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daryl-dixon-daydreams · 3 years

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Words: 2,952 Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Reader Reader pronouns: she/her Era: The prison (Season 3) Warnings: language, that's it! A/N: Kintsugi, aka "golden joinery" is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with precious materials like gold and it is strikingly beautiful. I think you'll understand why I titled the fic this at the end! Summary: After Daryl leaves with Merle, he return to the prison to find that Y/N is extremely angry with him...

Your name: submit What is this?

Your face went through a rapid series of emotions as soon as his familiar broad shoulders came into view. First was shock and surprise, and then relief to see him again and to see him in one piece, and then just... anger. Daryl shifted his weight anxiously from one foot to the next, watching over everyone crowded around him as you simply stood up and turned your back on the room and left. You walked straight out and into the row of cells, disappearing through the heavy metal door. Daryl caught Rick’s eyes and the sheriff simply tilted his head and gave Daryl a knowing look. Daryl’s attention was pulled away as Carol grabbed him into a tight hug.

He was surprised when you didn’t come back out to join in the discussion of what the hell to do next about Woodbury and the Governor. He worked up the courage to try to talk to you, knowing full well it may just be an exercise in futility.

You easily heard the familiar cadence of his steps approaching your cell and the doorway darkened as his frame stopped in the space. He gripped the edge of the cell door and anxiously chewed his bottom lip.

You were sitting on the edge of your bunk, determinedly not looking at him. “Go away, Daryl.” Your voice was quiet but there was an unfamiliar edge to it.

He shifted uncomfortably but didn’t leave. “Just—would ya just talk to me?” he ventured. He saw the muscle in your jaw tense as your teeth clenched. “What is there to talk about?” “I—’M back now. I came back,” he said. He felt sick. He wasn’t used to you being angry with him and it was completely twisting him into knots. “Yep,” you said, standing and going to the doorway. You pulled the hanging sheet in the doorway, a makeshift door, closed right in his face. “Leave me alone,” your voice came out from the cell and then he heard the springs of your bunk creak as you sank back down on it. He stepped back from the fabric and dropped his hand from its grip on the doorframe, heaving a heavy sigh. Carol stepped out of her cell, just a few doors down and looked at Daryl staring at the closed sheet in front of him. He turned at the sound of her soft footsteps. Carol’s brow was furrowed low over her eyes and she tilted her head in the direction of the staircase that climbed to the second level. Daryl’s hand clenched and unclenched in a fist and he gave your cell one last parting look before turning away to follow Carol up the stairs. She peeked at Judith in her makeshift bed and smiled. Daryl stopped beside her and looked down at the little sleeping bundle. His heart warmed at the sight of her, but his expression was still dark. Carol glanced over at him. He chewed on his bottom lip anxiously again. “She won’t even talk to me,” he drawled. “Give her a little time,” Carol said gently. “She’ll come around.” Carol sounded very sure of her assertion, but all Daryl could think was that he’d ruined things for good. “I came back,” he said, leaning back against the railing. His heart was aching with regret. Going off with Merle was stupid in the first place. Almost as soon as he’d done it he knew it was a mistake. “You being back doesn’t change the fact that you left in the first place,” Carol pointed out. “You really think she doesn’t have a right to be upset? Think about how she’s interpreting you leaving.” He gave her a questioning look. Carol straightened up and stared at him. “I understand why you did what you did. He’s your brother. He’s blood. But you leaving with him... to her it means she wasn’t worth staying for. You chose Merle, a racist asshole, over all of us, and right when we’re sitting on the edge of war against the psychopath Merle worked for. I know that isn’t really what happened. It’s not that simple, but that’s what it feels like. She thinks you leaving means that... whatever there is between the two of you wasn’t worth anything. It wasn’t enough to make you stay.”

He gulped and shifted uncomfortably. “But that ain’t true...” Carol shrugged. “That’s how it seems to her.”

Daryl ran a hand over his face and sighed again. “I really fucked up,” he growled. The grit and gravel in his voice was heavier than usual. “You did what you thought you needed to do,” Carol said, giving his shoulder a light squeeze. “Just give her a little time. She’ll cool off.” But the rest of the day, you stayed in your cell with the doorway covered. Daryl hung around hoping you’d step out so he could try to talk to you again, try to apologize and explain. He was sick with regret and guilt and worry, but you never stepped out. “Who’s on watch tonight?” Daryl asked Rick. He was thinking about offering to stay up and take both shifts because there was no way he would be sleeping that night anyway. He was too anxious. “Y/N first and then Glenn is taking the second shift. He gave Daryl a knowing look. The archer looked miserable. Rick sighed. “I’m just glad you’re back,” Rick said.

Daryl nudged his nose up in nod. “Yeah... thanks...” You’d be on guard first. You wouldn’t be able to hide in your cell forever. You could, however, still tell him to fuck off, but he had to try. Just waiting around was agonizing and he kept thinking about how in this world even the next minute wasn’t a guarantee. He had to make things right as soon as he could.

Night fell and after scraping together his courage, Daryl got up, knowing you’d be in the guard tower by now. He went to the little stove and heated up some water, pouring it over a tea bag in a mug and staring down at it. Yeah, bring her tea, dumbass. That’ll fix it. But regardless of that derisive voice in his head, he grabbed the mug and headed out to climb the narrow stairs of the guard tower, curls of steam wafting off the surface of the amber liquid. You turned when you heard the metal door from the stairwell creak open, thinking maybe Glenn couldn’t sleep and was coming to keep you company early. Instead you saw the broad shoulders of the archer coming through and you turned away and fixed your eyes on the darkness blanketing the prison yard. “What?” you asked sharply. Daryl gulped. Obviously you hadn’t cooled off enough yet. “I just—uhh.” He rubbed his hand awkwardly over the back of his neck. “I brought ya some tea,” he drawled. You kept your back to him and said nothing. He edged closer and set the tea in front of you on the table. It was then that he noticed the bandage on your upper arm. He hadn’t noticed it before, probably because you’d been wearing a jacket. Without thinking, he reached out and gently grabbed your arm. “What happened?”

You glanced at his hand on your arm and then up to his blue eyes. You felt your resolve crumbling as soon as your eyes met his. It was like some involuntary reaction you had no control over, but you tugged your arm from his grasp and shifted away from him, averting your eyes back toward the outside again. “I got shot,” you said. “What?” he urged. “The hell ya mean ya got shot?”

His voice was tinged with deep concern. “By one of those Woodbury assholes. You know, when you were off running around with Merle,” you replied. Daryl’s stomach twisted. How could he have been so stupid? If he’d been at the prison where he was supposed to be he could have protected you. What if it hadn’t just been your arm? He hadn’t even said goodbye to you... he’d just left. The hell was he thinking? You must have sensed his sudden panic because you looked over at him again and studied his face. “It’s just a bullet graze, Daryl.” Your tone was flat this time, but it was an improvement over the previous anger. “I’d rather be alone,” you said quietly. You hesitated. “Thanks for the tea.”

He gulped again. This distant tone you had was eating him alive and he felt his blood pressure rising. “Would ya just look at me at least? Gimme a chance to explain!”

You were a bit taken aback by his tone, which was now a little angry too, and you did turn to stare at him, your brow furrowed heavily now. “Explain?” You scoffed. “What the hell is there to explain? You made your choice. Your priorities are pretty damn clear. So, just—just leave me alone...”

“Nah,” he growled. “Not ‘til ya listen to me.”

You glared at him and he watched the muscle in your jaw tense as you clenched your teeth. “Actions speak louder than words, Daryl.”

“I fucked up, alright? I ain’t denyin’ that! I wanted to come back as soon as I left!” he roared. “‘M sorry!” “Sorry?” You stared at him, bewildered. “You’re sorry,” you repeated. “Yeah, well, so am I. Sorry I was stupid enough to think that maybe—” You broke off and shut your eyes, breathing in a tense breath. “That maybe what?” Daryl pressed you.

“That maybe I actually fucking meant something to you!” you yelled. There were angry tears in your eyes now and you fought to blink them away. “But if you could just leave then clearly I’ve deluded myself, because I could never do that to you. So, I guess I don’t know what this—” you gestured to yourself and then to him, “—is. Was. Whatever... apparently it’s nothing.” The archer stared at you feeling like his heart had split open. “That ain’t—that ain’t true. And it wasn’t that simple. S’not that simple.” He took a hesitant step toward you.

Your jaw was still set. “Forget it. You don’t need to explain anything to me. It’s not like we were.... together. I was stupid to read into anything. I’m—I’m done. I’ll just send Glenn up later,” you murmured, trying to storm out of the guard tower, ready to race down the stairs and leave the whole mess behind you. But Daryl’s hand gently caught you as you tried to move past him, landing lightly but firmly on your arm.

“Nah. Don’t do that! Don’t just—just dismiss this!” he growled.

You stared up at him, caught off-guard by his hand on you, by him physically stopping you from leaving. You were trying to think of something to say but your mind was suddenly blank. His hand finally dropped from your arm but instead of backing off he stepped closer to you. “This ain’t nothin’!” he argued. “And ya weren’t kiddin’ yerself. Now just stop bein’ so damn stubborn and talk to me!” You felt your resolve crumbling a little. “I—I don’t have anything else to say!” you retorted angrily. “Now let me by!” You tried to brush past him again but he stepped right in your way. “Daryl,” you growled. “Get outta the way.” “Nah,” he said shaking his head. “Ya wanna be stubborn? Fine, but so will I.”

“Move!” you yelled at him again, feeling a flush of angry heat in your face. “No,” he said again, this time catching your eyes with his blue ones.

Your chest was heaving with angry and nervous breaths. “Let me go,” you said, and this time even you were surprised by how weak your own request sounded.

Daryl stared down at you, his posture defiant, obstinate. His heart was absolutely racing in his chest and he finally couldn’t suppress the urge any longer. He clasped your face in both hands and kissed you urgently, something he’d wanted to do for so long, but even more so since he’d tried to leave. It was all he could think about. A moment later he was sweeping you into him with a hand on your lower back.

You let out a noise of surprise and stumbled back, away from him, staring at him standing there with his chest heaving. “Wh—what the hell are you doing?”

Daryl gulped. Oh shit. Had he just fucked things up worse? He gestured vaguely with one hand. “This ain’t nothin’,” he drawled, breathless from his lips on yours. He stepped toward you cautiously again, half expecting you to move away or brush past him for the exit, but you didn’t move. He anxiously licked his lips, and you felt butterflies flit to life in your stomach. “‘M sorry,” he said again.

You stared at him, a quizzical expression on your face. You wanted his lips on yours again. “Say it again,” you said softly. You stepped closer to him.

Daryl stared down into your eyes. The regret in his was plain. He slipped his fingers into your hair and clasped your face again. “‘M so sorry. I ain’t ever gonna leave again if I can help it.”

Your expression softened and you grabbed onto the front of his vest and pulled his lips down to meet yours, kissing him heatedly. Daryl’s hand landed on your lower back again and he pulled you against him, pressing forward so you were touching practically from knees to nose. His kiss was urgent, feverish. He pressed into you and you moved backwards blindly until you felt the table behind you. Daryl’s strong hands lifted you, setting you on the edge. You looped your arms around his neck and gently bit at his lower lip, eliciting a chesty growl from him. His hands wandered over your back and smoothed down your sides, feeling the curve of your waist and angles of your hips. They wandered down further and ran over your thighs, sending tingles of electricity up your back. You tugged him into you more tightly, feeling his hips pressing into the inside of your knees as you sat on the table. You slid a hand under his vest, around his back, and scratched your nails over the thin cotton of his shirt, feeling his strong, tense muscles beneath the material. He pulled back from you suddenly and your eyes opened, long eyelashes fluttering, disappointed and feeling the inches between your lips profoundly. “What is it?” you asked him, completely out of breath. He just stared down at you, not lifting his hands from your hips. “Nothin’. Just tryin’ to convince myself this is really happenin’,” he drawled, his eyes flitting between yours and your partially parted lips.

You ran your fingers through his hair and he leaned into your touch. “It is.”

He looked suddenly nervous again. “Listen, I still wanna tell ya... I can’t entirely explain it. I know Merle’s an asshole. Of course I know that... But he’s my brother. And it was almost like I didn’t have a choice in the matter. I’d already left him once in Atlanta. I couldn’t do it again.” Daryl rushed on, still in vague disbelief that somehow you’d gone from yelling at him to kissing him in a span of a few minutes. “But as soon as we were alone out there... I realized he might be my brother but he ain’t really my family anymore. Maybe he never was.”

You gulped and nodded, pressing your hand flush to his chest and feeling his racing heart beneath your fingers. “I’m sorry I was so hard on you,” you said regretfully. “I was just—hurt.”

He nodded. “I can’t blame ya. ‘M sorry.”

You looped your arms around his neck again and he gave in to the gentle tug easily as you pulled his lips back to yours. The heat built between you again and you let out a small sigh as Daryl’s lips wandered from yours to kiss your neck and the delicate skin by your collarbone, his fingers tangling roughly into your hair. You found yourself arching into him more and more and Daryl was reeling as your fingernails lightly scratched his back, even over the fabric of his shirt. But the building heat was quickly quashed by the sound of the squeaky metal hinges on the door to the stairwell and both of you startled. Daryl spun around and you jumped up from your spot on the table, accidentally knocking the mug of tea to the floor, which of course shattered and sent liquid splashing everywhere. Your entire face flushed as you saw Glenn standing in the doorway with a surprised look on his face, one hand still on the doorknob.

“Uhhhhh... sorry,” he mumbled. But his face quickly broke into a grin he tried to stifle. “I’ll just—I’m gonna go,” he said jutting a thumb back over his shoulder, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice. Daryl shifted uncomfortably next to you. Glenn turned on his heel and headed right back down the stairs and into the cellblock again.

Rick, unable to sleep with the threat of the Governor still looming, caught sight of him returning and gave him a questioning look. “I thought you were on guard duty now?” he asked curiously. Glenn smiled and laughed a little awkwardly. “Uhh, yeah, but uhh—Y/N and Daryl have got it,” he said, his eyebrows lifting. “Y/N and Daryl? Isn’t she still pissed at him?” the sheriff asked, looping one thumb into his pocket. Glenn laughed again. “I’m pretty sure they made up... Night, Rick.”

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renegadewangs · 3 years

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Van Zieks - the Examination, part 9

Warnings: SPOILERS for The Great Ace Attorney: Chronicles. Additional warning for racist sentiments uttered by fictional characters (and screencaps to show these sentiments).

Disclaimer: (see Part 1 for the more detailed disclaimer.) - These posts are not meant to be taken as fact. Everything I’m outlining stems from my own views and experiences. If you believe that I’ve missed or misinterpreted something, please let me know so I can edit the post accordingly. -The purpose of these posts is an analysis, nothing more. Please do not come into these posts expecting me to either defend Barok van Zieks from haters, nor expecting me to encourage the hatred. - I’m using the Western release of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles for these posts, but may refer to the original Japanese dialogue of Dai Gyakuten Saiban if needed to compare what’s said. This also means I’m using the localized names and localized romanization of the names to stay consistent. -It doesn’t matter one bit to me whether you like Barok van Zieks or dislike him. However, I will ask that everyone who comments refrains from attacking real, actual people.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

How the turnabouts have turned! It's time for Twisted Karma and His Last Bow!

Episode 2-4: Twisted Karma and His Last Bow

With Van Zieks's tragic backstory (…) exposed, it's time to head on into waters we've charted before, waaay back in the very first Ace Attorney game: The Prosecutor becomes the Defendant. It all starts off with some shenanigans which appear to have very little to do with Van Zieks (the arrival of Mikotoba and Jigoku, the Red-headed League, a missing prison warder, etc.).. Ryu does still run into Van Zieks very briefly in Stronghart's office, with Susato noting that there appears to be an awful lot of tension in the air. I expect Van Zieks is questioning that decision to leave Genshin Asogi's son in his care, but even so, he's very civil towards Stronghart. Susato also notes that Van Zieks gives Ryu a cold stare as he leaves, with Ryu wondering what he's done to earn that. This may also be a result of him being besties with Kazuma, since Van Zieks had already buried the hatchet towards Ryu for the most part. When Ryu asks about the decision to leave Kazuma in Van Zieks's care, Stronghart explains it was to best keep an eye on this 'mysterious amnesiac with no identifying papers'. Well OK then. Stronghart also explains he made Kazuma wear a mask because he didn't want to “burden Van Zieks with tiresome explanations about why he had an Eastern appearance.” … I would assume the very simple explanation is that it's because he's of Eastern descent, Stronghart. Regardless, the Lord Chief Justice has high hopes for Kazuma's future and isn't at all bothered by the fact that the guy has gone missing for a little bit.

Things take a turn later when Gina Lestrade comes barging into 221B with some pretty shocking news. Inspector Gregson was murdered. Yes, THAT Inspector Gregson. The suspect has already been arrested:

It's true that to the average civilian like Gina, Van Zieks's name is pretty much synonymous to the Reaper (of the Old Bailey). Even so, to have her outright calling him by that title adds a sort of emotional distance that's really striking. Gina explains they caught him at the scene and there were several witnesses, but Ryu thinks to himself that there's no way Van Zieks would have taken Gregson's life. So naturally, we owe it to our good pal Gregson (who actually was just coming around and being nicer to Ryu) to find the truth. Time to go have a talk with Van Zieks in prison!

… Okay that's funny. Don't worry, Barok, one day we'll all look back on this and laugh. Anyway, Van Zieks says he's in the last place on earth he'd want to be, with the last person on earth he'd want to see. And this line can easily be misinterpreted as Van Zieks saying he hates Ryu more than anyone else in the world, but what he's actually saying is that Ryu is the last person he wishes would see him in this troublesome situation. Ryu says he couldn't very well not come, but Van Zieks tells him to go home since it has nothing to do with him. Susato interjects, pointing out that Gregson has helped them out on numerous occasions and so, they're indebted to him. She pleads for Van Zieks's help with the investigation and he's silent for a moment, only to say: “There's really nothing I can tell you.” Which I suppose means he doesn't think he has anything helpful to say. Ryu asks about what Van Zieks was reading when they came in and assumes it to be a case report. Van Zieks says the Yard wouldn't share case details with a suspect (keep that one in mind) and explains it's a letter from Albert. Dear Professor Harebrayne has arrived in Germany safely! Ryu notes that Van Zieks usually never minces his words, but they seem to have less bite than usual now. No wonder, really, since he's in prison for the murder of an old friend. Van Zieks asks how much they already know about the case, so the two of them go through the facts and Van Zieks says they're well-informed. He's got nothing to add, because... Well.

Oh, this is going to be another one of those cases, huh. Susato asks what Van Zieks was doing at the crime scene in the first place, but Van Zieks points out he doesn't need to answer that, as they aren't representing him. When asked who is representing him in court, he says it'd be anyone other than Ryu. That said, he doesn't actually have any representation because of his reputation as the Reaper. Sixteen people he's prosecuted have mysteriously died and now that he's actually been apprehended for a murder, that whole Reaper ordeal is sure to be thoroughly examined.

BOY, have we got news for you! When it's pointed out that Van Zieks didn't actually have anything to do with those mysterious deaths (right???), he replies that no one wants to know the true identity of that killer more than he does, but it seems things may come to a head before he can uncover the truth. Van Zieks basically tells Ryu to leave, but being the kind-hearted gentleman that he is, Ryu offers to advocate for him in court. Van Zieks asks whether Ryu trusts him, which is a pretty fair question to ask. He's built up so many racist scumbag points and has such a bad reputation in town, it would be weird for Ryu to trust him unconditionally. Luckily, Ryu has been paying attention just as much as I have; he's heard Van Zieks speak in court and seen the way he treats people (uhh, English citizens, anyway), so he doesn't believe this 'Reaper' has it in him to take a life. Unfortunately, Ryu also has to acknowledge that feelings can't be used as evidence in court. Van Zieks considers the offer gracious, but...

“Not the police, not the judiciary... And not you Nipponese.”

One more scumbag point for putting “you Nipponese” in its own category for no reason. Either way, this man has built up such high defensive walls, you could see them from three galaxies away. Trusting no one is a pretty drastic way of living. Ryu thinks to himself that there's a chasm between the two of them that's 'just too wide and too deep'.

As a sidenote, presenting the attorney armband doesn't lead to any interesting conversation this time, but we can also present the Red-headed League advertisement! Van Zieks surmises that if it were a Black-headed League, Ryu would join without delay, which Ryu then confirms. Van Zieks says that sadly, his hair is neither black nor red. He goes into a most curious identity crisis of sorts, where he looks quite anguished as he wonders which coloured league he should join instead. There have been several debates over his hair color, actually, from lavender to purple to grey. Regardless, Susato points out that “people are troubled by the most unexpected problems at times.” It is unexpected, since Van Zieks needs neither the money nor the company that he would get from joining any such league. It's just the principle of the matter, I suppose.

Over by the crime scene in Fresno Street, Gina gets a little razzled when she suspects Ryu is thinking of defending “that Reaper bloke”. Susato points out that if “Lord van Zieks” really is responsible for the crime, he'll be judged fairly in court. This gets Gina to calm down again, because she really wants to know the truth of what happened and much like Van Zieks, she must know that getting the truth is what Ryu does best. A bit of conversation later, Gina points out one more interesting thing; Gregson apparently held a lot of respect for 'the Reaper'. “I take my hat off to that fella,” were his exact words, apparently. Ryu is skeptical, as am I, because I've seen the way Gregson talks about Van Zieks behind his back.

Gina explains that's exactly why he respected Van Zieks. That's... a little weird and ambiguous. So either he respected Van Zieks's ability to stand tall despite all the public scorn, or he respected the fear he struck into people's hearts. There's one more option; Gina keeps talking about the Reaper instead of Van Zieks, so it's possible that Gregson was talking about the actual Reaper. This seems unlikely, though, since he didn't seem to enjoy being part of the Reaper organization.

And now that we know Van Zieks is the defendant, one might be wondering: Who is the prosecutor? Who is the antagonistic force who will try to stop Ryu from uncovering the truth? Well, we find him over in Stronghart's office. Apparently he took an express train back to London from wherever it was he's been these past few days.

YOOOOUUUU!!! Though before we can address his presence properly, we need to discuss the new case. Stronghart wastes no time asking Ryu and Susato whether they've heard “the sickening news about the Reaper's latest devilry.” Which stands out, to say the least, since Stronghart has always been a strong supporter of Van Zieks up until this point. When Susato points out that surely he doesn't believe it, Stronghart says he believes only in facts, which all point to the unavoidable accusal of Lord van Zieks. Someone sure had a quick turnaround when it comes to his number one prosecutor, geez... Stronghart points out the irony that there's no salvation for anyone prosecuted by the Reaper of the Bailey, and now the Reaper himself must stand in the dock. Just as Van Zieks had already alluded to, Stronghart now claims the public will want answers about those mysterious deaths. Ryu and Susato both point out that which had been rubbed into our faces several times already; Van Zieks denies any involvement, and also there have been several investigations into whether he had anything to do with it. Stronghart kind of brushes this off, though. Turns out, Van Zieks is being traded in for a newer model number one prosecutor: Kazuma Asogi! Which seems weird at first glance, since Kazuma is a defense attorney, but Stronghart considers that a bonus:

“A devastation combination, wouldn't you agree?”

I do agree. Granted, it seems Van Zieks had already figured out the defense's strategies too, he just never actively used them to his own advantage. It also turns out that Kazuma personally requested the prosecutor position for this trial. Susato thinks it's pretty unprecedented to grant a newcomer exchange student such a request, but Stronghart offers some petty excuse about how this way, it won't look like the judiciary are closing ranks. Kazuma, who assumes his friend will take on the defense, says he'll see how Ryu's skills have been honed after practicing law in England for so many months. (Uhh. Actually, bestie, it was only about two months of being a defense attorney and six months of disbarment.) Ryu notes that Kazuma is being hostile towards him and wonders why. On a final note, when asking Stronghart about the gun found at the crime scene, we're told that it's issued to all members of law enforcement, including prosecutors. Van Zieks claims to have lost his. That's a troubling claim indeed, because it's difficult to prove or disprove. GOSH, if only fingerprints were allowed in court.

As Ryu and Susato turn to leave, Kazuma stops them. He once again states he wants Ryu to witness this trial as the defense counsel, to “see how it ends”. Since Kazuma has a very distinct vision for how he wants it to end, I guess this means he intends to confront Ryu with Van Zieks's guilt and have his bestie see that a man like him is unworthy of his trust. Either that, or he expects Ryu to use this trial to find the truth of what really happened with the Professor ten years ago, just as he used Albert's trial to dig into that incident. Still though, this reads as pretty scummy to me, because it means he wants Ryu to lose a trial and lose some of his belief in his clients. In the trial itself, it seems to me that Kazuma desperately believes Van Zieks to be a horrible person deserving of the guilty verdict. Therefore, he in no way can hold hope that Ryu will prove him wrong (unlike what went down in case 2-3 with Albert). Anyway, Ryu says that Van Zieks would never put his fate in his hands.

“... It's not easy to see behind the facade sometimes.”

Case 2-3 already told us this, but it's nice to have it confirmed by someone who was closer to Van Zieks. Because remember, Kazuma spent three months by Van Zieks's side (and even fighting by his side), so of course he would know more about his personality than we do. Kazuma hands over a photograph of Barok when he was younger and

GOOD LORD, HE CAN SMILE. Or he could when he was younger, anyway. Kazuma states the picture was displayed in Gregson's office. What he's 'trying to say' is that if Ryu really thinks he can trust “the Reaper” (distancing choice of words again), he might find that some straight talking will change his view. I got the impression we've been straight talking Van Zieks ever since we first met him, but okay. Let's take the picture and back to the gaol we go! Van Zieks is once again reading from some paper and Ryu points out that either he's an incredibly slow reader or it's an incredibly long letter, but either way, Ryu might even be able to read English faster than him. Naturally, this was said loud enough for Van Zieks to overhear.

Scumbag point for hypocrisy, but also a scumbag point for “Nipponese”. When Ryu asks whether it's still Albert's letter he's reading, Van Zieks says he had the case report brought to him in secret. So wait, the Yard does share case details with its suspect? Hilarious. Once again, Van Zieks insists the situation has nothing to do with Ryu, up until the prosecutor's name is revealed to him. And so, the masked cardboard cutout student has become the master! Ryu notes that all the color drained from Van Zieks's face, which is pretty impressive when there's barely any color there to begin with. Ryu has the opportunity now to thrust the photograph into his face, so let's do that. He's immediately alarmed, since he assumed it to be lost and would never have expected Gregson to have it. When Ryu says that Gregson had a deep respect for him, he dismisses that as nonsense, only to correct himself. “There was a time things were like that.”

Van Zieks thanks Ryu for that nice glimpse into the past, and Ryu thinks to himself that there was a glimmer in Van Zieks's eyes- a brief twinkle. He considers that “an insight into the true nature of this man known to all as the stone-cold Reaper of the Bailey”, with “the true nature” being highlighted as orange. So this right here is undeniable; this is what the narrative is illustrating to us now. The true nature of Barok van Zieks is that of someone who was hopeful and jovial; kind-hearted, as Albert knew him. What we see now, that harsh exterior full of harsh words, is not his nature at all.

Van Zieks is more willing to talk now. He once again speaks of Klint, rehashing the same story we've heard several times already. Van Zieks claims there's not a single day where he doesn't curse the name Asogi. He considers it a cruel twist of fate that the man's son intends to crucify him in 'some kangaroo court'. Clearly, he doesn't think highly of the upcoming trial if he refers to it as a kangaroo court, but that's likely because he knows he isn't the real killer. When Ryu points out that he still doesn't understand why Stronghart apprenticed Kazuma to Van Zieks, the explanation is that “it's what he does”. Van Zieks believes that Stronghart knew Kazuma's true identity from the outset, but still provides no real explanation as to why Stronghart 'did what he did' and even assigned Kazuma as the prosecutor this time. Van Zieks goes on to contemplate the name Asogi some more and calls it 'the epitome of his bane'.

I've talked before about how utterly flawed it is that Van Zieks attributes Genshin's crime to his race and/or cultural upbringing and proceeds to tar every single Japanese person with the same brush. There's no need to go into this again; we all know it's wrong. Turns out, even Van Zieks knows it's wrong, but we'll get back to that momentarily. First, Van Zieks needs to talk about Klint even more. (good lord...) He explains that Klint van Zieks was hunting down a mass murderer and “assigned to the investigation as his partner was a certain visiting student dispatched by the Yard.” This was Genshin, of course, and I believe this is the first time it's said that he too was looking into the Professor case. So Van Zieks already mentioned in the previous case that the Japanese students had left a deep impact on him, and also that he once toasted friendship with a Japanese person, but now we have this:

“But none of us saw the true nature of the man.”

True nature is once again in orange here, but this time as a red herring. Van Zieks believes that the Professor murders were Genshin's true nature, when it isn't quite true at all. Regardless, since Van Zieks was still in university at the time the exchange students were in the country, I don't think he would've had that much contact with Genshin. I expect he encountered the man on rare occasion while Klint associated most with him. Every meeting was enough to foster this respect and friendship, though, so it's clear that young Van Zieks was easily influenced and had a very open mind towards a foreign exchange student. But then, that's what makes the next portion of the story all the more damaging.

“My esteemed brother... The people I believed in... And any semblance of right prevailing over wrong!”

As Van Zieks also already alluded to in the previous case, he found himself in a very dark place. That isn't surprising. Every positive thing Van Zieks knew in his life, from his family to his closest friends, was ripped away from him in extremely close succession. What must've been the final nail in the coffin was Genshin outright admitting to his crimes. It erased all doubt that perhaps there was some sort of misunderstanding or a frame job. Going over everything Van Zieks has said so far, it seems he didn't just blame Genshin for the tremendous loss he suffered; he blamed himself. He must believe that his trust in Genshin blinded him to this supposed 'true nature', just as it must've also blinded Klint, and that the whole tragedy could've been prevented if only he'd been more cautious. So now, in present day, he no longer trusts anyone. He outright says so.

Van Zieks goes on to talk about how he was the one who prosecuted the Professor. Since he'd only just graduated, such a thing usually wouldn't be allowed, but he “beleaguered the ascribed prosecutor until he consented.” This person was Mael Stronghart, who back then was apparently still no more than a prosecutor. A highly accomplished one, but a prosecutor nonetheless. Since Klint was the Director of Prosecutions (or Chief Prosecutor???) at the time, that means he actually ranked above Stronghart. Interesting. Regardless, since Stronghart agreed to let Van Zieks lead the prosecution and instead only acted as an advisor, Van Zieks now feels indebted to him. That certainly explains why he's usually so good about following Stronghart's orders and not asking questions.

“And, of all things, as a lawyer.”

Ahhh, this is the part where Ryu enters the chronology. Our protagonist points out that he's felt Van Zieks's animosity since the first time he faced him in the courtroom; his obvious deep loathing of Japanese people. And here comes perhaps one of the most important, yet most overlooked lines Van Zieks will ever utter in these games:

“But for so many years, that hatred had festered inside me, I could no longer control it.”

So here, Van Zieks admits to two things. First of all, he admits that he was wrong to hold such deep loathing and by extension, to give that loathing a voice. He's a man of logic, after all. To cling to something which he refers to as illogical is about as wrong as one could get. Not only that, he admits that this was an unstoppable force he should have controlled, but was too weak to do so. The hatred overpowered him and did away with common sense. He behaved stupidly and irrationally because for ten years, hatred and negativity was all he knew. But what's even more striking here is Ryu's answer, which is also often overlooked:

Ryu, bless his heart, doesn't blame Van Zieks for succumbing to this weakness. Bear in mind, he's the victim here. Van Zieks wouldn't have encountered many other Japanese people in those ten years, if at all. This means the first person he lashed out against was Ryu. Naturally, Ryu can't speak for Susato or Soseki, who received their own verbal assaults and might have different opinions on the matter. Ryu is just one man, but in our narrative, he's the main protagonist and the main target of these outbursts. Is it misleading and perhaps even problematic in the grand scheme of things to have the protagonist sympathize with such motivation? Well, that depends on many different factors. There's no easy answer for this because it's a nuanced, cultural sort of thing. Personally, I was a bit bothered by it, but not to the point that it ruined the experience for me.

Van Zieks admits that just as the Japanese were the bane of his life, Kazuma Asogi must believe Van Zieks to be the bane of his. He is, after all, the Reaper who sent his father to the gallows. Van Zieks thinks that Kazuma intends to take revenge in court and... Really, this is true.

There's a quick bit of conversation about Gregson now. Turns out, the only reason the Professor was caught at all was because Gregson forced an autopsy on Klint despite it being considered the highest taboo at the time. Van Zieks says that as a result of Gregson's powerful conviction, he could avenge his brother's death. He looks quite torn, a bit pained. He must believe he owes Gregson something for this. The conversation then moves on to Van Zieks's revolver, which he claims to have misplaced an undetermined amount of time ago. “I must have stowed it somewhere, I suppose. Or left it somewhere, perhaps.” Van Zieks clearly doesn't think highly of firearms as a weapon, since he's constantly carrying a sword around instead. Susato points out that Ryu has a talent for misplacing things in common with Van Zieks, which leads to one more scumbag outburst.

… Dude. Come on. You just admitted it was illogical. You came so far! Scumbag point for you. Still, as the conversation rounds to a close, Van Zieks utters the words “Mister... Naruhodo”, much to Ryu's surprise. This is the first time he's actually said Ryu's name! Van Zieks once again reiterates that he's lost all confidence in England's judiciary system. He doesn't trust the police, the judiciary or lawyers. Even so, there's still one thing he's willing to believe in.

“That which you see in the eyes of another across the courtroom: a simple determination to know the truth. From the very first time we clashed in the Bailey almost a year ago now... I couldn't deny it, even though I dearly wished I could. 'Here is a loathsome Japanese... who has absolute integrity as a lawyer.' There are only two other men I've known with that same look in their eyes: my brother, Klint. … And Genshin Asogi.”

This is interesting. So at first when he saw that look in Ryu's eyes, he must've been reminded of Genshin. And again, this is why he directed such hatred towards Ryu; he saw someone who wasn't alive anymore. But now he recalls that Klint also had that same gaze, and so he wants to believe that Ryu is not similar to a deceitful murderer, he's instead similar to his beloved brother. (Boy is he going to have to reevaluate how he judges people when he finds out that his beloved brother was the deceitful murderer.) Van Zieks says that when he saw the photograph, he was reminded of a time when he could laugh, free of the shackles of mistrust which plague him now. This is very relevant since Van Zieks indeed can't laugh anymore. We never see him do it. He can't even smile.

“But at times the mire into which I've sunk makes it almost impossible to breathe.”

Someone please get this man to a professional therapist. If he means that in a more literal sense and he does occasionally feel like he can't breathe, that's telltale signs of panic attacks. It could just be, of course, that he's being overdramatic and the “impossible to breathe” bit is just fanciful wordplay to go with the mire analogy. Still though, considering he's also mentioned being in a dark place and that he's willing to die so long as it serves a useful purpose, and that he drinks his wine to stave off tedium... He's clearly depressed. But then, he seems to know it. He acknowledges that the way he is now is not the way things should be, and that he needs to fight to overcome it. And so:

“... In tomorrow's trial... Will you advocate for me?”

Boom. Swallowed his pride and turned to Ryu for help because he knows it's what's best for him. He no longer trusts anyone, but he's willing to trust Ryu because once he starts opening up again and has that trust repaid, then perhaps things can gradually go back to the way things were when he was younger. Mind, he still hasn't apologized for his actions, but that doesn't change that Ryu at least is willing to extend a hand to Van Zieks. It's a little sad that Susato doesn't properly form her own opinion on this and instead just goes along with whatever Ryu says. I would've liked to know just how she feels about Van Zieks's attitude and whether or not he deserves to be helped. She doesn't object to it, at least, and since Susato usually always speaks her mind, I can only assume she genuinely agrees with Ryu's sentiments.

The next day, in the defendant's lobby, it's remarked there's a 'menacing tension' in the air and Ryu surmises out loud it's the result of the menacing appearance of the defendant. Well-deserved, that remark. Touché. Van Zieks asks him for a little more courtesy in a polite enough manner, but considering the lack of courtesy he's shown Ryu over the past 8 months, that's hypocritical. He informs Ryu that this is a closed trial without a jury, which bums me out because it means no more Summation Examination. I would've liked to see Asogi react to that. (S)Holmes comes in and has the weirdest little banter with Van Zieks that I honestly can't... really decipher. There's several things about it that really strike me as being off:

- “And I you. I see London's celebrated great detective is as active as ever.”

- “Oh, you exaggerate, my dear fellow. Compared to my paltry engagements with a few trivial cases... The Reaper's overbearing presence is a far greater deterrent to the black roots of crime in our capital. And whilst I may not agree with your methods... There is at least one point on which I would readily commend you.”

- “What an honour. And that would be...?”

- “Your eye for a good lawyer, sir. […] Behind this lawyer there is a very great mind. My own.”

Alright, so... First of all, we know (S)Holmes is super arrogant and would never refer to his past cases as “trivial” in all sincerity. Plus, it's established that he's very weird with compliments, such as referring to Gregson as “the best of those blunderers of the Yard”, so complimenting Van Zieks directly on the effect he has on crime feels off. Aside from that, (S)Holmes addresses Van Zieks as the Reaper and continues to talk about 'his methods', when it's already been established (S)Holmes doesn't believe Van Zieks has anything to do with the Reaper killings. Taking all that into account, I can only really assume that the first half of this above conversation is (S)Holmes being weirdly passive aggressive towards Van Zieks, with Van Zieks being passive aggressive in turn. It really, truly feels as if there was some sort of backstory between these two that they had to scrap at the last second. Regardless, the exchange ends with (S)Holmes warning Van Zieks that this will be “quite a trial”.

Gina Lestrade shows up with Yujin Mikotoba (….. when did they meet???), saying they intend to watch the trial, and I am very impressed with how (S)Holmes manages to disappear from the scene and not say a word when his old partner arrives. Anyway, Gina looks Ryu square in the eye and asks him why he agreed to take Van Zieks on. Everyone's saying it was him who killed Gregson. Considering everyone was saying it was her who killed Pop Windibank six months ago, you'd think she might want to tone down her attitude, but she's clearly in mourning and lashing out. See? People who are hurting can say insensitive things. Ryu insists he doesn't believe it to be true, but Gina demands to know that if it wasn't him, then who?

“An' if it turns out it was 'im wot killed the boss... Then God 'elp 'im!”

It's interesting to remember that during The Unspeakable Story, Gina wasn't afraid of Van Zieks for his Reaper reputation. She didn't believe in the curse and didn't think she would end up like the other defendants. Now, she absolutely no longer gives a damn whether Van Zieks is the mysterious Reaper or not. She only thinks he might be a murderer who took away her mentor and that's what has her judge him so fiercely. Van Zieks remarks on her fiery eyes and tells her that the culprit does indeed deserve every inch of her loathing. “At least that may be some solace to the deceased.” So here, in a roundabout way, it rather looks as if Van Zieks is sympathizing with Gina's anger. At the very least, he's condoning it, just not towards himself.

Entering the courtroom, it becomes clear very fast just how serious this trial will become. Just as was alluded to before, the judge confirms that the 'Reaper of the Old Bailey' has been undermining Her Majesty's justice system and therefore, the people will demand answers on this matter. Ryu thinks to himself the trial will be a lot more far-reaching than just Gregson's murder. Sure enough, Kazuma is at the prosecutor's bench and ready to get that vengeance Van Zieks referred to in jail. Shockingly, the first witness he summons is actually Van Zieks himself. The judge is surprised, but Kazuma explains that as a prosecutor, Van Zieks believes in the oath of office he's taken; he'll be compelled to tell the truth. Because contrary to what happened in Memoirs of the Clouded Kokoro, Van Zieks is against perjury! (I WILL NEVER GET OVER WHAT HAPPENED WITH SHAMSPEARE!) Sure enough, he takes the stand and Kazuma says the court would like to hear him explain some things away.

He really is just brutally honest, isn't he? Both in his courtroom methods and in how he shows his emotions. He doesn't sugarcoat, he doesn't beat around the bush, he definitely doesn't lie... At most, he may withhold some information. Unfortunately, his testimony is mostly useless. The judge remarks that he didn't want to imagine this day would come, but ever since Van Zieks became known as the Reaper, he's been dreading it. The judge, our neutral ground, seems to be convinced that Van Zieks may have actually done the deed. That's not good. Kazuma acts all smug, saying that Van Zieks indeed hasn't explained anything away and that his testimony barely qualifies as an excuse. Van Zieks notes that his 'mute apprentice' has a way with words. Meanwhile, Ryu thinks to himself that Kazuma isn't behaving like himself, which is a sentiment they'll keep repeating throughout the case. … I gotta be honest here, I didn't notice all that much of a difference between this Kazuma and the one from the very first case of the game. I mean, come on, he sliced a man's hair off and cursed his descendants just for insulting Ryu. He's slightly more arrogant here, maybe, but since he was only the assistant there and is a leading counsel here, it makes sense for him to be more proactive and confident in his methods. Then again, I'm not a Kazuma expert; maybe there's something I'm missing.

In his testimony, Van Zieks revealed that he was investigating Gregson, but when pressed on it he won't admit the exact reason for it. He only says he'd identified a distinct possibility Gregson was involved in a case he was investigating. When asked how he even knew where Gregson would be, he openly admits to having stolen into his office and consulted his diary. (“Dear Diary, today I dropped my fish 'n chips on the way to Fresno Street-”) When told that illegally entering Gregson's office would warrant serious consequences, Van Zieks says he was aware of that risk.

The rest of the testimony is pressed without further hitches, though what did strike me as interesting is that at one point, Ryu suggests the gunshot might've originated from outside the room, but Van Zieks immediately says it's out of the question. He shoots the possibility down with evidence only he could have experienced (the bang sounded inside the room and he could smell gunpowder), and in doing so, only implicates himself further. Detrimentally honest, this one. Not only that, but he picked the gun up.

NO KIDDING that was carelessness. Is he related to Miles Edgeworth after all? Kazuma talks about how three street peddlers overheard the bang and burst through the door with some force. Van Zieks states they almost gave him a heart attack in the process (omg) and Ryu thinks to himself: “(But you're supposed to be the Reaper...)” C'mon Ryu, haven't you seen enough of this man by now to know he gets jarred easily?

When the testimony rounds to a close, things get interesting. Kazuma uses his defense attorney skills, as promised. He uses evidence from the Court Record to point out contradictions in Van Zieks's testimony, thereby 'proving he's lying'. Hey, what happened to Van Zieks believing in the oath of office and being compelled to tell the truth? Did Kazuma call Van Zieks to the stand just to expose him as a liar? He wins the judge over quite easily by illustrating these contradictions and casting doubt on Van Zieks's integrity. Tragic, because as Van Zieks says:

Van Zieks steps down from the stand and disappears for the remainder of the trial day. He doesn't even show up during intermission in the defendant's lobby. Characters do still talk about him, though!

I mean... He ain't lyin'. At one point, Kazuma utters the words “the defence is fated to lose. And the prosecution to win,” which once again confirms that Kazuma basically asked Ryu to take part in an 'unwinnable' trial. Which, y'know, is technically fine. Losing a trial isn't the end of the world, especially when the defendant (in Kazuma's eyes) is actually guilty. Still though, personally asking Ryu to take on Van Zieks just so he can watch the man be exposed as a killer is kind of... Kazuma, sir, are you also unable to control your hatred and having it lash out in illogical ways? Is that a parallel with Van Zieks I spy?

The rest of the trial isn't directly related to Van Zieks. It's just a whole bunch of roundabout arguing with street peddlers, red-headed scammers and the revelation that one of those peddlers is actually Daley Vigil, the missing former prison warder. Despite knowing of the dangers, Kazuma asks Ryu to help him forcefully break some of the man's black psyche-locks (c'mon, we all know that's what's impeding his memories) and they send the man to the hospital as a result. Welp. Unveiling the truth is becoming increasingly dangerous in this game and that's really upping the stakes for us.

Into the next investigation day we go! Ryu surmises that it's clear now “Van Zieks definitely didn't do it.” Even so, there are some unanswered questions about the man. What was he even doing at the crime scene and what's with that investigation into Gregson he didn't want to talk about in court? Heading on over to the Chief Justice's office, we overhear him pressuring Kazuma into 'continuing the trial as instructed'. Once he takes note of Ryu and the others, he tells them that he wanted Van Zieks's trial concluded that day and blames 'Asogi's unwelcome inquiries' for it taking longer than necessary. Stronghart's becoming increasingly ominous, here... I don't know for certain why he doesn't just go the extra mile to have Van Zieks proven innocent so he can keep using his Reaper tool to intimidate the masses. I suppose it's because with Gregson dead, he's lost his most important strategist in the killings and the tool of the Reaper's curse can't be used as easily anymore. Assassins probably come a dime a dozen, so Shinn can be replaced, but Gregson... Not so much. Ryu asks Stronghart whether Kazuma truly believes Van Zieks to be the Reaper, but Stronghart says he wouldn't know. He once again talks about the history of the Reaper with its very long run of coincidental deaths and tells us nothing new or interesting.

To prison we go, to visit Van Zieks himself! He's reading a book now, but we're never told what it is. He tries to ignore the visitors, but just as always, eventually comes up to the bars to talk.

YOU FREAKIN- I CAN'T- WHY- How many more times must we teach you this lesson, old man?!!! Thankfully, even Ryu is fed up at this point.

Finally. He spoke up. I've seen a lot of people criticize the fact that Ryu never properly confronts Van Zieks with the damage he's been doing, and on the one hand I would agree. Calling people out on their bullshit is a very useful step in having them notice their mistakes. However, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that is also a very Western view. It's very easy for us to think that Ryu should stand up for himself and call Van Zieks a prejudiced little tosser who needs to think before he speaks, but that simply isn't part of his character. There may be several reasons to explain why he doesn't confront Van Zieks more firmly, but I'd like to focus on just two. The first is that Ryu is an exchange student who came to England as a 'guest' and is facing not just one racist. Not even five or ten. Everywhere he goes, he's surrounded by people just like Van Zieks. We've seen it in the judge, we've seen it in the jurors, we've seen it in Gregson and in witnesses... Ryu is a minority in a very literal sense, since there's only one other Japanese person (two if we count Soseki) we know of in this entire city. There's a very natural, very understandable defense mechanism which may kick in when surrounded by potentially dangerous individuals, and that is to withdraw; to be as quiet as possible and to attract as little trouble as possible, since 'they outnumber you'. Bonus points for the extreme difference in social standing between Ryu and Van Zieks.

There's one other thing which adds to the above. Ryu was written to be your everyday Japanese person, and their view on confrontation is quite different from our own. I remembered this from a job interview I once had with a Japanese company and looked into it again to refresh my memory: Japanese people are non-confrontational. It's very important for them to maintain a sort of harmony during conversation and therefore, they'll rarely utter negative sentiments, such as criticism, in a way that will cause embarrassment to the person they're addressing. Instead, they employ something often referred to as indirect communication. “The pattern of Japanese indirect communication uses far less words to convey intent in a more subtle manner. Indirect communication uses expression, posture, and tone of voice of the speaker to draw meaning from the actual conversation.” This is very deeply ingrained into the Japanese culture and, if the sources I reviewed are correct, it goes all the way back to the feudal days. Mind, this attitude isn't even limited to Japan. I've been told there's several other countries who adopt that very same attitude and if you cause someone else to lose face, it can have some very severe repercussions for you. Kazuma is a bit more outspoken than Ryu, for example when they face Jezail, but this makes sense also, since Asogi was written to be more progressive. It seems to me that Ryu has been using indirect communication quite often already and, since Van Zieks is woefully unequipped to read this type of communication, Ryu has now finally resorted to something more direct. It's still not a sharp call-out, but rather, the above line reads to me as something in-between direct and indirect communication. And it works.

HELL FROZE OVER! We've done it, lads! Or, as Iris puts it:

So even the rest of the cast is acknowledging this is a big deal and we've made tremendous progress. Could someone else have confronted Van Zieks in a more direct, more Western way before this point? Sure. But would he have listened? The judge has already snarked at him several times during trials and it's always been brushed off as nothing. The only person he might've listened to would've been Albert, but what is the narrative significance of having a side character confront Van Zieks? There isn't one. This was a very impactful moment where Ryu himself resorted to a more Western tactic to get his point across and Van Zieks, in turn, finally uttered an apology. So now we get to have an earnest conversation with the man at last. Van Zieks says he was impressed; not by Ryu but by Kazuma. On first glance, this seems like a mean thing to say, but... Van Zieks is already intimately familiar with Ryu's performance in the courtroom. Why would he still be impressed by that? Kazuma, however, he's never seen in action before. Van Zieks thinks it's all rather “sardonic”.

It's called a cruel irony, Barok. A common tool in storytelling. He himself considers it “retribution for having played the part of the Reaper all these years”. So once again it's discussed how the Reaper minimizes the amount of crime in the capital and since that's a goal Van Zieks is committed to, he never said anything to disprove the rumors. Ryu insists that someone else is profiting off Van Zieks's silence on the matter and is basically using him as a scapegoat. As it turns out, Van Zieks wasn't quite as passive about the matter as he's led us to believe.

Hm. Alright, so he thinks it's good the Reaper's curse is reducing crime in London, but clearly he wants the Reaper organization brought to justice. In a way, he's profiting off these 'accidental deaths' since the fear that comes from them aligns with his goal of crime reduction, but he doesn't actively condone the Reaper murders and wants them halted. Since there's so much accurate information about the accused used in the killings, Van Zieks surmised a while ago that someone from Scotland Yard must've been involved in the killings. It's taken him “many years” to identify the central figure in the organization: Tobias Gregson. Naturally, everyone is shocked. We knew Gregson! And sure, he wasn't exactly a kind person, but he certainly didn't appear to be a killer. He was very rough around the edges, but from what we'd been led to believe, he had a good heart. … A decent heart. Mediocre, one might say. Ryu asks whether the reason Van Zieks was investigating Gregson was to expose him as the Reaper, but Van Zieks repeats the notion that the Reaper is not a single person. He doesn't have a doubt, though, that Gregson was a key member of the organization who did all of the planning. Believe it or not, Gregson was the brains behind the killings; the tactician who investigated and plotted, then left the dirty work to an assassin by the name of Asa Shinn. (LOCALIZATION WHY)

So now that we have this information, we can come to a very interesting conclusion. Both Gregson and Shinn are dead now, so by Van Zieks's reasoning, the Reaper is dead. You'd think this is good, but it does in fact make it very difficult to find the truth. Rather, Van Zieks believes that the truth died with Gregson (he hinted as much twice already) and while the seasoned Ace Attorney player knows it won't be impossible to expose a dead person as a killer, it'd be a hectic ordeal. The seasoned Great Ace Attorney player will know the Reaper hierarchy extends just a bit higher and the two who died are only pawns, but... Y'know. Approaching this from a first-time-player point of view, you'll know things will get troublesome.

There's another topic of conversation where Van Zieks once again addresses how sharp Kazuma is in court. He didn't miss a thing.

OUCH. So when Ryu first arrived, Van Zieks saw Genshin whenever he looked at him, not only due to his roots but due to 'the look in his eyes when searching for the truth'. Now, he sees Genshin in Kazuma, which surely makes a lot more sense. Van Zieks goes on to say that it's true some of the aristocracy from 10 years ago were problematic and abusing their power. “In a way, Asogi was carving out a canker from society that we British couldn't deal with ourselves.” So here, he sounds almost complimentary of the Professor's actions- specifically Asogi's actions. As if it would've all been well and good, were it not for the Professor's final victim. “But that's precisely why it makes no sense. Klint van Zieks was a noble and upstanding man. He wasn't corrupt.”

Remember way back in The Unspeakable Story when I surmised that Van Zieks boiled Genshin's actions down to his race in order to avoid the belief that there might've been a reason his brother was killed? We see it here again. Van Zieks is in doubt. He may say vocally that “it makes no sense”, but that line in itself is already telling. The fact that he acknowledges it and draws it into question implies to us that he's skeptical of the story. Deep down, he knows something is amiss. He knows there's some sort of explanation he's missing, but if he were to dig too deeply into it, he'd have to acknowledge that perhaps his brother was corrupt. And this still isn't all of it. There's one more thing Van Zieks has to discuss before we can round this conversation to a close. Ten years ago, shortly after Klint died, Genshin saved his life.

There's that phrasing again. “True nature”. It's not in orange this time, but it's there all the same. Van Zieks is convinced that Genshin is the one who had a hidden true nature. In this story, we learn that 'the scum of London' had already targeted him several times even before he became known as the Reaper, simply because of who he was and who his brother was. JEESH. Harsh. So on the night in question, a couple of thugs also tried to kill him (allegedly) but Genshin stepped in to protect him. Genshin became lightly wounded as a result. This is the part where I would have expected them to explain Van Zieks's scars, but he never mentions being wounded himself, so we can't be sure this is when it happened. Curious. This was the perfect opportunity and they let it slide. So anyway, two days after that incident, Genshin was arrested.

Some more telling lines here. Van Zieks thinks he'd never recount the story to anyone; not because there's no need to tell it. It's because it must be difficult to talk about. On its own, that might be a farfetched conclusion I wouldn't make, but Ryu confirms it with his follow-up line: “Thank you... for confiding in me.” We can take this line to mean exactly what it says; Van Zieks confided something painful. He let down some more walls. Growth!

So with all this out of the way, there's a whole load more investigation to do before this case is over. Most of it has to do with Genshin's will, a mysterious trunk belonging to Gregson, the missing time of death on the autopsy report... Nothing too relevant to Van Zieks's character. However, if we go into the prosecutor's office and examine things while Kazuma is there, we do get some fun tidbits about how Van Zieks wouldn't trust anyone else to touch his things and would rearrange it all himself whenever needed. From the sound of it, Van Zieks is very meticulous and a loner, which aligns with what we know about him. Some more conversation later, we reach the topic of the Reaper with Kazuma. He agrees that Gregson was definitely involved in the Reaper organization, but there's one thing that's more important. “Who's been giving orders to the Inspector?” In my eyes, it's a bit of a stretch to assume with certainty anyone was giving orders; Gregson might've just taken up the vigilante justice by himself and found some way to pay Shinn enough money to get in on it. Kazuma insists, though, that Van Zieks is 'the real Reaper'. We as the audience already know that's nonsense, we know Kazuma is wrong. Or perhaps we might think that if somehow Van Zieks pulled the wool over our eyes and Kazuma is correct, that'd be one heck of a wild twist. Kazuma gives no real reason why he believes this, he only goes on to say that ten years ago, it was Van Zieks who 'decided his father must be a mass murderer'. Shockingly, Susato is the one to jump in here and outright say to Kazuma that he's wrong; that Van Zieks only saw that 'justice was done as the law dictates' and he wasn't to blame for Genshin's execution. Kazuma insists that people condemn people and the law is just a tool they use for it. So I suppose that's exactly what he's doing right now. He's condemning Van Zieks, just as Van Zieks once condemned Genshin. We're cycling! And my main question now is this: If Stronghart had been the prosecutor in the Professor's trial instead, would Kazuma be just as vengeful towards him? Because remember, it's people who condemn people. This implies that anyone who had taken on the job of prosecutor at that time is the one who 'decided that Genshin must've been a murderer' and would need to take responsibility in Kazuma's eyes. Kazuma's beef isn't with Van Zieks personally, it's with the prosecutor who used that tool of the law and also evidence.

HAHAHAAA! HAH! If you align this screenshot next to the “Klint van Zieks was a noble and upstanding man” line, you get a wonderful parallel. These two prosecutors are both dead wrong about their beloved family, and they're about to find out in the worst way possible.

One murder mystery spread out over two episodes? You bet! Stay tuned for the last case, The Resolve of Ryunosuke Naruhodo!

#dgs #dgs spoilers #tgaa #tgaa spoilers #barok van zieks #I can't believe I managed to cram it all into one post #phew #but this was a big one

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simpingforsoftboys · 4 years

Text

The Odds of Us All

Special CH1: A Glance At The Past (the one where Sakusa meets Y/n)

Okay so this chapter takes place right before Y/n’s first year of high school! I wanted to write more Sakusa within the “The Odds of Us All” AU but it’s not my dudes time to shine yet :( So here we are, I’m going to write about the time Y/n met Kiyo ahahhaha. Enjoy my fellow Sakusa simps ;)

*technically this can be read as a stand alone one shot but why would you only settle for that when you can read the series?

“Y/n, I know you want to stick by Tetsuro and Kenma... but you seriously need to consider your future. Eventually you’ll have to separate from them, don’t let your history hold you back in the past.” M/n Ushijima, Y/n’s competent and straight forward mother advised, gazing at her daughter with a knowing stare. At the moment the h/c girl was looking through a long lists of high schools she had the options of attending. Her top four options were Fukurodani Academy, Shiratorizawa Academy, Itachiyama Institute, and Nekoma High.

Fukurodani was a good option, they had a focus on subjects like Japanese and English literature, as well as history and art. While Nekoma High’s more favored subjects were the STEM courses, and they even had a bonus of being the chosen high school of her childhood friends, Kuroo and Kenma. These two were the cheapest options- neither of them being a private academy like the other two.

Itachiyama Institute was probably the place her mother wanted her to attend, they were renowned for their excellent college prep classes, exceptional sports teams, and high rate of graduating students getting into Imperial Universities (Japan’s Ivy League basically). Shiratorizawa Academy was all the way in Miyagi- but they had a dorm that she could stay in. There was also the fact that she was guaranteed an invitation from the headmaster himself, due to the Ushijima family’s children studying there as per tradition. Her cousin Wakatoshi also attended the school, as expected of him, if she chose to follow his lead she was guaranteed friends and a good time also.

Choosing a high school was hard- especially when her mother was pushing her in one direction, only to backtrack and say that she would support her no matter what school she wanted to attend. Y/n briefly wondered what it’d be like when deciding on a university in the future- however those thoughts were far from pleasant so she shook them off.

“I... don’t know mom.” M/n looked at her daughter long and hard, releasing a soft sigh before pulling out her phone and tapping away.

“How about you take Itachiyama’s entrance exams and see if you at least qualify? Any other school on this list will accept you as a student in a heartbeat. At least this way you’ll know if Itachiyama is even an option for you.”

You blinked, considering her words, they made sense so you agreed.

“Great, the entrance exams are this Sunday, I’ll drop you off then.”

~Time skip to Sunday, location: Itachiyama Institute~

You had finally finished the god awful tests. It had taken an excruciating three hours of your time to complete and your brain felt like literal mush. Stomach rumbling, you made your way to one of the vending machines you remembered passing by earlier. One thing you were glad for was the location of the exams- right in the administration wing of the school- naturally, the heads of the place had access to the best snacks. You walked silently, eyes gazing at the ceiling, not paying attention to anything but the fluorescent lights. Rounding the hallway corner, your eyes fell to the end of the hall- where the vending machine was located. Humming a small tune you continued your leisure stroll, fishing through your pocket for your credit card. After retrieving it you purchased a mini chocolate cake (that looked more like a brownie than anything), white chocolate matcha cookie, and a tiny cup sized bottle of milk tea. As the transaction was going through, you picked up on approaching footsteps and people’s voices.

“Apologies *indistinguishable*-san I simply must take this phone call. There’s a vending machine around the corner, would you please wait for me there?” An adult said, heavy footsteps receding, a door opened, then shut. You turned back to the task of collecting your snacks.

“Is this what I think it is?” A noticeably younger sounding male’s voice asked, barely audible. You vaguely wondered what was going on over there, before promptly setting your food on a nearby chair, pulling out your hand sanitizer and applying it swiftly. As you contemplated what snack to indulge yourself with first, you were deaf to the incoming footsteps and soft gasp from behind you.

“But if I ate the cake I might accidentally spill crumbs in the hallway... maybe the cookie’s a better idea?” You wondered, pocketing your sanitizer, still oblivious to the boy behind you. “Hmm...”

“Uhh... excuse me?” That voice from earlier called out, startling you. You whipped around, only to make eye contact with pretty onyx eyes, the color of warm coal and cooled lava rock. His entire being was outlined in a highlighter yellow- it was kind of fitting, having matched the schools signature colors.

‘Woah my soulmate’s actually kinda hot,’ you thought to yourself, taking in the boys appearance. Wavy black hair, two moles above his right eye, you couldn’t see the rest of his face- since it was obscured by a white face mask. He was perhaps 5′11- but something told you he was on the cusp of a growth spurt. So caught up in your musings you hadn’t noticed that you had accidentally voiced your thoughts out loud. “Thank god he’s not an old man.”

“...Is that supposed to be a compliment?” Mr. Highlighter questioned, staring at you incredulously.

“Oh no did I say that out loud? I am so sorry- I swear I didn’t mean too!” You exclaimed before bowing in apology, cheeks hot with embarrassment. Sometimes you spoke whatever was on your mind- a bad habit you were currently working hard on breaking.

“...” He didn’t say anything, still looking at you judgingly. Internally he was wondering why he was destined to be with someone like you. “Sakusa.”

“Huh?” You straightened back up, wide eyed.

“My name’s Sakusa Kiyoomi... this is the part where you’re supposed to introduce yourself.” Uh oh ‘Sakusa’ sounded a tad bit irritated with you now. His name sounded familiar somehow... but you didn’t quite know why.

“R-right! My name’s Ushijima Y/n!” You smiled nervously, awaiting his reaction. He looked pleasantly surprised at that.

“Ushijima? Like Ushijima Wakatoshi?” Your smile dwindled slightly at his choice of words. Of course he was excited- not because he met you- but because he was able to use you to meet Toshi.

“Yeah... he’s actually my first cousin.” Attempting to keep the conversation flowing you asked “are you a volleyball fan?”

Unbeknownst to you, Kiyoomi noticed how you reacted when he asked about Wakatoshi, so he decided to avoid that topic for now.

“Mm... I’m actually a player. That’s what I’m here for... I was scouted for the volleyball team.” He says it so nonchalantly, as if he wasn’t sought out to join the best high school boys team in the entire country.

You’re just as impressed as he hoped thought you’d be, all starry eyed and mouth open in awe. “Scouted? That’s amazing Sakusa!” He’s pleasantly surprised that you forgoed the honorifics, but a tad bit disappointed at your use of his surname. “You must be very skilled- I’m only here because I had to take the entrance exams.”

“How were they?” He finds himself blurting out softly, it’s uncharacteristic of him- not that you could know that- but he finds that he doesn’t mind being a bit forward when it comes to you. Despite not usually being one for conversation, he doesn’t want this chat to end.

“Mm they were okay I guess... but the math portion was pretty difficult.” Speaking about the hard exams remind you about how hungry they made you and your stomach gurgles in response. Behind his mask, Kiyoomi’s lips quirk at the abashed expression you make- which disappears once you wave it off with a laugh and a brief apology. “Want a cookie? Or a cake?” You question, nodding over to your waiting snacks. He shakes his head. It feels almost invasive as he watches you unwrap your cookie- noticing the care you take in making sure your fingers only touch the wrapper, not wanting to touch the cookie itself, lest you get crumbs on your hands. But you don’t look uncomfortable at his weird interest, so he continues to stare. “I can buy you a snack? What do you like to eat?”

“It’s fine, I have money.” The dark haired male pats his pocket, “I like umeboshi... anything with umeboshi.” Those enchanting e/c orbs flit over to him once more and he discovers that you’re probably the only person that could stare at him endlessly without making him uncomfortable. This thought scares him- he doesn’t even know you- he shouldn’t be thinking such things. You’re tapping away at the vending machines, cookie having been finished and trash tossed in a bin nearby. He assumes you’re just buying another snack for yourself.

“Here... is ume daifuku good?” You question, holding it out to him with one hand, while your other one reaches back into the dispenser part of the machine and retrieves a can of matcha tea. “Delivery for one!” The smile adorning your lips sends a pleasant feeling throughout his body, normal tendencies forgotten, he accepts your offer.

“Thank you... can I pay you back? I don’t have cash on me at the moment, but maybe another time?” He pockets the canned tea and holds the daifuku in one hand, allowing you to spurt some hand sanitizer on his empty one. You shake your head, h/c hair swinging, his heart sinks in his chest- rejection overcoming him.

“Don’t even think about paying me back Sakusa... but we can meet up again... maybe off of school grounds?” A shy look overtakes your features and he can feel his heart picking itself up off the floor and taking flight at how cute you are.

“I... wouldn’t be opposed.”

“Great, let’s keep in touch then! What’s your number? I’ll text you!” He tells you his number, watching as you type it into your phone quickly.

“Say cheese!” You twirl around holding the camera up so that it focuses on Kiyoomi’s tall figure, your head poking in at the corner of the screen. He doesn’t do much- the only noticeable change in his demeanor is the *very* slightly shocked look on his face (you can tell by the wide stretch of his eyes). He licks his lips behind his mask and looks as if he wants to say something, but he doesn’t get the chance.

“Sorry about that Sakusa let’s continue the tour- hm am I interrupting something?” The headmasters voice says from the end of the hallway, he’s pleased to see the two of you together. Both being the children of very influential people- it bode well for the school if you kids got along.

“No, we’re good thank you... I’ll talk to you later Ushijima.”

“Call me Y/n, Sakusa! I’ll text you okay?”

The headmaster walks off, expecting Sakusa to follow. As he passes you he says one last thing.

“You can call me Kiyoomi then.”

Series Masterlist

Taglist: CLOSED @kac-chowsballs @kotwd @ems1des @normalisthenewnorm @micheleinumaki @gomchan @empress-simps @mer-der-mi @honeyswhiskers @sakusas-number1-stan @astronomyturtle @akirahyoshi @afire24 @its-the-aerieljeane @carla-1217 @fucktheworlddude @baes-x @shadoweepingscream @sirachano0dles @katamint @420-uwu @xstormiii @youtuboo @chibiitakoyaki

#sakusa kiyoomi x reader #sakusa x reader #haikyuu soulmate au

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crispyfishman · 3 years

Text

Duolingo x Male!Reader Part 2

(Part 1)

Duo’s POV

Y/N struggled against my chest, desperately trying to get free. I sighed in exasperation. I didn’t want to do this, but he left me no choice. He would understand later. I hit him in the head, hard enough to knock him out. He slumped forward and I quickly caught him and picked him up. He would be staying with me from now on.

When I arrived back at my house, I wondered where to put him. The basement? No, I used the basement to hold the people I was going to kill. My room? Too easy for him to escape. I eventually decided to lock him in the guest room. It had a bed, and since it was on the top floors he wouldn't be able to escape.

Although I was a college student, I worked full time to teach children languages. This meant I had enough money to afford a 3 story house with a basement, as well as buying food and other basic needs that some people my age couldn’t afford. For example, hair dye.

I dragged the unconscious body of my best and only friend into the guest room and placed him on the bed. I walked out, locking the door, and got myself a snack. Y/N may hate me later, but this was for his own good. He would be safer with me.

I didn’t want him to get distracted from school work, is the excuse I gave myself. It wasn’t a very good excuse as locking him up in my house certainly wasn’t a good way to make sure he remained productive. At least he couldn’t get hurt.

I had soon finished my coffee and decided to check if he was awake before I practiced my several languages. I opened the door a crack and stepped inside.

“Y/N?”

There was no response. I sighed and sat down on the small table next to the bed. There was no harm in waiting a few minutes.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked around in confusion. He spotted me and I prepared myself for the angry outburst that would undoubtedly follow.

“...Duo?” He sounded confused. “W- care to explain?”

I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. “You see, I uhh… Well… I think you can figure it out for yourself.” I stood up and left the room.

“HEY! YOU CAN’T JUST LEAVE ME LIKE THIS! DUO! WHY AM I HERE!” I blocked out his yelling and stepped into my room. It would be better for both of us if I stayed away from him. After about an hour of practice, I lay back into my bed and tried to fall asleep.

The full impact of what I’d done hit me like a truck. I kidnapped a man. I actually took him. I laughed slightly. What should I do now? I couldn’t exactly let him go. Unless…

I stood up and walked to his room. My footsteps sounded so much louder than they normally did. Of course he would want to leave. The question was, did I want him to?

I stopped. Why should I let him go? He would just call the police and I would go to prison. I would never get to know him. No, I was definitely not letting him go. Y/N would stay here where he was safe, where I could make sure nothing happened to him. As long as he remembered to practice his japanese, we would have no problem.

I turned to go back to my room but stopped when I heard a voice. “Duo? Is that you?” Well, I couldn’t exactly leave him. What if he needed food?

I turned around yet again and walked back to the room. Standing outside the door I called back. “What?” It sounded colder than I intended.

“Why are you doing this?”

I chose not to answer and simply told him to step away from the door. After a few seconds I let myself in.

Y/N was standing in the corner, leaning against the wall. He looked angry. I was almost scared, before I remembered that I had knocked him out before and I could do it again.

“Care to explain why you locked me in your house?” He looked even angrier when I didn’t reply. “You can’t kidnap people. It’s-” he cut himself off and sighed.

“We’ve barely met. Do you normally kidnap random people off the side of the street? And I thought you were a good person.” He sighed again. He sighs a lot, I thought to myself. Maybe it’s because I kidnapped him.

“Sorry.” I don’t know what to say. What are you meant to say after you kidnap someone? I normally kill them before they wake up. I step backwards, like I’m testing to see how he reacts. When he doesn’t speak I take another step back, exiting the room. “HEY!” he yells. I slam the door behind me and lock it. I know I won’t be able to sleep tonight, but I try anyway.

#duolingo x reader #duolingo #duolingo x male reader #x male reader #x reader #reader insert #spanish or vanish

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calientecoochie · 3 years

Text

It Happened So Fast-

•3•

Kirishima told you he was going to pick you up around 8. Which gives you abouttttt two hours to get ready. That’s manageable right? You shower, get all primped and pretty and, now for the clothes.

-Three days earlier-

The outfit Kiri -overall Mina- picked out for you was hard not NOT to get attention in. You can even remember Mina’s singsong voice, “ You’re going with THE Red Riot, Y/N. He’s already flashy! You HAVE to match his energy! This bland shizz has got to go! Here tryyyyy THIS!” She held up the most risqué thing you’ve ever seen. It was still classy but, places were low when they were supposed to be high, cutouts and, glitz/glam. The works.

-Present-

You’re not too sure how the pair got you’re measurements to the t. Going to have to ask that question later.

Just as you were finishing up, a car pulling up could be heard. A red Aston Martin. You didn’t expect anything less... Opening the door, you were greeted with fresh, crisp, night air. This all felt so...nice like, you could actually breathe. Carpe diem and all of that.

“W-wait! Wait right there, Y/N!” You froze, confused. Kiri power walked towards the front of your door. He gingerly closed the door on your face and knocked on it.

You smirked coyly and opened the door. You lean on the doorframe and crossed your arms, “ Really, Kirishima?” You laugh, “You’re too of a gentlemen...”

“Don’t like it” He looked perplexed.

“I’ll get over it.” You joked and threw Red a wink. You took his extended hand and got lead back to his car. “Wow, your car is gorgeous...”

“I could say the same about you.” Eijirou begins to rub his neck, “ You’re outfit and like, your face because you don’t have a car here, haha!” Uh oh, he’s beginning to nervous banter.

“Thank you, Red. You look handsome. Let’s get to the Gala before traffic gets any heavier.” He beamed and nodded.

The car ride over is pleasant. Traffic was okay (it’s been heavier, especially going towards downtown), within the car has been relatively silent but it’s obvious that you two just enjoy the other’s company. At some point, Kirishima threw his arm over the back of your seat. You could not help yourself and focused on the viens in his hands or how his muscular build strained against some parts of his suit. What’s his exercise regimen? How would a hug feel? How long you were looking? You don’t know. The music was low, seems like the whole squad was into the same stuff. Maybe you should try having a conversation?

“Soooo~” you drum your hands on his dashboard, “Kirishima, do you like hero work? Anything, interesting happened?” You curse yourself mentally. Of course he would like hero work!

“Hmmm, yeah! I love it. Cant really see myself doing anything else...” He keeps his eyes focused on the road but it’s obvious his brain is elsewhere, “Some days are harder than others but, there are great day too of course! I get to meet so many cool people. I met you.” His gives you a quick smile, “ Oooohh, let me tell you about this time I was saving these people from a bu-“

Now this car ride is getting livelier. Red is so animated when talking about his experiences. He so passionate... it’s nice :).

-At The Hero’s Gala-

You could not see a single star in the pitch, black sky; the venue was so bright. Practically blinding. How many of these did these Pros have to attend?! You don’t mind being the center of attention but, this is WAY too much. At least you’re not alone. You guess.

“YYY/NNN!! YOU MADE IT! THAT LOOKS SO BOMB ON YOU!”

You could not even process the blur of pink barreling towards you and Kirishima before it practically tackled you (thankfully not to the ground).

Mina squished your cheeks together, “Ah~! You look so gorgeous! Especially you’re hair-!”

It seems like she was about to ask you something else but Red picked her up from under arms and gingerly put her to the side, “Come on, Mina, if we don’t hurry inside we’ll be late-“

Mina waggles a finger towards Kirishima, “Tuh tuh, fashionably late.”

“Late is late, Mina”

“Since when we’re you such a stickler about time 😩! Don’t act brand new just because you got a boo-“

“HEY HEY!” Kiri claps his hands together-loudly- a few times, “Where’s your plus 1, M?”

“Hmm? Wh-She was just beside me! Don’t tell me they just went inside~ Ughhh, where could they be at?” Mina pulls out here phone, “I’ll see you inside, Y/N! Save me a seat beside you!”

“Okay, Mina!” You give her a thumbs up as a sweaty, blushy Kirishima rushed you towards the Gala’s entrance.

•

You had thought this whole extravaganza would be exhilarating! Exciting! A completely new experience! It kind of sucked. The venue was gorgeous, all pretty and made up. The people were chatting amongst themselves sometimes forgetting about the announcer. The food is great.

You sat beside Kirishima and left the two chairs to your right empty for Mina and her date. Your table was between Bakugo’s and Denki’s. To be frank, there was was never truly a lull, especially when the two blondes spoke to their redhead friend. You could really understand since they were speaking a bit too fast and adding slang you haven’t heard before. Bakugo was always threatening and Denki was just acting like a crackhead. It wasssss fun.

A bit later, it seemed like everyone mellowed out (probably thanks to the alcohol) and started mingling amongst each other. You guess you should start too, this whole thing is for the agency.

As you try to get get up, you feel a firm palm settle on your thigh, lightly pushing you back down, “Relax, Y/N. Bakubro finally left and Denk is off flirting...” You settle back into your seat, “The Agency will still be standing still be there. Just enjoy yourself.” He takes a swig of a soda, keeping his eyes forward as if he was focusing on something but, nothing interesting was in that direction as far as you could see.

“I hope Mina found her date...”

“She probably did. She’s pretty good at finding people.”

“Not going to drink?”

“Mmmm, we got to get home. I’m also much more comfortable drinking at home. I think they water it down at the events now due to...” he makes a painful face, “last time.

“Last time?”

“N’yeah...Some hero got super trashed and just let loose.”

The two of you stare at each other for a bit then start to laugh.

“Mm, I wouldn’t drink either then, I guess! Afraid you’ll say something you don’t mean, Red?”

“PFFT, no! All I have to say are good things. It’s just if I pay for a drink, I don’t want it to be watered down. What’s your excuse?”

“Welll, I thought I was going to be promoting our company. Guess not now.”

“So again, what’s your excuse?”

“Mmmm, I like having my wits”

Just as Kiri was about to reply, you both heard a voice from across the floor, “FINALLY FOUND YOU TWO” it was Mina and her absolutely stunning date. “What are you two just sitting down?! Let’s liven up this place! To the dance floor!” As if either was you had a choice.

Red had absolutely NO rhythm but that didn’t really stop you. The two of you spent the rest of night dancing away (along with Mina’s guidance at times). It was almost perfect.

•

Kirishima and you trudged back to his red, luxury car.

“Uwaaaa! My feet!” Kiri exclaimed, “When I usually dance it never hurts this bad~”

“That’s because you were dancing right, Kirishima.”

“Tsk, I am not that bad. That first move I busted always kill~”

“Yeah, yeah, people probably.”

“Hey, rude~” He opens the car door for you, “let’s get you home. Traffic shouldn’t be too heavy.”

“Thank you, Red.” He gives you a smirk as he shuts your door.

As it was before, the car ride was hella quiet, more so due to being tired. You look to the driver’s side of the car at Kirishima. His eyes were half lidded and focused on the cars in front of him... or so you thought.

“Hmm, caught the staring bug again?” You quickly turn back forward, caught off guard, “I’m just messing with you, Y/N, I don’t mind.” He flung his arm around the back of your seat again.

I guess it’s our time to talk, “Ha, I just can’t help it. You’re so nice and tonight has been really fun. It’s all been really fun. That and (I hope this doesn’t sound too creepy) your physique is amazing! I can tell you put a lot of care into it.”

“Haha, well, I have to!”

“Of course, of course, hahaa..” you start to break into a cold sweat.

Kiri notices the lull, takes his arm from behind your seat and instead takes your left hand and intertwines both of your fingers together. His hand practically engulfs yours and it’s so clammy.

“Uhh, hope you, don’t mind..” Kirishima says bashfully.

“Nope!” Smooth, Y/N. Real smooth, “Not at all. You’re hand is very soft...”

The car went silent again, hands still tangled together. Both enjoying the nighttime view and the somewhat muted sounds coming from the cars surrounding you guys.

-Back At Y/N’s Home-

Kirishima walked you to your door, “Welp, here we are.” He rubs the back of his neck, “S’thanks for being my da- company and all. It was- it was super fun, yeah.”

You were digging around for your keys but still listening to you stuttering boss, “Hm, hm. It was super fun for me to. Especially getting to experience the Hero Gala!” Finally, you found your keys and opened your door. You turn towards Kiri and he looks as if he is about to pass out, “Uhm, Red? Do you want to crash here? I don’t really think you should drive back-“

“Oh no, I couldn’t! I’m fine, I promise-“

“Then at least let me make you some coffee or something with caffeine, Red...”

“...Yeah, I will take you up on that..”

The pair of you step inside and you lead Kiri to the sofa, “Here, just relax.”

He slumps against the arm and lays his head against his forearm. “Thank youuu~” Yeah, he sounds like he is about to knock out.

You gently shake his form, “Here, Red, drink up.” He doesn’t say anything, he takes the cup drink from it and just stares down into it.

“Is it nasty?”

“<Wha-what? Oh, no, it’s delicious>” pfft, he’s so out of it he didn’t even realize he started speaking Japanese.

“<Want to speak in your mother tongue?>” He seems to wake up a bit more.

“Ha, sorry. Hey, Y/N?” Kiri drums his fingers against the side of his cup.

“Mm?”

“Do you have anyone waiting for you?”

“Uhm, no? I mean I have my family but I can’t say they are really waiting for me...” you ponder his question, “Why’d you ask?”

“...” He seems to be reluctant in whatever he is trying to do. You can really get read on him. He looks scared? Kiri sets him lukewarm cup down on the side table and stares deeply into yours eyes.

“Red?”

He grabs your hands.

“Kiri”

He starts to pull you closer

“Kirishima??”

“It’s Eijirou.”

He pulls you into a passionate kiss. It felt so desperate and longing. The need for oxygen being long forgotten between the two of you.

This was going to be a long night.

#bnha #mha #y/n x kirishima #y/n #y/n x mha #y/n x bnha #bnha x black!reader #reader #mha x reader #reader x kirishima #pro hero kirishima #mha kirishima #mha x black!reader #black!reader #slow burn #fanfic

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maybe-i-dreamt-u · 4 years

Text

Some Jean Moreau Headcanons that nobody asked for because I love him so so much and I miss him and his grumpy face

Buckle up cause this is a long one oh my god

He can draw, like, so incredibly well, he can sketch anything in a matter of minutes and it looks so good

Once Jeremy notices he leaves him a nice lil sketchbook on his desk with only an anonymous note ((because I can fucking BET that he’s as bad at receiving gifts as Neil))

Anyway. Once he gets that sketchbooks he starts carrying it everywhere and draws everything that catches his eye- it’s a nice distraction from his thoughts and memories + he wasn’t really allowed to do any of that with the Ravens, so he’s enjoying it as much as he can now

Jeremy’s heart swells whenever he sees him drawing, but nobody needs to know about that

within a month the sketchbook is full of drawings, mainly the trojans, stray cats he sees on the street and pretty places in California

also like half the drawings are of Jeremy

it’s not his fault, they live together, of course he’s gonna have a lot of drawings for Jeremy, sTOP JUDGING HIM

nobody really gets to see what’s in the sketchbook, he’s very good at keeping it closed, and nO NOT BECAUSE OF HIS DRAWINGS OF JEREMY AND HIS HANDS GOD DAMNIT

he still keeps all of them though.

yes, all of them, as soon as the first one is finished, he somehow finds a new one on his desk

hm I wonder how that happened

anyway

he also likes writing

not necessarily writing stories or anything he just

likes writing

by hand

he used to have really pretty handwriting

it was cursive and it looked amazing

he was so proud of it

but it’s kinda hard to have pretty handwriting after having broken 6 of your fingers

but he’s getting there again

slowly, but surely

he gets himself a journal and a fountain pen or some fancy shit

and he just decides that he wants to have pretty handwriting again

and so he starts writing about whatever’s on his mind

whether it’s some Exy strategy, the specific colour of Jeremy’s hair in the sunlight, or a new card game Laila and Alvarez taught him, he writes it down, as writing exercise

well, partly as writing exercise

in part he also wants to document the beginning of his new life and his newly found happiness

By the time he goes pro his handwriting is as beautiful as ever

everyone envies him for it

and don’t even get me started on his signature

also, I might have said this before but consider

Jean Moreau wearing rings. silver or black bands around his fingers

I fully believe that if aftg was from another era, Jean would wear those short, black gloves, you know the ones I mean. as it is though, he’ll settle for rings the colour of his eyes, that add a little bit of shine to his mostly black outfits

if he’s feeling particularly rebellious he might add a chain around his neck, but it’d take a while for him to get comfortable enough around the trojans to do that

while rooming with the trojans he gets to witness them play a bunch of video games

Laila and Alvarez do twitch streams and you cannot change my mind about that

and sometimes they invite him and Jeremy to their streams

Jeremy is happy to obliege, Jean not so much

but even if he doesn’t appear on camera or whatever, his commentary is almost always audible in the background

and everyone loves his wry jokes and plain rudeness towards the protags of the games

they’ve gotten him to play with them a couple of times

but one game that he hates with a passion

one game that he feels has personally offended him

is Minecraft

you will never see him play Minecraft and he will always degradingly stare at anyone who mentions playing or enjoying the game

he doesn’t have a reason, he simply hates it and that’s it

also, he hates american shows and movies

you’d say he’d have gotten used to it in what, 10 years? but no. if he ever watches tv, which he rarely does, but if it happens, it’s either european ((see: French)) movies, or anime

he likes anime because it allows him to practice his Japanese without thinking of Riko and the master, he can think of the language and not immediately think of pain and suffering

his favourite is Tokyo Ghoul

also, sometimes when Renee visits, they watch hxh together

speaking of Renee

they always go on picknicks together, and it’s always somewhere with a lot of flowers

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, Jean loves flowers

he loves looking at them, he loves smelling them, loves taking care of them, drawing them, journaling about them, everything

he loves how you can say a million words with a single flower

and also, how delicate and elegant they are

say what you want, but I feel like Jean is actually very delicate and gentle to his core

like yea, ever since he was sold to Moriyama and forced to become a raven, he had to be more violent

he had to be violent to be a raven and he had to be violent to play Exy and to be by Riko’s side

but I feel like if he could, he would do a totally different sport, like figure skating or something like that

as it is though, he has to deal with Exy and its violent nature

at least he’s a trojan now

he can relearn to be himself

be the person he wants to be, the person he feels he is at the bottom of his heart

because he’s finally with people that love him and he’s finally free

or well, as free as you can be, while still technically being the Moriyama’s

anyway that’s it for now

sorry, this got a lot longer than I intended it to be

uhh if you’ve come this far thanks? and I hope u enjoyed:))

#yea #sorry I just have so much love for him #it was bound to spill at some point #here u go #aftg #all for the game #jean moreau

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artyrogue · 3 years

Text

Blind Date Gaming: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon R

Well today's date was a blast from my past. Remember way back when in yesteryear, before the advent of anime in the west? Probably not? Well hey, let's go back in time to when Sailor Moon was like the only anime being shown on TV. Okay, so yeah, it's really not super-great and all (at least the dub wasn't...), but whatever, it was my jam as a young impressionable lad of...what was I, like 10 or something? I can't remember, but since my old grey brick Game Boy was the cornerstone of my youth, I am a little excited to revisit a merging of two old passions. That's right! We're gonna play some Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon R!

It starts with a cutscene, of course. This IS based off an anime, so we gotta get a fill of some anime girls with their obligatory high school problems! Sadly for me, it's all in Japanese, but I can provide some crappy machine translations to no doubt elucidate the action-packed dialogue!

"Today, every one of them..."

Oh. Guess I shouldn't have just kind of took a random screenshot in the middle of nowhere. Well, uhh...I'll ad-lib. Today, everyone is apparently milling about whatever Sailor Moon's hometown was. Serena was being a git and verbally harassing everyone she found on the street. That kind of accurately described the first phase of gameplay in this game: an 'adventure' where you have to talk to the right person, then talk to someone else, etc. until the game decides that surprise! You found the area's boss! (My apologies to the script writers here for my clear bypassing of their hard work.)

why hello there fellow school girl, let us talk about boys and how hard maths are

I get some bad vibes of two sorts: One, adventure games where you just try things randomly until you click the right thing and the game decides to let you progress; and Two, Mario is Missing. An odd marriage, especially considering the random boring mini-games they sprinkle in here and there, like matching cards, guessing if the next card will be higher or lower than the current card, and of course the staple of youth fun, sliding puzzles.

At least Final Fantasy gave you money for completing these dumb things....

Well, luckily the game isn't just mingling. There's a platforming phase where you use magical powers to jump, shoot foes, and do battle with evildoers from the Sailor Moon universe! Though I really don't recall any of these enemies since I never watched this season of the show, so I can't speak to their accuracy to the source material. The platforming is accurate for girls wearing high heels, though. These jumps're so stiff, you can mount 'em on a ladder and do high dives offa them.

I can only assume these are the Japanese temple versions of Jehovah's witnesses

The bosses are unsurprisingly dull! Pretty much the only cool thing about them is their animations, which are alright and fairly fluid. Combat is summed up as ‘spam the attack button and don't even try to dodge, because who cares?’ You have more health than every boss in the game. Which is a good thing, ‘cos it's not like you can actually move around and dodge anything anyway.

Ahh yes, the handstand of dominance. A most impressive display for an inter-dimensional being bent on destruction!

So after thumb-wrestling a boss, you get kicked back into story mode. It shifts the scout you play as, but who cares, they all blabber to randos on the street. Come on, just let me fight things! This sucks! While the best aspect of the street-roaming phase that gets changed up is the road layout, later platforming levels get a little cute with their traps and enemies. Still, though, it's all stupidly easy and kinda boring. Except that one time Sailor Mercury was dodging spike mace balls in a sea of scaffolding. Dang, I liked that episode of the show!

Why can't they ever have spiky cubes? Why always balls? C'mon devs, get creative!

Also, I feel the need to point out that the background artists definitely got paid more than the foreground artists. There is so little effort put into the foreground, you may as well be playing an old Game Boy g...oh. Right.

Mmyep, this sure looks like release material and not placeholders during development.

The story starts getting kooky near the end, at least from what my illiterate self can tell. Your first foes are some David Bowie wannabes. Next, a cloaked fortune teller pops in to ruin your self esteem and flash their $40 glass orb (as they do). Eventually, you meet the REAL enemy pulling the strings. It's...a planet? I think? A planet with a dirt lip and a mohawk. Sure. That's fine, I don't see anything that could go wrong with that.

"...my life is Wiseman. This is my heart." Yeah no, I don't think you should have put 'Organ Donor' on your driver's license then, buddy

"Moon Crystal Power!" The faces are definitely part of the power summoning rite. I get a similar look from my wife when I take the last ice cream bar from the freezer

The ending was lackluster, really. I mean, don't get me wrong, the character portraits were pretty good, but you don't get many more unique ones in the final cutscene. But hey, at least you can use the existing ones to redo some popular internet memes.

Overall, not really that great. It was pretty disappointing, but I mean, that's kind of spot-on for all of my revisits to fond childhood memories. So what I've learned from this date is that holy moly did I have terrible taste as a kid! While my younger self might have sprung for it, I ain't going on a date with this one again. Nopes all around! But at least I found a baller Sprite of Passage from one of the lame mini games! Have it as a reminder to never revisit your childhood. Keep that past rosy!

do you have burials at sea for sailor scouts?

#blinddategaming #gameboy #sailor moon

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oveliagirlhaditright · 4 years

Note

What are your favorite KH headcanons? Just in general, nothing specific :)

It’s funny... I can think of headcanons when I’m writing or whatever--or just at the spur of the moment--but when asked for them, they all disappear from my mind. Uhh... let’s see what I can come up with.

Because Kairi has had a different hairstyle that every year that we see her, I headcanon that she changes her hair every year.

I also headcanon her birthday is September 17th (the day KH1 was released in the U.S. This is also SoKai Day), since Sora’s birthday is the day of the Japanese release and because it makes Kairi a Virgo. She somewhat reminds me of a Virgo. And apparently an Virgos and Aries (which Sora is) can be good together, so...

I imagine that Riku is rich, just because he has a balcony in the KH manga. So is Kairi, for being the adopted daughter of the mayor in my mind (I get into that just below). Sora, however, is probably middle class. For this reason, hangouts with the three usually happen at Kairi or Riku’s house. But sometimes Sora’s still... And these three totally snuck into each other’s houses after dark--through bedroom windows--all the time, and no one can tell me any differently.

And, like most of the fandom does, I headcanon that Destiny Islands’ mayor is Kairi’s adopted father... even though that’s never exactly said. It’s said that the girl who arrived during the meteor shower was at the mayor’s house, but that could have just been for the time and she eventually got relocated somewhere else. But nah. I also headcanon that the mayor adopted her.

I like my headcanon of Xion liking doilies for some reason.

And my one about Roxas being able to cook, too.

For some reason, I adore the idea that Riku can’t cook to save his life.

I also don’t think that Sora is dumb, and I’ll fight people on this. And at this point, I’m kind of stealing another’s headcanon... but I like the idea that Donald and Goofy teach Sora school things he’s missing on their travels together.

I can also get into the headcanon that Sora’s dad passed when he was young (sadly). Since we hear him mentioned in BbS, but don’t hear him calling Sora to dinner alongside Sora’s mother in KH1 or anything like that.

I definitely headcanon that there are a few islands on Destiny Islands--since it’s Destiny Islands plural--but that they’re probably small, so that the kids still feel “trapped there”.

I imagine that Sora and Riku’s parents put up some of the Play Island stuff absent in Dark Road.

Until proven otherwise, because of the character files, I’m headcanoning that Roxas, Lea, Xion, Isa, and Naminé are all living together now (with Lea and Isa acting as their parents). Probably in the Old Mansion that they fixed up. But on the flip-side of that, I think that Sora and Kairi’s parents accepted their kids’ Nobodies and Replicas as their own, and they sometimes stay there.

I also want to pretend that Isa made a bigger effort to make things up to Roxas and Xion.

I actually don’t think Naminé would jump on the drawing train as most fans seem to think she would. Rather... since drawing is actually tied to traumatic memories for her, I think she’d want to get as far away from it as she could at first. And it would take her friends showing her that she could make good memories with it too, that would finally make her an artist.

Terra and Aqua came from other worlds than the Land of Departure (and how I wish we’d get information on that!). Right now--even though it’ll never happen in a million years, since this series isn’t even Disney--I’m writing that Aqua is originally from “Antar” from the Roswell series, but that’s more fanfiction territory. More likely than not, I want to believe that Terra and Aqua are from worlds that fit their names.

Strelitzia is bisexual. I don’t care that Player canonically is a guy at this point, thus probably making her het. Shh.

Speaking of bisexuality... I think that Sora is. I could maybe even headcanon Riku as that now.

Naminé would totally wear baby blue, if Nomura ever lets her get another outfit.

Xion probably eventually picks up some artsy thing that she can do too, to better fit in with Kairi, Naminé, and Aqua. In the novels, she wanted to make a lucky charm but didn’t know how to. So I can see it.

I don’t think this is a headcanon, so much as it is canon that we haven’t seen yet (since Nomura has slightly talked about this in interviews, even if he’s never going to do anything with it now). Rinoa exists in the KH universe. And it’s because something happened to her during the fall of Radiant Garden--that Leon really is beating himself up about--that he changed his name. And it’ll only seeing her alive and well again, that will get him to change his name back. And he eventually will (or maybe even has in my headcanon). And, yes: the letter he got in the KHII credits was totally from her, telling him that she was alright. Rinoa is also why he has wings on the back of his jacket.

Yuna, Rikku, and Paine aren’t actually tiny fairies, but Maleficent turned them into that... And this is so I can ship KH Tidus and Yuna, yeah. But I swear if you listen to one of Rikku’s lines, it sounds like she might be implying this.

While I think originally, it was Aerith that Cloud was trying to save in KH1 (...for some reason. Since she’s fine in the KH verse), fans have now convinced me that it was actually Zack, so I hope we eventually get the FFVII characters in KH’s story eventually resolved.

Some people argue that all of Traverse Town with the TWEWY characters was a dream--or maybe it’s that they argue Joshua saving his friends through Sora and Riku’s help was the dream--but in my book, it totally happened.

Naminé is an honorary member of the Destiny Trio and Sea Salt Trio.

Kairi and Naminé see each other as sisters, and Sora, Roxas, and Ventus (and Vanitas, if he ever comes back and is redeemed) see each other as brothers. But Sora and Roxas miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight slightly see themselves as more closely linked brothers, and same thing with Ventus and Vanitas.

I also see Xion as a third sister for Kairi and Naminé. Most of the fandom disagrees with this. And I understand why. Most of the fandom sees her as Sora’s sister (and maybe even then sistered to the other boys. And sometimes I now do this--sort of because of peer pressure--but I’ll also have her be a shared sister between the boys and Kairi and Naminé, even though Sora and Kairi themselves aren’t “related”. But I hate that when I do this, it ruins my RokuShi dreams. So it’s probably part of the reason that I usually don’t). But I still see Xion as closer to Kairi than Sora. I know she was supposed to be a Sora clone (but it didn’t really work and she was a failed clone of him), but she mostly defined by his memories of Kairi. And that’s who she chooses to be and how she sees herself. But people then argue that it’s Sora’s memories of Kairi, though, not Kairi herself. And I get that.... But I still think she’s closer to Kairi. Why? Because Sora was actively trying to make her Kairi. And I’m sure some of himself slipped into there, as parts of a writer--so to speak--shows up in all their work, whether they intended it or not. But for example... let’s say that Sora hates chocolate and Kairi loves it. Since he was trying to make Xion like Kairi, he would therefore have her like chocolate, even though he hated it. So that’s one more point for Xion moreso being like Kairi in my book. I also... when I first played Days, she reminded me a lot of Kairi, partly because of some of her snarky lines. It’s only recently that I’ve looked at Days and seen some Sora in her--and realized that also could have partly come from him--but I still stand by what I said.

And while we’re on the subject... after everyone got their own hearts and bodies at the end of KHIII, I don’t think pairings like RokuShi or RokuNami, or whatever else would be insert of self-cest at all. Really, I don’t ever think it was. Because KH rules state that it’s your heart and how you see yourself that governs everything around you... but especially not after KHIII resolved this. So it kind of ticks me off when people still bring up this argument.

Because this plot hole bothers me... Kairi totally remembered Merlin when she trained with him in KHIII.

Most the rest of these will probably be about Kairi. Since you all know she’s my girl, and I think about her a lot.

I pretend that Kairi did somewhat have an edgy stage, and still somewhat is. Maybe because I somehow combine that with tomboy in my head. IDK. Speaking of--though not that this is really “edgy”--I’ve written that Kairi likes Queen at least twice. Just pretend that Destiny Islands has Queen. Haha.

I also believe that even after Kairi became more girly in KHII, she still has some tomboy to her: like how even though she wears a dress in KHII, she still has sneakers on, and how her school bag isn’t decorated at all when Selphie’s is. She’s also a fighter, of course (not that that necessarily makes a girl a tomboy -looks at Buffy-). I imagine out of the three, Naminé is the girliest, Kairi is a mix of tomboy and girly-girl, and Xion is a tomboy.

I think Kairi, Naminé, and Xion would all have great relationships with each other. Naminé and Xion, because they both know what it’s like to be “Nobodies” , told they shouldn’t exist, and forgotten (Kairi knows this, too), and have suffered (though Kairi has too, of course). They’re also both slightly shier. Kairi and Xion because they both can be snarky (though Xion not as much), are more outgoing and both fight, and are maybe pretty evenly matched right now (they’d probably spar a lot). And Kairi and Naminé, because they’re like the extroverted and introverted version of each other. And I imagine Kairi could convince Kairi to try things more, while Naminé would get her to chill the F out about things.

Kairi and Xion are probably both protective of Naminé, since she’s been so abused and they can fight and she can’t.

Sora, Roxas, and Ventus might be protective of Xion. But for me, Roxas is because of shipping reasons.

Back to the girly-girl Kairi thing... While pink probably is for sure her favorite color now, she still likes purple and other colors. And will use them.

I also just... don’t see her wearing makeup. I know other fans do, and that’s fine. But I don’t. Mainly because it doesn't look like she ever is in the game. I think that’s part of her tomboy coming through still. She cares about her hair, her clothes, perfume and whatever else, but she doesn’t care about makeup.

I used to headcanon that Aqua and Xion would become best friends--and they still could--but Melody of Memory maybe hinted at something else.

...I think this is everything right now.

Edit: And pretty much every headcanon that bluerosesburnblue comes up with for the KHUX world is right up my alley.

Edit 2: Destiny Islands maybe isn’t as technologically un-advanced as I and some had originally thought, but it’s still not modern day Shibuya or anything like that.

Edit 3: A lot of Destiny Islands’ culture is based on Japan.

Edit 4: This isn’t a “headcanon” at all. But I love to joke with the fandom, that Naminé and Xion might as well be Sora and Kairi’s daughters. LOL

Edit 5: And because of that one scene in KHII, where Kairi, arguably, hits Riku in the arm, if you look close enough--and that one translation of the KHII manga, where Kairi tells Riku not to be such sourpuss--I headcanon that these two somewhat play off just how much they mean to each other. But really, they love each other of course. I mean that platonically.

Edit 6: And I want to believe Minnie and Daisy could eventually go on an adventure with Kairi or something. I like the headcanon that Daisy’s a magician, too--since Minnie is strong with light magic--even though it’s not true. Haha.

Edit 7: Sora says Kairi’s name over and over again at the end of KHI and tells her “I love you” at the end of KHIII.

Edit 8: Riku is Sora’s best man at Sora and Kairi’s wedding. He’s also the “uncle” and godfather of their kids.

Edit 9: Speaking of, Sora and Kairi have a daughter named “Sakura”. But it’s pronounced like how you would say “Sum” (but drop the “M”, of course) and then “Cora”. “Sumcora” (but without the “M”).

Edit 10: Kairi’s a Disney princess.

Edit 11: Max Goof exists in the KH universe, as do the Three Caballeros, who Donald is friends with.

Edit 12: Terra and Naminé are friends.

Edit 13: This is completely unoriginal--and just “Riku” backwards--but in fics, I often call Riku Replica “Ukir” (I pronounce it “You-Kai-Err”, because I’m too lazy to come up with anything else and don’t want to steal other people’s ideas. And Repliku probably did want to be the opposite of Riku, so... -shrugs-

#Kairi was also probably a popular girl and maybe a cheerleader. I also bet aqua was acheerleader #and aqua is a tomboy too of course with some girly qualities. probably more than lionand less than kairi #I don't think any of the kh girls wear makeup usually. maaaaaaaaaaaybe Namine. but I'm not even sure about her #and I headcanon that a lot of the novel stuff is true. like terra whittling wood. and him liking nuts. and aqua loving to bake #and this is more a ship than a headcanon... but I weirdly kind of ot3 Xehanort Eraqus and vor now

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fumiko-matsubara · 4 years

Text

TARGET ON: Class E’s English Debate

“This is speaking in Japanese.”

“This is speaking in English.”

“This is speaking in Japanese but with an English accent.”

--//--//--//--//--

Sugino stood between two separate rows of desks, lightly smacking the pointer stick he has been holding onto his open palm.

“So now, everyone. We’re going to have a debate.” He announced.

Okajima, who’s sitting on one of the desks, looked up at that. “A debate?”

Sugino nodded in confirmation. “Iced Americano even if it’s freezing VS Warm shower even if it’s very hot!” He revealed.

Everyone who was occupying the row of desks let out various vocal reactions.

“And the important thing is…” Sugino added, looking at the participants. “Please listen carefully…” he advised.

Everyone leaned closer in either anticipation or curiosity.

“You must speak in English!” He revealed.

Nakamura let out a loud amused laugh. “OH WOW!”

Maehara, on the other hand, scratched his head awkwardly. “Yes… I can…”

Takebayashi, who was the least responsive among the participants the whole time, suddenly perked up when he realized something. “Wait a minute, the other team has both of them!” He informed, pointing at Miki and Nakamura who shared matching shit-eating grins.

Both girls high-fived each other before exchanging high-fives with the other two boys in their team.

--//--//--//--//--

[Miki – a native English speaker]

[Nakamura – is fluent in English]

[Nagisa – English is his best subject]

[Kimura – Justice]

--//--//--//--//--

Sugino suppressed a smile when realized the lineup. “This team has many good English speakers.”

“They have three…” Maehara realized dejectedly.

Next to him, Chiba scratched his head in frustration. “It’s really unfair,” he complained.

Miki whipped her head to his direction at that, the grin still present on her face though. “Hey! Don’t sell yourself short, Ryuu. You’re actually pretty good in English, you know?”

“Oh yeah, sure! Leave it to me and my good pronunciation to win this debate even though I can’t form sentences. Don’t worry, alright!” He shot back sarcastically.

Maehara patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t worry, Chiba. At least we still have Takebayashi!” He gestured towards the said boy next to him.

“I’m still not sure what kind of skit this is…” Takebayashi said, pushing up his glasses.

Sugino then decided to get them back on track. “But no matter what you do, it’s still gonna be my choice. I actually haven’t decided what to choose between the two, so you’re going to have to convince me,” he admitted. “Do you understand?”

He quickly looked at all the participants once again, making sure they understood the rules. “Alright then, let’s get fired up!”

“Iced Coffee Team,” he pointed the stick towards the team to his right. “One.. two.. three…”

“ORAAAA!!”

“Warm Shower Team,” Sugino turned towards the team to his left, pointing the stick at them this time. “One… two… three…”

“ORAAAA!!!”

“Wow!” Sugino excitedly marveled at their energies. “It’s crazy, it’s hot in here!”

At that, Okajima let out another yell. “ORAAA!!”

“ORAAAA!!” Maehara followed suit.

Chiba suddenly jerked backwards, letting out a loud cackle at his teammates’ antics.

Sugino, though, shook his head exasperatedly. “OKAY!!” He loudly announced, raising his pointer stick. “Let’s begin this debate!”

--//--//--//--//--

Miki cleared her throat, raising a hand. “Okay, um… First of all, we’d like to say something! Uh… Thank you for inviting us to this beautiful debate here.”

As she spoke, Nakamura bite down a laugh at the sight of Maehara and Okajima seemingly spacing out. Chiba, on the other hand, looked at Miki in suspicion as if she was about to commit something horrible.

“Us, uhh Warm Shower Team,” She gestured towards herself and her fellow members. “We came to discuss a very serious…”

Sugino raised his pointer stick. “Wait!” Miki blinked in confusion, taken aback when he suddenly stopped her.

“How to speak ‘Warm Shower’ in English?” Sugino questioned.

Miki perked up at that. “Oh! ‘Warm Shower’ is… I want to take a steaming warm shower in hot weather even if I die!” She jokingly said in an exaggerated English accent, which caused Chiba to let out another cackle.

“Oh my god~” Sugino marveled, giving Miki a handshake. “Wonderful!”

“Fighting fire with fire, you know?” Miki added.

Meanwhile, Maehara peered at Sugino, a plan in mind. Then he quickly raised his hand. “Oh!”

Sugino then turned towards him. “Hm?”

“Cold food in cold weather.” Maehara started. “Hot food in hot weather, no no.” He made a cross with his arms. “Cold food in cold weather, yes yes!” He then gave him an ‘okay’ sign, his grin rather tight.

Sugino contemplated his words for a bit. “I like ‘Raimen’ (cold noodles).” He randomly revealed.

Maehara’s eyes widen at that, somehow happy. “Oh Raimen? You like Raimen? We like Raimen?”

Sugino and Miki exchanged confused looks, not quite getting what Maehara was trying to tell them.

“So we like eating cool things in cold weather.” Maehara then concluded.

Suddenly, Nagisa raised his hand. “Think about that we’re outside training.”

“Training?” Maehara glared at him accusingly for some reason. “Training is Japanese!!” He yelled.

“Uhh… Training!” Nagisa then nervously corrected himself, taken aback by Maehara’s sudden hostility.

Chiba then suddenly stood up. “If it’s like that, then this is English too!” He exclaimed.

With that, everyone started arguing.

“This is English!” Okajima also joined, pointing an accusing finger at the other team. “Oi listen to me! Listen carefully you ugly!”

Chiba and Maehara laughed at that.

“What I’m saying is English!” Okajima continued. “What is the difference?!”

Miki decided to have everyone to calm down. “Okay, okay, okay”

Chiba briefly turned away from them, trying to sober up.

“Our pronunciation, our pronunciation,” Miki repeated in Japanese, the sight of Chiba still laughing causing her to lose her composure. “It’s been like this since the start...” she choked a laugh, which caused everyone to also start laughing.

“…and it will continue being like that.” She started cackling after.

Nagisa raised his hand once again. “Hey Sugino,” he called out. “Listen to me carefully, please. If we train outside during winter, it will be so cold!”

“Can’t you at least mix some English in this debate?” Sugino laughed exasperatedly.

Nagisa then pointed towards the other team accusingly. “That’s because that side is talking in Japanese!”

Chiba stood up at that. “Hey, Hey!!”

“HEY!! Y-you!” Maehara pointed back at him.

“I speak English!” Chiba loudly claimed then paused all of a sudden, blinking in confusion as if a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

“You- you guys started first!” Maehara accused back.

Sugino frantically tried to tone them down. “Calm down everyone. Calm down, calm down!”

Takebayashi, who had been quiet the whole time, pulled Maehara down to his seat, sighing. “Don’t fight, you guys…”

--//--//--//--//--

“Um! I’ll explain.” Miki raises her hand again. “We are from Australia!” She gestured towards Nakamura and herself.

Sugino marveled at that. “Oh! You guys from Australia!”

“Yeah yeah!!” Miki and Nakamura answered in unison.

“But Miki,” Sugino laughed, “aren’t you Canadian?”

“What?” Miki widened her eyes before aggressively shaking her head. “NO!”

Sugino nodded his head in understating. “Ahh, so you Australian, then?”

“Yeah!” Miki confirmed, a grin on her face.

“Okay, go on!” Sugino permitted.

Miki cleared her throat. “In Australia, it is 40 degrees Celsius.” She explained.

“40 degrees!” Nakamura repeated, raising four fingers and showing them to Sugino and the opposing team.

“But! We still take a hot shower. But Japan also has beautiful summer days as well, right?” Miki continued confidently.

Meanwhile Chiba and Maehara just looked at her, unmoving.

[chiba_and_maehara.exe has stopped working]

Miki paid them no attention, though, as much as they both looked hilarious to her. “And in the summer day, whether you like it or not, you are gonna end up being sweaty and smelly. But when you take a hot shower, you take all that dirty smell…”

“No!” Chiba suddenly objected, raising his hand.

“No No NO!” Maehara repeated loudly.

Chiba raised his hand even higher as he stood up, trying to get Sugino’s attention. “Hey, hey! Hey, HEY, HEY, HEEEEY!!”

Maehara also stood up then began slamming down his desk as if he was hitting a buzzer. “Objection! Objection OBJECTION!”

Sugino turned to them with a frown on his face, pointing the stick to them.

“Sit.” He ordered.

Maehara and Chiba both quickly sat down without complains.

The rest laughed at how easily commanded the two were.

“Oh man, Sugino! That was so cool!” Nakamura praised, laughing.

--//--//--//--//--

Sugino looked up at the ceiling as he gathered his thoughts. “Uhh… I used to think… I like to shower in cold water.” He admitted, which caused the other team erupt into cheers.

“YEAH!!” Chiba cheered.

“That’s right, that’s right!” Maehara laughed.

Sugino gestured them to tone down once again. “Okay wait, let’s listen here.” He then pointed his stick towards Chiba, who was taken aback at being chosen to speak all of a sudden. Chiba turned his head to Maehara, but his equally debate-passionate teammate was also looking at him expectantly.

Chiba gulped nervously when he felt all eyes on him, but he stubbornly ignored them and instead, focused his attention solely to Sugino.

“Café is hot.” He began shortly.

Sugino nodded slowly. “Okay, café is hot.” He repeated.

Chiba then acted like he was putting on a jacket. “But we are wearing padding…” He then nervously glanced at Maehara.

“Parka.” Maehara assisted.

“Parka parka!” Chiba corrected himself.

Sugino bit down an amused laugh. “Okay, okay.”

“So… you’re so hot!” Chiba continued. “Then… uhh… there is uh…” he trailed off.

Sugino quickly interrupted him. “You can speak in Japanese if you can’t.”

“Iced coffee and hot coffee…” Chiba made himself continue to speak in English, stubborn.

Sugino leaned closer, raising an eyebrow. “Hmm?”

Chiba furrowed his eyebrows in concentration, trying his best to form his sentences. “Then uhh… w-what do you want to drink?”

Sugino frowned in confusion. “Wait… in winter?”

“What?” Chiba blinked, seemingly not hearing him the first time.

“In winter?” Sugino repeated.

“Yeah, yeah!” Chiba answered then suddenly stood up when he realized something, raising his hand. “Oh! OH! But! In winter but café is hot.”

Maehara’s face lit up. “Oh yes, yes, yes, YES!”

Chiba then cocked his head, smirking all of a sudden. “yOU KNOW WHAT I’M SAYING BRO??”

“HEATER IS BOOMBOOM!!” Maehara loudly exclaimed, gesturing towards an imaginary heater.

“No no no!” Kimura, who was the only one so far who hadn’t been speaking, suddenly stood up, his hand raised. “Café is adequate temperature!” He claimed.

Maehara was about to shut him down but Sugino suddenly walked towards Kimura and high-fived him. “OHHHH!!!”

Not having it, Chiba and Maehara continued to let out various screams of disagreement. “No no no!”

“NO NO!!” Maehara raised his hand even higher. “Also, parka is very hot!”

“Yes yes yes, padding is so hot.” Chiba agreed, pretending to wear a jacket again.

“Then take your padding off!” Kimura rebutted, sliding off his blazer to his elbows for emphasis.

Chiba quickly sat down, laughing off his embarrassment.

Maehara remained stood still, his mouth stuck opened wide, too speechless to even say anything back. He glanced at Chiba who just shook his head, flustering him even more. Letting out a nervous laugh, he began saluting Kimura. “YES SIR! YES SIR!”

Maehara then sat down at the same time as Chiba slowly stood up once again for some reason.

There was a pause as the two passionate debaters looked like they were about to space out. But then suddenly, they simultaneously exclaimed. “AH! AH! AH!”

“Uh you go first.” Chiba offered, patting Maehara’s already raised arm.

“I have opinion.” Maehara started, nervously laughing as he stood up.

Everyone looked at him expectantly.

“We will freeze to death…” He claimed.

“Who’s dying?!” Chiba jerked forwards, cackling.

Sugino looked at Maehara carefully, his easy-going smile tightening.

“I cold, I cold! VERY COLD!” Maehara exclaimed, pretending to shiver.

Nagisa then raised his hand, chuckling. “Sugino, Sugino, Sugino!”

“Hey HEY!” Chiba reprimanded him while Maehara shushed him.

“BE QUIET!” Okajima loudly yelled all of a sudden after being quiet for a while.

Maehara stared at Nagisa intensely, who immediately lowered his hand. “I… I’m first…”

“Ok ok, tell me tell me, you don’t have get mad.” Sugino reassured him. “Don’t get mad. Just tell me, what?”

Maehara started shivering again, but this time pretending to warm himself with his imaginary jacket. “I’m cold, very cold, very cold!”

“Yes, you’re cold.” Sugino nodded slowly.

“Need adaption.” Maehara continued.

Sugino raised an eyebrow in confusion. “You need what?”

“Need… adjustion!” Maehara corrected, laughing at his mistake.

Next to him, Chiba jerked backwards, wheezing in laughter again before sitting down.

“So! If I drink Iced Americano…” Maehara trailed off.

“You cold inside?” Sugino finished, rubbing his stomach for emphasis.

Maehara nodded enthusiastically. “Yes yes!”

“Same with other temperatures?” Sugino asked.

Maehara shoots him a finger gun, winking. “YES YES YES!!”

“In winter, right?” Sugino asked again.

“Yes in winter!” Maehara happily confirmed.

Chiba stood up again, raising a hand. “Hey, Sugino? I have a question.”

Sugino looked at him. “Yes, what is?”

“Do you drink hot coffee or iced coffee?” Chiba asked.

Sugino started playing with the pointer stick as he gathered his thoughts. “I used to drink uhh… cold coffee…”

“OH!” Maehara exclaimed.

Chiba gave Sugino a thumbs up. “That’s right!”

Maehara smacks his palms together in realization and enthusiastically raised his hand up. “OH!”

Meanwhile, Miki just scoffed at Sugino’s answer.

“But Sugino usually likes warm things…” Nakamura muttered, writing something onto a piece of scrap paper before passing it towards Kimura.

Kimura took the paper in confusion, before cackling when he saw what was written on it. “What is this?” He then leaned towards Nagisa, pointing at some of the words. “Say, how do you read this one?” He whispered.

“Sugino!” Nagisa called out, causing him to turn towards them. He then pointed to Kimura, who was about to read out what’s written on the paper. “Kimura has… something to say.”

“Okay!” Kimura immediately began reading. “You like… warm… feelings… just… like…” He was barely halfway to what he’s reading when he began laughing. He leaned towards Nagisa again for assistance. “Wait, what does this say again?”

“Just like we give you warm feelings.” Nagisa read out for him before he turned to Sugino again. “Okay so, Sugino usually likes warm things.” He tried to translate.

Chiba frowned at him. “Hey, why you speak in Japanese?”

“OH WHY YOU SPEAK IN JAPANESE?!” Maehara yelled, smacking his fist with his palm.

Chiba suddenly picked up a notebook from his desk and was about to throw it at them. “WHAT. ARE. YOU. DOING?!?!”

“HEY HEY! IEROO KAADO! IEROO KAADO!! (Yellow Card)” Maehara yelled repeatedly.

Chiba aggressively ruffled his own hair in frustration, the annoyance all over his face being more visible as his bangs were pushed back from the ruffling. “OH MY GOD!” He then face-palmed, sighing exasperatedly.

Okajima suddenly stood up, even walking away from his desk.

“I CAN SPEAK JAPANESE!”

Everyone then paused, all giving him strange looks.

“Do you want me to speak Japanese?” Okajima threatened (?).

Chiba looked at him dryly, his mouth hanging open in exasperation. “Hey hey hey hey! You, you?”

“Me?” Okajima pointed towards himself in confusion.

“Yeah, you!” Chiba pointed at him, and then directed the pointed finger towards Okajima’s vacant seat. “You sit down!”

Okajima quickly sat down without complain, causing everyone else to erupt into laughter.

When the laughter died down, Kimura decided to try his luck again. “Sugino! Sugino! Sugino!”

“Just speak with your body. You can just do that.” Miki told him earlier.

“You catch a cold.” He began loudly.

Sugino nodded slowly. “Okay, so?”

“But… Iced Americano… eat.” Kimura made drinking gestures as he explained, pausing for a bit before violently coughing. “Okay?” He pointed a finger to his own temple.

“I used to drink iced coffee but I get cold.” Sugino tried his best to translate Kimura’s charades.

“Oh! We need to keep our body warm.” Nagisa nodded happily. “We need to keep our body warm,” he then repeated in Japanese.

“Yeah!” Kimura agreed.

“Then…” He continued. “Then, so are you going to take a cold shower?”

Sugino immediately shook his head. “No!”

At that, both Chiba and Maehara started calling for him.

“Yes??” Sugino turned to them.

“Ah Takebayashi…” Maehara gestured towards him. “Takebayashi wanna say.”

“Uh Think about…” Takebayashi started.

But the other team suddenly was making a fuss for some reason, interrupting him.

Chiba pointed an accusing finger towards them. “Hey Hey Hey Hey!”

“BE QUIET!” Maehara yelled again.

“Be quiet, be quiet!” Okajima repeated.

It was quiet for a few seconds while Chiba glowered at them, his currently visible eyes appearing more intense than they naturally were.

All of a sudden, he picked up the notebook again. “YOUR BEHAVIOUR IS SO… UGH!!!” He yelled, violently slamming the notebook down to his desk, the impact causing Maehara and Okajima to flinch.

Okajima quickly pulled him back.

Maehara nodded at him in agreement, pointing an accusing finger to the other team. “SO RUUDO RUUDO! (Rude)”

“HEY!” Chiba yelled again while Okajima frantically tried to calm him down.

Sugino figured it’s best to put a stop to it. “Okay okay, class. Concentrate. Class! CLASS!”

Maehara looked like he was about to say something again, until Sugino pointed the stick towards him specifically. “Be quiet! Be quiet! BE. QUIET.”

Maehara then sat down.

When the commotion died down, Sugino ushered Takebayashi to continue.

“Okay, so think about the training we had before we went to Okinawa!” He brought up.

“OOOHH!!” Maehara’s eyes widened in realization.

“It’s so so hot!” Takebayashi continued. “So if you, after the training, showered in hot water… NO!”

“NO NO NO NO NO!!!!” The rest of his teammates loudly let out various noises of pure disgust.

Nagisa raised his hand. “Think of after late night practice for Momotaro school play. It’s so cold, are you still gonna drink iced Americano?”

Chiba looked particularly attacked at that. “Hey hey hey!”

“IFU! IFU! IFU!” Maehara aggressively raised his hand high, his voice cracking the louder he yelled.

“If you freeze to death, you can melt and LIVE! But if you get a heat wave, YOU JUST DIE!!”

Chiba, Okajima, and Takebayashi all dissolved into laughter at the logic.

Sugino couldn’t help but grin as he tried to calm everyone down. “STOP! STOP! STOP! This debate is finished! It’s done. It’s done!”

As everyone settled down, Maehara leaned to Chiba, who was still laughing. “You’ll live if you melt!!” He repeated, causing Chiba to laugh even longer.

“Ohhh so that’s how it is?” He wheezed.

“Yeah, man!” Maehara strongly replied, which further adds more fuel to his teammate’s laughter.

“I’ve really enjoyed this debate so much!” Sugino smiled.

Maehara kept ranting on about how if you freeze, you can just melt and live, etc. But Sugino ignored him, walking towards the Warm Shower team.

“Late night practice for Momotaro play, I remember when we went home after.” He then looked at the Iced Coffee team. “I also remembered our summer training before we went to Okinawa!”

Both teams looked at him in anticipation, eager to know his final decision.

“But honestly, when I got home after our late night practice for Momotaro play, I drank iced coffee,” Sugino admitted.

Chiba immediately stood up at that, Maehara and Okajima following after, while Takebayashi just clapped in amusement.

“Because when I eat, I don’t usually drink warm things.” Sugino explained, and then pointed his stick towards a certain team.

“So, my pick is the ‘ice even if it’s freezing’ team!”

“YEAHHHHHH!”

--//--//--//--//--

Nakamura: “Miki, wasn’t English supposed to be your first language?”

Miki: “… I didn’t think they’d be that stubborn though…”

32 notes · View notes

peculiar-shardscape · 4 years

Note

and yeah ramble about your bonus level fanpoints please. please do it. i asked politely you have to do it now

d o r i m e .

OKAG IKAT OJA IUHHH

I DON’T NORMALLY RAMBLE ON TUMBLR POSTS I USUALLY RANT ON QUOTEV OR DISCORD BUT UHH

FUCK. I’LL ONLY RAMBLE ABOUT THE ONES I RLY CARE ABOUT UHM. being on mobile sucks bc i cant do the “keep reading/read more” thing wah

All I’ll say is, Praedruosis, Point of Eerie Estate stalks Naen but nobody knows about it. That’s why there’s Naen pictures all over the building but we don’t talk about that. Sshh, keep it a secret otherwise she’s coming after my ass-

Ishi, Point of Stonewall Corridor is... A literal moving stone statue. He can also speak fluent Japanese and is... Hjrhrn... He can either hold you gently or wipe your existence off the universe within .2 seconds. I care he a lot.

Sperceus, Point of Spectre Study! Very shy bean, is Genderqueer, babey, good bookworme. They have ghost like hands and can actually communicate with ghosts! They have very low self esteem but they’re really intelligent and I love they. :>

Paci and Ciro, from Pyro Cryo Mountain are probably the two with the most complex backstory because like. They were formerly one entity, who had emotion issues, and temper problems. The entity’s name was Paciro (yes very original, Windy), and they were always able to pull the lever any time they wanted in their dimension

Eventually, they went mad and lost control over themselves, and their dimension got corrupted, splitting the entity in half. Paci is very soft and gentle, and very apologetic. Their self esteem is quite low, but they like to do what they can to please you. Ciro on the other hand is the short tempered asshole in which nobody likes because of how much of a dick he is. Thing is, they only live in their own appropriate side of the dimension, and they’re unaware of one another existing.

Yeah, they forgot about their original self, so they only think they themself exist. They have 0 access to the lever. It is insivible to them, and touching it would only make their hands phase through it, so to them, it doesn’t exist. (So if you’re the Star Saviour and you just sat on the lever without pulling it, they’d think you were floating.) Whenever the lever is pulled, the entity in the former side would “suddenly be knocked unconscious,” and would wake up when the lever is pulled again. However, to whoever was visiting the dimension, it’s like they just switched, but they’re still in the same spot... I really hope that made sense. Probably didn’t. MOVING ON-

Loxi, Distortion Forest, is a nontheless god damn dickhead that does nothing but piss you off and annoy the fuck out of you until you strangle him. He has the ability to see what you fear, make illusions of them and try to give you trauma because... Well, like I said, he’s a dickhead. Gender doesn’t exist to him, he refers himself as “it” but everyone else just calls him He/Him. He can actually surprisingly withstand corruption, but will stay frozen still for a good hour or so before continuing through. Not like he uses that power for anything though. He doesn’t care. Also, yes, his name is Ixol backwards. Super original, Windy.

Tucker Trillion but pointifi-/j

Gandi, Point of High Roller Casino!! Rich man, always very formal. He has high manners and high expectations of himself. He seems to keep up a really good act, but if he does something wrong, he goes super apologetic and constantly always fumbles his words and... He’s just really adorable and precious. Also, don’t take his tophat, otherwise that’s instant death for you!!! Same goes for his cape. Take that and he’ll tore your arms off.

Last one because I’m getting paranoid of myself. Farenight, Point of Final Firestorm! Hot badass pirate gal, aka my wife!! She has a minor habit of speaking Old English, and a very lovely gal! She’s extremely nice, but always willing for a challenge in competition! ... If you’re not advanced in sword fighting, I highly recommend not challenging her otherwise she’ll throw you to the ground and then to your grave/j. She’s really good at beating others in sword fighting, but has a very high mercy level, and sometimes apologises if she’s too harsh on you. If you’re a dickhead, she’ll just whoop your ass and leave.

I have a shit ton more Fanpoints. I have at least one for every single Bonus Level dimension :)

9 notes · View notes

k-pop-imagines · 5 years

Text

Aurora || Chapter 2

> Aurora Masterlist <

Pairing: Park Seonghwa x OC

Word Count: 2.6k

Warnings: none

A/N: This is probably the longest chapter of anything I have ever written, wow. Seonghwa makes his first appearance in this chapter, that’s all I’m going to say. I hope you enjoy! - Admin Soomi

° AUFREGUNG °

-> excitement, anxiety, commotion

When she woke up the next morning and took a look in the mirror, she could only sigh at her appearance. Her mother was only joking at dinner but after a night of restless sleep, the circles under Yeseul’s eyes seemed a lot more prominent than usual. She put on a light layer of casual makeup to hide the fatigue on her face.

Her mother had already left for work and even though it was very early in the morning, she had left her a reassuring note, a lunch box, and a small plate of fresh pancakes on the kitchen table. She hadn’t eaten those in ages! Her father used to make them every Sunday but after moving to Seoul, eating pancakes became nothing more than a pleasant memory. Yeseul dug in and despite her stomach demonstrating a little because of her nervousness, she tried to enjoy her special breakfast as much as she could. They were different than the ones they ate in Germany, but she appreciated that her mother had taken the time to prepare them for her.

After finishing her meal and once more making sure that she looked presentable, she went on her way to the agency. Lucky for her, the building was only a few subway stops away from her home so it took her about 20 minutes to reach her destination. The first thing she noticed, was the 7/11 on the ground floor next to the agency’s entrance. That would surely prove to be convenient.

Yeseul hesitated at the door that would lead her to KQ Entertainment. First, her excitement and anxiety were fairly well balanced, but within a few seconds, the latter doubled and overpowered her. This was her dream but all the doubts and worries she had managed to push away last night, came crashing down on her again. She closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath. Before she could let her thoughts get the better of her, she pressed the doorbell. No turning back now.

“Hello?” “Uhh, hello. I’m Hwang Yeseul and I have an appointment for 8 am.” God, why did that sound she was here to see a doctor? Stop overthinking, she quickly reprimanded herself. “Ah, yes! Come up please.”

The door buzzed and she hesitantly entered the building. The stairway she found herself in was bright, mostly white and grey but a few potted plants made sure it didn’t look too sterile. She walked up to the 3rd floor where she was greeted by a man who introduced himself as Kang Haejun, the same person she had talked to on the phone last night. He was a head taller than her, a bit chubby and addressed her with a warm smile that reached his eyes. “Welcome, I’m glad to see you! Please follow me, the CEO is ready to talk to you.”

Yeseul followed him through the office. She politely greeted a few people but didn’t have a lot of time to look around. The place wasn’t very big but she assumed they occupied more than this one floor as she hadn’t seen any practice rooms or studios yet. At the far end of a corridor, Mr. Kang knocked on a door and sent her inside after getting a short “Come in.” from the other side.

She carefully entered what she realized to be the CEO’s office and closed the door behind her.

A man behind the desk stood up and motioned for her to sit down. As soon as she took her seat opposite him, she suddenly felt very vulnerable. The CEO seemed like a friendly man but he was still the person who would be in charge of her future, whose hands she’d be putting her career in.

“I’m Kim Gyuwook and as you’ve already heard, we want you to train under our agency. I’ve got the contract prepared but I’d like to discuss the conditions and rules with you beforehand. It’s also very important to me that I get to know my trainees a little before I allow them to start training. So, I have a few questions.” Yeseul nodded shyly and he continued. “Don’t be nervous, though, I won’t interrogate you.”

He pulled out a piece of paper which she recognized to be the profile she had sent in with her application.

“Your profile says you speak English, German, and Korean fluently.” “Yes. I grew up bilingual, my mother is Korean and my father German. I also started learning English at a very young age.” "Do you speak any other languages?” “I learned French in school but I don’t speak it too well anymore. I forgot everything except for the basics after graduating, to be honest.”

The CEO let out a small laugh. “I feel like that’s a common theme for French learners somehow.”

He took a few notes before going on.

“Are you working right now or studying at university?”

“I currently work part-time at a convenience store. I already talked to the owner and I can schedule my shifts in a way that they wouldn’t coincide with practice hours.”

“That’s good. Now, why exactly do you want to become a trainee, or rather, an idol?”

She knew that question would be asked eventually and she had thought about how she would answer countless times before. “Back when I lived in Germany, I discovered K-Pop when I was going through kind of a rough patch. The music helped me become a happier person again and inspired me to become a singer. I want to stand on stage and give the same kind of encouragement and motivation to other people.”

“I’m sure you’re aware that this won’t be easy. You might not actually debut anytime soon. In fact, there’s a chance you might never debut. It all depends on you and your determination.”

“I’m willing to go through it and take the risks if it means I get to do what I love and dream of.”

“Very well.” He gave her a satisfied smile and moved on.

“It’s not a secret that all entertainment companies have a variety of rules for their trainees to follow and we are of course no exception. They are all mentioned in the contract but I would like to go over them with you so that there won’t be any misunderstandings.” Mr. Kim handed her a list of regulations and explained each of them thoroughly.

Yeseul was allowed to have a cellphone but usage during classes and schedules was not permitted. She was also not allowed to post on social media from now on.

Trainees were not allowed to date at all and artists had a dating ban until two years after their debut.

However, they didn’t care too much about keeping their male and female trainees apart, unlike other companies she heard of that wouldn’t even let them be in the same room together. “You know, how it works. If you forbid them, they will try to meet in secret all the more. There’s nothing wrong with making friends but if we do notice anyone getting too distracted though, we will take appropriate measures”, he explained.

No smoking, drinking, or taking drugs. That one was fairly obvious.

The part she was wondering about the most was the weight regulations. “There will be weekly weigh-ins. There is a weight range stated in your contract that you should stay in. We expect our trainees to be able to take care of appropriate calorie intake and healthy workout on their own. Unless you exceed that range or fall below it, we won’t be regulating your diet or putting you on a work-out routine.”

She considered that a fair amount of freedom.

Yeseul also had the choice to move into a dorm with some of the other female trainees but she decided not to as she didn’t live too far away from the company anyway.

“Now, let’s talk about your training schedule. I don’t think I need to tell you that your vocals are great. There’s always room for improvement but you already have a good technique and stability.” Yeseul had taken singing lessons for a few years and actually felt fairly confident when it came to that. She dreaded what she knew was coming next, though.

“However, your dancing is lacking.” She looked away in embarrassment. She had made sure to practice and learn a few basics before auditioning but she was well aware that she was definitely not very talented.

“There’s potential, don’t worry. It’s nothing our dance teachers can’t fix. Some of our trainees started out way worse and managed to become decent dancers. You’ll just have to practice a lot more than others. Which is why you will also be taking more dance classes than singing classes to get you on one level with the others.”

That made sense. “In addition to that, you will also be taking Japanese, acting, and modeling classes. Evaluations are once a week, every Saturday, and you will be recording demos in the studio every second week. Lessons in general start at 2pm every day as most of the trainees still go to school in the morning but you can practice on your own at every time of the day. Sundays are off.”

He slid her a piece of paper with her schedule. Today, she would have vocal lessons at 2pm and dance lessons from 4pm to 8pm but as there were evaluations, she would only be watching and starting the real training on Monday.

“Be aware that if you don’t meet our expectations during evaluations or break any of the rules, the contract will be terminated.”

She voiced her understanding and after a few more questions from the CEO, he handed her the contract and showed her where to sign. She read through everything twice as he watched patiently, then signed, ready to start this new part of her life.

It was almost 10am when Kim Gyuwook dismissed her from his office with a handshake and wished her good luck. She still had a few hours until vocal lessons were supposed to start so she contemplated going home and taking a nap when Kang Haejun walked up to her offered her a tour around the agency. She gratefully agreed.

He showed her around the office first, introducing her to a few people she would regularly be working with personally. Everyone was busy but still found the time to give her at least a friendly smile or wave. Just like she expected, KQ Entertainment occupied multiple levels of the building. The 3rd consisted of the office and various meeting rooms. He then led her down to the 2nd floor where the practice rooms and studios were located. She couldn’t take a look inside any of the rooms yet as almost all of the trainees were busy practicing for the evaluations but she made a mental note on where she would find the rooms later. There was also a small kitchen and break rooms with sofas on both of the floors. While showing her around, Mr. Kang also answered any other questions she had.

He told her that they were currently training a total of 7 trainees including her. They had about 12 male trainees but apparently, eight of them were already training separately as they would be debuting as a group sometime in the second half of the year. He also let her know that she was actually one of the oldest trainees, being born in August of 1998. It made her worry a little. She knew that most trainees started their training at a way younger age. She was 19 years old now, could that be considered too old already? Would it lower her chances of debuting? She decided not to worry too much. If she was too old they wouldn’t have accepted her in the first place.

After the tour, more detailed explanations and an extensive Q&A session it was almost 12pm. She felt a little bad for taking up Mr. Kang’s time but he reassured her that it was actually his job to introduce the new trainees to everything and make sure they felt comfortable. He also gave her his number and told her to contact her if she had any more questions or worries before returning to his office.

It didn’t make sense for Yeseul to go home before practice anymore. She remembered the lunch box her mother had packed her but decided to save it for later as she didn’t really feel like eating because of her nervousness. Still, she should eat at least something small, so she decided to head down to the convenience store to get a snack, something to reward herself taking this important step and to maybe even calm her nerves a little.

The young woman headed downstairs into the 7/11, where was greeted by a friendly, elderly man. She bowed with a smile before she started browsing.

As she walked through the narrow aisle, looking for an appropriate snack to celebrate today’s events, a group of boys entered the store. “We should get some chips for later!” “Aren’t you on a diet?” “Hyung, don’t be like that! I’ll just work out extra hard next week.”

She scanned the shelves and couldn’t help but quietly snicker at their bickering. She looked over at them for a second, counting three young men. Yeseul didn’t pay them too much attention, even though they were hard to ignore, and instead continued her search. Just as she was about to grab a chocolate bar, her eyes landed on the freezer. It was February, still cold outside, and she had just been told about the weight regulations. Was it really appropriate to buy ice cream now? Yes, it is, Yeseul decided. It was one of her comfort foods so she shrugged, opened the door of the freezer and reached up. Whoever had put her favorite ice cream on the highest shelf surely must hold a personal vendetta against her. She wasn’t tiny, only a few centimeters under average height but this was troublesome. Just as her fingertips brushed against the plastic packaging, a figure next to her reached out and handed the sweet treat to her. Yeseul’s face lit up in excitement and she quickly bowed to the kind stranger. “Thank you so much!” When she looked up, she was met with the shyly smiling face of a man around her age, part of the group who had caused the commotion. He seemed quieter than the other two though, who she could still hear arguing over which snacks to get.

“It’s not a problem. Is Melona your favorite?” His was voice soothing and hinting curiosity even though he was nervously rubbing his neck. She nodded eagerly in response. “Yes! It’s the best thing to eat when you want to celebrate, even when it’s cold outside…” She mentally scolded herself for rambling. She couldn’t help it, the sudden inquiry surprised her. Not that she minded, he seemed friendly and wasn’t overbearing at all. Yeseul could see he was about to ask what exactly she was celebrating but his two friends interrupted him.

“Seonghwa-hyung, I will buy these chips now and you can’t stop me.” One of them said as he headed to the counter to pay. The other one motioned for your savior to come over as they were getting ready to head out. The stranger, apparently named Seonghwa, gave you an apologetic smile, you bowed and wished each other a good day before he left with his friends.

Could it be that they were trainees as well? All three of them looked awfully handsome, they talked about dieting and working out, and went shopping right at this store. The fact that they were also dressed in sports clothes led her to make that assumption. At the same time, it could have just been a coincidence. At the latest, she’d find out if she ran into them at the agency.

#seonghwa imagine #seonghwa x reader #seonghwa scenario #seonghwa fanfiction #ateez x reader #ateez imagine #ateez scenario #ateez fanfiction #seonghwa #park seonghwa #ateez #aurora #kpop #k-pop #kpop imagine #k-pop imagine

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zestycompress · 4 years

Text

Ultimate Duo! Ch. 4

AO3 Link

Before the Stand could attack him, Giorno jumped out of the way, but it was futile. The Stand grabbed hold of his shadow and forcefully drags Gold Experience out of him. It was painful, it felt like his own skin was being torn apart. Kars watched helplessly, how could he fight a Stand? Obviously, he couldn’t see the damn thing. What could he do? Try everything he’s capable of and see if it works? An arrow appeared, covered in drool. Weird how Stands could produce saliva.

Gold Experience grabbed the arrow which caused its hand to crack and bleed.

Kars produced a blinding light, forcing Giorno to squint. His fist aimed above the arrow, where he presumed the Stand’s face would be. It only lasted for a few seconds before the light disappeared. The Stand was gone. Giorno turned to the Pillar Man, mouth agape. Before he could question his ability, Kars began speaking.

“It's still here, the Stand’s still here.”

A bit of skin teared on Giorno’s neck, blood began spilling out of the small wound. The arrow was pressed against his Stand’s neck. The teen let out a grunt, desperately trying to move his body. Suddenly, the Stand released them, causing them to fall off the railing and hit the ground. The tips of Giorno’s fingers touched a shadowed area and Black Sabbath moved to the dark place, attempting to grab the blond teen. Luckily, he backed away just in time. Kars hopped down and landed next to Giorno.

“The shadows,” Giorno said. “It’s the shadows! He can move in the shade, but not in the sunlight!”

“The suns going to get blocked off by that building,” Kars commented, looking over at the giant star. “In a matter of minutes, it’ll disappear completely. We must defeat that Stand quickly.”

Giorno quickly turned to the Pillar Man. “But that ability of yours, can’t you use it? It disappeared when you did it.”

“I’m not sure if it’ll defeat it. The Stand would just hide farther away. Besides, only you could see the Stand. The brightness of my Hamon would only blind you!” He responded.

The teen silently pondered for ideas. Somehow, he needs to drag the Stand out in the sunlight.

“Giorno! Is that you down there?” The Japanese tourist, Koichi, has appeared. “The heck are you doing? Who’s that guy with you? And why is there a dead man at that bottom of the stairs?!”

He tried explaining the situation and gestured to the Stand, but it was gone. Kars didn’t care about their conversation and shouted, “Don’t step in the shadows!” And of course, Koichi did the exact opposite, causing his Stand to get snatched by Black Sabbath. Gold Experience grabbed the arrow and its hand began to bleed. Fortunately, Giorno was able to turn the handrail into morning glories, exposing the Stand to sunlight. But it was near some shadows so it was able to escape.

“What the hell was that Stand?” Koichi asked, jumping down and standing in front of the duo.

“Didn’t you see? The murdering kind.” Giorno responded, Kars held back a laugh. All Stands could be the murdering kind if you use them for killing, right?

The blond teen queried about the arrow in the Stand’s mouth since Koichi seemed to know information about it, but he wanted to know why Giorno saved his life. Plus, he refused to give answers about the arrow and Stand since Giorno literally robbed him. Gold Experience’s user gave some dramatic speech about how an innocent old man died because of his careless actions and something about his dream. Kars thought it was pretty stupid but decided not to interrupt him. Though, he did glare at Giorno, silently telling him to hurry up and get it over with. He’s wasting time. Then Koichi explains what the arrow does. Even though Kars would rather be defeating Black Sabbath, he listened to Koichi’s story. It was much better than hearing Giorno talk about how he was actually righteous at heart despite of everything. What Koichi says is much more useful than whatever the blond teen said.

The trio ran towards the other side of the school as birds flew above them. Koichi turned around and noticed that Black Sabbath disappeared. At the same time, the Stand grabbed Giorno’s ankle and dragged him to the ground. The lighter fell with a little clink. Gold Experience tried kicking Black Sabbath, but all of its attacks were avoided. Koichi summoned his Stand, Echoes ACT 3, and made the Stand’s hands heavier. Yet, it still held on.

“ACT 3, release 3 Freeze now-”

“No. I’d prefer if you didn’t, Koichi.”

Both Koichi and Kars turned to Giorno, a surprised expression appeared on the shorter teen’s face while the Pillar Man remained expressionless. As usual…

“You heard me. Don’t even think about releasing your ability. Nice going Mr. Tourist, you couldn’t have done me a better favor!” He said.

“Look out! He’s gonna crush your legs!” Koichi cried, pointing at Gold Experience’s ankles.

A crunch was heard, Kars and Koichi glanced behind them to see a tree branch falling to the ground. The tree sped through its life cycle, withering away before turning into bits of what it used to be. Now that it was gone, the sun shined on the Stands. Black Sabbath let out pained noises, screaming in agony when Gold Experience prevented it from hiding in the shadows of the cracks.

“Koichi, Kars, could you two stepped to the right for me?”

Once they did, Gold Experience barraged Black Sabbath with punches while shouting “MUDA MUDA MUDA” repeatedly. Despite not being able to see nor hear the Stand, Kars could tell the attacks were pretty intense. A slight smile made its way onto his face.

The Stand disappeared for good. Kars walked over to the lighter laying on the ground and returned it to Giorno. Koichi rushed to call a certain marine biologist but was stopped by the blond teen. The two teenagers had a conversation about the Stand and its user Polpo. Kars wasn’t interested in listening so he just stood around.

“Hey Kars.”

“Hmm?”

“I think it’s about time we head back now.”

Koichi left while Kars and Giorno returned to the student dorm. “I’ve noticed you no longer call me Signore Kars.”

Giorno’s eyes widened. “Ah! My apologies-” “It’s fine.” He cut him off, glancing at the young boy. “Don’t worry about it.

The silence lasted for only a moment. “Kars, that ability of yours…” “Which one?”

“All of them I suppose, anyway, could you tell me more about them?” He asked, Kars laughed.

“So you could find out my weakness?” Giorno quickly shook his head at his reply. “Relax, I don’t even have one. I am the ultimate lifeform after all.” (SAYS THE GUY WHO TURNED INTO A ROCK AFTER GETTING SENT TO SPACE)

~~~

Giorno placed the lighter into the opening where he first received it and stood in front of the large glass window with Kars. Polpo began eating his “luscious donation.” Kars grimaced, disgusted with the entire scene.

“I can’t seem to recall where we left off. Who are you two boys again?” Polpo’s words made the Pillar Man frown, not like he’d notice anyway. Kars’s neutral expression is looking unhappy. “Uh, that’s right, you’re Giorno uhh…”

“It’s Giorno Giovanna.” He corrected.

“Of course! My apologies, and you’re.. Kars?” In response, he nodded. “My mind always goes elsewhere when I’m having a snack.”

Giorno gave Kars a quick nudge, pointing at his face and mouthed “stop doing that.” The capo was eventually going to notice his scowl.

“If I may be so bold, are either of you a man of God?”

Kars wanted to cackle, gesture to himself and say “I am God,” but it would be better if he kept it to himself.

“Well, I’m not devout if that’s what you mean,” The teen glanced at the Pillar Man. “Neither is he.”

Polpo poured himself a glass of red wine. “That may be for the best, for what I’m about to say runs counter to the Word of God, but I ask that you take our chat to heart. If having faith in one’s fellow man is paramount and it must also be true that there’s no greater offense than the act of disrespect.” The man proceeded to lecture the two. Kars wondered if he knew that neither of them were only partially listening.

“Now bravissimo! You two are members of the famiglia! Trust me when I say I had every confidence that you’d return the lighter aflame. You two passed,” He flipped something small, golden, and shiny. There were two, one for Giorno and the other for Kars. “These are the badges of the Passione syndicate. It’s proof that you both succeeded.”

They grabbed the little badges. “For the time being, you two shall be receiving orders from Bucciarati,” Polpo stared at Kars. “I was considering having you under Nero’s command, but something told me not to separate you two.”

“How about it? This calls for a toast!” Giorno already started walking away with Kars right behind him. Neither of them looked back.

~~~

“Nice job, now come with me.”

Kars and Giorno followed Bruno silently. The blond teen stopped, causing the Pillar Man to do the same and turn around.

“Is something the matter, Giorno?” He asked, in response, he shook his head.

“No, everything’s fine,” He responded then asked. “So where are we going?”

“You’re going to meet by team,” He said and added, “They’re all Stand users.”

Kars grinned, this is what he was waiting for. When the trio entered the restaurant, they could hear distant yelling. The Pillar Man heard someone complaining about the number four and explained how unlucky it is. Then two people started fighting. Of course, it was Bruno’s group. He quickly silenced them and brought in Giorno and Kars.

“I brought along the new associates we talked about, pay attention! Don’t dishonor us,” As Bruno spoke, Kars scanned each and every member, silently judging their appearance. And it seems that they were doing the same. Kars wanted to learn about their Stands, but he knew they wouldn’t reveal a thing. They were new members to the gang after all. That reminds him…

He’s under Bruno’s orders. He has to listen to a human’s commands! At least it wasn’t an ordinary one, that’d be even worse. Imagining a human with no real power tell him what to do irritates him. Bruno was lucky he was a Stand user or else Kars would completely disobey all his orders.

Giorno took a step forward and bowed. “I’m Giorno Giovanna, it’s a pleasure to meet you all.” He glanced at Kars, expecting him to do the same.

Reluctantly, he did the same. “I am Kars. That is all you need to know about me.”

Giorno was formal with his introduction while Kars was pretty much the opposite. The others didn’t seem to care about the new members. They resumed whatever it was they were doing. That seemed to upset Bruno.

“Listen everyone! I went out of my way to bring them here, show them some respect!”

A waiter entered the room, alerting Bruno about a phone call. Kars bent down and whispered to Giorno. “What’s a phone?”

The teen was a little surprised. “...You don’t know?” “Of course I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking.” He frowned

“Ah, well, basically it's a device that allows you to communicate with people.” Giorno explained. “You have to remember a certain order of numbers depending on the person you want to talk to.” Kars seemed satisfied with the answer and stood straight up.

“All of you properly introduce yourselves, capito?” Bruno left the room. “I’ll be right back.”

Kars and Giorno’s focus was on Bruno, giving time for the oldest member to grab the empty teapot and… urinate in it. Gross, but not the worst thing to happen in Vento Aureo. Giorno was blissfully unaware of what the man did, but Kars wasn’t. Being the ultimate lifeform has its perks, and apparently being able to hear a man piss into a teapot was one of them. He was also able to smell it as well. He would’ve lost his appetite if he was a regular human. Well, it's not like he has to eat as often as they do. However, the entire thing still disgusted Kars, but he found it amusing that the man believes he could fool them into drinking it. Well, Giorno would be the only one who’d get fooled into drinking it.

“Giorno and Kars, am I right? Don’t just stand there, take a load off. Let’s have a drink and chat.” Mr. I-Piss-In-Teapots said casually.

“I am not parched, but I thank you for your offer signore…?” Kars had a smile that said “I know what you did” and made sure it was noticed by the others. Giorno saw it, but he misinterpreted it as “I know you’re Stand users.”

Poor Giorno.

“Abbacchio.” He finished with a slight frown.

“Yes, thank you for your offer, signore Abbacchio. Besides, I’m sure Giorno would like something to drink.” He said, looking down at the teen.

“I suppose I am pretty thirsty…” Giorno said, allowing Abbacchio to pour him a cup of lukewarm “tea.”

“I hope you enjoy it,” He said as the others (excluding Kars) stared with wide eyes. “How old are you?”

“Fifteen.”

A young boy laughed. “What, really? I got two whole years on you, buddy boy!” He teased, Giorno dismissed it and thanked Abbacchio for the tea.

“And hey, what about you?” Everyone turned to Kars. “How old are you?”

“Older than you.”

“Say a number!”

“A number.”

Abbacchio glared at him. “We’re being serious here.” Kars rolled his eyes. “I stopped counting, alright? I’m an adult and I’m older than the rest of you.”

“Well, you look pretty young for a guy who’s supposed to be old,” One of the gangsters commented, the one Kars recognized as the one with tetraphobia. “What’s your secret?”

Kars chuckled. “You’ll find out.”

As they spoke, Giorno raised the cup of tea to his lips. The moment he realized what made the tea smell so awful, he understood the meaning behind Kars’s smile. He knew the tea was actually piss and didn’t bother to warn him about it. Everyone at the table had their eyes on him, holding back giggles by hiding them behind a smile.

“Is something wrong? You’ve already expressed your gratitude for the tea. What’s with the sudden hesitation?” Abbacchio asked Giorno smugly. “I believe we’re past the niceties, it’s time to drink up. Is it not warm enough for you?” The boy two years older than Giorno used his hand to muffle his laughter.

The tetraphobe spoke up. “Maybe he’s afraid to down it because he doesn’t want to be one of us!”

Bruno walked in. “Now what’s going on here?!”

“Nothing, everything’s fine,” Giorno spoke calmly, looking down at his reflection in the yellow liquid. “He went to the trouble of making a special cup of tea for me.”

Oh, the tea is special alright.

Giorno gulped down the drink, everyone else (besides Bruno and Kars of course) stared at him in disgust. One even shouting “that’s nasty as hell!” which Kars mentally agreed with. Bruno was puzzled.

“What’d you do? Speak up!” Bruno commanded, no one listened.

The teen placed down the cup. It was now empty, only a few droplets at the sides remained. Kars was the only one who was aware that Giorno used his Stand. He sensed it do something, but he wasn’t sure what. The others were either disgusted, laughing, or staring in silence. The man in a red hat wanted to know, telling Giorno that it could be their little secret.

“Can’t recall, but you all are keeping abilities under wraps as well, aren’t you?” The blond teen responded, a slight smirk on his face. The others were stunned. Kars noticed that there was something in his mouth…

A jellyfish.

The others tried figuring out what he did, then one of the members noticed Kars’s expression.

“Hey! You know it, don’t you?!”

He laughed. “Correct, but you’d be an idiot if you think I’d tell you.”

They whined and groaned, offering deals to the Pillar Man if he spills the truth. He refuses them all, grinning when they decide to give up. It was clear to them that Kars wouldn’t budge.

“Listen up! We’re heading out so be ready!” Bruno announced.

“Huh? Where to?” “Just follow me. Come on!”

~~~

People who passed by greeted Bruno cheerfully, some eyed Giorno and Kars curiously. The duo noticed how popular the man was. It was impossible to ignore all the people shouting “Goodmorning, Bucciarati!” Kars even began counting the number of how many people greeted him.

The gang reached the docks and entered a building to rent one.

Seems like we’re traveling on water. I could easily fly to the destination, Kars noted and smirk, but it quickly vanished. But these humans can’t do the same, can they? I’m not letting them ride on my back. I’m not a damn horse.

Everyone was on the yacht, though something felt… off. But only Kars noticed. He tried brushing it off, but it was hard to ignore. He stared at the sea, reminiscing the times he had with his allies. Those memories were quite painful to say the least. The deaths of Esidisi and Wamuu upset him greatly, but there’s nothing he could do about it but accept it. His grip on the railing tightened. He never avenged their deaths. Kars made a promise to them that he would but instead he was defeated by that damn Joseph Joestar.

“Oi Kars! You’re uh… holding onto the railing a little too tightly!” Mista shouted, the Pillar Man removed his hands and noticed the dent he left. “Geez, you’re a pretty strong guy, huh?”

Was Joseph even alive? He had to be, he was a Hamon user after all! God, there better not be anymore of them. Kars knew he technically was one, but he doesn’t count. He’s the ultimate lifeform so it was okay.

He sighed and shook his head. Shutting his eyes and listening to the waves. He doesn’t need to trouble himself with the past. If he were to see Joseph again, he’d kill him and not make the same mistakes he did last time.

“Hey! I think we’ve had just about enough of the surprises, Bucciarati. Where are you having this boat take us?”

Kars snapped out of his reverie and turned around, his attention now on Bruno.

“Our destination is… Capri.”

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blookmallow · 4 years

Text

time for sdr2 once again

----

found this REALLY weird monomi minigame thing which i didnt know existed and is absolutely terrible to play lmao

sdr2 is an exciting adventure of bizarre minigames i also had uhh whatever the fuck this was happen with my snake friend

my snake thing suddenly laid a huge egg, out of its mouth, which then hatched into a rabbit and now i have a rabbit. SURE

o K A Y ? ? ? ? ?? ? ?? ?

i love her

OH HEY

visited ibuki and not only does she have instruments and stuff around (even if we assume she bought the snacks/magazines/etc at the market) she has also somehow managed to replace the curtains and the pillows with ones that match her colors and i do not understand how this is happening but also i support her immensely

i dont remember liking her as much the first time around as i do now ?? i never disliked her but for some reason she didn’t stand out to me before

i am continually astounded by how much of this i do not fucking remember at ALL

to be fair i have only read through sdr2 once, this is my first time playing it myself, and didnt have an anime to watch, while dr1 ive read through, watched the anime, and played the whole game (including playing the beginning like 3 times bc i kept forgetting about it and starting over)

but still. the fuck

also kuzuryuu was in there eating lunch so like, who’s running this place. where is the food coming from. i know that was also a problem in dr1 but there was at least like, a kitchen with visible food and characters mention using the kitchen and stuff so you could just figure they’re finding their own food

monokuma PLEASE chill the fuck out

a delightful serial killer

isnt that just kira

is that a reference/pun in japanese... isn’t “kira kira” also like a sparkle sound effect or am i thinking of something else

i like that they didn’t even try to localize this to anything else for the translation so its just like [hinata, speaking english, looking at a pamphlet written in english] “what the fuck language is this”

Hajime Hinata Can’t Fucking Read

how old is saionji anyway i know everyone’s supposed to be high schoolers but is she a like. child prodigy/got in on a technicality situation (like how hagakure got held back so he’s actually older than everyone else) or does she just act like she’s 12

i want to say Let’s Go Lesbians but it also feels like she’s a child so im not sure how to process this whole situation

seems like we’re all agreed then let’s leave komaeda tied up forever

this was an absolutely blissful few days of No Komaeda and I for one think we should’ve left him

i dont remember how he gets out i generally prefer not thinking about him as much as possible

she didn’t give a clear answer here but im still thinking about this, who would be responsible for it if they DID just let him starve. would they All be considered guilty because everyone knew he was in here and nobody helped him. would souda and nekomaru be considered jointly responsible because they were the ones who tied him up in the first place

I ABSOLUTELY FUCKING HATE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS

i remembered i FUcking hated komaeda but i couldn’t remember Exactly why it was. I Know Now. i still cannot believe how fucking rancid this dude’s vibes are i hate it i hate it get it away from me

yes,

i love how lazy this is just. Girl A. Girl B

i remembered this game thing existing but i Do Not remember what significance it has or how its a motive at all but anyway i really like the aesthetic of it though

feels very very much like misao but with like. silent hill graphics

whatever games this is drawing from/based on i want to play them

i want to play the rest of silent hill too i wonder if i could even get that working again,

ANYWAY im getting off track. uh. to be continued

#lucy plays sdr2

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forkanna · 4 years

Link

[AO3] [WATTPAD] [QUOTEV]

Chie was warm when she awoke the next morning. What a lovely feeling! She couldn't remember how long it had been since she last felt this peaceful — as if pure sunshine itself were wrapping around her, coiled like an affectionate snake. Even though that was a very weird mental image.

Speaking of which… the sunshine itself was just barely peeking in through the windows of the room, making her close her eyes a little tighter as she snuggled harder against her pillow. All she wanted to do was sleep in and forget the frightening, insane dream she had. Yukiko falling into the TV? Monster clones crawling all over each other — and worse still, Yu and Yosuke seeing them like that?! Horrible and crazy, even if the ending of the dream was a little less unpleasant. No, she would rather just think about sunshine and her best friend and let the nightmare fade into nothingness.

"Yukiko…" she breathed with a small smile.

"Hmm?"

The response didn't startle her. Not at first. She simply was too comfortable, too happy, for the reality of the situation to poke through that fuzzy blanket of contentment. However, she did start to feel like either her pillow was a little too warm, or her dog somehow knew the word "Hmm" now. And come to that, Muku wasn't an inside dog. Why was he in her bed today?

When she moved her face just a little to snuggle closer and hopefully fall back asleep, she could suddenly tell that there was hair covering her pillow. Not fabric, and not dog fur either… actual human hair. That was weird. Her brain finally put it together: the least weird thing to be covered in human hair was a human, not a pillow or a dog. So that meant…

That meant…

Drawing backward, Chie opened her eyes to observe a sea of silky black strands. Yukiko. She didn't need to scroll through some huge list of people it could be; she knew, even without seeing anything else. This wasn't the first time they had fallen asleep together and awoken in the same bed. Just the first time since finding out a shadowy part of her heart wanted to wake up next to her every morning.

Moving her arm a little showed her that it was around Yukiko's stomach. And it felt so good there… who wouldn't love to spoon the junior innkeeper? Flawless goddess that she was. Practically everybody who went to Yasogami High shared that opinion; with the exception of Ai Ebihara, who was gorgeous but as snooty and unpleasant as they came, she was most definitely the hottest girl in school. She had even overheard a couple of "If I were gay" discussions in the locker room that hinted Yukiko would be their ideal.

But now, Chie and Yukiko were gay. For real, not just hypothetically.

"Oh shit," she breathed when she remembered that particular detail. The shadows had been telling the truth. Sure, she knew she could put up a fight, try to pretend it was all a dream or they were lying, but the moment she accepted that other Chie into her heart she relinquished all right to deny it any longer. "Yukiko… I think we're in trouble."

"Hmm?" she groaned again, squirming a little in Chie's embrace. Her hand drifted up to rest on the back of Chie's, which made her smile. What a tender touch. "Prince? What time is it?"

Now she burst into a full rosy blush like she never had before. Yukiko was calling her that in her sleep now? She had thought the shadow exaggerated that slightly, like they tended to do, but apparently it was no exaggeration. Before she could think through her response, it was out of her mouth and into the air.

"I don't know, Princess."

Yukiko's dark eyes fluttered open, staring at the wall bordering the window. Now she could see this was Yuki's room; her brain hadn't been firing on all cylinders before. Such a traditional Japanese room, complete with low tables and tatami, a bonsai on a small table in the corner, hanging calligraphy — and they were curled up in a futon that was luxurious for one person but very slightly too small for two. There was also a poster of a pop group Yukiko loved, but it was framed; probably a compromise on her mother's part.

"Chie-chan?" she breathed.

"Yeah?"

"It's you. Why… last night, what happened?"

"Nothing! Nothing happened!" That was her first instinct; cover her own ass, make sure Yukiko didn't think she was being a creep. Then she cleared her throat. "I m-mean, uh… I don't know. What do you remember?"

Her warm body shifted, and Chie felt her neck growing yet hotter. This felt too good in a way it never had before. "I remember… the castle. You saved me. I'm… oh."

"Oh?"

"I remember our shadows."

"Damn," she sighed. "I was kinda hoping you'd forget that part. So embarrassing!"

"I know! I've never… how could that other me be s-so indecent? I've never had thoughts like those before!"

Chie sighed, petting up and down her best friend's stomach. She felt the muscles twitch and shift in response. "Um… yeah, but… I have. And I think the shadows kinda, um, fed off each other? Or something, I guess. I don't know."

Finally, Yukiko turned just enough so she could look at her best friend out of the corner of her eye. "You've really thought about me that way?"

"Not… like the shadow said I did. I wasn't trying to…" She grimaced, and Yukiko's expression grew more concerned. "Never wanted to be with you… like that. It was just a thought or two, I promise. Because there's never been any guys I was really into, y'know? So after seeing that video, I… y-you're so pretty, and we're already best friends… so I had to wonder…"

"You had to wonder…?" When Chie didn't continue, she bit her lip for a moment before whispering, "If maybe you and I could be like the girls in the video?"

"Yeah! But then I was like, that's stupid, right? We're friends! And that's cool! You've been my best friend practically my whole life, and I love that. I don't wanna mess it up."

"Chie… why are we in bed together?"

Swallowing hard, she tried to scrape together two brain cells. "Well… you collapsed in the castle, and then I was trying to help carry you out… and after that… man, I really don't remember."

"If…" Yukiko rolled onto her back, and Chie felt even more self-conscious now that they could see each other. That perfect, angelic face, gazing up at her with concern and trust. She didn't deserve that. "Maybe Yu and Yosuke couldn't carry both of us all the way to both houses? So they just left you here."

"Maybe…" She sighed, looking away. "I'm sorry, Yuki-chan. I didn't mean to flake."

"Flake? What do you mean?"

"I should have been able to carry you all the way home, if I'm really your… well, y'know."

"My prince?" When Chie nodded, she let out the softest little chuckle. "You really think I don't still see you that way? You went to an entire other world for me. A-and you accepted your shadow, even after she told everyone that you… after she did those things to the other Yukiko."

"I couldn't hide from them anymore," she sighed, slumping just a little. "Not with it all out in the open, and… and it being the truth."

"No, that's not what I was trying to explain. I know the only reason you accepted that was to make sure I was safe. I could tell." Her hand drifted up to cup Chie's cheek. "My brave prince, risking her life, and then… her reputation in front of the guys. And all I did was be a victim."

Eyebrows furrowing, she leaned a little closer. "Don't say it like that. We were all victims — of whoever's behind this stupid stuff. How were you supposed to know you'd get kidnapped?!"

"But I couldn't protect myself," she insisted. "Couldn't stop them from catching me and throwing me into the TV. What kind of pathetic-"

"Stop! You have every right to just… be a peaceful, gentle girl, who likes to study, and laugh at stupid jokes, a-and… and I would die to defend that right!"

Yukiko's face suddenly grew deathly serious. "No. Please don't say things like that, Chie. I don't want to think about… well, I just don't want to think about that. Okay?"

"Okay," she acquiesced with a little nod. While Yukiko was breathing a sigh of relief, she kissed her cheek. "I'm just glad we got you back safe and sound."

"Oh," Yukiko breathed. Only then did Chie realise what she had done, but her friend was already smiling. "Y-yes. Thank you."

"S-sorry."

"No, no, it's alright! It felt very…" She trailed off, the bridge of her nose and her cheeks turning pink. "I can't believe this is real. We're… I didn't even know. How could I not know I had those feelings buried inside of me? Am I stupid?"

"Only if I am, too," she chuckled, and Yukiko grinned bashfully.

"I guess you're right. We can't pretend that both of our shadows weren't having a great time over there."

"We could," Chie hedged playfully. "Try to pretend the whole thing was just a big hallucination. But now that Tomoe is a part of me, I don't think it's gonna work very well."

"Tomoe?"

After blinking for a moment, Chie breathed, "Whoa. I just… knew that name. That's the other me; her name is Tomoe. How? She never told me…"

"Konohana Sakuya."

"Huh?"

"That's… mine's name," she explained, sounding just as confused as Chie. "They're part of us, but… also something else. I saw them change before we accepted them; do you think…?"

"I don't know," she admitted readily. "Seriously, I wish I did. But I remember Yosuke saying something about that when we were all talking about what happened when him and Yu went into the TV before. They used a word… I just can't remember what it was now."

"That's alright. We can ask them later." They shifted and felt their legs graze each other's, and Yukiko giggled a bit. "Wow, this feels very different from before."

"You bet. I'm… I don't know what to do."

"What do you want to do? We can get up now if that's-"

"NO! I mean, uhh… it's okay. We can chill for a minute."

Yukiko smiled sweetly up at her, even if her face was glowing crimson. "You don't have to do that anymore, you know. Hide your true feelings. If you do want to… be close to me, we can do that. It's a little scary since it's new, but I… don't mind. Not at all."

"Really? It's not too weird?" She moved her legs again. "I don't think, um… we're wearing very much. Under the sheets."

"Y-yeah. It's… don't worry, I'm sure it was my mother who undressed us, or one of the other women."

"It had better have been. I'll punt that Yosuke to the moon if he even took off one of my shoes!" They both giggled a little before relaxing again, even if they weren't fully relaxed. Too much excitement.

"Your legs are smooth," Yukiko commented out of nowhere. "A-against mine. Sorry."

"What are you sorry for?"

"Well… it's strange, isn't it? For us to be doing this, and… I want to tell you what I'm thinking, but I'm also ashamed of those things. It's silly; I just got done telling you everything is fine, and yet…"

One of Chie's shoulders rose and fell with a little shrug. "It's okay. Seriously, I'm… don't worry about me judging you. I'm pretty sure it's my fault we even saw our shadows doing that since I'm the perv."

"You are not a perv," she chuckled. "Unless you were lying about how often you go to watch those videos."

"I wasn't. Like, I only went on there once." Sighing, she forced herself to admit, "I did watch more than one video, though. Like, a few. But I felt so creepy afterward that I couldn't let myself go back."

"I see. Did you want to look at some together?"

Chie nearly lost her mind at that thought. Therefore, she was quick to assure her, "S-some other time! Maybe? I dunno, um…"

"O-oh, okay," Yukiko quickly agreed, nodding as she swallowed hard. "I didn't mean to upset you, or to suggest something… too unpleasant. Just trying to help."

"You are! I mean it, this is really… I'm so happy that you're not skeeved, or think I'm being a perv, or hating me for… being gross with that website. I just… got curious, and then it was super fascinating."

After debating internally for a second, Yukiko whispered, "And then, you pictured the two of us doing the same thing?" No answer. Yukiko reached up to pet along her cheek again as she added, "It's alright. I think… w-well, I don't like anyone thinking of me that way. It seems vulgar. Except, knowing you have… it doesn't make me angry like Yosuke does when he asks what my measurements are."

Chie's lip curled. "That boy is a real horndog. Not a bad guy overall, but like, he's sure got a one-track mind."

"Yeah!" she agreed with a musical laugh that made Chie melt in a way it never had before. She always loved it, sure, but now it had a deeper effect than could be explained away. "I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to get us into swimsuits as soon as the weather's warmer."

"Probably right! I mean, God, why is he like that?!" They both giggled for a few seconds, trying to relax against each other's bodies despite the electricity sparking between them. Then Chie cuddled a little closer, feeling Yukiko's arms tighten around her back. "Mmm…"

A tender mouth came to rest against the crown of her head, pushing into the hair a tiny bit — not quite a kiss. Just a tender gesture. "Chie… I don't understand a lot of this. I really don't. But I want you to know something."

"What's up?" she breathed.

"That you and I… we're friends. And not just 'I'll see you in class' friends, but 'I'll see you every day for the rest of our lives' friends. Even if we aren't… that kind, if our feelings aren't the same, that doesn't matter. I will never turn my back on this friendship."

Her heart felt like it could burst. "Y-Yuki-chan… I… for real? You and me, forever?"

"Sorry."

"No, no, I feel the same way!"

"You do?!" When Chie nodded, she embraced her even more tightly. "Oh, Chie… I've felt that way for a long time! I just wasn't sure if I should say it, or if it would be too strange. Since it sounded like…"

When she didn't finish the thought after a few seconds, she whispered, "Yeah. It sure does sound like… a love confession."

"Right. And of course, I love you. I'm just… not sure what kind of…"

"Hey, don't sweat it," she reassured her with a smile as she held onto her friend. Trying to ignore how warm she was, how good she smelled… how little they were wearing, even if it was underneath bedsheets. "We'll figure that out. Probably."

For a few minutes, they simply laid there, too afraid to continue. To misspeak and change the whole situation sooner than either of them were prepared for. Finally, Yukiko cleared her throat as she caressed up and down Chie's mostly-bare back, fingers tripping slightly over the strap of her sports bra.

"So… um… fingers can really… do that to a woman? And it doesn't hurt?"

Instantly, Chie turned back into a mess. It became a lot harder to ignore certain physical reactions when forced to think about that spectacle their shadows put on again — especially when she could feel a very warm hip pushing against the area in question.

"Y-yeah, I guess so! Not that I tried it, but I, u-um… looked like it to me."

"Wow…"

"I know, right? Crazy…"

Licking her lips, Yukiko whispered, "And you would want to try that with me?"

"NO! I uh, I mean… yeah? But we're not doing that kind of stuff, so it's fine! Really, I'm just… I feel a little light-headed, do you feel light-headed? Is it hot in here or is it just you?"

Yukiko had been laughing until the last part, which made her gasp. "Me? Hot?!"

"Yeah, you! Geez, haven't you ever looked in a mirror? Don't you hear how the boys talk about you in school?"

"W-well… I think boys just talk about girls like that all the time," she hedged, cheeks flaming red. "And of course, I know I'm not ugly, but I also don't think I'm particularly pretty. Or unique; I'm such a common girl. What about Ebihara-san? She's much prettier than me. And so are you!"

Chuckling just a little at her friend's modesty — which she knew was true and not a facade, thanks to their shadow-encounters — she kissed her cheek and whispered, "You're beautiful, ya idiot. And everybody knows Ebihara's a bitch."

"CHIE!" she cried out in shock, even though she started giggling a moment later. Chie allowed herself to relax into the embrace as her friend shook with mirth for a few seconds. "I… I can't believe you said that!"

"What? It's true! She's a huge bitch and nobody can stand her. I mean… she's probably just really insecure or whatever, but does that have to mean she takes it out on the rest of us?"

Yukiko nodded thoughtfully as they relaxed against each other. "I wonder… if she went into the TV with us… what her shadow would be like? Or my parents, or… anyone. Not that I want them to have to go through what we have, or what the reporter and Saki-san did, for sure — nobody else should die. I'm just curious what secrets are in their hearts; it might explain why Ebihara-san is so, um, unpleasant."

"Who knows?" she sighed, relaxing a little more as they both fell silent. At least they had the topic of the egomaniacal Ai to distract them for a few seconds.

What should they do now? Of course, they could just keep lying there, but given that she already felt the embers of need trying to catch the rest of her on fire, that was a bad plan if she didn't want to end up repeating what the shadows had done. Which neither of them was quite ready for. Could they actually just get up and start acting like everything was fine? No, that ship had sailed; actually watching part of their own selves acting out secret fantasies would not be so easy to forget as a slip of a tongue, or a lingering glance.

"Yuki-chan?"

"Yes?"

"Um… I'm sorry for how I used to think about you." There, perfect. This was something she needed to do, anyway, and it would help keep them from thinking too hard about other matters. "For thinking of you as dependent on me, o-or whatever. I know we kind of already went over that, but I wanted to formally apologi-"

"Shhh," she shushed her, kissing her cheek. "Chie, don't. I know… I know I put you on a pedestal, and you enjoyed the pedestal. We both could have been… smarter? Or more wise? Or maybe just more honest about our feelings with each other. A-anyway, I, um… I don't like you any less, and I don't think you're a bad person at all. So don't worry about those things."

Great. Yukiko was so kind and understanding that now they had nothing to distract them from the deeper worries about their sexuality. And since they had already admitted their feelings, more or less…

"D-does this mean… we're… dating?"

"Does it?" Yukiko asked, eyebrows shooting upward. "Wow…"

Grimacing, she hissed, "Don't just accept it like that! We're both girls, aren't we?"

"Well, yes. But I've read somewhere that it's becoming more and more commonly accepted in other parts of the world. There are countries in Africa where it's still punishable by death, but everywhere else…"

"Death!" she squeaked, clutching at her own throat.

"Stop," she snorted with a slight smile. "It's terrible, yes, but I don't plan on moving to Africa, so you and I should be safe."

Chie forced herself to breathe. Then she cleared her throat and followed up with, "Still, um… we're in Japan. It's weird here, right? They're going to look at us funny."

"Maybe…" She frowned a little, then she shrugged. "But how will they know we're not just friends?"

"Well, that- oh. Oh, I guess you're right, huh? Unless we make out in the middle of class, anyway."

"You want to make out in the middle of class?" Chie's brain short-circuited for a minute before Yukiko giggled. "Sorry, that was mean. I made you picture it, I think."

"N-not 'mean'! Nope! And what do you mean? I didn't picture anything!" When her friend only continued to giggle at her expense, belly shaking, Chie rolled her eyes and smiled. "You're such a goof. Do you know that? Like, everybody else is fooled by your cute 'proper lady' kimono-wearing facade, but not me. I see who you really are."

Her smile was coy as she gazed upward, the sun coming through the window in just the right way to sparkle in one of her eyes. "And who am I?"

What Chie had been going to say was something along the lines of "a nerd"; she actually wasn't entirely sure. But seeing her like that prompted a quiet, "Perfect."

"What?" Yukiko's smile disappeared, only to reappear smaller and alongside a rosy blush. "O-oh."

"What?"

"I didn't think… you were going to say something like…" Throat working to swallow, she looked away. "Wow. You really are a prince."

"A-ah, come on," she tried to laugh it off. "Just because I said that one thing?"

"No. It's the way you said it; the way you were looking at me when you did. There was this dreamy sincerity in your eyes, and… your voice was so serious. I got goosebumps." When Chie laughed again, she pushed down the sheet and raised up an arm. "No really! Look, I have them!"

However, Chie became distracted by something else other than the tiny scores of bumps along Yukiko's arm. There was no bra. She had still been expecting actual clothes, really, but even beyond those having gone missing, her best friend was topless. And unless she missed her guess, those peaks were erect — probably for the same reason her arm had blossomed into gooseflesh.

Because of Chie.

"Oh!" Yukiko suddenly gasped when she realised, her other arm sliding up to lay across her chest and conceal everything. "Oh no, I- I'm sorry, I w-wasn't… sometimes I can be such a ditz!"

"Yeah…" Once hearing she said that, she hurried to assure her, "Wait, hang on, you're n-not a ditz. I don't think that! I meant, um… it's okay! Yeah."

Both of them were red enough in the face that they probably could have cooked omelettes on their cheeks. Chie took a quick glance down to see if she was clothed, and she was — in her sports bra. At least it was something. Yukiko was probably either wearing no bra before, or hers was nicer and more elaborate, so the women who worked at the inn had removed it so she could rest comfortably after her ordeal. It made sense, even if it resulted in this awkward situation.

"...want to…"

"What?"

Yukiko was quick to shake her head. "Nothing."

"No, really," Chie insisted. "I missed what you said."

"I asked if you wanted… to… t-touch them?"

Licking her lips, she glanced around the room. "Okay, I uh… I know we said we'd do that whole 'honesty' thing from now on. But are you sure you wanna be asking me questions like that?"

"I am," she whispered. "Even if the answers might scare me a little, I could never be really scared. Not with you next to me."

Heart bursting with love, Chie smiled down at her and leaned in for a gentle kiss. Neither of them were really ready, but she suddenly knew that there was no point in depriving each other of the chance to experience this connection — one that had existed all along. They just lied to themselves about what kind of connection it was.

And Yukiko's lips were soft, sweet. Perfect like the rest of her. Chie found she never wanted to stop. Her hand drifted up to grip Yukiko's upper arm, and both of Yuki's hands rested lightly on her collarbone as the kiss deepened — just like a princess! This was crazy!

"Oh wow," Yuki breathed once they parted for air.

"Shit," Chie rasped in a voice husky with need. Then she cleared her throat to try again. "I m-mean… that was… I've never… shit."

Her friend giggled warmly, one hand drifting up to cup her cheek. "My eloquent prince."

"Sh-shut up." When she only giggled more, Chie bumped their noses together with a bashful smile. "But yeah, that was amazing. And I, uh, I wouldn't mind doing some more."

"Doing some more kissing? Is that a proper way to phrase it?"

"I don't even care, man. Like, I'm trying not to scream and roll around on the floor!" They both giggled this time, and Chie buried her face in her hand. "You're my princess. How did I not see… was I just really dumb?"

"I feel pretty dumb, too, so it's okay." Pillowy lips grazed her cheek and sent her heart skipping over a beat. "But um… we should probably take a break. Before one of us faints."

"That might be a good idea." When Yukiko started to stand up, she covered her eyes. "AH!"

"Oh! Do you… not want to see my body? I'm sorry…"

As fervently as she could, she shook her head. "That's not it! I'm just… like, if I'm kind of the 'boy' now, you aren't supposed to be showing off the goods, right? Like, u-um… maybe that's stupid. Sorry! I don't know what the hell I'm saying anymore!"

"It's okay," Yukiko laughed lightly. "But you're not a boy; you're just… my prince. Prince Chie. And if you want your princess to be more modest, I can be."

"That wasn't what I meant, either; it's not that you're doing something bad! You're great! REALLY great! B-but I shouldn't be a, um, a pervert-prince."

"Ohhh… okay, I think I understand. You want my permission to look? Instead of just, um, accidentally sneaking a peek?"

"Yes. Or like, um… well, yeah, pretty much. But I don't want you to give it right now just because I'm in the room."

The quietest little giggle almost made her look anyway. "You've already seen my body."

"That wasn't you. Probably my imagination's like, idea of what you would look like naked? But you'd have to tell me if it was, uh… accurate."

"How am I supposed to do that? I have no idea what I look like down there!"

"Like I would?! And it's your body!"

"Chie!" she gasped, a little embarrassed now. "Wh-why would I look at myself like that? I'd need a mirror, and… a-and I, u-um…"

Finally dropping her hands, she saw Yukiko had donned a kimono — not the somewhat ornate tsukesage she had been wearing when dragged into the Midnight Channel, which there would be no way she could get all that on in the limited time since getting up, but a simple pink-and-white chequed yukata. Chie felt her tiny flicker of lust turning to contentment and affection.

"You never got curious?" she asked as she got up. Now it was Yukiko's turn to blush and look away, and Chie made straight for the similar red-and-white yukata that had been hanging next to Yukiko's. She wanted them to both be comfortable instead of anxious. "I did."

"You did?!"

"Sure. I mean, I didn't do anything super crazy, just… when I learned to use a tampon…" Then she laughed awkwardly. "Maybe this is nasty to talk about, anyway."

"No, no, it's alright. I never…" Clearing her throat, she rephrased, "I use pads."

"Ohhhh. Yeah okay, I guess you wouldn't have." Then she tied the robe around the waist and approached her friend. "Well, I'm sure it's… nice?"

Flushed and squirming, she chanced a smile up at Chie. "I h-hope so. For you. Whenever we, u-um… not that we need to."

"Right! For sure! Nobody's holding a gun to our heads, telling us we have to bone!" At the last word, Yukiko flinched, so she grimaced and added, "Too far? I'm sorry, I know you're not real thrilled about people using-"

"It's alright. We're um… this is a very stressful and new situation. And I should probably get over things like that if I'm ever going to be a good wife for you."

Now it was Chie's turn to flush brick red, brain misfiring and leaving her stuttering and gaping at her. Wife. Was that where this was heading? Marriage?! But two women couldn't get married! Maybe they could live together, sure, but wouldn't that basically make them lifelong roommates? Who had sex? And kissed, and took care of each other, and…

"I guess you will be," she breathed aloud as the realisation hit her. "And I'll be a good wife for you, too! Like, so good, I swear!"

Yukiko reached forward to take up Chie's hands, holding them loosely as they gazed into each other's eyes. "Of course you will. I might be scared, and have no idea what I'm doing, but it's not about who you are. I know you're the best person in my life." They shared a small kiss — that still sent tingles along Chie's spine, despite how brief and chaste it was — before she added, "But aren't you the husband?"

"Hey, I draw the line at 'prince'," she laughed back. "You want a husband, you better ask Yu."

"No, thank you," she giggled. "He's very sweet but he isn't my Prince."

"Yosuke?"

"EW! That's so intolerable — he would be the worst!"

Chie cackled as they headed for the bedroom door to finally start their day, hand in hand. "Right?! He'd be better off with some girl like Ebihara!"

"Well, let's not go too far… I'm not sure who doesn't deserve whom in that scenario."

To Be Continued…

#We'll Face Ourselves #persona 4 #p4 fanfic #forkanna writes #persona 4 fanfiction #jess the writer

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