#but obviously i like being the senpai more than the kouhai....

[solarsa1nt]

𐚁֙࿐ CONFESSIONS

gojo satoru x male!reader

Tags — fluff , kissing , love confession , blushing , questionable age gap but still legal

Notes — none

"Y/N-senpai?" A familiar voice calls as the boy in questions blinks in surprise, turning towards the familiar figure.

"Ah... Itadori?" Y/N's head tilts to the side, frowning in confusion as he blinks the sleep away from his eyes.

It was, surprisingly, not some hallucination caused by lack of sleep. Itadori was heading down the hallway from where the kitchen was, a baggy t-shirt and shorts being in place of the uniform that he (along with most other students) were often seen in.

"You... shouldn't be up this late." Y/N frowns, lightly scolding the boy. "It's not good for someone your age."

"Huh? But you're only four years older than us, right?" Itadori asks, sounding uncertain if he was right now that he's said it aloud.

"Which means I'm legally an adult. Either way, it's my cursed energy's fault so not much I can do to fix it..." Y/N frowns slightly before sighing, shaking their head and looking up at Itadori with a neutral expression.

"Whatever, just get back to bed." Y/N suggests, glancing out the window to briefly look towards the entrance of the school.

Itadori gives the older boy a hesitant look but eventually nods, sparing one more concerned glance before continuing down the hallway towards the dorms.

Silence falls over Y/N now that his kouhai had disappeared down the hallway.

"...Why do I even bother waiting for that guy?" Y/N mumbles to himself with a tired sigh, turning on his heel and walking towards the main room of the dorms.

Plopping down on the couch, Y/N leans against the armrest, tugging a blanket over his lap as he grabs the remote.

After clicking on a streaming service and putting on the first movie to pop up— it happened to be some animated movie titled 'Your Name' —Y/N slumps further back into the couch.

About halfway through the film, his half-asleep state was interrupted by a door loudly opening— whoever opened it obviously uncaring of who they would wake up with the clatter.

"Mh...?" Y/N turns towards the door tiredly, glancing towards the door to see a familiar white-haired sorcerer standing in the doorway.

"Oh... you're back." Y/N yawns, raising a hand to cover his mouth before stretching out his arms, letting the joints pop satisfactorily before he sets them down again.

"Ho? Is my favorite watching movies without me?" Gojo walks over to lean on the couch behind Y/N.

"Stop being so blatant about your favoritism..." Y/N sighs, ignoring the warm feeling bubbling inside of him with the knowledge that he was Gojo's favorite.

"Y/N is just too cute!" Gojo teases, patting the boy's head affectionately.

"Egh..." Y/N grumbles, leaning away from the touch as he focuses back on the movie, watching the scene play out impassively.

A comfortable silence rests over the two as Gojo walks around to sit next to Y/N, throwing his arms over the edge of the back of the couch.

"You don't even have half of the context for the movie." Y/N points out, bringing his knees to his chest and crossing his arms over them, resting his head atop them.

"Hm? I'm sure I can figure it out." Gojo shrugs offhandedly, "I am the strongest, after all, understand a movie won't be an issue."

"Right." Y/N gives the man an unimpressed glance before rolling his eyes and focusing on the movie once again.

Colors flicker across the television screen— a meteor falling through the sky over the small town as a girl watches with widened eyes.

Y/N wonders what it'd be like to witness something like that, something so colorful and bright that it makes the entire sky seem to glow...

"Y/N." Gojo's voice interrupts Y/N's musing, his tone light but still holding an unusual amount of seriousness.

"Hm?" Y/N glances up at the man, feeling the six eyes burning into his figure through the blindfold.

Gojo stays silent for a moment, expression unreadable with his lips drawn into a flat line— it turning up into a small smile after seemingly finding whatever he was looking for.

"I love you."

Y/N blinks in confusion, wondering vaguely if he misheard but ultimately knowing there was no denying it— the words were far too clear; far too confident to be anything other than a confession.

"Oh..." Y/N feels his ears burn as he mumbles the words, unable to muster up anything other than a simple; "Okay."

At his lack of a proper response, the blush only spreads across Y/N's face further, turning his head away to hide the redness.

He should answer, Y/N knows that, but his first response was embarrassing enough that he honestly doesn't trust whatever might come out of his mouth next.

Unfortunately, Gojo didn't seem to agree with his plan.

"'Okay'?" Gojo's grin widens as he leans forward, no doubt seeing the fluster that spread across Y/N's face.

"Y/N~" Gojo chimes, an almost scolding lilt to his voice— as if Y/N were some misbehaving child. "That's not an answer, you know."

"Uh—" Y/N panics, leaning back further as a dizzy feeling spins around in his skull from the sheer closeness of the two— noses nearly touching as Gojo's lips hover inches away from his.

Y/N's breaths come in shallowly, everything feeling all to much and the bastard infront of him wasn't even—

Y/N reaches his hands up towards Gojo's head, simultaneously pulling part of his blindfold up and pushing his head downward— their lips finally connecting.

Y/N glares into dangerously beautiful blue eyes that were gleaming with satisfaction.

His head gets tilted back as a tongue enters his mouth without shame— Y/N not bothering to fight back as he allows the man to continue his ministrations; too content with the feeling of them being so connected.

A breathy whine forces it's way out of Y/N's throat at the rough pressure against the top of his mouth— soon slithering down to move elsewhere as if Gojo was trying to find something hidden inside his mouth.

Gojo pulls away, a lewd string of saliva connecting their lips as Y/N huffs— cheeks burning a bright red as he looks up at the man's smug expression.

Gojo's lips (still wet from their mixed saliva, Y/N realizes absentmindedly) were curled upwards into a lazily grin, crystal-like blue eyes half-lidded as he watches the younger man below him intensely.

"You're such a pervert..." Y/N sighs, turning his head on it's side in another feeble attempt to hide his expression.

"Is that a yes, then?" Gojo asks— his voice annoyingly playful despite their previous actions.

"You— obviously." Y/N grumbles, embarrassed from having to admit even after the heated kiss shared between them.

"Ha~ I'm so glad!" Gojo slumps his body atop Y/N's, earning a strangled yelp from the younger boy.

"Wh— Ugh! Get off me!"

© 𝓢OLARSAINT 2024 ─── all of my works belong me alone! do not copy, steal, plagiarize, or spread any of my works in any other social media platform. these have only been reloaded on my own accounts on ao3 and wattpad

[seventeenlovesthree]

As you may have noticed through the course of the past few months, I have done a lot of shipping polls (and will probably do more, because it's just so fascinating to me to see the current status of what the fandom likes and prefers!). This won't be as big of a project as the FANDOM SHIPPING POLL ANALYSIS 2023, but I thought to at least give you a short summary of my findings at least!

"Pick a ship dynamic": I do realize that I already put a bit of a bias in this one, because I already mentioned the dynamic/tropes that the respective ship was mainly associated with! Back then, it was still common to have my polls circulate in more Taishirou centric spheres, so I am not surprised that they won this one by a landslide! (Only Takari and Daiken reached more significant numbers, with Taiora at least crossing the 10% mark!)

Digimon Adventure Rarepair: Again, this one has a bit of an inherent bias, because there are obviously a lot more rarepairs out there, but I wanted to mention mainly those I actually had seen tumblr fandom content about through the course of the years! There haven't been that many participants, so the results are a bit more balanced and thus, of course, not really representative - so it was more surprising to see Kenkeru be the ship to come out on top!

Favourite 02 Ship: Since DigiFes was around the corner and the hype for the "Digimon Adventure 02 The Beginning" movie was speeding up slowly, I wanted to do some 02-centric polls, starting with the most obvious one. It should come to nobody's surprise that Daiken - and basically Takari too - won by a huge margin here. All Jogress combinations aside, these two have always been and probably always will be the most popular 02 ships around the globe!

Favourite Adventure/02 ("Senpai/Kouhai") relationship: I chose this poll with a similar intention as the previous one, wanting to see which of the "generational relationships" were the most popular. Seeing how much emphasis the series had put on the lesbianism sisterhood of Mimi/Miyako, this was an interesting result! They were also closely followed by Taichi/Daisuke, which can be seen as a male counterpart, seeing how much these two are being paralleled.

Most "Shippable" Chosen Child: This was one of the more recent polls and, to at least some degree, it mirrors the popularity the characters had in last year's shipping polls. Seeing Taichi on top of this list shouldn't really surprise anybody, as he had already been one of the most voted on polls last year as well (with his most popular shipping choices having been Koushirou, Yamato and Sora). Mimi had also been among the most popular in last year's ship polls (with her most popular shipping choices having been Jyou, Koushirou, Sora and Taichi). But this time, she only finished third in the poll and was surpassed by Yamato, who did not have as many votes last year (with his most popular shipping choices having been Taichi, Sora and Jyou). It would be really interesting to see how the overall results would change this year.

"Which Chosen Child could you see yourself only ever shipping with ONE other character": Or how I put it up there: "Who is the least multi-shippable?" I do realize that the question may have been a bit confusing here and there, but in the end, the polls did mirror the poll results of last year to at least some degree; Ken is mainly being shipped with Daisuke (or Miyako), whereas Koushirou is mainly being shipping with Taichi (or Mimi), so people prefer being very selective with them! Surprisingly enough, Taichi and Sora also received more than 10% of the votes - whereas the former is usually considered pretty multi-shippable (as seen above), the latter is usually also part of shipping debates. So my interpretation here is that people who voted on this poll may not have voted on the previous poll and actually do prefer these two to be shipped with only a selective number of characters!

Favourite OT3: This poll has only ended today and while Taichi/Koushirou/Sora had led it for the majority of the time, it's not too outlandish that Taichi/Yamato/Sora surpassed it in the end, as it had always been one of the most popular OT3s since the very beginning (due to both fandom popularity/division and canon handling). Daisuke/Takeru/Hikari coming in third is also an interesting result, which has also always been part of fandom discussions (and each ship combination, as with Taiorato, can be found in their respective shipping polls from last year as well!). Again, I do realize that there are always more OT3 combinations out there to focus on, so the poll was somewhat limited.

The OT4 poll is still going on and I'm really curious what this one will bring... I also left a "Others" option in there, so feel free to mention your own favourite group dynamics!

[hopkei]

sorry if this is a dumb question, but what was the problem with keito calling him “nacchan”? is it because they’re filming? what does keito usually call him? (from what i know, fanta is more chill about honorifics among the members? sorry i’m new here 😭)

not a dumb question at all!!! japanese formal language can be very confusing!!

(disclaimer: i will say first that my japanese is not very good and i'm also not very familiar with other LDH groups so anyone pls correct me if im wrong!! i wouldn't be surprised if fanta is more casual about it,, so i'm not super confident about it but this is my general impression!!)

under the cut bc this got very long🙇‍♂️

from my understanding fanta (and LDH as a whole) actually tend to be quite strict with honorifics and formal speech. i remember just recently seeing a video of some Johnny Company groups on tv with some LDH members where they discussed the LDH high five rule, which is that kouhai must ALWAYS high five senpais with two hands

the J company members were very shocked (and maybe impressed?) by this because J company groups will apparently be quite casual with senpais

i won't speak to other groups because I'm not familiar with them, but in Fanta the members tend to be very strict with calling each other formally. all younger members will call members older than them with "name-kun" (except sekai, every member calls him sekai-san) and use honorific speech. Keito always calls nacchan as "horinatsu-kun" because he is younger, as does sota (though sota will also occasionally use "hori-san")

and all of this is despite many members knowing each other for 10+ years or being childhood friends (keito still speaks formally with sawa and horinatsu still calls leiya "leiya-kun". though from what i can think of, whenever horinatsu refers to shota, he does not use -kun), so i would say ldh is just very strict about it.🤷‍♀️ there is even a weird case with sawa and taiki, where sawa is older but taiki is the senpai so they both call each other taiki-kun and natsuki-kun (or sometimes sawa-san)

however i will say that while they are strict, because fanta is obviously very close the times i can think of off the top of my head where a younger member will drop honorifics, the older member will call them out, but they never actually seem very bothered (like with horinatsu, he is still laughing while hitting keito, and im pretty sure keito didn't apologize)

others i can think of are leiya calling taiki with no honorifics here (at 1:04): the question is "who do you think is most improved since debut" and leiya just says "taiki" and taiki yells "don't call me without honorifics!" but is still just laughing, and leiya does not apologize

and taiki dropping to informal speech while talking to sekai here (at 2:03). the question is "please tell us a good point of the next member!" which in this case is taiki, and taiki says "please tell me! (informally)" and sekai says "why are you speaking informally?" and taiki and the members just laugh🥰

in terms of using formal vs informal speech in general there are some members that i have definitely seen drop them from time to time (like yusei to leiya and sota to yusei) but even then they will always still call the older one with -kun

though all of this is to say its very possible that they are just like this in front of the camera to follow ldh rules and are very friendly and informal behind camera but i cant speak to that;;🙇‍♂️

[monacrado]

Delulu thoughts about gbf almost-OL ship monika/lecia, but despite drawing top/assertive lecia more, I used to think if there were any arrows to each other, monika's would be bigger than lecia's (like monika>><lecia) until I finally read ferry's summer fate where lecia just wouldn't shut up about monika and looking back it does feel like monika><<lecia now.

I always thought Lecia's language and reactions toward Monika in their fates, battle dialogue etc were always pretty lukewarm minus a few scenes compared to Monika's toward Lecia. Also, Monika's fates usually feature lecia but not necessarily vice versa, and lecia tends to get more of the mc love interest treatment. Monika's arrows are pretty apparent Eg:

-Monika is usually shown taking the lead when they hang out, in her grand SSR and summer SSR fates. 

-During battle dialogue she gets super pissed if lecia gets ko'd and threatens the enemy (something along the lines of 'Don't you dare think you'll get away in one piece'.)

-In her Grand version's fate she comes running and causes a ruckus in panick when she hears lecia collapsed. 

-So she's obviously usually a strong and composed leader, but seems like loses that composure if something happens to lecia

You could argue Monika is just making sure to take care of her junior (close senpai/kouhai relationship). Her grand version flavour text calls lecia her little sister figure too, and they get treated as sisters by mobs a lot of the time when not in uniform. But we know what that kind of subtext is usually for lol. Anyway no matter how you interpret it , it's no doubt Monika cares for lecia a lot.

Getting back to Lecia feeling more lukewarm towards Monika in comparison:

-if Monika gets knocked out in battle, Lecia is still pretty calm and just tells her to stand back and she'll attack.

-Grand Monika and Summer Monika fates; When they get mistaken as close sisters, lecia shows some discomfort and/or does the polite strained laughing (eng says friends but in jpn the mobs refer to lecia as monika's older sister)

-honestly tho looking back lecia only seemed like she had reservations about hanging out with Monika in her grand SSR fate because she was just stressed out in general

On the other hand, as mentioned above, there are a few eyebrow raising scenes showing lecia is pretty affectionate towards Monika and may just be trying to keep it on the down low

-arcarum reward SSR monika fate, lecia shows up kinda drunk on Monika's doorstep w/ another coworker and says 'no sleep for you tonight'. In jpn (and I guess eng too really) it's a stereotypical line that one says for the innuendo.

-Summer SR ferry fate is kinda loaded. 

  -though just asked by Monika for stories when she's back from vacation, she keeps an eye out for desserts that Monika would be interested in

  -vira and ferry noting how important Monika seems to be for lecia. In jpn it's 'respect' instead of 'important, but then vira likens their relationship to herself and katalina which is pretty loaded lol. Ferry adding on that Lecia gets all sparkly eyed and happy when talking about Monika

  -Vira asks Lecia about having Monika come over for vacation together, and lecia genuinely seems disappointed when she explains they can't, and that they've been working separately too. The way that happened and vira being so sympathetic definitely felt like a 'too busy to spend time with your s/o' moment.

 -lecia continuing to bring up monika whenever appropriate for the rest of the fate

-Valentines SSR Monika fate; lecia showing disappointment when she can't catch Monika's show and later on asking us to watch for her instead

-Lecia gushing in her head about how cute Monika is as a magical girl

So we can kinda see the situations where Lecia is more openly affectionate: when she's drunk, when Monika is not present, and inside her head. Seems like never when she's alone with monika. It's probably just in her nature to want to stay professional and not lose monika's respect or something with her personality, and stay in her lane as the younger one. This just feels like kinda typical shoujo style kouhai crushing on senpai now that i look back tho lol. Also it's funny the localization is trying to push them too with the changes i mentioned above

[floatingcatacombs]

The Dogs of War

12 Days of Aniblogging 2022, Day 7

Something is in the air, as this year I ended up reading three separate works that involved doggirls and the military. Either it’s sheer coincidence, or there’s a burgeoning microgenre afoot, so I wanted to talk through each of them here.

A Love Letter for the Marching Puppy

This one’s set in Meiji-era Japan, but an alternate history where women are allowed to serve in the army. #ImperialFeminismFTW ! What follows is a boarding-school drama that plays out similarly to a standard school yuri, but heightened with the structure and procedures of the military. A standard senpai-kouhai romance can be made more interesting if you add rigid hierarchy, making it that of a model older student and the new recruit she’s been assigned to mentor.

Of course, the language being used for this hierarchy is all setting-appropriately homoerotic, with roommates being formally referred to as “bedroom comrades”, while mentees looked upon romantically by their superiors are dubbed “maidens”. There’s a strong sense of possessiveness here which culminates in the cadet love interest referring to the protagonist as a puppy, both endearingly and mockingly.

Owing to its nature as purity-obsessed yuri, there’s a certain romanticism on display here which extends to the institution of the military itself. Our protagonist is a street urchin who enlists so she won’t starve, and her outlook on the academy is firmly rose-tinted from start to finish. The lack of a reliable social safety net is and always will be the number-one factor driving voluntary recruitment, to the point where you have to question if it’s really so voluntary if the only choices are enlisting or poverty. I can’t say I’m surprised that this manga refuses to address the horrors of war and perverse incentives surrounding military recruitment, but it’s definitely a willful blind spot.

If it sounds like I’m being overly harsh on A Love Letter for the Marching Puppy, it’s that it piqued my interest enough to poke. This is a very straightforward high school girl's love story, but the transposition into a military academy setting adds enough flavor to distinguish it from its peers.

On a Leash

Unlike A Love Letter for the Marching Puppy, On a Leash goes all in on the horrors of war. Set in the trenches of Furry World War I, this manhua follows Irene Red, a solider and scrappy butch who keeps ending up in the clutches of the medic captain assigned to her team. Who wants to tie her up and sexually torture her. Also, they can shapeshift into a wolf and a snake, retrospectively. We’re fully in the land of batshit over-the-top lesbian melodrama here, a flavor of yuri I increasingly prefer as time goes on.

There’s a lot going on here, and it’s clear that the author bit off a bit more than they could chew. The characters being able to turn into furries to become more battle-hardened honestly reminds me more of mecha anime than anything else. It frames the soldiers as subhuman, becoming literal animals on the frontline, and with the main character being a dog, the dynamic between Red and Ruce is obviously about petplay and submission. It’s not trying to be subtle in any way. The subjugation of soldiers and the sexual interpretation of military hierarchy are nothing new, between the historic prevalence of homosexuality in the military and the use of these themes in male homosexual art. But since women in the army are a comparatively recent phenomenon, there’s far less work tapping into this stuff but with lesbians. This makes me all the more glad that On a Leash exists and is so self-indulgent.

It's really funny that the author for this is so competent at writing caretaking-as-BDSM but noticeably falters when the characters have to actually talk about sex. At the least, their priorities are correct. Additionally, if you liked my article about yuri where the characters have a death wish, this one’s for you.

Coquette Dragoon

If you’re going to read one thing on this list, make it this one. Coquette Dragoon is one of the smartest, most heartfelt stories I’ve read in the past few years. As a visual novel, it’s got excellent composition and style, likely owing to its origin as a comic. Ivy is light-years ahead in the “writing interesting and fucked-up lesbians” arms race compared to her peers, and even with only the first few parts of the story out now, I know we’re in for something good. Definitely not for everyone, but if you’re not everyone, you will love it.

But that’s enough proselytizing! This is another furries-in-the-military work, but this time in space with mechas that lean real-robot. As in On a Leash, people’s individual species don’t carry wide-ranging societal implications but still matter to the plot and influence how characters see themselves.

Bell is my point of focus here, as well as something of Coquette Dragoon’s breakout character. She is our obvious puppy, thoroughly pathetic and loyal and weak. She’s just as much of an embarrassment in-universe, the bastard child of an aristocratic arms manufacturing family. In a twist, she’s the one doggirl in this article who isn’t actually enlisted in the military. Nothing is expected of her, but she’s looked down upon by all. This would do things to anyone! And on top of this, she’s been ill all of her life with some sort of medical nightmare, and though she’s well enough to leave the house and eat without an IV, it’s clearly a major part of her (looking forward to whatever is going on thematically between Bell’s GI problems and the Lilac pilots using a “GI system” to interface with their mechs).

In spite of everything, or maybe because of, Bell is one of the most self-realized characters in all of Coquette Dragoon. She knows what she wants, even if it’s embarrassing and weird, and she absolutely laps up any real companionship she can get. Her relationship with Honey in Chapter 2 is complex enough that it doesn’t fit cleanly within the lines of friendship or romance or sex. But as girls who are broken in very different ways but both seek to be understood, they’re a delight to see together.

Also, Bell has multiple layers of gender stuff going on, some of it depressing and some of it hilarious. I love and care for her, and you will too.

BONUS: Heaven Will Be Mine

What did you think Mare Crisium’s head was supposed to be.

[bigtopveggie]

Ship Bias mwah

Send ‘Ship Bias’ and I will share up ships I have a bias for for my muse 💚

Midori x Chiaki

I mean, it's very clear, my ship bias is not subtle at all on this one ... it cannot be, because I love them too much. They are the reason I am so into Enstars. They both caught my eyes, and when I saw their relationship, I was done for.

Obviously, their rapport is very fanservice tease, but there is so much potential and so many things to unpack here. From Chiaki choosing, amongst everyone else, Midori as protégé, no matter how annoying he can be, no matter how cruel the things he says are, and never letting go.

How Chiaki has been called out to be constantly out there to have skinship with Midori even though he is physical with everyone in general. How Midori is the only one Chiaki does very no homo advances to, like wanting to give him CPR because he looks dead ( read : just looking down ) and such. It is just such a common cope out to when you are attracted to someone for real in gay men, it is impossible for me to not have my heart strings tugged at all those scenes sprinkled whenever Ryuseitai shows up in ! .

The coup de grâce is Midori being just ... such a tsundere. Getting the UP! buff when called out that he enjoys Chiaki's company, being told he looks so happy whenever he's with Chiaki just after he relentlessly complained about him.

It is impossible to not read them like they're two guys pining on one another or just an old married couple. Add to this the kouhai/senpai dysfunctional relationship and there is just so much spice to them as they both carry their baggage and crash into one another. They both complement each others' flaws and qualities, for the better and worst. And they are just so endlessly entertaining to me to see together. They take information in such a drastically different way, I always am happy to see them interact.

They are a relationship about moving on and growing together. I love that they have nothing to do with one another's past, that those are just two complete people who have a spark.

A loudmouth who takes the whole space and a meek, soft boy. I am a sucker for those bright characters who take center stage having this tranquil, side character who is their other half which we see less often but is just impactful every time he enters the scene ... that is Midori. Amidst their misunderstandings and the myriad of strong feelings they have for one another, there is just SO MUCH potential for so many heartwrenching and wholesome storylines ... I adore them, I think about them all the time ... !!!

Midori x Hinata

There's potential to have the two of them be so much more than friendly acquaintances ... they are friends, but I'd say so far in canon interactions, not as close as they could be, mostly due to Hinata keeping an emotional distance from everyone. Hinata is just always a step ahead to Midori, which is to me because he pushed himself to grow up quicker than he should have ... while still having the same immaturity, as you cannot rush growing up entirely.

Hinata always know what to say to distract Midori from dark thoughts without being over the top, their interactions are positive and mundane ... which is actually very rare for Midori : it actually fits much more the energy in which he sees himself being happy : just leading a peaceful life. My guess is that Hinata, just like Midori, is a depressed individual, and tell Midori what he wished someone would tell him. You see this repeat in the same way Tetora grows resentful of Midori : that Midori is a dark mirror to his inner cynicism. However, in Hinata's case, he only sees compassion and even, dare I say, trust. A lot of people see massive flaws in Midori that are caused by his mental disorder, however, Hinata sees pass this and can see how compassionate and thoughtful Midori is despite his struggles.

As for how Midori sees Hinata ... unfortunately, there has not been a lot, because of how caught up he is in his head, how Hinata is so good at masking and how Midori does not like being involved in troublesome business that is not his. This, however, I do believe can change as shown in how in !!, Midori is open about wanting more friends and actually trying to nurture relationships outside his immediate circle. For him to be the one poking at people first and not wait for people to come to him.

There is this peaceful ( dare I say cottagecore ) potential for he and Hinata to become so much closer. Because, despite what it may look like, I do think that Hinata is the one who needs Midori most, someone close to him that is not his brother or someone involved in the drama with his brother. Someone entirely on his side. And Midori is one who, if given the chance, would be eager to support someone like Hinata who's always been there for him - Midori may look like he is entitled, but he actually fully realize when others go out of their way to accommodate him and feel shame and guilt over it, something that stopped him from socializing for so long. He does see how Hinata is kind to him, but his self-loathing makes him too embarrassed to dare ask for more than Hinata already gave him by helping him out all the time.

And past their issues ... Hinata is cheerful and mischievious, all the high energy Midori do need to see some light in his life, but not overbearing. Midori is the calm and stability Hinata needs in the chaos that is his life ... and, honestly, with all the joking around Hinata does about Yuuta being his boyfriend, I sense some yearning to actually have a genuine boyfriend, a wish for romance, and him calling Midori really good-looking ? Yeah. Yeah.

Those two are such a nice chemistry just waiting to be used more *shake HappyEle* !

[leatherbookmark]

man i'm reading a livetweeting thread of beast and 🙄

i KNOW it's adonis' Thing that ooh he looks bighugescary terrifying uncontrollable BEAST!!! so clearly he gets the role of the "beast", aka a jekyll/hyde kinda guy in a drama who murders people at night, but. this kid is 17. he's 178cm tall. he's brown. give him a fucking break :/ honestly i feel bad for ado fans because no matter what, even if a story shows that he's smart, thoughtful, gentle and caring, there's always going to be this undertone of "and who knew! yknow considering what he LOOKS LIKE". he looks like a person, happyele. foreigners are people, happyele.

(i'm not expecting enst to be a morality play, lmao, but it would be better for Me Personally if at least One (1) person was like "hey this isn't right" but like. adonis has it all internalized! "oh it makes sense that people are scared of me, since i'm big and scary". same for kuro. like, no, it doesn't make sense, when i see a bighuge guy i think that he's bighuge, damn, he must have it rough shopping for shoes, or that i wouldn't want to piss him off if he looks like a hooligan. i don't freak out or start whispering that kyaaaa he's scary! what the everloving hell.)

also i briefly forgot that enst is the Epitome of extra At All Times Always and got caught unawares by the "rei takes the guys to talk to some dangerous loan sharks and a fight almost erupts, but! it's actually just a bunch of extras, it's all been planned so that adonis can find his confidence for the role he was struggling with ^__^". enst for god's sake... and wasn't rei supposed to stop meddling in people's lives and "solving" their problems for them? as much as it counts as "solving", lmao. i get senpai acting like an issue they got under control is more serious than it actually is so that their kouhai can try to figure it out by themselves and learn from experience, but i get it every once in a while! jesus.

AND THEN adonis apparently feels bad, because while rei managed to come up with such a scheme, he only could "resolve the issue with violence". WHAT DID I JUST SAY. i'm out of loop for most enst characters so i don't know, but please tell me the only (1) one (1) mixed race character isn't the only (1) one (1) character who ~struggles with being violent~ ^____^ please tell me that...

like... rei wants undead's image to be friendly and approachable for everyone, including kids -- which is just... weird? idols like those in enst, where each group has a concept, obviously aren't going to be for everyone! i don't like shota boys, so i don't really care about rabits, tori or branco, and that's perfectly fine! i don't get why they couldn't just focus on maintaining the audience they currently have. is it different in japan? because from what i've seen in korea, groups with a smaller group of dedicated fans achieve more than groups popular with the lukewarm "oh hey, it's them, yeah, i like them" general public, because lukewarm gp doesn't buy albums, stream mvs and mass vote. and like. i don't think preschool kids can bring lots of capital, but what do i know. ANYWAY they want to be friendly and approachable? then maybe work on dis-othering one of your members 🙄🙄

i just checked and the story's written by kinosei w/ akira... i think i understand what people mean now 🙃

[empress-simps]

Strangers (one)

▪︎Pairing: Kuroo Tetsuroo x Reader, Bokuto Koutaro x Reader, Bokuto Koutaro x Akaashi Keiji and Hinata Shoyo x Kageyama Tobio

▪︎Pronouns: She/Her [Fem! Reader]

▪︎Alternate Universe: Soulmate Au!

▪︎Warnings: Reader getting hurt

▪︎Genre: Angst

▪︎Synopsis: Finding out your soulmate rejected the bond to be with someone else feels terrible.

note: Not everyone has soulmates in this one! Some people are just born without a soulmate. The name turning gray is also my idea! Also, the more you get older the more it will appear(it will be very faint when you're a baby but as the time goes by it will slowly be more visible), by the time the youngest of the pair turns 15 the mark will be completely visible.

》 next

》 Strangers Masterlist

Not everyone is blessed with a soulmate.

Since having a soulmate bond is rare, it made you feel special. To have a certain someone out there just for you, it made your heart beat a little faster as anticipation crept up to you.

You've spent countless days daydreaming about the one you're destined to be with. You often wondered if you'll get the spark when the two of you meet that your mother gushes about as she reminicised about her first meeting with your father.

You let out a sigh as you traced the faint undistinguishable lines slowly forming as you grow older.

Looking at your parents, they seem to be happy being with one another. You only hoped that you and him will be like that someday.

So when it finally made itself visible on your 15th birthday, you were more than elated.

You stared at your wrist with shock and amazement. Obviously, you expected this ever since you were young but you didn't expect it to be.. him.

Overwhelming emotions took over you. You felt giddy, excited and you were longing to meet him. In your state of happiness, you didn't even notice the curious looks your volleyball crazed friends give to you.

Hinata whined as he tried to grab your arm, only for you to turn away. "LET ME LOOK-" Kageyama, his soulmate, quickly smacked him upside the head. "Oi! Boke! Let Y/n have her moment! What does it say..." His voice died down as he read what was on your wrist. The name slowly turning gray as the two of you stared at it.

You felt your heart drop into your stomach.

"W-what's happening.." You mumbled, still not believing your eyes. It can't be.

Your body went into shock as your eyes went wide and you felt your mouth go dry. Hinata, who already peeked over your wrist could only stare in disbelief at the mark .

"No way..." He breathed out as his gaze locked into Kageyama's mirroring the confusion and shock on heir face.

Kageyama and Hinata looked at you worried expressions, they can feel their heart breaking alongside yours.

When your soulmate's name fades into gray it means he/she decided to be with someone who doesnt have a soulmate. Basically rejecting your bond and making you soulmateless.

All those daydreams of him down the drain.

All those stupid scenarios you created with a fairly domestic life with your destined flew out the window.

You looked at them with a closed and teary eyed smile and laughed "Why are you guys looking so glum? I'll be fine." Hinata pulled you into his arms, letting you let out the unshed tears.

He already broke your heart even if you haven't met yet.

"Akaashi..." Bokuto was oddly quiet, he stared at his wrist with unknown emotion swriling in his eyes.

Akaashi already knew what was going on as dread enters his system. Will Koutaro leave him for his destined soulmate? Or will he stay with him?

Either way, no one is safe from getting hurt.

"I got my mark.. I guess that they're a first year.." Bokuto mumbled, golden eyes still transfixed at the writing on his arm. Akaashi bit his lip and looked. "I guess so too.."

Koutaro looked at him and gently cupped his face and stared at his gunmetal eyes. "Keiji.. You already know I made a promise to you."

Akaashi's eyes welled up with unshed tears as he gingerly placed a shaky hand on rop of Bokuto's "What if you find her better than me?"

"I won't. You're the only one for me." Bokuto tells his lover, sealing their lips with a reassuring kiss.

You felt like throwing up.

The bus barely moved and you were about to throw your guts out. You don't know wether it's from nervousness or you just suddenly got severe carsickness. Probably both.

The bundle of nerves in your stomach gradually grows as the bus you're in gets farther and farther away the school grounds.

Asahi eyed worryingly as he rubbed small circles on your back, "You don't have to attend it Y/n.. You can still get off the bus, we haven't left Miyagi yet." He chuckled, attempting to make you feel better. Afew chorus of agreements filled the bus.

You shook your head and gave him a small smile, "Im a manager, I need to do my duty to take care of you guys. And this-" You pointed at your wrist. "-Won't hinder me from functioning like I normally will." You heard a snort somewhere in the bus which made you growl. That damn dino nerd, you made sure to send him a glare while he just acted like nothing happened.

Asahi ignored the sound as he fought the urge to laugh as he nodded along, scared to upset his kouhai even more. "If you say so.."

"Didn't you say you want to cover the mark?" Sugawara piped up, his head peeking above the seat infront of you. He tilted his head slightly as you nodded and snapped your fingers.

"Oh yeah! Let me go grab my concealer.. Thanks for the reminder Koushi senpai!" As you finished concealing, you showed it to the third years which made them nod in approval.

The squeaking of shoes and volleyball hitting the floor made your nervousness grow as you helped Takeda sensei lug out the things that you'll be using during your stay. Takeda probably noticed your state as he smiled and patted your back. "You'll be fine."

You sighed mentally as you gave your teacher a curt nod. I hope so too.

Once you stepped inside, oh you were absolutely not fine. Why?

Because you saw him looking around and asking for you.

You hid behind a beanpole tall blonde which happens to be your classmate stingyshima. He looked down and gave you an inquisitive stare.

"What are you doing stupid? That's going to make you stand out even more." He rolled his eyes as you sent a glare to him. "Shut it you bastard, this is the only help you can offer me."

"Tsk. Who said I was helping you?" He looked down to meet your annoyed gaze with his mocking ones.

"Well you would've already stepped aside- Hey!" You exclaimed as he did what you told.

Luckily no one heard you, or so you thought.

Konoha hummed to himself, looking at you with amusement.

"Found her."

There's part two! If anyone wants to be notified just send an ask and I'll make a taglist

[mrskurono]

3V My queen you’re spoiling us 🥺☺️😍!!!! Okay so here’s my request pleaaaaase and thank youuuu: Yuuji w/ Virginity stealing + teacher / student (but can I switch it to senpai/kouhai if it’s possible please - if you want- because I’m thinking he walks in on his senpai’s dorm when she’s masturbating, and she knows he’s a virgin) + creampie. Basically she’s calling all the shots and guiding her kouhai along the way. I’m sorry if it’s messy, but thank you so so much I can’t wait!!!!!!

I don’t fully get the senpai/kouhai thing....I thought it was student/student related but hey fuck it I’m stupid and we’ll just use the terms! I hope you like <3

tags: teacher/student, age gap, oral (male giving), slight voyeurism, creampie, unprotected sex obviously, virginity stealing

character(s): Yuuji Itadori (jjk)

The pair of eyes that had been staring at you through the slits of your slightly open door, now were fixated on the way your spread legs looked. Yuuji’s face in awe as he felt his fingers curl inside your soft squishy walls under your insistence he participate.

“It’s so soft!!” Yuji exclaimed giddy. Having totally forgotten about relieving his own issue after you invited your kouhai in. 

You’d figured early on that you were being watched. After a little show though you had decided your fingers wouldn’t cut it tonight.

“Suck on this.” Your finger swipes over your clit to show him where you wanted his mouth, “A good boy knows this is the most important part.”

No idea what to expect Yuuji still did exactly as he was told. Fingers still inside you he leaned forward and presses his lips around your clit. Getting the first taste of your juices on his virgin lips. So much more pleasant than he expected. With the musky scent between the two of you he didn’t know he would like the way it tasted so much.

Encouraging words as you told him how to move his tongue. Coos at what felt good and moans when he really got the right place. A hit and miss though as Yuuji’s enthusiasm would override it sometimes. He was in the spirit of it but the boy’s talent just wasn’t there. It left you with one more thing to relieve your ache.

“Yuuji.”

“Hmm?” 

His bright eyes looked up at you. Framed between your legs. It made your core ache and you knew what had to be done.

“You’re going to fuck me. You hear me.” His fingers leave you but you pull him closer to you. He hadn’t even put his dick away after you caught him stroking himself to the sight of you. Legs hooking around his waist so he couldn’t leave. There wasn’t much worry that he would but still you wanted him in you sooner than later.

“Senpai-” Yuuji’s breathing hitched when he realized how close his cock was to his instructors soaked slit, “Wait I don’t have a-”

“Doesn’t matter,” You toss away his concern, “It’s fine. Just fuck me ok? I’ll help you put it inside even my sweet kouhai.”

When your fingers wrapped around Yuuji’s cock he was certain he would blow right then and there. He gritted his teeth and allowed you to swipe his cock up and down your slit. Covering him in your juices. Making his mouth water but he knew he’d have to wait for another taste.

“Slowly, that’s a good boy...Fuck, yes Yuuji. Just like that. A little more-”

“Senpai!” Yuuji’s hands found your hips. Fistfuls of your sides as he shuddered. No way to stop it even if he wanted to. The second you got a little more than half his cock inside him, Yuuji lost the struggle. 

Painting your insides white with his virgin cum. He groaned. Leaning into you with the rest of his cock sinking into your soiled cunt now.

“I...I’m sorry senpai...it felt so good I couldn’t-”

“Shhh,” You link your legs behind Yuuji, feeling his cock still hard in you. One orgasm down and the way his cock hit right at the deepest parts made you feel like his dick was made for you. Now with his cum seeded in you there was no reason to hold back on teaching him everything, “That’s ok. Now it means you can fuck me right.”

[shinsukesgf]

WHO DO YOU BELONG TO?

kenjirō wants everyone, including you, to get it through their heads that you’re completely & utterly his.

↳ contains : mean dom!shirabu, heavy degradation & humiliation, consensual recording, face slapping, hair pulling, name calling, calling shira god, use of the word cunny (lmk if i missed out any !!)

saying that shirabu was pissed off today was such an understatement. he was absolutely fuming, rage boiling inside his body. and guess who’s fault it was? that’s right, it’s goddamn yours. you just had to show up to his practice today with that tiny little piece of fabric that was a pathetic excuse of a skirt, attempting to cover up your legs. it’s like you wanted to show off that body of yours like a fucking whore to the whole team. you just had to let everyone eye you up & down, basically eye fucking you & even better, you didn’t give a damn. it didn’t help that because of this shirabu was off his game & wasn’t doing performing as well as he should be, which only added to his frustration. so let’s just say shirabu is pissed off today & he’s in the mood to punish you for whoring yourself out.

“dirty fucking slut,” shirabu spat out as he continuously slammed his cock into your wet cunny. he had you lying down on your stomach & on your knees, ass facing towards him. he had a tight grip on your hair, making sure your tear stained face was very much visible on his phone that was recording & set up right in front of your face.

“yes god, i’m your dirty little slut,” you could only sob back your response, feeling utterly humiliated by the entire situation you were put in by shirabu. despite your feelings of humiliation & digust towards yourself, your cunny couldn’t help but tighten up around shirabu’s cock. the pleasure was oh too good that it made you ignore all of those feelings.

shirabu’s thrusts was unfaltering, continuing to hump your tight cunny at his merciless pace & making sure the tip of his cock knocked right into your cervix each time he thrusted inside. he picked your head up by your hair & rammed your face into the mattress, picking your head up again & continuing the act numerous times before finally letting you go. more tears soon came falling down your cheek as you sobbed even more. but it wasn’t because of the pain, it was due to the sheer humiliation of it all. being treated as nothing more than a useless whore for shirabu to stick his cock in & treat like dirt on the bottom of his shoes.

“you like taking cock, huh bitch?” your hazy brain couldn’t comprehend what shirabu said & completely let the question fly over your head & ignore him, which obviously wasn’t going to work with him. he grabbed a handful of your hair & repeatedly knocked your face against the mattress again for a solid five seconds.

“i said, you like taking cock bitch?!” shirabu’s shouted right into your ear, voice ringing in your head.

“yes i like taking your cock, god!” he only merely laughed at the sight of you. your hair was all over your face as you didn’t even bother to fix it, you were a fucking mess & he absolutely loved it.

before you knew it, shirabu was slamming his cock into you with even more force & speed. you held onto your release of pleasure because you knew better than you cum without your god’s permission. he stopped momentarily to brush you hair aside to get a good look at the fucked out expression you wore on your face. your face stung as shirabu gave your pretty face a firm slap, a red mark in the shape of his hand slowly forming on your soft skin. you looked so pretty all marked up like that he just had to give you another slap across your face. you tried to turned your face to hide away but you only gained yourself a stern “oi” from shirabu & him pulling your hair for you to face the camera again.

“w-why god....” you let those words slip past your mouth as you mindlessly babble non coherent words due to the pleasure.

“you were- fuck- whoring yourself out to everyone, that’s fucking why. now they all can see how you only belong to me, your fucking god, when i send them this video, worthless bitch,” shirabu grunted out, your tight cunny making him roll his eyes back into his head from the pleasure of it all.

“now i want you to look into the camera, say who you fucking belong,”

“i-i belong to my god, shirabu kenjirō. my god owns me only!”

“now say goodbye to these fuckers, baby,”

“b-bye bye...”

shirabu pulled himself out of you & walked over to his phone to stop recording & send the video the volleyball team groupchat. you tried to steady your breathing & calm down as he looked through his phone & smirked at the reactions of his senpais & kouhais. you couldn’t help but let out a small giggle seeing him like that.

“oh baby just because i ended the video doesn’t mean your punishment is over, ya know. so wipe that smile off your face & let me stuff that cunt of yours full,”

[lots-o-stuff]

Aoba Johsai Team with S/O HC

Omg god i was so excited to right this one, i don't know if you can tell but Aoba Johsai is my fave team.... so i very much so self indulged on this one, anyway enjoy!

Oikawa

ThIs BiTcH, I swear to god that this man is the pettiest person on the planet

you two are gonna have the weirdest love/hate relationship it just confuses the team

one second you two are gonna be the most cliche sweet relationship and the next you are gonna be at each other's throats with insults

even though, it’s obvious you two love each other and would both kill and die for each other I WoUlD tAkE a BuLlEt FoR yA jUsT tO pRoVe My LoVe

He will 100% show you off, Iwa-chan knew way more about you than you’d think

Iwaizumi

I SIMP So this man is *chefs kiss* a fiiinnnne specimen, and YOU are freaking gorgeous, and the WHOLE team simps for the two of you

You two are actually really sweet and kind too each other, and you bond over annoying oikawa A LOT legit you guys fave past time

You guys are the team mom and dad, legit if something goes wrong and Iwa isn’t there they are gonna go to you before oikawa

This man gets very jealous and protective, like when Iwa introduced you to the team and Oikawa flirted with you? OOOH the anger radiating from this man, let’s say you got the uhh good side of it ;)

Also he isn’t gonna show you off, except he IS going to show you off to the seijoh 3rd years, like legit making out in front of Makki, Mattsun and Oikawa are gonna be jealous and slightly turned on

Matsukawa

He is a teasing shit, like you two tease each other but he has such a good poker face and stoic facade that whatever you try to do doesn’t work not fair

When Mattsun told the team NO ONE believed him, like no one at all, they thought it was a prank or some shit

And then your GORGEOUS ass comes to watch him at practice and everyone thought you were oikawa’s fan girl but you ran past him to greet Mattsun

The team lost their shit, because you two are perfect for eachother, like your personalities complement each other perfectly and you are the perfect blend of loving and teasing

He also definitely shows you off, i mean no one believed you were real so of course he's gonna prove them wrong

Hanamaki

This boy is gonna be so cocky it's ridiculous, like you two are gonna be making random weird ass bets at 3am just because you both think you’ll win

These bets are why Iwaizumi currently has a photo of the two of you under a bridge, in the rain, at 3 in the morning covered in either whipped or shaving cream… neither of you can remember

Everyone knows that Matsuhana is the meme team BUT you two are like the ultimate crackhead energy, Iwaizumi can't decide whether he likes you or not and oikawa is sooo annoyed by you because of your constant teasing

You both have sappy moments behind closed doors, you know watching movies, cuddling, making out, making bets that make you question your life choices, dancing in the living room, etc

He WILL show you off, he’s gassing you up and making sure everyone knows how amazing you are

Kyoutani

I love this angry boy, you are NOTHING like Maddog, i'm talking you are sugar and spice and everything nice, the cute little kouhai to your senpai type thing

Obviously you too being nothing alike makes it hard for anyone to believe you too are together, which is why the team thought you were there for oikawa when you came to practice one afternoon

You were surprising Kyoutani, you had made him a cute bento box for him to eat during or after practice, when you walked in however you did NOT expect for your senpai to come over and take it from your hands

Kyoutani saw this, Kyoutani is very protective and easily jealous, so he stalks his way up there, snatches it out of Oikawa’s hands, gives it back to you, grabs your hand and takes you outside where he thanks you and apologises on oikawas behalf the team overheard everything though

neither of you show the other off except when it comes to the team because Oikawa doesn't understand personal boundaries

Kunimi

This quiet baby boi is just everything, he is snarky, kind and pretty! like wtf?? leave some for the rest if us, anyway you however are a bit more, outgoing compared to him, you are also fucking gorgeous no duh

you two absolutely adore each other, you guys are constantly by each other's side, except for practice, why? because Kunimi absolutely REFUSES to introduce you too the team, which annoys you because, you could be friends with his friends? not that he considers half of them friends

there are the obvious reasons like Oikawa and Yahaba being flirty but mainly, he refuses to let the team think he is weak, the only person on the team who does know is kindaichi, and that's because the three of you are friends

the first time you do meet the team accidentally mind you they were shook, because their Kouhai has a girlfriend? before us? and is cute? tf????

Kunimi doesn’t show you off and you don't show him off because you respect that he doesn't want any attention on him

Anyway i hope you guys liked it! because i loved writing it! i currently have 2 request underway and can’t wait for more so don’t be shy! im friendly AND will do pretty much everything!

[auncyen]

Haru clutches her class notes to her chest as she descends the stairwell, feeling--stupid.  Taking care of the planters should not be a big deal, but she was so scatterbrained when she went to tend to them before classes that she left two of her notebooks on the rooftop, and it took a whole class period for her to realize where they might be.  She doesn’t know what’s gotten into her.  Or--she does know she’s upset about the arrangement her father mentioned, but the news has had time to sink in, and she’s known for a while to expect it.  It shouldn’t still be distracting her this badly.

It’s just...Sugimura is so much older than her, and--

“Oh!” after rounding a turn in the stairwell, Haru pulls up short, just shy of smacking into another girl.  Her fluster compounding, she gives the girl a jerky nod of acknowledgment and a hasty “I’m so sorry!”, hoping she hasn’t upset her fellow student too badly.  She must be her kouhai; Haru doesn’t recognize her as a fellow third-year, and a third-year wouldn’t be going upstairs right now anyway, all their classrooms on the first floor.  But her profile is vaguely familiar, and Haru tries to pinpoint how she knows the girl.  Hopefully it’s just from some school event; Haru would hope she isn’t so scatter-brained as to forget the daughter of one of her father’s business partners, and she would also hope, selfishly, that no such person attends Shujin, since it would dash her own chances at anonymity.

The other girl doesn’t seem to recognize her, though.  In fact, the other girl barely seems to recognize the near-collision they just had, her eyes flickering up from the steps to glance at Haru.  They’re puffy.  Bloodshot.  They’re dry, but there’s a tinge to the girl’s quiet voice as she says “it’s alright” that makes Haru very worried she’s been crying.

“Is everything okay?” Haru asks, which feels like such a stupid question because obviously everything is not, but she doesn’t know how else to start.

The girl just shakes her head, her messy ponytail waving with the motion.  “It’s fine.  You didn’t hit me.  I just...classes are about to start.”

“Oh--yes.”  She’s right.  The period between classes isn’t that long, and Haru knows a dismissal when she hears it.  It’s understandable.  She wouldn’t want to talk about her troubles to a stranger either.  All she can offer the girl is a smile.  “Well, I--I hope your day gets better.”

“Mm.”  The girl nods, but after that brief acknowledgment her eyes slide past Haru and she keeps trudging up to the third floor.  A first-year, then.  But that doesn’t seem right.  Why would a first-year seem familiar?  Unless she really is the daughter of one of her father’s business partners...Oh, her memory is definitely shot.  Haru has to remember.

Haru’s foot touches the base of the stairs when it finally clicks how she knows the girl.  It has nothing to do with Okumura Foods at all.  She’s seen that girl at the side of someone much more recognizable, a blonde second-year who’s already being gossiped about again even though the school year just started.  They’re friends.

Which means the girl is a second-year herself.  Then why had she passed the second-years’ floor?

The chime of a bell breaks through Haru’s confusion.  She’s immediately disappointed in herself, because now she’ll be late to class and disrupt it when she comes in and she would have gotten there on time if she hadn’t needed to retrieve her notes.

And then she finds herself slowly turning around and going back up the stairs, because if she’s already late, then she’d really rather make sure that second-year is alright and not crying at the top of the stairwell.  Haru trains her eyes upward.  She doesn’t see or hear anyone, though, and if the girl decided to hide somewhere on the third floor there’s no way Haru will find her without getting in trouble with a teacher herself.

...But Haru doesn’t remember leaving the door to the roof open like that.  The girl must have decided to seek refuge somewhere she’d be left completely alone; it’s a desire Haru can sympathize with very much.  And she will leave the girl alone, if there’s nothing she can do to help, but if her kouhai is upset enough to ditch classes, then--then it’s just her duty as a senpai to try and offer again, isn’t it?

The first thing Haru hears when she steps out on the roof is the fencing rattling discordantly.  The next thing she hears is short, quiet grunts of exertion.

The second-year is climbing the roof fence.  She makes quick work of it, too, already at the top by the Haru realizes what’s happening.  What’s going to happen.

“Stop!”  It’s a shriek far too shrill, but it gets the girl to stop halfway between swinging herself over the fencing, and Haru, already dashing to the fence, grabs the ankle she can still reach.

[dajaregambler]

HeliosR - Akira Otori Character story - part 3

Translation of the third part of Akira’s character story from ‘Helios Rising Heroes’. 

Juvenile boy: Excuse meee! Could you please throw that ball over here?

Gast: Ooh, gotcha. Make sure to catch it, alright?

Young boys: Thank you so much!

Gast: Haha, these lil’ guys ‘round here are pretty polite. Have the times changed?

Akira: Well, obviously they have given how I’m in charge of South now.

Gast: Yeah, yeah, though it hasn't been more than half a month since we got assigned. Always in high spirits, aren’tcha

Gast: Man, this basketball court s’pretty nostalgic. We’d often hang around, wasting our time there back in the day

Akira: Or these underground café’s in alleyways. But we started gathering in warehouses after some guy goofed up and police got their eyes on him

Gast: Aaah, right, right. That’s from ‘bout 4, 5 years ago now, eh…

Akira: Hmm, has it been that long. Don’t really remember much of it

Gast: Anything that’s inconvenient doesn’t stick for too long with you, don’t it, Akira. Does with me though, like back when you wanted to join me and all

Gast: You showed up out of nowhere, acting pretty cocky. Going all “I’ll bring ya down and become the best delinquent out there~”, somethin’ like that

Akira: W-what….? Ya sure you ain’t mistaking me for some other guy?

Gast: Guess I gotta leave it at that. Anyways, thanks for inviting me to hang out today, Akira

Gast: You’re gonna tag along to that darts bar after we’re done eating too, right? Really lookin’ forward to it

Akira: I kept saying how we should definitely come and hang around again in Red South after being admitted but, didn’t really have the chance due to how busy I was

Gast: Can’t say it's the same for me though. Well, you do look like you gotta bring South to number one on the sector ranking?

Akira: ….Don’t wanna hear any snark from the guy who’s sector is standing in first place

Gast: Haha, m’bad for that. How’s stuff goin’ lately anyway?

Gast: Brad’s your mentor, but it don’t feel like you two are hitting it off?

Akira: Oi. I’m enjoying my day off here, don’t rain on my parade by making me think of that guy’s face 

Gast: You sayin’ that means it’s the same as usual, eh…

Akira: Aaaugh~ just remembering it made me angry! I’ll definitely prove myself by become THE strongest hero!

Gast: He got fired up… Ain’tcha gon’ burn out by going on like that?

Akira: A genius doesn’t mess up like that

Akira: Though you say so but how’s stuff on your part, Gast. Didn't ya say how North’s got a lot of Northy things to it?

Akira: With Ren, well, I can imagine it already but… Don’t both of ya mentors come over as crazy guys

Gast: I’ll keep my mouth shut ‘cuz I ain’t wanna sound like I’m being grumpy but… It is pretty crazy, in a different sense than you think it is 

Akira: Really…. That Marion’s pretty self-important towards you too, ain’t he

Akira: Actually I’m sure I asked this before but, aren’t Marion and Will the same age? Don’t that make him a year younger than ya?

Akira: He’s younger and yet he acts superior, why don’t you say anything to him

Gast: Hey, hold on there, age’s got nothin’ to do with it. It’s damned clear who’s the mentor and who’s the rookie?

Gast: Besides, Marion acts like that towards everyone, he’s got what it takes

Akira: Would’ve ya taught him a lesson if he didn’t?

Gast: Man, you’re really…. Enough of that, it’s time for you to graduate from that behaviour

Akira: Just wanted to try and say it. Besides I’ve graduated long time ago, I’m no longer some kinda delinquent, but a hero

Akira: But…honestly, there is something that’s a liiiiiittle bit unclear to me though

Gast: What is it?

Akira: ‘Cuz you’re, like---

Delinquent A: All of you, get your sorry asses outta this court. This is our territory

Gast: Huh, what?

Juvenile boy: Eh, um… We always play basketball here though…

Delinquent B: Does it look like I care. It’s ours now from today on, guys that get in without permission will be… don’t think I gotta say anything else ‘bout that, aye?

Juvenile boy: Wah...a k-knife!?

Akira: Grr, what’re these guys doing….

Gast: Oi Akira, you ain’t gonna just suddenly barge in are y---

Akira: Bastards! What’cha all doing there!

Gast: Haah, he totally didn’t listen…

--

Akira: Ya shouldn’t be pointing something so dangerous at others, hurry up and drop it

Delinquent A: What the fuck’s up with y-.... Huh, it’s some guy from Helios. We ain’t scared of you or the police, so beat it

Akira: ...Fine. I was just giving a warning but, what’ll happen after this is lies on you guys for ignoring m-

Gast: What did I tell you about yapping like a delinquent, Akira

Akira: Ouwch!?

Akira: You fu-...Gast! How dare you bonk me on the head, I was killing it with my cool act!

Gast: Yeah, yeah. You’re the same as those guys who don’t listen, always storming off first and snapping at the others with no hesitation

Delinquent A: Oi…. Didn’t that guy just, say “Gast”?

Delinquent B: I heard it too… Actually, haven’t I seen that face somewhere before?

Gast: Hm?

Delinquent A: Um, excuse me, my good sir~.... If I’m not mistaken, are you perhaps Gast Adler….?

Gast: Yeah, what ‘bout it?

Delinquent A: Hweeeh…!? He’s THAT “Gast” for real!

Delinquent B: I heard that he had retired, so WHY is he here? I don’t want anything to do with this, we gotta run!

Akira: There they go… So they knew about you. Well, you were petty well-known back in your delinquent days

Gast: Guess my dark past is gonna keep on trailing behind me, how embarrasin’...

Akira: Heheh, I think it’s really awesome♪

Gast: What are you actin’ so proud for….

Akira: Aah. If only I could’ve shown this to that Marion

Akira: Showing off Gast scaring off delinquents with only his face and name, how his younger bros still idolize him till this day

Akira: Honestly, if ya were to tell me that you we’re a mentor, I wouldn’t think twice about it. That’s the kind of guy you are, a good senpai.

Gast: Akira, did you just call me your “senpai”?

Gast: Going back to the day we met, you’d always be calling after me with that cocky ‘tude of yours...

Akira: We’re buddies but, strictly speaking we are senpai and kouhai. Ain’t gonna say it again though, take it as a one time thing

Gast: Yeah, that’s fine. It’d be nice if you were to call me “Gast-san” while wagging your tail like these bros of mine once in a while

Akira: Haaah? I’m not gonna wag my tail for anyone, I’m a man who’ll become the strongest hero!

Gast: Haha, got it

Gast: ….Honestly, with how he’s doing now, I’m sure he’ll be saying how good of a mentor Brad was down the line

Akira: Hmm? What did ya just say, Gast?

Gast: Hm- … Aah, just how you’re in a good mood as you usually are, and how it makes you a loveable idiot

Akira: Bwughagh!? What the hell, you bastard!

Gast: C’mon, let’s get moving and grab a bite. Wanna play darts as soon as possible too

Akira: Wah, wait Gast! I ain’t an idiot….!

[silhouettica]

Disclaimer: image shown above is not mine; source is linked to the image.

____________

It’s been a long time since I’ve written an anime review, but this one is too well-deserved to pass up.

I tend to have a love-hate relationship with the sports-shounen genre in the manga industry. On one hand, good quality stories have great characters, undeniably well-drawn images, and okay storylines... but--- technique-wise, there was just too much suspension-of-disbelief required to go on reading.

Take for instance, Kuroko no Basuke and the legendary Phantom Sixth Man who is capable of magically disappearing in court; or, there’s Prince of Tennis and the gravity-defying non-arc path that their tennis balls traverse -- OR do not traverse, as do those which avoid the Tezuka zone. Basically, most popular and long-running sports genre mangas have a tendency to go borderline fantasy in many elements, or otherwise tend to sport some rarely-seen-in-a-thousand-years genius to spice up the story, which is understandably unrealistic (after all, this is fiction we’re reading). But perhaps, after almost two decades of watching anime and reading manga, my personal preference is now leaning towards the comfort provided by the slice-of-life genre, and against typical expectations, there’s that lingering desire to taste the slice of life in a sports manga...

Enter: Haikyuu.

Haikyuu was already a famous anime when I heard that it revolved around volleyball. When I heard that, the first question that occurred to me was, How much plot can be formed around such a sport as volleyball? Don’t get me wrong -- I’ve only ever been involved in two fields of sports: one is track and field, and the other is volleyball, so I at least like the sport. But since we’re used to being exposed to mangas centering around basketball or some martial arts, a story revolving around volleyball was foreign territory. But it was already famous, and with fame comes expectations --- thus, for fear of suffering from failed expectations, I deferred, or more like skipped out on Haikyuu.

But, well, with FB Watch capable of being a demonic source of temptation, Haikyuu showed up in my Watch Feed, and poof! - I was hooked. Manga was finished in less than a few weeks, and episodes repeatedly watched on FB (still ongoing, haha). In my personal list of top mangas, it has far surpassed even One Piece. It’s that good.

What’s so attractive about Haikyuu is that above being refreshing character and plot-wise, it was also obviously painstakingly created with so much attention to detail, in terms of the technical aspects of volleyball. I mean, just watch the videos contrasting Haikyuu to real-life volleyball matches - there’s almost no difference to be seen. The accuracy is admirable. In this regard, suspension of disbelief is very minimized --- well, except for the repeated overtime in matches; but if they stuck to the usual 15 or 25pt matches, we wouldn’t have much screentime to make a viable story, now, would we? So it’s an understandable adjustment to accommodate for the sake of cultivating the story.

Beyond this, Haikyuu boasts of a roster of interesting and complex characters littered throughout the storyline. Honestly, I can’t hate any single one of them. Your heart would go out to every character in every team. It’s amazing how the mangaka depicted each character differently, with all their bias and flaws, besides their refreshingly non-OP strengths, all combined to portray each individual’s humanity. And gah, when they’re made to mix together - the rapport between and amongst such variety of personalities is just fascinating to behold. And then comes character development - whoosh. How one person’s evolution affects the quality of a team’s mixture is another feast to behold. So much respect for this mangaka for bringing to life such abundance of quality complex characters. Seriously. Shounen x Sports x Slice of life + epic ups and downs + epic ending arc (MOST SATISFYING ENDING TO SPORTS GENRE EVER).

This is plain epic.

At first glance, any reader/follower would be drawn to the main characters - there’s Kageyama, Hinata, Ushijima, Oikawa, etc., all those OP-level players (or at least potentially so, for Hinata). 

Well, Hinata is the main character, as the story is dominantly affected by his actions and skill development. Watching his character growth is a treat, in and of itself. Seriously. Hinata may be boke at times, but isn’t really stupid. He’s just less-skilled than others (understandably so, given his lack of experience), but he more than makes up for it with his bottomless enthusiasm. And that innocence... Kawaii~. His love for the game is just contagious. Freakin’ want to buy a volleyball just to start playing on my own.

Kageyama may be called a genius setter, but really, he’s far from being the complete package. And he’s one of the more complex characters that really steals your heart. Like Hinata, he just overflows with love for the game, but his innocence is of a different level. After being shown his blindspot, he tempers his snobbishness, and literally BEGS for help --- I mean, look how he bows to Tsukishima for help in acads, or towards his senior Oikawa, in order to improve in volleyball. He’s mostly snobbish only towards those who don’t do their best (besides being just plain socially awkward). But he’s a very good kouhai, and it’s especially touching how he and Hinata paved the way for Asahi’s attack against Date Tech. I appreciate that he’s not so OP-level that he didn’t need anyone to improve -- he was helped by their coach, he was helped by Oikawa, there’s his senpais guiding him somewhat, etc. He’s not the Echizen-type who can learn on his own. He has so many blindspots, but he listens and asks for help once he’s shown that they exist.

There are a wealth of other characters worth mentioning, but recently, when I think of relating to the characters, what I easiest to resonate with are Yamaguchi and Ennoshita. Tsukki is another runner-up, being one who’s overly phlegmatic, with a defeating inferiority complex, but with a taste for vengeance... Bokuto’s answer to his existential question on why they play volleyball was very insigtful --- you don’t enjoy volleyball probably because you suck in it. HAHAHA. Isn’t that true for all of us - how we superficially hate some things when actually it’s because we just aren’t good at them. But at the very least, Tsukishimi Kei has so many qualities that puts him above others, it’s hard to compare oneself to him. On the other hand, there’s Yamaguchi the one-trick pony and Ennoshita the returning quitter. Sometimes I think of quitting when the academic “training” gets tough, but coming to think of Yama, I’m reminded that this is my one sword. The only reason he enters the court is as a pinch server - apart from that, there’s nothing else. So if he gets cold feet and settles for an easy serve, he forfeits the right to enter the court. If he lets go of the jump float serve, he has nothing else. Similarly, there’s Ennoshita who actually quit the team, but returned because the comfort became uncomfortable... I dunno if I’m the only one who’se quit in at least one point of my life, and took an easy way out or through something, but Ennoshita’s lesson is true for all of us - we’d regret quitting. Quitting is a no-go.

Anyway, I can’t describe all the other characters, else, this would be too long. But it’s just so amazing how Haruichi Furudate was able to create so many complex characters, each with their own backstories (okay, unrealistically, no sob stories here since this isn’t a drama) and no antagonist to hate, but the story was was just so complete and wholesome. I mean, take the Nekoma team, for one - they’re supposed to be Karasuno’s biggest rival, but they’re the ones who gave them a fighting chance to improve. Sportsmanship really dwells high on this one. Bokutooo, that once-spoiled ace... Oikawa, that snobbish great king who only recognized Kageyama as his junior when talking to Ushijima... The side characters who made up each respective team’s coaching, managerial, and cheer squad... There’s just so many personalities to admire and be thankful to the author for.

Haikyuu is truly a story about volleyball --- it’s not a story about inter-high, it’s not a story about high school; rather it’s a story that explores the different aspects surrounding volleyball - from childhood, as between friends, to high school and inter-high competitions, to the coaches and managers and trainings behind the scenes, to (SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!) in-house vs. beach volleyball, to a professional career and international competitions. It’s really volleyball in different seasons of lives of a variety of people.

One poignant fact is that for most people, playing sports would be limited to high school. After inter-high, teammates would separate and a new team will be formed, year after year. That’s why it’s so precious how (SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!) the manga showed the fanatic-highchoolers-turned-professional players being watched by their previous volleyball teammates and competitiors --- something I’ve never seen in other sports mangas (which mostly had to do with players getting some injury, going to rehab and recuperating, and so). Previous teammates faced each other as competition, and previous rivals became comrades. It’s just. so. epic.

Anyway, thank you,  Haruichi Furudate-san. May the anime remain top-notch in quality. Viva Haikyuu!!

[apparently-artless]

Call Me Eijun-Senpai! [A DnA Fanfic]

Summary: Sawamura couldn’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, Okumura hates his very existence but he’s just being considerate enough not to say it straight to his face. Seto, Okumura’s best friend, thinks otherwise.

Relationships: Okumura Koushuu & Sawamura Eijun || Okumura Koushuu & Seto Takuma || Sawamura Eijun & First Year Seidou Members

Additional Tags: Slice of Life || Kuramochi is a Doting Brother || Okumura is Emotionally Constipated || Sawamura Eijun Learned a Thing or Two from Miyuki || Fluff & Humor || Attempt at Humor || Sawamura Eijun is the Ace || This is not Romance BTW

It was the day their last practice game had ended. As usual, Sawamura was off to the cafeteria to watch the recorded video so he can check his form again. With the summer tournament coming up, he needed to make the Numbers near to perfection.

Upon arriving at the cafeteria, Okumura was already sitting in front of the television, a scorebook on his left hand and the remote control on his right. Also, there was a vacant chair right next to him.

“Geh! You bit me to it again, Okumura-shounen!” Sawamura bellowed upon seeing the 1st-year catcher.

Okumura did not respond but just glanced at the southpaw pitcher.

“Well, why don’t we watch it together, then? I have a lot of things to say regarding your play in that last game,” the catcher stated with his typical vacant expression.

“We-Well, I don’t really mind watching it with you.”

“Please take a seat. I’ll be playing the video now.” Okumura motioned Sawamura to sit right next to him.

The whole game was one-and-a-half-hour long which means it took Okumura to make some comments about the southpaw pitcher’s performance for 1.5 hours. As usual, Okumura was very willing to give the pitcher compliments when needed and scold him unreluctantly on pitches he thought might not be good. Also, let’s not forget the part where the younger would seamlessly remind the older to be calm and quiet on the mound.

It was almost dinner time when they finished reviewing the game. Halfway while watching the video, Watanabe had already joined them and would add some comments as well to Sawamura’s performance. When they noticed a lot more of the members were now entering the cafeteria, they decided to call it for now as they turned off the television and fixed the chairs.

Okumura gently placed the scorebook that he borrowed from Umemoto on one of the tables to help his senpais from arranging the chair. As they were still conversing while dragging the chairs, one of the members placed an open bottle near the scorebook. Sawamura, who’s busy scratching his head while having an idiotic smile upon hearing praises from Watanabe, accidentally pushed the chair too hard right next to the table, making the opened water bottle tumble and spill right on the scorebook.

Upon seeing the mess he had made, Sawamura hurried to the kitchen to ask some of the staff some clean rags. Only when he returned did he notice that the scorebook was already drenched with the water that spilled from the bottle.

“Wah! I’m so sorry Okumura-shounen! I didn’t mean for that to happen.” Sawamura was obviously panicking while gently cleaning the table together with the scorebook.

“It’s okay, Sawamura-senpai. Thankfully, it’s just water so I can just rewrite the scorebook again,” the catcher responded as he tried to retrieve the scorebook from Sawamura’s hands.

“No! It’s my fault that this happened to begin with. I should be the one to do it!” Sawamura retorted as his nostrils flared.

“Reading a scorebook and writing one are two different things, Sawamura-senpai,” Okumura said inattentively. “Have you ever tried writing on a scorebook before?”

“Well, I…” Sawamura hesitated in responding. “No, not really.”

Okumura just sighed. Honestly, he wasn’t really angry. It was an accident and he can’t seem to find the right words to make the southpaw pitcher understand that he was not the least bit bothered about rewriting one scorebook. Aside from that, he only felt that it was right to take responsibility as he’s the one who borrowed the scorebook.

Watanabe, who noticed the awkward silence between the two, decided to intervene so as not to make matters worse.

“Don’t worry, Sawamura-kun. Okumura’s pretty much used to writing in a scorebook. It will be done in no time if it’s just rewriting the pages,” he said as he tapped Sawamura’s shoulder. “Okumura, we still have an hour before dinner, I’ll go and get a new scorebook so you can rewrite it before we eat. In that way, you can still read the scorebook properly before the ink fades.”

Okumura just nodded.

“Then, I’ll be accompanying you so I can go straight to my room afterward,” Okumura responded.

The two walked out of the room while Sawamura was left in the cafeteria, still bothered about the incident. To clear his head, he decided to do some batting practice first before eating dinner.

Sawamura gloomily walked his way to Field A with his bat in his left hand. His thoughts were put to a halt when he heard Asada’s voice calling out to him. Rather than joining Kominato and Kuramochi with their batting practice, he decided to join the first years instead.

“You did so well on the last practice game, Sawamura-senpai!” Asada initiated the talk as soon as Sawamura reached them, Kuki and Seto were with him.

“Oh, thank you, Asada!” he beamed at his kouhai.

“Where’s Koushuu? I thought you were watching the video together?” Seto asked while swinging his bat in the air.

Sawamura went stiff upon hearing the catcher’s name.

Did they fight again? Seriously, these two.

It was all Seto, Asada, and Kuki could think upon seeing the pitcher’s reaction.

“Did something happen with Koushuu?” Seto decided to ask. If they did actually fight, the sooner he can help in fixing it, the better.

Sawamura flinched even more as he heard Seto’s question. His hands fidgeted visibly as he averted his gaze on the 1st-years while he pouted his lips.

“I think he’s angry at me right now,” Sawamura whispered and the three freshmen couldn’t help but huddle towards him.

Unsure of what they heard, Seto couldn’t help but ask again.

“Sawamura-senpai, can you please say that again?” he asked, silently praying that what he heard was wrong.

“Wah! I bet he’s really angry at me! It’s my fault, to begin with! What should I do, Seto? Okumura-shounen is angry at me again! What do I have to do now??” Sawamura was clearly agitated, he kept on pulling on his hair with both his hands as he dropped the bat that he was initially holding.

“Calm down, Sawamura-senpai!” Asada exclaimed.

“First, please tell us what happened,” Seto added awkwardly.

Sawamura stopped for a while as he tried to remember what happened a while ago, sweat dropping.

“I accidentally spilled some water on the scorebook that Okumura borrowed. I volunteered to rewrite it but he declined. He said it’s fine and silently left the cafeteria with Nabe-senpai and the scorebook.”

“Well, he did say it was fine so I don’t think he’s angry. As you said, it was an accident, so it can be helped, really,” Seto replied to which Asada and Kuki nodded vigorously to convince their worried senpai.

“No! No! No! No! No! We’re talking about that wolf-boy, you know?? Uwah! Just remembering that time when he told me to disappear still sends shivers down my spine.”

The 1st-years were at a loss for words. It seemed like no matter what they say, the pitcher was convinced that Okumura was indeed angry at him for what just happened. And then, it occurred to Seto — that maybe, just maybe, he can still help in fixing the relationship of his best friend with his pitcher. After all, he wouldn’t want to have a repeat of that last time while he was not around.

Seto cleared his throat before speaking. He wouldn’t want to mess this up.

“Sawamura-senpai, I think you just misunderstood Koushuu. He didn’t say anything because he wasn’t bothered by it. If it had indeed bothered him, he would have scolded you just like how he’s reprimanding you whenever you’re being noisy on the mound.”

Sawamura did not respond, however, it could be seen that the boy was trying to ponder what he just said.

Yosh. He seems to be listening and considering things for now.

A few seconds later, Sawamura seemed to have calmed down. He was no longer fidgeting his fingers nor pulling his hair as if telling Seto to continue with his sentiments regarding his best friend.

“He already reflected fully on what he said to you the other day. He just kinda misunderstood your personality, that’s all. Koushuu can be scary sometimes, but really, that’s just part of who he is. No need to beat yourself up over what happened last time and even for today, Sawamura-senpai.”

“D-Do you really think so?”

“Of course I do! I’ve been his best friend since we were kids so you can say I’m an expert in interpreting Koushuu’s seemingly unreadable moods!”

Kuki and Asada just smiled. They’ve just known Okumura for a few months. They already know how scary his aura can be especially when he’s not talking. But they also know that he’s making an effort to make people understand that he’s not such a bad wolf that bites people.

“With the way I see it, I think he already admired you quite well, Sawamura-senpai. And I think his admiration for you is not so light that spilling water on a scorebook would make him hate you.”

“Well, if you say so,” Sawamura commented, looking more convinced as he listened attentively to Seto.

“If I’d be honest, I was kinda surprised when he made a promise that he’ll only catch for you once he made it to the first string. That’s the first time he made such a promise to someone, you know?”

Seto continued with his rambling. This time, it wasn’t only Sawamura, but also the two freshmen who got more interested in listening. As pitchers, they also wanted to understand Okumura a little bit more.

“He even went so far as to refuse to catch for you even if the order came from the coach. That just showed how much he wanted to follow through on that promise. Because at that time, he’s still not part of the first string. And being not part of the first string meant that his skills were not recognized yet. He believed that he’s not qualified to catch for you because he felt like he still lacked the skills. That only shows how much he looked up to you as a pitcher.”

Sawamura couldn’t help but agree with Seto’s statements. Upon hearing what he just said, he suddenly remembered Okumura saying something like that.

“And now, to the most exciting part, what I’m gonna tell you should only be kept between us,” Seto winked as he placed his index finger near his mouth.

Kuki and Asada slightly nodded, but with mixed anticipation. Sawamura, on the other hand, nodded violently as if to swear that he will not be blabbering anything that Seto will be telling them at this point forward.

“Ever since he volunteered to catch your pitches during the Spring Tournament, he kept on borrowing almost all of the scorebooks of the games that you played at, Sawamura-senpai.”

“Ohhh.” The three responded in unison.

“I think he was so delighted to learn about your Numbers. As a catcher, he wanted to study how effectively he can use your arsenal. So when the time comes that he’ll be given the chance to be your catcher in an official match, he’ll be ready.”

“I see. So he’s been studying my pitches, huh? I guess that explained the aggressive calls he made during our game with Seiho,” Sawamura interjected to which Seto simply nodded.

“Aside from that, he also watches the videos of your matches,” Seto continued. “Do you still remember that time when you were about to watch the Hakuryu video but Okumura was already there at the cafeteria and about to watch it?”

“Oh! You’re right!” Sawamura responded as he put his fist on his palm. “Now that I think about it, he was already at the cafeteria ready to watch the recent game by the time I arrived.”

Oh boy, I’m actually enjoying this, aren’t I? Sorry, Koushuu, but think of this as me helping you.

Before going on with the conversation, Seto snickered upon seeing the reactions of the group, especially Sawamura.

“Lastly, he decided to join Seidou after watching your play against Teitou,” Seto added with finality and pride. “He thought that you are an interesting pitcher so his interest as a catcher was piqued. We even watched your game during Finals. You did great there, by the way. Too bad, you’re not the one who closed it.”

Well, he’s also interested in Furuya-senpai’s pitching, but he doesn’t need that information, for now, right?

“Heh,” Kuki responded. “I wanted to watch that game too but I wasn’t able to go.”

“Was it interesting?” Asada asked.

“It was! I watched the recorded video that one of my teammates took. It was a bit blurry though due to the heavy rain. At some point, they even stopped the game,” Kuki replied with enthusiasm.

They were about to talk more about the game when they noticed that Sawamura turned quiet.

“Sawamura-senpai?” Asada called as he swayed his hands in front of him.

“He’s frozen.”

“Yep, he really is.”

Sawamura was indeed frozen on the spot. His cheeks blushing just like the way he did back when his teammates told him that he’s become more reliable as a pitcher.

“I see! I see! He could have just told me that! Geez, that wolf boy, really!” Sawamura beamed in response after being stiff for about half a minute as he gently scratched his head.

The freshmen were happy to see the idiotic smile of their senpai once again. At least for now, this resolved things between the pitcher and the catcher. They noticed how they got along well together right after Okumura became a first-string member. They wouldn’t want an incident like this to disrupt the relationship that the two of them are trying to build.

“Yosh! Time for batting practice! Let’s not waste a second and practice some more, first-year boys!” Sawamura bellowed as he swung his bat with all his might.

The four of them continued talking about Okumura during their batting session. Sawamura also asked personal questions about them as well and he would answer some questions from his underclassmen.

“Hmm… Since I’m trying to build rapport with wolf boy, shouldn’t I do something that might help improve our battery?” Sawamura blurted out after what felt like an hour of batting.

“For starters, why don’t you try addressing each other on a first-name basis?” Kuki suggested.

“Yes, I think that would be a good idea too, Sawamura-senpai,” Asada agreed while Seto only nodded.

Oh man, this is getting more interesting. I wonder how Koushuu will react once he hears the senpai that he admired address him by his first name.

Seto was lost in his thoughts. He remembered the first time he called Okumura using his first name and the boy turned silent for a moment. And then, while emitting an ominous aura, he had called Seto as Taku as if to inform the other that if it comes to being on a first-name basis, he surely won’t lose.

Giving me a nickname right off the bat! Just how much does that guy hate losing?

Seto’s reminiscing was cut short when he noticed Okumura walking towards them, a bat in his left hand.

“Okumura-shounen! Have you finished rewriting the scorebook?? That sure was fast! As expected of wolf boy!” Sawamura greeted the boy as soon as he reached them.

“Yes, the game was still fresh in my memory so it wasn’t so hard,” Okumura responded.

“I’m sorry for what happened.” Sawamura apologized awkwardly, his voice smaller compared to his typical one.

“I told you already, it’s not your fault. No need to feel so bothered about it, Sawamura-senpai.”

“Then, just accept my apology! Was it so hard??”

“Fine. Apology accepted, then.”

“Hahahaha! See, it wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“Please be quiet when practicing on the field, Sawamura-senpai.”

The three were smiling as they observed the battery with their bantering.

Yep, it’s the usual conversation. I’m glad they’re back to normal.

“Oh, by the way, Okumura-shounen, before I forgot. I was soliciting some advice from them as to how to improve our battery. And as a first step, I decided that I’ll be calling you by your first name!”

“Relationship? First name? What are you talking about?”

“Don’t mind the small details!” Sawamura responded as he patted the boy’s shoulder while laughing.

Okumura had to guess what happened within the time that he was busy writing the scorebook. And of course, it all boiled down to his best friend, Taku.

“Taku, you said something to Sawamura-senpai, didn’t you?”

“Of course not! I just told him that you’re not angry and that he should not think too much about it,” Seto replied as he tried his best to hide his guilt.

“Let’s both do our best, Koushuu!” Sawamura shouted with glee as he chuckled once more.

Okumura was so shocked it took all he’s got to respond to the southpaw pitcher.

“Don’t hold back and call me ‘Eijun-senpai’ !”

Seto, Asada, and Kuki were trying so hard not to laugh upon seeing Okumura’s reaction. The younger might not admit it but no matter how hard he resists, he can’t help but get caught up on the older’s pace.

And then, after a few seconds, Okumura spoke.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to decline.”

“Ehh??” Sawamura and the other freshmen shouted in unison.

“I’ll take you up on your offer once I am already the main catcher. So for the meantime, please allow me to call you as it is,” Okumura responded as he bowed slightly towards his senpai.

Sawamura was smug upon hearing what Okumura had said.

This brat. As expected, he really is a passionate guy after all.

“Then, I’ll also stop for now.”

“Ehh? Sawamura-senpai as well?” Asada exclaimed.

“I’ll call you by your first name once I become the ace of this team!” Sawamura declared with confidence as he laughed some more, with both hands on his hips.

“Another promise then, huh?” Seto commented as Kuki and Asada looked at the pair with admiration.

The corners of Okumura’s lips went slightly upward for less than a second. Or Seto might have just been imagining it. Sawamura and the rest decided to call it quits for now as they will be eating dinner anytime soon. They walked back towards their dorm as they continued their conversation.

For starters, if you want to be the ace, how about you try to lessen your voice? You’re too noisy, Sawamura-senpai. Especially when you’re on the mound. I’ve been telling you multiple times, a good ace pitcher shouldn’t be recklessly letting his emotions show while on the mound.

Geh! Here we go again with your harsh criticisms! You are too wild, Okami-kozo!

And while the two were busy bickering, Seto, Asada, and Kuki were observing them happily thinking about how the two actually get along so well.

OMAKE:

The day after Sawamura became the Ace of Seidou

Sawamura was already seated between Kominato and Furuya, busy eating his breakfast when Seto and Okumura arrived in the cafeteria to join Asada, Kuki, and Kagami.

Before Okumura could take one bite off his meal, the obnoxious loud southpaw pitcher walked towards them as he waved his left hand.

“Good morning, Seto, Asada, Kuki, Kagami!”

“Good morning!” the freshmen responded.

“Good morning, Koushuu!”

The whole cafeteria went silent. Okumura went stiff upon hearing his name came out of Sawamura — their current southpaw ace pitcher.

“Koushuu??” Kuramochi and Zono bellowed in unison upon hearing Sawamura addressed the catcher by his first name.

Curiosity filled the air as the rest of the Seidou members eavesdropped between Sawamura and some of the first years’ conversation.

“I’ve kept my end of the promise. So I’ll be waiting for you to keep yours. Na? Koushuu!”

Seto, Asada, and Kuki were snickering on their seats as they watched Okumura feeling awkward towards their new ace’s advances.

“Please be quiet, Sawamura-senpai. Also, please finish your breakfast first before starting a conversation out of nowhere,” Okumura responded ineptly as he noticed how almost all of the eyes inside the cafeteria were directed towards him. He couldn’t help but wish that a hole would open right on his spot and swallow him up.

“No worries, even if you start ahead, I’ll still finish my breakfast faster than you, Koushuu!”

As much as he liked to stop the pitcher from calling his first name, a promise is a promise. And now that Sawamura is now the ace of Seidou, he is now allowed to address Okumura on a first-name basis. He’ll have no choice but to get used to it.

“This is so fun to watch! To think the day will arrive that Sawamura will learn how to harass his kouhai,” Miyuki commented as he giggled upon hearing Sawamura and Okumura’s conversation.

“Oi! It’s not even funny!” Kuramochi snapped as he kicked Miyuki’s legs under the table.

“It’s fine, isn’t it? Let him enjoy the privilege of being the ace for once!”

“That’s not the point! The point being is that one of your worst traits is rubbing off on the kid!” Kuramochi pointed his chopsticks towards Miyuki, proper manners be damned.

“Eh? But it should be fine if it’s just from time to time, right, Kuramochi-kun? Also, your big bro complex is coming out. Did Ryou-san rub off on you as well?”

“Don’t you ‘from-time-to-time’ me! Act like a real captain, for once! Don’t go around influencing your teammates negatively!!”

“Are you sure you don’t have anything to worry about though, Miyuki?” Watanabe interjected while secretly having some fun listening to both conversations.

“Huh? What’s there to worry about, Nabe?” Miyuki asked with curiosity.

“You’ve been a battery with Sawamura for almost two years now. Now that he’s the ace, you two will be the main battery for this summer tournament. Sawamura and Okumura formed a battery just recently and he’s already calling the first year by his first name. I guess that says something,” Nabe commented objectively as he continued eating his meal.

“But Sawamura is calling Miyuki by his full name. He hasn’t called anyone by full name except Miyuki. That’s saying something as well, no?” Zono interrupted.

Some of the first-string 3rd-years who were eating on the table together with Miyuki couldn’t help but laugh at Zono’s statement.

“Hyahaha! Zono! You’re so mean!” Kuramochi guffawed as he harshly tapped the table with his left hand.

“Zono, I’ll have you know that that’s not a good follow at all,” Shirasu added as he patted Zono’s shoulder while Kawakami nodded silently as he wiped the tears on the side of his eyes because he was laughing so hard a while ago.

“Eh?? Is that so??” Zono asked, totally unaware of the blow he'd dealt Miyuki.

“Oi. Why do I feel like I’m being a laughing stock right now? Learn to respect your captain, for once!” Miyuki exclaimed upon noticing that almost all of the people at their table were laughing at Zono’s comment.

“D-Don’t mind, Miyuki! If you want, I’ll convince Sawamura to call you by your first name too!” Zono added as if that’s the right thing to say.

Kuramochi and the rest of the gang laughed some more.

“Zono, don’t you think it’s time for you to shut up now?” Miyuki said annoyingly.

“But why?? I’m just trying to help!!”

“I don’t need your help! And keep your comments to yourself!” the captain replied coldly.

“Don’t be like that, Captain! As your vice-captain, it is my responsibility to help you on things that you’re not good at.”

“Hyahaha! Zono - 3, Miyuki - 0!” Kuramochi was laughing furiously again as he continued listening in on Miyuki and Zono’s exchange.

Miyuki only sighed and stayed quiet until he finished his breakfast, putting some of his leftovers on Zono’s plate when he’s not looking. Sawamura, on the other hand, went back to his seat. He asked what they were talking about but they were kind enough not to embarrass their socially awkward captain any further.

But really, it’s good to know that Sawamura and Okumura are getting along just fine. Once I graduate, and if ever Okumura will be chosen as the main catcher, then I guess there’s nothing for me to worry about.

Miyuki smiled secretly as he drowned himself in his thoughts.

[avatar-the-last-jerkbender]

DISCLAIMER:

i am not ship bashing!!! i am actually a very big oikage shipper!!! i just want to put some thoughts out there. i’ll also stick it most of it under a break bc its kinda long

The Oikage dynamic makes me go feral in so many different ways. Like can you imagine how hurt Kageyama must have been to see the person he idolized absolutely resent him? Oikawa deadass mocked him and almost hit him. Maybe he didn’t really understand in middle school, in the way many of us don’t know whatever trauma was afflicted upon us was wrong until we got older. But I think he definitely realized Oikawa absolutely hated him at some point [MANGA SPOILER STARTS] and while his grandfather’s death definitely contributed to his change in attitude towards volleyball [MANGA SPOILER ENDS] I also think part of it was Oikawa’s downright rude behavior.

I understand that Oikawa was a child, barely 14 and his resentment was prominent enough to show, especially considering his dramatic personality. But what about in the Karasuno/Seijoh matches? He becomes so immature around Kageyama, and takes steps to instigate him. I get they have a rivalry but there’s a difference between friendly teasing and straight up being a dick

And then we see healthy mentor/mentee relationships between Bokuto/Hinata and Kuroo/Tsukishima but Kageyama has literally for the most part had to learn on his own. He learned Oikawa’s serve BY HIMSELF and the parallelism in season 4 was beautiful by the way, like senpai, like kouhai. But I cannot help but feel bad for him because he has been alone for so much of his career. He was scared of regressing to the tyrant king for a bit, like in a small part of season 4 right after the national training camp BUT THAT’S ANOTHER STORY LOL ANYWAY

I think Oikawa agreeing to help him in season 2 with the quick was a step in the right direction for the two of them, but ultimately so much more is needed to bridge the gap.

And yes, obviously in real life you don’t resolve all the high school beef you had with people, and you don’t get closure on every little thing but you also don’t typically watch your rivals’ games and see them as your number one influence in life. There are definitely some people you remember more than others, whether they were important or not and sometimes you even miss them, but I’m sure in most cases it’s nothing like how Oikawa and Kageyama think about each other.

I want Oikawa to apologize to Kageyama. So bad. I haven’t really kept up with the manga but I know [MANGA SPOILER STARTS] Oikawa is able to fix things with Hinata and that [MANGA SPOILER ENDS] he’s grown as a person. The Oikage rivalry is much more complicated than Oikawa and Hinata though (I know that’s a contentious point but please just humor me) and even past everything, Oikawa remains prideful, Kageyama remains awkward, and they both remain stubborn. I don’t know if I can personally justify either of them reaching out to each other first for those very reasons, and definitely need to think about how they would untangle their admiration/envy/resentment/respect/??? towards each other. There’s a lot to unpack and the only way they can do that is through civil conversation at this point (they can do the sexy after wards ;)) [MANGA SPOILER STARTS] While it’s hard to believe one of them is going to reach out to the other, I definitely don’t think they’ll go without talking to each other on the olympic court. Like literally, they’re rival setters who know each other all too well playing for opposite teams. There’s going to be some crap like ‘oo you stole my serve’ or whatever because they are both Like That. [MANGA SPOILER ENDS]

But seriously

I need Oikage reconciliation

What is Biden’s plan for this