#aw yay ch 7!!

[m3-kk]

TCF NOVEL SPOILERS- My TCF notes

Hmmm it’s been a minute since I posted any of my TCF notes about the chapters.. so here ya go! THIS US PART 2 SHAWTYS!!

Ch. 1- YESSS CHAPTER 1!! Not the Kings Palace going kaboom 😶 Cale needs to rest!!! Slacker chan!!!

Ch. 5- AHHHHHHHHHH LEE SOO HYUKKKKKKKK LETSS GOOOOO! BLACK HAWKK OOO

Ch. 6- His name is now Sui Khan 😮

Ch. 7- 🍪 Cookiess! So we have to travel different dimensions now? Cale needs a break 😭😭

Ch. 8- World with the white mages = Xiaolen Planet

Ch.9- YAY DIVINE ITEM MIRROR LAPTOP THINGY! We are definitely going to like the other worlds people evil smirk 😏

Ch. 10- HAH CALE HUNG UP ON DUKE FREDO LOL! Sooo Cale is a god. 😀

Ch. 12- Dead mana is purer AND Cale’s power is more efficient here? Interesting..

Ch. 13- Hey we have a spare world tree!

Ch. 15- Mary is registering as a candidate to be a necromancer empress GO MARY!

Ch. 16- AW HER FAKE NAME IS “Heni Wishrop” HENI STANDS FOR HENITUSE!

Everyone thinks our Mary is powerful hehe!

Ch. 21- Working with Zero & the 4th Prince for the Harmony test :D

Ch. 22- OOooo Black Rain 🌧️

Ch. 24- Now we actually need to kill those hunters. How dare they lay a finger on our family. Let’s flip them over immediately.

Ch. 25- Yay! Hong & On <3 Let’s go to the infected area! 2nd Princess?

Ch. 26- the 2nd imperial princess has been converted to Caleism hah m! Tree-bush monster ye fire, destruction, protection!

Ch. 27- Are you human? HAHAH CALEE

Ch. 28- That Marquis guy is smart. Cale really is acting like a purifier so funny!

Ch. 31- Blood Message! How scary!

Ch. 34- Attacking the bad guys >:]

Ch. 36- BURNNNNNNN 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Ch. 37- 50% power to get 2,500% as a result! SO EFFICIENTTTT WEEEEEE

Ch. 38- THE HUNTER WHO HUNTS HUNTERS! GO CALE SO POWERFUL HA!

Ch. 39- Cale.. not everyone is a super powerful ultimate other worldly being like you! I feel bad for Goldie Gramps 😭

Ch. 40- In Prison with the fam 😜

Ch. 41- We are going to loot!! Goldie Gramps is angry and that dragon is timid but crazy. I love our family! CHAOS LOVE

Ch. 42- DESTROY THE ESTATE MWAHAH

Ch. 43- So sad that we couldn’t loot 😭🥲

Ch. 44- Ooo Opening the safe 💰

Ch. 54- ooo revealing us to the empire?

Ch. 58- Choking? Reminds me of Adin

Ch. 63- HAH I KNEW IT THE FAKE WT IS STAYING YOOO

Ch. 64- INFOOO! Not the Patriarch blowing up that’s crazy! We could’ve gotten so much more info! But oh well! Five Colors ooo!

Ch. 65- HAHAH THE GOD OF DEATH IN THE GROUP CHAT HAHAH I LOVE HIMM HEHHEHE (I love this chapter)

Ch. 66- AWWW Chatting with fire of Purification in puppy form!

Ch. 67- This is so cute I’m glad we get a lil’ rest just chatting with the nice puppy ❤️ I love!!!

Ch. 69- Almost the end of this arc!

Ch. 71- HOME WITH THE MONEYYYYY

Ch. 73- Ron, Beacrox! I missed uuuu!

Ch. 75- Aw the Henituse Fam! Billos!

Ch. 76- You get a mine, you get a mine. EVERYONE GETSA MINE!!

Ch. 78- YOU HAVE BEEN PROMOTED YOU ARE NOW ONE OF MY ELITE EMPLOYEES!

Ch. 79- @CP we have a mommy on our side? Mummy’s boy emperor as well???

Ch. 81- CENTRAL PLAINS?! The sworn brother goodbye was cute.

Ch. 83- We meet CP’s clone?? Cutie??

Ch. 85- The disrespect! They can’t pronounce our Cale Henituse’s name!

Ch. 86- NEW NAMES LETSGOOO

Ch. 90- YOO we got a golden plaque!

Ch. 91- Cale ignores Toonka but not Roan!

Ch. 93- We found the living jiangshi!

Ch. 94- enlightenment is crazy****

Ch. 97- Talking with the Sword Sainttt

Ch. 100- Purification! Chapter 100!

Ch. 101- One word, blood. SHITTTTT NOO

Ch. 102- AWKWARD! Yay Choi Jung SOO

Ch. 106- LET HIM EATTTT

Ch. 108- So many ally’s yay !!!!

Ch. 112- We. Are. Going. To. EATT! (a elixir)

Ch. 113- 70% shield 53% water

Ch. 116- The Alliance leader is being bitchy SHOW EM’ WHOSE BOSS! (Roan misses Alberu)

Ch. 118- Don’t hurt our Cale! Please!

Ch. 119- Aw I love when Choi Han & Beacrox talk together about family

Ch. 121- Ah the god ole trash bastard days

Ch. 123- Green Forest Bastards try and mess with us?! Angry Cale! >:(

Ch. 124- OO Cale is the BOSS MAN

Ch. 127- 68% then 72% of fire!!

Ch. 128- Pfft Caleism has a poem now lol.

Ch. 129- HUHH Big complicated lore??

Ch. 131- WOAHH The Heavenly Demon is a smart cookie fr fr wow intelligent!

Ch. 135- The Left Guard is so cute awe

Ch. 136- Oh no the Heavenly Demon ain’t doing so good :[

Ch. 137- Helping out the HD again. Spy?

Ch. 139- Aw Choi Family spars. I love it

Ch. 141- HD is being healed yay

Ch. 142- I was so concerned about Cale the whole time! Bloody Battle

Ch. 146- (I hope everyone at home is ok)

Ch. 151- TALKING WITH ALBERU YAYAYAY

Ch. 152- Pinnacle Demon is poison crazy

Ch. 153- We going to destroy things now?

Ch. 154- YAY DESTRUCTION DESTROY

Ch. 155- FINALLY FLIP THINGS OVER KYA

Ch. 157- OO WATER AP FOUND SOMETHIN

Ch. 158- OMG DRAGON LORE?? YAHOO

Ch. 159- “Raon’s lackey” I got the chills!

Ch. 160- OOOooo I’m hooked! Dragons<3

Ch. 162- Oh DAMN! We got a mf jackpot! Water is 300 percent stronger than the OG. No blood shed! Dragons are great!

Ch. 163- HAHA LOOTING ANCIENT STUFF

Ch. 165- Scale+Crown+Crown=Red Crown

Ch. 169- Shit is going down! TSUNAMI!

Ch. 171- How dare she think to threaten us, she shall die by Choi Hans sword.

Ch. 176- Old man Baek describes Cale’s world and “reads” him

Ch. 183- I love that we can run wild!! 😜

Ch. 185- THE PRIESTESS the youngest daughter of Orsena!

Ch. 186- The Dominantung Aura

Ch. 187- Our little Han got stronger (I’m so fucking proud of him 🥲)

Ch. 188- We killed her.. Last words?

Ch. 189- The Formation Collapsed!

Ch. 190- Raon’s MC moment. (Cute bond)

Ch. 191- Using water AP to Max! Or not?

Ch. 192- the Punto Banhui and Tears💧

Ch. 195- You got games on your phone?

Ch. 196- Everyone wants Cale to be a god

Ch. 199- WE LEFT!!! NOW WE ARE HOMEE

Ch. 200- Awww so cute at Alberu’s casa

Ch. 201- That actually so funny 🤣

Ch. 202- Zoom Call with Ahn Roh Man talking about gamess. Similarities?

Ch. 206- Aw it been a bit since we chilled

Ch. 209- Speech ruined! (So every time Cale has to do a speech it’s interrupted)

[scribblesbyb]

Writing Game Week #1: Use These Prompts to Get Back Into Writing!

Prompt 1 Prompt 2 Prompt 3 Prompt 4 Prompt 5 Prompt 6 Prompt 7

A/N: End of the week! Yay. This streak was nice but let's see if it'll carry on for another week lol

Anyway~ This one was...strange. Didn't know where I was going but hey

Tags: Goth fantasy

WC: 1031

Prompt 8:It was a moonless night, a smell of copper filled the air; definitely, a night where nightmares…..

It was a moonless night; a night where nightmares came alive. With the smell of copper filling the air, what a perfect time for Dawn to rise.

Leisurely, her pale, bony arms stretched towards the outskirts of her coffin. Long, bloody nails dug into the dirt around her as she, so effortlessly, removed the lid hiding her body from the modern world. 

Dusting the crimson dress that stuck to her pear-shaped body, a fullness untouched by the years of rotting in a grave, she helped herself out of the hole.

Dawn’s bare feet tickled the short grass under her soles. Being grounded in nature again made her feel happy, blissful, alive. Her thin lips, smeared with blood from her last meal, smiled at the irony.

Gliding across the graveyard, Dawn’s dirty hands tapped one tombstone after the other—intentionally missing some. At her touch, those seemingly resting under the surface awoke, obeying their Goddess' silent command.

Rotting teeth and pale bodies stayed on Dawn’s trail. Some carried dead pets in their arms or perched on their shoulders. Others wore accessories from a lost time. Monocles, pocket watches, cigarette holders.

Finally reaching the graveyard’s gates, and with a dozen of her followers behind her, Dawn snapped both set of fingers. A transparent veil webbed itself into existence, starting from the tips of Dawn’s nails and going on, creating one thread after the other, till it hid the undead from prying eyes.

Dawn began to lead them out into the world. Out the gates, across many streets, and into the hustle and bustle of the city. 

Protected by her veil, the army of undead, as one might call them, split up and blended into the human crowd. With cloudy eyes, they pried into their lives, looking over their shoulders to watch what they were doing. 

Whenever a human would flop as a shiver ran down their spine, an undead would giggle. Same went for when they’d mistake their goosebumps for excitement, not knowing that an undead was touching them, in awe of how alive their skin felt.

Some took offense when a human would mistake them for someone else. When they’d stand and speak to the space around them, and thank their deceased loved ones for watching over them. But that was never the case. Unless they were part of Dawn’s following that is.

A rare few of them didn’t make it back from Dawn’s strolls; their bodies destroyed by a swift snap of her fingers. Those were the ones whose fascination turned into hysteria. Their fragile minds couldn’t fathom seeing but not experiencing life.

Dawn had no need for weaklings.

Arriving at her destination, finally, Dawn turned and whistled; a high-pitched noise only her followers and dogs would hear. The undead flocked to her side, while a number of humans looked quizzically at their dogs, cocking their heads and twitching their ears for a moment.

With a silky voice, and in an ancient tongue long-forgotten, Dawn spoke.

“I hope we’re not late. I’d hate to miss it.”

Her long neck looked up at the abandoned mansion that stood before her. Pale, blueish, and greenish veins drew maps on her exposed collarbones and chest as she inhaled deeply.

Breathing out a misty exhale, the air from her rotting lungs swiftly breaking down the manor’s door. It landed quietly, not even a thud to be heard. 

A cyclone of dust circled them. They watched as it gradually grew, moving with the help of Dawn’s fingers further inside what she once called home, stopping at what she once called a ballroom.

The cyclone dissipated into shapes; bodies; three to be exact. The dust also formed a throne-like chair and a big TV out of thin air. With another echoing snap, the dust fell off the figures in one swift motion, revealing them.

“See? I told you she wouldn’t be late. It’s her favorite show!”

A black-haired young woman with gleaming blue eyes chimed before turning to set up the TV behind her. The man she was reprimanding, a tall, thin, scrawny, and bald fellow, quickly plastered on a smile.

“Welcome, Goddess. We’ve been waiting all month for the moon to disappear.”

The third of the group, one whose gender was unclear, dropped to their knees in respect. With pinkish lips and long hair that covered half their face, their meek voice piled on with, “We hope we’re able to rightfully entertain you and your following this month too, Goddess.”

Dawn stepping out of the veil, revealed herself to them. Eyes cast to the ground, fearful of what would happen if they gazed upon her ethereal presence, they prayed in her ancient tongue.

Pleased, Dawn snapped her fingers, revealing the rest of the undead.

“You have your work cut out for you.” Dawn joked in her language. “My following has doubled since last time.”

“We can see that, Goddess.” Maria, the black-haired woman breathed out nervously.

“Rest assured, we’re up for it!” Dax, the tall man exclaimed.

Ash brushed their hair to the side, counting the heads rolling off on shoulders or dangling off broken necks. “13 is no feat, Goddess.”

Dawn smiled, showing little beads of porcelain teeth.  

“Are you ready for me, then?”

Maria jumped, not expecting to be singled out. “Y-yes, Goddess,” she stuttered, gesturing grandly at the chair.

Gracefully, Dawn stepped up to her throne and slowly sat down. She hummed, pleased that her human followers had kept it clean, comfortable, and unbothered. 

Maria nodded, now turning to turn on Dawn’s favorite show; the one thing on Earth she indulged in. While they were bothersome mortals, she didn’t mind confessing that this show was a guilty pleasure of hers.

As she sat there taking in the scenes unfolding on the screen opposite her, Maria, Dax, and Ash took to entertaining her followers. Whatever they desired, the three humans would grant them.

Knowledge. Companionship. Blood. Flesh. Conversation. Sex.

It didn’t matter.

The friends knew it would be worth it in the end.

Perhaps not now. Perhaps not for years to come. But when death came knocking at their doors, they’d be joining their Goddess for strolls under moonless nights. 

That was devotion. That was loyalty.

[milenadelgadolaborde]

Hunger games 2: catching fire: Reaction-Thoughts-Discussion

[BEWARE THE SPOILERS!!!!]

Alright book munchers- we’re back for more heartache and tears with catching fire

Published: 2009 - Spoilers ahead!

Honestly what I remember from this book is the clock design of the arena which was super sick, Finnick obvi, more Peeta (yay), a little too much Gale for my tastes, loathing Snow, and the end (of the movie at least) - Oh and Cinna getting attacked by Savages! Before the game starts

Let’s get munchin!

——

Part 1: the spark

Ch1:

First line: “I clasp the flask between my hands even though the warmth from the tea has long since leached into the frozen air.”

The first book also started out by referencing the cold and a lack of warmth so that’s interesting

“I’m staring into the snakelike eyes of President Snow.”

I already hate this guy but the snakes thing seems like a connection to the title of the newest book - he keeps getting compared to snakes throughout the next scene

—-

Ch2:

“The smell of roses and blood has grown stronger now that only a desk separates us.”

Gods this man is so disturbing

—-

“Whatever problems anyone may have with the Capitol, believe me when I say that if it released its grip on the districts for even a short time, the entire system would collapse.”

Fucking let it then!

“so I flinch when he (Snow) whispers in my ear. “By the way, I know about the kiss.”

Why does he have to be so creepy?!

——

Ch3:

“The smell of blood . . . it was on his (Snow) breath.”

Absolutely disgusting // absolutely revolting

—-

“but underneath all that, I can feel the steadiness that Peeta brings to everything.”

He’s just the best for you girl

——-

Ch4:

“Given all the trouble I’ve caused, I’ve probably guaranteed any child of mine a spot in the Games.”

Awful- it’s gonna be a no from me man

——

“I hadn’t thought about it much, but in the arena at least some of the boys got to keep their body hair whereas none of the girls did.”

I didn’t pick up on this during the first book but I did mention how awful it was that they basically force the tributes into a fashion show before they fight to the death and to think of them actually doing things that would make it harder for the tributes to survive even if it’s something minimal like body hair that protects your skin etc.

like it’s so disturbing bc it’s already awful to have this group of kids killing each other but the people in charge being like “Oh and they have to look hot while they die” It’s so fucking wrong!!!

——-

“As usual, a special platform has been constructed at the bottom of the stage for the families of the dead tributes.”

So not only do these families have to watch their kids get murdered on screen for entertainment but they also months later have to stand in public and congratulate their murderers? Absolutely sickening

——

Ch5:

My poor babies - I want them to get together but not forced together like this

——

Ch6:

“The party, held in the banquet room of President Snow’s mansion, has no equal.”

I hate this man and his fucking opulence

——

“And here in the Capitol they’re vomiting for the pleasure of filling their bellies again and again.”

On top of it all to be presented with all these rich people who have so much to eat that they literally make themselves throw up several times just to keep gorging themselves on food while the districts starve - Unacceptable- honestly unacceptable// I’m surprised there hasn’t been more revolts

——

Ch 7:

I truly understand Gale because it’s not hard to see why he’s pissed at what the capitol has done to them and why he wants to fight back. I think he’s absolutely right.

I also notice though that every interaction Kat has with Gale seems to leave her frantic and panicked when every time she’s with Peeta she seems calmer and a little more at ease.

—-

Ch8:

“Life in District 12 isn’t really so different from life in the arena. At some point, you have to stop running and turn around and face whoever wants you dead.”

——-

Ch9:

“I have chosen Gale and the rebellion, and a future with Peeta is the Capitol’s design, not mine.”

“I can’t let the Capitol hurt Prim. And then it hits me. They already have.”

———

Part 2: the quell

Ch10:

Ch11:

The threat of constant surveillance is unimaginably exhausting - very big brother

No me gusta

—-

Ah the mystery of the famed District 13

—-

Ch12:

“Whoever devised the Quarter Quell system had prepared for centuries of Hunger Games.”

Absolutely disgusting and awful - gods this series hits my heart and soul // it’s too cruel man

——-

Ch13:

They don’t even let her say goodbye??? This is so twisted!

—-

Ch14:

Ch15:

I already love Johanna and Finnick

——-

“Our new Avox is Darius.”

The cruelty of this Snow guy knows no bounds

——

Ch16:

“As I watch the procession to the City Circle, I think how it’s bad enough that they dress us all up in costumes and parade us through the streets in chariots on a regular year.”

—-

“Johanna Mason is naked again”

😂

——

Katniss making the Seneca Crane dummy = iconic

——

Ch17:

““I just want to spend every possible minute of the rest of my life with you,” Peeta replies.”

My heart ❤️ No puedo mas

““I wish I could freeze this moment, right here, right now, and live in it forever,” he says.”

——-

“It’s so barbaric, the president turning my bridal gown into my shroud,”

Snow putting Kat in a wedding dress for the interview = evil + atrocious

“Cinna has turned me into a mockingjay.” =iconic

——-

Ch18:

““Maybe I’d think that, too, Caesar,” says Peeta bitterly, “if it weren’t for the baby.””

Le Gasp! This Man!!!! I C O N I C

Always with the interview plot twists! I love him!

—-

“By the time the anthem plays its final strains, all twenty-four of us stand in one unbroken line in what must be the first public show of unity among the districts since the Dark Days.”

Ey Snow, you done fucked up. What exactly were you trying to accomplish with this quell? Like all you did was make ppl more pissed off. Big Yikes

And not him having Kat witness Cinna getting beaten right before she goes up into the arena man - why is he so evil?!

—-

Part 3: the enemy

Ch19: 😬

Ch20:😬😬

Ch21:😬😬😬

Ch22:

““No, wait,” says Finnick. “Let’s do it together. Put our faces right in front of his.””

The fact that this man made me laugh while all this horror is going on ❤️❤️

——

““Tick, tock. This is a clock.””

Iconic design to this arena

—-

Ch23:

Ch24: 😢😢😢

Ch25:

Ch26:

Ch27:

Oh no, not Peeta - omg I don’t remember this // what will they do to him?

Fuck what an ending! Next. Next. Next.

[cutepastelstarsalior]

Clone high season 2 live blogging

Episode 6

:( the dinner is going to be sold

Yeah I can see why some people don’t like the dinner because of the racial segregation….

Did some guy just buy to eat the dead wife????

👀 disabled Joan!??? Let’s goooooo!!!!! Detective Joan!!!! Awe cute Joan had a cat <3

“Psylly legs is build up nostalgia the legs get psylly”

….So Joan is just stimming???? (I thought she’d had restless leg syndrome)

If people bullied Joan because of her medical stuff, why didn’t Joan help Ghandi when people hated on him for his adhd? Also man does this town have an ableist history…..

Blood pack!!!!! Same big mood with the doctor not handling blood 😩

Yay Joan’s weird French films!!!! DAVID FUCKING TENNANT???!!!!!! <3 ohmgggg I love him as 10

Heyyy trash Mandy Moore lady is back!! :0

Did I meant I love the colors in this show? I do…

Noooooo jfk cheating on Joan? Wait…or not? Hmmm I feel like kissing another girl is bad…..FUCK is this is Total Drama and the Bridgette and Geoff scene >:( damn it!!! (Yes I know that they are 2 different shows but listen……hyperfixation™️ also my mom thought CH was TD lol)

Yay jfk and Harriet told Joan the truth….oh no Joan is going through so many emotions and drinking :0 hmmm 👀 (idk why but the little montage of Joan going rapid through different emotions feels like something bpd???)

Episode 7

Confucius parents took his sister to Bali but not him :( awwww his family didn’t care if he got lost in the dessert. Man Confucius family sucks, no wonder he tried to hard to be popular online, he just wanted attention :(

:( Abe and Joan army friends anymore noooo. Damn. Abe lost Joan and Ghandi, this dude is going through it….

My favorite background clone is Cathrine the Great, I think her design is so cute <3

The bus crash and now JFK brain is bigger….i think you have internal bleeding there bud…

“As a woke straight male ally let me put my lips on this unconscious black women to show how woke and straight I am” ……..topher bud….

Why is George Washtion Clever peanut man getting bigger??

Mr b using a short to cover his head <3

Ew why is jfk vice like that….

“Lo-fi haunted ghost screams” 👀

Smart jfk…Joan taking the lead. I feel like something bad will happen OR this is a dream.

:0 DJ Mr b!!!!!!

Cannibal dessert zombies….. scary!!

JFK calling people darling is cute :) <3

If jfk brain is smarter while in hot weather/if he’s overheating why didn’t this happen when he’s in the gym or doing sports? 👀

Smart jfk face : ☺️🫤

The husbands trying to snort each other 😏👀

Arroyo are gully in southwestern us….meaning the clone home is somewhere between Texas and California….

Joan wants someone who is emotionally intelligent and emotionally available….she and Abe become friends again……I’m guess they’ll end up together?

Episode 8

Oh snap they actually broke up! Also they co-own a tortoise? Cute

..,,,making the whole school sexual……😬 interesting…

“Where do you want the seaman to drop their load”

“For starters in my mouth” HA….🫵🤨 I know what you are doc

Frida having a crush on Cleo! Was not expecting that…Cleo doing her weird flirting again…was DEFINITELY not expecting that….

Harriet x Confucius is a cute ship….their such nerds <3

😬😬😬 the teacher flirting with Abe…:ma’am that not ok

“Virginity is a social construct” asexual Abe real!!!!!!!

I was going to say seaman I love you but I realize that sounds absolutely horrible out of context….

Singing pirates I love you and you talking about lgbt identity..

Topher the pirates thing you’re into Abe….. 👀

JOAN DONT PUT THE TOURTISE IN THE WATER JOAAAAAANNNNNNN!!!!!!! Oh thank goodness Abe rescued the pet

“It’s ok if a minor and a teacher are together” not the fuck it’s not lady!!! Topher why are you filming this???? Call the police????? Topher please 😬😬

Oh thank god she dead. But ahhhhhhhh still hella uncomfortable!!!!!!!!!

The “statutory-rape-death-by-orgasm situation is very troubling” MR B WITH THE FACTS!!!!!!

“So we’re not telling the police?” You can Mr b! Please call the police. Mr b I love you so much for looking out for the students.

Topjer blackmailing Abe because he (topher) is into Joan…..🤨🤨 are you topher?? Are you really??

One one hand, I’m like this is a stupid subplot, Abe just tell Joan how you feel who care about topher and his blackmail. But on the other hand, this situation kind of feels realistic? Like a weird way to talk about victim blaming?

Oh thank god something positive in this shit show….yippie Cleo and Frida got together!!!

Joan underwater with the emotional music…her screaming underwater…..cinema™️ :) Joan and jfk having a nice talk :)…:noooo rip Shelly the tortoise

Background gay couple yay :)

Episode 9

Noooo the husbands are fighting AGAIN….oh yay Joan and Mr b time!!!

Omg Mr b lore!!!!

He has a human twin brother??? HES RELIGIOUS????? Oh snap biracial Mr b 👀

Wait nevermind…. Awww Mr b didn’t know he was a robot :( and nether did his twin

:( noooooooo!!!!!!!! He left his brother 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

OH MY FUCKING GOD Mr b was a sex worker

Noooo Mr b please contact your brother!!!!!

Awew yay Mr b life getting better!!! :0 he got married!!!

Noooo his wife cheated on his and his son wasn’t biological his!!! :(

YES!!!! The twins reunited!!! :0 awew he’s an uncle now!!! Wow 2 nices and 2 nephews!!

NOOOOOOOOOOO HES BROTHER DIED!!!!!!

👀 Mr b was an actor!!!!

🥺 awww he thinks of Joan as his daughter!!!!!!

NO MR B DONT DO IT!!!!!!!!

Oh thank god doc saved him!!!!!!! 🥺

Oh my goddd…..the cliff!!! The choices!!!!!!!

THETE FAMILY AND HE CRIED!!!!

Favorite episode!!!!!!!!

Episode 10

Oh thank god, it’s the last one!!!!

Ponce’s dad is back!!! :)

It’s the last day of the school year…the teens are 16, so there sophomores???

Clone high college :0 oh!!! I was wonder what would happen to the senior class!!

West Dakota?????

Since the sisters didn’t make it into the death maze, do they life? Get immediate killed? I forgot that the government is trying to groom the most successful clones. So I guess this is a survival of the fittest….and since the OG clones were from the first project, this is a very new things. (Trying to make a mental timeline thing.)

The four amgias….

NOOOOO VINCENT DIED (maybe not?)

4 boys who are friends-ish

4 girls who are friends

Battle of the sexist 👀

Also both groups are the main cast….ok not topher he’s more of a side character…but still..

Yay Abe and jfk friendship :)

Ok so this is my 2 favorite episode.

This gives me minor hunger games vibes. The whole government watching kids fight to the death part; not the trying to stop the government and corrupt dystopia part…

Oh hey! That weird one type flute thing, forgot about that! :)

Frida has 2 different shoelaces :)

Joan leaving the group because Frida chose her girlfriend over Joan. I mean, that understanding to be angry, but I don’t think she should leave the group….

Yessss jfk breaking topher phone!! :) now Abe won’t be blackmail anymore!!!

Gay energy jfk x Abe

Lone wolf Joan….hmm maybe she is the most powerful/sussefual clone they made? 👀

Joan setting traps to capture her friends!!!! She IS the most dangerous clone!!!

Ok Joan keeps putting people into holes, either she doing that so she the only one to hit the button and go to college OR she doing that to save everyone from the death maze?

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHJHH Joan foster mom standing by Joan, using her daughter and grooming her to be the next leader!!! AHHHHHH I love it!!!!!!! Sidhaisn

!!!!!!!!! Them using the clones as backups!!!! Me think how it was weird that the government would let a clone die so easily!!! They won’t!!!!! The government controlling them to be successful puppets!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! The angst, and tension!!! The betrayal!!!!! Love it!!!!!

👀🥺 doc think of the clones as his children!!!!!!

They lost their memories!!! But Joan giving it back!! Her caring about her friends!!!!

Oh my god the stupid little hands gesture!!!!!! <3

….

That’s it??? THATS the ending? The mother showing everyone what Joan did during the death maze? And everyone being anger at her?

Ok, I feel like the twist to that, if there a season 3 is that her friends will forgive her.

Ok! Thought time!!!!

Ok, the fist half of this so is ROUGH! Like it has an idea (government wanting to groom the kids to be a successful leader) but the comedy and drama got a bit out of hand for the plot. I think want to say around 7-8 is when the show gets more, lore like? Or as close to plot as possible.

This season is VERY Joan centric. It gave her SO much character development. At first I thought it wouldn’t work, it made Joan feel like one of those not like other girls, and loser girl gets popular troupe. The whole love triangle with jfk and Abe was a bit rough. It was weird that Joan decided to be with jfk, after sleeping with him on prom night. But I guess since Abe was with Cleo and Abe only paying attention to Joan after she change herself, it make a TINY bit of scene.

The writing try to make it seems like Joan still loves Abe with that sexual dream she had, but I feel like after that episode, it wasn’t brought up again until episode 7. When Joan wanted jfk to be more emotionally invested in her. Also the whole Abe being in love with Joan? Also the random Abe getting mistreated it felt…..odd?

As for the other characters; out of the OG cast (Abe, ghandi, Joan, Cleo, jfk) only jfk had some character development. At first he was sexual with some emotional intelligence (when he comforts Joan at prom, him and Abe talking in the thinking dock, the whole ponce situation)….in season 2 he was more sexual with some minor emotional scene. I feel like episode 7-10 is were jfk is the most emotionally here.

Cleo….she basically only has 2 episodes for her character development. Episode 4, and Episode 7-8. In episode 4, she gets the crown and gets power hungry, after Joan apologizes to Cleo, she and Joan become friends-ish. In season 1 Cleo and Joan spend a lot of time together, because their parents were dating. They mostly argue but were friends-enemy? So Season 2 feel both a continuation of their season 1 relationship AND just a way to re-write Joan and Cleo relationship.

As for the other episodes? It basically her and Frida because friends to lovers. To be honest while the ship is cute, I wish it was more slow burn?

As for the new clones Harriet and Confusious. I’m mixed. Togher they make a cute couple. But separately I like them more as individuals. Harriet is the most developed out of the 3 new clones. She was awkward and a bit anxious (I think?) around episode 1, then as the show progressed she only hang around Frida, then she became closer friends with Joan. In episode 5 it’s really were Harriet feels the most….developing? She gets angry and worried over feeling Joan about how she feeling about the play! But she expresses herself and that cool!! She also has a weird little friendship with Frida, the 2 of them make a weird little group.

Confusions. At first I didn’t like, he was just a random guy who I hate his outfit. By episode 5, he gets some personal! He wants to have people pay attention to him! And by episode 6- 7, that when you know I bit more about him! He has a rich family who ignores him! His family likes his sister more and seem to emotionally neglect him. He’s a bit lazy and like to go with the flow and not have to work.But besides that…..I can’t think of anything else to say?

Frida. She’s…..there. She hangs out with Abe and Joan and Cleo sometimes. She paints, skateboards, and is the most popular girl in school. Besides that? There not a lot of info about her. It seems like this season had a few too many characters so they made Frida fade into the background…

At first I hate the new Joan new mom. (Candid? I can’t remember her name) I felt like she was a random character that didn’t need to be there. I felt like she was just there to replace the doc and just be annoying? But as the show progressed she was more of a background character that was silly. As for the final; I feel that were she shines the most!! Her wanting her foster daughter to rule the world, that idea is so cool!!!!! I love how she talk to Joan, how proud she was, and how she was going to use the clones as backup or to try to make them more perfect!!! She’s a character a feel like could work If she wasn’t stuck in a comedy.

My b my beloved <3

Topher is a dick. Hate how he blackmails Abe and try to push him and the gross teacher thing. Hate hate the show decided to do that. Like man!! If topper was really into Joan and wanted to blackmail Abe he could have done it a different way!!!!

The humor in this show….don’t feel there? I had like, a few chuckles but that was mostly because from the Doc. Or like from physical gags like the slow float or the couch catching on fire. The animation is fluid and I could see it like, a few times. The colors are a bit brights but I love the background!!! As for the voice acting….its a hit or miss.

5/10

Very Rough start but love the final 3 episodes.

[vivithefolle]

I just wanna ask, and don’t get mad at me cause I’m genuinely curious, how do you stan Ron? Like, I like him, but he is definitely misogynistic (slut shaming Ginny, treating hermione like she owes him something and being mad that she kissed someone years before, always objectifying Fleur, and acting like girls who aren’t pretty aren’t worth much). Like, by DH I feel like he definitely has mostly grown out of it, but still 6/7 books he’s kinda unbearable IMO

how do you stan Ron? 

Like this:

OH MY GOD HAVE YOU SEEN. HAVE YOU SEEN HIM DID YOU SEE MY BABY OH MY GOD. WHEN HARRY’S ARM HAD GONE KABLOOIE BECAUSE OF LOCKHART AND HE. RON. HE WAS. HELPING HIM GET DRESSED???? OH MY GOD BABY???? HHHHNNNNGGGG. AND. AND. AND ALSO WHEN HE. OMG. WHEN HE WAS PUTTING FOOD ON HIS FRIENDS’ PLATES LIKE. MOM FRIEND ALERT MOM FRIEND ALERT MOM FRIEND ALERT. AND THE WAY HE’S ALWAYS BLUSHING AND BEING EMBARRASSED AT THE SLIGHTEST PRAISE BUT ALSO HE’S SO DESPERATELY SEEKING IT BUT HE KNOWS HE CAN’T TAKE IT AND EEK EEK EEK THAT’S SO CUTE SOMEONE HOLD ME IT’S ADORABLE RONALD WEASLEY YOU ARE SO GOING TO BE THE DEATH OF ME IT’S ILLEGAL TO BE THIS CUTE!!!!

Ok and then.

he is definitely misogynistic 

No. And here’s why.

slut shaming Ginny 

Yes, that was wrong. And guess what, that’s also something he probably - scratch that, definitely - picked up from his mother. And also his brothers, recall how Fred and George too don’t like to see Ginny go around with boys. There’s also something to recall: Ron was there when Ginny was taken into the Chamber of Secrets and learned later that it was because she had trusted an older guy. You seriously wouldn’t be paranoid about who your sister dates after that? It was wrong. Yeah. And he more than learned his lesson when Ginny clapped back by virgin-shaming him and basically told him that he was childish because he hadn’t have a relationship yet. So would that make Ginny sexist too? Or is it just for Ron?

treating hermione like she owes him something 

..................... uuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhh... when? When the fuck did anything like that happen?

He made a prat of himself at the Yule Ball, that much is obvious. But he didn’t tell her anything like “you should be with me” or didn’t insinuate anything of the sort. He was a jealous bitch but kept attacking Krum, not Hermione.

If you mean in sixth year when he treated her with “icy, sneering indifference” for the course of two weeks, yeah that was bad but that’s not “treating her like she owes him something”, the fuck?

being mad that she kissed someone years before 

Yeah. I know. And that was bad, ooooh you got me to admit Ron did bad stuff, that’s what you want to see, right? And I reckon he was also mad that she hid it from him, and that he had to learn it from his sister of all people. We see Ron handles what he considers betrayals terribly. I have some meta discussing the possibility that he has a form of Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria.

always objectifying Fleur 

Um... no, he doesn’t. He makes a stupid comment about her once in GOF then stops. Let’s also fucking remember that Fleur is a Veela, she literally makes guys stare at her as part of her powers!! I’m not blaming her because she’s literally born that way, but you can’t blame someone who is under magical compulsion either.

acting like girls who aren’t pretty aren’t worth much 

So tell me why he was friends with Hermione then?

Because Hermione wasn’t Emma Watson the super hawt sexy model goddess. Hermione was Mrs Generic. Until this once at the Yule Ball when she got the pretty princess perfect Mary Sue makeover but then stopped because she had to remain ~relatable uwu~.

Again. Ron made stupid sexist comments. But it’s actively shown that he doesn’t follow up on them. If he did indeed live by the motto “girls who aren’t pretty aren’t worth much”, explain to me why he wasn’t simping and drooling all over Padma Patil who is explicitly stated to be one of the prettiest girls at school when she was his date? Why exactly did he ignore her and was a miserable twat the whole evening instead of basking in the joy of having snagging a girl that was “worth it”? Well surprise, it’s because HE ACTUALLY ISN’T LIKE THAT AND WHAT HE SAYS IS MAYBE SHIT HIS “COOL OLDER BROTHERS” SAY AND HE THINKS THAT BY EXTENSION IT WOULD MAKE HIM COOL TO REPEAT IT. MIMETISM, THAT'S BASIC FUCKING HUMAN PSYCHOLOGY FOR FUCKING TODDLERS MY FUCKING GOD.

Like, by DH I feel like he definitely has mostly grown out of it, 

............

...................................

...............................................................

so. so why. so why wouldn’t you. use that. as a reason. to stan him.

like.

fuck all the “hurr durr ron weasley the boy who made it out of the friendzone!!!!” bullshit, let’s start going with “Ron Weasley, the Boy who became a Man, and not one of those 'uugghh im such an alpha male’ ones but one that’s got the balls to say ‘hey love, I’ve got an idea, what if you kept doing that job you love and feel passionate about while I support you and do the majority of the childcare while also working a smaller job on the side so we’re never short on money’“

Why you people gotta be “yeah I like Ron BUTT” when you know full-well this fucking awful fandom will rake him over hot coals over the slightest mistake he does - worse, will actively go out of their way to interpret his positive moments in the most negative way possible??? Fuck off with that bullshit. Ron dared to say bad stuff omygah big deal, he was forgiven for it all and you’re just all cowards looking to feel “pure” by telling yourself “oh yeah but he was problematic once uwu”. FUCK. THAT. NOISE.

but still 6/7 books he’s kinda unbearable IMO 

And IMO he’s not, funny how that works

So.

I guess it’s impossible to stan Ron because he was problematic uwu.

Ok.

Then I hereby decree that it’s impossible to stan Hermione Granger because:

“I’ll bet you wish you hadn’t given up Divination now, don’t you, Hermione?” asked Parvati, smirking. [...] “Not  really,”  said  Hermione  indifferently,  who  was  reading  the  Daily Prophet. “I’ve never really liked horses.” She turned a page of the newspaper, scanning its columns. “He’s not a horse, he’s a centaur!” said Lavender, sounding shocked. “A gorgeous centaur . . .” sighed Parvati. “Either  way,  he’s  still  got  four  legs,”  said  Hermione  coolly.  “Any-way, I thought you two were all upset that Trelawney had gone?” - Order of the Phoenix, ch 27

wow casual use of a racial slur yay!!! A+

And it’s also forbidden to stan Harry Potter either since:

It was raining hard now, and she was nowhere to be seen. He simply did not understand what had happened; half an hour ago they had been getting along fine. “Women!”  he  muttered  angrily,  sloshing  down  the  rain-washed  street with his hands in his pockets. “What did she want to talk about Cedric  for  anyway?  Why  does  she  always want to drag up a subject that makes her act like a human hosepipe?” - Order of the Phoenix, ch 25

and

“Harry! There you are, thank goodness! Hi, Luna!”  “What’s  happened  to  you?”  asked  Harry,  for  Hermione  looked  distinctly  disheveled,  rather  as  though she had just fought her way out of a thicket of Devil’s Snare.  “Oh,  I’ve  just  escaped  —  I  mean,  I’ve  just  left  Cormac,”  she  said.  “Under  the  mistletoe,”  she  added in explanation, as Harry continued to look questioningly at her.  “Serves you right for coming with him,” he told her severely.  “I thought he’d annoy Ron most,” said Hermione dispassionately. “I debated for a while about Zacharias Smith, but I thought, on the whole —”  “You considered Smith?” said Harry, revoked. - Half-Blood Prince

Victim-blaming! Nice Harry, nice. Always classy.

Ok, Ginny stanning is already cancelled because she virgin-shamed Ron, right, so who’s left, who’s left... ah yeah:

“There you go,” said Fred proudly. “Best range of love potions you’ll find anywhere.” - Half-Blood Prince

Selling date rape drugs proudly ouh là là. Bye Fred.

"Do they work?” she asked.  “Certainly they work, for up to twenty-four hours at a time depending on the weight of the boy in question...”  “...and the attractiveness of the girl,” said George, reappearing suddenly at their side. “But we’re not  selling  them  to  our  sister,”  he  added,  becoming  suddenly  stern,  “not  when  she’s  already  got  about five boys on the go from what we’ve...”  “Whatever you’ve heard from Ron is a big fat lie,” said Ginny calmly, leaning forward to take a small pink pot off the shelf.

Assuming that only girls use love potions, and only on boys. Men never rape in JKR’s world, only women do, you heard it from George Weasley here folks, I’m just passing on the message. Ah and I hope you’re also starting the Fred And George Hate Club given how he’s also slut-shaming Ginny.

“What’s this?”  “Guaranteed  ten-second  pimple  vanisher,”  said  Fred.  “Excellent  on  everything  from  boils  to  blackheads,  but  don’t  change  the  subject.  Are  you  or  are  you  not  currently  going  out  with  a  boy  called Dean Thomas?” “Yes, I am,” said Ginny. “And last time I looked, he was definitely one boy, not five. What are those?”  She  was  pointing  at  a  number  of  round  balls  of  fluff  in  shades  of  pink  and  purple,  all  rolling  around the bottom of a cage and emitting high-pitched squeaks.  “Pygmy  Puffs,”  said  George.  “Miniature  puffskeins,  we  can’t  breed  them  fast  enough.  So  what  about Michael Corner?”  “I  dumped  him,  he  was  a  bad  loser,”  said  Ginny,  putting  a  finger  through  the  bars  of  the  cage  and watching the Pygmy Puffs crowd around it. “They’re really cute!”  “They’re  fairly  cuddly,  yes,”  conceded  Fred.  “But  you’re  moving  through  boyfriends  a  bit  fast,  aren’t you?”  Ginny turned to look at him, her hands on her hips. There was such a Mrs. Weasley-ish glare on her face that Harry was surprised Fred didn’t recoil.  “It’s none of your business. And I’ll thank you” she added angrily to Ron, who had just appeared at George’s elbow, laden with merchandise, “not to tell tales about me to these two!”

Ah, good on you for defending yourself, Ginny, but remember, Ginny stanning is prohibited because she’s been problematic in the past and is gonna be problematic in the future and that’s baaaaaaad. Careful kids, don’t get ideas. It’s problematic to like people who’ve done problematic things.

So I guess nobody can like anything or anyone now. Sorry guys. Liking things is evil, what if the thing you liked had, OR USED TO HAVE, *gasp* flaws, can’t take that risk, ohmygah.

[onesillybeach]

New Beginnings Ch. 18

F!Reader x Liu Kang/Kung Lao

This one is short and I'm so sorry. Please don't hate me. Also, yay Helena cameo~ But also, aw, Helena cameo ;-;

@ancientowlgirl @poor-unfortunate-soul-85 @shang-hung

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 *15 16 *17

You two hadn’t had sex. You’d made out. You’d talked. You’d made out some more. You’d talked some more. You’d fallen asleep with Liu in his bed. His light snores had lulled you to sleep comfortably. Finally, relaxed.

You’d woken up the next morning when Liu had shifted. You felt his lips on your forehead and smiled before opening your eyes to look at him.

“Good morning,” Liu said softly.

“Sure is,” you said, then returned the kiss, but to his lips.

“Didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s alright.”

“Did you want to train with me this morning?”

Yes. You did… But you trained with Lao in the morning. And today was supposed to be Lao’s day with you as well. If you ditched him for Liu… You didn’t want to think what would happen. But, instead of telling Liu that, you shook your head and snuggled under his covers, inhaling his scent. “I’m gonna sleep a bit more. I’ll see you at breakfast?”

He grinned and nodded as he got out of bed. “Take your time,” he told you, grabbing his gi-top from the floor and tossing it into a basket. He took another moment to watch you with a smile before stepping out into the hall.

As weird as it was to notice, Raiden had not been acting like himself lately. Him being distant wasn't new. Raiden had seemed to keep a distance between everyone. But as you trained with Kung Lao, you noticed Raiden watching with a solemn expression.

When you finished training, Lao had given you a kiss. Oh, that kiss. It wasn’t a simple kiss. No. You’d learned that Lao wasn’t a fan of giving you those little pecks. When he kissed you, he did so with purpose. He’d held your face. His lips engulfed you. That alone could be all the encouragement you needed to train harder. As he pulled away, your smile brought him to smile in return. You could tell the kiss encouraged him as well. It was a reward for both of you. But instead of following him to Breakfast, you told him you would catch up later.

You watched Lao walk off… watched his ass a bit selfishly, then turned your attention towards Raiden. He was watching you.

You gave him a respectful bow.

He gave you a bow of his head.

"Lord Raiden," you addressed as you approached him. "Are you alright?"

He raised his brows to you. "Of course I am, Y/F/N."

"You don't look it," you pressed.

Raiden took in a stiff breath. "I assure you, I am fine."

"You can't lie to a nurse," you told him. "We know better."

That got a little chuckle from him. "You are quite observant."

"I was trained for it."

"I suppose you were."

"So what's bothering you? Is it me? Am I not training hard enough?"

"You are doing well."

“The kiss? Was that awkward for you?”

“No.”

"Then what is it?"

Raiden sighed. His glowing eyes shifted away from you. "Your issue has painfully reminded me of my own."

"Of the person you loved?" You’d remembered.

"I still love," he corrected you.

"Didn't you say it's been like five-hundred years?"

He nodded.

"They're… still alive?"

"...No.”

"Oh..." You weren’t sure what to say.

Raiden sucked in another breath. You could tell this was difficult for him to talk about. "She was killed in a tournament."

"What was her name?"

Raiden frowned a bit. "Helena Morana," he'd breathed.

You blinked at him. "A human?"

He nodded.

"What was she like?"

“Just and selfless. She used her magic to help others, even myself.”

"She was a witch?"

“A sorceress.”

"Like Shang Tsung?"

Raiden frowned. "No. Not like Shang Tsung. Shang Tsung is a snake corrupted by evil… Helena Morana… My Helena… Was once a beacon of light and hope for me." As Raiden stared at you, you could tell he was hurting. You could see the pain in his eyes. He wanted to say something else, but no words came from his lips. You frowned to him.

"You are concerned for me?" Raiden asked, now amused.

You nodded. "She must have meant a lot to you.”

“She still does.”

You were quiet then. The way he spoke of Helena, as if she still existed, made you wonder. He must have read your mind again, because he chuckled and nodded. He then offered you his arm. You took it carefully despite your confusion. He began to lead you through the halls.

"What do you know of Mortal Kombat's history?" He asked you curiously.

You cringed. History was never your forte. You barely passed your history classes in highschool. And you honestly didn't remember much of what Liu had told you. You blew out your cheeks.

"Ah." Raiden nodded, not at all disappointed. "It is a complicated history. Do not worry."

"Liu told me all kinds of things. I just…" You made a vague motion with your free hand.

"It is alright. You are being forced to learn much in little time."

"Yeah…" You frowned despite Raiden's understanding.

"He did not mention my Helena?" He asked.

You shook your head. “I don’t think so. I know he told me about a bunch of people, but I think I would have remembered your girlfriend. It’s kind of… odd.” He lifted a brow to you then. You quickly tried to explain yourself. “I mean. You don’t usually hear about gods falling in love with humans… Except for like, Greek mythology.”

Raiden laughed. A good laugh. But he said nothing as he continued to lead you through the halls. Eventually, they grew totally unfamiliar. You'd never seen this part of the temple, but you knew you were deep in. The air smelled different… musty.

Raiden stopped before a large wooden door and turned to look at you. "Prepare yourself. I know mortals are rather uncomfortable with what rests behind this door.” And before you could answer, the door had opened and revealed to you the source of that musty smell.

Tombs. Catacombs. Hundreds--No, thousands— of bodies were at rest, lined neatly along the walls, dressed in robes. Most of them were nothing but skeletons now. Some seemed mummified. You quickly realised who these people were as you stepped in: Monks. Your brows knotted. Why had Raiden brought you here? And why weren’t you grossed out?

Probably because you’d seen your fair share of disgusting things. Being a nurse wasn’t all bandaids and booster shots.

“Come,” Raiden said, pulling you from your head. You turned to see him walking further into the catacombs. You quickly followed. “Those who perish in my service, do not go forgotten,” Raiden said.

“Are all of these people… Did they all serve you?”

“Yes,” he simply answered. The further he led you, the more you were grateful he was there to guide you. The catacombs were an absolute maze.

“This place is insane…” You whispered as you looked from one body to the next.

“Those here are only the ones who wished to be here… or had no other place to go.”

You turned your head to look up at him.

“You may be put to rest here as well, if you choose.”

Your jaw stiffened. You were sure Raiden meant that as a simple offer, and not a warning of what was to come. “Thanks…” You said. “But… I don’t think I’d match the dress code.” Joke. Humor. Always when awkwardness hit.

Raiden glanced to you. “There is no dress code.”

Maybe he just didn’t understand that it was a joke. “The robes… And the… bones. I think I’d look too fresh.” Oh, God, what was wrong with you? You weren’t a slab of meat! “I mean—”

“They were not all just bones and robes when they entered here.”

“No, I… I guess so. I just… I’m sorry. You just threw me a curve ball and I wasn’t expecting it.”

“Ah,” He nodded.

You must have followed Raiden for several more minutes before you began to notice a change. Some of the bodies wore armor instead of robes. Were those… fighters? Former Earthrealm defenders? Wait, if those ones were here… “You’re taking me to her, aren’t you?”

Raiden let a small grin pull his lips.

“How did she die?” you asked. “I know you said in a tournament, but… how?”

“Shang Tsung defeated her. He took her soul.”

The catacombs had twisted and turned the whole way so far, but Raiden now led you into a large, circular room. The walls were lined with more remains, all in different clothing. Some with beautiful armor, some in simple clothing. One section of a wall in particular caught your eye. Nine bodies, each with their own burning incense, were lined up on their own shelves. And the shelves and remains themselves were neat and clean. Stepping closer to them, you could hardly see a speck of dirt nor dust on either of them. It was such a stark contrast to the rest of the bodies in the room, and in the rest of the catacombs, where the bodies had mostly seemed left alone. But these nine seemed actively taken care of. Why?

“Kung Lao’s ancestors,” Raiden answered your curiosity.

Lao’s ancestors. Nine of them? Surely there were more...

“This room is for Earthrealm’s former defenders,” Raiden answered your thoughts again.

“So these are all the past Kung Laos?” You asked, stepping back to look them all over as a whole. “Then this one here—” you pointed to the one you figured was the oldest.

“The Great Kung Lao,” Raiden answered. He sighed then and rested his hand on the edge of a raised, open, sarcophagus in the center of the room. “And this is my Helena,” Raiden said slowly, painfully. He wouldn’t even look at his lover’s remains. It was too painful. You looked, though. You couldn’t help yourself. You’d stepped right over and peered down into the stone sarcophagus.

She wore a dark dress. You weren’t sure what color it used to be. She wore simple shoes, not too different from the ones you were offered by the temple. Her hands were folded neatly over her stomach. Her hair was long and black and draped over her shoulders. And you could tell, even with how horribly sunken her face was, how mummified she was, that she used to be pretty… gorgeous even. You frowned at the sight. “She’s beautiful, Lord Raiden,” you said softly.

A small, single sound of disbelief left him. “She is nothing but brittle skin and bone now.”

“Well… Yeah,” Your frown sunk. You supposed it did sound silly to say such a grotesque sight was beautiful. “But… That’s not how you remember her.”

Raiden nodded, then let his grin come back to his face. “No, it is not.”

“She’s beautiful, Lord Raiden,” You repeated.

“She is,” he agreed.

[saintobio]

SUCH A GOOD CHAPTER!! such good writing i am genuinely in awe of u.

like i read your fics when i’m in need of inspo lmao.

i know that this chapter is the calm before a storm and i’m already buying tissues yay🤩🤩

wtf also the person that compares y/n to astrid from crazy rich asians is spot on. there’s a lot of resemblance now that i think about it.

y/n calling sera the mistress gave me so much satisfaction.

and now that it’s confirmed that sera genuinely loves the idea of satoru and not satoru himself, i too will enter the sera haters club.

in any case, take care of yourself, drink lots of water and take all the time you want and thanks for letting everyone see your godly writing. <33

Anonymous said

THIS CHAPTER is def the calm before the storm. g*jo was more affectionate but he’s so selfish and draining mc’s energy. “then don’t do things that’ll make me leave” AHHH im so scared of ch 8 bc IK G*JO IS GONNA BE STUPID i hope he suffers 😃 i hope yn finds happiness after ch 8 bc this chapter really showed how close she is to breaking down + how do anons exceed the word limit?? i always wanna praise u so much more but i never have the space too

Anonymous said

Okay, genius. That ending. You take us high, only to drop us waaaaaaaay down into the pit of pain. I am so torn between hoping for a future with Hoejo and Y/N's self respect.

I read the ask that compared Y/N to Astrid, and I just want Y/N to take a stand for herself and her happiness as well. I mean, romantic love should come secondary to self love and respect (in my regards). So unless there is a huge redemption from Heojo, Y/N is better off being a great wife to some who will actually appreciate her to her face.

I am ready for all the pain and angst that is to follow in the next chapter. Till then, I'll re-read all 7 chaps 😭 But please do take care of yourself. Eat well! sleep well! Update at your comfortable pace. Hope you're having a great day ❤️

on god gojo is rly gonna pull some stupid shit but nothing’s new :// and thanks so much for sending these my loves !! i’m 5 days late w my response i’m sorry 😭😭

[head-empty-only-sunshine]

DJs Got Them Falling in Love

Ch. 7: Distraction

A/N: It's kinda short but the next 3 chapters will make up for that lost word potential lmao. Shit's about to get emotional.

Description: Cin's just tryna do their job. A little distraction comes their way while checking with the Glamrocks, that distraction being DJ. Everyone realizes Cin is softer than they seem, and DJ... Well, he realizes that he may just actually be in love.

Pairing: s/i X DJMM

Word Count: 1343

[Index]

===

It had been a while since Cin’s tough guy attitude had melted down into mere nothingness. The only time they were able to keep up that reputation was in front of literally anyone else, but god forbid they be caught alone with DJ. It was much harder to keep up with when it was just the two of them, and it was almost irritating. No one had been able to break them down like that before, and every day they fought to keep their composure. Unfortunately, it kept slipping. This was their fate now.

No moment was safe. The two of them were attracted like magnets, and found each other in one another’s presence every damn day. Even now as Cin was working with the Glamrocks at the main stage, DJ was slowly making his way over to them. Bothering Cin while they were deeply focused on work was half of his fun anyway.

“Freddy! Mic check please!” Cin ordered.

“You got it, superstar!” Freddy replied, voice booming over the speakers.

“Woah! Jeez, alright, thank you. Good to know I need to turn that down.” They cringed, blinking a little from how loud the volume was. “Alright, next up, Chica! How’s that guitar holding up? Haven’t shredded the strings again yet have ya?”

“Nope~! The new strings you put on have held up this whole time!” Chica exclaimed, shredding a little to give an example.

“Haha! Good to hear then! It sounds in tune too! You’re all set then.”

“Yay! Oh, hey DJ!” Chica said suddenly.

She looked behind Cin and waved, which made them turn around to see that familiar seven foot tall hooligan marching on over to the stage. A groan left their mouth before they dragged their hand down their face, looking directly at him with an expression of annoyance.

“Nu uh. Hell no. You are NOT distracting me today Mr. Music Man!” Cin hollered as he hopped up on stage.

“Aw, what makes you think I’m here to do that~?” He asked innocently.

“Okay. Then why are you here? Hmm?”

“Company of course~” He replied.

“That counts as distracting me, nerd. I’ve gotta get them ready for the show tonight, so if you’re gonna hang around, don’t slow me down.” They groaned, turning back to Chica.

“Cin, are you… flustered by the DJ?” Chica asked.

“Me? Nah. He’s just annoying as hell.” They answered nonchalantly.

“Oh no. They totally are. They’re just being tough for you guys.” DJ snorted.

“Shut it.”

Dj proved his point by reaching out and delivering a brief jab to Cin’s side, eliciting the expected yelp from them. Of course they turned red as a beet and glared at him while Chica snickered. Even the other animatronics noticed and were quite surprised to see how quickly Cin became a lot more tame and less directive just from DJ’s presence alone. It definitely slowed down their work performance, so they grumbled and walked on over to Roxy to distract themselves and get on with the sound check. Dj was left standing there with a sly smirk on his face, but Freddy approached him, curious of the situation.

“Wow. You completely destroyed their composure. They really aren’t as tough as they say, are they~?” Freddy asked DJ.

“Oh hell no. They’re actually the biggest softie ever. They just refuse to admit it.” DJ replied in a loud whisper.

“Yo! Quit jabbering about me while I’m right here!” Cin yelled over their shoulder. “Anyway, play a couple chords for me, Roxy. Gotta make sure your volume isn’t as whacked out as Freddy’s was.”

While Cin and Roxy worked together on individual sound checks, Monty joined in to really preoccupy them and take their mind off of the minor embarrassment they felt. Meanwhile, Chica, Freddy, and Dj all stood together and watched, mumbling to themselves about the recent display of softness that Cin had. None of them had ever seen Cin blush before, so it was a rather hot topic amongst them.

“I’ve never seen Cin so much as blush even when they drink. What on earth have you done to them?” Freddy asked while grinning.

“I couldn’t even tell ya, but it’s cute as hell either way.” DJ answered.

“They’re a tough one to crack. Whatever you did must’ve struck a cord or two within them.” Freddy noted.

Chica gasped loudly, bouncing on the spot. “Ooo! What if… What if it’s love~? DJ, are you in love~?”

He simply stood there while that stupid involuntary glow returned to his cheeks, thinking hard about what Chica said.

“... Is that what this feeling is…” He mumbled; half to himself, and half in reply.

“Oh my god no way~!” Chica squealed. “You totally are~! And I have a sneaking suspicion Cin might be feeling the same way too~”

“One problem, uh… Human. Robot.” DJ said, pointing from Cin to himself.

“Correction: Cyborg. And who cares? Flesh and bone isn’t too different from endo and casing. Open your mind a little. We’re all sentient here.” Chica offered.

She was right. Every animatronic in this facility was revered and respected for their incredible AI and sentience. Most people didn’t even consider them bots anymore, save for a few newbies that always ended up changing their mind after a few weeks of work. Their minds were of their own creation, which honestly… made processing this whole ‘love’ thing a little easier. He thought it wouldn’t be realistic, or even possible, but Chica’s encouragement and weeks of the same weird fuzzy feeling may have just convinced him that it could be possible. His processor kept verging on overheating anyway. Perhaps this news would do him some good.

“You may just be onto something, Chica.” DJ noted.

“She’s usually right.” Freddy laughed. “Don’t ignore it. I think you’ve got a shot. I’ve seen the way they look at you.”

“HEY. Less gossiping, more playing! Get the hell over here Freddy, Chica!” Cin called out, waving them over to center stage.

“Hah, gotta go. Good luck with this one though, my musical friend.” Freddy encouraged.

Freddy and Chica ran off to join the others for a full sound check. Cin barked a few requests over the occasional playing that came from everyone and backed off to the side. They set up their laptop on a mixing stand and gave the cue for them to play something, and started fixing all the levels as they went. Reducing volume here, supporting vocals there, a few effects, and all other sound related things were corrected over the next few minutes. Their hand was pressed hard to their headphones on one side, really trying to hear the music to fix any other minimal errors that may have popped up. While they worked diligently, they briefly looked up from their screen and made eye contact with DJ. He waved at them, and they returned the gesture by flipping him off. There was no need for him to be concerned about that. The dumb little grin that flashed across Cin's features told him everything he needed to know.

DJ stepped back a little while Cin ran a couple more sound checks, leaning on the edge of the stage as he watched. He couldn’t help but remember their flustered expression again, and thought about what Chica said. They definitely let their guard down around him more often, and the probability of it being because they were fond of him was now incredibly high. His fans kicked in due to overheating at the thought, a new feeling of excitement and hope running through his systems. He was suddenly even more grateful for the ability to feel touch, and to have been given a casing that felt nearly human. Nothing but the thought of possibly being able to feel Cin’s heartbeat against him kept his gaze locked on them as they worked.

Even in work, did he find himself staring fondly at them. A little blush still lingered on Cin’s face in the neon lighting. It was cute. So damn cute. It was most definitely love.

[sapphire374]

Soy Sol: Chapter 8 (Long Story Short, It was a Tough Day)

Wattpad Link

Ch.1 / Ch.2 / Ch.3 / Ch.4 / Ch.5 / Ch.6 / Ch.7 / Ch.9 / Ch.10 / Ch.11 / Ch.12 / Ch.13 / Ch.14 / Ch.15 / Ch.16 / Ch.17

Simón approaches the doors of the Jam and Roller. He pulls out a set of keys from his pocket and selectively picks the one with the J&R emblem engraved on it. He’s surprised when he grabs the doorknob and is able to open it without unlocking it himself. He walks in cautiously. “Is anyone here?” No one answers. Everything seems to be intact. He wonders maybe Pedro forgot to lock up last night?

He keeps walking around and gets a little startled noticing a person sitting in front of the main desk in the office. He shakes his head and rubs his tired eyes. Sitting there is Ámbar, crying in her arms.

“Linda que paso? What happened?” He worriedly rushes by her side. “It’s official, no one’s buying this place. No one wants it. Vidia is planning to tear it down and sell the land on its own.” More tears begin to cover her face. This place grew to be extremely close to Ámbar’s heart. After everything that happened with Sharon, the only constant in her life was the Jam and Roller. Being able to skate help relieve her from her anxieties and at least have one moment to be alone with the world. When she got offered the position to be manager, she couldn’t be more thrilled. Putting her heart and soul into setting up events for the gang and making sure everything was in place helped her feel more in control with her life. She was able to calm down the mess that surrounded her and pick up the pieces one by one. Hearing the official news coming from their lawyers was earth shattering for her, it was too surreal.

Simón didn’t know what to do in this moment. He ‘can’ say things will get better, but he doesn’t want to give her false hope, doesn’t want to sugarcoat it. He feels that saying an advice in this instant would only make things worse so he does what he knows best, he hugs her. A quiet display of showing you’re there for that person, always.

When they hear Pedro enter the cafeteria with Delfi, Ámbar and Simón get up from their chairs and go back to work. Ámbar wipes away all the tears with her sleeve and tries to put more makeup to cover her puffy skin.

After two hours pass by, Luna enters with Nina. “Wow Luna I can’t believe he stood you up,” Nina replies. Simón overhears Nina’s comment and hurries over to Luna’s side. “Is this true? Matteo stood you up?” Luna starts trembling and tries to find the right words to say but nothing comes out of her mouth. “I-I- …... okay how do I explain this. Yes, he left me alone all night till the restaurant closed. When I was sitting on the bench in front waiting for my taxi, he arrived. He tried to explain to me that he lost track of time because Viviana was bothering him on filming more scenes for their music video. Basically, it’s all mess. This whole relationship has turned into a mess. He lied to me by not telling me he was going to be with Viviana. If he had told me, it would’ve been okay, but he didn’t, which is why I’m upset. If you lie to someone about being with another person that means you don’t want them to know, which most of the time indicates you’re hiding a secret.” Luna sighs from her mouthful of words.

“Luna, I don’t want to make it sound worse but you’re right. If he lied to you about being with Viviana, there’s a chance he’s hiding something. There’s no necessity to lie about filming with a coworker…. Unless he has feelings for that coworker. Sorry you have to go through all of this.” Simón hugs Luna and tries to console her. “Amiga, remember these are all assumptions we’re making. We don’t know the full truth so maybe he was keeping everything a secret for a reason. We are still missing parts of the story,” Nina advised. “I don’t think so Nina. I think I should just start moving on and start focusing more on me and you guys of course. Oh, that reminds me. How are those wedding plans going Simón?” Simon widely opens his eyes in shock and covers his mouth with his hand. “No no no nooooooo”

“Que paso Simón? Why are you so upset suddenly?” Luna asked.

“Ámbar and I have been so caught up with issues pertaining to the Jam and Roller that we completely forgot to prepare the wedding and plan everything out.”

Luna lays her hand on Simon’s shoulder, trying to comfort him. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that anymore because I can help with whatever you guys need.” “Yeah, me too,” Nina tags along.

“Also, what issues do you guys mean when ‘pertaining to the Jam and Roller?’” Luna questions.

“You’ll find out soon, and by soon I mean around…. now.” Simón states while staring at the clock.

Ámbar leaves the office carrying a clipboard and heads to the stage of the cafeteria. “May I get everyone’s attention! I have some disappointing news to say. For a while, Simon and I have constantly tried to negotiate with Vidia, in hopes that this beautiful place stays as it should. Sadly, our wishes were not met and Vidia has officially announced that it will be tearing this place down and selling the land. Sorry to be the bearer of this awful news, I wish I didn’t have to. I wish that the Jam and Roller can stay for generations and generations on. This place has been the spot where many of us have shared experiences together and won a few competitions. It deserves to stay here, but the owners disagree.”

Everyone gasps in astonishment. Some covering their mouths, some leaving it open, some having visible tears coming out. Everyone reacts as if the place was already completely gone and become a deserted land. Eric (Jandino) enters the place. “Hey guys what did I miss?” Everyone’s red puffy faces glance towards him. “Oof tough crowd huh?” Nina is the first to respond and make the situation a little less awkward. “The Jam and Roller is going to be teared down.” Eric stays speechless and just nods in response.

“This can’t be the end of this place. Are we really going to give up so quickly? Vidia tried to sell it and we were able to convince them not to. This time could be the same,” Luna exclaims.

“This time is different though because the investors don’t need this place anymore and no one wants to buy a skating rink since it’s ‘old fashion’ and ‘not modern.’ This place was in the market for months. Simón and I hoped someone would buy it but no one did. The only way for us to even have a chance to keep it is if someone purchased this place,” Ámbar refuted.

“That shouldn’t be so bad. All we have to do is find someone who is rich and has a kind heart,” Luna proudly states. “Luna are you insane? Where we are we going to find a kind, rich person? This isn’t a cartoon where stuff magically appears out of nowhere to help and save us. Yeah, that’s right Mickey, I’m talking about you and your “musketeer named Toodles,” we all know that’s fake.” Jazmin argued in front of her tablet camera.

“You are right... well on the first part. But I have an idea, maybe I can afford it!” Luna confidently states.

Ámbar gently brings Luna’s hopes down again. “I’ve already checked how much I have in the bank from the half you gave and doubled that and it’s still not enough for the place Luna.” Luna pouts, facing the ground. “Oh... well I guess never mind then.”

Delfi comes up with an idea. “Hey what about Matteo? He is rich now from being a star and all.” She then points to the man in sunglasses who had been staring at Luna ever since he arrived. Luna didn’t realize it till now. “If that’s what you guys want, I’ll buy it. How much does it cost?” Ámbar walks to Matteo. “I’m showing you in secret, so you don’t get embarrassed with your net worth not being enough,” Ámbar explained. “Oh please, it can’t be that bad.” Ámbar show’s him the clipboard and points to the bottom. Matteo begins to sweat. “Oh…... um guys I can afford it but then I’ll be broke with no where to live.”

“Great! I guess that means the Jam and Roller is saved then! Yay!” Jazmin yells out. “Jazmin we can’t force Matteo to do such a grand gesture either,” Gaston responds. “And why not?”

“Jazmin are you really asking that question after he said he would be broke?” Gaston added. “Yes, I don’t see the problem.” Gaston shakes his head and covers his eyes with his fingers from annoyance.

“You guys, it’s hopeless,” Ámbar announces and walks away, heading straight to her office.

Nina walks over to Luna’s side. “Why aren’t you so sad Luna? I mean of course I wouldn’t want you to be sad, but I thought the news would be devastating for you since you love this place so much.”

“This place isn’t getting teared down. At least not under my watch. I will find a way to keep this place the way it is. I will just need to do some research,” Luna persists. “Luna you never seize to surprise me. Whatever help you need, I’m right here,” Nina chuckles.

Eric approaches Nina and tries to comfort her. “Yeah, I bet this must be awful news for you guys. I know I wasn’t here long enough but one thing I know for sure is that this place is certainly magical.” Gaston views Eric close with Nina and he immediately rushes over. He places his arm around Nina’s waist. “Your Corazon will really stop going wowow if you keep flirting with my girl!” “Gaston!” Nina is shocked and tries to calm him down from his jealousy burning his own skin.

“Guys I think I’m going to head home. It’s been a rough morning and I barely got any sleep,” Luna waved goodbye to the gang. Gastón gestures over to Matteo letting him know Luna is leaving. Matteo runs over to the parking lot.

“Luna wait, can you give me a second to explain everything.” Matteo calls out to her. “Matteo, you’re the person I least want to talk to right now.”

“Luna I’m sorry. I’m sorry for arriving extremely late and standing you up. I’m sorry for not replying to all your calls and messages. I’m sorry I lied about the video with Viviana. I didn’t tell you though because I was worried you would get upset and think I remotely like the girl,” Matteo confesses.

“Hah so you’ve even noticed that she’s been extremely close and has been flirting with you,” Luna attested.

“What no? It’s not like that at all. You’re just jealous.” Luna turns around and displays a furious expression, this is the moment when Matteo noticed he had chosen the wrong set of words. “Jealous? That’s what you think of me? Maybe you’re just too blinded by fame to realize she’s constantly glued to you. Haven’t you noticed that when she talks to you, she gradually grows closer and closer to you and whenever you two go out she tries to hold your arm and pull you in tight. I’ve seen all the paparazzi videos so I know. Plus, she’s always calling you. She calls you more than your own manager does,” Luna argued.

“Oh please Luna, you’re just being delusional.” Matteo hears his phone ringing. He pulls it out and notices it’s Viviana calling him. “Yet I’m the delusional one, you have just become so full of yourself you can barely even notice what’s actually going on,” Luna walks away. “Wait, Luna please don’t go.” This time she doesn’t listen to him and keeps walking away without a slight turn of her head.

Luna’s Home

Luna enters her room and throws herself in bed. It’s barely Sunday and Luna feels a whole tornado of emotions have taken over her body. She doesn’t feel like doing anything, not even taking off her socks from wearing her shoes or wiping off her light makeup. She grabs her blanket and tries to fall asleep on top of her bed.

After an hour has passed, her mom knocks on her door and gently opens it. She sees her daughter sleeping and tries to lightly pat her. Luna’s eyelashes wiggle and brush against her skin. She slowly wakes up. “I brought you some breakfast, just thought maybe you haven’t eaten and were probably hungry.” Luna happily smiles. “Mom you know me too.” Monica smiles back too and hands her a tray of waffles with strawberries. Ah strawberries. The least she needed was to be reminded of “el chico fresa.” Her smile slowly disappears and turns into a frown.

“Hija, lately I’ve been seeing you all down in the dumps. Always depressed and never wanting to do much other than sleep. Are you okay? This isn’t normally like you,” Monica sincerely concerned, looks at Luna in the eyes.

“Everything just seems to be falling apart. Not just dealing with Matteo and I’s relationship ending but also the Jam and Roller too. Apparently Vidia is planning to tear it down and the only way for us to be able to have the chance to keep the Jam and Roller intact is to purchase it but none of us can afford such a high price.”

Monica nods and tries to conjure up an idea. Eventually one crosses her mind. “Luna, I’m shocked you didn’t think of this earlier, especially since it deals with your favorite hobby in ‘el mundo mundial,’” Monica says.

“What does skating have to do with this?” Luna laughs.

“Competitions. I know there’s some competitions out there in which the grand prize is a sum of money. Why don’t you guys enter one and try to compete.” Luna lets go of her fork and soon becomes energetic. “Mom that is genius!! Thank you thank you thank you!!!” Luna yells out and tightly hugs her mom.

“Well you know what they say, us moms are geniuses,” Monica chuckles. Luna hastily grabs her computer and retrieves to her bed. She opens up the laptop and begins typing and searching through. “Well Luna I guess I shall leave you to it. Glad I was able to help. Love you hija.” Monica kisses Luna’s forehead and leaves. “Love you too mom!”

After searching for hours, Luna is able to find a competition in which the grand prize pays most of the Jam and Roller price tag. When calculating the percentages, Luna notices that what’s left to pay after all the costs are taken up, is affordable for the whole gang. She jumps up and down all around her bedroom with content pouring out of her. The Jam and Roller finally has a chance to stay. Maybe things can even go back to old times when they all skated together.

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Tuesday, December 28

Pete: Since when do you touch my girl? Oz: Hey, Pete. This is kind of a bad time. Pete: Well, I guess you didn't think about that when you put the moves on Debbie! Oz: We talked, yeah, but it was move-free. Oz: About this cage? When that sun sets... Pete: You won't be alive to see it! Oz: I'm serious. Something's gonna happen that you... probably won't believe. Pete screams as his head whips around and he transforms into his alter ego again. Oz: Or you might.

~~Buffy Episode #38: "Beauty and the Beasts"~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

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[imitranslates]

Fukigen na Mononokean Ch. 77

Will Ashiya make it out of this schedule conflict...?!

Please remember to check out the official English release when it comes out, preferably on Crunchyroll if you’re able to!

The newest chapter can be read on the official website by clicking the yellow button labeled 読む!

Fukigen na Mononokean Chapter 77 - Chasing Two Hares At Once

Page 1

Sis: Merry Christmas!

Sis: This year's Christmas present is~~

Sis: A two-day, one-night family trip!

Ashiya: A trip?! Really?! Is this a prank?!

Sis: It's a bonafide trip.

Page 2

Nara: This will be the first time all three of us will be staying together on a trip~

Nara: I was shocked by this super gorgeous present myself!

Sis: It was a shock when you were hospitalized for fainting from anemia earlier this year.

Sis: Since you work at the shop when you're home, I thought it would be good to give you a refresher outside the house.

Nara: Those feelings alone are the best present!

Thank you, Chisa!

Page 3

Ashiya: By the way, big sis... when is this trip?

Chisa: New Year's Eve and New Year's Day!

Ashiya: Eh.

Chisa: ...Could it be, you already had something planned?

Chisa: We've always spent those two days together as family every year...

I didn't say anything when you were surprised before, but... you can't go?

Page 4

Ashiya: During winter break... I'm...

Page 5

Ashiya: Good morning!

Mononokean: Mornin'!

Abeno: Good morning.

Page 6

(Ashiya: Morning, Fuzzy!)

Abeno: (Ashiya...) Aren't you bringing an awful lot with you today?

Ashiya: I’m glad you brought it up!

Ashiya: I woke up early so I could make a lunch box!

Page 7

Ashiya: From today onward, we'll be fully absorbed in searching for Aoi-san from morning until evening.

Ashiya: Since there aren't any convenience stores in the forest, I thought I'd bring lunch!

(Ashiya: There are riceballs stuffed with salmon, kelp, and pickled plum!)

Abeno: Even so, can you really eat all this by yourself? (This amount...)

Ashiya: No way~ Your portion is in here, too, Abeno-san! I made enough for two!

Abeno: My portion?

Ashiya: If it suits your tastes, I'll make lunch from tomorrow onward!

Ashiya: There's warm tea in the thermos, too!

Aside from that, there's a picnic blanket, handwipes, insect repellent, and...

Ashiya: (Ah?!) I forgot the chopsticks!!

Page 8

Ashiya: Please wait, I'll be back in a minute.

Abeno: ...?

Abeno: Mononokean...? Isn't that guy in a weirdly good mood...?

Mononokean: It's a "We'll definitely find Aoi!" type of mood!

Abeno: Is... that what it is?

Page 9

(Ashiya: AOI-SAAAN!)

Abeno: !

Demon: !?

Abeno: (Damn it...

I got too absorbed in searching and it started getting dark again before I realized it...)

(Abeno: How troublesome...)

Page 10

(We'll end the search here. We didn't find anything today...)

(...But we've finished searching the general area around where I separated with Aoi.)

(I'll try expanding our search to the forest running along the barrier after tomorrow...)

Abeno: Ashiya! Let's get back to the Mononokean!

Ashiya: Have you found something?

Abeno: No...

Ashiya: Me neither...

Abeno: !

Page 11

Abeno: Hand over that bag.

Abeno: I'm not carrying anything, so I'll hold it for you on the way back.

Ashiya: No, no, I'm fine!

Ashiya: I'm the one who brought all this stuff, after all.

[Imagined Ashiya: Really!? Yay!! It was getting pretty heavy! Please take care of it!]

(Abeno: If you say so...)

Ashiya: But I really did bring too much today...

I'll have to downsize it for tomorrow.

(Ashiya: Abeno-saan, do you have any requests for tomorrow's lunch?)

Abeno: ...?

Page 12

Mononokean: Great job on your second day of searching!

Abeno: We'll search this area tomorrow.

Diagram: Rough sketch of the forest area outside the barrier.

Ashiya: Affirmative!

[Day 3 of the search.]

Ashiya: Abeno-saan! I'm finished searching over here!

Ashiya: I'll help you out on your side!

Abeno: He's quick...

[Day 4 of the search.]

Ashiya: This area is kinda slippery so I'll take care of it!

Abeno: In that case, let me have the medicine box...

Ashiya: No need, I'm fine!

[Day 5 of the search.]

(Ashiya: Haa...)

Abeno: Tired?

Ashiya: Not at all?

Page 13

[Day 6 of the search.]

Abeno: ......

Ashiya: (whispering)

Mononokean: OK.

Page 14

Abeno: "Okay"?

Abeno: What are you agreeing to?

Mononokean: Oh, were you peeping?

Abeno: ...?

Page 15

Ashiya: It's nothing.

Ashiya: I'm going to head home, alright?

Ashiya: Mononokean, the entryway, please?

Mononokean: OK!

Ashiya: Good work today!

Abeno: Good work...

Page 16

Mononokean: Good work~

Page 18

Abeno: I wondered if I should overlook it...

Abeno: But that shifty smile was just too disgusting.

Abeno: It's not nothing, is it?

Ashiya: ...It's n--...

Page 19

Ashiya: New Year's Eve and New Year's Day!! I'm going on a family trip!!

Abeno: ...Huh?

Abeno: Family trip...?

Page 20

Ashiya: But!

You can rest assured that I won't be taking off time from the search!

I've arranged to go after the search on New Year's Eve and meet up with my family!

Ashiya: But there's no way I would be back home by 9 o'clock New Year's Day,

So I asked the Mononokean to come to the place I was staying instead...

Right?

Mononokean: OK.

Abeno: So that was the "okay" from before...

Abeno: I don't mind picking you up somewhere else, but don't go making requests without my permission.

It's not like you had to keep it a secret from me in the first place, you know? (Your family trip...)

Ashiya: Well...

Page 21

Ashiya: It makes me feel guilty to go off and have fun at a time like this...

Ashiya: Even though I said, "We'll definitely find Aoi-san!"

I thought it'd make you disappointed like, "So you weren't really prepared after all..." (So I couldn't tell you...)

Abeno: (So that's why he's been going out of his way to be super considerate over the last few days...)

Page 22

Abeno: It's totally unnecessary for you to worry like that.

Abeno: I can't complain about what you do during winter break, so long as it doesn't get in the way of the search.

Abeno: ...Besides,

Abeno: It's not like you can have someone else take your place there.

Page 23

Abeno: That's why you should forget about work and have fun without any shame.

Mononokean: Bring me back a souvenir, okay?

Ashiya: !!

Mononokean: I'll come to pick you up on New Year's Day, of course.

And I'll send you off on New Year's Eve, too!

Abeno: Any other plans you need to confess?

Page 24

Ashiya: Abeno-san...

Ashiya: I'm sorry for trying to hide it instead of honestly telling you about it...

Abeno: Now there's a new way of prostrating yourself.

Ashiya: I'll buy a souvenir for Aoi-san, too...

Abeno: Don't worry about it. (More importantly, get out of the way already.)

(Ashiya: What are your plans for New Year's Eve, Abeno-san...?

Fuzzy: ......

(Abeno: If you must know, it’s spring cleaning for the Mononokean.)

[kinghoranshit]

This is Love (LT) Ch 12

Word Count: 2,069

I began making a pot of coffee of the new roast that arrived; it was a sample pot. It's for those who'd like to try some before purchasing a cup. Katie knew how customers thought. She'd been drinking coffee since she was twelve

Despite Katie's arguments, I laid myself off from teaching and have been helping her. Even though she wasn't happy about it, I think she's actually happy to have me around the shop. I liked being around here; the atmosphere was always chill and pretty happy.

"Hey, you can take break for lunch and find a table. I'll be over in a sec with sandwiches. BLT?" Katie put the extra napkins away she had from refilling the napkin containers.

I made a small nod. "Add Turkey?"

A small smirk formed on her lips. "Of course."

I smiled widely. "Yay!"

Katie only chuckled and proceeded to make our sandwiches. I did as she said and found us a table. Before Katie came over, I noted she flipped the sign to close for lunch break. It's only us working most days now. The only person left out of the group was Rachel, and she worked maybe two or three times a week; it's better than nothing.

"It feels so good to sit down." Katie remarked as she set our plates, bags of chips, and two waters down, then plopped down in the seat across from me.

I laughed. "Fair statement." I opened up the bag of regular kettle chips and crunched down on one of them. I began to observe the sandwich, Katie never did wrong. Happily, I picked up a half and bit into it.

"With how much I've seen you, we've never talked about how the relationships are going with the boys." Katie brought up, munching down on one of her own chips. "How is the Tommo?"

I was a little stunned that she brought it up, but she's right. We never talked about the boys. But I felt that it wasn't a necessity for us to. We, literally, see each other 24/7 now, which of course was not a bad thing.

I cleared my throat. "Tommo is pretty good. We're fine. How's Nialler?"

Katie smirked, laughing under her breath. "Nialler is great. He'd like for all of us to have a housewarming party."

I about choked on the bite I just took; this was why she brought it up. "A what?"

Okay, I knew that Niall bought them a house, and eventually we'd move out of the little apartment and live with our boys, but not so soon. I should've expected it though. I was farther along, at twenty-four weeks, than Katie was, at eight weeks, and I knew Louis going to bring it up soon.

I just wasn't ready.

Katie reached over as much as she could and patted my shoulder. "Sorry, I didn't know how else to bring it up. I had a hunch Niall was up to something with getting a house for us, but I didn't think he'd bring it up this soon."

"Neither did I..." I mumbled, and took a drink of my water. "So... When did he plan on moving you in?"

Katie gave me a solemn look. "End of the month. He'd like to anyways... We'll see if you and I let him." A small smirk spread on her lips and it caused me to giggle a little.

"He's gonna have to rip you from my bare hands."

Katie snickered, taking another bite of her sandwich. "Hasn't Louis mentioned a house of some sort for you two?"

"Like you, I have a hunch he's got something, but he hasn't said anything. I'm sure soon though considering Niall jumped the gun. Louis doesn't like to be out done."

"Fair," she remarked. "But you, two, definitely have us beat. Let's just pray Jen doesn't get pregnant with Harry's kid any time soon."

A short burst of laughter left me. "True! We'll just never know with those two... Have you ever wondered what it'd be like if she had moved here with us and didn't stay in the states?"

Katie nodded slowly. "A couple times, actually.. We'd be so much more crammed in that apartment."

"I'm fairly certain we would've found somewhere slightly bigger," I replied, thinking about it. "Is it awful I'm kind of glad she stayed over there?"

"No." She shook her head, eating a chip. "She's not around our fan problems. She's safer. Also, she's doing what she loves back home."

I started on the second half of my sandwich. "Yeah... But I'm certain she'd join in on the fights."

"Hannah Creed?" Katie cocked a brow. "Are we talking about the same Hannah? I mean, she might do something, but she's more of a lover than a fighter. It's one of the reasons her and Harry work well together."

I smiled. "Right."

The two of us finished our lunches, and cleaned up the little mess we made. Katie was going to flip the sign back over to 'Open' but she stopped midway.

"Shit."

"What?" I asked, feeling this weird buzzing start up in my ears; the sensation that something was wrong.

Katie hastily turned around and started pushing me to the back. "We need to... We need to get out of here."

"How? And why?" I asked, slamming on my heels to stop her. She hadn't even told me what's really going on. I assumed fans, but I'd still like to know.

"There's a mob of fans coming. And I don't really know. Both of us got working feet, come on."

I shot her a look. "But we're both very pregnant. I don't think it's a good idea."

Katie huffed, and I could tell she was scrambling to come up with an idea. Finally, she pointed to the office. "Come on."

The little bell dinged above the door and both of us gasped. It went from quiet to loud within a second, and things started to get thrown around. Without a second thought, Katie pushed me ahead of her and we zoomed into her office.

I tried to help Katie as much as I could with pushing the shelf in front of the office door. Now, we were completely locked in the small square office. The only other items were a tiny desk, chair, and whiteboard. Of course, Katie's laptop on the desk; it's how she kept track of everything, besides on her phone.

Katie, honestly, looked like she was going to shit her pants. At least, that's probably how she would have phrased it. And what I asked next probably didn't help.

"Katie, what're we doing to do?"

Katie paced back and forth, her breathing getting heavy. Her lip quivered and she took a deep breath. "I don't know."

Okay. Katie got us here and safe, I'd take it from here. I thought. It was about time I did something. I racked my brain for any idea, then, suddenly, it hit me. I pulled my IPhone out and found Louis's contact. And without wasting another second, I called him. I hoped he'd pick up and he wasn't in the recording booth at the moment.

"Hey Maddy," an Irish voice picked up. Well, he was the second person I was going to call if Louis didn't pick up, but he picked up Louis's phone. It worked out.

I let out a deep breath. "Kat and I are in trouble... Its fans... We're at the shop. Katie locked us in the office."

"Are you, two, okay?" was his next question.

I let out another deep breath, as if to control myself from going into a hysteria of some sort. "Yeah. No one was hurt. The shop on the other hand..."

I couldn't believe she'd have to redo the shop again. I was not ready to see the damage done this time, and I was sure she's not either.

Niall took a deep breath and exhaled it. "Lou and I are comin. Keep Katie from crying. I'm assuming you called cos she couldn't."

Oh, he's good.

"You got it," I replied, then hung up.

Katie was sitting on the floor now, her back against the wall, and she had her head in her hands. I walked over to her, lowered myself down, and wrapped my arm around her to bring her to me.

"It's gonna be okay," I whispered. "We'll be okay."

I tried to sing to her to help drown out the sounds of the raging fans. It was all I could hear. It felt like it was the start of some sort of apocalypse, and I felt like I could do nothing. I really couldn't. I called Louis, and Niall picked up, luckily.

They'd save us.

***

I'd grown so used to the sounds coming from the shop that I didn't even notice them stop.

There was a knock at the door. "Kat? Maddy? It's Niall and Lou." Niall's Irish accent broke through the door; clear as day.

Katie's head shot up and she choked back the tears I knew she'd been holding in. Katie was quick to stand up, push the shelf out of the way, and open the door. Then she crashed into Niall's arms and started crying, harder than she'd cried in a long time; that wasn't counting when the shop had been destroyed the first time.

"I've got you," Niall caressed, rubbing her back, and kissed her head.

Lou came into my vision from behind them and I scrambled to get up so I could be in his strong, comforting arms.

"This is an outrage," Niall stated, still hugging Katie tight. She'd stopped crying, but the evidence hadn't wiped away from her face yet. "Doing this once? That was not okay. But twice? That's enough. I'm done with this fandom."

"You can't be serious mate," Louis shot.

I swear Niall was going to hit Louis himself. "I can't believe you're not serious. If Katie hadn't got them into the office... Who knows."

Louis sighed. "You're just losing steam at the moment. Think this through... True fans wouldn't do this sort of thing."

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, don't do anything rash, Niall."

"Yeah, spose so... Unless our fans can miraculously do something to make up for this, I dunno. This isn't just our lives, Lou. It's theirs too, and they can't just go and hurt them when they don't like what's happening."

Louis pointed a finger at him. "You've got a point, little Nialler. I suggest a tweet should be made."

A small smirk formed on Niall's lips and he shook his head, chuckling. "Not gonna be me. Right now, I'm taking Katie home."

I looked at Katie, and she look at me, giving me a small smile; though she looked as if she could start crying again. I walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. "Katie, you were great. We're fine, okay?"

She laughed cried. "But you called them. You saved us on this one."

"We saved each other."

"Right." She sighed heavily, and now she observed the damage of the shop. Honestly, it wasn't much worse than the first hit. I think the fact it happened agai was hitting her the most. She let out a little chuckle, starting to pick up a few things. "Nialler, you win."

"I win?" Niall asked, slowly and suspicious. I didn't blame him.

"I'm gonna close the shop. Mainly for the new renovations, but I'll close it down until everything blows over."

Niall walked over to take the broken plate out of her hand and he wrapped his arms around her. "I know this isn't easy for you, but it's the safest for now. You'll be okay."

"I know," she whispered, hiding her face in his chest.

I looked at Louis. "You think it'd be crazy for me to call the school back and say I want my job back for the rest of the year?"

Louis smirked, shaking his head, and he pulled me into a hug. "You're not calling for your job back, love. I'll take care of you. Always."

"Does this mean we're going to live together?" I asked softly.

He peered down at me, curiously and amusingly. "I'd prefer it. But only if you want to."

"Give me till the end of the month," I replied. "I'll be ready."

He placed a small kiss on my head. "It's a deal."

Next: Ch 13

[Masterlist]

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Aniplex Fugou Keiji Livestream | Fugou Keiji 2 | Kitsutsuki 2 - 4 | Arte 3 - 12 (FINAL) | Fruits Basket 27 - 32

During the Millionaire Detective: Unmissable livestream (part of FunimationCon and Aniplex Online Fest), I watched and took notes, so you might find these handy upon retrospect. To be honest, this is how I do the posts for magicalgirlsandcerulean’s livestreams as well, but there hasn’t been one of those in a while...

Otherwise, these are all normal notes.

Aniplex Fugou Keiji Livestream

Look out for the dancer from the OP

Onuki was the model for the dancing for the anime – he was told to do it out of the blue

Episode 11 might have one of these^ be relevant

Daisuke’s cup ramen has shark fin in it and he made the packaging from scratch – that’s why it’s so expensive!

The director Tomohiko Ito omits important information, allowing people to decide for themselves what happened. (Miyano) – This might be why the series is stylish. (MC)

Attractiveness of character design is important! (for adapting Fugou Keiji to modern day)

I’ve never watched a livestream where the stars were so conscious of their English and Chinese audiences! This was interesting, especially because Onuki is not normally known as a VA!

“We still have a little bit of recording to do.”

Fugou Keiji 2

I keep misunderstanding my own instructions…this starts again in July after ep 2.

Todai = Tokyo Daigaku (Uni).

I believe this is the 2nd time I’ve seen a rich person like commoner’s instant noodles, although I forget where I saw the 1stinstance.

Kambe switched to the back seat now, huh?

Ah! Now I remember! The first time was seeing spoilers for this episode on Twitter! (LOL)

I see Suzue has a sensible naming scheme for her data.

Hmm…judging by the Google hits, the name visible in the background (Betbeto bin Abura) is the Arabic prince from last time.

SYN-ACK. I see these guys did their work – that’s the final stage of the 3 stage handshake required for things like internet sockets (used to send “packets” of data).

Way to crash a party, Kambe siblings…(LOL)

I really wanna see someone draw Kato slapping (Daisuke) Kambe in the face with a wad of cash…or a “shut up and take my money” meme with Kambe in it.

I like how “special cup ramen” is on the purchases list and it costs 100000 yen. I also like how the reporter Mita was bought out for 5000000 yen (bigger than all the other individual costs except for buying out the Tower)…that’s how he showed up.

Kitsutsuki 2

I gotta finish this show and then pause it…3 shows in my normal lineup are safe.

Did Kindaichi take the bones of the fish out for Ishikawa…? Like a child would have had done for them?

Why is Ishikawa being referred to as “Hajime”…?

Draw this prostitute like one of your French girls…(LOL?)

Ishikawa clearly dropped those coins into that book earlier.

Way to diss the potential asexuality/celibacy in the house. I mean, it’s the 1800s – early 1900s, so there was less LGBTIQ+ stuff then and certainly the further back you go, the more sexual prowess becomes a sign of masculinity, but still, if the guy doesn’t want to go through with it, don’t force him.

Notice how the borders were pink for Ishikawa’s version and blue for Kindaichi’s.

Notably, Otaki didn’t seem to have that hairpin…but maybe that’s because we saw things from Ishikawa’s perspective.

Ooh…who are these bois? Also, crab.

Kitsutsuki 3

…cat? Now there’s a new perspective. That’s like saying the butler did it.

Yay! Hagiwara is Ume!

Notice Hagiwara’s version has a purple frame, while Yoshii (?) has yellow and another person has dark blue.

I think “consumption” was tuberculosis, once upon a time.

I love how the crowd is fed up with Ishikawa’s bulls***.

Ooh, chuuni Akutagawa…

In a Grove is the Rashomon story.

Tarou Hirai = Rampo Edogawa.

You stalker, future Rampo!

I kinda suspected Otaki when I thought through the possibilities…Ishikawa, Kindaichi, an outsider, Otaki (and as of this ep, Rampo too).

Gaiheikan? Is that Ishikawa and co.’s lodging?

Did they have pencils back in that day?

Kitsutsuki 4

Humouresques.

Kabayaki.

I think it was in Detective Conan that I learnt (one of) the only way(s) a man can get his nails done is by his wife doing it for him, possibly as a prank or to indicate he’s “taken”. Note this was early Detective Conan, so it’s very much a 90s attitude…considering the widespread acceptance of drag queens and the LGBTIQ+ movement these days.

Kozukata.

Lace flower.

Maichou seems to be a hybrid of Asahi Shinbun and Mainichi Shinbun.

[Monkfish/dictionary/going home] - Is this how Ishikawa shows consideration…?

The purple letterrboxing is back but this time with Ishikawa…meaning that’s just an aesthetic thing for all flashbacks after all.

Just from vaguely hearing it (I’ve got the volume on low), the words are nodo tsuki/nodo zuki. “Throat moon/throat wound” works just as well, if not better.

Balsam flower.

Update: Since enough anime fulfilled the special COVID-19 criteria, Kitsutsuki was put on hold after this.

Fruits Basket 2 2 (27)

I’ve read Another, remember?…so I kind of know what happens.

Uo’s got purple nails…that’s surprisingly cute of her.

Aw, Kureno! Another Ume role!

Why is “shisho” (master) not translated…? A weird Tokyopop-era translation quirk?

Aw, Shisho cut his hair…? Bummer.

Who was that? Shigure…?(!) Update: We find out his name later in this ep.

“If you continue to change, I’ll continue to protect you.” – Another quote for the archive.

Great…I feel personally called out by this ep.

Fruits Basket 2 3 (28)

It seems all male designers wear their designs if they have no one else to wear them…at least, that’s what I’ve gathered from Hajime (Runway de Waratte) and Ayame.

I remember Ayame stood in for Yuki’s parents in the manga at one point. This must be it.

(Spoilers for later!) I also remember Mine and Ayame get married at the end…This is the prelude to that.

Dang, Ayame, you moment-ruiner!

Fruits Basket 2 4 (29)

Did anyone in the doorway hear about Hatsuharu turning into an ox?

To quote Sailor Mercury, “Douse yourself in water and repent!”

Ooh, window splitting Yuki and Haru. Nice cinematography going on here.

I bet all people think they only think about themselves, in one way or another.

Arashiyama tofu.

Yatsuhashi are great. They’re these sweet triangle things like samosas that come in various flavours. Mitarashi dango are sticky brown skewered balls of glutinous rice…which I’ve never had, but I’ve seen them in enough anime to know what they are.

I only just realised this, but Yuki’s hairstyle isn’t even on both sides, like Atsushi from BSD’s.

Huh…you can see a copy of Mogeta and Ari (as it turns out, “Ari” is the name of a character and not “ant” at all in this case) on Haru’s bed. There’s also an article in one of the magazines discussing how denim is the popular thing now and which types are in right now.

Fruits Basket 2 5 (30)

I realised Yuki isn’t calling Tohru by her first name – he’s going against Haru’s advice.

Hmm? Why should anyone ask a rabbit to hold their horses…? (LOL)

CGI cars…*sigh*

Tororo is grated yam, IIRC.

I learnt recently that nanban means “savage” or “uncivilised”…for a potato and chicken dish, the name and the contents don’t really match…Update: Nanban means “savage” (noun) or “barbarian”. Close enough.

17-26…age gap 9 years…yikes…

The words “(a happy, yet) caged bird” come to mind when Kureno describes himself. Also, Kureno is an Ume role! Yippee!

Ahh…young love…even if it has a bit of an awkward edge to it. Mind the (age) gap!

Me being the Ume stan, of course I want to hear those sweet nothings in his voice, even if it has to be via a proxy like Uotani…I wouldn’t be an Ume stan if I didn’t.

…Ah, I see. Uotani reminds me of Minare from Wave and vice versa.

Oh, I just remembered Akito is 20 or thereabouts. Kureno/Akito is only a bit more legal than Uotani and Kureno.

Arte 3

Notice Leo never once uses Arte’s name in the lady’s presence. Her name does have some infamy to it, after all.

“She’s got some guts.” – You say that at a live dissection…LOL.

Is this love~? What’s the age gap between Leo and Arte, anyway? Update: We know for sure Arte is older than 13…that’s it.

Make the things you want prominent with perspective and such. I thought that much was obvious, but for someone straightforward like Arte, I guess it ain’t so. (Maybe it’s because I’m self-taught to some degree when it comes to art.)

*sketching by candlelight* - You’re gonna ruin your eyes, Arte!

Arte, ma girl! You’re getting’ a raise! Good job!

Arte 4

Anime makes this courtesan stuff sound like a host club…(?)

I thought Leo was saying “Aria” for a second instead of Arte, LOL. I’m getting too used to that being my alias…

Arte 5

The speech bubble said “so annoying I could die”.

Arte 6

The video’s gone all pixelated…at least, the subs have…

I bet she’s going to fall over…Update: Nup, she didn’t.

Arte 7

I thought Yuri was a Russian name…or a Japanese one.

This is basically Oushitsu Kyoushi Heine all over again! (LOL)

I thought Yuri would be pushy…like, “Here’s an offer you can’t refuse.” That kind of thing. Likewise, I didn’t think Arte would refuse.

Leo? *dun-dun-DUN!*

Siena is apparently in Tuscany. Also, I did see the Silent Manga Audition page had a chapter on a pregnant woman, so this is ch. 17 or thereabouts.

Is Ruthanna not getting the money because she’s pregnant…?

Epidemic? The Black Death?...Speaking of which, Arte is very much of that ganbaru spirit. By being progressive for her time, she becomes ordinary in our time.

Ohhhhhhh! It’s a reverse harem in progress here!...This would be a good otome game, come to think of it. It’s framed the same way.

Leo can be surprisingly childish at times, don’t you think?

Arte 8

…Really? She fell overboard? *raises eyebrow*

Ooh, china (with and without capitalisation).

Is this another sarcastic child…? Oh, bother. Still, I can see why Hamefura crossed over with Arte now…Katarina vs. Catarina!

Arte 9

Bigoli is a type of pasta, as can be guessed from context.

The kanji for the episode title literally translate to “bad child”! Like the Tones and I song, LOL!

Mikata (ally).

Arte 10

This episode is giving off a Katarina x Gimo ship vibe…but with how young they are, I’m not sure I should ship it. They’re 6, aren’t they…?

Oh, you can see Katarina and Sofia’s hug in one of the ED frames.

Arte 11

Arte’s let her hair grow out…

An Italian man…bowed. In Renaissance Italy. Now I understand what all the ANN complaints are for.

What’s up with that kid’s face…? *grumbles*

Leo’s just being Leo, I see.

That’s right, Angelo and Leo never met.

Instead of a father or a brother overly cherishing his daughter, it’s the uncle…I never thought I’d see the day I saw something like that.

Arte 12 (FINAL)

Is this like Orientalism, but with gender…? (What would you call that?)

Lemme guess…Leo is working on the church mural and so he’s away?

Was that Leo, in the middle of the mural somewhere…?

Another Japanese bow in this anime, which is set in Italy.

But where is Arte herself in that mural?

Fine = end.

Fruits Basket 31

The word Momiji is using is “hisso” or something like that. Hissho is secretary, so the translator made it “secret getaway” to make it work.

That hat! *laser stare*

*one of the textbooks has “high school chemistry” on it* Tohru can do chemistry?! I suck at chemistry!

The episode title is translated as “Are you really this stupid?” It seems the real line for that was “Are you an idiot?”

Something about high school girls appeared in my head when Haru mentioned Shigure wanting to see Tohru in her tight swimsuit…*mumbles grumpily about pervs*

Kyo’s not wet, even though he got in the water! Amazing!

I think it’s sad that Tohru responds to “stupid girl” like it’s her own name.

“…that makes you suspect me?” seems better.

The Akito and Shigure age gap is somewhere between 6 and 8 years, IIRC.

Fruits Basket 32

Tohru switched from okaasan (mother) to okattekita (a formal past tense verb meaning either “bought”, “lent” or “won” based on the characters…which I don’t have a reference for). I assume because it was so off the mark, the subbers chose a similarly off the mark word.

“When I was a kid, I thought watermelons would sprout in my stomach if I ate the seeds.”

We only know about Kyo’s dad so far…hmm…what about the mother? Update: (TW: suicide) I think it was at this point we already knew that Kyo’s mother didn’t love him and committed suicide, but it’s not certain until later.

Why do doctors always use scalpels and syringes as weapons…? I mean, even Jakurai’s symbol in ARB is a syringe!

I’ve been wondering…how big is the Sohma family? Is it diluted enough that Haru and Rin can love each other without genetic problems for their child/ren? (From Another, I would say the answer is “yes”, but shoujo normally doesn’t care about this sort of thing, which is why I ask in the first place.)

Shigure seems like the type to say, “U mad, bro?”

The mansion looks like the one in Haruhi Suzumiya, if I remember the appearance of that one correctly.

[ranwing]

(1) Now that I've read these three chapters of LtF several times (and finished all the chores I had put off in order to read), I must comment on the gala: I am in awe of your writing in this chapter. You so very deftly incorporated important plot and character development, with subtle nods to previous chapters and foreshadowing (I hope!) of future ones. Just a few examples: Sue and Kurt (nod to ch. 7), The Times review (yay Kurt!, nod to ch. 9) and Rachel's reaction to it (what a 180!)

There was a lot of callback in that chapter to things that I’ve touched on before. Kurt’s dedication to his education, his growing confidence in himself, having to deal with prejudice... then we have Rachel showing just how far she’s come in her emotional development and getting to the point where she’s not even for a second resenting that Kurt is getting rewarded in a way that she is not. I had so much satisfaction writing that.

And I will forever love Sue and Kurt as a friendship. They do bring out wonderful things in one another.

[zig-a-zow]

As told by Aiden [Chapter 3: Wild hearts]

Summary: Aiden Zhou had everything figured out. He was a Junior at high school, he would graduate in two years, attend a prestigious school such as Juilliard and become the best musician he could be. Of course, despite being practically a prodigy at what he loved, he had a lot to learn yet, especially the most important lesson: there was more to life than what he once thought.

Pairings: Aiden x MC (Grace Ashton), Michael x MC (Callie McKenzie)

Word count: 3702

Notes: Hello there! What is this, you might be asking yourself? Well, nothing other than what the title says: High School Story as told by Aiden. The events from the book, but from his perspective, plus extra scenes/fanon lore. There are significant changes in this story, though. For once, I have two MCs, best friends Grace and Callie. However, one of them will be significantly more prominent due to being Aiden’s love interest. Also, each chapter has its own song, cause how could I write about Aiden without music included? Click the lyrics to listen.

Ch. 1 - Ch. 2 - Ch. 3 (It’s right here!) - Ch. 4 - Ch. 5 - Ch. 6 - Ch. 7 - Ch. 8 (Coming soon!)

Wild hearts, run

Your time has just begun

Keep chasing for the sun

Don’t slow it down.

It wasn't long before Grace's attention drifted from him to the sliding glass doors, where they could both see her friend Callie walking out of the house, a stunned expression on her face.

Grace quickly ran toward her, and as Aiden could see, a few other classmates did the same. He didn't exactly know why, but he followed her.

"Callie? What's wrong?"

The blonde girl looked shaken, and her blue eyes darted toward Grace immediately. She sighed deeply, approaching her friend to hug her tightly.

"It's awful... Caleb and I just walked in on Brian and Zoe making out!"

Even though her voice sounded slightly hushed due to her face being pressed against Grace's shoulder, it was loud enough for the rest of them to hear it. Aiden looked around and recognized the people around them.

Maria, his classmate, and as far as he knew, the only one besides him that wasn't a Sophomore, was the first to speak with a frown.

"Well, that explains why he run away almost crying" she said with a thoughtful expression, before catching herself. "Oh, and this is terrible, of course!"

"Can't say I'm surprised" commented Michael, whose hair was still damp from the pool.

"That doesn't matter right now!" Callie let go of Grace for a moment, straightening up with a look of resolution on her face. "We have to go after him and make sure he's okay!"

"Excuse me, 'we'?"

All eyes turned to him, and Aiden made an effort not to take a literal step back. He cleared his throat, suddenly on the spot.

Luckily for him, Grace piped up just in time.

"Gonna have to agree with Aiden here" she said, shrugging slightly. "Callie, we barely know the guy. Hell, we barely know anyone here. It's none of our business."

"That, and... nobody here really hangs out with him, so the same could be said about us" Michael spoke again, hiding his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "So yeah, hard pass from me."

"But... he's one of us! Wouldn't you want someone to go after you if the tables were turned?"

"No. I'd want to be left alone, thank you very much."

"Well, I'm with you, Callie" Emma's voice was heard as she approached the center of the circle, looking a little less shy at the moment. "He needs m-- us, right now."

"Count me in as well. What Zoe did is disgusting" stated Maria, solemnly, even though a tiny smile crept into her face a second later. "Not to mention Caleb could persuade a few more people to attend Homecoming."

Once again, all eyes turned to Aiden, and he gulped loudly. He had been so absorbed in listening to everyone else that he didn't even think about what he would do.

He considered silently for a few seconds before he sighed deeply, almost in defeat.

"It's the right thing to do. So I'll join your group."

Michael let out a low chuckle at that, that almost made him frown.

"It's the right thing to do... wow. Good for you, pal, your medal's in the mail."

"Well, he's not wrong" Grace mumbled, joining the other side in a symbolic and literal way. "I still don't care, but there's no way I'm staying in this lame party instead of running around town. Sounds like fun."

"The right thing for the wrong reasons, got it" after a moment Michael joined them as well, shrugging slightly. "I got nothing else to do, I guess. Come on, let's go."

Callie squealed at that, and she put her arms around both of their shoulders for a few seconds as she happily beamed at them.

"Aww, I knew you two would come around! Now, any idea where Caleb would run off to?"

"Maybe The Golden Griddle?" Julian's voice came from behind and Aiden startled slightly, but luckily nobody seemed to notice or care. "That's where I'd go to grab a burger and sulk."

"Alright, let's go!"

Grace cleared her throat to get her attention.

"Callie."

"Yes?"

"Your clothes."

"Oh, right!" Callie's pale cheeks turned red when she realized she was still wearing her swimsuit. She walked toward the house. "I'll be right back!"

She disapeared from view, and a few minutes later she returned. And with that, the seven of them started their way toward The Golden Griddle. As he walked with his hands hidden in the pockets of his jeans, lost in thought, Aiden realized that Grace fell behind to match his rather slow pace.

"Hey... don't let that Michael guy get to you" she said with a low tone, for him to be the only one able to hear her. "I personally think it's very noble of you to do this just because it's the right thing to do."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. Like, I've never heard another kid our age say something like that. Unless you count heartthrobs from crappy YA novels."

Aiden couldn't help but laugh under his breath at that, shaking his head slightly. When he turned to her, she was giving him a curious look that made him blush lightly in return. He shrugged.

"I appreciate it. But I wasn't letting him get to me anyway, his opinion means very little to me" he admitted as they finally made it to the place in question, and the rest of the group hurried inside, leaving them behind. He opened the door for her. "After you."

Grace snorted at that, but he could tell she wasn't mocking him. With a simple nod she walked in, and he followed suit.

The diner was almost empty, except for Wes and Autumn, two Seniors that he knew from school. They were sharing a milkshake while the rest of the group was already talking to them. Wes was shaking his head with a smirk as the two of them approached at last.

"Callie McKenzie, one of the newest students to Berry High, recently transferred from Hearst" he was saying, and his eyes promptly found Grace, his smile widening. "And Grace Ashton, of course. Missing New York yet?"

"A little, but this place is okay so far" she replied, shrugging as if his words weren't that important. "Now, will you stop the mysterious edgy act and tell us who you are? Seems only fair."

"It's Wes. He makes it his business to know everything that goes on around town" said Maria almost immediately, and as Wes was about to say something else, she hurried to continue. "No, we don't have time for witty banter. Have you guys seen Caleb?"

"No, not lately at least. He wasn't here if that's what you're asking" replied Autumn, before acquiring a worried expression. "Why? Is he okay?"

"I don't think so... he walked in on his girlfriend cheating on him with his best friend."

At Emma's words, Wes clicked his tongue as he shook his head, releasing Autumn's hand so he could fold his arms above his chest.

"Took him long enough to find out."

"Wait a minute, you knew about this?" Aiden couldn't contain himself, frowning slightly without even noticing. "And you didn't say anything?"

"Yeah, man, how dare you? Don't you know that telling him was the right thing to do?"

Michael's voice managed to make him scowl, his dark eyes throwing daggers at him for just a millisecond. It wasn't like Michael cared anyway, as he simply gave him a mocking smirk in return.

"Maybe so, but my job is to know, not tell" Wes replied a second later, oblivious of their silent exchange. "However... if I were you, I'd try the arcade. Caleb likes to blow off steam there."

"Oh, yay! Thank you, Wes!" Callie gave them both a warm smile before leading the way back to the door. "Come on, everybody, there's no time to lose!" 

The rest of the group clearly didn't share her enthusiasm, but that didn't seem to bother her at all, in fact it was almost like she wasn't even aware of that. As Callie walked in the front, with Michael, the rest of them followed at an average pace.

It wasn't strange that a brief silence took place at first, since most of them hadn't interacted much before that night, and they were just meeting the two new girls.

Maria cleared her throat.

"So, Grace... you used to live in New York?" she said after a moment, a bright smile on her face. "I've always wanted to visit. How is it there?"

Grace, who was distracted typing as she walked, looked up from her phone with a brief expression of confusion before she smiled, tucking her phone back in her pocket.

"It's... big. Like, really big" she walked a little faster to match their pace, shrugging slightly. "But believe it or not, I like it better here."

"You used to live here?" Emma asked after a moment, and Grace gave her a low chuckle.

"Yeah, for ten years. Then my mom wanted us to move with her to New York, but after almost six years dad wanted to come back here. He thinks it's a better environment for my little sister."

Aiden remained silent as they kept asking trivial questions about her life in New York. He really had nothing to ask at the moment, although he did feel curious to a certain extent. Luckily for him, their path was coming to an end, as he could see the neon lights of the arcade ahead.

"Oh, wow! This place is huuuge!" Callie was bouncing from place to place as the rest of them walked inside, immediately surrounded by bright colorful lights. "We have to come here again someday, just to have fun!"

Nobody replied, probably because they had spotted a group of familiar faces. They approached only to see that they were all admiring Sakura's dancing skills in Disco Dance Rebellion.

"Good evening, we don't mean to bother, but we were wondering if maybe you had seen Caleb Mitchell tonight?"

Aiden's voice was barely audible due to the chiptune music coming from the machine next to them, but Myra seemed to have trained ears because she could understand his words right away.

"He came here and beat Sakura's previous score" she replied, just as the music finally stopped. "But as you can see, she just beat him! Go Sakura!"

"Could you tell us where he went after that?" asked this time Emma, with a grimace. "We need to find him..."

"We don't know where he went, but he left about ten minutes ago" Aiden recognized the guy that spoke next as Luis, another of his classmates, who promply blushed slightly at the sight of Emma. "It's nice to see you, Emma... and everyone else, of course!"

"Yeah, sure..."

Aiden could see that Luis was blushing even more at Myra's words, and couldn't help but feel a tinge of symphaty for him. Clearly he wasn't the only victim of her ruthless teasing.

"This is all very interesting, but can you guys tell us where he went?" Grace intervened after a moment, her arms crossed above her chest. "That's the only reason we came here, to be honest."

"Yeah, uh, about that..."

They all turned toward Michael when they heard his voice, and he promptly pointed to the game where Sakura was dancing previously, although she wasn't alone now. Callie was right beside her, getting rid of her blue cardigan with a huge smile on her face.

"I don't care about winning, I just wanna dance!" she was exclaiming, clearly replying to whatever Sakura had said before and they couldn't hear. "Let's do this!"

Grace succesfully caught the blue cardigan her best friend threw at her, a slight smile on her face as she shook her head.

"Welp, seems like we're staying here for a little while."

"No, no, this is good!" Myra grinned at the rest of the group, and proceeded to explain when she saw their confused stares. "Sakura is the one who talked to Caleb, so she must know where he went... so if your friend beats her, she might just tell you guys!"

"I see..." Grace seemed to be deep in thought for a few seconds, before she turned to the game that was just starting. "Woo, go Callie! Make me proud!"

"Yeah, you got this!" Michael joined in a few seconds later, apparently understanding what Grace was trying to do. "Callie, Callie, Callie!"

Maria and Emma exchanged a quick glance before joining the chant enthusiastically. Aiden took a moment to consider if he really was willing to potentially look ridiculous cheering for a stranger in a completely unimportant game for a cause he wasn't even invested in. Just one glance at Grace's bright smile was enough for him to decide.

With the five of them cheering loudly for her, Callie seemed to put a lot more effort on her movements, and soon enough the victory tune was heard.

"Noooo! You bested me!" Sakura's cries of defeat could be heard as well, and her boyfriend Nishan quickly approached to comfort her.

"It's okay, Princess Peach, I know you'll beat the record... again."

"Don't call me that in public...!"

Callie was breathing heavily after all that dancing, and her best friend caught her in a hug right after she stepped out of the plataform.

"You did it, you beautiful beast!" Grace exclaimed with a grin, before turning her around and gently pushing her forward. "Now go ask Sakura if she knows where Caleb went."

Soon enough they all were in their way to the beach, which was hopefully the very last stop on their little journey. Grace was the last one to leave the arcade, because Luis had stopped her for a moment. Aiden wanted to stay and hear what he had to say, but obviously that would be too nosy of him.

But asking afterwards wasn't that bad, right?

"Let's just say he's very interested in Emma's relationship status, y'know?" she replied then, a tiny mischievous smile on her lips. "Maybe he likes her 'cause they're similar? Like, shy and awkward and all that."

"Mhm. Maybe so" he muttered, keeping his eyes to the front before he spoke once again. "Do you think that's for the best? I mean, when you look for a partner, do you look for someone who potentially shares your interests or even personality traits?"

Grace remained silent for a few seconds, and when he looked down, she was giving him a playful smile. She shrugged.

"You have a very interesting way of speaking. I like it" she admitted, before she let out a sigh. "And no, I don't look for anything specific. I don't have a type, if that's what you're asking. Do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Do you have type? You like people like you or different? Birds of a feather or opposites attract?"

"Oh! Uh..."

Aiden kept quiet for a few seconds, thinking deeply. He was aware that he had asked first and now she had the right to ask back but he wasn't expecting to share so many things about himself in a single, fateful night.

He sighed.

"No. I don't think I have a 'type'. Then again..." he mumbled as they finally reached the beach, walking in the tricky sand. "I haven't been looking for a partner in a while, so it's hard to say."

"Well, maybe it's time to change that...?"

"There he is!"

Aiden didn't have much time to properly stammer and make a fool of himself at Grace's words because they both heard Callie announce Caleb's presence a second later.

He gladly took the chance to walk a little faster so he could finally reach the rest of the group, with Grace following close behind.

Caleb was sitting on the edge of the water, a few feet away. He seemed to be very lost in thought, because he didn't hear them at all. The group formed a circle to discuss what they could do next.

"Well, obviously someone should go and talk to him" said Maria, and when a few of them tried to walk away toward him, she continued. "Only one! Let's not overwhelm him."

"I'd go, but I'm terrible at all this... feelings stuff" Julian spoke next, and for the second time Aiden startled slightly. He was ashamed to admit that he had forgotten about him. "Maybe someone else...?"

"I'll go!" Callie exclaimed with a smile, grabbing her cardigan from her best friend's hands so she could put it back on. "I'm really good at this 'feelings stuff' as you call it! You guys make a fire in the meantime."

And with that, she simply walked away, almost skipping in the sand. They all watched her sit down next to Caleb and start talking to him, before turning to each other once again.

"Well, he's in good hands. Let's get that fire started" said Grace, pulling a lighter from the pocket of her jean shorts.

"Do you... carry that with you all the time?"

"You never know when you need fire!"

"Like now! Gimme that" asked Michael, practically ignoring Emma's question and puzzled look, catching the lighter that Grace threw at him. "Now we only need some wood."

While the others started looking around for some dry branches, Aiden could feel his gaze drift to the pair at the shore of the beach. They seemed to be talking still, before hugging each other for a few moments, and standing up.

"There it is!" Michael's voice brought him back to reality, and when he turned around, he could see a small fire burning. "I can't take full credit though, you guys helped a little."

"A little?! We gave you the wood, you just turned on a lighter that isn't even yours!" exclaimed Maria, frowning slightly, but he just shrugged it off as he tossed the lighter back to Grace.

"That's more than others did."

Of course Michael was talking about him, but there was no way he was going to give him the satisfaction of reacting to his words. Especially because he was right, after all.

Callie and Caleb joined them just a few seconds later, and the whole group formed circle around the fire to have a taste of its warmth. After a moment of silence, in which apparently nobody knew what to say, Maria finally spoke.

"How are you holding up?"

"Honestly, I feel like I've been hit by a train..." Caleb replied almost immediately, and he certainly looked like he meant it, at least until he looked up and smiled slightly. "I can't believe you guys came all this way to find me. I thought I knew who my real friends were before tonight, but I was wrong. It's all of you."

"You should thank Callie" Michael offered the girl a tiny smirk, and she looked away with embarrassment. "She's the one who convinced us to come."

"Oh, please. I was just doing the right thing."

Callie probably wasn't aware that she was paraphrasing, but Michael certainly was. Aiden could see him bite his tongue so he wouldn't let out a snide remark this time, and that was the most satisfying thing he had seen tonight.

"Well, thank you anyway. You didn't have to, but you still did it. That says a lot."

Callie blushed even more at Caleb's words, and made a gesture with her hand, as if she wanted him to stop. Michael cleared his throat loudly. "Ok, so... you gonna teach Brian a lesson for stealing your girl?"

"That won't solve anything!" exclaimed Maria, frowning at him. "He needs to move on."

"No matter what you choose to do, you can count on us" Callie placed a gentle hand on Caleb's shoulder, with a smile.

"Yeah, that's nice and all, but it's getting kinda late and my dad already sent me a bunch of emoji infested texts."

Grace's words prompted everyone to check their own phones, and Aiden almost gasped. If his parents weren't texting him as well, was only because they were still getting the hang of their devices. Did they really spend almost two hours walking around?

The group mumbled their agreement, and soon enough the fire was extinguished. They all started their way back to Brian's house, since most of their cars were parked close by. Aiden found his rather quickly, and as he was about to get inside, he felt someone tap on his shoulder.

When he turned around, Grace was standing in front of him with a bright smile.

"Hey, before you go... I just wanted to tell you that I had a blast tonight" she said, hiding one of her dark curls behind her ear. "And it was mostly because of you, so thank you."

"Oh... no. I mean, thank you" Aiden swallowed hard, looking away as he felt his face burn. "I didn't expect to have a good time tonight, but I did..."

"... and it was because of me?"

A quick glance at her was enough to make him feel even more embarrassed, but it was worth it. Her eyes were shinning with anticipation.

"I guess you could say that, yes."

"Heh. So... are you gonna give me your number or do I have to ask you?" apparently she could noticed just how flustered he was because she simply extended her hand to him. "Just give me your phone."

Aiden hesitated for a few seconds, before he pulled his phone out of his pocket and gave it to her. She quickly typed on it, and her phone rang, so he assumed she had texted herself to get his number. To his surprise, she took a few seconds to snap a picture of herself before giving it back.

"There. I'll see you tomorrow."

He muttered a reply that he wasn't sure she heard, as he watched walk away and climb on her own car without looking back.

When he was sure she had already driven off, he checked his phone. On his contacts list, a new name was added. "Grace 👑", alongside with a selfie of her, that she had just taken right in front of him.

It took him a few second to look away from her.

Wild hearts, run

We're all animals inside

Go brave into the night

Don't slow, slow, slow it down.

Chapter 3 is up!

It took me a little longer to update this time, but I’ll try to be quicker next time. Also, if anyone would like to be tagged on my updates so they don’t miss them, please tell me! Thanks!

I hope you enjoyed it! Feedback is appreciated and encouraged. Thanks for reading!

[clubakashi]

Chapter 19- Happy Holidays!

a cute story of Akashi and his mini-bokushi by @active-mind-15​

Link to: Ch.1 - Ch.2 - Ch.3 - Ch.4 - Ch.5 - Ch.6 - Ch.7 - Ch.8 - Ch.9 - Ch.10 - Ch.11 - Ch.12 - Ch.13 - Ch.14 - Ch.15 - Ch.16 - Ch.17 - Ch.18

Chapter 19

Bokushi and Miyoko were officially alone with Masaomi in the mansion. Bokushi had been trying to put off this predicament for the longest of time since Miyoko arrived in the house. But now that Midorima was gone, there was no one to save him. Now, he just had to accept the situation and hope for the best.

“I’m really glad that I’m staying over,” Miyoko said as soon as the door shut. “Akashi-san, your place is so cool.”

“Is that so?” Masaomi replied. “In that case, I give you my thanks.”

God this is weird, Bokushi thought to himself. I don’t even think I can look at father right now.

“Miyoko, is there anything you would like to do?” Bokushi asked her. If anyone was going to be taking charge of this sleepover, it would be Bokushi. He can’t handle watching his father interact with children for prolonged amounts of time without feeling the need to pull a face. Miyoko hummed as she considered his question.

“Well…” she paused, folding her arms as she thought. As she was thinking, her eyes fell on the area leading out of the foyer to the outside. She pointed to where she was looking.

“What’s over there?” she asked. Bokushi looked behind him to where she was pointing and saw the door to the back garden.

“That’s where the garden is,” he answered. Miyoko seemed interested.

“The garden?” she repeated, sounding hopeful. “What’s in it?”

“Well, for starters there’s flowers,” Bokushi replied. “And there are chairs for people to sit, it’s also where we have the stables and—”

“Wait, stables?” Miyoko gasped. “Do you have horses?!” It didn’t take a genius to be able to detect Miyoko’s excitement. Anyone who claims that they have horse stables at the back of their house is bound to get a response similar to this, whether they’re an adult or a child. Bokushi nodded affirmatively.

“Yes, we do,” he said. “Would you like to see them?”

“I wanna see them!” Miyoko shouted, jumping up and down. “Let’s go see them!” Bokushi was rather amused at her excitement and decided that now, he would finally take the time to humor her requests properly. He pulled a wry grin.

“In that case, allow me to show you the horses we keep there.”

“Awesome! Will Akashi-san be taking us there?”

“Eh?”

What? No, not him… The redheaded little boy turned to look at his father with anticipated dread, watching as the man processed her question. Was Miyoko being serious? Did she really have to bring his father into this? It was already so awkward just having him stand near them, and now suddenly he’s going to take them around the house. That just spelled a recipe for disjointed conversations and a poor attempt to make it look like they actually get along. Bokushi suddenly thought of the frequent occasions where something would come up at the office and his father would leave the house in a hurry for hours at a time, and wondered where that emergency phone call was when he needed it. Nevertheless, Masaomi seemed to take it all in stride.

“Very well,” he said. “If that is what you wish, then I shall take you to the stables. Come with me.” He began to walk towards the direction of the back of the house, Miyoko eagerly following him without another word, clearly energetic from the thought of being able to see horses. As for Bokushi, he stood around for a second, uncomfortable at the prospect of watching his father play host, especially when he has to involve himself in it. Miyoko turned around and saw Bokushi standing still and was confused.

“What are you standing around for?” she said to him. “Come on! Let’s go see the horses!”

With that, she reached out and grabbed Bokushi’s hand before he could say anything, the boy momentarily taken aback as he was dragged along behind his father. He saw his father glance behind once, very briefly, and then he went back to facing forward. As they made their way to the stable, Bokushi felt a horrible sensation creep up his body, dreading what exactly his father was going to do.

…

The back of the Akashi household was admittedly more interesting than the front. The beautiful gardens home to a large variety of different flowers, the grassy open landscape, the fountain under the sakura tree in the far corner, and, most importantly, the stables past a row of trees. The neighborhood was an extremely well-off area, and so homeowners usually owned an insane amount of property; so, a wealthy business tycoon such as Akashi Masaomi was no exception. Taking the two children on this pathway past the trees into a clearing finally revealed the stables where horses were kept.

Technically, the facility was open to any neighboring house in the vicinity who happened to own a horse, but because they were the only family who did, the only ones around the stables were them. It was different in the Kyoto estate, however. Since the house resided in the countryside, the stables and riding grounds they had there were all their own. Either way, public or private, riding grounds were riding grounds, and Bokushi enjoyed being outside with horses to get his mind off his usual hectic schedule. However, this would be the first time he would go feeling uncomfortable, as now his father was leading the way, and he could do nothing to stop it. Once finally getting into the clearing, Miyoko was in complete awe.

“Wow!” she exclaimed, looking at all the space there was to ride. “This is amazing! Bokushi-kun, you get to ride here all the time?”

“That I do,” said Bokushi. “It’s refreshing to take morning rides, so I can see the sunrise.”

“That sounds nice, I wish I could ride a horse during sunrise. Akashi-san, can you ride a horse?”

Masaomi looked behind him at the two just once before facing forward and continuing towards the stable entrance.

“I can,” said Masaomi. “I have been riding horses since I was a child.”

“Wow…”

Bokushi wished that for five seconds Miyoko would stop trying to engage his father in conversation so he wouldn’t have to brace himself for an awkward response. Just listening to the man speak more than necessary was torture, and they haven’t even gotten to the main event yet. While they were talking, the three of them entered the stables where all the horses were kept. Immediately, Bokushi cut in and decided that he would take over the conversation.

“These are the stables, Miyoko,” he said to her. “The horses we own live here.”

Miyoko looked around her in awe at the rows of horse stables on either side of the long walkway, hay is strewn about here and there and the sound of horses walking around and whinnying quietly. Just being in the stables was making her happy, and Bokushi could tell from the growing smile on her face.

“I can’t believe I get to see horses today. I’ve always wanted to see one up close.”

“You’ve never seen a horse before?” Bokushi asked her. She looked off to the side.

“I have,” she replied slowly. “But it was only once, during a parade. I didn’t get to touch it, though.”

“You can get a close look at the horses here, I assure you. They’re right over there.” Bokushi pointed just a few meters ahead of him and Miyoko was very excited to find one horse already poking their head out of their stall. Eager to get closer, she ran over to the entrance to their stalls, looking up at the giant beast that eyed the girl with curiosity. The horse who had happened to stick their head out was a certain white-furred stallion with the grey mane. Miyoko stared up at it and smiled.

“Hello,” she said to the horse. “What’s your name?”

“His name is Yukimaru. It’s my…it’s Seijuro-nii’s horse,” Bokushi corrected. He had to remember him and Akashi no longer shared a body, and Akashi did know the horse for longer than he did, so Yukimaru was Akashi’s horse.

“Really? It’s his horse? How old is it?”

“It’s the same age as him.” Bokushi appeared next to her and looked up at Yukimaru as well, the white horse snorting at the familiar face. “Both Seijuro-nii and Yukimaru were born on December 20th, over sixteen years ago.”

“He’s so lucky! He gets to share a birthday with his pet. Do they share birthday parties?”

“Well…” Bokushi’s eyes just barely flickered over to his father, just for a short moment, but then he looked back over to Miyoko. He realized explaining that they don’t really have birthday parties in their house would take far more effort than to just lie about it, so he simply shrugged his shoulders and said, “Sure.”

Yukimaru’s attention was now turned towards the new face again, and Miyoko wanted nothing more than to get closer.

“I wanna pet him,” she suddenly decided. She turned to Masaomi, who had been standing there for quite some time, just watching the two. “Am I allowed to pet him, Akashi-san?” He nodded in silence.

“If that is what you would like,” he said. “Then yes, you may.”

“Yay!”

She reached up and tried to extend her hand towards the horse’s face, but realized she was too short. Experimentally going on tiptoes didn’t help the matter either. Looking up at Yukimaru, down at the ground, then back to Masaomi, she gave a sheepish smile towards the man as she stood there.

“I can’t reach,” she said. “I think I need help.”

“Very well.”

Bokushi watched as his father walked over to Miyoko, bent down, and lifted her off the ground, holding her up just high enough for her to pet the horses. She smiled as she got closer to the horse, her legs dangling as she was lifted.

“Ah! Now I’m really close!” she exclaimed in satisfaction.

Standing there watching this whole scene unfold, Bokushi couldn’t help but feel baffled by his father’s willingness to do something such as this. He always thought this for the longest time, but his father and small children just didn’t seem to mix. Older children seemed to suit his father better, in Bokushi’s opinion. They were quieter, they were less hyperactive, they spoke less, and they were more likely to obey. Going by those ideals, Miyoko and her father were like oil and water together, maybe even worse. He just couldn’t see how his father could play along and humor a little girl like her when he knew him to be such a different person before. Just two weeks previous he almost didn’t want Bokushi to even live in the house, and the change between that Masaomi and the Masaomi that currently stood before him was astronomical.

“Bokushi-kun…Bokushi-kun!”

His eyes flickered up to Miyoko, who seemed to have been calling him. It was only then that he realized that he had spaced out. He blinked himself out of his trance before answering.

“What is it, Miyoko?”

“I was just asking if Yukimaru bites.” He shook his head.

“No,” he replied. “You can just hold your hand out and pet him. He won’t hurt you.” Miyoko nodded and did as she was told.

“Yukimaru, I’m holding my hand out for you.”

She watched in fascination as Yukimaru began sniffing her hand and then lowered his head slightly, allowing her to stroke his mane. Miyoko giggled.

“I think he likes me,” she said. “Don’t you think so, Akashi-san?” The man hummed in agreement.

“I should think so,” he said back.

As Miyoko continued to pet the horse, Bokushi couldn’t help but feel strange at these interactions his father was having with her. Masaomi lifting Miyoko up to pet Yukimaru reminded him of two weeks previous when Akashi had done the same for him. Looking over at the two, Bokushi couldn’t help but wonder if, at a point in time, Masaomi did this for Akashi as well. It’s nothing he could find out on his own accord and nothing that he would know about unless he asked. But he liked to think that in a happier time, back when their mother was still around, Masaomi would have treated Akashi more like the child he was supposed to be. He could only imagine.

Once Miyoko decided that she was done petting Yukimaru, she withdrew her hand, which was enough to notify Masaomi to set her back on the ground. Bokushi noted how his father’s face was still relatively neutral, as it always was, and there was not enough indication to see if anything was different about him. The only thing he could go by was how he acted which was, unfortunately, unpredictable. Somehow, Miyoko seemed to just not detect any awkward tension in the air, and she went about her business without noticing Bokushi’s uncomfortable expression.

“Yukimaru is such a nice horse, Bokushi-kun!” she said to her currently distraught friend. “Your brother raised him well.”

“Yes, of course,” said Bokushi. “I’ll be sure to tell him. Yukimaru is very gentle. He’s very easy to ride with because of that.”

“Really?” she looked up at the horse in question, green eyes curious. “Can we ride him?”

“Well…” Bokushi knew that he wasn’t in the position to grant her request, so he regretfully turned to his father, asking in a quiet voice, “Father, is it alright if we can take Yukimaru out to ride?”

His father seemed to consider this question for a moment, before slowly moving to open the stables.

“Alright, I will let him out,” he said. “Stand over there while I open the door.”

Bokushi ushered Miyoko away from the stall door as Masaomi unlocked it. As he entered the stall, Yukimaru watched the man with pointed ears, as he reached for the saddle hanging on the wall. Bokushi could tell that even Yukimaru was somewhat unnerved by his father. Around Akashi or himself, Yukimaru was always relaxed and playful. But around his father, Yukimaru seemed to tense ever so slightly, as if he were watching a predator. That was one of the many things that frightened Bokushi, the fact that even a horse can sense his father’s tremendous presence.

As Masaomi put the saddle on Yukimaru and made a few more adjustments, he then took the reins and began to lead him out of his stall. Once he was fully out of the stall, Masaomi turned to the two and beckoned them over.

“Come so I may help you onto the horse,” he said. Miyoko came over and Bokushi stared for a second or two before realizing his father was also talking to him as well, and he began to make his way over behind Miyoko. Of course, Masaomi was true to his word and helped Miyoko on first, ensuring she was settled, and Bokushi was left standing there wondering why he still had that strange unsettling feeling about all this. That was until he realized his father was approaching him, and before he knew it, hands had snaked under his arms and Bokushi was suddenly being lifted in the air.

Bokushi immediately tensed at this sensation. His mind went blank for a moment, and he just froze as he was being lifted before it clicked that his father was lifting him onto the horse. As he was set down onto the saddle on top of the horse, Miyoko was already on a rant about how exciting this experience would be.

“I’ve never ridden a horse before,” she said. “This is gonna be fun! Right, Bokushi-kun?”

“Um…yes…”

Bokushi had been sitting on the saddle for a good five seconds before he realized how stiff he was. His father had just lifted him onto the horse. As in grabbed him and lifted him onto the horse. The isolated situation in itself wasn’t something to be shocked over, but that was the first time that his father had touched him. Ever.

It just happened to be by coincidence. Had Miyoko not been here, Masaomi would not have needed to do that. But the fact that it happened, and the fact that it was without a doubt the most intimate contact that Bokushi has ever had with his father since he came into existence made him feel very strange.

It wasn’t like what he experienced with Akashi where their chemistry while being slightly awkward, was still natural. Any time Akashi put a hand on his shoulder, or ruffled his hair, or displayed any other signs of affection, it was natural. It wasn’t forced by either party and it just worked. But with his father, the sensation of being in contact with him for just those few short moments made him go stiff. Why was that? His father wasn’t being a cold-hearted tyrant like he always seemed to be. Wasn’t this what Bokushi wanted? If that was the case, why did he react so negatively?

“Can we go now, Akashi-san?”

Miyoko’s voice cut through Bokushi’s thoughts and brought him back to reality. His father was grabbing hold of the reins once again, seeming to have finished going through the final checks for everything.

“As you both are children, it would be wise to go slow. I will keep hold of the reins and make sure Yukimaru walks slowly for the both of you.” Miyoko nodded, not minding Masaomi’s decision at all.

“Okay.”

Without any more discussion about what they were doing, Masaomi led the horse out into the fields with Bokushi and Miyoko sitting on top. As Yukimaru walked along, Miyoko was taking in the view of the grassy riding grounds all around them.

“I can’t believe that you can do this whenever you want,” Miyoko said. “I’m jealous. When I grow up, I’m gonna get my own horse.”

“If you work hard enough in your studies, you could very well be in a position to do so,” Masaomi replied. “Owning a horse requires a lot of effort.”

“Oh~.”

Bokushi was not opting to partake in this conversation, he was lost in his own world as he was before. He still couldn’t stop thinking about what just happened. How did his father not find anything weird about that? Surely the awkwardness wasn’t one-sided, was it? His father must have felt something. Perhaps he was overthinking.

But why was he overthinking? Didn’t he want his father to be nice? If so, why did he keep acting so surprised every time his father made an attempt to be nice, like asking about his day, or sitting out with him in the garden, or allowing a friend to stay the weekend? While his father didn’t outright say it, didn’t that mean he was trying?

Seeing his father put in some effort into getting to know Bokushi or humoring his requests was something he liked, but at the same time, disliked. The change between Masaomi then and Masaomi now was too overwhelming for Bokushi to handle, and so at times, he would rather just prefer his father being cold and aloof like he used to be instead of Bokushi having to deal with the second-hand embarrassment of seeing his father trying to get along with a child like him. Emotions were something that neither of them was good with, after all.

Listening to his father talk with Miyoko seemed to bother him as well, for some reason. If he ever saw his father trying to be friendly, it was so he can be able to network amongst colleagues and other business owners. But here, it seemed like he was actually trying to be genuine, and Bokushi couldn’t tell whether he wanted his father to stop, or to keep going.

As much as Bokushi wanted to slide off Yukimaru and go crawl into a corner, he couldn’t help but think of what life would be like if his father was as nice as other fathers he sees everywhere. Those ones that take their children to the park, or buy them sweets, or make jokes, or tell their children how proud they are of them. Even growing up around wealthy families, you still see fathers who enjoy being involved in their children’s lives and just enjoy being a father in general. But as for Bokushi, while he still remembers all the things his father told him that one afternoon in the garden, he wasn’t sure where their relationship stood. Something inside him always told him to just ask, but then Bokushi always silenced that thought in the fear of how his father might react.

He timidly peered over at his father who was still holding the reins and leading the horse around, surveying the grassy field with his mysterious golden eyes. Then suddenly, almost as if his father knew he was watching, he turned to glance at Bokushi, who flinched and averted eye contact, hiding his face behind Miyoko.

Why? Why do I keep doing this, he thought, mentally kicking himself for startling so easily. Father is only being a good host, as he should, yet every time he tries to interact with me I push him away. What do I really want from him?

He shook it off. It doesn’t matter, he convinced himself. He was sick and tired of feeling all these mixed emotions. From now until the end of this sleepover weekend, he would just have to deal with whatever behavior his father displays. It didn’t matter if it made him cringe, it didn’t matter if it made him uncomfortable. Whatever it was, he could handle it.

As Masaomi turned Yukimaru back in the direction of the stables after another five minutes and Miyoko continued to talk to Masaomi about whatever trivial thing popped into her mind, he tried to shut off his brain—anything to keep him from overanalyzing everything his father does. As long as he didn’t think too hard about it, he wouldn’t feel anything.

Once they were finally back in the stables, Miyoko was clapping with joy.

“That was so fun!” she exclaimed. “I loved riding around on Yukimaru, Akashi-san.” Masaomi let go of the reins once Yukimaru came to a stop.

“I am glad that you enjoyed yourself,” he said. “If you would like to ride again while you stay here this weekend, you may come and find me or one of the staff, and they will take you to the stables.”

“Really? Thank you!”

Now that the horse ride was finished, Masaomi began helping the two of the horse. First was Miyoko, and she had no problems allowing Masaomi to lift her off and then set her down on the ground. Bokushi watched as she brushed off her skirt and walked over to his father’s side, waiting for Bokushi to join her. It was then that Bokushi realized that he was next. An overwhelming sense of dread passed over him as he saw his father approaching. He bit his lip and inhaled deeply.

Just suck it up, he told himself. You are being overdramatic.

He tried to force himself to look his father in the eye, but as he came closer, Bokushi’s eyes began to waver. By the time Masaomi had reached him, he had already surrendered himself to staring down at the ground as he was carried off the horse. He couldn’t do it. No matter how hard he convinced himself that this meant nothing, there was still this weird emotion he couldn’t yet place when his father had any type of physical interaction with him. The second he was set back on the ground, he took one look at his father, then turned away. He realized this was going to take a while to get over.

“Yukimaru is a good horse,” said Miyoko. “I want a horse like him one day. Wouldn’t you, Bokushi-kun?”

“Yes, I suppose,” said Bokushi, turning his attention back to Miyoko for a change to force his brain to think about something else. “If you’re willing to put in the effort to own a horse, it’s worth it.”

“Mark my words, I’m getting a horse when I grow up.” Suddenly a rustling sound in one of the stalls caught Miyoko’s attention. It was the stall next to Yukimaru’s, and something was moving around in there. She cocked her head to the side.

“What’s in there, Akashi-san?” Miyoko asked, pointing to the stall in question. Masaomi followed her finger to the stall she was pointing at.

“Ah,” he said. “That would be my horse. It appears he has finished resting.” At the thought of another horse, Miyoko instantly perked.

“You have a horse too, Akashi-san? May I see it?”

Bokushi went a bit stiff. He knew the exact horse his father was talking about. It wasn’t that he was afraid of the horse, he could never be afraid of horses. But there was something about his father’s horse that put him on edge. His father was already bringing his horse out after Miyoko had asked, and he instinctively took a few steps back as the ginormous beast walked out of its stall.

There in all its glory, was Masaomi’s horse. Its mane and its fur were jet black, and its tail was long and flowing. You could see how well-taken care of it was from the splendid sheen of its fur, everything about this creature was perfect. The horse’s eyes were dark brown and shifty, looking at his owner holding his reins, then down to the two children standing at the side. The horse began to try and approach them, but Masaomi tugged lightly at the reins, making the horse stop its advances and stay put.

“My apologies, he is a curious one,” he explained. Miyoko was rather shocked at the appearance of this horse, and she stood in place as she stared at it with wide eyes.

“Wow,” she finally said at last. “I’ve never seen a horse like this before. Is this really yours?” Masaomi nodded.

“What’s its name?”

“Its name is Kuroshinpi,” said Bokushi. “We’ve had him for a long time as well. Unfortunately, since this horse is a bit more aggressive, for a beginner, it would be hard to ride.” Miyoko seemed a bit disappointed.

“Oh.” She thought for a moment before looking at Masaomi. “Then if it’s your horse, Akashi-san, can I see you ride it?” Masaomi furrowed his eyebrows at Miyoko’s request.

“You would like to see me ride my horse?” he asked.

“Yes, please!” Miyoko said earnestly. “Bokushi-kun, don’t you want to see him ride his horse?” Bokushi glanced off to the side.

“Well…” He had actually not seen his father ride his horse for a while. He was always too busy with work to do anything else. If his father was busy enough, there were times where Bokushi wouldn’t even see him at the dinner table, and this was not an uncommon occurrence. Bokushi couldn’t even recall the last time he had seen his father on a horse, it had to have been years. It piqued his curiosity. Coming to a decision in his head, he nodded slightly.

“Yes,” he said. “I would like to see father ride.” He too then looked up at his father, watching his face. His father most definitely thought it over for a moment before going over to get the saddle for his horse.

“It has been a while since I have ridden,” he had said more to himself. “But if you want to see, then I will show you.”

With that, once Masaomi had put the saddle on and adjusted it, he hoisted himself onto his horse with ease. His feet naturally found the stirrups and his hands took hold of the reins, leading his horse as if it were second nature. Miyoko instinctively walked behind the horse, Bokushi walking beside her, putting an arm out in front of her so she didn’t get too close to the horse’s hind legs. Once they were fully outside the stable, Bokushi guided Miyoko to one side, while Masaomi walked the horse further on for a little bit. After he was around ten or so meters away from the two, he stopped.

“What is it you would like to see me do on this horse, exactly?” Masaomi asked. Bokushi looked over to Miyoko, who just shrugged and smiled.

“Anything!” she said. “Show me how what you can do on Kuroshinpi.” When she said that, Masaomi’s golden eyes flashed with an emotion that Bokushi couldn’t decipher and the man gripped the reins a bit tighter.

“Very well.”

From there, no more words were exchanged as in the few seconds that Masaomi took to reply the girl, he had already decided what to do. Rocking the saddle forward, his horse began to walk. The horse was only walking for a few seconds until Bokushi saw his father dig his legs into the horse’s side a little and the pace increased, the horse going from a walk to a canter. Soon enough the horse is full-on galloping before their eyes and Miyoko is entranced.

Masaomi skillfully controlled the horse to the best of his abilities, making it gallop at full speed and executing skillful turns with a level of finesse that only an Akashi could obtain. Bokushi and Miyoko watched as the horse raced around with great agility, even Bokushi was speechless as he watched his father, even though he has seen him ride a horse before. Then, while it was still galloping, Masaomi guided the horse to a jump standard that was set up nearer towards Bokushi and Miyoko. The horse slowed its pace a little as it galloped towards the raised bars, and then at the right time, the horse jumped, soaring over the jumping standard as if it had wings. Miyoko’s eyes went as wide as humanly possible, mouth opening in a wide smile.

“Wow!” she squealed. “Akashi-san is so cool when he rides his horse! Don’t you think, Bokushi-kun?”

Bokushi nodded absentmindedly, his eyes also wide. Even though he’s seen his father ride a horse before, he’s never let loose on his horse like he had done today. The movements of the black horse as it turned and jumped were so precise and controlled, yet something about the horse made it seem chaotic, mischievous, and wild. Looking up at his father controlling the large creature with nothing but his reins and the movement of his legs, his eyes that usually looked so cold looked like they were sparking up with a fire that Bokushi had never seen before. Just like the horse, his father looked wild, unlike his typical stoic appearance. Masaomi suddenly pulled back on the reins, making the horse stand up on its hind legs and let out a loud neigh. That exact moment was the moment Bokushi wanted to ingrain in his mind for a long time. The image of his father sitting on a horse on its hind legs, the pose that made his father look exactly like a dark prince.

No, not a dark prince, Bokushi thought. A dark king.

Completely engrossed in his father’s little display of his horse-riding skills, Bokushi didn’t even notice when he stopped restraining himself and started smiling along with Miyoko. Standing there, watching Masaomi look so free and uncontrolled, Bokushi’s inhibitions disappeared, along with all the reluctance towards his father.

Once Masaomi had decided he had shown enough and signaled for his horse to slow down to a stop near the stable, he dismounted and then continued to lead the horse back by the reins. Miyoko and Bokushi approached him as he was walking back.

“Was that satisfying enough for you?” he asked the young girl.

“Satisfying?!” Miyoko parroted in disbelief. “That was beyond satisfying! Akashi-san, you looked so amazing riding Kuroshinpi! I’ve never seen someone ride a horse like that before. What did you think, Bokushi-kun?” All eyes were on Bokushi as Miyoko whipped her head around to look at her companion standing next to her. Bokushi didn’t even realize he was still smiling as he looked up at his father without hesitation for the very first time, his eyes glistening with admiration.

“I think it was beautiful,” he said to his father with childish awe. At that reply, Masaomi raised a brow slightly, making Bokushi falter before realizing what he just said. His face began to redden as he opened his mouth to attempt to stammer an apology (did he do anything wrong? no, but he was gonna apologize anyway), but before he could even say anything, he heard a noise from his father. It was only after a few seconds of processing that Bokushi realized his father had just chuckled.

Wait…he chuckled?

Bokushi didn’t even have enough time to look up at his father before he turned around again, attention on his horse as he took the saddle off.

“Thank you,” is the response Bokushi got from him. A light gasp unconsciously escaped Bokushi’s mouth as his father guided his horse back to the stall and Miyoko continued to rant about horses. That was the first time his father had ever said thank you to him.

Sure, Masaomi had been becoming nicer and nicer as the weeks have gone on (as nice as his personality would allow, anyway), but for his father to say thank you after Bokushi complimented him, Bokushi felt as light as a feather knowing that his father was making an effort. This whole time that Miyoko has been with them, Bokushi had been loathing his father tagging along, wishing that he would just leave the two of them in peace to do whatever. Even when Masaomi would actually try to interact with Bokushi, he still pushed the man away. But after, this, now that Bokushi saw him genuinely happy, he no longer cared about the awkwardness or the second-hand embarrassment. At long last, he realized that yes, this is what he wanted. This is what he wanted to see in his father. A change for the better.

Bokushi didn’t try to hide the small smile that slipped on his face after his father turned around as he looked down to the ground, a light pink dusted across his cheeks.

“You’re welcome.”