much as I love him I was not a fan of it when I initially saw it. somehow it turned into a weird little vent thing about missing someone and wishing they'd take better care of themselves. (title from how to rest by the crane wives)

-o0o-

“Hey baby.” You immediately greet, answering your phone and then propping it up so your hands are free. 

Chan's face takes up the majority of the screen, and you get a close up of his forehead before he also seems to settle his phone somewhere. He hums in acknowledgment. 

You know for a fact he’s not trying to be rude, so you don’t worry too much about his non-greeting. Quickly looking at the time and doing the math, you speak up again. “Good morning. Have you just woken up?” It would be about 8am in Korea right now. 

“Hi- sorry I meant to say hi when you did.” It’s ok, you mumble, moving about the kitchen as you continue to make yourself dinner. Chan had messaged you only a few minutes ago, asking if you were busy and if he could call through. It wasn’t a very complicated dinner, mostly just heating up leftovers on the stove, so of course you told him to call. “I’ve been up since… six? Five maybe.” 

“Chan.” You chastise gently. Sending him a little look from your spot at the stove. He ducks his head, already giving you one of his smiles that spell an apology. 

“I know. I just- my brain hasn’t been able to shut off. I’m making the most of it until I end up crashing in the middle of the day.” 

“Light schedule?” You ask, already assuming the answer since otherwise he wouldn’t be able to so readily nap mid day. Chan makes a little agreeable noise. “That's good. And hey, if you don’t sleep at some point I can always ask Seungmin to smother you until you pass out. Forced nap time.” 

“That’s so fucked up.” But it gets him to chuckle, and that’s really what matters. “He’d do it too.” 

“Of course he would; I asked. Hey, nice hat by the way.” You lean close to your phone, squinting at the beanie he’s wearing. 

It makes Chan groan and push the beanie over his eyes for a brief second. “I'm trying to hide my hair, since someone hates it.” 

“I never said I hate it!”

“…you said it reminded you of straw.” 

Ok, so maybe you absolutely said something like that when you first saw his hair. It sort of just tumbled out of your mouth. “Because they bleached it all wrong! They killed your hair, Christopher. I was shocked, and distraught.” 

Chan shifts his beanie around, laying his hand flat on his head but never once taking it off. “I thought it would’ve come out better. I’ve been wanting to dye it-”

“I know, baby.” The teasing slips away from your tone, replaced by something more gentle and understanding. “But you gotta let your hair heal first before you fuck with it. Maybe let it grow out and dye it dark the next time you can? And then, once it’s no longer damaged as hell, you can do something fun. Like pink?”

Chan’s nodding along to your words, clearly watching you shut off the stove and shove all of your food into a bowl. He smiles at your suggestion. “One day you’ll get your pink hair dreams.” 

“We can match! It'd be so much fun. I think the world needs Pink Chan more than ever, really.” 

He hums instead of playing into the banter, hand still on his head, and you know that no matter how much you apologize for your initial reaction or how many jokes you make, the thought that he did something you don’t like is going to eat him up. Sighing, you bring the phone close to your face. 

“I think you look gorgeous no matter what, you know that right? I’ll tell you every single day until you believe me. Even with straw hair.” You lower your voice, trying to sound as solemn and as serious as you can. “Even if you were bald.”

“Bald?” His face goes all scrunched as he laughs, tipping his head out of frame and pressing a hand over his eyes. 

“Yeah. Shave it all off. Start from scratch.” You bring the phone and your bowl over to the couch, settling in. “I’m sure there’d be girls who would go crazy for the shaved look.”

“Should I be worried that you’re making sure I look good for other girls?” 

“Hey, listen, this is your job, and part of my job as the world's greatest girlfriend is to make sure you’re marketable to your audience.”

He’s still smiling, all big and soft and it loosens the knot of guilt in your chest. 

After a few minutes of the both of you falling silent, you eating and Chan just watching you, you finally speak up again. “I’m sorry for saying that stuff about your hair. I didn’t mean to sound so… mean.” 

“I know. I appreciate the apology though.”

“I just worry. Which is a shit excuse but- I don’t want them ruining your hair. I need you to take care of yourself, because I’m not there to do it!” 

“I know-”

“You take care of the boys and I take care of you because you refuse to let them do it; that’s always been the deal, but I’m not there so now no one is taking care of you-” 

“Love,” he cuts you off. Voice firm and commanding. “It’s just hair.” It’s your turn to mumble out an I know. “It’ll grow back. It can be fixed. I’m ok.” 

“I just wish I was there.” 

The silence creeps in again, and your food is growing cold. Every day you miss him, and the feeling just continues to grow and grow and you’re so afraid that it’ll get so big that soon you won’t have room for anything else. You need him to be ok, because if he’s not then… you’re not really sure what you’d do. 

“We take care of each other, yeah?” Chan says, making you snap your attention back to your screen. He must have pulled his phone closer to his face, and if this were any other moment you’d take the opportunity to snap a picture of the angle he chose, but since you feel all cold and serious in the pit of your stomach you instead just nod at his words. 

“Yeah-” 

“I don’t want you to ever feel like this is a one way street. It’s not your job to take care of me.” 

“I definitely don’t get paid enough for it to be a job.” The pit isn’t too cold or serious for you to deny yourself mumbling out a little quip. 

“We choose to look out for each other, yeah? I take care of you too. Don’t forget that.” Your little comment makes him smile. Just a tick of his mouth, but his whole face softens and you wish you could touch him right now. 

You want to be in his arms. Face pressed to his neck, where you can feel his pulse against the highest point of your cheek and his hands spread across your back and anchoring you. Long distance sucks ass. 

“I won’t. But sometimes-” You stop yourself, chew at your bottom lip and aggressively spear your food with your fork. “I worry that you’re so busy taking care of everyone else that sometimes you forget about yourself.”

“I’m guessing this has gone way beyond your feelings about my hair.” Chan tries to joke, but there’s still that underlying tone of his. The special one that only he can really get. It works it’s way under your skin. 

For a brief moment you think about leaving it there. Changing the subject. This was meant to be a relaxing phone call during a moment Chan had to breathe. He has a break and he chose to call you and all of a sudden you're just sort of dumping out all of these thoughts onto him over room temperature leftovers. 

But then you remind yourself that this is Chan. He’ll know if you’re trying to bottle something away. He always does. You joke that you know him, that he’s like an open book to you. This isn’t a one way street. He knows you just as well. 

Fuck it. Rip the band-aid off. 

“You look stressed. Overworked. Like you haven’t been sleeping.”

“Oh wow, ok. Straight to the point.” 

“The only reason I know you’ve been eating is because Lino and Bin would probably force feed you before you ever went hungry. You just look exhausted and I know this is your job- I know you signed up for this. But it still breaks my heart sometimes when I can see you starting to strain under the pressure.” 

“I’m- I’m doing fine. It’s hard, yeah, but-”

“It’s worth it.” You finish his sentence, already knowing what he’s going to say because he always says the same thing. “I know. Why do you think it kills me that I can’t fucking be there? Because you work yourself to the bone and there’s no one around that’s willing to pull you away and force you to actually take care of yourself. The boys- I know they try, but they still see you as their leader. As their big brother. The things I do, the way I argue with you? No way they’d be willing to go that far. And I’m not trying to paint myself as this ultra special person but- jesus Chris, you can’t tell me that if, I don’t know; Felix tried to speak to you the way I do, you wouldn’t get upset.” 

Chan doesn’t say anything, but his eyes are big and liquid and he’s listening to every single word out of your mouth. When you say his name, directly ask him a question, he’s blinking. Thinking about it. “No, you’re right.” 

Finally, you place your bowl on the coffee table, feeling like you need to get up and move or else you’ll probably start crying or something equally as embarrassing. God, it’s like all of these pent up emotions have just decided to spill out. Things you didn’t even realize you were upset about until now.

“Your hair honestly means nothing in the grand scheme of things. It’s hair, like you said. But it was something for me to tease you about- something small that I was upset about that I could actually comment on, when really all I’ve wanted to do these last few weeks is scream at you to slow the fuck down. No- I know what you’re going to say and I’m not talking about the company schedules. That’s your job. I’m talking about all of the extra hours I know you’re pulling because nothing feels perfect enough. All of those hours where you’re meant to be relaxing but instead you just work more because you feel like if you stop you’ll stagnate.”

Leaning away from his phone, Chan takes a deep breath. Puffs out his cheeks for a moment before releasing it all and then dragging both hands over his face. The beanie gets dislodged, and you see a shock of pastel yelloworange. It’s not even that bad. It looks cute on him. But it felt like some weird shock to your system when he showed it to you and you could tell he was unhappy with it. 

“What do you want me to say? It seems like you’ve covered all of the bases.” 

“I want-” You huff in frustration. “I don’t want you to say what you think I want to hear, ok? Never. We don’t do that to each other. I just want-” Again, you cut yourself off, not actually sure what you want. Not sure what the entire fucking point of this little rant has been. 

You take your built up tension and you make good use of it. Bringing your bowl to the kitchen and beginning to clean up the dishes while you listen to the way Chan sighs into the silence. There really isn’t anything for him to say. 

You can hear the way he tries to start a sentence at least twice, and you know that he’s frustrated that he can’t fix whatever this is. But there’s nothing to fix because nothing’s broken. You’re just kind of at the end of your rope and you just want your boyfriend close. Shutting off the sink and picking up your phone, you try to give him something close to a reassuring smile.

“Listen, I think I figured out what I want.” He looks at you, jaw working and eyes shining and you want to take his face in your hands and kiss him stupid. But you can’t have that, not right now. So you’ll have to settle with second best. “We take care of each other, yeah, absolutely, but that means you have to take care of yourself when I’m not around to do it. Because I’m thousands of miles away. I know it’s a big ask but can you please do that… for me?” 

“Yeah… yeah, I can do that. I’m sorry I made you worry.” 

“Baby, I don’t need an apology. I just want you to be healthy.” You’re quiet for a beat, watching the way his eyes flick down and away from his phone before skipping back to you. “And also for your hair to look different.” 

“Wow.” It gets him to laugh. It feels like a small victory. 

“I’m nothing if not consistent. And hey, I’m sorry too. For just- whatever that was. It was unfair to unload it all when you’re probably minutes away from being busy again.” 

“Nothing to be sorry for. Like, I do get why you’re sorry but I’ll always choose to listen to your problems. Especially if they include me, that way we can figure out how to fix it.” His soft smile is back, crinkling his eyes and making your lungs weak. 

Humming, you finally finish putting all of the dishes away. “I love you.”

“I love you more.” 

“I love you the most.” 

“I’m pretty sure I loved you before I knew you.” Chan says, smile stretching wider as he tilts his head like an adorable fucking puppy. 

You smile back, and it feels like sugar fills your mouth. “Ooh, that’s a good one.” 

It’s the same little game you always play after any sort of tense conversation. Trying to one up the other and having to concede when they say something that legitimately makes you melt. It’s a reminder that things are hard but you get through it. 

Hoisting yourself up onto the kitchen counter, you sigh. It’s a little dramatic, infusing just enough theatrics to keep the levity of the conversation. “Sometimes it really sucks that we both believe in healthy communication. I wish we were the type of couple to ignore things until the feeling goes away but really it just festers until we can’t take it anymore.”

“I know, right. We’re just too good at being a couple. It’s kind of boring actually.”

“That’s what I’m saying! You should tell me to shut the fuck up more often and I’ll… I don’t know, accuse you of cheating?”

“With who?”

“Lino?”

“Wow. Shut the fuck up!” He manages to say, between his breathless laughter.

“Yeah! See, you’re getting the hang of it already.” 

Things might not be solved, like at all, but you feel a little lighter. You spend the next ten minutes joking with Chan, and things feel like they settle back to normal. You’ll probably have to have this conversation again, with less tension and frustration. But that’s for later. When he doesn’t look so tired and has a block of free time to actually talk about it in depth.

You’re going to see him, soon. You hold on to that knowledge as tightly as you can. You’ll be there, with him, able to touch him and kiss him and tell him that all you want is for him to be happy. Maybe you can have this conversation again, in person. Where you can hold hands and crawl into his lap. Soon.

[mirai-e-jump]

TV Life, 8/2/2024 Issue (No.15) ft. Kamen Rider Gotchard Cast Members (translation below)

Publication: July 17, 2024

The film version for the currently airing "Kamen Rider Gotchard" will finally release in theaters! We heard alot from the six main cast members on the highlights of the film and each other's future!

"What were your thoughts after reading the script?"

Motojima: I was very excited, as it felt like a side story to Kamen Rider Gotchard. In this film, the process of how past Houtaro became Kamen Rider Gotchard Daybreak is carefully depicted, so please pay attention to it.

Matsumoto: It was so moving, that tears would start flowing every time I read the script. I did my best to convey those emotions into my performance so that those who watch feel the same way.

Fujibayashi: When I first read it I thought, "Huh? Is Spanner even here?!" (laughs), but as I kept reading, it wasn't like that at all. In this film, I play a double role, which I think doubled the highlights, and personally, I felt a great sense of accomplishment after filming.

Abe: As it's a story that goes back and forth between the past and future, I found some parts to be alittle difficult to follow. However, as Reiyo-chan said, there are many scenes that moved me and gave off an intense feeling that only a film can give.

Tomizono: I also want to see this film on the big screen in theaters. I think one of the highlights is seeing how the characters who also appear in the TV series will affect the future in which the film takes place.

Kumaki: That's for sure. Those of you who have seen the TV series will recognize some things that'll make you think, "That thing from back then!," and I'm sure that you'll enjoy the film while reflecting on these various things.

"This time, DAIGO-san will make a guest appearance as "future Houtaro," who transforms into Kamen Rider Gotchard Daybreak."

Motojima: I was nervous before we even appeared together, but he was very kind to me. I could feel how much he cared about the character of Ichinose Houtaro. I was really happy that we were able to create this one role together.

Matsumoto: While they play the same Houtaro character, his personality and way of thinking are slightly different in the present and future. As Rinne, I was saddened at times by these differences, but I was able to empathize with him because I got to see Motojima-san and DAIGO-san's passionate performance up close. The two of them inspired me, and it also made me want to work harder, so I'm very grateful.

Fujibayashi: Ah! Junsei looks embarrassed!

Motojima: I didn't know you thought that way…that makes me happy!

"Now then, the theme of this film is related to the future. Please make a prediction about each other's futures."

Abe: I think that Kumaki-san will appear in a period drama.

(everyone but Abe & Kumaki): Oh~!

Abe: He's got a stern face, and I feel that a kimono would look good on him.

Kumaki: Oto-chan is both an actress and model, and her expressiveness is powerful, so I believe that she'll eventually become a top actress. With how sexy she is, it's hard to believe she's only in her early 20s, and I think she'll become an even more attractive actress as she gets older.

Fujibayashi: Well then, I'll talk about Rikiya. Even now, I think Rikiya has an androgynous aura to him, and I actually think that's precisely his strong point. That's why I hope he'll challenge himself to continue moving forward as he is now and become a one of a kind actor.

Tomizono: That makes me happy. I'm gonna make a big assumption that Yasu will continue to be an actor, and that he'll probably be traveling around the world (laughs).

(everyone but Tomizono & Fujibayashi): We can see that happening!

Tomizono: I think he's the type of person who always wants to try new things, so regardless of the country or location, he should be a globally active actor.

Motojima: I think that Reiyo-chan's crying performance is appealing. Her smile is cute, but her worried facial expression is also wonderful, so I'd like to see her play a two sided role that evokes the positive and negative of her character.

Matsumoto: When we were filming the scene where I become possessed by Zukyumpire, I thought about how Motojima-san would also be a good fit for 2.5D productions and roles, so I definitely want to see you challenge yourself to them!

Motojima: I might give it a try. I look forward to all of our futures!

[onigiriico]

Mikoto audio drama (t2) - English TL

[ links: Spotify | YouTube ]

Mikoto-ing again 🫡 I know I say this like every other post, but I 100% recommend listening to the audio alongside the translation! On one hand the VAs just did an amazing job on this, and on the other hand I also feel like it'll. probably make the switches more obvious than I can convey in text lol

Little disclaimer about the way I translated the DID terminology here: I know the correct term in English is "alter", but in the JP audio they're consistently referred to as "personalities" (人格 / jinkaku) while the closest Japanese equivalent to "alter" seems to be 自我 / jiga, from what I could find. I generally try to stick as closely to the JP terminology with my translations as possible, so I mostly went with "personality". I really don't want to offend anyone here so I hope that's a somewhat okay choice ahshbsdj

Okay. Okay that got lengthy. As usual, if you find any mistranslations, have questions, etc etc feel free to send me an ask or hit me up on Twitter where I drop by, like, once a month 😅 And now without further ado:

⬇️ translation under the cut ⬇️

(Es enters)

E: Mikoto…

M: Ah… Hi, Warden-kun.

E: You… are Mikoto, right?

M: Uh… What are you talking about? It really feels like it’s been a while, doesn’it? How have you been? – Huh? What’s that…? Chains? Oh, no. Take them off!

E: I refuse. You’re too dangerous. Physical restrictions are necessary.

M: Umm… (laughs) What are you saying, restricting someone who can’t even hurt a fly?

E: You really aren’t aware, huh…

M: Well, I mean… I do get it. I… go out of control while I’m asleep, right?

E: …

M: The others told me about it. How I got into a fistfight with Koto-chan and whatnot.

E: Seems like it, yeah.

M: I wonder if it’s like… some kind of sleepwalking…? After all, I’ve been losing sleep more and more often recently… Man… It’s really troublesome, isn’t it?

E: Mikoto…

M: The others are all scared of me. I can tell by looking at the way they act. Because I read the room.

E: …

M: It’s pretty tough, isn’t it? (laughs) Ever since I came here, so much has been happening that I don’t understand…

E: … You really… do laugh when you’re suffering, huh?

M: Huh?

E: You don’t get angry. You don’t scream. You laugh, like it’s a minor inconvenience.

M: Ah… I guess so. I might have that kind of trait.

E: …

M: Usually, if you just laugh and pretend, things work out in the end, right? I’m pretty good at that. Making things work out to the best of my abilities.

E: Is that so…

M: (laughs) …But… it’s not coming to an end. All of this. With things I’ve never even heard before, the whole ti—

E: …

M: —the whole time… I have to make all these irritating experiences…!

E: You came out, huh.

M: Hey. Looks like you haven’t gotten a beating yet, Warden brat.

E: …!

M: Hah? What, are you scared?

E: Like you didn’t get beaten by Kotoko…!

M: Hah. That was just because she caught me off guard. We went at it again while you were asleep, and it’s not like I lost there.

E: Multiple personalities… Am I right with the assumption that the you I’m talking to right now is another personality of Mikoto’s?

M: Well, I guess that’s about right.

E: I see. What do you want me to call you?

M: Huh? You’re accepting this pretty readily, aren’t you. Wouldn’t the whole multiple personalities thing normally raise some eyebrows?

E: Yeah. I also didn’t think it was real, at first.

M: Figures. If it wasn’t me, I wouldn’t believe it either. I’d just think it’s a lie someone came up with to get away with murder.

E: But Milgram acknowledges that [it is real] in your case. I simply accept that as the truth, and develop my thoughts from there. So? What do you want me to call you? Your name.

M: No clue about that. Just call me whatever.

E: … For convenience, I’ll be calling you John.

M: Sounds like a dog’s name.

E: It’s derived from John Doe, the name given to unidentified bodies. Do you like it?

M: Can’t say I’m very fond of the way you’re flaunting your knowledge.

E: … Anyway. You’re acting pretty calm today, aren’t you? I thought of you more like a monster of some sort. I wasn’t expecting to have such a proper conversation with you.

M: Don’t get cocky! If not for these chains, I would’ve beaten your face in by now, brat.

E: Ohh, scary, scary.

M: Hmph.

E: John, you are not a prisoner of Milgram. The fact that Milgram’s usual restraints are ineffective against you is more proof for that than anything. Milgram has judged that Mikoto is the prisoner, and you, as his alter, are an exception.

M: Huhh, I see. So that’s why you believe that there’s multiple personalities.

E: That’s why I thought I would try and talk to you as a key witness today. I’m rather glad that you’re being cooperative.

M: But, you know… This isn’t a good thing, probably.

E: What do you mean?

M: I (boku) might be trying to disappear.

E: …

M: Evidently, the time I (ore) have been fronting has been getting longer, so this “me” has been able to stabilize. Isn’t that the reason we can talk properly?

E: …

M: If I had stayed a monster… maybe that would be better.

E: …

M: What?

E: You’ve turned out to be much more rational than I expected… I’m surprised.

M: I’m a university graduate, after all.

E: (sighs)

M: As for alters… Why do you think they’re born?

E: In precise terms, it’s called dissociative identity disorder – generally speaking, [it refers to] when a person experiences severe pain or stress, and a new personality is created to try and isolate [the original personality] from the resulting trauma.

M: Yeah. I… probably come out to ease the stress Boku experiences. The fact that I come out for longer just means that Boku is constantly under extreme stress.

E: Stress… Namely the environment of Milgram, right?

M: Right. Especially the fact that you judged against forgiving Boku is causing a lot of stress. That’s why he’s entrusting me with his heart.

E: I see.

M: Not like I can blame him. From his point of view, he’s being blamed for a crime he can’t even remember.

E: If that’s the truth, then… you’re the one who committed the murder?

M: Yeah, it’s me. I killed them off.

E: …

M: So Boku really didn’t do it.

E: Can I ask… why you killed them?

M: They annoyed me.

E: Who did you kill?

M: Just someone who was walking around nearby.

E: … How many did you kill?

M: Can’t remember. I was first born back then, you know. It’s kinda fuzzy.

E: How can you talk about that so calmly?

M: (sighs) According to the law, how would this go for Boku?

E: With a psychiatric evaluation, there’s a chance of a reduced sentence, but depending on the number of victims… the death penalty might be inevitable.

M: …! I– I’m the one who did it! Boku was just sleeping!

E: Is this really something that works that conveniently?

M: Just put yourself in Boku’s shoes for a moment! He was bottling up all his stress! He kept dealing with it all by himself the whole time, until it exploded! It’s not like he just decided that he wanted to hurt somebody!

E: …

M: He’s not the type of person who could do stuff like that! He always looks out for others, always reads the room, always tries to get along with people around him! He can’t do stuff like that… He was on the verge of exploding! That’s why I was born. It’s obvious, isn’t it? Boku didn’t do anything!

E: Even if that’s true… Even if it wasn’t what Mikoto wanted – someone’s life was still lost.

M: …!

E: Even if it was you, John, who was in [your body at the time] – there’s no way for you to prove that. At the very least not in a way that would be accepted in court. It could still be judged that you’re pretending—

M: You…!! What do you think?

E: I…?

M: I’m the one who did it! Boku didn’t do it! You know that because of Milgram! I don’t care about the law, I want to know what you think!

E: …

M: Please… forgive Boku. I’m the one who did it.

E: … I can’t… judge that right away. It’s not something that I can easily decide to forgive. In fact, Mikoto’s mental footage was so violent… it’s unforgivable. That’s how I judged.

M: That could also just be a fake or owed to the multiple personalities, right?! Boku really isn’t at fault! I’m the one who killed them!

E: …

M: Are you really satisfied [with the unforgiven judgment]? He turned into a murderer overnight!

E: What you did could still be considered a sin, though!

M: …! … I think… I might be the person Boku wishes he was. The person who stubbornly stands his ground, who doesn’t cry himself to sleep from stress, who gives people their payback. If I, the “ore” personality, hadn’t been born, I’m sure Boku would have reached his limit and fallen apart.

E: John… you…

M: It’s true that I was the one who wanted to destroy everything… and the weakness of Boku, who couldn’t stand up for himself all alone, might have been the origin of that. But… that’s all there is to it. Is that a sin?

E: I’ll be considering that after this.

M: After talking to you, I get that you couldn’t forgive what I did. And I’m fine with that.

E: …Yeah. That’s right.

M: The one Milgram is supposed to judge is Boku – Mikoto, right. He’s not me – so, not John.

E: Precisely.

M: Please, forgive Boku. If you don’t… I’m sure he won’t be able to deal with this any longer.

E: “A sin committed by another personality isn’t a sin”... you’re telling me that’s how I should judge?

M: Yeah. If you forgive Boku… I’ll disappear.

E: …

M: That’s right. I’ll have to disappear eventually, anyway… Disappear, and take all of it with me. I… was born to protect Boku, after all.

E: You were… born for it…

M: Yeah. If it’s for Boku, I’ll… do anything.

(machinery whirrs, bell rings)

E: John…

M: W…what? A dog’s name?

E: Mikoto…?

M: Warden-kun, you own a dog? What breed? No, wait, let me try guessing first– A toy poodle? Actually, maybe you surprisingly prefer the ugly-cute kind… like a French bulldog!

E: … No…

M: A pug, then?

E: It’s not the name of a dog!

M: Ehh… Then what…?

E: … It’s the name of your… friend.

M: (laughs) I don’t know anyone like that~

E: … I bet you don’t.

M: Huh…?

E: Prisoner no.9, Mikoto. Sing your sins.

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Lovers CHAOS LINEAGE ー Laito [02]

ー The scene starts in one of the empty bedrooms at the Violet Manor

*Thud*

Yui: Nn...

( ...Huh...? When did I fall asleep in a bed...? )

( Besides, I don’t recognize this room...Where could I be? )

Laito: Seems like the Princess has finally awoken from her slumber. Good morning, Bitch-chan~

Yui: Laito-kun...?

Laito: What’s this? Are you still out of it? Perhaps I got a little too excited and had a tad bit too much of your blood?

My bad~ Your blood was simply too delicious, I couldn’t stop myself.

Yui: ( I see...I must have lost consciousness while he drank my blood... )

Did you carry me here?

Laito: I sure did! I realized that I’d be in trouble if Carla found out that I just left you for dead there.

By the way, this will be your room from today onwards, so you can make yourself at home.

Yui: Yeah...Thanks.

Laito: You’re welcome~

I know it’s under the assumption that I’ll watch over you, but getting to spend time with you alone like this is such a privilege. 

I can leave figuring out how to become Supreme Overlord to Carla and the others, while I don’t have to bother with any of that annoying stuff. 

Yui: ( Supreme Overlord... The way they talk about it makes me assume that it’s common knowledge but what exactly is going on? )

( This isn’t Kaminashi City...I don’t recognize the Church I woke up at, nor this manor... )

Laito: But Carla loves to work his little brothers to the bone, you see. He’s always so nosy, ordering us around. 

I don’t care if he’s my brother or not, I’m starting to get sick of it.

Yui: Brothers...

( Laito-kun and Carla-san? How...? Then what happened to the others? )

( Could it be that they also had their memories manipulated, just like me...? But why exactly? )

Laito: What’s wrong? You’re gazing at me so passionately. Are you...trying to seduce me, perhaps?

Yui: I-I’m no...Kyah!

ー He pins her down on the bed

*Creaak*

Laito: Your blood has such a tempting scent. It could probably win any Vampire over.

To be honest, I thought about doing all sorts of things to you while you were asleep. 

Yui: Eeh!?

Laito: It’s such a shame you woke up before I had the chance to. Oh well, it’s even more exciting for me when I get to actually see your reactions, so I suppose this works into my favor.

Yui: W-Wait, I want you to hear me out first!

Laito: Don’t worry, I’ll be gentle with you. 

...Aah, I guess I shouldn’t. You’re the type who prefers to suffer, aren’t you? 

Remember how happy you seemed when I forced that spoon inside your mouth? 

In that case, I better put you through hell.

Yui: ( Despite everything, Laito-kun is still his old self...! )

Laito-kun, please. Listen to me. 

( I want to get some facts straight...and figure out this situation. )

( Besides, if Laito-kun’s memories are all messed up, I want those to go back to normal. )

Laito: What you have to say, huh? ...Fine, I’ll listen.

Yui: Really!?

Laito: However, if it’s something dull, I’m going to punish you, okay?

Yui: ( Uu...I have a bad feeling about this, but I need him to listen to what I have to say, or we’ll never get anywhere. )

O-Okay.

Laito: Nfu~ How courageous of you. Spill the tea then?

Yui: O-Okay. To be honest, I’m not quite sure what is happening myself either...

But it seems like we’ve gotten caught up in some mysterious events.

Laito: Heeh, that sounds rough.

Yui: ( I can tell by his face that he doesn’t believe me at all...But I can’t give in. )

My memories were messed up until yesterday as well...I was convinced that I am indeed Eve who has been asleep at the Church. 

However, that’s not actually the case. My name is Komori Yui...I remembered that. 

Laito: Is that your name? I thought your name was ‘Eve’.

Yui: You are actually called ‘Sakamaki Laito’ yourself. You are the fifth brother of the Sakamaki family. 

Laito: Sakamaki...? 

Yui: It’s not just Subaru-kun, but Shuu-san and Reiji-san are your brothers as well. 

Also, you, Ayato-kun and Kanato-kun are triplets.

Laito: With those two guys from the Orange House? We’re triplets?

Heeh~ That’s rather intriguing. Did you come up with that on the spot? You might have potential to become a storywriter.

Yui: ( He won’t believe me at all... )

I had been staying at the Sakamaki manor and you...are my boyfriend.

Laito: Heeh...Boyfriend, you say?

Yui: ( Eh? That smile just now...I have a bad feeling about it. )

Laito: If you are telling the truth, it’s pretty impressive to have a family of six. What were our parents like?

Yui: Eh? Well...

( They’re Karlheinz-san and Cordelia-san... )

( It’d all be new information for Laito-kun so...I’m not sure if I should tell him under these circumstances? )

Laito: Hmー? Seeing as cat’s got your tongue, I assume they must have been pretty bad parents to the point where you can’t tell me? 

Or perhaps you were deeply involved with our parents in some way? Which is exactly why you can’t talk about them. ...Correct?

Yui: ...! T-That’s...

( I guess you could say Cordelia-san and I are deeply connected in one way. )

( My heart ーー belongs to her after all. )

Laito: Well, I don’t really care about the parents. There’s some other juicy details I’m more interested in. 

ー Laito leans in close

*Thud* 

Laito: Say, Bitch-chan. You mentioned that we are lovers, right?

Yui: Y-Yeah...

Laito: However, I don’t remember dating you at all. 

That means you lied about the fact to try and grab my attention, no?

Yui: I-I’m not lying. The two of us...we actually are dating...!

Laito: Look at how desperate you are. If you want my attention that badly, just say so honestly.

...I don’t mind, I’ll tend to you. Let’s have some fun together?

I wonder where you’re most sensitive? Nn...

*Sluuurp*

Yui: Hyaah!

( I-I made a weird noise...! )

Laito: Your neck must be your weak point for you to make such sounds? 

Yui: T-That’s not true. 

Laito: It’s not very nice to lie, you see? Besides, you seemed rather nervous while telling your story earlier.

The thin layer of sweat makes it taste very sweet. How about another spot?

*Rustle* 

Yui: No...N-Not my clothes!

Laito: It’s fine. Today I’m in the mood for just a small glimpse of skin.

Yui: ( That is far from being ‘fine’! )

Laito: What’s this? Your skin is nicely flushed. The scent of your blood has become sweet and rich as well...Nn.

Yui: Ah...Nn...

( I can’t...It tickles, my voice keeps slipping out...! )

Laito: Fufu, you’re sensitive here as well? I wouldn’t mind sucking your blood, but you’ll have to wait today.

You kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time while you were asleep, so now I’m getting my revenge.

Yui: Nn...Haah...Revenge, you say...?

( Even though he’s the one who chose to watch me as I slept... )

Laito: What’s wrong? Your breathing has become ragged. I wonder if you’re going crazy from not being stimulated enough?

I get really turned on from seeing you fall victim to the feeling of pleasure...Nn...

*Smooch*

Yui: ...Nhah... 

Laito: ...Fufu, so your earlobes are sensitive as well, huh? You’re crying out so sweetly.

I suppose I should leave a mark so it’s easier to remember your weak spots...Nn...

Yui: Ah...

Laito: ...Come on, take a look? There’s a bright red mark right above your chest, see? This is one of your weak spots. 

Yui: ...

( This is bad, at this rate, I’ll get caught up in his flow...! )

Please, let me continue my story...I want you to retrieve your memories.

Laito: What you told me earlier? As intriguing as that was, bringing it up at a time like this is somewhat of a turn off. 

Yui: But, it’s the truth and...There’s something wrong with you right nowーー

Laito: ...Shut up. 

Yui: ...!

Laito: I’m trying to make it clear that I’m not in the mood for it right now.

Yui: ( This feeling...It’s as if we’ve gone back to the time when we only just met... )

...I-I’m sorry...

Laito: Nfu~ Exactly, just like that. Girls are so much cuter when they’re obedient, you see? Makes it easier to deal with them.

Of course, I can get a kick out of someone acting a little feisty as well, but don’t push it too far, okay? That’ll only piss me off.

Yui: O-Okay...

( I wonder how I can get him to remember? )

( I don’t want his memories to be gone forever... )

( However... )

Monologue

The way Laito-kun messes around with me,

solely out of sheer enjoyment, following his instinct.

Almost as if all the time we spent together up till now,

was slowly fading away from inside him. 

That made my heart ache incredibly painfully. 

I want him to remember. 

Yet, at the same time I hesitated.

Laito-kun has a strained relationship with his parents. 

A trauma so deep and dark,

it simply cannot be expressed through words.

Taking that into account,

I suddenly became uncertain whether retrieving his memories,

would make him happy or not,

as I tightly closed my eyes and simply waited for time to pass by.

ー The scene shifts to the hallway of the Violet manor

Yui: ( In the end, yesterday passed with Laito-kun toying around with me all day... )

( I wonder what my next step should be? I’d love to take a bath and think it through but... )

Excuse me...Laito-kun? I’d like to go to the bathroom...

Laito: Yeah, I know.

Yui: Then why are you following me?

Laito: I’m in charge of watching over you after all. I will follow you anywhere.

Of course, this also applies to when you’re taking a bath, understood?

Yui: ( At this rate, he’ll probably follow me inside the bathroom as well...I have to lose him somehow! )

Laito: I mean, doing it in the bathroom is kind of nice as well, don’t you agree?

Yui: D-Do what?

Laito: Isn’t that obvious? Sucking your blood.

Yui: I-I’d like to take a bath alone so I can relax...

ー He moves closer

Laito: You say that, but your sweet scent has grown stronger? You’re looking forward to it, aren’t you, Bitch-chan?

Yui: I-I’m not.

Laito: Haah...It just keeps on growing more intense. I don’t think I’ll be able to hold back. Perhaps I should have some right here, right now?

Yui: Y-You can’t, not here! Somebody could pass by...

Laito: But that’s what makes it so great! Having them watch closely as we become entwined with each other. ...Fufu.

Being watched gets you even more aroused as well, doesn’t it?

Yui: No, I don’t!

Laito: Liar, liar, pants on fire~ Want to give it a try then? I’m pretty sure you’ll grow addicted to it.

Kou: You really get a kick out of the weirdest things, don’t you, Laito-kun?

Yui: K-Kou-kun...!?

Laito: Aah, perfect timing. I was looking for an audience.

Kou: I could hear you. But I’ll pass.

If I can only watch when she smells so good, I’ll definitely get hungry as well.

Yui: ( T-Thank god...Seems like I’ll be able to avoid any weird situations. )

Laito: Hmー In that case, you should suck her blood alongside me.

Yui: ...Eh!?

Kou: You don’t mind? Hooray! I’m actually starving right now!

Yui: W-Wait! I’m obviously not agreeing with that!

Laito: Ehー? But why? That’d only make things even more exciting, no?

Come on, just try imagining it? How our fangs will slowly sink into your skin, that is.

Soft nibbles on one side, intense blood-sucking on the other...I wonder what kind of sounds we’ll be able to get out of you?

Yui: ( W-What now...? I can’t get this feeling out of my mind. )

Selection

→ I’d prefer just Laito-kun (♡)

Yui: In that case, I’d prefer it to just be Laito-kun...!

Laito: Heeh? I didn’t think you’d personally request me~

Kou: Haah? Excuse me?

You’re fine with a freak like him sucking your blood, but you don’t want me to do the same?

I don’t get that.

*Rustle* 

Yui: Kyah!

Kou: Come on, ask me to suck your blood as well.

Yui: Ugh...

( He’s glaring daggers at me...It might be best to just genuinely do what he asked of me... )

P-Please...suck my...blood...

Kou: Atta girl, good job!

→ I want Kou-kun to suck my blood too (🖤)

Yui: ( I don’t want someone other than Laito-kun to suck my blood... )

( But who knows what will happen if I refuse... )

I want Kou-kun...to suck my blood as well...

Kou: Heeh, I already knew that Laito-kun likes to refer to you as ‘Bitch-chan’, but it seems like you’re actually the real deal.

To be honest, I kind of expected Eve to be someone a little more pure.

...Oh well, I won’t say I dislike being yearned for~

Laito: Okay~ You can go first then, Kou.

Kou: Yay! I’ve been so curious about Eve’s blood.

ー Kou approaches Yui

*Rustle* 

Yui: ( ...J-Just as I thought, having someone other than Laito-kun suck my blood makes me flinch... )

Kou: Well then, time to dig in~ ...Nn...

ー Kou bites her

Yui: Nn...Ah...

( It feels different from Laito-kun’s bite... )

Laito: Haah...Look at you, Bitch-chan, your cheeks flushed and eyes watering...

Does it feel good to have Kou suck your blood?

Yui: That’s not...

Laito: Untrue, right? See? ...The scent of your blood has gotten richer. It proves that you’re feeling good.

Yui: Nn...Haah...That’s not true.

Laito: Aah...I’ve gotten excited just from watching you squirm around in pleasure.

I’d love to enjoy the show for a bit but...

ー Laito approaches as well

Laito: You want me to join in on the fun as well, don’t you? ...Nn...

ー He bites her

Yui: Aah...

Laito: Fufu, your body’s quivering. It must truly feel amazing...

Say? I’ll suck from your arm as well. I believe it’ll make for an entirely new sensation? Nn...Nnh...Haah...

Yui: ( ...Ah...I’m going deeper and deeper down this rabbit hole... )

( Now isn’t the time for this...I haven’t gotten a single step closer in getting out of this weird situation... )

Laito: Your blood is truly addictive...Uu...

Yui: Laito-kun...?

Laito: ...It’s nothing...I just felt a little dizzy, that’s all...

Kou: ...Huh? ...For some reason, my head’s spinning as well...

Laito: ...You know, I guess we got ‘drunk’ on Eve’s top-quality blood...?

Kou: Ahー You might have a point...We don’t get our hands on blood quite this delicious every day after all. 

Yui: ( The blood’s getting to their head? This has never happened before though. )

Kou: Come on, what are you getting distracted for? I’m still not satisfied yet. 

Yui: Eh? No way...

Laito: Look at you playing the part of the tragic heroine. You really are a natural at seducing men, aren’t you?

You’re such a naughty girl, Bitch-chanーー Nn...Hah...

Yui: Uu...Aah...

( My blood is being sucked by not just Laito-kun, but Kou-kun as well... )

( Like this, I’m treated like mere prey, similar to how I had just arrived at the Sakamaki manor... )

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

[wispisstillverybored67]

Stainless Blooms

Kagami yo kagami kotaechatte Who's the best? I'm the best! Oh yeah Namami no mama ikeru toko made To the next, to the ichiban ue

"Good Morning, Amazake."

"Mornin', Fluff-chan." Exchanges like these are common in these days. 

Would you believe me if I tell you that I'm living in a library? It’s technically in the basement, but yeah. It's a town... populated entirely by food. They aren't actually food, but they're all so convinced that they are. The lady I'm stayin' with is named Marshmallow Fluff, MaFlu for short for some. Her hair looks just like her namesake, which she said was what happened the year she came here. But as I investigated last night, it sure as hell doesn't have the exact texture of marshmallow paste. I thought she would be someone with a good head on her shoulders, but no. She's just as delusional as the others...!! It certainly grew FAST. And as I stayed, I learned about the insane yet intricate rituals the people do, so damn deep in their delusions. It was neck-length when I arrived, and as I found out, it was because of the fact that a neighbor, Candy, is wholly addicted to, well, candy and sweets. So, in exchange for her life (a cannibal??? wow~), whenever her hair reaches past the floor, she'll cut it off and give it to her. Maybe I'll try some later. I mean, probably just hair, doesn't taste like marshmallow. Certainly enough to warrant a teenager that apparently ate whoever thought of themself as a sweet in this town to enjoy all the same, so that's that. 

I'm just here for some field research. When I displayed an interest in this world, Wild drilled me on the context based on the game she played. Then, she demanded I slip into a "cycle" without many troubles, whatever that means. I've kept my 5 don'ts that've served me well, and I think that it's due time for some in-depth field research. Let's go over it to start... Fluff-chan's currently getting ready for some event with the other residents. 

#1: Don't make assumptions about them on the first day.

This should be obvious. This helps make sure there aren't any unneeded fights right off the bat, nor no sour feelings onward. Because you know how hard it is to work with someone that you hate, or hates you. As I figured out in earlier, there's greater risk of throwing the task away if someone hates someone. And, just in case someone's hatred is actually beneficial to me, I can just drug them with an FFoid. Here's to hoping the Law is on MY side that time...!

It's November, but as I've seen, the weather is somehow perfect every time. It had rain, and snow from what I heard from my host. When I first arrived, I think they drugged my food. Wild told me about that. Of course, I gave my eyes a re-do to keep up a certain level of polish that would come IF I was able to be effected by it. 

In any case, I'll keep the people at arms length as I compile everything about them. Depending on her mood, she might ask me to go.

#2: Don't make assumptions about them on the first day.

This is also self-explanatory. In this line of work, you have to first learn everything about your host, until you springboard off of that to the others. At least one thing remains for sure: MaFlu just wants to live quietly. She works at a library in the Sweets District, and no one has the balls to ignore her if she shushes them. I guess she really is more reasonable compared to the others, but... Why would a perfectly reasonable person live life thinking you're food? Makes no sense to me... Ah, but I guess I'll figure out that secret later, hmm?! This is gonna be good! Hahaha, yeah! I'll squeeze the secrets out! Today, Fluff-chan... TOMORROW THE WORLD!!! 

I can just interact with the outside world through the library just fine. It's surprisingly a little busy. But typically, I just observe from a distance. There's one resident that I haven't seen, though. She's been talked about occasionally, and her name is apparently Chili. Wonder what's her deal? I ought to investigate that later on. And she handles it with her top-notch maturity. Ya don't hear that often. I'm sure when she hears my research plans, she'll be fine with it. It's been a work week, so I think I'll be fine now. Marshmallow Fluff just wants to live a quiet life. 

#3: Don't hurt anyone unprovoked.

Partially spring-boarding off the first one, but this should be obvious as well. Bitterness never helped anyone, and judging from what Wild told me, the people are surprisingly bitter, aha~ They might do anything to be able to spin me as the one in the wrong, so just to be safe, IF needed, we take them to the woods, knock them down for an opening for another attack, and call all my underlings to beat the shit out of them, and wipe their mind of most of the event. ...Hypothetically, of course. Honestly, I have nothing else to say about this. It's a boring rule, but a practical one. 

"Hey, Ms. Amazake... I'm sorry for not telling you this sooner, but today is the anniversary of Food Town's founding, and we'll all be celebrating later tonight at the Last Supper over at the Fruits District. Do you want to come along also?"

Oho? A party? That would make a damn good opportunity for field research. 

#4: Don't trust them if they don't know your name.

I think this speaks for itself. It's just common knowledge. When cutting deals with others, it's for the best. They don't know the first thing about you, what makes you think you can trust them on handling potentially dangerous work? Of course, a fake name should suffice if needed, but I do hate lying, so let's see. 

For a party, you'll be mingling with others, so your name would be tossed around a lot. But the "Last Supper"... I never heard of something like that. Was there even a restaurant with that name before? How odd. ANYWAYS... Think of all the deals you could cut with others! Mingling with such nice, easygoing, pliable people... Ain't it fun? To fantasize about the possibilities? No? Oh, YOU'LL understand soon enough... I can collect aaaaaannnnyyyyything I want on them, and they can't do shit about it! Let's hope to God they aren't boring. 

Fluff-chan is chatty despite appearances, so most know my name already.

#5: Don't abandon your friends. No matter what.

I'm alone, so...

"Yeah sure, why not." I finally responded. A good joint requires 3 things: Men, meat, and myself. I've seen men, nothing that would catch my eye, but men are men, and I'll take it. It's a restaurant, so it would realistically have meat, but we'll see for sure. I'm going, so that's all 3 on the list, it's a good joint.

She seemed relieved a little when I said that. Heading back to her room, she came back with a bow. It matches the one she wears, but the white stripe is red. I am NOT gonna wear that up, but...

I yanked it from her hands, and wore it like a tie. Shrugging, she then picked up her telephone.

"Hey, Passion Fruit. I'll be bringing another guest with me, so plan accordingly... Yes, thank you. Goodbye."

Wait... Who the hell is Passion Fruit?! Another variable... but this won't be a fatal error. Just a variable.

[uglytsumugi12]

shine▲polyhedric tri-lights 【ep 8】

♢ characters: natsume, sora, tsumugi, madara

♢ season: winter

― ☆ ―

Natsume: ......

Sora: Oh, Shisho~! Good morning!

Shisho...? Is something wrong? Your "color" feels a bit clouded...

.."Wheel of Fortune" card?

Ah, did you get another bad omen...?

Natsume: Not reaLLY, that's not iT. I was just deep in thouGHTS.

AnywAY, did you come here to make some research tOO?

Sora: Yes! Sora came to investigate!¹

Natsume: HeHE, what a coincidENCE. I've also been doing research concerning spoRTS.

Senpai was there for a biT, but he had to leave to get resources from the compaNY.

Sora: Sora will research on sports, too. Ah, by the way Shisho... Do you know what "the 'S' in Switch is the 'S' in 'Sports'" means?

Natsume: ...? I have no idea whY, that proposal was Senpai's doiNG.

I asked him about iT, he said it was some "youthful enthusiasm's result". He was embarrassed to admit iT, thouGH.

Surely that isn't so much of big of a deAL, is iT?

Sora: Senpai was embarrassed to answer..? Sora feels troubled...

Sora thought this matter was important for Switch's formation...

Natsume: What can I saY? It was Senpai who thoughtlessly mentioned how I felt about the Five Eccentrics accidENT.

Work is better done fast and finished than slow and meticulOUS. Senpai's mindset differs from that entireLY.

Sora: ..Not a big deal...

(...Actually, Shisho might be right.)

(A sporty theme might've just been one amongst many others during Switch's formation. It could have no deep meaning at all.)

(But doesn't this all feel strange~?²)

(Tsuka-chan seemed to tell the truth, too.)

(Senpai never does things randomly...³ It wouldn't be surprising if he was hiding something.)

(Is Sora overthinking? Is he making wrong assumptions? Either way, he'll have to hear the truth from Senpai.)

(And Sora has the perfect trick up his sleeve for that—)

Natsume: SoRA, don't just stand heRE. Sit next to mE.

The interviews I'm reading right now will surely help uS. Let's split up and read them togeTHER.

Sora: ...Oh-- Yes, that's a good idea!

Let's find answers quickly and make this job a success, shall we~?

(...Sora would also be happy to discover what your secret with Switch is, Senpai.)

〈 Two hours later 〉

Tsumugi: Natsume-kun, Sora-kun! I'm back~♪

I'm happy you guys were still in the office when I contacted you. That way I'll be able to add up the company's data to your research.

I'm sure we'll be able to understand what a "performance where you shine and improve yourself" means with it.

Sora: HaHa~ Thank you! Can we read it now?

Tsumugi: Of course. Let's read it together ♪

Natsume: Let's sEE... "Sparkling sweat, glistening on the forehead. A good day with your friends."

...That doesn't mention anything about outfiTS, righT?

Tsumugi: Correct. It represents lifestyles in similarly to fashion magazines.

The other projects are similar... Some young people smiling wide and enjoying street sports while wearing the company's outfits.

Problem is, isn't this exactly what we did yesterday? Or is ice skating a too classy sport..?

Natsume: A problem indEED. We're running out of tiME, and we still don't know what they exactly want from US.

I thought we'd find the answers to our questioNS, but this isn't helping one bIT.

What do you thinK, SoRA? Did you find anythiNG?

Sora: Ah, yes! Sora—

Madara: Hey there, enough chit-chat!

Tsumugi & Natsume: ....!?

Sora: Uwah-?! Why is Sora being tied up!?

Madara: Hahaha, sorry, Sora-san! I'll be carrying you for a bit, so please hang in there!

Natsume-san, Tsumugi-san. My apologies but, I'll be borrowing your precious junior for a bit!

Sora: Shisho, Senpai! Please help!!

Natsume: SoRA!!

Tsumugi: Hey, wait-! What'd you do that for--

Madara: Things never remain static, and life's always full of unexpected events!

If you want your Sora-san back, you'll have to catch me first...☆

Natsume: GH-- SenpAI, let's go after hIM!

Tsumugi: Y- Yes!!

But- Why did Mikejima-kun steal Sora-kun away, he was so cooperative yesterday—

Natsume: Now's not the time to think about thAT, idiOT! Let's get goING!

UgH, I knew asking this guy for help was a bad idEA. He'd expect something back for suRE.

For hell's saKE, why do I keep getting bad omeNS...!!?

— 1- that term used by sora is the same natsume used b4 but i think sora would use it more literally than the adaptation i did for natsume lmao) 2- more precisely, foggy, uncertain, sort of hazy feeling abt the situation 3- here its more "praying and being fond of lucky charms" because as u may know mugi always tries to avoid bad omens and carries lucky charms with him. a lot. so ig this adaptation is more of saying he wouldnt do things carelessly as hes very meticulous about his work & wants to prevent unlucky events from happening

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[2n2n]

do you think yashiro nene is a fujoshi

Not at all, I actually think Nene is the most utterly normal straight girl LOL. She likes otome games where you are a protag dating a dozen cute boys or whatever, and in her fantasies, all boys are pointed at her and oggling her … she is just into a harem fantasy. It's all about how hot and impressive she is--!! In a way the boys in the harem interacting is like… too complicated, for early manga Nene? It's such a straightforward want to be desirable …

She has a more 'realistic' kind of fantasy outside of that, which she actively works towards-- where she alters her hobbies and vocations to appease a boy (and those vocations are things like learning to cook, sew, garden…)… and she ah, does deep down, understand she isn't conventionally desirable (TT__TT) so she has a submissive kind of brutal realist fantasy of, toiling or proving herself loyal to a boy through ah, subservience … (oh Nene-chan….)

I don't even think she… perceives … much between two boys, naturally, in the way a lot of people don't jump to that kind of assumption-- like, I don't think Nene perceives the layers between Mitsuba and Kou as romantic at all, thus far, in the story? Just that Mitsuba is a friend Kou wants badly to help. (Kou being interested in her romantically would make it confusing to parse, really)

If Nene liked BL, that would be funny for Hanako to observe and psychoanalyze (I assume the typical narrative of the ~delusional degraded girl left to rot into a fujoshi would just occur to him naturally, like damn girl, you've been alone for too long; your fantasies have become too convoluted lol), but instead he's only here to comment on and observe her thirsty fantasies where 10 guys line up for her, hahaha. He sees THAT and goes, pervert, lol…. dirty thought haver... lol...

he's charitable and pities her for wanting to be hot in a conventional way......…

In reality I think of her gradual observing of the Yugi twins and, wishing for them to resolve what is going on between them, as something she earnestly wants for them both-- ehr, platonically, initially, you know, just normally … their story is sad, and, they are brothers, they were important to one another, Hanako feels seemingly guilt and misery about the murder, so… Nene's likely-future-interest in them healing their bond, is as straightforward and sincere as Neige wanting to heal the Ambrose twins broken relationship in AidaIro's Snow White. It'll just become so obvious and apparent both parties are still loving and wanting the other. Hanako is so ah, avoidant, and Tsukasa so mysterious, that we're softly chipping away at Nene realizing, "Tsukasa is precious to Hanako".

Neige, in Snow White, observes the brother's sad pining for the other, and becomes straight up frustrated and yells at them about it, like, "NEITHER OF YOU HATE EACH OTHER, YOU BOTH WANT THE SAME THINGS, SO WHY IS IT LIKE THIS???" and she doesn't need any kind of interest in BL, you know? It's a sincere story, at first………

But actually that is why it's captivating to think of her organically… understanding, parsing, that there is, "more" going on under the surface…?

"Tsukasa is precious to Hanako" is step 1, not the final conclusion. And I also think that's the… point, of her and Hanako forming a romance, and all of this parallel between how avoidant and fussy he is towards Nene, and how avoidant and fussy he can be towards Tsukasa. I think, once Nene can truly understand, "Hanako loves me, but, he refuses to let himself have things he loves, because he is afraid, for some reason", she could see how he creates the same obscurity and distance between himself and Tsukasa. Hanako cannot say "I love you" directly to either of them … by having a romance with Hanako, she can directly experience the same foibles as Tsukasa.

Nene is really… interested in Hanako's emotions, fundamentally, she wants to 'know' him. She is trying to solve his behavior… her most spellbound moments are, when Hanako is distressed, upset, finally dropping his facade. I suppose I think it could gradually become apparent to her, or else, apparent all at once, that Hanako was in love with his brother, and, he doesn't know what to do about that, and, he's running from it, just like he runs from Nene over and over. Hanako never wants to confront anything. He doesn't want to talk about what Tsukasa makes him feel, or what happened between them, or why he did what he did (and does Hanako even fully understand?).

I think if you fed Nene information point blank early manga like, "hey, this guy who sexually harasses you is also a brocon", that wouldn't really be anything to her, not exciting or captivating on its own-- its not 'that kind of interest' in and of itself. But at this point, the mystique and secrets of Hanako are so DEEP and INSCRUTABLE, that she'd be grateful for any information. And at this point, "Hanako was in love with his twin brother" would would be more like, "ah… so thats why he wouldn't tell me anything, and that's why he's so secretive about him. That's a good reason. It must be confusing, even for him, to understand why he does anything, or what he wants with his brother." Literally anyone would keep that secret buried eternally.

After so long in the dark with Hanako, it'd be like a… relief, to, understand why the secrecy. Thus far, Nene has thought something like, "why doesn't he trust me?" or, "what is he so afraid of me finding out? What could be so bad, when he's already a murderer, and I already accept that? When I already accept him trying to have Aoi killed, or trying to trap me?" At that point, it's like, oh. Naruhodo. Also, of course he, can't, talk about it, he can't even talk about his FEELINGS FOR NENE, a NORMAL GIRL AND PERSON TO LIKE. Its like… I don't think considering the Yugi for Nene, is like, "hot" or "sexy" on first blush, it's more like…………….. ok, I get it, that would, cause problems, in one's life, and be difficult to cope with, and, ever talk about ………………………… its kind of not her fault then that he won't say anything, lol.

It's not like, "hot because it is two boys", it's not as if Nene has an established interest in that whatsoever-- though she has uh, an established "omg" its like its exotic to her or something, www...

tsuchigomori confirmed for homophobic -- it's, uh, alluring because of Hanako's intoxicating complexity and depth, and, well, she's a romantic… I think the romanticism of being born together and sharing every day, and then Tsukasa sacrificing himself to save his brother, and then Hanako's sacred belonging becoming his twin, to eternally protect, is, ehr, something that begs reverence and understanding by nature.

Though, I mean. Nene loves the fantasy of multiple guys (: so... (: I think twins is a very 'happy ending' for Nene-chan ... and I think relating to Tsukasa and being so similar to him, would make her feel more secure in how and why Hanako loves her... (: and I think, getting to eventually spectate the twins earnest love, would become.....................sexy.

Its like a corruption arc in a way. This innocent straight girl who wants a normal relationship with a guy is going to be swept into this crazy twin love story. And she is gonna. LIKE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But you know. The protagonist of the Vampire Romance Novel is rarely reading about vampire romance all day long, its more of a, "I never thought something like this would happen to me", "I never thought my life would be like this" "I didn't ask for this" .................................. you don't think you'll wind up fucking twins .......................... and you don't think you'll love it so much and you don't think you'll love to see them finally kiss and consummate a decades long unspoken taboo love affair. You don't think that will be your life but then it is your life. And the previous fantasies were pointless and nothing. Useless generic young girl fantasies. This is, The Real Stuff.

This is the transformation of Nene-chan. Into Twin Lover. It's happening to many readers every day, as well. Many fans experience the same, "I wasn't into yaoi before...." or, "I don't really like twin stuff...." "BUT, the Yugi twins........................." that is the Nene-chan experience. Suddenly the only logical conclusion is that the twins must kiss, even if you never thought you'd want that sort of thing in your life. Nene-chan surely has not thought of it before.

[ladyyatexel]

@bmouse tagged me in the little "Get To Know You" meme, so here are my very long winded answers!

Last Song: 'Huhhahhei' - Käärijä Yet more music I can't just fucking Buy here, they want me to stream everything, fuck that shit. I listen to it on YouTube hahaha. I'm happy to follow Käärijä's nonsense regardless. He's so fucking silly and this song is doing the same 'dark and silly' combo that his Cha Cha Cha onward songs have had.

I like Käärijä so much, but not in the aggressively sexual way that everyone else still excited about him after Eurovision seems to. I feel like I really love him in like a 'fellow struggling artist' way and in a character design way? Something about him just makes me smile and kind of pokes me in the heart and yells, "Tag! You're it!" I'm proud of him, and he makes me smile and laugh and I love what he makes. I hope for such good things for him, and that he takes care of himself!

Currently Watching: Old Robert Stack episodes of Unsolved Mysteries. This happens to me periodically. It was a favorite show to watch with my mom when I was a kid/teen, and so it has a weird combo of spooky and warmly nostalgic.

It is nice to see so many more updates than I used to, and interesting to see how my tastes have changed. As a kid, I hoped every single one would be ghosts or aliens, and as an adult, I groan and skip these kinds of stories. I am surprised by how Christian the show was. I didn't notice it when I was younger because I was comfortably indifferent about Christianity, I guess. Would tell people I believed in God if asked because it seemed as default to me. It was a few years until I realized how much of it didn't line up with me or itself. Now, firmly an atheist, the show's assumption of Christianity clangs badly for me

Current Obsession: A strange patchwork of things! Juuzou and Hanbee from Tokyo Ghoul, definitely. I'm so into everything about them, they just wove their way into everything, I am fascinated, enchanted, and, as my phone desperately wants to type instead, vaccinated. I can't help but notice how much I love pairs that involve one person demonstrating extreme devotion to the other one, where the other is strange, unique, viewed as weird by others. These are frequently kind of asexually shaped, too, so I can't help but think this dynamic is a certain strong personal connection or longing.

Also, drawing and the potential of doing video! Streaming traditional art or making an art video channel is so interesting to me. Markers, G Pen nibs, capturing something I can't explain in words.

I also recently watched an 80 part documentary about Chris-chan. I have a tendency to become interested in something in a very neutral way? As in, I just want to know all this information so that I know it, but not necessarily because I love the topic. I have a real interest in the adjacent topic of people who make very sincere comics or related things. It reminds me so much of when I was making tons of them as a kid. I have historically been interested a lot in the work of people who are just trying to do their little thing, and often used to look at Encyclopedia Dramatica like 15 years ago. I didn't like the language they used, the things they did to people, any of it, but the people they were targeting fascinated me in some familiar way. I don't know what it is. I have never wished them any more trouble, and often just sincerely looked at the work they made and Thought about it, but I don't know What the thinking was. Trying to learn to not be Target like them? Interested as someone who also could get absorbed in their own things super deeply? I don't know.

Regardless, what happened to Chris-chan is sad. She has been a completely horrible person, especially lately, like, I'm not defending any of this shit, but wow, it didn't have to be this bad. People did so much damage. This never should have been like this.

So yeah, a weird combo of things! But this is some real "get to know you" junk, isn't it?

I know @sturionic likes to talk also. I think I'll put @propheticfire and @raemanzu in there too. I'd also like to know what @anthropwashere and @kiranerys are up to!

[mnovenia]

DAY 1 in KOREA

There were many mixed feelings before I departed again to Korea. I never expected the timing will be so tight and closed to the time I hosted them from the bible camp. At the back of my mind of course I did not know why, and still feel tired and not ready, but somehow I trust that God arranged this way for His good own sake. And HE PROVED HE IS ALWAYS RIGHT. After 1 hectic week of PI, 1 hectic week of work & arranging everything, I departed with faith, whatever God want to do, let it be, and WRC 2023 here I go...

Bella went first and she said she's quite busy so she couldn't accompany me for the few first days. I was like, great, how? But Oh Jibsanim contacted me and said she will pick me up at the airport. I was like OMG, of course that was a great idea because I know Eun Jung Eonnie would be so occupied with work since she left for PI. And not only Oh Jibsanim picked me up, she also has arranged a lunch meeting with Kwonsanim and Eun Gu at their apartment and she has planned to cook for me, I was like CRYYYYYY..

Also Hak Man kindly sent me a prior message about my coming and said let's hang out in Korea, which made me feel welcomed and relieved that I would have friends apart from Yoora & Bella. THANK YOU SO MUCH

I was so happy departing from Bali, to Singapore, was so nice to get out of the country. So funny that on the way to the airport I had a nice convo with the driver who went for singing competition for his church and how he shared about his spiritual journery :'') I hope I shared what can strengthen him as well at that time. The queue in the immigration etc was so crazy tho because of many scouts.

But finally I made it to my so called 2nd home Singapore, where the captain & stewardess always impressed me. I ate so many things including Ba Kut Teh that forced me to speak chinese because of their assumption. Bee Cheng Hiang, exp Bacha coffee n kaya toast at term 1 with angpao that was given by Uncle Chan last year, thank you uncle. I had 8 hours layover but I spent in the airport HAHAHA don't even want to go out to jewel so I just rest, but almost late for a change of gates, jauh banget but thankful God nudged me to leave earlier. On the go the indian staffs talked to me in Korean (MUL) with assumption that I'm a korean, pheww so much assumption for a day, but i feel so funny. The turbulance was quite bad that I couldn't sleep but thank you Kuang Han Tsu, I managed to see your handsome face and cure my anxiety HAHAHAHHA.

There were no amount of love I ever gain these past year apart from my Korean church family :''')) from them I realise how important and beautiful it is to be loved unconditionally like this, I learn how I should share the same love they gave, without any prejudice or expectation that they will receive something in return from me.

Anyway after had quite a deep talk with Oh Jibsanim, we're heading to Eun Gu apartment, I'm always amused and still feel like in the drama. We talked a lot, Kwonsanim made me so comfortable and served Galbitang, many delicious banchan, pacheon, delicious drink, peel guail as well. Eun Gu was nice and all smiling, I think he gained much confidence since the camp which makes me SO EXTREMELY happy as well. He was polite and said one day will eat kwonsanim's budae jjigae together with Nuna. I will be back for that Eun Guy-ya!

Then jibsanim dropped me to EunJung Eonnie's office. I couldn't remember much as I was so tired and slept all through in the common room. I just remembered some girls were laughing wkkwkw. After Eunjung Eonnie finished her work, she took me around to our church and parked, took a picture of me and the church building, then JENG JENG we met Hong Jangronim the PD-nim HAHAHA. Oh my I'm so happy to get to know him better. He treated us for a meal at the mulgogi siktang, my favorite resto that I went to last year aswell. He said my hangul is charae Hahaha, and showed our church's video content. Ahhh I remembered even though I was so full (2 bowl of rices at Eun Gu's house) but I couldn't resist the fish, most delish udon and banchan huhuhu I really love hansik, ottokeee yeorobun.

Afterwards we departed and go to Eonnie's apt that I have missed the most. As usual, I stayed at Yui's room. I felt like home, the kids were still away, also Taekyun Oppa. So I went out with Eonnie to walk through the apartment. Twas so nice and cute, it's like Kdrama in the real life. We had a patbingsoo date at Tous Les Jur, the injeolmi and pat are the best omg eonnieee I can't stop eating the big portion. Then we went to baskin robin because Oppa wanted some ice cream.

Afterwards, we're home, the kids were there, we're happilly reunited, nae saranaghaneun chukadeul Yui, Seoyi, Sooyi, I love you so much. I gave the gifts to eonnie, oppa, and the kids and heading to sleep. Taekyun Oppa and Eonnie ensured that I slept well with aircond, lamp and fan. Huhuhu God, may you bless this family as I couldn't be able to repay their kindness. I just cover each of them with Your grace, that the light they spread save other souls as well, and I pray that I could be like them to treat others with loving pure kindness and no prejudice. I love you so much Chung Family from Gimpo <3

[gmwsuperfan5467890]

HSMTMTS Season 3 Finale Opinions (in no particular order)

-Big Red is bi!!!!! I’ve always thought that both him and Ashlynn are queer and I’m glad we got confirmation.

-So, from what I understood, Big Red and Ashlyn both realized/accepted they were bi this summer but Big Red came out if it realizing that Ashlyn was ‘the one’ for him, while Ashlyn now has eyes for Maddox....ooof. Though, I don’t think Big Red is truly in love with Ashlyn, I think he does have feelings for her and he is mistaking those feelings for true love because that’s what his parents had at his age and he probably always expected to meet his soulmate at the same age his parents did. I definitely feel for Big Red and I hope we get an expansion for that plot line next season.

-I also do hope that Big Red has another love interest next season.

-Ashlyn and Maddox for the win! I’m looking forward to their relationship developing even more next season!

-Is Ashlyn’s actual surname Moon? It’s giving me flashbacks to Veronica Luna 💀💀

-How old is Jet exactly? He’s younger than Maddox who is 15, so he could be 14 or 15? Is Kourtney 17? I don’t know if I can be okay with this ship unless I know their ages. I’m assuming, Jet will be a sophomore in season 4, while Kourtney will be a senior, so it won’t be that bad. Also how is Jet in love with Kourtney when he’s only known her for 2 weeks?

-Kourtney sounded amazing and I’m glad that they didn’t make her anxiety magically disappear and that she will be seeing a therapist. That scene with her and the girl that plays young Elsa was so cute.

-AHHHHHHH THIS IS ME!!!!! AND EVERYDAY!!!! MY FAVE SONGS

-Miss Jen and Corbin Bleu sounded amazing together!

-Channing is such a man child.

-Why did Channing even edit the trailer?? You’re telling me there’s no other editors at Disney+

-Why was everyone pissed/shocked/mad at each other when they saw the trailer??? They knew that Channing would edit them to make them look bad. What was the point of Ricky’s secretly recorded confession being introduced as a major plot-line when it wasn’t even included in the trailer.

-Does everyone know Ashlyn is bi? It would have been nice to see her come out to some people.

-Why did Big Red tell national television that he was bi before telling Ricky and Ashlyn?

-Why did they make it look like Carlos was cheating with some random guy we have never seen before, when they could have done something else, like something he said/did in the previous episodes that can be misconstrued.

-I feel so bad for EJ, he has an unsupportive,controlling father and now he thinks that his ex-girlfriend wanted another guy instead of him, that same guy who his other ex dumped him for.

-I’m saying this as a Rina shipper, Gina genuinely had romantic feelings for EJ and it’s so weird that they tried to undermine their relationship in the last two episodes. I think Gina deserves to have time to be in a genuine relationship that is not with Ricky, like Ricky did in season 2 and EJ deserves to have a girlfriend that doesn’t dump him for Ricky.

-Gina’s last conversation with EJ was so weird to me. Why didn’t she correct EJ’s assumption that she was eyeing Ricky at camp and say that she did have genuine feelings for him but they just didn’t work out? Why did she immediately confess to Ricky after that? Why isn’t she allowed time to heal from her break-up and she and Ricky can start her relationship in season 4? It really does seem to me like Gina didn’t care about EJ that much. I really do feel bad for Portwell shippers, your ship deserved better.

- I do like Rina’s confession scene itself. I like how it is a callback to how Gina ‘never does anything right the first time’ ie confessing to Ricky after the season 1 musical, which was the wrong time and confessing now, which was the right time. I am looking forward to their relationship in season 4 and hoping it is done justice.

-In my opinion, I don’t think EJ and Val will be a thing. I think they have more of a Stobin like friendship.

-I loved Nini’s send-off and it was really nice seeing her have closure with Miss Jen, Kourtney and Ricky. The lotto ticket was a sweet gift but I loved how her relationships with Kourtney and Miss Jen shined the most. I think Nini’s character arc was always about going new places in in order to follow her dreams and I’m glad she tried again even though it didn’t work out the first time.

Overall, I have mixed feelings about this season finale. There were some things I liked but a lot of things were confusing to me. I feel like it was very rushed and there should have been more episodes or episodes with a longer run-time. Also camp should have been for the whole summer instead of two weeks.

[arkos404]

mean mob au doodles + rambling! 

if you wanna know what the fuck im talking about go check it out yourselves at @askmeanmobcast​, its basically a personality/role swap au and its really fucking good

i love reigen and mob’s dynamic so much soo excited to see where it goes and their development

god reigen looks so miserable, please let him take a nap. hc that the moment that mob started working for him reigen grew at least 5 white hairs

i think it’d be really funny if reigen wasnt like, scared of mob bc he can snap his neck with his mind and all bc reigen is a depressed 28 year old with a massage business and a mullet, and while he doesnt nescessarily welcome death he isnt that keen on not dying. he’s scared of mob bc he has anxiety and teenagers are the scariest people in the world

god i cant fucking WAIT for the moment that reigen realizes that oh shit he now has a little monster human following him around and he gets his shit together bbc he wants to be a good influence (even though mob threatens to kill him on a weekly base) and tidies up his office, puts on an actual suit and shaves his GODDAM poor excuse of a beard only bc i fucking hate having to draw it bc it always makes his face too cluttered

im curious as to why mob ended up wanting to work at the office, he obviously wants to keep a facade to his parents (to the point of threatening to kill reigen [makes me wonder how much of a bluff that was, teru didnt have any problems pointing knifes to people and stragling them]), but in the teru ask mob had no problems yelling at his mom, and the kageparents already know he’s a little psycho anyway

maybe he had a change of heart at some point during the first rei&mob meeting? or he just wanted his parents off his back and make them think he’s getting better

im also curious about what his classmates think of him, in the anime teru was popular and only let his kinda insane side out when he’s in a gang related stuff, but mob is openly aggresive to his mom, tho i do wonder how much of that anger is genuine

and now talking about my favorite boy that has yet to appear and is therefore free real state 

i am so curious about the kagesiblings relationship, (going off the assumption that ritsho swapped) ritsu and sho already had a lot of paralels in the anime (with them having a father/brother with destructive powers that they felt responsible for) so im really excited to how they interact

i feel like ritsu would try to overcompensate with how scared he actually is with mob by acting casual and calling him nii-chan and stuff (in the anime sho calls toichiro “pops” even though toichiro hesitated for 2 seconds before trying to murder his own son),

mob feels so much fucking guilt over the incident but pretends not too, especially if in his shock he didnt react well (didnt apologize). he keeps trying to push ritsu away but sometimes he’ll have a conversation with him bc it reminds him of a time when they were actually friends

i think mob as a character is someone who thinks that everyone sees him as a monster, and instead of trying to better himself he just embraces the title bc its easier and if he pretends he really is a monster it makes being called it hurt a little bit less

maybe thats what makes him start working at the office? at the start he only wanted a place to be after school that wasnt home but eventually he saw that reigen doesnt see him as a monster?

i only said the thing that reigen isnt afraid of mob he’s just afraid of teenagers in general bc i thought it was funny but in this context i think it’d be as funny as it’d be heartbreaking

[makeitblue]

Here to bug you again, but I'm giving you liberty of who you want to add to this one because I think it'll be fun no matter who is in it. Crowley is making the students put on a play/musical with reader being the lead now the boys are low-key fighting to be the love interest. This is 100% a reference to KnA. You totally can ignore this, but if you do it I hope you have fun writing it. Than you much 💙

Originally, I was going to write with a classic Romeo and Juliet type play in mind, but while I was at work it popped into my head, and I couldn't resist writing the boys putting on a shitty solar system musical. I'm writing this with the assumption their solar system is similar to ours since in their bios they use the same zodiac as we do. I'll only be doing the inner ring of planets for this ask, but if y’all want a part two for some ungodly reason, just hit up my inbox with that request.

Edit: Part 2 is right here! --> (x)

Crowley had somehow gotten the idea of having the students perform a solar system play, and was being unreasonably stubborn about it. Of course, you, as the lovely prefect of the Ramshackle Dorm, was chosen to be one of the two leads in this play looking to make a home on a planet with your significant other. Obviously most students weren’t too pleased or excited about creating a production with a permise that usually wasn’t seen outside elementary schools, but most of them perked up at the prospect of possibly starring alongside you.

Kalim

He got cast as the sun. Honestly, are we even surprised? While he would have liked the second lead role, he’s still super excited to be cast in the play, and eagerly attends rehearsals.

Originally, he wanted to float down onto the stage dramatically on his magic carpet, but Jamil managed to talk him out of it after telling him how dangerous it would be to be flying around in a giant, spherical sun costume. He was a big disappointed his suggestion was shot down, but he bounces back pretty quickly.

He’s one of the few people at NRC that don’t think even for a second that this idea is ridiculous, and because of that, he’s also one of the few people that completely throw themselves into the role. He doesn’t really need to put much effort in, considering his personality is already very sunny, but the extra vigor really helps sell it to the audience. 

The sun actually wasn’t originally part of the script, but thanks to a donation that his family made towards the production of the entire play, Crowley graciously wrote him in.

Riddle

He practiced meticulously for the audition. He needed to set a good example for his dormmates, after all. It definitely wasn’t because he was hoping to star alongside you in the second lead role. Alas, despite all his efforts, he was given the role of Mercury.

You can practically hear Floyd’s cackling from across the campus when he found out that Riddle was playing Mercury. Of course Kingyo-chan would be assigned the small, bright red star that zoomed across the night sky.

Floyd’s teasing aside, although he’s a bit disappointed, he allots the necessary time to practicing his lines with you and the other cast members. He’s never late for, never skips, and never leaves early from rehearsal sessions.

Although at first he’s always quick to stop point out when another member has flubbed their lines, he quickly learns its better to just let them continue their line with the small alteration rather than to completely stop the scene.

He’s surprisingly eager, but it makes sense considering he was home schooled as a child. He never got a chance to participate in school productions like this with classmates, so its a new experience for him. A part of him feels a bit childish for being so excited over a silly solar system play, but he convinces himself to push down the feelings of shame and allow himself to enjoy the whole thing.

Vil

He was pretty much expecting that he would be given the second lead. He’s a famous actor, after all. He’s been acting since he was a child, so he’s probably been cast in at least one or two professional productions with a similar premise. All in all, though, he’s still satisfied with being given the role of Venus.

It’s the brightest star in the sky, so obviously, he doesn’t have much to complain about upon receiving his copy of the script.

As expected he takes his casting very seriously. Even if it’s a silly solar system musical, you’re not going to catch him slipping in his performance.

He’s still mildly upset that he didn’t get a lead role, but just as it is in the industry, actors often don’t get to choose the role they play. This does not stop him from voicing his displeasure during rehearsals, but he keeps it to a minimum for the most part, preferring to focus on assisting the other actors so that the production goes smoothly.

Trey

Again, none of us are surprised that one of the most homely boy at NRC ended up being given the role of, Earth (or the Twisted Wonderland equivalent of Earth), the home planet.

The dad/big brother mindset will never turn off for him, so he’s take care of a lot of the other actors between his scene rehearsals. He’s making sure the actors have snacks occasionally and that everyone stays hydrated.

While he’s disappointed he didn’t get to star beside you the entire production, he still puts in a genuine effort for his role. He doesn’t want to let down anyone else after they’ve all worked so hard to practice.

The fact that this is a musical is something that he was a bit nervous about. While he’s a bit stiff, and he’s definitely not the best singer, Vil manages to help him get his performance to at least a presentable level. 

Ruggie

He’s honestly a bit surprised he even got a role. Sure its not the lead like he was hoping, but he’s not gonna pass up the chance to screw around a bit and have fun. While he was also hoping to get a lead role, he’s fine with being assigned Mars.

Unlike everyone else on the list, he actually doesn’t put as much effort in as a lot of the other actors would like at first. He has to be reminded that while this is a solar system play, they’re still performing it as representatives of a prestigious school, so there will probably be at least a few important people in the crowd. They can’t afford to have him be so lax in his rehearsals.

Ruggie can’t help laughing when things go wrong during practice, though. He doesn’t really do anything to make it worse, but he’s definitely not doing anything to help either. Can you really blame him, though? Watching Kalim and Riddle chase after Ortho, who somehow lost footing and was now rolling down one of the theater’s ramps is pretty hilarious.

In the end though, when everything comes together, he puts on an adequate performance. It’s not stellar, but he’s at least pleased he managed to get the audience laughing with his scene.

[justauthoring]

You’re Stuck With Me Now

Prompt: He’d never leave you again.

A/N: is my return to writing (after a short break) oikawa? yes it is. honestly, i just love this boy so much and ive been rewatching haikyu and i can't... my heart.

ALSO HAPPY BIRTHDAY OIKAWA TOORU <3

Warnings: past implied abuse

Pairing: Oikawa Tooru x F!Reader Please don’t plagiarize my work!

“Come on, Y/N-Chan, it’ll be fun.”

With a quirked brow and look of disbelief up at your boyfriend, you roll your eyes. “You know I don’t really like parties, Tooru,” you mumble, taking a bite out of your lunch just as Oikawa lets out a whine of disappointment.

He’d already spent a majority of your lunch break, which the two of you were lucky to have together, begging you to come out tonight with him to Mattsun’s party. He’d spent the entire weeks’ lunches trying to convince you to come with him, to no avail everyday, and now, the day of; he was even more desperate for a yes.

“But it won’t be any fun without you.”

And his pout is almost convincing enough, eyes droopy at the edges with a certain puppy-dog look. The corner of his lips are flipped downwards, but he looks positively adorable (as he usually does - his group of fangirls aren’t for nothing). But, you’ve held restraint all week to this point, and by now, this really isn’t anything new.

“You say that every time, babe,” you counter, pointing your chopsticks at him with a quirked brow. “And every time I come with you, you end up leaving me to mingle off with Hajime.”

His shoulders slump.

“Is Hajime coming tonight?”

“...Yes.”

“Then,” you nod, satisfied, “you won’t be alone.”

“Bu-But!” He all but whines, and before you know it he’s suddenly sidled up behind you, arms curling around your waist firmly to press you flush against his chest. You let out a squeak in response, whining yourself when your delicious lunch is suddenly before you and tauntingly not within arms reach. 

Oikawa is fast to pull your attention on him.

“He won’t be there till later!”

“So I’m just entertainment until he gets there?”

“Of course not!”

Oikawa looks positively betrayed at your assumption, and the look on his face is enough to have you giggling. Shifting in his grasp, you move so you’re facing him, brushing back a few strands of his unruly hair that no matter how hard you try is never ever neat, before meeting his eyes with a soft smile. “Honestly, Tooru,” you whisper gently, “why do you want me to go so bad? You usually don’t care this much.”

“Because,” he shrugs, “I like having you with me.”

And that, unfortunately, is the zinger.

His words all but melt your heart and with a heavy sigh, you realize there’s no possible way that you can say no when he goes ahead saying something so sweet like that.

“I’ll go.”

The way his eyes practically glow is enough to make you smile though.

“Really? Yes!”

However, now that you’re here, cramped in a house of drunk, loud teenagers, you’re suddenly wishing you’d had a bit more self restraint when it came to your boyfriend. As per usual, an hour into the party, Iwaizumi arrived and now even further convinced your boyfriend is more in love with his best friend then you -- you’re completely alone.

“’I’ll be right back’ my ass,” you mutter to yourself, taking a drink from the cup in your hands, instantly regretting it at the bitter taste that goes down your throat.

It wasn’t that you didn’t have any friends, you just weren’t entirely comfortable in social situations. It’s a wonder how you got along with Oikawa so well, but the two of you seemed to just mesh really well together. And of course, he’d been there for you in a time no one else had, and had helped fix you from the person who made you so nervous and skittish around others in the first place. It’s because of him that you’re even able to stand in a room so crowded, even if you’re not really socializing. 

It would’ve been nice to have him to talk with, though. Iwaizumi too.

Pulling out your phone, you send a quick text to Oikawa, hoping that he’ll see it and at least drag you along for whatever Iwaizumi and him got up to in parties like these. It’s because of this that you don’t notice the shadow that falls next to you, not until a hand swipes your phone right out of your own and a voice you’d hoped you’d never hear again speaks;

“Oikawa Tooru, huh?”

Your heart practically drops.

“Figures you’d find someone in volleyball again, you did always love it.”

“H-Haru...”

He smirks down at you, and your lips part when he pockets your phone without a care in the world, his grip moving to your wrist where he tugs you towards himself. “Never thought I’d be able to find you again, Y/N, after you so abruptly moved schools. In your third year no less.”

You pull back on the grip he has on you, trying, to no avail, to get away. “What are you even doing here?”

“I play volleyball, remember?” He quirks a brow, speaking to you like you’re a child. “I know some of the boys here.”

How unlucky can I get...

Digging the heels of your feet down, you use all your strength to fight back the pull Haru tugs on your wrist. It’s clear he’s trying to get you to go somewhere with him, maybe even leave and that's the absolute last thing you can let happen. Haru still has such a pull over you, as much as you hate to admit it, and if you’re alone with him, there’s no telling what would happen.

And you’re terrified to find out.

“Let me go,” you hiss, “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“It seems you’ve forgotten your place, Y/N,” he growls down at you, grip turning bruising as you let out a cry in response, unable to stop yourself. “I’ll give you credit, it was brave of you to think you could get away from me, and finding you was hard. But now that I have you, I plan to remind you just exactly why you’re with me.”

Eyes widening, it suddenly feels like you can’t breathe.

“I mean, after all,” and his eyes gleam, turning dark, “you can’t live without me, remember?”

Your frozen state allows him to gain the control. Before you know it, you’re being dragged through the familiar halls of Mattsun’s house that feel like a blur and unfamiliar in your panic. You don’t even notice where you are, and barely hear when Haru suddenly announces “this’ll do” and then you’re being shoved into a room and the door is slammed behind you.

You fall to the ground with a loud cry, Haru shoving you.

When you turn to face him, staring up at him, he’s blocking the door, staring down at you expectedly. 

“What are you waiting for?” He huffs, “take off your shirt.”

Hands shaking, you push yourself up into a sitting position with shaky muscles, not trusting yourself to stand in that moment as you stare up at him. Everything had moved so fast, and your heart feels as if it’ll break when you realize despite how much better you thought you’d been getting -- none of it meant a damn thing when faced with Haru himself.

You were scared, terrified, and it felt like back then all again. You had no control. You had no strength.

A harsh kick in the stomach has you doubling over, and clutching your sides, Haru crouches down before. “No one’s coming to save you, Y/N. Not even your boyfriend,” he taunts, smirking at you. “I’m pretty sure I saw the infamous Captain shoving his tongue down another girls throat.”

Eyes widening, you stare at your lap. “No,” you mumble, voice breathless, croaky. “Tooru wouldn’t--”

“It’s true. He’s not here, is he?”

Swallowing thickly, you meet Haru’s gaze.

“So, see, at the end of it all, all you have is me, right?”

And you hate the way his hand against your cheek feels like comfort compared to all the pain.

Shaky fingers reach for the hem of your shirt, just as the door slams open.

It’s Iwaizumi.

His eyes widen at the sight of you, flickering to Haru before focusing back on you. “Oikawa!” He calls, voice booming, tone dark, and it’s then you see how angry he looks. “I found her!”

In the next second, Oikawa is bursting pass Iwaizumi. He stills at the sight of you, tear-stricken, face pale, eyes wide with fear, and then Haru, crouched before you, look positively smug about the entire situation. And there’s a moment of pause where nothing happens, and Haru moves to stand, lips parting; “sorry, but it looks like Y/N--”

But he never gets to finish before Oikawa’s punching him straight across the cheek so hard he falls to the ground with a loud thud. 

In the next second, he’s in front of you.

“Shit, Y/N. I’m so sorry,” and you don’t miss the way your name lacks ‘chan’, meaning Oikawa’s serious. “I didn’t mean to leave that long. Fuck. Are you okay? Where did he hurt you? Show me, and I’ll--”

But your hand is grabbing his own frantic ones and when Oikawa meets your gaze, he’s shocked at the soft smile on your lips.

“Y/N-Chan?”

“You came,” you whisper, voice soft with astonishment and adoration. “You came for me.”

And, shoulders easing, Oikawa nods. 

“Of course I did.”

Squeezing his hand, to the point Oikawa is blinking in response, lips parting in worry. You stare into his eyes, imploring; “please don’t leave me like that again.”

And guilt settles deep within his chest, hating himself for what happened, blaming himself for it as well. But he knows that’s not what you mean, nor what you think; you just want a guarantee he’s there for you. And if there’s one thing Oikawa can promise, it’s that.

“You’re stuck with me now, yeah?” 

He grins, trying to make you smile, make you laugh and everything ease when he succeeds, that giggle of yours he loves filling the silence of the room.

“I’m good with that.”

[capaimagines]

bang chan - safe

Pairing: Mafia leader!Bang Chan x Reader | Genre: mafia, angst & fluff | Warnings: mentions of a break in, fighting, mafia themes | WC: 1.6k

Request: Bang Chan mafia leader where you and Chan are having a night in when he hears someone downstairs and goes to check it out and calling for backup when he hears you scream upstairs bc one of the attackers had you !! Your got7 mafia fic was amazing

Safety and security was the one thing Chan always promised you. He wanted to keep you safe at all costs. You had put all your trust in him that he would keep his word. Being a small town girl you really had no idea about the inner and outer workings of the mafia. For a while there, you truly believed that things like that were all fairy tales and stories parents would tell their kids to warn them off of the idea of gangs and such.

When you met Chan that had quickly faded. Even then he had kept you safe, you were just an innocent passer-by. You had moved to the big city to land a good job and make money for your family. You hadn’t expected to walk—quite literally—into the crossfire of Chan’s group and another group. One of the men from the other group had grabbed you, pressing the head of his gun into your temple.

You were trembling and Chan could sense that, within seconds he had stood up. He may be a mafia leader, but he never harmed someone who was innocent. Especially a girl as cute as you. He had shot the man in the centre of his head without hesitation. Of course he didn’t miss; he never did. You had fallen to your knees in horror, trembling and shaking with nerves and disbelief at what just unfolded in front of you.

Chan, being your knight in shining armor, took you back to their base and helped calm you down after reassuring you that he only wanted to help protect you and that he or his team weren’t going to hurt you. You two started talking more and more and outside of his work, he was just a normal boy also finding his way in the world. It didn’t take long before you two started dating and he had always kept his word. He was to always keep you safe. You never had to look over your shoulder or fear that you’d be snatched when you were on your own.

Tonight though you had asked Chan for a night in. All you wanted to do was eat junk food and watch movies while you cuddled with him. A typically normal boyfriend-girlfriend thing to do. He had happily agreed and you two were sat with a tub of ice cream between you as you intensely focused on the Disney movie playing on the screen. You were so focused you almost missed the sound of glass breaking. Almost.

Of course Chan had heard it. He always seemed to be on high alert 24/7. You couldn’t blame him though.  His career path was more dangerous than most and he couldn’t afford to be caught off guard, but that’s exactly what was happening right now. He had sent everyone home for the night, wanting to just spend time with you.  

“Stay here and have Hyunjin ready on speed dial,” Chan told you.

You nodded, quickly pulling out your phone as Chan seemed to whip a small handgun out of nowhere. That was something that took you some time to get used too. Weapons of any kind just randomly hidden around the large home. Chan slowly opened the bedroom door before looking back over his shoulder at you. 

“Don’t leave this room or open the door for anyone. I’ll come back for you,” You gulped at his words before nodding, feeling the anxiety start to take over you.

Chan quietly closed the door and you quickly stood up to lock it. You hadn’t noticed with your shaking hands that you had pressed Hyunjin’s contact and were currently connected to him. You heard someone saying hello and scrambled for your phone.  

“Hyunjin! Hi! Sorry, we heard glass breaking downstairs and Chan wanted me to—HEY!”

You whipped your head around as someone plucked your phone from your ear. You did not like being interrupted in the middle of a conversation. When you had a knife aimed at your throat though, you couldn’t complain too much. The man was significantly larger than you. You had never seen him before but with the crazed grin on his face, you were happy this was your first meeting, and last.

Being the girlfriend of a mafia leader didn’t leave you completely defenceless. You knew how to defend yourself if you ever had too, you had just hoped you would never have too. You eyed the man in front of you, the glint of the metal blade hitting off the light which caused you to gulp, trying to understand how the hell you were going to knock that out of his hand without getting cut.

“Sorry, pretty girl,” The stranger cooed and you swallowed down bile, “You’re going to have to come with me,” You stood up slowly, never taking your gaze off the blade. 

You briefly met the man’s gaze and clicked your tongue, “I don’t think so. You’re not really my type,” You could visibly see the man startle at your response. He obviously thought you were going to be an easy target.

“Then I guess you’ll just have to die here with your pretty boyfriend.” He remarked that you could only scoff in response as you rolled your eyes.

“That’s not really an option either,” The man looked very confused at the small figure that was talking back to him. He wasn’t here to play games though. His orders were clear. Either he brought you back with him alive or killed you there. He made his move and you quickly ducked down, thankfully Minho had taught you a few little tricks with examining one's movements.

You moved, yet not quick enough that the blade grazed your shoulder. You hissed in pain and turned to narrow your eyes at the man in front of you. He looked shocked, yet again, that you were putting up a fight. He growled, coming towards you again and you didn’t get as lucky. His knife cut into your hand as you grabbed for the blade which resulted in a hiss from you due to the pain, jumping back and that’s when he wrapped his arm around your neck.

“CHAN!” You screamed as loud as you could. You were so pent up on adrenaline you hadn’t heard anything that was going on downstairs. Now, your ears were open and you could hear banging and grunting coming from down there. You had only hoped Hyunjin was smart enough to know he should bring the others.

Thankfully, you’re assumption that Hyunjin was smart because a few seconds after you screamed, the bedroom door was kicked open by none other than Changbin with Chan hot on his heels. You were struggling against the man’s hold in hopes to wiggle out.  

“Let. Her. Go,” Chan looked deadly and Changbin’s glare was no better. You were close with all the boys, but Changbin was probably one you were closest to besides Chan.

“Sorry, pretty boy, I have orders so she’s coming with me,” You felt something press against your neck and you groaned, finally letting your hands fall.  

“I can’t believe this is happening again!” Everyone around you seemed pretty shocked at your words.  Here you were, on the brink of being kidnapped or dead and you were making comments like that?

You heard the click of Chan’s gun being cocked and closed your eyes. You had seen the very quick flash of silver hair outside the window, signalling that it was Felix. You weren’t the one dying today at least. It was going to be the barbarian that still had his hands on you.  

“Last chance,” Chan stated firmly, “Let. Her. Go,” Chan’s voice was dripping with venom and his grip on the handle of the gun was iron tight.

The man only laughed and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes. You inhaled a large breath and drew your elbow, swinging back as hard as you could. It was enough to surprise him and loosen his grip, which helped you to promptly slip away and scurry towards Chan. He saw the blood on your shoulder and the cut on your hand. His eyes darkened as he turned back to the intruder.

However, before he could pull the trigger, Felix graciously crashed through the window and tackled him. His hands were bound behind his back before he could even understand what had happened. You only smirked at the man as Chan ordered for him to be brought back to their base.  

“I told you I wasn’t dying today, pretty boy,” You spat the words out and it seemed to anger the man but there wasn’t much he could do as he laid on the floor and hogtied.

Chan sighed as Changbin and Felix carried him out. He turned to you with a worried smile, immediately inspecting your hand, “I’ll come with you and let Minho patch it up. But I’m fine, Chan. Really. See?” You held his hand to your heart so he could feel it beating, “I’m right here, I’m breathing and I’m alive. Now let’s go! We just got this carpet and now my hand is dripping blood all over it.”

Chan could only chuckle as he gently guided you out the bedroom door and down to the car. Once he made sure you were safely settled in, he backed out and started driving.

“Are you really okay?” He asked after a few minutes of silence. You smiled and nodded at him then puckered your lips together before looking back out the window.

“Felix is going to owe us a new window by the way. That wasn’t cheap.”

[oddmawd]

is there fic-requesting etiquette i’m missing?

or am i just completely misinformed on how this subculture works?

pretty new to the n-sfw game and i got a comment on my kurama x reader piece that said nothing specific about my fic...they just said “i love this so much that i’m going to make a request of you” and then they wrote a loooooong and detailed outline of a fic they want me to write

i saw their long comment and got excited someone liked my work but it was literally just a huge fic request that involved tropes i literally can’t stand....they’re legit TRIGGERING to me, actually, and it shows how easily out-of-pocket requests can backfire when you haven’t bothered talking to the author before telling them to write stuff for you

like if it was a long-time reader, maybe i’d entertain the idea of writing something they like on request, but a stranger who hasn’t even bothered reading my work??? who doesn’t even know me well enough to know my off-limits topics?????? liiiiiiike buddy idk what you’re thinking here but this seems ill-advised

do people lob requests at authors all the time? is this normal??? to me it feels like sending a d*ck-pic...sure, you can do it, but is it ACTUALLY GONNA GET YOU LAID??? and i haven’t said I’m open to requests anywhere, so they made an assumption about that right off the jump...

ALSO, if you’ve come up with a huge idea for a fic that would be many chapters and thousands of words long...there comes a point when maybe you should think about just writing it yourself...because if your vision for the story is THAT specific and THAT detailed, how is another person gonna do it justice? are you gonna micromanage how they use your idea so it comes out how you like? that sounds like a terrible collab climate right there

AND OTHER THING, what makes you think i have the time/inclination to drop all my current WIPS to work on yours? random requests like this feel entitled and presumptuous and i’d never leave one on a stranger’s work unless they said they were looking for story prompts

ONE MORE THING (yes that is a Jackie Chan Adventures reference)...flattery WILL get you places...if you like an author, maybe try reading and supporting their current work BEFORE you make requests...i’d be more willing to help out a fandom friend than some rando who doesn’t even know what my triggers are

in the end a random request like this is asking a stranger to make a huge time and energy investment on your behalf FOR NO COMPENSATION, and that just feels wrong to me

even if requests like this are common, i don’t like it

anyway i’m rambling, but i got all excited to get a long comment...but it was just a request from a stranger full of tropes that trigger a certain phobia of mine and now i’m sad

(if you’re the person who left that comment, i’m not mad, just flabbergasted and a bit grossed out, so just...don’t reply to this, pretend you didn’t see it, i needed to vent)

[limitlessgojo]

Blood Bound: Red Strings of Fate (Ch 8)

Warnings: Action, Coarse Language, Fighting, Descriptions of Blood

Previous Chapter: Bird of Flame

Next Chapter: Wait For Me

Tags: Soulmates AU, Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Fem!Reader

Taglist: @lessie-oxj @rizzo-nero @whoreuc @fkngkumiko @isl3t @gojoussunglasses @onepotatostand-blog @s-t-f-u-b-i-t-c-h @sunaswife

Notes: If you want to be tagged for every update, please mention it in the comments below ty <3

Ayiieee, this is a very big and significant chapter in the story. At 2.6k words it probably is the longest chapter in the book lol. Happy reading uwu. Feel free to yell in the comments^^

Chapter 8: Red Strings of Fate

You brought over the book you had on alternate worlds. It wasn't much help. Talking about how a mirror dimension existed.

Another you is possibly alive in the next universe, but with different circumstances due to a difference in choices made or the environment and all that.

You quickly made your way to the library. Once you arrived, you looked around for Noritoshi. You couldn't find him for the first 5 minutes and thought that he wasn't there yet.

But suddenly two hands placed themselves on either side of your shoulder. You could feel the heat emanating from the body behind you. This feeling… "Noritoshi senpai?"

"Mmmm." You turned around and looked up to see him with a small quirk in his lips. His eyes sparkled with excitement (which was a rare sight to see).

"Come." He led you by your elbow to the desk where books were all spread out. "I did some research and looked into the vision we had on the first day we met." He said as you both took your seats.

"It is possible we had visions of an alternate world. But it's now highly unlikely because of the marks that appeared on our wrists earlier. May I?" He gestured to your hand.

You nodded and handed it to him. He held it so gently, his touch making you shiver slightly. You tried to play it cool, but his eyes shot up to yours and you flushed.

He turned your wrist around to reveal the Phoenix branded on it. It glowed bright red as he stroked it with his thumb. You felt all tingly inside.

He brought out his wrist and put it beside yours. The Phoenix markings were identical in size and shape. But his wasn't glowing yet.

You reached out your hands this time to take his. "May I?" He nodded and you examined his wrist, then ran your thumb over his marking.

As you both expected, it glowed bright red. "So.. what does this mean? For the both of us?" You asked him meekly.

He sighed and took your hands in his. Both of your markings stayed bright red as you held hands. "I've been reading up on soulmates-"

"I know, you took all the books. I couldn't find any when I tried to look it up." You pouted. He chuckled at that. His fingers were now playing and slightly fiddling with yours.

"I think we might still be needing more proof, but this is pretty strong. I asked around the Kamo household as well, and they were able to find out that soulmate bonds are established when red strings actually literally come into existence and bind two people together." Noritoshi continued. He then proceeded to show you all his findings and the books he had so far.

"Hmmmm?? So we are or we aren't?" You pulled back from him, looking confused. "I think we are. My clan has confirmed for me that having past life visions, shared markings, and visible red strings tying two people together makes up a soulmate pair. It seems like we need a bit more time for the strings to manifest." He hummed, reaching over to take your hands into his again.

“Sorry I took time to confirm before I could talk to you about this. It’s been weeks since our first shared vision and I’ve been swamped with clan affairs.” Noritoshi admitted.

You shook your head, “No senpai, I was also doing my research on this. It seems unusual, even for jujutsu sorcerers to have such a shared experience so I could only talk to my family about it. We considered the possibility of seeing an alternate timeline as well, so I couldn’t make any immediate assumptions.”

“You were able to find more than I did though senpai. My parents said soulmates are able to share emotions and possibly thoughts. But that’s rare even for soulmates. I only heard about sharing past life visions, we couldn’t find anything on the marks and red strings. Real soulmates are so rare and interesting; they are said to give birth to children with powerful cursed techniques." You mused while linking and unlinking your fingers through his.

You both stared down at your hands, fingers entwined with each other, marks glowing a low red. It felt warm to hold his hand in yours. Noritoshi was so careful, cradling and caressing your fingers like they were made of glass. His hands were much bigger than yours.

"Thinking that far ahead already? I would like a baby boy." Noritoshi looked at you with a mischievous look in his eyes. You pushed at his chest. "Who said anything about wanting children?"

He looked at you with the most gentle eyes only reserved for you. "Only time will tell what happens, dear y/n."

◇◇◇

The next day, your fellow first years gathered around you (ambushed you??) before the start of class. “Y/n, is something going on between you and Noritoshi?” Mai asked.

“Ahhh uhmm no nothing really.” You were lying through the skin of your teeth here, with the secret of the century literally branded on your skin. “Awwwww, and I thought you looked cute together.” Miwa gushed with a smile.

Mechamaru felt oddly out of place with the girl’s gossip, but he still spoke up “Kamo san seems to favor you from what I see. But hey that’s just me.”

You blushed and sputtered out. Curse you and your honest demeanour. “No, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Hmmmmmmm” Mai stared at you from upclose, seemingly trying to psychoanalyse you. “We’ll see who’s right with time.”

You just laughed nervously, shaking her off. “Mai chan, you’ve been watching too many dramas. I’ll watch one with you later.” And with that you’ve successfully managed to distract your fellow first years into talking about having a movie night. Whew.

◇◇◇

Days passed and still no red strings appeared. You and Noritoshi agreed to take things slow as this is both incredibly new to you. But you had something else to look forward to.

You were finally assigned to your first mission. Luckily (or not? Thanks to Utahime’s suspicions over your relationship) Noritoshi was chosen to accompany you to exorcise a group of 2nd grade curses together.

The night was dark. Now that you’re both out in the forest, the distant lights from the city started to dim. “Watch your step.” Noritoshi warned you. You giggled at him and flew above the branches as he stared slightly affronted. “You should watch your step, Noritoshi senpaiii~,” you sing-songed.

‘How could she have such a cheerful disposition at a time like this?’ he wondered. “Stay close to me.” He ordered. Now knowing that you were a Special Class Jujutsu sorcerer definitely didn’t help his ego in wanting to show off a bit. But he can show it through years of experience.

You smiled at his protectiveness and hovered near him, holding onto his sleeve as usual. Suddenly a black mass came hurtling towards the two of you. Noritoshi prepped his bow and arrows, while you stopped its movement.

You brought it close to you and examined it. "Looks toxic." You said. A screech caught your attention and Noritoshi launched an arrow towards the source of the sound.

The Grade 2 curse jumped out of the shadows, shrieking out loudly causing both of your ears to hurt. It had fast movements, tossing out globs of toxic sludge while rapidly moving through the woods.

You placed one arm around Noritoshi's chest, while the other stretched out towards the grade 2 curse, blocking off all the attacks. “While I’m with you, the attacks won’t reach us senpai. I’ll cover the entirety of our defense.”

Noritoshi smiled and easily manipulated his arrows to hit the curse. It disappeared in a flash. You both turned and smiled at each other. “Well done my dear.” He said.

“You were amazing as well, senpai! But I sense more cursed spirits up ahead. We need to have a look.” You sighed, to which he agreed. You both moved forward until you came to a clearing, which led to a cliff with a sheer drop.

The stench of cursed spirits was almost unbearable, and two more came out rushing at the both of you. They seemingly appeared from the ground, but you noticed how they moved with the shadows.

You quickly pulled out your twin blades and cut one with ease. Noritoshi stayed right behind you, guarding your back as he forced back the other curse with his blood manipulation.

In all the confusion, a massive curse loomed over Noritoshi. It was definitely a grade 1 curse at least, which both of you were not expecting. It had the shape and body of a scorpion, but the face of a white tiger with long blood-red fangs.

It reared up, running towards Noritoshi. So your body acted on pure instinct. “Extension cursed technique: Niflheim”, you froze the curse then rushed towards it.

You tackled the cursed spirit without thinking and plunged your twin swords through its gut while slipping off the edge of the cliff. It faded out of existence as you plunged down.

All your life, you’ve been this carefully crafted, logical, and steady person that is built from hard work and experience.

And yet all of that just flew out of the window when you saw Noritoshi in possible danger. As you fell down, you could hear Noritoshi screaming for your name.

You tried to lift your body with your cursed technique. You slowly gained traction upwards, until red strands of blood wrapped around you.

"Blood Manipulation: Crimson Binding!" Noritoshi chanted and reached down to quickly pull you up. You landed on the hard ground and he released his technique as soon as you were in the clear.

"Are you insane?! Pushing it and jumping off the cliff to exorcise it?! There are so many other ways to take it down with your technique. And I could have dealt with binding it before exorcising it! Why on earth?" Noritoshi gasped out.

He was absolutely livid, red faced and eyes wide open. And that was a major understatement. You just sat on the ground, shell shocked at your own actions and at the way he was yelling your head off.

You messed up big time, and you know this because Noritoshi never raises his voice towards you.

"Why did you risk your life for me?! I could have handled that. And you don't even know me." Noritoshi’s voice was growing hoarse. You felt your throat close up and body tense. It felt like he punched you in the gut. He wasn't entirely wrong. You just met him, and you already put your life at risk to save the man.

But his words stung. They echoed in your mind and heightened your insecurities. It was like he was putting an invisible wall between the both of you. 'You don't know me.' 'I thought I did, or at least it felt like we did with each other'.

Realising that you stayed silent, you looked up at him to see his angry expression growing into something else, like worry.

You quickly smoothed yourself over. "No, apparently I don't. I’m sorry for not knowing you." But you didn't apologise for saving him. That's one thing you would never apologise for. Because that's one of your duties.

A flash of regret appeared across his face. Noritoshi came close to you and took your hands in his and looked into your eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the red strings that burst forth from your joined hands.

You stared in wonder as they wrapped around both your shoulders and bodies to bind you close to each other. You flushed as you stared up at him agape. His eyes were focused on the moving and glowing threads around the two of you before he turned to look at you.

Your eyes met once more and you were thrown into another vision.

"My love, how are you feeling?" A man was sitting beside your bed. You had bandages on your arms and everything felt so heavy. “I’m much better, as a matter of fact I think I could go out right now and get some sunshine.” You smiled.

The man gave the most exasperated sigh, "You're far too reckless. Testing your luck every time. Please, let me protect you and stay by your side."

“Yes yes. Of course, I will always stay by your side. And protect you."

"Protecting me shouldn't entail giving your life up for me. We stay alive together." He said angrily.

"Okay. It's okay." You soothed the man. "We will survive." You whispered as he leaned down to catch your lips tenderly in his.

For all his stoic behaviour, he kissed you so lovingly. Rubbing your back and patting your head softly. You turned to bury your face in the crook of his neck and pressed a deep kiss there.

"Read me a story." You asked him after a period of silence.

He brought out your favorite novel about a Princess who was sent down as a blessing from the Moon. Her father found her inside a bamboo shoot.

She was to live the life of a human, but eventually had to go back up to the heavens.

Unfortunately, she loved her human parents who spoiled her and raised her like a princess. And parting with them was terribly painful.

"I don't know why you enjoy such a depressing story." He sighed after he had finished. His lashes were so long that they were almost resting on his cheekbones.

"It's because their love is beautiful. The love that the daughter had for her parents. The love she had on earth, before she forgot everything and had to return to the moon." You dreamily explained.

He smiled. "Ever such a romantic, my love. I should do better in our relationship to please you."

You snorted, "No you've done well. It is fine as we are." You elbowed him jokingly.

But he turned to you so seriously, "I love you so much, my dear. You don't-"

The vision ends abruptly before the man could end his sentence. Your arms were now wrapped around Noritoshi's waist and his were around yours. You simply stared at each other for a while.

"Noritoshi senpai… so it's true, you're my other half." You murmured. Your pinkies were linked by the red flowing thread.

He hugged you tightly. "Yeah. And you're mine."

Everything was very quiet. You felt his nervousness, but it felt right. To hold him in your arms like this. It was like you found a piece to yourself that was missing all your life.

Noritoshi carefully brushed away the hair from your face, before leaning down to press his slightly shaky lips against your cheek. It was such a sweet gesture that you leaned to it.

You both were clearly out of your element. The idea of being in a relationship was very new to you. You've never dated before, but all the sudden the heavens dropped your soulmate right into your lap.

"Don't ever do that again." He said, lips brushing against your cheek.

You blinked. "What?"

"I won't blame you for trying to protect me. But think properly and don't be reckless when you act. I'm capable and strong as well. I don't want you to get hurt." He said.

His earlier words came rushing back to you. ‘You don’t know me.’ Your heart dropped. But you replied, "Okay Senpai."

He pulled you up as the red strings faded from view, "Let's patrol the area to make sure everything is clear then head back."

Blood Bound: Table of Contents