#and was thinking about classing him should there ever be a combat

[revoleotion]

What would Tsubaki's paladin oath be?

OK HERE'S THE THING

@pinkestlittlebutterfly is the local Paladin expert and I am TRYING my best but I will never get it(tm) as much as she does, so that's who you should really ask.

HOWEVER! As far as I understand Paladins, you have SOME freedom when it comes to your oath, maybe not in the game but in general I feel like he has a Oath of Devotion going on but the way he does it is not what you'd expect. He's devoted to his subclasses and will do EVERYTHING to keep them save and happy. I think his original oath might've been towards his creator but now he pledged loyalty to those he wants to protect. Even if they hate him. Even if they resent him. Even if they try to betray and harm him at every turn. He swore to protect them and that's what he'll do.

For all his many..... can of worms, I think he would never be tempted to break that oath either!

[e-m-ma-lmfao]

Can you write something for Sephiroth(pre-nibelheim) or Astarion? Your work is absolutely fantastic btw I’m in love with it ❤️❤️❤️

Not So Subtle

pairing : sephiroth x female!reader

summary : you have a teenage girl level crush on him, that you and zack talk (very loudly) about when you think no one can hear. but he does.

a/n : this takes place pre-nibelheim so everyone is happy and well! in honour of ff7 rebirth :)

“Close your mouth or you’ll catch flies.” You snap your jaw shut, eyes moving to glare at the young, dark haired boy who has decided to break your daydream. 

“It wasn’t even open.” He plops down beside you, shoulder touching yours. 

“Mhm.. and you weren’t drooling over our superior.” 

“Your superior,” you correct, eyebrow lifted with pointed sarcasm. If you could stick your tongue out at him, without it seeming childish to everyone around you, you would.

“Last time I checked, you weren’t a first class soldier either,” He points out, amused. Your elbow makes contact with his arm, and his hand reaches to cover the area as he laughs.

Zack was younger than you, though he certainly never acted like there was an age gap. In his mind, you were the same age as him in some way or another. You had always trained together so you felt much closer in age even though you were at least 3 years older than him. At times, he felt like a younger brother to you.

Even more so when he found out you had a crush on the man he spent everyday training beside. Constant teasing, constant threats to spill your secrets, constant blackmail. You couldn’t even count the amount of times he had used your crush to his advantage on one hand. 

There was a time you had to put your foot down and tell him no more, cause it was wrong of course. But also mostly cause you were running out of money to buy his silence.

“Yeah but I'm older, closer to his age. So I don't have to talk to him like I'm below him, unlike some people.” 

“Can you even talk to him?” 

“Yes.” 

“Then why are you sitting here staring..?” 

“He’s training..” 

“Mhm.” The look on his face tells you he’s not convinced. Right now, it was the truth, Sephiroth was swinging his sword in the domed combat simulator, glass walls clear enough for you to see through. So the excuse of not being able to talk to him, out of fear of being sliced in half by his giant sword, was plausible. 

But any other time that you had sat staring at him, making no effort to speak to him, rendered that excuse inapplicable. 

“Shut it..” You push his shoulder with your elbow once more, and he snorts out a laugh. 

“I don’t get why you can’t just talk to him..” 

“Of course you don’t.. because you're obviously blind. Or you’ve been hit in the head one too many times in combat training.” You turn your gaze away from Zack to look back through the glass enclosing Sephiroth. 

His hair is tied up, hanging loosely against his back. It’s a rare sight, so you indulge yourself and stare a second longer than you should. It’s so relaxed, you think, compared to the seriousness of always having it pristinely down. There are stray hairs, flyaways, falling from the hair tie and hanging against his face. It’s unkempt, a nice contrast to his seemingly perfect lifestyle.

He swings his sword with calculated grace, a grace that you (or Zack for that matter) had yet to achieve. The control he held over his blade was impeccable, it never slipped or moved from his hold even when his hands were moving faster than his body could keep up with. Just another thing that had to be perfect in his life.

“How could I ever speak to him and not make a fool out of myself? For one, he’s first class, I'd totally ruin my chances of making first class if I said something totally outrageous. And knowing me, my mind would be so jumbled, I wouldn't even realize the words had left my mouth before he put me on some kind of ‘do not promote’ list.” 

“Oh so.. the only reason you won’t talk to him is because you're worried about making first class? Not.. I don’t know, maybe, the 12-year-old-girl-level crush you have on him.” Your hand slaps over his lips, eyes scanning around you. For the most part, no one looks at the two of you, and you figure the ones that are looking are doing so because of your hand covering Zacks blabbermouth. 

“Would you shut it?” Even with your hand covering his mouth, he manages to laugh at your widened eyes. The crinkles at the corners of his eyes are a dead giveaway of his amusement. You remove your hand with a pointed look, one that says ‘keep it down’ in a far more subtle way than a hand over his face. 

“You’re so lucky you’re younger than me.” 

“More like so lucky you don’t want to make your boyfriend angry. Besides, you know I’m stronger than you.” 

“Mhm..” You roll your eyes, and with a sigh, you turn back to face Sephiroth. He stands still now and you realize all of the practice dummies have been broken. From your position, he doesn't even seem to have broken a sweat, even though he’s been in there for over an hour. His sword lies on the ground, thrown without care. 

Even with Zack beside you, and the silent teasing that exudes from his body, your eyes remain trained on Sephiroth. You realize it’s childish, to stare and never approach, but the idea of even standing next to him is enough to intimidate you. 

He runs his hand over his back, pulling the hair tie from his hair, allowing it to fall against his shoulders once more. He turns, presumably to leave the combat simulated, and his eyes meet yours through the glass. You knew your staring wasn’t subtle, it had never been before, but you had never expected to get caught. You had never been caught. 

You turn your head away so fast that Zack almost flinches, probably thinking you were going to hit him again. 

“Jesus,” he looks at you with confusion, “What’s the problem?” 

“He saw me.” 

“What?” 

“He saw me! Through the glass! He totally caught me staring at him..” You stare at Zack with wide eyes and flushed cheeks, before you head falls into your lap in shame.

“Would you relax? I guarantee he doesn’t care or he didn’t even see you. Maybe he was just looking at his reflection.”

You look back towards Sephiroth to see him leaving through the doors of the dome, and then you turn back to Zack with a pitiful whine. 

“This is so pathetic…” 

“I agree,” he smiles when you shoot him a glare, “Just talk to him.” 

“Talk to who?” A deep voice sounds from beside you, higher up than where you sit. You feel the hairs on the back of your neck stick up, and Zack's expression is enough to confirm your suspicion about who stands next to you. 

You turn your head to face Sephiroth, and he stares at you expectantly. You think you catch the slightest smirk building on the corner of his lips, but you also think you might just be trying to make yourself feel better. Standing, nowhere close to his height, you hold your hands up. Zack takes this as his sign to stand too. 

“Nobody! Angeal!” You fumble out words, trying to throw out a name before he grows suspicious. 

“Well which is it, nobody? or Angeal?” 

“Angeal. Yeah! Angeal, so.. um.. I should probably go find him.” 

“It just so happens that I have to find Angeal too, allow me to join you.” 

You want to throw the nearest chair at Zack, curse him for speaking so loudly. And you curse yourself for not thinking of an excuse in a reasonable time frame, so you just nod, and excuse yourself from Zack. 

He gives you a pitiful smile, and when you turn to look behind you for support one last time as you walk away he gives you a thumbs up. His face contradicts his hands, and he seems like he’s in a far less teasing mood. 

“Whatever you have to say to him, it must be important.” 

“Hm?” You tilt your head up and to the side to look at Sephiroth, you’ve been walking together for a few minutes now, mostly silently. 

“You're walking fast.” You shrug your shoulders and continue walking. 

At least until your steps are interrupted by him stepping in front of you. 

“Is there a problem?”

“What? Of course not!” He practically glares down at you, arms crossed over his muscular chest. You can see the outline of his defined chest muscles through the straps of his top. And you realize you're practically drooling over him, right in front of him so you force your eyes to meet his once more. But his glare is replaced by a smirk, and amusement in his eyes. 

“I see now..” 

“See what?” 

“Really? Do you think you’re subtle?” Your face flushes and once again you want the floor to open up and consume you whole, but you're stuck here. 

“I don’t know what you're talking about.” Step back, you scream at yourself, but he moves closer and it’s impossible to move your feet. They feel like lead underneath you, not even giving way to a small shuffle backwards.

“No?” His hand reaches up to rest on your cheek, it's gentle, far gentler than you would’ve expected. But the way his fingers tense against your skin has you feeling fuzzy, “You think I don’t notice the way you stare? Hm?” 

He stares at you, thumb moving to the other side of your chin, holding your face in his hand. He maneuvers your face, moving it however he likes. You realize he’s examining the flush in your cheeks, the way your lips part like you want to say something. His tongue gives a humiliating click when your lips close, and the words are lost. 

“I hear you, when you talk to Zack,” he stops his movement, stilling your face to look directly at him, “You’ve never been a quiet girl. Why are you so quiet now?” 

When you don’t respond his eyebrows scrunch, its subtle and almost missable because it’s gone in seconds. He’s not satisfied by your silence.

Sephiroth bends his shoulders, moving closer to your face, “Although, I suppose you’ve never been very talkative around me.” He moves closer still, swerving his nose to the side of your face until he’s able to speak in your ear, “That’s not very nice. You might hurt my feelings if you keep ignoring me.” 

“I’m sorry,” you mumble out meekly, you're honestly not even sure it’s audible at first but he laughs quietly, breath fanning on your ear. His other hand, the one that doesn’t hold your face, reaches up to tuck a piece of hair behind your ear before he pulls away. The breath that leaves your body is almost embarrassing. 

“What’re you sorry for, hm?” He stares expectantly down at you, eyes never leaving yours. 

“F…for ignoring you.”

“So you ignore me?” 

“No!”

“So you’re lying?” You shake your head as much as you can within the hold of his fingers, “Then what are you sorry for?” 

“For not talking to you.” 

“And why don’t you talk to me, I'm sure you know it’s rude to stare and never speak to someone.”

“Because..” His grip loosens, hand moving back to your cheek, thumb resting on your cheek bone. 

“Because why? Cmon use your voice, the one you use to talk about me with Zack.” 

You stare up at him pitifully, and the way words fumble from your mouth has you wanting to throw up, “Because I have this stupid crush on you, and I can't talk to you without getting nervous. I know it’s stupid and I should have told you sooner so you could reject me and I could move on and I never meant to offend you or-”

You hadn’t realized he had gotten so close until his nose touches yours, top lip brushing against yours as he tips your chin up towards him. Your words fall flat on your tongue when you meet his eyes, or rather when you see his eyes that are focused on your lips. 

“Offend me.. that’s sweet..” He’s so close to you, that every word has his lips brushing against your own again and again. 

“Sephiroth..?” You suppress the urge to move the tiniest bit forward so your lips can fully meet his. And you're sure your face is impossibly red. 

“You should’ve told me about this ‘stupid’ crush sooner, such a foolish girl. May I?” You're confused, what is he asking for? His eyes flicker up to yours before moving back to your lips. When you realize what he means you nod your head perhaps too eagerly. 

Slowly, to tease, his lips press against yours, palm pressing into the skin of yours to keep you in place. Eyes fluttering closed, your hands find his chest, silently screaming about the position you’ve found yourself in.

His lips overpower yours in every regard, moving languidly against you. His other hand reaches up to the free side of your face, fingers tickling the skin on your neck and thumb resting on your jaw. 

When he pulls away you can only look at him with half lidded eyes, dazed. 

Al he does is chuckle, rubbing your cheek with his thumb and patting your head. One hand holds the back of your head, leaning down to kiss your temple, before stepping behind you, “Don’t be so shy from now on. Maybe we’ll end up here again.”

His steps echo through the empty hall as he walks away.

“Wait… wait.. I thought you had to go see Angeal?” You turn, taking one step in his direction, then stopping yourself in your tracks hesitantly. 

“I didn’t. And I know you didn’t either.” He only turns his cheek towards you to speak and then continues on down the hallway, tall and brooding.

[pin-k-ink]

hello kitty panties // gojo satoru

tw ⇢ implied age gap, teacher-student relationship, highly suggestive

wc ⇢ 755 words

Gojo blamed the intense heat for making him see things. Or maybe it was his sexual frustration finally catching up to him because he swore he saw your plump butt, barely covered by Hello Kitty panties, hanging over the first-floor window. He knew it was you immediately, mostly because you were the only student who was stupid enough to try and climb out of the first-floor window, and partially because you were also notorious for collecting Hello Kitty merch. Apparently, the merch didn't just stop at small knick-knacks and plushies, judging by your underwear.

Your small feet kicked at the wall, one knee still perched on the windowsill, your entire torso still inside the building. Gojo contemplated whether he should just ignore you and go about his day because if it were any other student, it'd be a pretty uncomfortable encounter. But this was you, the baby of his class – cute and naive but an absolute menace in combat, a combination he adored wholeheartedly.

He stood there on the ground for a while, staring at your ass. Not to be a creep, but damn, you had a great ass. It was all plump and perky, accentuated by the fattest, juiciest thighs he'd ever seen. More often than not, he'd wonder what it would feel like to be crushed by them. He wasn't the only one. He once saw Yuji get a nosebleed after getting headlocked by your thighs. The moment your thighs circled around his head and trapped him, he had given up instantly and went limp. It was amusing, to say the least, but Gojo couldn't blame him. He had a rule not to lust after his students; perhaps you could be the only exception.

He let out a sharp whistle and watched, amused, as your body tensed. "What're you doing up there?" he teased with a small smirk, his eyes roaming over your exposed skin.

You fumbled to get inside quickly, but you lost your footing on the windowsill. Gojo's heart nearly stopped as he watched you fall, your stomach colliding painfully with the side of the window. Without thinking, he rushed forward, his arms outstretched to catch you.

You landed in his arms with a soft thud, and Gojo couldn't help but notice how perfectly you fit against his body. He held you close for a moment, relishing the feeling of your warmth, before gently setting you down.

You hunched over, clutching your stomach as small tears sprung to the corners of your eyes. Gojo felt a pang of concern, but he kept his hands in his pockets, waiting for you to acknowledge him.

After a while, you slowly looked up at him, your eyes meeting his. Gojo felt his breath catch in his throat at the sight of your flushed cheeks and parted lips.

"Sensei... I, uh... thank you for catching me," you mumbled, your voice barely above a whisper.

Gojo chuckled, trying to ignore the way his heart raced at the sound of your voice. "You know, if you wanted to sneak out, you could've just used the door. But I guess that wouldn't have been as entertaining, would it?" he teased, his signature smirk still plastered on his face.

You pouted, averting your eyes. "I wasn't sneaking out! I was just... getting some fresh air."

"Fresh air, huh? In your Hello Kitty underwear?" Gojo couldn't resist teasing you further, enjoying the way you squirmed under his gaze.

"Shut up! It's laundry day, okay?" you huffed, crossing your arms over your chest.

Gojo's eyes sparkled with mischief. "Well, next time you decide to get some 'fresh air,' make sure you've got a spotter. Wouldn't want you to fall and hurt yourself."

You rolled your eyes, but Gojo could see the small smile tugging at the corners of your lips. "Yeah, yeah. I'll keep that in mind."

As you turned to walk away, Gojo let his gaze linger on your retreating form, admiring the way your curves moved with each step. He knew he shouldn't be thinking about you in that way, but damn, it was getting harder and harder to resist.

With a sigh, he shook his head and turned to head back inside, silently promising himself that he'd keep his less-than-pure thoughts in check. After all, you were his student, and he had a responsibility to maintain a professional relationship.

But deep down, he knew that promise was going to be a difficult one to keep, especially with you constantly testing his self-control, whether you realized it or not.

[pushingdaisies1]

Nasty Dog . . . ♡ ↳ (part two of ''kinda hate you - kinda love you")

(✧ ˚.) PAIRING-> James "Logan" Howlett {A.K.A} Wolverine x "X-Man" Reader >_< (✧ ˚.) SUMMARY-> You kept on replaying that moment with Logan in your mind. Something small definitely put you on one hell of a roll. It made you think a lot more about what you two shared. Especially if it was even something to hold on to as much as you did. Antagonizing him over breakfast about how much of a show-off he can get, he complies to help you with your class. Specifically when he overhears you talking about your lesson plans. Hand-to-hand combat and you need another demonstrator? Sign him up big time.

(✧ ˚.) AUTHORS NOTE -> hi party people!! gonna make this part short so I don't fill half of this post with my yapping. like I've repeated over the last two(?) , tysm for all of the love. its funny x-men has reignited my writing hehe haha. i wanna write for logan more nd also do professor x?? james mcavoy my love? anyways , u and logan are so weird I'm loving it so hard. also might open up requests for x-men so I can write for the whole bunch. ESPECIALLY lolo , the honey badger of my eye 100%. Hope you enjoy and comment if you'd like to be on a taglist for my works!! (most likely will be doing a lot of x-men stuff until I run out of ideas.)

(✧ ˚.) CWS (?)-> again this is supposed to take place within the context of X-Men 97/X-Men animated series , second person pov , descriptions of combat/sparring, kinda alluded to you two being fwb?? lowkey more complicated but, YALL DONT FUCK SRRY but definitely some suggestiveness , you and Logan kiss n argue and not so makeup so idrk if that counts for hurt/kinda comfort???..

Like the night before that, you were pacing back and forth around your room. The place you would stay most of the time if you ever even had a day off. On your nearby desk would lay students' reports. Ranging on physical fitness and endurance, health studies, and so on.

Ororo sat crisscrossed on your bed as she watched you. Her expression was grim as she looked down into her tea. She was originally planning to go to bed. Though you came to her with troubles plaguing you. X-Men are like family to one another, so she spared you her time. Your worrying made more sense once you gave her the slightly skimmed-over details. You left bits and pieces out of the story for your own sake.

“So he.. and then you…?” She questioned, voice low and face absent in thought as she cringed in realization. You quickly nodded as you held your hands to your face embarrassed. "I know Ororo! It's really ... really bad." Storm couldn't help but crack a small chuckle seeing how frazzled you were over Wolverine. It looked like there was smoke coming right out of your ears with how huffy and puffy you were. "Wow, breath for me. The only thing you should be passing out onto is your bed, not the floor." She assured as she set her cup aside on your nightstand. She got up to look at you face to face. Gently taking your face in her hands. The most, and I mean the most you told Storm was a very cut-down version of the story. Nothing about the nights you were whisked away into his room. How you two used each other consensually as another body to rip into and hold when nights got long.

It's not like you two had nothing. There was a spark undeniably there. But to you, it felt like his eyes would always be for Jean. It's not like you couldn't see why he was infatuated with the redhead. You've known her long enough to know that she would always stick things through with Scott.

Logan was always a fan of the hunt, you were like a place where he could bury his bones. You were familiar, you never had plans to leave his side.

Besides, for the sake of your affair with Logan, it was best not to complicate things. That was before he decided to throw out some choice words. Words that made your chest tighten and sweat rise through the roof. She rubbed under your eyes with her thumb as she guided you to look back at her. "Whatever you and Logan have going on is truly none of my business. Nor the team's business at all." She explained, hearing her speak was so calming. Her tone was always so smooth almost ethereal. "As your friend and your sister, I can't sway your hand either." From the day she arrived in the mansion, Ororo was like your constant. You relied on your friends sure. But like her and Jeans shared kinship, you had something similar with her. Which is why it hurt even more with your dilemma. "Logan is not a perfect man. I know you are stronger than this. You know what's good for you. The X-Men will always have your interests at heart, yes. But it's you who has to make this call." She hummed as she leaned her forehead against yours. "Sadly the ones we yearn for sometimes, or even will always have their heart set on another. You are better than that. You and him can mess, sure. But one day it will end and he'll go back to pining over our Jean." She spoke sweetly with a sympathetic smile. She was right like always.

She looked at you once more, forehead still against yours. "It is you who has to move on to someone who will put you into perspective."

A comforting embrace from Ororo absorbed you. It felt as if you were embraced by the world. Clinging onto her tight, she stopped the storm weathering inside of you. Gently rubbing your back she'd let the silence ruminate inside of your bedroom for a while. "Take some time dearest, maybe speak to him if you can." She murmured into your hair. "Maybe you two just need some needed distance? Because he's definitely missing out on one extraordinary creature." A small smirk grew onto her features as she separated your hug, you complying of course. "All I know is that you deserve whatever honesty you can squeeze out of that man." She acknowledged with the smile you always related to hope. Ororo was your consciousness, she was pretty much one of the most level-headed of your team. You thanked the fate that brought Ororo into existence. Without her words of real wisdom, you would still be spiraling in your bed like a clown. "Thank your Ororo, truly I do mean it." You spoke with a humble smile as she chuckled softly. "We're family, I'll always guide you by any means necessary." She replied, giving you one final look of affirmation before reaching the door. She opened it gently, letting the air open it wider before her eyes wandered to you one last time. "Sleep well, don't let yourself run mad because of him." She purred, leaving you alone. You stood there with yourself. Sucking in a breath of air you knew what was needed. The haze in your continuous stream of thought cleared. With one more look around at your walls, your eyes turned to your bed. You fell right in under your warm and fuzzy blankets. You were practically knocked out as soon as your head filled the pillow. Tomorrow you should be fine, tomorrow will be a better day. Quickly night turned to day. You were awoken by the sound of the students playing on the nearby basketball court down below. Your shoulders eased some more once you saw the empty hall in front of you. No one to interrupt your morning stroll down to the kitchen, where you knew by now someone had to be in there. You quickly jostled yourself down the stairs as soon as you caught a whiff of food. By just a tiny sniff you knew it was Gambit cooking. Your stomach cheered and roared as you rounded the hallway. Coming into the kitchen, Gambit was already dishing some of his beignets up. His hair was up and swooped as he wore a cropped t-shirt, with a colorful display of artwork on it that you didn't really want to decipher. Surprisingly it was a pretty quiet morning. But then you realized why when looking at the clock. The biggest surprise was that even Gambit was up this early. Scott too, as he was sat down with a newspaper on and his regular shades. Gambit swung around seeing you, fresh beignet in hand. "Cher, good morning to you!" he greeted you with a sing-song tune. He stopped at no time dishing up the last batch. You cracked a sleepy grin as you rubbed one of your eyes. "Am I in heaven? I don't think I've ever seen you whip something up this early." You joked as you found a seat at the table. "Gambit is in a good mood this wonderful day, no?" He purred as he smacked on his final touches. Scott looked up from the paper with an eye roll. Only noticeable with the way his head tilted. "He accidentally charged his alarm clock, woke me and Jean up." He snickered, taking another sip of his mug. The sweet smell of sugar and cinnamon filled the air. If you had no self-restraint, he'd be having to remake that entire batch after five minutes.

"Alarm clock? I thought you said Gambit works on his own time?" You turned to Gambit with a raised brow as he leaned against the island counter. He looked away with a small smirk gracing his lips. "I listened to the missus." He shrugged carelessly as you couldn't help but hold back a laugh. His and Rogue's back and forth always made your mornings lighter. Soon the kitchen filled with everyone else. Jean happily greeted Scott with a kiss on the cheek, sucking your wandering eyes into conversation. Rogue soon followed, coming into the kitchen and stretching like a cat. Gambit was already climbing up her tree, given their whole "deal." Their coy and flirtatious banter always brought a smile to your lips , making you get all idealistic-y.

Jubilee and Storm were one of the last to follow. Jubilee of course decided to sleep in late, what teenagers do. Storm explained her absence due to deep talks with the professor.

She especially looked at you with a kind-eyed smile, peacefully soaking in the team's chatter as she too gathered herself food. Jubilee clung to you the entire breakfast. Not like at your hip, but you were one of the ones she got close to immediately. It made sense and you didn't mind her popping into your meal to ask about how this all was supposed to work. "I thought since I'm an X-Man, I didn't really have to DO school here?" She thought aloud, beignet and soft blueberries halfway in her mouth. You answered her question swiftly, relishing in your thirst diminishing.

"It's different since you are still a kid." You hummed, taking the last bites of your plate. "Besides, the extra training besides just on-the-field stuff could help. Danger room drills aren't the only thing a young X-Man like yourself should be going over."

She sighed while resting her chin on her knuckles. "I know, just feels so bogous!" She scoffed playfully, serving herself a big bite of food. Your heart rate was exhilarated by some once you heard Storm greet Logan a "Good Morning." The two of you haven't spoken much to each other. Outside of short-term missions and war room meetings. You weren't surprised when the both of you so quickly made and lost eye contact. He grumbled in response, you weren't surprised. You could hear his confused murmuring as he rummaged for a cup. You spoke up from where you sat at the table. "On the counter, got bored, and knew you would be hankering for a pick me up." You turned back to face him in your chair. You were even taken surprised that you made the first "move." In response, he flashed you a toothy grin. "Looks like someone kissing ass this morning." He gruffly spoke, making up his own hefty plate.

As usual, the professor stayed off in his study. Everyone at the table talked amongst themselves. You couldn't remember how you and Logan started pestering one another. No shocker Gambit with a shit-eating grin amped up the bragging. One minute it was lesson plans, another it was Logan talking about how he could easily show you up during your lesson. Chest puffed, his arms crossed somewhat. He picked scraps out from in between his teeth using a free claw. It gleamed in the shimmering sunlight escaping into the room as his mouth continued to run. "Come on! I'm always the one saving your ass." He chuckled with grit as he finally was able to get out of a piece of that egg. "The other way around Grandpa." You snickered with your teeth on full display. Jean tried to put a stop to your and Logan's childish spat. If you could even call it that. One remark after another and soon he was agreeing to help you in the dangeroom later on in the day. Just your luck, it was foolish to even think this would have no hiccups. You passed through the day doing regular tasks. When the professor wasn't alert about any new trouble, or the school wasn't in shreds it was pretty peaceful.

You spent your time diligently working over those same tasks you despised when you had your hunger for excitement. The quietness around the school was comforting.

Time swept you away before you could realize it was time for your class. Young mutants swarmed into your room, chipper and excited for what today brought. You never expected to enjoy teaching this much. Quickly as the chatterboxes chattered, you soon quieted down the bunch. Greeting your students, you stood up from behind your desk. Rounding up to the front to address the entire room. Diligently you went over the topic for today's lesson. Today it was time to focus on hand-to-hand sparring. Being a mutant did mean having powers at whoever's disposal. But just in case the situation arose of being unable to use those powers, there was always a "plan b" needed at the ready. Most of the students were either paying attention first row or loosely clueing into what was planned for the hour. You didn't really mind, hearing a teacher talk no matter how vibrant they were would never stop being annoying. In the middle of your rapid explanation, you were interrupted by the door swinging open. No thanks to a lot of the doors in the school being a lot more noisy. In the doorway stood Logan, posture steady. With the amount of flannels he wore you wouldn't be surprised to see them being eighty percent of his closet. "I was needed, so here I am." He announced with a bitter sound as he cleared his throat. His arms fell to the side of him almost like he was showing himself off. You immediately perked up as you forgot one small detail. "I forgot to mention, everyone to the danger room!" You instructed as your hands gestured to the doors. Soon bodies started to move as Logan sauntered up towards you. His hands shoved deep in his pockets. "Y'know, I'm gonna kick your ass demonstration or not." He blabbed with that same stupid smirk on his face. You always wanted to wipe it straight off of his face. You turned to him with a pointed look as you whispered to him a threat. Less of a threat and more of an invitation. "Oh sure, missed you pinning me down. Forgot how your hands felt." You hummed before pushing past him. It was only you two, as by now most of their students were already making their way towards or were already in the danger room. Faintly you could hear the slightesting crackling of a chuckle from him. You were going to wipe the floor with his stupid hair.

Finally, everyone was inside and ready. You made sure to wrap your hands since you and Logan were sparring. Given that it was only for demonstrating purposes. But if you really tried, packing a punch into Logan was a lot harder than expected. Can't forget the metal skeleton that lay behind that stupidly handsome rugged jaw.

You paired students off to see how they worked without any use of their powers or special abilities. As a sort of example to anyone up next. After a small mistake by two of some students, you brushed them aside without any pestering. They tried, but maybe now that teacher example should be coming in handy.

Setting up the room, you sequenced it before rushing downstairs to the room itself. Of course, Logan ran right in behind you. "Now - me and mister Howlett are going to give a demonstration. Please watch as that'll be needed for anyone else I haven't sent in yet." Finally, the command commenced as the room quickly shifted into place. It was the simple danger room. White walls and white flooring are suddenly the only things around you two. Finding your stance you stared Logan down. He, not surprisingly, brought back that same sort of fervor and even more. Fists were up and it was time to fight. It was like two predators trying to dominate the other into becoming their respective prey. Your fighting styles clashed in the best of ways. You were quiet when it came to making the first attack. You knew how to be stealthy on your feet. Especially quick when diverting oncoming attacks from enemies. Logan was very abrasive especially when it came to how he attacked opponents. Run in first and think about the consequences later. Quickly you were able to ambush him. Throwing him for a loop once the bottom of your feet met his backside. It was like landing on solid ground. He groaned as he fell back, but that smirk still lay smeared on his lips.

You knew his weak spots and he was the same. Every single point, the two of you could find without even a poorly timed guess. For only a demonstration you two went at it for a while. His knuckles met your frame and so did yours. It was a dance of dominance, as old as time still stands. You soon did realize how much time your sparring was stretching. You still needed to at least have four or more students go up. By the time you two escaped each other's limbs as you had him pinned to the floor only just moments ago, you looked up to see your students.

Some were either paying attention or again, too absorbed in the conversation other classmates were having. Jubilee stood there a little bit taken aback by how you and Logan went at each other. I mean that was brutal but was the huffing and puffing needed? You two looked as if you were about to do the finishing blow to another. "Alright!" You said with an exhale. "Now use that when going head to head with your partner. Treat them as a peer but also as another fighter. Going against a fellow student doesn't mean you cant test out what you learned." You threw out teacher voice , quickly announcing which kids were next. You and Logan made your way back to the observational area of the danger room. The ascend back up was pretty quiet between the both of you. It was the same when you made your way back up and observed the rest of the class.

Soon enough you dismissed your students. Then there was only two , you and Logan. You stood there looking over the empty dome down below you. Logan soon walked up behind you.

Silence was never you shared kind of vibe. So you were somewhat joyous when he snuck a small kiss from you. Pecking the nearest edge of your lips , you came back at him with an embrace of those same lips.

Hungry and desperate like the usual. Internally you fought with yourself. You and Logan as companions and friends didn’t make things any easier. This sneaking around made you feel dirty. You didn’t want to be second pick.

It was you who stopped the exchange. Logan looked back at you with a blank expression. He couldn’t deny that the consistent dynamic between you two did make him guilty. He respected you tons but Jean would always be something he could never get his hands on. Some bastardoues part of him knew he liked that cat and mouse game. He would always wait for her , you and him were a different story.

“I can’t Logan.” You mumbled as your limb’s disconnected once again for good this time. This time it wasn’t with such passion. “This , us , I can’t do this anymore.”

His blank expression stayed as he almost barked out. “What do you mean? Yah never really said anything before, this makes no sense.” He rasped as his throat cleared a little.

The way his hazel eyes looked back at yours was a sight to see.

“I don’t like this charade. I like you but.. this thrill is gone.” You sucked in a breath as you stood apart now. “I mean I don’t just like you. What I feel for you is like nothing I’ve felt for another man. But here you are , waiting like a frail dog for Jean to finally drop Scott.”

He scoffed almost in your face. A part of him knew his yearning for Jean was pathetic. That he didn’t have a chance ever with her. Almost like she subconsciously infected his thoughts with only her. He knew though that it was just him being a fool , for you and for a woman that would never truly reciprocate his affections.

“You should have just said that , bub. I didn’t mean to waste your time parading around like a joke.” He shook his head , hands going deep into his pockets just like how he arrived. He slowly started to walk away. Bordering on leaving , finally you were honest.

“I love you Logan! There I said it!” You shouted , hiccuping like an idiot as you held your chest. That same flustered sensation spread throughout your lungs. “I’ve been in love with you ever since the night we made this stupid thing official. Ever since I felt your lips on mine.” You gritted out , fate was twisting your hand.

“But I respect myself too much to be so blind. I respect you too much to let us do this back and forth. I want something real with you. I want your words of praise to mean something. I don’t want these lies , I want you to love me. Because I do , and this whole poor man’s game of checkers deal isn’t what I want.” All of the hot air was gushing out of you as you went on and on about how you were internally struggling.

He looked back at you for a good minute. Burning silence was in the air. Before he spoke the word that stabbed you right in the heart.

“It’ll pass.” Then soon after he left you alone. In a puddle of your own feelings. You crumbled to the floor like a child. You held yourself up as you wiped your eyes of any free falling tears. You hated that someone so flip floppy with your feelings made you like this.

The heart of a lover was now eaten in two. Now it was your turn to piece yourself back together. With gritted teeth you got up a while later and collected yourself.

You would always be his fool. That was the worst thing about your desire for the Wolverines affection. Just the corner of your heart set for him was now bruised and battered.

ꔫ✉ reblogs/interaction is appreciated <3 (im so sorry if the ending feels rushed , i was in the mood for Logan angst 😔)

TAGLIST:

@pussy-f41ry @weallhaveadestiny @malfoys-demigod @dojacatswink @keenchaosdonut @emilyprentiss06 @honda-odyssey-fucks-hard @sl4sh3r

[dominos-palast]

Lessons on flirting

Fandom: XMen

Pairing:   Kurt Wagner x fem!reader

Characters mentioned: Scott Summers, Jean Grey, Peter Maximoff

Used Pronouns: (she/her)

Warnings: none

Request: yes

Part: 1/3

A/N: I made an exception and did a fem!reader one since it was requested like that. I will eventually upload a gn!reader version

P.S.: I decided to split the request into 3 because I wanted to post something since it’s taking longer than promised :’)

Summary: Kurt has a crush on one of the best fighters in the institute, but doesn’t know how to approach the situation. Thank goodness that Peter and his friends are there to support him.

Word Count: 1k

“I did not get my ass whooped.” Scott walked between Jean and Kurt, trying to defend himself from Jean’s accusations.

“Of course not. How could you ever? We all know how strong the great Scott Summers is.” Scott would have felt flattered by such a response if it weren’t for the sarcasm behind her words.

“Yeah, yeah. Keep making fun of me. As if you had done it better,” he said eyeing the ice pack Jean pressed to her shoulder, only gaining a slight strong nudge on his bruised arm.

Kurt couldn’t help but snicker at their bickering. They had been on it since their last class. The topic had been self-defence. The catch: The use of powers was strictly prohibited. This type of class had become more frequent since the rumours of a new power suppressant circulating in the black market started. The professor wanted all students to be able to defend themselves, with and without powers.

“You sure can laugh,” Scott glanced at Kurt. “We aren’t allowed to use our powers, but you still can use your tail to fight.”

Kurt smiled proudly and swung his tail from side to side, mocking him even further.

“These classes are stupid. I have literal lasers for eyes. I can fry anyone even miles away from me. Why should I train in close combat if no one can get close to me anyway?” Scott let himself fall on the couch, resting his feet on the table in front of him. Jean already knew it was his frustration talking. They all had been lectured enough to understand why such classes were necessary.

Jean followed Scott’s lead and made herself comfortable beside him. Kurt leaned against the armrest of the couch.

“He indeed has an advantage, but I wasn’t expecting him to be that good.” She directed her eyes toward Kurt “You put up a pretty good fight against her, considering she is top of the class,” said Jean approvingly.

Kurt’s eyes suddenly lit up, and he turned toward them.

It was clear to him who she was talking about.

You hadn’t been in the institute for long but you managed to make a name for yourself right away. You hadn’t lost a spar in the self-defence class until now, making you one of the strongest fighters in the class.

“But how come she’s so strong? Does she have enhanced strength or something?” asked Scott raising an eyebrow.

“No. Her power is to transform drawings into solid objects,” Kurt responded.

Jean nodded and added, “I saw one of the spars she had with an older student. She pulled out a literal sword from the tattoo on her arm and beat his ass right in front of everyone. But do you know why she really is so strong?” Scott looked up at Jean’s questions with expectancy. “It’s because she is not a couch potato. Unlike you, Scott”

Scott threw a pillow at her, which she quickly stopped with her telekinetic powers.

The conversation went on with more complaints and remarks about the self-defence classes.

Kurt's mind drifted away, thinking of today’s class. More specifically the spar you had with him.

The first time he met you was in the self-defence class where he has been witness to your many wins. He has seen how graciously you can move and how powerful every single punch of yours is.

His admiration for you grew further and further from that day on. Not only because of your abilities but also because you remained humble and kind instead of letting your accomplishments get to your head. You were someone Kurt looked up to because you didn’t simply knock your opponent down. You gave hints and advice on what the correct stance is, how to throw a proper punch and so on. After every spar, you helped your opponent up and cheered them up like a football team’s coach would do. And you did exactly the same thing with Kurt after sparring with him.

He had lasted longer than the majority of the students you had gone against, but you still managed to make him eat dust. He lay on the ground as you approached to lend a hand. Kurt noticed your hand and was about to accept your help, but then hesitated. He was sure you would feel uncomfortable, considering Kurt’s unusual handshape. But to his surprise, you grabbed his hand and pulled him onto his feet. He felt his cheek burn when he noticed the short distance you had between each other, but you kept your grip on his hand. The words you said stuck to Kurt like glue: “That was amazing. Just as expected. We have to repeat this sometime soon”. That along with your beautiful, bright smile made his heart beat unusually fast.

“Earth to lover boy, are you listening?”

Kurt turned his head toward Scott and Jean. Both were staring at him with sneaky smiles on their faces.

“Entschuldigung?”, asked Kurt clearly confused.

Jean and Scott exchanged glances in amusement.

“You’ve been smiling like an idiot since we mentioned her”, Jean said raising her eyebrows.

Kurt felt his cheeks grow hotter. “Oh, I was thinking of- you know, class- I mean-”

“Dude, it’s so clear you have a crush on her. You drool every time she is near,” Scott said rolling his eyes.

“It’s not like-”

“You have a crush on her” Kurt yelped at the sudden presence behind him, teleporting onto the spot between Jean and Scott on the couch on reflex. “Like, totally obvious” Quicksilver took a long sip from his apple juice, only to look disgusted at it. “What’s the expiration date on this?”

“I didn’t- I didn’t realise.” Kurt looked worryingly at Peter. “Do you think she noticed? Oh no, what if I weirded her out?”

“Well, only one way to find out.”

Everyone stared at Peter expectantly as he sipped his juice with risen eyebrows.

------- Part 1/3 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[0oolookitsme]

Like Gold Dust

Hii everyone! This one is kind of different than most of my fics. There are lots of descriptions and lesser dialogues and she's an angsty one! Lowkey poetic too, I think? I don't know! You tell me! I hope you enjoy reading <3

Verse - Footballer!Harry x Art Director!Y/n (uni era)

Word Count - 3.1k

Warnings - This fic is about Harry dealing with Seasonal Depression and he doesn't deal with it in this fic very healthily. So, if that, in any way, seems like it might be triggering for you or you don't wanna read about it, I totally understand! Close this fic and take care of yourself, I'll see you in the next upload! Sending love <3 (Also, there's miscommunication as well because of course, they are in uni!)

Winter has come knocking the wind out of Harry's lungs, and happiness has begun feeling like gold dust to him -- everybody seems to be chasing after it, but rarely catches it. But while Harry deals with the harshest Winter he's ever had, Y/n seems to have begun hating her favourite season.

Please rb to share! | Masterlist

With her head lowered defeatedly, Y/n slapped on the door with her palm for the fifth time. "Harry," she exhaled a breath that she had held hostage in her lungs so that she wouldn’t miss his reply. "I know you're in there ...let me in, please," her voice went meek towards the end, eyes moistening making her screw them shut, tighly.

She let her head rest on the door, sniffling a few times when she feels the sudden tiredness overtake her senses once again.

Maybe he's asleep, she thinks to herself just to get herself moving. Nodding at her own thought, she fisted the hand that was still pressed against the cold shut door and put it back in the warmth of her coat’s pocket.

This was nothing new. Every morning she'd come to his dorm, knock and knock and knock, and get teary eyed when he wouldn't open up. She'd catch him on the campus sometimes, walking in the same clothes she'd been seeing him in since the past three days, his head low and eyes avoiding any and every gaze.

"Harry!" She'd call after him and run up to match her steps with his. "I went to your dorm; thought you were sleeping but here you are!" Halting in her place she'd exclaim. Then, she'd mumble sadly -- "looking all pretty," running a little because he hadn't stopped with her.

She'd walk with him quietly then, cautiously weaving her fingers through his rough ones. He'd squeeze her hand three times in return and hold on tightly until they'd reach the point where they needed to part ways for their classes.

Truth be told, those little encounters seemed to be the only thin thread she was hanging by. His simple touches, holds, and cold lips pressed against her forehead. It made her believe that he didn’t entirely hate her, that she wasn’t as useless as she felt.

Y/n felt like she was lacking somewhere. That she should be the one he should be talking to in moments like these, that she should be the sole source of comfort he had but it seemed like he kept his distance from her as much as he could. And that made her feel like maybe she wasn’t his favourtie person, after all. 

She knew that it wasn’t the truth in her heart. That Harry did still love her, and found his safe haven in her – the smallest actions he made were assuring …but they weren’t enough to prevent Y/n’s opposing, combatant mind from exceeding its thinking capacity.

Every night she found herself doubting herself – her capacity to love, especially. Was her love not enough for the both of them to sail a little longer? At Least until Spring came and Harry’s sunflower plant became full of life again?

She feared that their relationship was withering away, just like his sunflower, and she was sat in his room on his window sill with the plant in her lap, frantically giving it sunlight and air and water and better soil but it just won’t stop shrinking in size and fading in colour.  

Doing everything she could, still Y/n was always feeling helpless and in despair. It was like she was screaming but Harry wasn’t listening…whether intentionally or not because, from Harry’s point of view, no sound seemed to be coming out of her scream – maybe because he was under water.  

"I'll see you soon," she'd tell him and get up on her tiptoes to hug him close to herself, pressing a kiss on his unshaved cheek. And with that, she'd walk away, her hand a lingering touch until she had walked far enough, and she, yet again, proved to be insufficient and not enough.

Walking against the brittle wind, she caught sight of the on-campus cafe. Walking inside, she looked up at the jingling bells above the door and smiled. She’d been coming here for so many months and yet she looked up at the source of the chime every time she walked in – for coffee, mainly, and for some warm shelter, secretly.

"A medium coffee please," she told the barista, who also happened to be a good friend. The cafe was opened by some of the college students, for the college students. It was nothing fancy but did its job remarkably well.

No one was speaking this early in the morning. Everyone was bundled up in any corner that they could seek, and Y/n looked around in hopes that maybe the footsteps she'd heard inside Harry's dorm weren't actual and that she might catch him cozied up here, instead. Because sometimes they'd bump into each other here or at the library, and that would bring her the peace that she was feeling rarely this Winter – which came as a shock to the system because she didn’t nearly love any season as much as she did Winter.

But alas, it was only a hope after all.

"Can I get a refill, please?" Someone asked, slightly embarrassed as the peeked from behind their laptop screen. Standing in front of Y/n, the barista – Kate – agreed to the request with a warm smile.

-

It was brighter than usual today, Harry had noticed. The sunlight pouring in through his open window laid right on his bed and if he wasn’t already feeling brighter today, which is the reason why he is standing fresh out of his bathroom and rubbing his towel against his head with another one wrapped low on his hips, his mood just felt as if it had bubbled up so high that he couldn’t handle it all by himself.

The flimsy curtains were still drawn in front of his windows, as he quickly changed. Even though he hated dressing up before his skin had fully dried. Unconsciously, he began humming a song and when he realized that while brushing his hair, he felt as if he had caught himself off guard. 

Happiness had begun to feel like it was like gold dust, to Harry. He’d suddenly become very aware of how difficult it was to obtain, how everyone wanted it and it was almost as if it had grown out of his comfort zone. 

He wasn't excited about the winter, not that he ever was. But he was depressed. Harry avoided his own gaze in the mirror then. He hadn’t said anything to himself other than a broken sob in weeks, so to find himself humming a song felt surreal. 

Throwing some things in his backpack, he swung it over his shoulders. He didn’t have anything on his feet, he realized and sprawled on the floor to look under his bed for the socks he was sure he had absentmindedly kicked under there. 

He took a quick sniff at his socks, deciding that he could go with them this last day. With a few grunts he pulled them up on his feet, sitting on the floor of his dorm room and tying his shoelaces. Y/n had gifted him those among some other things for Christmas, and that thought made him smile as he stared at the Nikes on his feet for little.

A few of his bones popped as he got up, making him groan in satisfaction. Checking if he had his phone and headphones on him, he decided to go and quickly check the scenery outside via his window and see for himself if he should carry an umbrella, which didn’t make any sense because it could begin raining cats and dogs any time where he lived.

That was when he caught sight of snow – falling down in flakes, slowly like feathers. His mouth fell open as he pressed his palms against the cold window glass, looking outside like some eager kid with his nose slightly smushing against it. His gaze wandered and he realized that everyhting was covered in white snow, shimmering beautifully as sunlight fell down.

Suddenly in a much bigger hurry, he swung his backpack on one of his shoulders again, and locked the door once he was on the other side of it.

The temperature inside his dorm room was much colder than the temperature outside, Harry realized, just as he does every other day and proceeded to walk down the hallway with his hands in the pockets of his bright pink hoodie. He’d been thinking all morning that maybe this serotonin release was only for one day, but chose not to dwell over that so he could simply live for at least some hours – for as long as the sun was away from the jail-bars, namely clouds.

But then he realized that it had finally begun snowing, and he felt like no one could take his happiness from him; absolutely no one.

He hated this issue that he had. He’s been suffering with seasonal depression since he was fifteen, he’d guess, and he hadn’t had one winter since that made him happy. Except, of course, the last one, in which he finally had the nerve to kiss Y/n under a mistletoe that had been hanging on the wall indentation that separates the dining area from the kitchen in his home.

And she made the Winter sufferable, if not entirely rainbows and sunshine for him. But it only made Harry hate himself worse – the fact that she adored no season as much as she did the snow one, and yet she was sad all the time during the span of this Winter in particular, because of him.

When Winter was approaching, she had strictly told him to come meet her before he’d leave for practice in the mornings, just so that she could hold him for a little before they’d go in for entirely different classes for the day, because she was aware that one of his love languages was physical touch. She didn’t really have a clue about how harsh this Winter was going to be on them, considering it hadn’t ever been so bad in the years she had known him, even as his best friend.

But he hadn’t been following the one rule she’d made; he was unable to.

He tried to stay away from her, when he realized that. Just so that she wouldn’t have to share all of her love and happiness with him to the level that she was left with nothing but his sadness. It wasn’t making him feel good, it hurt worse than the Winter did – staying away from her. But it was for the better, he’d tell himself over and over again as he would roll his lips in his mouth and shut his eyes tightly when she would come knocking on his dorm room morning and night, voice sounding as if she were on the verge of breaking down and begging him to open up so that she could come in and help him, and herself even.

“This is making me very sad, Harry. This – whatever it is that you’re doing, i – it isn’t making me feel anything but … but sad,” she would utter defeatedly outside his dorm, being ignorant about the strangers that might be hearing her. And, Harry would clench his eyes shut if his mind showed him a sight of her bottom lip trembling with fat tears rolling down her flushed cheeks.

What would matter to anyone hearing her, if Harry wasn’t hearing her? She’d think as she’d knock for the last few times, getting louder and louder.

It made Hary question his decisions, if he was doing the ‘right thing’ after all. But still he would gulp down his cry that threatened to escape his aching throat. He cried, and held himself as his body shook and broke down in sobs, because it felt selfish to have her do it when she could be outside building a snowman.   

He was well aware that she was concerned about him, it showed in her actions -- bled through the looks of care she passed him before she had to part from him. And he felt careless, like he wasn’t being responsible and mature enough by simply letting her in but he was. He couldn’t explain as to how or why, but in his head, he knew he was being sensible by not enclosing her in his misery.

Around Y/n he was calmer and more at peace – that was, nowadays, whenever she would catch him sulking on the campus somewhere. Almost all the time he wanted to be coddling her, holding her or being near her -- he knew she’d keep him sane, at the least but still he didn’t go to her. So he managed to comfort himself by the things that reminded him of her.

He felt such geat despair in that moment, when he would be sliding down the wall of his dorm as tears fell one after another from the slits of his eyes. He’d feel resentful of himself, but would still wrap his arms around his weak body and strangle his sobs because the walls were paper thin. He’d rest his head on his knees, back against the cold wall before he’d crawl to the foot of his bed and cry into the mattress as if it were his mum’s or Y/n’s lap. 

The sun had begun its hideaway for multiple days on end, and it got dark way earlier. Although he'd liked to think that he was prepared for the season, for the entirety of the beautiful autumn, he knew he was just baffling to himself. His current state was proof for it.

He felt tired, always. Never sleeping and being irritated at the slightest mistakes made during practice -- whether it was with himself or with his teammates. He had no interest in eating or getting out of his dorm room in the mornings, which was extremely unusual of him. Exams were around the corner and as much as he'd like to say that he was ready to tackle them, it was a lie far far away from the truth.

He wasn't even sure what the syllabus was, if he was being completely honest.

By the end, his throat would be aching because of the stifled wails and the sun would have risen by the time he’d be done collecting himself, and then a headache would follow and his eyes would've dried up because of the night time that he used to study instead of sleeping. 

Swiftly climbing down the flight of stairs to go to y/n's dorm, he felt the same kind of sensation he did when he was going back home for the winter break.

He knocked thrice, gently because he’s sure she's still sleeping or just woken up. There was a rush in his body, the thought of seeing her was making him more and more impatient. He was beginning to feel nervous, almost verging on anxious.

The door opened, and Y/n peeked through the small crack before and her eyes widened at the sight in front of her. He was standing right there, freshly showered and dressed in a fresh pair of clothes. His face was shining and as he smiled down at her, his dimples indented in his shaved cheek and she could smell the strong smell of his shaving cream that lingered around for a while. His lips were stretched so far that the front of his bunny could be seen from the small gap forming in between.

He didn't look much better than he did on the mornings that have passed them by since winter started, but he did seem to be in a better mood. It made her happy that he loved the hot pink hoodie that she bought him as much as she did. He had paired it with some joggers, and the shoes that, again, she had gifted him.

Tears pooled in her eyes in an instant and her nose flared a bit as her mouth swung open in a grin, spurts of laughter falling out as she gazed at him in disbelief. 

She made herself fully visible and opened the door wider. Instead of saying anything, she closed her mouth shut, still smiling at him brightly, and opened her arms for him to lean into her.

"Good morning," he gritted through his teeth as she held him tightly, rubbing her back up and down as she broke down in his arms. Pushing the door shut with his leg.

“Good fucking morning,” she sobbed and hicupped, a crack in her voice indicating that this was the first time she'd spoken since she'd woken up, and that she would’ve begun screaming in victory if only she could stop the stuttering cries rushing out of her.

This was the sole reason she'd begun to dislike mornings less, in the first place -- the love she felt oozed out of her at the sight of Harry. But she hadn’t realized just how off and gloomy she had been this whole time until she broke down at the mere sight of him looking decent. All these mornings that she had to wake up knowing deep in her core her that she wouldn’t see the sun, no matter how much she begged for it to come out had put her in a despair so great that she couldn’t even fathom the feeling of it.

But when she’d woken up this morning to see the land outside covered in white snow, shining as sunlight fell on it filled her with a certain hope to the brim. It almost made her flinch, the way sunlight fell on her face as she laid in her bed, eyes swollen and pillow still wet with the tears she’d cried into it the night before.

"You look exceptionally good this morning," she said while pointedly eyeing him up, wiping off the snot with the sleeve of her hoodie. "All good?"

Harry laughed at that, picking her up and taking her to the unmade bed. It looked like she was in the process of making it because all of her stuffed animals were strewn all over the floor -- and she tends to sleep with them on the days Harry isn't there to take up more space than necessary.

“I would’ve been on my way to buy some flowers for you, had I not seen the snow outside. Got too excited to see you, couldn’t wait,” he spoke softly, like she was still in a fragile state.“Plus, it’s too cold outside and I’d like my golden girl to come with me… For the sunflowers only bloom at the sight of the sun,” he smiled with his eyes crinkling on ends, and dimples shying away from Y/n’s gaze. 

“First of all, we need to talk and second of all – how many times did you reframe this cringy speech, Harry?”

[sundeathh]

Matchmaker's Quirk: Love Blooms

ONE-SHOT | MASTERLIST | words: 1 K

Pairing: Student!Aizawa × GN! Student!Reader

Tags: romance, fluff, cute, reader being a bit of a badass and straight forward.

CW: Hizashi and Oboro participation, fight mention (training).

In the bright corridors of U.A. High School, the air was thick with anticipation as students bustled about, preparing for another day of hero training. It had been just a few months since the start of the scholar year, and the school was abuzz with the vigor of young heroes in the making.

You, a spirited and good-natured student, strolled confidently through the bustling hallways, your eyes catching the attention of many admirers. Little did you know that your magnetic presence had already attracted the curiosity of one particular, quiet student.

Aizawa, then just a student like any other, observed you from a distance. His disheveled black hair and stoic expression hid a shy and reserved nature beneath. Despite being known for his strong analytical skills, the prospect of approaching someone as vibrant as you left him uncertain.

In the classroom, Hizashi Yamada, the ever-energetic voice student, chatted animatedly with Oboro Shirakumo, a kind and easygoing one. Both had noticed Aizawa's interest in you and decided to play matchmakers.

"Hizashi, have you seen Aizawa staring at (Y/N)?" Oboro nudged him, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Hizashi chuckled, "Oh yeah, he's got it bad. We should help him out, don't you think?"

The plan was quickly set in motion. Hizashi and Oboro subtly orchestrated situations to bring you and Aizawa together. They pair you up for training exercises, place you next to each other during classes, and even manage to organize study sessions.

In one of those particular training exercises, the day was marked with anticipation as the hero training course embarked on a joint exercise, putting students together against formidable robotic foes. 

You and Aizawa, selected to work together, found yourselves in a training ground filled with the hum of machinery and the distant echoes of clashing metal.

Aizawa, usually composed and analytical, couldn't deny the nervous flutter in his stomach as he stood beside you. Your playful banter and the lively yet sweet tone of your voice had left him in a state of mild disarray, a feeling he wasn't entirely accustomed to.

As the first wave of robots approached, you and Aizawa leaped into action, ready to face the metallic adversaries.

"Be cautious, (Y/N)," Aizawa warned, adjusting his capture weapon as he assessed the situation. "My Quirk won't work on these robots. We'll have to rely on our combat skills." 

You nodded, appreciating Aizawa's quick thinking. "Alright, Aizawa, we've got this. Stick close to me, and we'll take those robots down," you said with a confident smile, readying your hero costume.

Aizawa nodded, struggling to find his voice. "Sure. Let's work together." He muttered awkwardly, and the two of you engaged in a coordinated assault, dodging and countering the robotic enemies.

As the robots got closer, you leaped into action, demonstrating agility and precision. Aizawa, however, found his attention divided between the approaching threats and the fact that he was fighting alongside you. Impressed by your combat prowess, he couldn't help but watch your every move.

As the battle intensified, you found yourself back-to-back with Aizawa, fending off robots on all sides. A stray robot lunged towards Aizawa, and you swiftly intercepted, delivering a well-timed kick to dismantle the mechanical threat.

Noticing Aizawa's distracted state, you called out. "Hey, Aizawa, focus! We've got to take these down together."

Aizawa blinked, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. "Right, sorry." He jumped into action, joining you in coordinating attacks. And, as the last robot fell, a sense of accomplishment filled the air.

Aizawa, however, felt a different kind of victory – the realization that he enjoyed fighting alongside you more than he expected.

After the battle, as the training ground quieted down, you turned to him with a grin. "Not bad, partner. We make a great team."

Aizawa scratched his head, a faint blush creeping onto his cheeks. "Yeah, we do. Thanks for watching my back."

As you walked side by side, discussing the exercise, Hizashi and Oboro observed from a distance, both wearing satisfied smiles. It seemed their matchmaking efforts had not only brought together an effective hero duo but had also unraveled a side of Aizawa that even he wasn't entirely aware of – a side that blushed and stumbled in the presence of someone special.

As your friendship evolved, Aizawa, despite his initial reservations, found himself enjoying your company. Your flirtatious nature would bring a blush to his usually stoic face, and he struggled to find words at times. However, beneath his quiet demeanor, a genuine interest in you started to blossom.

One day, during lunch break, you found yourself alone with Aizawa on the rooftop. The sun cast a warm glow on the scene, and the air was filled with the delicious scent of your meals.

"You know, Aizawa, you're pretty cute when you're not glaring at everyone," you teased, a playful grin on your face.

Aizawa scratched his head, a hint of embarrassment coloring his cheeks. "I, um, well, thanks, I guess."

The silence that followed was broken by the arrival of Hizashi and Oboro, who had been discreetly watching from a distance.

"Haha! Look at these two! Love is in the air!" Hizashi announced dramatically, earning an exasperated glare from Aizawa.

Oboro chuckled, "You've got to admit, Shouta. You should tell them how you feel."

Aizawa sighed, running a hand through his hair. As he struggled with words, you glanced at him, a soft expression attached to your features. Encouraged by Hizashi and Oboro, you decided to take matters into your own hands.

With a sly smile, you took Aizawa's hand, intertwining your fingers. "You don't always need words, Shouta. Sometimes, actions speak louder."

Aizawa's eyes widened, but he didn't resist. The warmth of your hand in his sent a comforting shiver down his spine. You leaned in, planting a gentle kiss on his cheek, leaving him utterly flustered.

"Hmm, not bad, Shouta. You should've done that yourself," Hizashi teased, earning a half-hearted glare from the blushing boy.

From that day forward, Aizawa and you became inseparable. The once reserved student found solace in your presence, and your flirtatious and lively nature brought a new light into his life.

Hizashi and Oboro watched with satisfaction as their matchmaking endeavors bore fruit, solidifying a bond that would shape the future heroes of U.A. High School.

Likes, reblogs, and comments are appreciated!

[simp-ly-writes]

A Suit Filled Surprise

Pairing: Commander Philip Graves x teacher!Reader

Summary: its been awhile since you had last seen your husband; thankfully your coworkers are there to help.

Warnings: mentions of anxiety and a sprained wrist.

A/N: why do i love this man. WHY. feeling feral for graves rn.

Masterlist | Taglist | edited.

The kids were filling in their worksheet and continued to work on their printing as you continued to mark yesterday's grammar quiz; taking the time to place stickers and small motivational comments after each answer.

Pencils scrapped across paper in the background as the cheerful screams of other students on break coming through the floor level windows overpowered the small conversations happening between table-groups.

Checking in on the students you noticed as the curtains floated with the breeze. It was half-way to the summer break and the buzzing fan trying to combat the southern heat was struggling much like your sprained wrist. You smiled thoughtfully at the rows of desks while twirling your wedding band; thinking back to the card and chocolates they all bought you to get better soon.

Before you could make your way back to your desk to continue the mountain of papers and the ever-flowing flood of parental emails; your coworker Christina waved you over form your classroom joining door. Smiling and bringing your finger to your lips; she nodded and smiled widely herself before turning back around and explaining to her older grade that she would be back in a minute.

are you ready for parent-teacher night with your class? i could use some help with mine if you have time during your spare? Christina asked as she kept glancing towards your hall door. Yet just as you became growingly curious she held your arm and began to show you a list of planned material to prepare for over the summer. Nodding along while becoming a bit concerned over her obvious anxious figure.

You held her hand and opened your mouth; about to ask if you should look over her room so she could revive a much needed break early. Yet it would be the silence of your own classroom that overtook your concern for Christina; followed by a series of unanimous giggles that held your heel; about pivot to ask the class what was so funny.

You then felt Christina squeeze your hand before she asked your class to join hers; making sure she still held your full attention. Her eyes began to crinkle joyfully in a knowing look that had your anxiety reeling across your skin- turning pink.

As all the children joined the older class in the next room; Christina addressed the class while gripping on to your form, okay class! storytime together please- practicing their collaborative skill for their final report card. Looking at you once more than at the door; smiling widely she dropped your hand and walked back her room; closing the door behind herself.

Turning back to look at the now empty rows of desks; the children still played in the background as you made your way back to your desk. Shifting through the papers and submitting them on your records sheet you pen flew across the page. Marking a large red streak as you heard a throat clear.

Turning towards the door to glare at whomever decided, eyes going wide in seeing your husband, in a suit, leaned against the doorframe with flowers in his hand as you began to have flashbacks to prom all those years ago.

C'mon sweetheart is that anyway to greet your husband? Graves teased as you watched him stand upright and start to saunter up to your desk. Blinking in reaction; your body thought him to be an illusion; starting to shake; eyes becoming wet.

Baby, baby. He began to console you, kneeling beside your chair and taking your hands in his own as he began to rub small circles on the back side of your palms. You felt the cold matching ring against your skin as a smile began to form widely across your face matching his own.

Closing your eyes as you felt him cup your cheek and kiss the other; moving to your forehead next and then all the way down to your lips. Giggling at his scruff tickling your nose. You lightly grabbed the outlines of his suit jacket and pushed him away gently.

Large puppy dog eyes were all you had received in return. I missed you.

How about you show me how much? home is calling... he trailed off while glancing back at the door than back at you. He pulled your frame up lightly and then pulled you back into his lap. Starting to brush his nose against your neck, sighing softly; awaiting your response.

As you breathing and shakes still, you accidentally shift in his lap earning yourself groan, how could I ever say no to this suit?

I was debating between this and my field outfit; yet I figured I would become less of a scare with this... Laughing at your husbands commentary over a simple outfit, you felt yourself being lifted with a squeal escaping your lips and being carried out the door towards a black car. While exiting the building you saw Christina hold two thumbs up with a wink as you buried your face into his shoulder.

Placing you in the passengers seat he took off his coat jacket and threw it in the backseat and rolled up the sleeves of his dress-shirt to his forearms before leaning over and giving you a kiss. Igniting the engine, he placed a warm hand across your thigh.

Tracing the veins up his hands and arm; you saw his body shiver in response before moving his hand away and giving you a playful glare before moving his eyes back to the road. Let's just say that the drive home was a bit longer than usual...

[attyslittlespace]

TAKE CARE OF YOU (SAM X LITTLE! READER)

WORD COUNT: 813

Authors Note: This is my first time writing! I made it for fun so sorry if it isn't perfect 😖

Warning(s): Sam cusses like once lol

It was friday, and even though it was only 2nd period, the day had been extremely stressful. First, you didn’t hear your alarm go off, so you had less than 10 minutes to get ready and leave. Then, you spilled water on your shirt on the way to 1st period, and by the time you cleaned up yourself and the floor, the bell had rang and you were late. Finally, by the time you got to class, you realized there was a test, a test you didn’t study for. So here you are in 2nd period: Stressed, tired, annoyed, and upset. Fortunately though, your friend Sam was in that class to cheer you up. As usual, he wasn’t doing any work, just leaned back in his chair and reading a new comic he bought at Frog’s Comic Shop.

“You know, I’d allow you to borrow any of my comics if you were ever interested in reading them.” Sam looks at you, smiling and closing his comic book to pay attention to you. “Mhm..” You reply, mustering up a smile and a slight nod. You weren’t really in the mood for conversation. You were nervous. In the privacy of your home, you usually regressed to combat stress, and it was always voluntary. So when you felt yourself slipping, you were confused and nervous. You had never regressed involuntarily before, and what made it worse was that it was in front of Sam. What would he think? Would he make fun of you? These thoughts were running around your mind when you finally hear a familiar voice snap you out of it. “Hey… is everything ok?” Sam speaks up, tilting his head that has a concerned expression on it. He rests his hand on your back and leans in a little closer. “Just… stressful day… n… noth…” You try to speak, but everytime you do your voice starts slipping into your little voice. You try to stop it but your brain does it anyway. You regressed. He giggles at you. “Are you regressing?” He asks, his contaigious smile flashing his teeth at you. Your eyes grow wide. He knows what age regression is? He tells by your facial expression that you are and laughs. “I do that shit all the time!” He admits. You just look at him im awe, some because of his response, some because toddler brain. He grabs your hand and holds it. “Hey… you can regress in front of me… its okay.” He tells you, his voice gentle.

The bell rings and it’s now free period. “Do you have anywhere to go?” Sam asks, picking up his stuff and throwing his backpack on. “Nuh uh.” You reply, also picking up your stuff. “Then you should hang out with me, I’ll take care of you.” He takes your hand and leads you out of the classroom. He takes you out to the courtyard and you both sit under a tree. It’s spring in Santa Carla, so it’s very bright and sunny outside. Sam reaches in his bag and pulls out a pink marker. He always had different stationary stuff in his bag to doodle with in class instead of pay attention. “Gimmie your arm cutie.” He uses a petname on you and you cant help but smile and giggle at him. You give him your arm and he starts to draw on it. He draws hearts, stars, and, of course, the superman symbol. You watch him, kicking your legs and mindlessly chewing on your thumb. You quietly babble and giggle to yourself, to nothing and everything at all. Sam stops and looks up at you, giggling with you. “How old are you silly?” He asks, taking the thumb out of your mouth. “Uhhh…” You reply, smiling and shrugging your shoulders. He giggles are your response. “Well you're definitely too little to be at such a grown up school!” He teases, making you just giggle more. “Someone got attacked by the giggle monster today didn’t they?” he coos at you. ”Nuh uh!!” You protest, but your uncontrollable giggling just proves his point. He goes back to drawing on your arm until you slowly unregress. It’s about 5 minutes until next period.

“Hey, sam… thank you…” You tell him. He stops drawing on you and looks up, realizing you aren’t regressed anymore. “Of course! I would want someone else to do the same if I regressed at school!” He replies, smiling and putting up the marker, your arm now covered in drawings. “So… you regress?” You ask. “Yeah, for fun, but I’ve never accidentally regressed like you just did.” You both stand up and gather your things. “Well, if you ever did I’d take care of you.” You smile at him, hearing the bell ring.

“Thank you, cutie.”

[thetreefairy]

Heyyy 🤍

I wanted to request a platonic father Aizawa, in which his daughter is really stressed and he finds her crying, almost in the border of a panic attack. And how he helps her, etc.

A little context of this request is that today i had a panic attack hahaha. So basicly confort and a slight angst ñ.

Thanks love 🤍

she/her reader (f/f) - favorite food tw: panic attacks, yandere undertones but not so much because I accidentally mixed up requests, so I did tone it down extremely so that it was just father Aizawa but because of that i had to cut some scenes, so sorry if it's like messy.

sorry for the late response, internship is depleting my energy levels like a fucking leech (love my internship though) <3

this isn't my best piece since I kept the panic attack vague as there are many ways to like have a panic attack so I didn't want to be too specific.

Reader always had been an anxious child, that's why Aizawa Shouta wasn't a fan of her being a hero student. Even as a support student.

While she inherited his quirk, she was rather talented in science and making support items, so she chose the support route.

Shouta saw it as a comprise, this way she won't be involved in direct combat and she would still be able to live her 'dream'.

"Reader?" Shouta called out as he opened the door of their apartment, he had come home late after a rather nasty fight with Shigaraki. "I brought you back some (f/f)."

That was something he rather often did when he got back from a nasty fight that was actually on TV. Ever since his new class, he wasn't really an 'underground' hero anymore, so his fights were more available to the public. The downside of that was that Reader could watch them.

He heard a rather loud sob and he saw his daughter wrapped up in a banket, watching TV, the news sender. "Oh, baby." Aizawa cooed instantly, thinking she was crying because of his fight. He placed the food on the table and rubbed his baby's shoulders. Pulling her in for a side hug. "Papa is okay."

Well he was right to some extent, Reader wasn't just crying for her father. She was crying about her support items, she had given her papa a prototype of one of her eye-creams (which she made with recovery-girl as a trying something new thing) and a taser that paralyzes the person at the receiving end for like an hour or two, so why didn't he use them?

He could have ended the fight quicker and less injured, Reader was panicking because she thought her items weren't good enough. That they failed her papa when he needed them. When Reader didn't make a sound besides heavy breathing and sobbing when Shouta pulled her in for a hug, he realized that something else was going on as well.

"Petal?" Reader was too quit for Shouta's liking, so he pulled the weighted blanket over her. She was either having a panic attack or mad at him, so he'll comfort her until she's able to tell him what she wants. "I'm going to keep hugging you, okay?"

He felt a weak nod but Reader was still breathing too quickly for his liking. "Now, I am going to do some breathing exercises, wanna do them with me?"

She didn't respond so Shouta silently started to guide her breathing and when she was breathing properly he whispered comforting words in her ears.

"Papa?" Reader asked softly. "D-did my taser fail you?"

"Huh?" Shouta asked confused, then it clicked to him, the prototype. "Oh, papa lend it out to Midoriya, my biggest problem child, remember him?"

Reader nodded, Midoriya often hung out with her in Recovery girl's room because he usually got injured a lot but also because she made a cream to help with his joints but that cream needs recovery-girls quirk to be made.

"He keeps getting in trouble so I gave him your taser, since it has multiple uses so that he can run instead of fighting."

"...So you didn't hate it?"

"No, I love it baby." Shouta cooed, his poor baby was rather insecure and weak. He really shouldn't let her watch the hero news-channels, perhaps he should just keep her safe and sound in the apartment. (the league of villains have been becoming way more aggressive and calculating for his liking). "I love everything you make me, you know?"

"But you would tell me if I need to improve?" Reader asked softly, she needed an answer to that, so that she could be for sure if he was sincere about his compliments and feedback.

"Of course, whenever have I sugar-coated anything?" He grinned up to his daughter with his trade-mark shit eating grin. Reader chuckled weakly, she felt better now, but the small voice in her head was still bullshitting her. (At least for Shouta would it always be bullshit, and Reader? Well she'll need some convincing)

"Never."

"Exactly, how about I call in sick tomorrow and we go to a cat café huh?"

Hope you like it<33

[zalia]

Osiris is such a great example and illustration of the fact that ‘good’ is not the same as ‘nice’. (Is this inspired by seeing people in various places complain that he’s kind of a dick and that Savathun was nicer? Maybe just a bit. Mostly. But not all.) Osiris is abrasive, rude, arrogant and egotistical. He doesn’t always think about other people and their feelings. He tends to think that he knows better than everyone else. He picks arguments. He’s sharp and prickly, aggressive in putting forward his views (and oh boy I have a whole load of thoughts about how to me he reads as someone who was classed as ‘gifted’ as a kid and then 30 years later realises they’re autistic but that is a whole other essay). He isn’t polite. He is not by general standards, a nice person. And he is deeply, profoundly good.

He is absolutely dedicated to defending humanity and the Last City, even to his own detriment. You see it in the earliest lore we have for him where he is so angry at Warlords using their gift of the Light to inflict suffering. He puts himself in terrible danger and eventually loses Sagira and his freedom trying to find answers and remove a threat. He gets exiled because he refuses to give up on the bigger picture that he sees and working towards mitigating threats and spends years almost alone working to combat threats even when no-one will ever really know. He’s even one of the people earliest in the timeline we see pointing out that the Eliksni are not evil, not a monolith; they’re a hurt and broken people trying to survive, and also the Speaker should not be pushing for Saint to go crusading against them.

And now this season, where he’s so vulnerable, feeling like he is broken, and trying to find his place in the world again. And he is still devoting himself to protecting humanity. Going up against Xivu Arath who flattened him last time he went up against her (and I just want to say, Oded Fehr is doing a great job mixing in that fear with the anger when you encounter the cryptoliths!). And the new dialogue from Spire of the Watcher, where you discover that he and Saint had put aside their dreams of a life together because they put the City and its safety first... ouch. He doesn’t wrap ill-intentions in pretty words and politeness. He doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what he is. He doesn’t play politics (even when it was kind of his job!). He is not nice. But he is so very very good.

[frownyalfred]

Narratively speaking, when should the batkids be able to beat Batman single-handedly? Sure, Cass can do it already and Dick is seen as above or on Batman's level but what are your thoughts on this? It's always hard to do this stupid power level stuff because the character you want to win is obviously gonna win, but you still have to show that Batman is this super ubermensch martial artist who always has a plan and whose goal is to make his kids surpass him but then how do you do that? When can you say, "yeah Batman's cool and all but [enter batkid's name] would totally wipe the floor with the old man if they were to fight 1v1"? This is extremely exaggerated but you get what I mean, right?

I'm genuinely fascinated by this question and I thought I could just ask you.

Thanks!😀

Yeah, it’s all biased like you pointed out since we all want our special blorbo to be the most special blorbo, even in situations where the logic gets pretty thin.

The thing with Bruce is, in his prime, he’s a god-tier fighter for multiple reasons. He’s got insane training under his belt, he’s at or above peak physical human conditioning, he’s trained to think strategically about combat, he’s fast for his size (despite his size), and he’s BIG.

The last one is so important. He’s anywhere from 6’ to 6’4, 190 to 240 lbs of muscle, etc. He’s not losing to most people in a fair fight! And he’s definitely not losing to someone much shorter and lighter than him when it comes to sheer power.

What’s interesting about the comics is that they largely argue that Bruce losing these 1v1s comes down to skill and experience. Cass trained for years to be a weapon, and her advanced training is what supposedly tips the scales in her favor. Same thing with Damian. Bruce makes the argument that enough training can create conditions for his Robins to surpass him, like you mentioned.

But is that actually a fair determinator of a fight? Can most if not all advantages Bruce might have in a fight with a woman half his size be overcome by volume or rigor of training?

It’s the comics, so the answer changes depending on what’s intriguing and fun. We can oscillate between Bruce being the ultimate overpowered fighter who can’t ever lose and Bruce getting his ass handed to him by his kids because it all comes down to power ranking, which is SO subjective.

Should the Batkids be able to beat him? In my opinion, not when he’s in his prime and it’s a fair fight. That isn’t me saying that they can’t win 1v1 through skill, misdirection, getting lucky, etc.

That’s not me trying to shit on female fighters either. Dick carrying 30-40 lbs less muscle than Bruce puts him at a disadvantage too. Jason being the same weight but not as fast/nimble puts him at a disadvantage to Bruce. Damian being a child fighting an adult will ALWAYS result in an unbalanced fight.

If you’ve ever squared up with a heavier, larger, more skilled opponent — especially if you’re a woman and they’re a man — one of the first things you have to learn is that, when it comes to pure strength, you cannot hope to win. It is an inherent advantage, and why we have weight classes for fighting.

Your goal is to figure out a way to get around that advantage. To be smarter, or faster. We teach women about throws and the benefits of having a lower center of gravity. We teach kids the benefits of being flexible or smaller in certain holds. Things like that.

But comics aren’t real life. The better question is, have we overpowered Bruce in a way that makes taking him down a peg or two somewhat difficult or implausible? How can we better show his flaws and complexity as a character when the stakes get set too high?

[burntsaltsblog]

shiny new toy

(felix catton\reader)

chapter two

details: a saltburn inspired short story.

content warning: profanity, explicit sexual content, and mentions of abuse (physical and mental)

MNI 18+

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼ ✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼ ✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　

Do you ever think about death?"

The smoke from our cigarettes produced a haziness that blended effortlessly with the sunlight pouring in from the windows. 

"Sometimes. I used to wonder what my funeral would be like. Who would show up, and who would give speeches? I just assumed it was due to my constant need for attention," I laughed breathlessly, and more smoke pooled from my mouth and out into the open air.

"What about you?" I asked, turning Felix's question back on himself. "Do you ever think about what your eventual demise will be like?"

"No, not that I can recall anyway. But that's how my life has always been. There have always been too many distractions like parties and girls. I've never had the chance to sit down and think about important things like life and death." 

"Until now," I delicately whispered as I peered at him.

We both did our best to squeeze onto Felix's modest twin-sized bed. It didn't prove easy at first, but after maneuvering a bit, we figured out that if I lay on his chest and he wrapped an arm around me, we could fit. Felix's feet still hung off the end, but he said that was unavoidable due to his impressive height. 

The only downside to this otherwise blissful moment was the sweltering heat and Oxford's lack of air conditioning. People always said academics was the most grueling thing about attending this prestigious school. But in reality, it was the fight against the climate and the lack of amenities to combat it.

"Should I be worried that I've only thought about it since meeting you?" Felix joked lightly.

"Well, I have a talent for bringing out the best in people," I chuckled. 

We settled in the silence that followed, which was comfortable and tranquil. Felix's bare chest bore a thin layer of sweat, but it wasn't off-putting. It had the opposite effect. It gave him a glow that intensified his ethereal appearance. 

In the seven days since meeting, Felix and I had become inseparable. One of us rarely went somewhere without the other coming along. After each class, I could count on Felix waiting outside the classroom to walk me to my next one or a meal in the dining hall with the rest of his friends.

Felix utterly enthralled me. But I was sure he had that effect on everyone he encountered. His charm and charisma drew you to him, and his kind and gentle aura convinced you to stay.

So, in precisely one week, Felix Catton had become the object of all my desires and the epidemy of everything I would never be able to have. 

I want to blame my lack of a chance with Felix on my boyfriend, Eric. But the truth was that Felix and I came from two different worlds. He had a title and mansion he would inherit one day, and the only thing I had to look forward to in my future was the burden of paying taxes and my student loans. 

I propped my chin on Felix's chest to observe him properly. His rolly hung loosely between his smooth lips, and I longed to reach my hand up and trace their shape. 

"Enjoying the view?" he teased before taking a long drag and blowing the smoke out in a thick stream. His cigarette looked so minuscule between his long, full fingers. 

I nodded as I fixed my hands under my chin, making myself more comfortable, and a mischievous smile played at the edges of my mouth. 

"They say you should take a picture if you want something to last longer." Felix quipped, amused at my open admiration.

"That's a splendid idea, thank you, Felix."

I couldn't contain the laughter that poured from my mouth as I reached over to grab his blue Polaroid camera from his nightstand. I lined my eye up with the viewfinder and quickly snapped a candid shot.  

After the picture popped out, I waved it chaotically in front of myself to encourage the development of the photograph.

A small chuckle pulled my attention away from the materializing photo and to the man whose face was now inches from mine.

He regarded me in a way that had the butterflies in my stomach reeling. I saw adoration, a hint of playfulness, and an emotion that looked like longing. But I was sure my eyes were playing tricks on me. 

Because there was no way that Felix Catton would ever long for me.

Even though I longed for him. 

A slight blush crept up my cheeks under his stare, so I evaded his gaze and looked down just in time to see the picture fully developed. 

"Is it ready?" He questioned curiously.

I nodded in reply, biting my lip. Gazing at the small picture, I knew I would cherish it forever. 

"Let's see it then, shall we?" Felix sat up, disrupting our close contact, and held out his hand. "How do I look?"

"You look positively ghastly," I jested.

"You little brat," He playfully scolded, swiping the photograph out of my hand to inspect it himself.

"I think I look proper sexy if ya ask me," Felix declared proudly.

"You're just stating the obvious," I retorted, extending my hand toward Felix to take the Polaroid picture back.

He eyed me impishly, holding the photo above his head so it was totally out of my reach. "Why do you want it back? Are you looking to expand your wank bank?"

My face turned beet red, and it wasn't because of heat.

"No! I want to add it to my photography portfolio," I fibbed as I tried my mightiest to retrieve the picture from Felix.

"You have no photography portfolio!" He laughed loudly, raising the photo higher into the air.

"Well, I could."  I retorted.

I continued to fight Felix for the photograph, both of us giggling profusely. 

"Give it back."

"Not unless you admit it."

"There's nothing to admit! I don't have a wank bank. I don't even use the word wank because where I'm from, we say masturbate like normal people." 

"Wow, I forgot how you Americans speak like such heathens."

The faux-offended expression I wore only made Felix giggle louder. That motivated me to reclaim the photo once and for all. 

But, unbeknownst to either of us, I had ended up on Felix's lap during our play fight.

A leg was on either side of his middle as I straddled him. My thighs tensed around his muscular body, and my left hand braced against his damp chest.

We fell silent as each of us evaluated the situation. Feeling Felix's hard body beneath mine in such an intimate way was something I had only fantasized about up until now.

Our breaths turned shallow, and I audibly swallowed. I struggled to refrain from rocking my hips to calm the ache that had developed between my legs. 

Felix dropped the picture as he extended his hand toward me. His calloused digits traced the length of my collarbone before they rose to touch the pulse in my neck that was beating out of control. 

I honed in on his dilated pupils as he slowly wrapped his large hand around my throat, squeezing gently, causing the ache in my core to turn into a steady throbbing.

A moan escaped my throat as I reveled in the possessive hold he had on me. Goosebumps littered my skin, and my nipples hardened, rubbing against the fabric of my shirt and fueling my arousal even further. 

"Fuck, good girl," He whispered, strained, as he adjusted his fingers on my skin, increasing the pressure ever so slightly. 

"Please," I begged quietly, even though I didn't exactly know what I was begging for. More of this, I suppose—more of Felix.

"Please, what, sweetheart? I -"

Felix's sentence was interrupted by my phone ringing.

We broke out of whatever spell we were under, and Felix quickly rose from the bed, sending me tumbling against the pillows.

I hastily shot up and began haphazardly searching for my phone. After rummaging through my purse, I located the device, accepted the call, and brought it to my ear without bothering to check the caller ID.

"Hello?" I said, wholly frazzled and disconcerted because of the moment I had just shared with Felix. 

"Iris? Where are you?" Eric angrily spoke from the other end of the phone.

Panic surged through my veins as I apprehensively checked the time on the clock resting on Felix's desk. I wasn't supposed to meet him anywhere, so why was he so infuriated?

"What are you talking about, Eric?" I couldn't help the nerves that stained my voice. 

"You're not in your room," he spoke accusatorily. 

"No, I'm not," I conceded. 

"Well, Where are you?" 

"I'm at a friend's," I replied quietly, finally glancing at Felix, standing on the other side of his room, staring at me intently as if he was analyzing my reaction to this phone call in great detail. 

"What friend? You don't have any friends."

I cringed at his words and felt ashamed because I knew they were true. Eric frequently forbade me from ever going out or meeting anyone new. So, my social circle was pretty much nonexistent. He said it was in my best interests that I stayed in my room and studied, but it was blatantly apparent that he wanted an utterly co-dependent girlfriend. 

"Tell me your location," my boyfriend demanded. 

"Look, Eric," I said, turning away from Felix so he wouldn't see the panic rising on my face. "I'm just hanging out with a friend. It's not a big deal."

"Does this friend happen to be Felix Catton? Rumor has it that you've joined his little click."

"Yeah, we've hung out a couple of times. But, like I said, it's not a big deal. I'll be available later if you desperately need to see me today." 

"A couple of times? I trust you remember how much I don't particularly appreciate lying, Iris. Don't you recall what happened the last time you tried to lie to me?"

My stomach dropped as my eyes jumped to the white scar that ran from my middle finger and past my wrist.

"Yes, I remember," I whispered. 

"Good. You know what to do."

With that, the line dropped, signaling that Eric had hung up. 

I stayed motionless as my boyfriend's words painfully dug into my skin.

"You know what to do."

Eric expected me to cut things off with Felix. But the sheer idea of never seeing Felix again was exquisitely excruciating.

"You ok?"

Felix's voice pulled me from my thoughts, and I spun around to see him slowly padding across the room and toward me. 

"Yeah, I'm fine," I mumbled, avoiding his eyes. 

I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. If I leave Felix, it'll destroy me. But if I stay, I'll face Eric's repercussions. 

"Hey, look at me," Felix said, gently raising my chin with his hand, "Did he say something to upset you?"

"Who?" I asked, prolonging the inevitable. 

"Eric. Did he say something?"

"I- It's nothing, I promise." 

Felix's face hardened, "Iris, what did he say to you?"

My eyes jumped from his face to the floor as I mentally searched for an answer to satisfy him and keep my conversation with Eric private. 

"Look, it's complicated, ok? Eric gets upset sometimes, and I must carefully navigate things with him."

Felix dropped his hand from my chin before running both hands through his hair. 

"Look, I don't want to tell you what to do, but I worry about you being in the company of someone like Eric. He's not a good person. The things I've heard about him are downright vile."

"I know," I mumbled. "I want to break up with him. It's just-"

My voice broke before I could complete my sentence.

"What? What is it, love?" Felix stepped so close that our chests were nearly touching. He brushed a stray hair out of my face and carefully tucked it behind my ear. "You can tell me anything, I promise," he whispered.

I tilted my head back to look up at Felix; his brows creased in concern at the tears threatening to spill from my wide eyes. 

"I'm scared of him, Felix. I don't know what he'll do to me if I try to leave him."

"I need you to be honest with me. Can you do that for me, darling?" 

I nodded my head earnestly. 

"Has Eric ever hurt you?"

After a beat, I nodded again, but this time, it was slower and filled with ignominy.

Felix took a deep breath, and the fury embedded in his body was evident. 

"Listen to me very carefully," Felix spoke, low and rough. "Eric will never hurt you again because I will not allow it. If he even looks in your direction, I swear I'll-"

"No, Felix, I don't want you to go to any trouble for me," I interrupted, shaking my head fervently. 

"Iris-"

"No, I don't want to be a burden-"

"You're not a burden. You could never be a burden, Christ, love," Felix breathed heavily.

He placed both hands firmly on my shoulders before speaking again.

"Iris, you are incredibly special to me. Ever since I saw you that day on the quad, I've had this overwhelming urge to protect and take care of you. You're my friend. And I won't allow someone to harm what is mine." 

Felix's voice bore so much honesty and passion that I succumbed to silence. All I could focus on was his declaration.

"I'm going to help you get out of this, ok?" he said softly.

I wordlessly nodded before Felix pulled me into his chest and tightly enveloped me in his arms as if trying to protect me from all the world's cruelty. 

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼ ✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼ ✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　

chapter index

chapter one

chapter two

chapter three

chapter four

chapter five

[gunilslaugh]

Black & White Pt.2

Kim Jungsu  Summary: Jungsu used to be a part of light then he switched over to the darkness. (non-idol au) WC:~1.7k Warning:(maybe kinda angst towards the end)

part 1 part 3 epilogue!

photo not mine credits to owner.

When every baby is born they are handed an energy pearl. If the pearl turns white it means the baby’s heart is pure and they will be sent to live in White Clouds. However if the pearl turns black that means that the baby heart is immoral and they’re sent to live in the Black Shadows. What if a baby’s pearl was gray?

Well no baby’s pearl had ever turned gray before. They were always black or white, good or bad. That was until Jungsu that is. The pearl placed in his infant hand turned gray. Not black or white. Not clearly good or bad. It caused quite an uproar amongst officials. What should they do with him? In the end it was decided that he would go to White Clouds with the hopes that his pearl would eventually turn white by being surrounded by goodness. 

Jungsu wasn’t allowed to show others his gray pearl so as to not cause any suspicions. They provided him with a fake one to use until his real one turned white. Maybe it was because of his gray pearl that Jungsu didn’t want to get close to others. Maybe that’s why his personality was standoffish and cold. 

“Jungsu!” you called him. Jungsu turns back to see you approaching him. Your white pearl shining especially bright around your neck. It was known to everyone in White Clouds that you were born with the purest heart. Your pearl shined the brightest out of everyones, so did your eyes and smile. 

“What is it?” he asked. 

“Be my partner for combat training,” you tell him. 

“Don’t you have people lining up to be your partner? Why me?” he asked. 

“I don’t actually. Everyone else has a partner already, so it’s just us left,” you explained. Jungsu found it hard to believe that no one would want to be partners with you. You were so sweet and kind. You were always there for everyone. You truly were the epitome of goodness.

“I’ll see you in class then. Don’t expect me to go easy on you though,” he told you. 

“Why would I want that?” you say. Jungsu can’t fight off his smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Oww I know you said you wouldn’t go easy on me, but did you have to flip me that hard?” you groaned from where you lay on the ground. Something stirs in Jungsu’s heart as he sees you lying on the ground in pain.

“Sorry. Are you hurt?” Jungsu helped you up from the ground. 

“I’m fine. Let’s go again,” you say. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What if someone was born with a gray pearl?” Jungsu asked you one night. The two of you were out at the spring. Watching how the moon reflected against the gently flowing water.

“Gray? Like both good and evil?” you checked. Jungsu nodded his head in confirmation. 

“I guess it depends if they leaned into the light or darkness,” you say. 

“If they chose light?” Jungsu prompted. 

“Then they’re good,” you state. 

“That simple? You wouldn’t think they’re some type of abomination or impure?” he questioned. 

“No.” You shook your head. “If you’re good, you’re good. If you’re bad, you’re bad. That’s how our world is: Black and White,” you say. 

“You really are naive,” Jungsu chuckles. 

“Well I was kinda born that way.” You chuckle as well, looking down at your pearl pendant on your neck that emitted a subtle glow in the darkness of night.

“That’s right you have the purest heart of them all.” Jungsu leaned over to hold your pearl between his fingers for a moment before letting it go. 

“You know hearts can change?” you asked. 

“What are you talking about?” Jungsu followed. 

“I don’t know why they don’t teach about it anymore, but I found some old history books in the backroom of the library. There was once a war between White Clouds and Black Shadows. I don’t know all of the details because some pages were missing, but it talked about people's hearts changing. Some went from light to dark and others went from dark to light,” you explained. “So if someone’s dark heart can transform into light and someone’s light heart can be consumed by darkness there’s no reason why someone with a gray heart can’t be light too,” you say.

For the first time Jungsu could say that he felt something that felt like hope. Later when he pulled out his gray pearl he found that it was a few shades lighter. 

It wouldn’t remain lighter for long though. Your talk about people’s hearts changing got Jungsu curious,so one night he crept inside the backroom of the library to find the history books you were talking about, but while he was in the backroom somebody else came in. Jungsu quickly hid behind some old dust covered shelves. 

“Are you sure they’re the one?” Jungsu hears a voice say. 

“I’m positive sir. They’re pearl glows like the moon and everyone here knows they’re the one with the purest heart. The officials say it’s the purest heart since the Discord War.” 

“How soon can you bring them to me for sacrifice?” That feeling shows up in Jungsu’s heart again. The same one he felt when he saw you laying on the ground during your combat training.

“They’re scheduled for isolation training in two weeks. It’ll be all too easy to take them then.”

“Ok, don’t mess this up.” 

“I won’t sir.” Jungsu hears the person who entered the room leave. He comes out from where he was hiding behind the shelf. Now he knows what the feeling in his heart is. He wants to protect you.

Discord War? That had to be the war you were telling him about. Jungsu made quick work of finding the books. The cause of the war is conveniently the pages that are missing. Jungsu gets a bad feeling about it. He has to find those pages. He had to know what he was dealing with so that he could stop you from being sacrificed. He was ready to save you at all costs.

He scoured the entire backroom, practically flipping it upside down. That’s when he came across a box with a lock on it. He doesn’t even bother looking for the key; he simply breaks the lock. Low and behold inside are the missing pages. 

Jungsu knows what he has to do after reading them. His pearl that was once a light gray now darkens to a black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Jungsu! Jungsu!” You frantically called after him, fighting away from the officials trying to hold you back. You had just gotten out of isolation when you heard the news.

“You didn’t really do it right? I’ll believe you if you say you didn’t do it. You didn’t kill Master Jason right?” Jungsu turns to look at you from over his shoulder. 

“I did.” He looked at you with dark eyes. 

“No, no you wouldn’t.” Tears pricked your eyes.

“Actions don’t always speak the truth, maybe you should understand that if you don’t want to get hurt next time.” he tells you, turning back around. 

“Jungsu!” you called out again. He didn’t look back at you. He just let himself get dragged away. “Jungsu,” you say his name again, collapsing onto the ground. 

“I’m sorry y/n,” your master comes over to you, placing a hand on your shoulder. 

“He wouldn’t do this,” you say. A sigh escapes from your master. 

“Y/n you heard him. He did. He wasn’t who we thought he was. His pearl turned black,” he tells you. 

“What? No, that can’t be,” you refused. 

“It is. Let me tell you something. Jungsu’s pearl turned gray when he was born. We thought that if he was surrounded by goodness that his pearl would become white, but it looks like the opposite happened. We don’t know how long it’s been black, but it seems like he had been plotting this a while,” your master informs. 

“A -a gray pearl?” you asked, recalling the night Jungsu asked you about what if someone was born with a gray pearl. “You really are naive,” you recalled his words. No, he didn’t mean it like that. He didn’t mean it in a bad way. He wanted to be good. You know he did. You could feel it. 

“Mhm, don’t tell the others about it. It’s causing enough trouble amongst the officials.” 

“They’re taking him to Black Shadows aren’t they?” you asked. 

“Y/n no. You have to stay away from him. He just killed someone.” But you had to know why Jungsu would do this. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You arrived at Gray Bridge, the spot where White Clouds crosses over to Black Shadows. You took a deep breath before stepping onto the bridge. You had to find Jungsu. 

“You’re really stupid aren’t you? How could you come here?” It was Jungsu's voice. You turned towards his voice and there he was. His once white cloak is now black. 

“You didn’t do it right?” you say. Jungsu scoffs. 

“I did it y/n. What will it take to get that through your skull?” He’s never spoken to you with such a cold tone before.

“You were born with a gray pearl. That’s why you asked me about it that night. You wanted to turn your gray pearl white didnt you? I know you did,” you state. 

“No, I didn’t. I was just fooling you. You were just entertainment to me,” he tells you. His words yank harshly on your heartstrings. 

“No.” You shake your head. “That’s not true, I know it’s not. I trust you Jungsu, so please tell me what this is all about,” you pleaded. 

“You shouldn’t have put your trust in me so much.” His cold words stab your heart. “But trust me when I say this, there are more important things in my life to worry about. You’re definitely not one of them.” Jungsu disappeared right after saying that. 

With that your heart broke. Your sparkling tears cascaded down your face as you clutched your aching heart. You still didn’t want to believe that Jungsu could do this.

part 1 part 3 epilogue!

taglist: @purplelady85 @gingerjunhan @chewednails @ezlynkisses @mon2sunjinsuver @mxlly143

comment or message me to be added!

[avatar-anna]

Maybe Next Time He’ll Think

just a short fic about harry as the reader’s bodyguard! i did a really short blurb about this a while ago, but i’ll link it here if you’re curious. enjoy!

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

“Y/n, come on. You have class in fifteen minutes.”

Harry knocked on the door, but she still wouldn’t come out. He used to pound on the door, but only because his client had a habit of taking her time in the morning, but Y/n said it was rude and unbecoming the first few times he did it. No one had ever called him “unbecoming” before, but he definitely didn’t like it. So now he knocked on her door. Gently.

When she still didn’t answer, Harry rolled his eyes and tried to contain his annoyance. He reminded himself that this was a good job, that he could be risking his life for a government that didn’t give two shits about him. This assignment was practically a paid vacation. Watch the ambassador’s daughter as she attended an Ivy League. Don’t let her die. Easy enough.

“Y/n, please. You know you’re not allowed to skip cl—”

“Um, I’m not feeling well. I can’t go.”

Well that was very out of character for the ambassador’s daughter. She sometimes missed her alarm and Harry would have to wake her up, but she never missed class, not even when she was hungover from that kegger she insisted on going to. And she definitely didn’t sound sick. Something else was up. Still, Harry played along.

“Okay. Do you want me to run to the store to get you something for you? Should we go to the doctor?”

Harry heard a sniffle from the other side of the door. “No, that’s okay. I think I just need to sleep it off.”

Closing his eyes and mustering all his patience, he said, “Y/n, I’m not playing around anymore. Come out so I can take you to class.”

There was silence on the other side of the door for a few seconds, and Harry thought he would have to resort to pounding on the door again, but then it finally opened.

Harry had never seen Y/n so...not put together before. Even when she was just lounging around the house, she was in some sort of matching sweatshirt and sweatpants. The young woman he saw now...

She was in an old hoodie that was perhaps navy blue once, but it was too faded to be considered that color now. Her hair was in a ponytail, but only a small part of it was still being held up by her knitted scrunchie with sunbursts on it.

Y/n's eyes were puffy too, and her whole face was red, which told Harry that the sniffling was a result of crying, not a cold. Why was she crying?

Shrugging, she said. "Ready."

"Y/n, what...happened—"

"Please don't ask what happened because then I'll start thinking about it and then I'll start crying and I can't cry and go to class, so please don't ask me—"

As she was saying all this, she'd begun to cry again, her shoulders shaking as sobs wracked her frame.

Harry wasn't sure what to do then. He'd done years of combat training, knew how to case a building for possible threats, had even diffused a bomb once. But crying? Y/n crying? He'd never been more unsure of what to do in his life.

"It's, um, it's okay," he said awkwardly. He made the mistake of patting her on the shoulder, which seemed to signal to Y/n that he was offering a hug, which wasn't what he'd been offering, but he wasn't about to push her away as she collapsed in his arms.

Y/n squeezed him tighter than he thought possible while he just stood there, trying to think of where his hands should go. Harry could feel her tears dampening his shirt, but he surprisingly didn't have the urge to pull away. It actually felt kind of...nice? Not the crying, obviously, but the embrace. It felt...right somehow.

"Sorry, I kind of just sprung that on you, and I know you have strict personal boundaries," Y/n said when she eventually pulled back, and Harry quickly pushed away the small, barely there urge to pull her back into his chest.

"It's fine," he said, recovering quickly. "You don't have to expl—"

"I just really thought he was genuine, you know?" she blurted. "He said he didn't mind the curfews or that I needed a chaperone to go to parties. He said he liked me for me." Y/n sniffled and wiped her nose with the sleeve of her hoodie. "But as my mother always says, men aren't worth shit. No offense."

"None taken," Harry said with a frown, but for an entirely different reason than the comment about men.

"He was with some other girl last night. At some party."

Harry vaguely remembered that Y/n mentioned a party yesterday. He told her she could go if she texted him updates every hour, but she said she didn't want to. When he first took this job, he worried that Y/n would oppose his every suggestion to keep her safe, but she rarely put up a fight, and he quickly learned that she wasn't much of the "going out" type, which made his life a whole lot easier.

That wasn’t to say she completely holed up on the weekends. She would ask him to go to a sporting event here and there, and she did go to the occasional frat party. Most nights, though, she was huddled up on the couch watching some show about teen vampires. Harry almost preferred the keggers, but he never said anything about it.

“And ‘he’ is...” Harry found himself asking. He knew Y/n was seeing some trust fund brat, but they all looked the same and had the same names.

“Trace,” she said, wiping her nose with the sleeve of her hoodie. “Serves me right for dating the campus bad boy.”

Harry did everything in his power not to laugh. If there was anything remotely threatening about any of Y/n’s boyfriends, they would never even have had the chance to say hello to her. But he could tell she was upset, so he tried to appear sympathetic.

“A guy with a name like Trace isn’t worth your tears, Y/n. No one at this school is.”

She sniffled again, but the tears had stopped rolling down her face at least. “You’re right. He probably hooked up with that girl because I wouldn’t put out. Only thing I would’ve gotten from him was an STI.”

“He didn’t force himself on you, did he? You’ve never hit your panic button.” Harry’s jaw clenched as he began to see red. It wasn’t just that Y/n was the person he was tasked with protecting. She was Y/n. Devastatingly sweet, she could hardly hurt a fly. In fact, last week she made Harry set the spider in her room free outside instead of stepping on it. She was kinder than anyone Harry had ever met, and if some idiotic loser with a shit name did anything to her—

“No. He stopped when I asked, but I could tell he wasn’t happy about it,” Y/n said, interrupting Harry’s thoughts. “And instead of being a gentleman and waiting until I was ready, he just moved on. Why couldn’t he have broken up with me first? Is that all men want? To get their dick wet?”

Harry had never heard Y/n curse before, a result of very intensive media training. She didn’t even say stupid if she could help it. He didn’t like how much this boy seemed to upset her.

“Do you want to do something about it?”

Y/n looked at him skeptically. “Like what? Egg his car?”

Harry wanted to beat him to a pulp, but even he knew that was more trouble than it was worth. Just barely, though. “No, I, um...” Harry hastily pressed his hand against Y/n’s forehead. “Would you look at that, you spiked a fever. It’s probably best you skip classes today and rest.”

Y/n caught on immediately and threw her arms around him. The scent of her perfume Harry knew she sprayed on her pillow flooded his senses in an instant, leaving him a little dumbfounded.

“Thank you, Harry. You’re the best.”

“Don’t mention it,” he said stiffly. Pulling back, he told her to go back to her room. “I’m gonna go to the store and grab a couple things. There’s a detail watching the apartment, but call me if you need anything, okay?”

Nodding, Y/n went back into her room with a sniffle, but not before giving Harry one last hug. Once the door shut, Harry quickly got dressed and grabbed his keys, setting out for the day. He suddenly had a tight schedule in front of him.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

“You don’t have to watch with me, you know. I know how much you hate this show.”

Harry shrugged, keeping his eyes on the television. “I’m invested now.”

He didn’t want the statement to be true, but it was. When Harry came back from running errands, Y/n was on the couch watching her vampire drama. He didn’t plan on sticking around and watching the show with her, but she was looking at him with big eyes behind her glasses, and he caved. “Just because you’re having a rough day,” he told her.

Three hours later and Harry had a blanket and bowl of popcorn of his own.

“It’s addicting,” Y/n agreed.

“I just don’t understand why Elena can’t decide,” Harry said. “Stefan is clearly the most sensible choice.”

Y/n rolled her eyes at him. “It’s not about sensibility, it’s about passion,” she explained. Grabbing the remote, she paused it and turned in her blanket cocoon to look at him. “Elena needs to follow her heart, not her head, and her heart clearly wants Damon.”

“Bad things happen when you don’t use your head,” Harry grumbled. Then he asked, “Who would you pick?”

“Neither. I’d go for Klaus,” she said immediately, then blushed at her quick response.

“The evil psychopath?”

Y/n hid under her blanket. “He’s not evil, he’s misunderstood!”

“Jesus Christ,” Harry muttered under his breath. “I’m not gonna lie, I’m a little scared of you now.”

Giggling, Y/n pressed play on the remote, and they both went back to watching.

It was times like these when Harry forgot that he was working. Y/n wasn’t just his roommate, she was an assignment, one he took seriously. But when she was just sitting on her corner of the couch, and he was on his, both of them in Korean face masks that Y/n swore by, it all felt so normal.

Harry didn’t go into this job thinking he would befriend the subject he was meant to protect. He honestly thought that a girl like Y/n would be an entitled, trust fund baby who was full of herself, but she couldn’t be further from that stereotype. She truly was the sweetest person he knew.

Later that night, Harry was working out in his room. Because he was Y/n’s personal security detail, he didn’t have much free time, so he reserved his workouts just before bed or early in the morning.

As he was between sets, there was a knock on his door.

“Come in.”

Y/n popped her head in, her sleep mask pushed up onto her forehead. “Am I bothering you?”

Harry shook his head. “Not at all. Everything alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, no creeps outside my window or anything like that,” she said quickly. “But um, I was scrolling on Instagram, you know, as one does, and I came across this post...”

She handed her phone to Harry, who took it. On it was a picture of a car covered in paper. Looking up, he asked what he was looking at.

“Trace’s car,” she explained. “Someone covered it in test results. Positive test results...For herpes.”

“Wow. That’s—”

“Insane, right?” Y/n said. “Everyone’s going crazy over it. Trace will probably never hook up with anyone within a twenty mile radius ever again.”

Harry chuckled and handed the phone back. “Probably for the best.”

Y/n hummed her agreement, and then silence fell between the two of them. Harry figured that was all Y/n came to tell him, but she didn’t leave his room. Instead, she looked around, then at him.

He didn’t really know what to say, but he didn’t have to say anything. Before long, she spoke again.

“Thank you. I don’t know how you did it, but thank you.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Harry said, turning around to put away his workout gear.

“You were gone for a while earlier today,” Y/n said. “And I made a joke about Trace having an STI this morning.”

Harry hadn’t set out this morning to exact revenge on an asshole, but as he was putting groceries in his cart, he kept picturing Y/n’s face—the tears, the red nose, the messy hair. A guy like Trace had no right making someone as kind as Y/n cry. He couldn’t just sit around and do nothing.

Harry at least found it in his heart not to do permanent damage to the asshole’s Bentley.

Still, Harry merely said, “There’s no proof that I did it.”

“I’d be disappointed if there was,” Y/n joked.

Then, she stepped towards him and wrapped him up in another hug. Harry stiffened, but was quicker to respond than he had this morning. Y/n squeezed him tight, as if she was trying to press her gratitude into him. She eventually pulled away, but stayed close enough that she had to tip her head back to look at him.

Harry met her gaze, and was surprised when an unfamiliar feeling stirred in him. He blinked, hoping that would somehow make it disappear, but it didn’t. He just kept on staring down at Y/n—her dark eyes, button nose, full lips, warm skin. Harry always recognized that she was pretty, but her features were suddenly all the more apparent to him, like he was seeing her for the first time.

But then her phone buzzed, and the haze he was in wore off.

They stepped away from each other, Y/n backing away toward the door. “Anyway, um, I just wanted to say thank you. You didn’t have to do that but,” she shrugged, “It made me feel better, and the whole school is getting a kick out of it, so thanks.”

Harry scratched his head, unaware of his shirt riding up, or the way Y/n’s gaze zeroed in on the small sliver of skin and tattoos that were revealed. “I will neither confirm nor deny such allegations, but if I did cover someone’s car in false test results, I would say it was well deserved.”

Y/n’s eyes lit. “I never said they were—you know what, I don’t need to know. It will remain a mystery, I suppose. Even though I am incredibly curious as to how you were able to—”

“Good night, Y/n.”

“Buzz kill,” she muttered. “Good night, Harry.”

She was about to leave, but Harry stopped her. “No more guys like Trace, alright? Find yourself a Stefan.”

She rolled her eyes as she left, but Y/n’s heart beat just a little bit faster when he smiled at her.

[pickles4nickles]

So I’ve been watching playthroughs of Yakuza games for a while now, but when I saw that the newest game takes place in Hawai’i, the place where I was born, raised, and have lived in for nearly 30 years now, I knew that this was something I had to have first-hand experience with and not let some guy tell me how to feel about it, to put it bluntly.

I went on a month and a half long journey to finish this game, so I sat around for a bit like

Jesus Christ I should write a review on it.

So if you’d like to read about 5k words on what I thought about The Video Game™, here you go.

Overall, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is a really really good game. However, as Hawai’i local it was kind of hard for me to turn my brain off to some of the cultural inaccuracies and as someone who tends to play smaller indie games, I clocked in about 110 hours on this and I burned out a little towards the end.

GAMEPLAY

Let’s get into Gameplay first because I think I have the most positive thoughts about it. If you haven’t heard my thoughts about Pokemon lately, it mostly boils down to “It’s the only RPG I’ve really been playing in recent years and the gameplay has been very watered down and I yearn for a decent PvE experience.” This game definitely scratched that itch in more ways than one.

Infinite Wealth’s turn-based combat system revolves around positioning. Some moves have an AoE of either a straight line or a circle. Positioning a character next to an ally will proc a combo move with them and positioning them near items will proc an item attack where you can beat a guy to death with a traffic cone or something.

The job system is robust. Every character starts off with a default class- Ichiban’s is Hero, an all-rounder that can pretty much do anything; characters like Nanba and Eric (I know the game calls him Tomi or Tomizawa, but I’m not the game and “Fuckin’ Eric” sounds way better than “Fuckin’ Tomi”) are magic-oriented, so they’re basically wizards by default. You can change their class to other jobs (Desperado is my favorite because it’s basically gun mage), which unlocks new skills as you level them up. You can also change jobs as much as you want and skills carry over between them, so there’s a bit of moveset mixing and matching that makes my brain feel good.

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, (the Yakuza devs, which we’re just gonna abbreviate to RGG from here on out) have always been REALLY good at asset reuse (again, I cast a dirty look to Game Freak). They’ll make a whole-ass map of a region and reuse that same map for several games down the line. Not only do you spend a significant time in Ijincho again and not only do you go to Kamurocho for little bit… AGAIN, but there are two… what I can only call “macro” games that have the best asset reuse I’ve seen in, like, maybe anything ever.

DONDOKO ISLAND

Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth comes with a whole-ass Animal Crossing clone that’s also kind of The Sims called Dondoko Island. In this, you rehab an island that’s being used as a dump for some trash pirates (no, seriously, they’re actually pirates, yar har and everything) back into a five star resort. There’s a whole-ass crafting system where you go around the island, harvesting resources, to build furniture and facilities, which include whole-ass buildings which have appeared in past Yakuza games. The crafting system is GREATLY improved over Animal Crossing: New Horizon in that you can skip the goddamn animation and craft multiple of the same items at once. You don’t even have to have all the materials in your inventory, it’ll take it from your storage. Placing items in the world is also in an overhead view and the only grievance I have with the system is that placing paths is really weird and you can only place a limited number of them. But overall, Nintendo, was it really that hard to put into the video game. Why did you make AC:NH disrespect my time in that way?

Once the island has been cleaned up enough, you can start inviting guests over, which all have their own set of preferences for the vibe of your island (rustic, pop, sleazy, etc), their lodging quality, and how much of the island’s flora and fauna (and minerals, I guess??) you’ve discovered.

I really really liked Dondoko Island because who am I to say no to a management mini/macro game with decoration elements. I mostly really appreciate that it doesn’t waste your time. I wanna say I finished it in like less than 20 hours… which is not short for a game within a game (actually, that’s insane for a game within a game), but for a game of this genre, it’s pretty short.

There’s also an entire separate mini-island that further helps you with efficiently running your island by passively collecting resources over time and just being a general stockpile of bugs and fish to catch. But I can’t talk about this part without talking about…

SUJIMON

A returning character voiced by Keith Silverstein in the English dub – yes, that Keith Silverstein, who voices Masayoshi Shido of Persona 5 and Zhongli of The Genshin Impact™ is a professor who documents the behavior of weird and often hostile middle aged men, called Sujimon. When Ichiban goes to Hawai’i, he asks him to also document the native Sujimon there as there’s a prominent Sujimon scene there. Mans wasn’t kidding as there is an underground, more or less ilicit Sujimon fight club called The Sujimon League with its own Elite Four called The Discrete Four.

In the previous game, Sujimon was just your bestiary (literally called the Sujidex), but now it’s a whole-ass game, which I can mostly only describe as simplified Yokai Watch, but a glorified card game. Just so we’re not here for forever talking about middle-aged men cockfights… because I can talk about the mechanics and inner workings of middle-aged men cockfights for a hot minute, Sujimon League basically operates on a 3v3, with an additional bench of 3, rock-paper-scissors kind of system. You’ll need strong Sujimon to get through this macro game and you’ll recruit new guys through four ways- through random fights on the map, through literal Pokemon GO raids, through a gacha system, and through combining Sujimon of the same type into stronger Sujimon (don’t think too hard about that one). I had a LOT of fun with this and, again, it scratched an itch I’ve had for a while. Almost all of the Sujimon are just guys you’ll fight in-game, so, again, an excellent use of asset reuse.

Sujimon smoothly integrates into Dondoko Island in a way that makes Palworld look even more balls-less than it already is. You know that little island I was talking about a few paragraphs back? That’s Dondoko Farm. You can put your Sujimon to work on it! As you’re running around on Dondoko Island, letting it consume your life, your Sujimon will grow crops, scrounge around for resources, and earn some cash for you. The island also has some resources to help with Sujimon League by leveling them up with a small investment of some dondoko bucks and your time, but also a Pokemon-Amie type mini-mini game that helps strengthen the friendship of your current Sujimon team.

Yes.

This game lets you pet-

The sweaty, weirdo middle-aged men.

Don’t think about it too hard.

Especially don’t think about it too hard when you have a Sujimon on your team that uses Xander Mobus’ voice clips.

Anyway, there’s also another minigame called Sicko Snap, which is basically Pokemon Snap with Sujimon. It’s a good one, too.

STORY

I guess… the best way I’d explain my feelings on Infinite Wealth’s story is

Objectively, this is an okay story. Like, it’s par for the course for a Yakuza game. I have a lot of personal grievances with this plot which I’ll fully unsheathe my blade for in the next section, but for now I’ll just say… this game is basically Hawaii Five-O crammed into a Yakuza game and that was an emotional rollercoaster ride that I’m not sure I enjoyed.

Like a Dragon’s main theme is “Even if you hit rock bottom, it’s never too late to get back up again” and that’s something I hold near and dear to my heart.

They have used this theme to my benefit and to my dismay as this also apparently means it’s never too late for ~*Romance*~ which, sure, yeah, okay, true, but did it have to be Ichiban and Saeko?

I’m trying to give the game the benefit of the doubt because… to me, it’s mostly one-sided (as in, like, Saeko’s willing to give him a chance, but isn’t as crazy for Ichiban as he is for her) and, like, dude is allowed to have a crush. But from what I have seen… because I never got around to finishing her Drink Link (I was gonna but I’m like really burned out on the game), they kinda strap C4 to the Bechdel Test and raze a village to the ground with it when it comes to Saeko’s character arc because most of her dialogue and interactions are about The Incident with Ichiban, which sucks because she had more character than just a romance interest for the protagonist in the previous game. If you’re also REALLY not into this plot point like I am, the story DOES NOT let you forget that this indeed happened as it seems to be a plot thread that might continue into the next game as well.

Needless to say, I don’t ship it, and I don’t get to block tags and just walk away from this one.

The game also kinda keeps nudging at, “Hehe, Chitose’s pretty cute too, right?” to which I say

Yes I understand she’s of legal age but she’s only like 21 AT MOST and Ichiban’s like 40-something you stop with that.

It doesn’t feel like Ichiban really had a character arc in this… unless you count “proposing on the first date” to “saying I love you on a redo and then being weird about it again” as character growth. He went to Hawai’i, had some shenanigans, found mom, got backstabbed again, fought the cult (which I’ll be really salty about in the next section), went back home to help Eiji’s character arc. This isn’t a bad thing, it’s just… Ichiban went on another adventure. And it was ok. I think maybe the game was sizing him up to, again, take Kiryu’s place and be The Hero, but… we already did that already? And I’m not even sure if the game was able to complete that message by the end of the game.

Kiryu probably got the most character development out of this game and talking this over with my friend Andrew, he brought up that it kinda wasn’t fair that this is supposed to be Ichiban’s game, but he had to share half of it with Kiryu. And I agree. His sections were also really hard to get into if you haven’t been a longtime fan. Again, I have a decent amount of Yakuza knowledge, but with Kiryu’s memories, a LOT of it went over my head.  It seems like RGG’s been trying to retire him as a protagonist for like three games now and MAYBE this time they’ll actually do it after this victory lap they’ve given him. But he did learn that “my friends are my power” and “never ever give up, you still have time to do better.” And you know what, that’s rad.

As far as the villains go, just, I dunno, they’re fine? Ebina and Eiji are very “okay bitch, stay mad, then,” and it’s. Fine? My only complaint is that Ebina’s arc felt like it was under-seasoned before they put it in the oven to cook and they could’ve peppered it on a little earlier in the game or something. Bryce’s entire deal I may have taken a little too personally, but that’s for later. Dwight was literally just Danny Trejo doing a villain role and I have absolutely no qualms with it. He was fun to watch.

The supporting cast was fun as always. Eric I hated at first, but he grew on me in the same way that, like, I’d bully a friend. Chitose I also kinda hated at first, was very sus of, but then she had a character arc that was pretty good. The Yokohama gang didn’t really have character arcs to them, but they were still fun to hang out with nonetheless. We got to learn a little bit more about Seonhee and she’s really fun. Both her and Zhao, who is my favorite for several reasons, are really really fun characters as they are both crime bosses (former, in Zhao’s case) who are BIG FUCKING WEIRDOS and I love them for it.

Joongi Han becomes a party member WAY too late in my opinion that, in a way, he’s technically an optional party member, or at least like getting a Dratini right before the Pokemon League in Gold/Silver/Crystal. He had some fun character moments, but felt kinda like an afterthought.

But also, ain’t no way he got his Hawai’i clothes at Hilo Hattie. There’s no way.

To wrap up my thoughts on the main story, I’d just like to say: the plot point that they sailed to Japan on a little tugboat in a handful of hours as opposed to WEEKS is peak Hawaii Five-O vibes and it infuriates me, but everyone kept telling me “it’s okay, the coast guard picked them up, like, halfway” and I will sit down and not start a fistfight over it. And just. That was the vibe of the game for me. Just… alternating between a J-Drama and Hawaii Five-O.

I don’t really have much to say about the substories except that they’re either almost Oscar-worthy material or they’re a snoozefest that I just tabbed through. I can really only think of three substories off the top of my head that were EXCELLENT, though - Nancy and Olivia, the artificial snow quest (THIS ONE IS EMOTIONAL WHIPLASH), and the traveling aquarium one. The rest I mostly just tabbed through because they were just……. Eh. But I think I’m okay with that since we have Sujimon and Dondoko to make up for it.

THE CULTURAL GRIEVANCES

So as I type this section out, I run my hands over my face to remind myself and say

This is a game that takes place in Hawai’i from a Japanese perspective, written primarily for a Japanese audience and I assume that certain things may come from a place of ignorance, but not maliciousness.

Hey Tumblr.

I want you to read that first bolded sentence again.

Because I know how you guys are with reading comprehension.

But that being said, as a Hawai’i-born Chinese person, there’s quite a lot about the Hawai’i cultural aspects of this game that I have problems with. If you wanna see me roast this game, you can stick around, but if not… Here is your chance to bail.

I’ve tried my best to write this in a way where I look at the thing that pissed me off and ask myself,  “Am I taking this too seriously or do I actually have a problem with it?” and write more or less objectively, but some of it might still come off as overly caustic. Just. I tried.

And after a deep breath,

Ho brah,

We go.

WHAT IS HAWAIIAN CULTURE, ANYWAY?

To start off, I’m not sure if RGG knows the difference between being a Hawai’i local and actually being of Hawaiian blood…? The game mentions at the very beginning that Akane is half-Japanese… and half-Hawaiian, which makes Ichiban one-fourth Hawaiian, which makes ME kinda… squint. Like, we’d need to know more about Akane’s backstory, but if you know anything about indigenous cultures, finding someone who’s half native is HARD nowadays. Akane also looks pretty light skinned for someone who’s allegedly half-Japanese, half-Hawaiian but that’s just my tiny nitpick?

I’m also… not sure what kinda research RGG did on Hawaiian last names because some of the ones I see on random enemies are kinda… 

Who is that

What is that

I have never seen anyone named that in my entire life

Sure, my worldview is a little shut in, but, no, what IS that?

Mililani is not a last name, that’s a neighborhood, why’s she Lani Mililani?

WHAT IS THAT?

The pidgin in the game is also there, but… small kine hit or miss. For those of you who don’t know, pidgin is Hawai’i’s creole, which came from a bunch of cultures who don’t speak the same language eventually falling into a kitbashed language system that works for everyone. Looking at the VA listing in the credits, they did hire some local people (they have Hawaiian names) and some of the VO performances work really well like Obispo in the restaurant side story and the cab driver dialogue that ONLY comes up in the Japanese audio version of the game for some reason. Others… are… hm (I don’t know what’s going on with Jeff the taco truck guy). I feel like the voice director got the intonation on the line reads down pretty well, but on the localization side, the syntax and grammar are a little off. Pidgin tends to come off as “broken english,” but it’s technically not since it’s its own language system with its own rules. So you have a lot of line reads that are in the right inflection, but the way it’s written is wrong for pidgin dialogue.

And it just doesn’t sound 100% right to me.

There’s also some… small pronunciation nitpicks that I have. Ukulele is pronounced the white way - it’s not Yooka-Laylee like the Chameleon and Bat, it’s ook-oo-leh-leh like Tapu Lele, the Pokemon. Some characters pronounce Hawai’i as huh-why and not ha-wuh-ee, which is more right (it’s SUPPOSED to be ha-vai-ee but I’m not native Hawaiian and this is kind of an axolotl situation so, y’know).

But shout-outs to the “Whatchu lookin’ at?” line guy.

Because that one is just, no notes, perfect.

NOTHING CAN BE NORMAL, I GUESS

Something that rubbed me the wrong way in this game is the mystification of a culture that’s foreign to you, that is, taking a culture that’s not yours and describing or representing it in such a way that it sounds so deviant and hard to comprehend compared to the one you’re used to. Think of that one tweet where someone describes hamburgers like a white person would describe asian fruit.

There's the lei substory where the girl needs to make a lei with blue plumerias (which does not exist by the way) because there’s an urban legend that if you give a blue plumeria lei to someone, it’s a way of confessing your true love. Lei are just… things you give as, like, a “congrats!” kind of a thing. Or if you wanna be touristy about it, a “welcome!” kind of gift. There’s nothing mystical about it, most grocery stores stock a few that you can just pick up, grab and go style. 

The entire game mechanic of “shaka to make friends” was so?? Like maybe after 8 hours into the Hawai’i map, I was like, okay, I’ll just… fine. I’ll accept it. But my god did I not appreciate it when Kson came up to me and was like “what’s a motherfucker gotta do around here to make some friends” and told me how FRIENDLY the Hawaiian people were and how you can just throw a shaka to make friends; while me, probably the saltiest, introverted Hawai’i local that throws stink-eye at tourists who can’t watch where they’re going, playing the video game on that day was like, “We don’t fucking do that, hello??” I don’t even know why we shaka?? Most people you ask that question will just be like “idk it’s the local thing, they do it at the end of the 5pm news on KHON2.”

There’s a substory in this game with a character named Nathan, but we were all calling him racist Alpharad because he kinda looks like him (ALPHARAD HIMSELF IS NOT RACIST OR IN THIS GAME I WANNA CLARIFY THAT) and he’s basically, like… a weeb. He’s recording what seems like a PBS special on Japanese tourists in Hawai’i, but he’s kind of a shitter about it. He makes Ichiban choose between local foods and cold-ass rice and becomes upset when he chooses kalua pork over the rice since it wasn’t The Japanese Option. It escalates to making Ichiban play darts with shuriken and when he loses, he tells him to “live up to his dishonor,” slides him a knife and board, and asks him if he wants to take a finger or hara-kiri. To which Ichiban goes “dude, I get you like Japanese culture, but you can’t treat people this way”

To which I look back at the game like

You clearly understand how this feels, so why are you doing this to Hawaiian culture?

Again, I understand that a lot of this game was written with maybe just ignorance, and not malice, and this isn’t really a call-out post to RGG or anything, but BOY…

Okay.

Now we get to my biggest gripe with this game.

PALEKANA CAN SUCK MY NUTS

I’m kinda disappointed in their choice to use a Hawaiian cult as a plot point. It’s not quite a native savages kind of a vibe, but… In the year of our lord 2024, I thought we would know better than to portray an indigenous religion as a bloodthirsty cult? I also don’t like how they’re conflating the Hawaiian religion with what’s more like a Christian/Catholic cult in this.

Palekana is portrayed as “cultists who worship a goddess who lives in a mystical land, forbidden only to her chosen and maybe one day we’ll be worthy of her blessings.” Hawaiian religion is… not… like that at all? They did get the part about “giving back to the community” correct as a part of Hawaiian culture is mālama ‘aina, meaning, you need to care for the land you live on, which is… reasonable? I guess the other basic idea of Hawaiian religion is that certain places, things, and times that are important, and you shouldn’t touch it unless you wanna fuck around and find out. But the game just kinda wildly overboils this.

Like, I don’t claim to be an expert, I’ve only scraped the basics from what I learned in school (a year’s worth of Hawaiiana lessons in middle school, a semester’s worth in college; went to a private Catholic school, took two world religion classes in college), but Palekana has a very Catholic European religion kind vibe instead of a Hawaiian one. And I really, really don’t like that the game conflates the two. The Palekana cultists wear hoods, which is a distinctly European thing (it’s too hot for hoods here!). The beaded necklaces also seem more like rosaries, which, again, very Catholic. The idea that a god-figure will save you is also a VERY Catholic idea. I’m also assuming the goddess Nele that they use in the game is an expy for Pele, which… okay, like, you can do that with locations. Ala Moana Shopping Center represented as Anaconda Mall in the game hurts me a lot, but… to change up the name of the most prominent deity in Hawaiian religion is like

Dude, I’m not Hawaiian, but I know better than to shit on Pele?

Maybe I’m taking this a little too seriously, but it comes off as a little(??) disrespectful.

To give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe RGG wrote this plot point in this way to be like, well, they’re the villains, so we’ll write them so hyperbolically evil and wrong so people won’t mistake that for the actual culture? But my gut reaction is that they’re only writing from what they’ve seen in the movies and they wanted to make a story like that.

This was my least favorite part of the plot because not only does the cult aspect feel like it’s in bad taste, but it’s SO MUCH of the story and you REALLY can’t get away from it.

Alright. So now that I’ve aired that out of my system, I’m finally capping off this section with the part of the game that hit the closest to me and that is

CHINESE IN HAWAI’I

Listen. Again.

This is a story about Hawai’i, written by a Japanese team, for a Japanese audience.

Yakuza is a series that often talks about the racial conflict between the Japanese, Chinese, and Koreans. And I don’t expect them to portray any of these groups in anything more than a neutral light in this game about Gang Crime.

But ohhhhh my gooooood did they get the Chinatown section so wroooooooong.

Right off the bat, the big glaring problem I have with this game is. All the guys speak Mandarin. I think they might just be reusing voice clips from Yakuza 7, which, sure, fine, I understand that video games are hard to make and expensive.

In Hawai’i, like, real-world Hawai’i, not the bizzaro Hawai’i this game takes place in, we’re definitely starting to see more Mandarin-speaking immigrants show up, but most of the town speaks Cantonese.

Most of the people here a generation or two above me come from Guangdong or Hong Kong, which are Cantonese-speaking areas. It’s an entirely different dialect that’s really only been represented in small bits in media I’m familiar with, like in Jackie Chan Adventures (the uncle’s chant is basically “no more ghosts, get out of here” in Cantonese) and Digimon Tamers (“Moumentai” is “it’s okay/don’t worry about it” in Cantonese), and it seems really hard to get VAs that speak it, so I’m not… really that mad about it.

BUT. Then there’s Wong Tou.

Wong is the Cantonese pronunciation of 黄 , Huang or Hwang in Mandarin.

So like… clearly they knew?? But?? Decided not to go all in on it??

(And then Daniel Dae Kim is his face model and I just??? Bro’s Korean, hello?????)

And then there’s the name of Wong Tou’s gang. The Ganzhe.

Which is a stupid name.

The Chinese dictionary gives me 甘蔗 which translates to sugarcane, which. I get it. The plantation times. The Chinese and the Japanese and the Filipinos and the Portuguese and whatever all used to work on the cane plantations.

…But you’re out here calling your BIG KNIFE GANG “Sugarcane??”

My guy, you could start a reggae band with that name instead.

SPEAKING OF REGGAE-

No one knows how to pronounce Ganzhe properly besides Eric’s VA apparently? All the other VAs pronounce the gan closer to “van” when it’s supposed to be more like a “gone.”

Yes. That’s right.

Ganzhe is pronounced more like ganja.

You know.

The Marajuanas™

I’m a Hawai’i-born Chinese, first-generation local on my mom’s side and third-gen local on my dad’s. I grew up in Chinatown, so this was a section of the game that was near and dear to my heart. So I THINK and HOPE you’d understand my frustration to see that work needed to be done on the representation of my culture in this game. It was definitely a little fun to see my hometown modeled in this game- they got Maunakea Marketplace and Keikaulike Mall down pretty accurately and some of the motifs on the buildings made me do a double take because they were so familiar to me. BUT, man, this cultural aspect of the game needed A LOT of work.

SO TO FINALLY CLOSE THIS OUT

Japanese people love Hawai'i a lot.

I think Japanese people love Hawai'i more than Hawai'i locals do.

But as for portraying it accurately, I understand that no one can do it as well as a local islander can. Did I personally think they did the best they could?

………………ehh

Like, if you turn your brain off, it's fine??

If you turn your brain off and not let Palekana get to you, this game is fine.

It can be a little campy.

It can be a little Hollywood.

It can be a little Disneyland.

And despite my four pages of bitching about it, at the end of the day. It is fine.

So with that, I’ve hit like ten full pages on this Google Doc. Despite half of this review being me complaining about what they got wrong about Hawai’i culture in this game, I liked it a lot! When the game didn't have me strapped down for an episode of a J-drama or Hawaii Five-O, I liked running around town, fighting guys, making other guys fight other guys, and managing a resort island. If anything, this game actually motivated me a little to make more local-themed stuff, because as I notice people getting older, there’s less and less people to correctly preserve highly specific culture stuff like this. So a lot of that responsibility falls on me, y’know?

Thank you for making it to the end of this review! I know it was a lot. I don’t know what happened. I do recommend this game, but I ask that you do NOT finish the game with the takeaway that you have learned everything there is to know about Hawai’i.

I’ll fight you with a lawn chair (in Minecraft, for the FBI agent reading this) if you do that.

Other than that, I think you’ll have a lot of fun but also take your time because this game is, like, a 100 hour commitment. Not Persona 5 Royal long, but a commitment nonetheless.