#eh but it's no big deal i’ll see him in school anyway <3

[louvelylouis]

the only thing i dont like about him are his late replies. but he's the only boy ever so he can have this, as a little treat </3

[chudleycanonficfest]

A Million Possibilities

Day 3, Story #1 is by @honouraryweasley12

Title: A Million Possibilities Author/Artist: honouraryweasley12 Pairing: Arthur/Molly Prompt: First Date Rating: PG Trigger Warning(s) (if any): None

"So, is today the big day?" Rodney sat down at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, clapping his friend on the back before grabbing a slice of bread.

Arthur Weasley stared down at his porridge, a sickly look on his thin face. He glanced slyly down the table at her, before returning to his breakfast with a sigh. "I suppose so."

"That's the spirit. The first Hogsmeade trip is at the end of the week. You don't want to miss the opportunity again, do you?"

"No, I don't." He'd badly wanted to ask her last year, but couldn't summon up the courage, fearful of the rejection. Over the summer, he'd resolved he would do it this year, but it was far easier to make those promises to himself when she wasn't so close, like she was now.

Rodney grinned. "Everyone knows you fancy her anyway, so you might as well get it over with and stop moping."

Arthur looked up at his classmate and frowned. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"What's the worst that could happen, eh? If she says no, you move on." He puffed out his chest. "We're Fifth Years now, we're practically adults. You've got to have some confidence."

Arthur shook his head and gulped. "I think it would be far worse if she said yes."

Just then, a boisterous laugh rang out from the end of the table, causing Arthur's head to shoot up and take her in.

"You've got it bad," Rodney remarked. "When do you think you'll do it?"

"After classes today. I hope I can catch her alone. That way when she rejects me, at least it won't be in front of her friends." The thought of it caused him to push the bowl away. "I'm suddenly not hungry."

"You'll be fine."

"I hope so." He suddenly stood up, needing a breath of air. "I'll see you in Potions."

Had he looked back, he would have spotted two pairs of eyes watching him with great interest.

~*~

"I can't believe how many assignments we've got. When are we supposed to study for OWLs with all of this extra work?"

"Mmm," was Arthur's reply, his mind clearly elsewhere.

"Did you even hear a word in any of our classes this morning?" Rodney asked, a smirk on his face. "Or were all your thoughts on one Miss Prewett?"

"Shut it," Arthur replied through tightly pressed lips. "Someone might hear."

"Too late for that."

The two boys spun around, only to find the identical grinning visages of Fabian and Gideon Prewett. Arthur gulped; the two Seventh Years were known for their magical prowess.

Fabian motioned to Rodney. "You go for lunch; we want to have a quick chat with Mr. Weasley here."

Rodney wished him good luck, and hurried off.

Gideon threw an arm around the younger boy's shoulders, even though they were about the same height. "We understand that you fancy our little sister."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb with us, we know you want to ask her to Hogsmeade. You really shouldn't talk about such sensitive things in the Great Hall—you never know who might be listening."

Arthur knew his charade was pointless, his shoulders slumping. "I was planning on asking her. But you don't have to worry, I don't think she'll say yes."

"That may be, but we were coming to warn you about her."

Arthur pulled out of Gideon's grasp, affronted. "What?"

"Don't misunderstand us, we love our sister and would do anything for her, but she has a very… strong personality. We came to warn you not to get bullied by her. She can be rather overpowering, downright scary even."

"But you're two of the most powerful wizards in the school."

Fabian smiled. "Yeah, but we can't exactly duel our little sister every time we get into a sibling argument. There's actually very little we can do when she's made her mind up about something."

"That's one of the things I like about her, that she is very strong-minded, not to mention caring, and beautiful." Arthur was smiling but was broken out his thoughts by the gagging sounds the twins were making.

"Look," Gideon said. "You seem like a nice enough bloke, so we'll leave you to it. I will say this though—if we do hear anything about you being less than respectful to our sister, then you will have to deal with us. Do you understand?"

Arthur nodded quickly.

"Oh, and don't tell her we said anything. It wouldn't be good for any of us. Now, hurry along."

They watched as the lanky redhead turned the corner.

"Poor bloke," Fabian remarked. "He has no idea what he's getting himself into, does he?"

"He certainly doesn't."

~*~

"What was that about?" Rodney asked as Arthur flopped down and let out a groan.

"If the asking wasn't bad enough, now I have to worry about those two."

"Well, you can't be surprised, they are her older brothers. I hope it's worth it."

Arthur happened to look up, and that moment, caught Molly's eye. She flashed him a quick smile, but all he could do was grimace awkwardly before looking away. He missed seeing the flash of disappointment on her face.

"She's definitely worth it. From all the time we've spent together in class, or studying, or even just chatting in the Common Room, I really like her company. I just don't know if I can ask her out without losing my lunch."

~*~

Arthur exited their last class of the day with great reluctance, knowing that his time was up. As he walked to the Great Hall for dinner, he spotted the object of his affections walking in front of him with a group of her friends.

He felt a nudge against his shoulder from Rodney. "Now's your chance."

"Here goes nothing." Arthur took a deep breath. "Molly?"

She stopped and turned, giving him a smile before signalling to her friends to go on without her. Rodney sped past them as well, nodding at Molly before disappearing down a nearby stairway.

She patted her hair before addressing him. "Yes, Arthur?"

He surreptitiously wiped his hands on the back of his robes, before running a hand through his ginger hair. "H-how are you?"

"I'm well, thank you. How are you?"

"I-I'm fine."

There was a long pause, but Molly's encouraging expression was enough to spur him on. "As you know, there is a Hogsmeade trip coming up. Sometimes, that is, some people like to go to Hogsmeade with other people, not their friends."

He knew he was babbling now but couldn't stop himself from getting flustered. "I thought maybe that could be something you might be interested in."

She let out a small laugh, her cheeks rosy as she placed her hands on her hips. "Arthur Weasley, are you asking me on a date?"

"Yes, I am. Molly, will you go to Hogsmeade with me?"

"I would be delighted to. In fact, I've been hoping you would ask for some time."

Arthur was incredulous, his eyebrows flying up. "You have?"

"Yes, I have." She reached out and squeezed his forearm, letting her hand linger. "I thought I had been rather obvious in my attempts to flirt."

"Oh," Arthur blushed. "I assumed you were just being friendly. I did almost ask you last year, but I didn't think you'd say yes. Blimey, I didn't think you'd say yes now!"

"You had nothing to be worried about. You've always been sweet to me, and I've noticed."

He grinned at her, relieved to hear her say so. "So shall I meet you in the Common Room on Saturday morning?"

Her joyous expression mirrored his. "That sounds lovely."

He let out a breath. "Great! I'll see you then." He didn't know what possessed him to do so, but he stooped down and kissed her gently on the cheek, before walking away and smacking himself on the forehead.

The red in Molly's cheeks deepened, and she lifted a hand to her face, letting out a sigh of her own. Saturday couldn't come quickly enough.

~*~

He watched in awe as she descended the stairs into the Common Room, her flaming red hair pulled elegantly over her shoulder. A thin coat and a nice jumper were perfect for the fall weather, and she wore a long, loose skirt to complete the outfit.

"You look wonderful," Arthur complimented her as she reached him.

She beamed. "You don't look so bad yourself," she replied, sliding her arm through his. "Shall we?"

He nodded, dumbstruck that he was going out on an actual date with Molly Prewett. From the corner of his eye, he saw Fabian and Gideon watching the two of them, and he quickly looked away.

He was nervous but found making idle chit chat with her as they walked into the village to be rather easy. As the minutes ticked away, he felt himself getting more and more comfortable. It certainly didn't hurt that every few minutes she gave him a cute smile or laughed at one of his jokes. He felt drawn to her.

"Would you mind if we stopped at Scrivenshaft's?" Molly asked, breaking him out of his reverie.

"No, of course not. Running low on quills already?"

"No, nothing like that. I wanted to get some yarn. I took up knitting over the summer and want to continue practicing. I made this jumper, in fact."

"You did? That's incredible! I was admiring it earlier."

"You were admiring it, were you?" She winked at him, causing him to flush. "I'll just be a moment."

Arthur wrung his hands as paced outside of the shop, taking some deep breaths. Everything was going pretty well in his estimation, and he still couldn't believe that she seemed to like him as much as he liked her.

"Miss me?"

He nodded, reaching out a hand to take the bag from her. She grabbed his other hand and their fingers locked. He looked down, and then looked at her.

"Is this alright?" She asked.

He nodded again, and smiled, giving her hand a gentle squeeze which she returned. It seemed like a big step, to be holding hands so that everyone could see, and yet it felt right.

Molly's cheeks were glowing, and her eyes were sparkling. "Where to next?"

"I thought we might sit down somewhere. How about Madam Puddifoot's? It'll be quiet there. If that's fine with you, of course?"

"That sounds perfectly fine to me, Arthur."

The two walked through the village, enveloped in a bubble of giddiness. Arthur kept looking down at their joined hands. He already knew he was smitten with the red-headed witch.

The décor of the establishment was far simpler in the fall than at other times of the year, like Christmas and Valentine's Day. They were quickly ushered to a booth in the back and took their seats, facing each other. Once they settled in, Arthur took her hand in his again, resting them on the tabletop.

"This is nice, isn't it? Just the two of us?"

"No meddling family is a nice change, though it wouldn't surprise me if my brothers were in the next booth, listening in."

Arthur peeked at the next booth over and saw a couple snogging. "Don't worry, we seem to be safe here."

"You know about my brothers. Tell me about your family, what are they like?"

Arthur launched into a few tales about his family, which seemed to enthrall her before they were interrupted for their order.

"We don't have much, but we get on quite well."

"That's nice to hear. Some of my more distant relations on the Black side are quite… eccentric in their views of certain things."

"Oh, me too. I have some relations in the Black family, but we're not involved with them. I've heard their ideas on Muggles are rather disturbing."

"You're quite interested in Muggles, aren't you?"

"Oh yes," Arthur replied. "I find them absolutely fascinating, the way they come up with creative ideas and make things to make their lives easier without magic. They seem to come up with a million possibilities to solve a problem. Did you know American and Russian Muggles are trying to fly to the moon? Imagine that! I don't think wizards and witches would ever contemplate such a thing."

"It's rather cute to see you get so excited about it. Most wizards wouldn't."

"I know most people in our world would find it silly, but it is really interesting to me. I wouldn't mind working in Muggle Relations one day. I'm aiming for an Outstanding in my Muggle Studies OWL."

"Oh, don't remind me. I'm not looking forward to sitting those. It's going to be a difficult year, isn't it?"

He squeezed her hand. "Well, the year has started out brilliantly."

She waved him away but couldn't hide her pleasure. "I never took you for such a romantic."

"It's the truth. I've been hoping for this for awhile now. I've known you for four years, and I've fancied you for at least half that time."

She looked at him curiously. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you about that. I know I'm not the prettiest girl in our year, and I know I have a reputation of being somewhat bossy and strong-willed. Those don't seem like typical qualities one would be looking for."

Arthur grabbed her other hand in his.

"I happen to like the fact that you speak your mind and have your opinions. I've also seen you helping the younger students, and you're so generous and caring. I think those are especially important qualities in a person. I don't know what it is, but I feel so comfortable around you, like I can be myself."

"That's very nice to hear."

He leaned forward. "I also happen to think that you're quite fetching."

"You're a charmer, if I've ever met one."

"I'm serious. You are the prettiest girl in our year. At least to me you are."

She scoffed and shook her head. "I'll take your word for it."

At that moment, their server arrived with their tea and snacks, forcing them to let go of their hands and end their conversation. After a few bites, Molly continued.

"What did you get up to in the summer?"

"Well, we can't really afford to go on any fancy trips, but my family has a plot of land out in the country, near Devon. It's nothing special, but it's ours. We spent a lot of time there, cleaning things up. There's a small house on the property, so we fixed that up as well. I think my parents mean for me to have it when I'm older."

"Oh, isn't that nice! It sounds like a wonderful place. It must be beautiful out there."

"It's very peaceful. It seems like a nice place to raise a family. Not that I'm insinuating—" He dropped his fork with a clatter at that moment, causing her to giggle.

"You are a surprising one, Arthur. In a good way, though. I don't know of many sixteen-year-old boys who are thinking about such things."

"Oh, well, I guess I am a little bit odd then. I think it would be nice to have a big family one day, lots of little red-headed children running around."

"Who said they would have red hair?"

"Well, we both—" His eyes popped open, and he choked slightly on the scone he was eating, before gulping down his tea.

"Do you usually plan your entire future on your first dates? Is there a proposal coming?"

He shook his head, mortified. She let out a laugh and grabbed his hand again, entwining their fingers. "I'm only teasing."

After he recovered his wits, he couldn't help but respond. "I guess your brothers aren't the only troublemakers in the family."

"Certainly not," she replied, eyeing him mischievously while taking another sip of her tea.

They bantered on, talking about school, gossiping about their friends, and complaining about their teachers. The conversation flowed naturally until Arthur noticed other couples drifting out of the teashop.

"I think it's getting late; I suppose we should head back to the castle."

"Yes, we wouldn't want to get detention. Though I wouldn't mind it if I got to spend it with you."

As Molly finished up her tea, Arthur signalled to the server that they were done. After proudly paying their bill, he clasped Molly's hand again and led her out of the shop.

He peered around for a moment before setting off through the village, swiveling his head every few seconds.

"Arthur, is everything alright? We still have plenty of time."

"Y-Yes, of course."

"Then why do keep looking over your shoulder?"

"Oh… I don't want to say."

"I'd really rather you did."

Arthur stopped and sighed. "Your brothers threatened me if I did anything disrespectful toward you."

She frowned. "Those brothers of mine are going to get a piece of my mind. I'll have you know that I've had a lovely time, and you've been a complete gentleman."

"That's the problem, you see." He smiled down at her. "I would really like to kiss you right now… and not on the cheek this time."

"Don't concern yourself about Fabian and Gideon, I'll take care of them—and I'll decide what is disrespectful. Now, are you going to kiss me or not?"

He pulled her to a secluded area, away from the prying eyes of the other students. Cupping her face with his hands gently, he pressed his lips to hers. She responded and deepened their kiss, her arms wrapping around his narrow waist. It was bliss.

After they broke apart, they shared a smile and resumed walking back to the castle, hand-in-hand.

"Molly," he stated suddenly. "Will you go steady with me?"

"Go where?"

"Oh, it's a Muggle term. Would you like to be my girlfriend?"

"Yes, I would like that very much, my boyfriend."

His laughed bubbled up, unable to hide his happiness at the prospect. He was walking on a cloud as they made their way through the castle and up to the Common Room.

He realized his mistake too late, forgetting to drop her hand as they entered through the portrait hole. The were immediately set upon by Molly's twin brothers.

"What do we have here?"

"Well, you see—" Arthur began, only to be cut off by Molly.

"Arthur is my boyfriend now, no thanks to you two. Any attempts to threaten him in the future will be met with… a response. Do I make myself clear?"

Arthur was amazed at her gall and was even more amazed that they cowered at her words. If he wasn't already completely taken by her, that would have done it.

The two looked thoroughly chastened and agreed.

"Right then." Molly reached up and deliberately kissed him on the cheek in front of her siblings. "Thank you, Arthur, dear. I had a wonderful time. Shall we go study in the library? I'll go get my books."

He nodded, giving her hand a quick squeeze before they separated.

"Arthur, dear?" Gideon said after she left, his face screwing up in disgust. "I hope you're looking forward to a lifetime of that, Weasley."

That didn't sound so bad to him. He suddenly felt like the Muggles he was talking about earlier; it was like he had a million possibilities—now that he had Molly in his life.

[kodzukyan]

two hearts, four broken pieces (now we’re unbreakable)

notes: happiest belated birthday to my grand king <3 lots of (long?) dialogue, long talks at the beach, kinda clunky, but i hope you enjoy :> song accompaniment recommendation: unbreakable by lauren dyson (carole & tuesday) & everything i need by skylar grey! also posted on ao3.

summary: you were there like the air when i felt like i was underwater. AU in which you have matching birthmarks on your heart as your soulmate. - oikawa/oc

wc: 6.2k

The clock ticks continually as you finish reviewing the club budget for the upcoming school year. As the last rays of the sun begin to dim into a darkening blue, the clock rings loudly, signaling the end of club activities. The other student council members routinely leave by five, and after a quick goodbye and wave, two hours pass by without you knowing. You glance at your watch, and you sigh softly as you see the shorthand reach seven.

There are still numbers that do not add up, but you suppose that has to wait. Getting up to stretch, you automatically head to the keys cabinet to see which keys are still missing. As usual, the keys to the volleyball gym have yet to be returned.

Like any other day, you sigh again. This is a rather normal occurrence as the volleyball team tends to stay as late as you do. Normally, you don't mind since it’s not a big deal - you’re usually still here to lock up after they leave. Today, however, you’re rather exhausted and would like to finish up your report and just go home. Putting on your white blazer and patting down the wrinkles of your tan skirt, you make certain you’re presentable before you head out of the room and towards the volleyball gym.

A resounding smack reverberates through the air before you even enter the gym. You knock twice on the gym doors, and when there is no answer, you open the doors soundlessly and enter the gym. The gym is unoccupied except for one lone player, making the echoes of each movement louder. 

He doesn’t notice you, and as you see him jump to hit a serve, you are in awe by the strength and impact of it as it lands. It astonishes you a little to discover the normally flirty eyes and teasing smiles with such intense concentration and seriousness. When you see a faint smile on his face as his serve lands within the lines of the court, you wonder if this is what he really is like. As he recovers another ball to try again, you clear your throat. This time, you catch his attention, somewhat.

“Sorry, Iwa-chan! You don’t have to wait for me. I’m almost done!” he calls out, eyes never leaving the court.

“Sorry, Oikawa-san. I am not Iwaizumi-san. While I do have to say I am extremely impressed with your tenacity, I am afraid it's late and time for you to go home,” you say politely with a perfectly practiced smile on your face.

The ball he tossed into the air previously drops straight down onto the floor and bounces as he hears your voice. He jerks his head towards you, and you almost want to laugh when you see his gaping mouth.

“Oh, Pres-chan! I wasn’t expecting you!” he recovers swiftly, a hand behind his head and his tongue sticking out humorously.

Ah, he’s back to his normal self.

“Apologies again,” you nod, a courteous smile never leaving your face, despite your slight disdain for your new nickname. You’ve learned it is easiest to deal with people with a perfect smile, lips upturned slightly at a 45-degree angle and eyes crinkled together lightly.

He stares at you intensely as you smile. While his eyes are analytical enough to press anyone under, it doesn’t bother you because you are used to such scrutiny.

“I’ll pack up! Pres-chan, wait for me! I’ll walk you home since it’s so late.” He finally softens in his stares and begins picking up the balls around the court.

“No need to worry about me, Oikawa-san. There are still some matters for me to finish up at the student council room,” you assure him courteously despite your mild annoyance at your stray strand of hair that fell out of your neat ponytail as you tuck it behind your ear.

“No, no! I insist! It’s so late, so it’s dangerous for cute girls like you, Pres-chan!” he protests as he continues cleaning.

You begin assisting him to pick up the balls and grab the mops to clean up the gym. The more hands there are, the faster you two get to leave. After cleaning up the gym and returning the keys to the student council room, you continue to decline his offer of walking you home. Being around him for a little less than 30 minutes has already tired you, but you find it more draining to talk him out of it so you just relent.

He accompanies you back to your house at your pace, constantly filling the silence with some sort of conversation. He seems to recognize your need for distance, so he keeps the conversation light, never diving in deeper than what you are willing to give. You respond as amiable as you could with this surface-level sort of conversation. This is comfortable, this is straightforward, this is not about who you are, so you find it easy to keep up your practiced smile and pleasantry. 

For what it’s worth, you can understand why he’s so popular. He’s attractive, and his personality is tolerable enough. But something about him is slightly unpleasant to you. You have an inkling of what it is, but you’re not ready to open the tightly sealed jar of emotions yet.

When you reach your stop and he bids you goodbye, you find yourself face to face with your cousin, who just squeals and questions you.

“Who is he?” she exclaims loudly, far too energetic for so late at night. “What if he is your soulmate?!”

You smile tersely, “He is just a classmate.”

She only looks at you in confusion. “Eh? You never know! Did you already see his mark?”

You flash her a practiced smile as you excuse yourself.

“No, I was born without one.” 

---

You like routine. This is something you’ve established for as long as you remember. If things are set in place, set in stone, then they are less likely to fall apart, to break.

So when walking home with Oikawa Tooru stays as a recurring part of your days, it makes you uneasy.

This is not part of your normal routine. But you suppose him returning the volleyball gym keys instead of you wrestling him for them is also not part of your normal routine.

“You know, for someone so smart, you’re kind of dumb."

You finally look up from your papers. Your pen still in hand, eyes in disbelief, and voice laced with venom as you hiss, “Excuse me?”

“Pres-chan, even I know when to stop. It's nearly 8 in the evening. Your body needs rest so you can function as efficiently as you always want to,” he rolls his eyes as he air-quotes the word efficiently. The volleyball gym keys jingle in his hand as he does so, and the sound of it aggravates your headache.

"This is coming from the one who stays behind two hours every day after club activity ends? Stop trying to preach what you don’t practice." Your grip on your pen tightens.

"I take Mondays off," he shrugs and offers a lopsided smile. There's a serious glint in his eyes despite his casual gestures.

You know he's right because the keys to the volleyball club always hang neatly and untouched every Monday. You know he's right when you finally let yourself feel the tiredness in your body. You know he's right when your headache finally catches up to you, but you simply cannot completely let go.

Maybe he sees your sagging shoulders and weary eyes, so he doesn't press the matter anymore. He hangs the clubroom keys in the cabinet before he walks over.

"You can rest, you know?"

You do, but you can't. Not when there are so many reports to fill out and papers to file, not when the club budgeting still isn't adding up, not when you have to be the you that your father created inside his head. Your brows cease together as your head throbs. Before you could respond, you feel a gentle pat on your head that brings you out of your thoughts.

"You're doing great, Pres-chan. Take a break," he speaks softly as he strokes your head.

You close your eyes at his touch, and you relish in his gentleness. For someone with such calloused hands, his touch is surprisingly tender. His voice sounds distant, and it feels like he's speaking past you, like he's speaking to whoever he sees in place of you. You think maybe this is what you needed anyways, this is what you want to hear even if he’s speaking to himself through you.

"Take a nap. I'll wake you up in 20 minutes," he ruffles your hair, messing up your perfectly tied ponytail.

You glance at him briefly, and his stupid smile irritates you. Maybe your headache is getting the better of you, maybe you’re just too tired, but you find yourself nodding as your shoulders finally drop in defeat. "10 minutes."

He laughs as he agrees, and when you finally lay your head down and close your eyes, you briefly feel the warmth of his jersey before you drift off.

When you wake, you find that Oikawa is sitting beside you, humming a soft tune as he scrolls on his phone. It takes you a moment to blink the sleep out of your eyes, and then it occurs to you that he never woke you up. Your eyes flutter to the clock, and when you see that it's a little past 9, you panic. You shoot instantly up from your seat, and your sudden movement leaves you dizzy as the world around you rapidly spins in color. Oikawa stops mid-hum as looks up from his phone before he secures your arm to steady you.

"Holy shit, I thought I told you to wake me up in 10 minutes. The papers need to be filed so we can work on the report due next week. I need to finish the reports, so I can turn them in on Friday. The budgeting excel -."

"Pres-chan." He cuts you off as he takes his hand off your arm and pokes your forehead. "I filed the papers on your desk. They go into their respective color-coded drawers, right? And the reports are just club updates, yeah? I arranged them by club type, so you can just sort through them later. Also, I put the volleyball club on top, so get to us first, okay?" he teases lightly and sticks his tongue out mischievously. "I didn't mess with your budgeting excel because it's not my place to, but don't you think you can ask your treasurer to explain their budgeting and money management so far?"

You blink at him in silence as you take in all the information he told you. You glance over at your desk and see the piles of loose paper gone. In place are new stacks of reports clipped together with the assortment of pastel paper clips you brought last month on a whim. Your surprise overtakes you as you let out a shaky breath. 

"Oh," you whisper, breath still quivering and voice slightly trembling. "Thank you."

You make a mental note to double-check everything again in the morning, just in case. That thought almost flies out of your head when you glance over, and the smile he flashes you is so bright you almost forget how to breathe.

"You're welcome."

When he accompanies you home that night, your steps feel a little lighter and your heart soars a little higher as you catch a glimpse of his profile, eyes fixated on the stars above as he tells you stories of constellations and aliens. 

---

While you’re not an avid volleyball fan, witnessing their defeat to Karasuno in such a close match, watching the light in their eyes dim into a quiet somber crush on your heart. When the match was over and they asked for the keys to the gym, you gave it to them without hesitation although the gym is supposed to be closed for cleaning later today.

Throughout the hours, you find yourself unable to completely focus on the paperwork in front of you. Your eyes keep trailing to the empty key slot where the gym keys are supposed to be, and your ears are fixated on each tick of the clock. Fidgeting with your pen, you finally give in and let out an uneven sigh when the clock rings eight. After smoothing out your skirt and blazer and retying your neat ponytail, you make your way to the gym.

As always, you knock on the doors before coming in. Only silence greets you.

The gym is vacant, and the cheering crowds and rest of the volleyball team members have long gone home after their spontaneous practice. Volleyballs are still scattered everywhere, the net is still up, but none of that matters as your eyes focus on the lone figure lingering in this solemn, almost crushing, silence.

His eyes are downcast, but you can tell from the hitching movement of his chest and the pooling puddle in his lap that he hasn't stopped crying. There is so much you want to tell him, but no words come to you. You’re not even sure if you’re in a position to say anything, but when you see him sitting there defeated and crying silently, a split image of yourself instead of him appears for a moment. The tightly sealed jar of emotions you’ve repeatedly tried to suppress opens.

"You don't have to be perfect, you know?" you tell him softly.

He doesn't look up and only clenches his fists.

You pat the creases out of your skirt as you squat down, hands gently touching his before clasping them firmly. The words burn in the back of your throat as your eyes tear because you know. You know this feeling, this absolutely crushing feeling when all you have is taken away and you’re just left with nothing. Maybe you’re projecting your failures onto him, maybe this is just what you wanted to hear, but you tell him all the same.

"You're so much more than just your losses," you whisper with gentle firmness, "This is not the end. Not for you. Not for your volleyball."

His calloused hands only grip yours tightly as his silent tears fall and roll off your skin.

"You are not your failures."

You barely detect the sound of him letting out a deep breath, but he squeezes your hands. It may not be enough, it may not be okay, but it’s a start.

As the two of you sit in silence, you can merely laugh at yourself for ever thinking Oikawa Tooru was anywhere close to perfect. He is incredibly fragile, human, and unlike a star that you thought you could never reach, he is here beside you. He sniffles every so often, and when every so often becomes more often than not, you laugh lightly and offer him a tissue.

He accepts it with a sniffle, and as he blows his nose, you could only crinkle your nose.

“Ew, you’re gross,” you lightly poke fun at him.

“I was going to say thank you, but I take it back now,” he gasps dramatically.

You roll your eyes as you offer him the rest of your tissues. “It’s fine. I don’t need your thanks. Just… feel better.”

“Thank you,” he whispers anyway as he props his head on yours.

---

You hear three knocks, two fast knocks, a pause as if it’s left for drastic effects, before the third knock, in a familiar rhythm. Instantly, the wooden doors of the student council room open, and brown hair and honey-colored eyes peek in.

“Wanna do something fun with me, Pres-chan?” Oikawa asks, eyes brilliant and smile equally mischievous.

"... Depends on what it is," you raise an eyebrow at him as you look up from finishing some preparations for university. You've substantially given up trying to advise him to wait before barging into the student council room.

He wiggles his eyebrows before he grins. “Let’s go to the rooftop!"

It takes you a moment to comprehend what he said because while it’s not that crazy, the rooftop is off-limits to students. Subsequently, it occurs to you that out of your three years here, you've under no circumstances done anything remotely rebellious. The adrenaline hits you, so you snatch the keys to the rooftop before heading out the door.

"Alright, let's go."

He freezes before his mouth drops and gasps dramatically. "Heh, Pres-chan, looks like you really aren't that much of a good girl after all."

You roll your eyes at him, and a soft smile finds a way to your face before you walk out. "Hurry up, or I'm leaving you behind."

"Wait for me!!" You hear the scampering footsteps, and you swear you can hear his pout.

This is the first time you’ve ever been on the rooftop, you think, as you finally unlock the door and step out into the sun. It’s a little past seven, and you think the sun is going to set soon as it slowly fades behind the Miyagi skylines in bursts of orange. You close your eyes as the wind blows, almost as if it’s greeting you. You can see why people skip all the time to be up here. 

“Feels pretty good, huh?” Oikawa stands beside you as the wind tousles his hair and the sun kisses his skin. He looks radiant under the sunlight, and you merely hope he doesn’t hear the fluttering of your heart.

“Yeah,” you nod along, “I… I wish I came up here earlier.

Honey brown eyes so deep and warm, staring directly at you, and there is something that you’re terrified to name. You always thought love was something dramatic, once in a lifetime, and it just hits you like a train out of nowhere. With Oikawa Tooru, it feels more like learning to walk - steadily, one step after another, until he becomes a part of your natural routine.

You can see the longing and something akin to love in his eyes, but you know it's not love. You know when he loves, he loves with all his being. Right now, there is something, but it's not love because he sees not only you but also past you. He sees the light at the end of the tunnel, the future where he's standing on a volleyball court with his name on the back of a national team jersey. He sees the passion and the love he has for volleyball beyond you, and even when he's here in the moment, even when he likes you, he sees something greater.

Your heart clenches because you want it to be you, you want you, this to be enough. But you know he is meant for something so much greater. He is meant for the stage lights of an international court, living and thriving with so much passion and love for the sport he dedicates his life to. He is unmeant to be here, to be held back by something called love.

You try ignoring the way his eyes soften when he looks at you, try ignoring the way his eyes linger at your lips as if he wants to kiss you. You try ignoring your yearning heart when all you can hear in your head is him telling you he's going to Argentina.

“You’re going to do great in Argentina.” You swallow the lump in your throat and interlace your own fingers together to prevent yourself from reaching out and holding his hand.

He blinks, and slowly retracts his extended hand, and swallows the words he wants to tell you. “Oh, uhm,” he hesitates. “Geez, Pres-chan! Don’t make it sound like we’re never going to see each other again!” he pouts dramatically, voice creaking just ever so slightly and eyes lacking the playful glint in it. “We’ll see each other again.”

He sounds hesitant, almost as if he’s doubtful if he can uphold the words of a promise. He doesn’t deserve to be held back by a promise.

You let him go.

It’s funny because you don’t even think he is yours to let go, but you smile anyway as you catch his unfaltering eyes back on the sunset. He is the one who teaches you a little bit about being okay, the one who first opens the tightly sealed jar and lets a gale of fresh air into your world.

“Thank you,” you tell him softly. Your hand finds its way to him, fingertips ghosting over his hand almost as if you didn’t just reject his moments ago.

The wind blows softly, and the blooming cherry blossoms flutter as he blinks in confusion before he smiles crookedly too. In a world where you are braver, you would have voiced the three words lingering on your mind instead of the two that came out, and your lips would have been on his instead of settling for a ghost of a touch of hands. But in this world, this is all you can do, all you can intend for.

Instead, the two of you continue to stand in silence, sharing this one last moment where he can stand on both legs without leaning to his left to accommodate for his right knee, where you can laugh in a loose smile and ruffled hair without feeling the need to fix them. It’s satisfactory, you tell yourself, this is enough.

While he may not be your soulmate, while you have no soulmate mark, it hurts all the same. Your heart still breaks as the falling sunlight fades into the deep indigo skies, as he waves goodnight, as you watch him go with the world on his shoulders and wings on his back. The hollowness in your chest aches, and you wonder if this is what heartbreak feels like.

---

“Funny, huh? Out of all the people in the world, out of all the places in the world, I end up meeting you on an Argentinian beach, thousands of miles away from home,” you stifle your laughter softly.

The hot summer wind blows into your unbound hair, bringing grains of sand and the scent of the ocean. The shore calls you, and you find yourself wiggling your toes in the clear waters. As you look to the horizon, you find that the crystalline waters contrast vividly against the soft pinks and oranges of the fading sun.  It’s so surreal, and it makes you momentarily forget that there are responsibilities, people waiting for you back at home. 

The faint rustling and the loud splash of water wake you from your trance, and you find Oikawa Tooru running into the waters carefreely. His pants are roughly rolled up just barely above the water level. His eyes are tender and his smile is wide as he holds his hand out to you.

“Come on, Pres-chan,” he gestures his hand in front of you again. “The water feels really nice!”

You take a moment to breathe because he looks beautiful with his brown eyes twinkling mischievously and lips upturned jovially and carefreely against the fleeting sunset. You smile once more, lips upturn softly instead of the traditional 45 degrees, as the last strands of your hair frees from your hair tie. 

You briefly remember being eighteen, standing on the rooftop of your high school. His hand is extended, but you were too afraid to take it, too afraid to become a burden. You blink once and think maybe this time, he should have a say in his own decisions instead of you selfishly making it for him. You take his hand, hesitantly and shyly, as you take your first steps into the water.

Time stills as your eyes meet his brown ones. He stares at you dumbfoundedly, and you are unsure if the pinks of his cheeks are from you or the sunset.

“You look happier,” he finally comments softly, “I’m glad.”

Now it’s your turn to stare at him dumbfoundedly. Your hand covers a slight laugh that breaks from your lips. You take in his wind-tousled chestnut hair and eyes closed from his laughter, his muscular body that no longer tends to lean on his left side absentmindedly to protect his right knee, and you realize he is more genuine, more candid, more Oikawa Tooru than the one you’ve known since high school.

“You do too.”

”Wanna grab drinks after?” Oikawa asks nonchalantly as the two of you finally make your way out of the water and sit under the broad umbrella from the blazing sun. His long legs are stretched out as he leans back, hands propping him up.

Despite his relaxed posture and even voice, you see his fingers wiggling in the sand and the pinks peeking on his cheeks and the tip of his ears. It almost makes you laugh because you’re certain you can reckon on one hand how many times Oikawa Tooru seems so timid.

“I mean”- he continues, taking your silence as a declination, -“just as friends, to catch up, you know? How have you been? Oh! What about your cousin? Didn’t she -”

“Okay,” you laugh lightly. “I’d be happy to.”

“-Oh, now that I think about it, what did you end up doing- wait -” he pauses mid-sentence as he stares at you bewilderedly, ”-okay?”

“Yes,” you laugh again, much louder and without restraint. “Okay.”

“Okay,” he repeats after you again.

“Yes, okay.” You nod.

The smile he gives you is so bright it outshines the sun.

---

"So, how are you?" he asks again once you're seated beside him, a beer in hand and dusk in view.

You offered a general answer earlier, and it started a train of small talk that never breaches past the surface. It reminds you of high school and leaves a bitter aftertaste in your mouth. 

The beach in Argentina is always full of life, but it's quieter now. Maybe it's the fact that it's getting late or the fact that you're on your third beer already, all you can focus on is the man beside you.

Maybe you're more honest now too because he looks like he wants to ask more. (Like he asks “how are you?” when all his eyes are saying is “I love you.”)

"I threw my phone into the ocean and got in a screaming match with my dad," you tell him honestly.

You can feel his gaze on you as he lets out a soft hum to let you know he's listening. It used to unnerve you whenever he looks at you like that, whenever he makes you feel so transparent. Now, it makes you smile because he always makes you feel so seen.

"He told me to be all these things that I am not because he wanted me to have a good life. I know his intentions and know it makes him happy. But I was so fed up with just constantly not being enough for who he wanted me to be, so I told him I just wanted to be his daughter."

You don't realize your hands are shaking until you feel his hands on yours. He pulls the beer bottle out of your hands before he places them into his own and squeezes them.

"And what did he say?" he asks softly, recalling all the late nights and the mask you put on at school in the name of a shadow that always looms over you. He remembers the instant drop of your face whenever your father comes up, when the words duty and filial piety become a burden instead of pride on your shoulders.

"He just kinda stared at me and stopped talking. I think it didn't occur to him that this was a thought in my head. I cried a lot." You squeeze his hands back.

"Yeah, I'm glad you gave him a piece of your mind, though." His voice is gentle as his thumb brushes over your knuckles.

"He cut me fruit after, so I think we're okay," you laugh awkwardly as you flash him a smile. "I think I'm okay."

He smiles too when he notices your smile is a lot freer now, that the corners of your lips are no longer locked in place and forced in front of fake pleasantries. Maybe he's freer now too, he thinks as he looks at the brightly lit skies, as he continues his volleyball journey, feeling so fulfilled despite being thousands of miles away from home. 

"I used to think I wasn't good enough," he starts honestly with a small laugh. "No matter how hard I work, I could never be enough compared to geniuses who just get it." 

“I used to think you were so put together when I initially met you, like the universe's spotlight was meant for you,” you hum. “Until I realized you were the reason why the volleyball gym keys were never returned on time.”

He laughs light-heartedly. “Hey, I had an image to keep up, okay?”

You tuck in your knees and prop your head on top of them, eyes never leaving his, hand still in his. “I think I realized you were a lot more reachable, human even, when I saw you broke down after losing to Karasuno our third year.”

“Are you deriving comfort in my pain? How rude!” He pouts. “But I somewhat get it. I used to think you were super snobby with your fake smiles and your super tight ponytail. I used to think you were going to be balding early!”

“You were the one who habitually had a hoard of fangirls around you, and nobody could get anyplace in the hallways!” You retort with a fond smile.

Memories of high school seem so long ago, and as you recall each one, you see the light in his eyes waning and waxing with the tides. The feelings you try so hard to bury, the ones you try to let go of the day he set off to Argentina bubble through your chest and flow onto your lips.

"I think I was too scared to love you," you finally whisper as the moon rises and the waves kiss the shore.

He stares at you and blinks once, twice, before he breathes a soft, “Oh.”

You finally take your eyes off him, hand finally wiggling its way out of his to encase yourself as you bury your face in your knees. “I wanted to be enough. But I wasn’t. I wasn’t for my dad, wasn’t for myself, wasn’t for you.”

He leans closer and brushes a strand of loose hair off your face. “You are always enough. For your dad, for yourself,” he pauses and smiles gently, “And you are more than enough for me.”

You peek at him through your lashes. The ocean waves drown out the sound of your heartbeat as he stares at you earnestly, eyes honest and lips so, so close.

“I didn’t want you to regret me,” you whisper, voice barely audible, “I didn’t want to be someone who holds you back from your dreams. I didn’t want to be just temporary until you find your soulmate.”

His eyes widen, but he persists steadily close. “I don’t think I could ever regret you. My dreams will always be the national court, but you being there, by my side, would be the best part of it.”

He takes a breath as he reaches for your hand, much like he did at the rooftop of your high school.

“I was born without a soulmate mark. Initially, I was so upset because I thought no one would love me unconditionally like a soulmate is supposed to. But honestly, fuck that. Fuck soulmates. Fuck some pre-destined person supposedly made for you because no one is. We are in control of our own fate, and we are in control of whom we choose to love. And I like you Pres-chan. I have since I was eighteen and dumb. I still like you now at twenty and still a little dumb. But no matter how old I am, how old I will be, it’s always you. I will always choose to love you.”

You breathe in sharply as you listen to his words, every sound and syllable clear as his eyes as he looks at you, only you. There is only truth in his words, and as your eyes wander from his to his hand and back to his eyes, the overwhelming amount of sincerity overwhelms you. 

Oikawa Tooru has always been dedicated in all that he does, and the thought that he is offering you that very same dedicated heart of his becomes a consuming warmth in your chest. The heat of your fluttering heart radiates off your cheeks, and the feeling that has been blossoming in your heart blooms into an indescribable softness and affection.

Love has perpetually been something out of reach, something you witness in movies and read in books, something you witness in your friends and cousin. But love is here now, in the form of Oikawa Tooru with his hands stretched out for you to take, with his heart bare and exposed for you to have.

“I was born without a soulmate mark too. I used to hate it because it felt like it was another thing I was lacking in. I wasn’t even enough to have a soulmate,” you breathe out, eyes on the ocean that reflects on the moonlight. The last bits of the tightly sealed jar of emotions you’ve kept finally flows out.

“But if soulmates do exist, I would like to think they are made. Not in the sense that they are made for each other, because fuck destiny, but in the sense that we wake up every morning and choose who fits us and how they fit. And whatever this is we have between us, we forged it,” you start firmly as you place your hand in his, eyes meeting his. The last bit of bitterness flows into the sea, and the only thing that remains at the bottom of this jar is hope.

“I like you too, Oikawa. I have since I was eighteen and smart. I still do at twenty and moderately smarter but still trying to figure life out. And I don’t know what the future holds or even what I’m doing to do from here on, but I want it to be you.”

“I want it to be you too. I can’t promise you the world or where our lives will lead from here onwards. What I can promise is I will choose you, from the moment I wake up until the moment I sleep, from now until the end of the ocean.”

A promise, his truth. While the unknown horrifies you, this is enough. You smile as you squeeze his hand. When he grins and squeezes your hand back, you think maybe love is irrevocably here to stay.

---

“What were you before you met me?” He takes one of your hands in his and uses his other in an attempt to tame your unconstrained hair against the wind. He pouts when he finds that your hair just blows wildly and gives up, but he smiles, nonetheless, when he hears your unrestrained laughter.

You shake your hair out of your face and turn to face him, hair blowing wildly and freely with the wind. You tear your eyes away from slow waves of the ocean, illuminated by the brilliant reds and oranges of the setting sun, and you find yourself more captivated by glowing brown eyes than you ever could by the dazzling colors of the horizon. 

You stare briefly at him, looking into his eyes and seeing his relentless soul, and the butterflies in your stomach flutter like they did the very first time, feeling absolutely starstruck. You hum softly as you turn back to the peaceful waves and remember the tight ponytails and painted smiles of your high school days. You remember the weight on your shoulders to become someone ideal and the heaviness on your heart to become a you that only lives to make your father proud.

“I think... I was drowning,” you answer almost inaudibly but honestly, both hands gripping his tightly as if you’re holding a lifeline.

He pauses for a moment before he squeezes your hands again. He whispers then, reluctantly and almost fearfully, “And what are you now?”

You turn to meet his eyes. You recall him at seventeen and feeling annoyed because he mirrored every bit of the pretense you put up in all the undesirable ways. But you see him now, twenty and free of the inferiority and limitations he places on himself, and you wonder if you also look older, wiser, happier because you are now the you you want to be.

You have always associated him with air because he is terrible and unpredictable, destructive and clear, focused and silent. But he is also comforting and calm, like an invisible force, who's consistently going and going, with unhindered sight. He is always persistently here and cannot be turned away, and before long, you find yourself not knowing what to do without it.

At the moment, you find the last bits of the riptides that pull you under the waters finally cease, and as you enjoy the scent of the salty ocean and hear the lull of the gentle waves, you think you can finally breathe freely and vivaciously.

Slowly, you take a hand to trace the outline of the miniature matching sun tattooed on his chest, where the soulmate mark is supposed to appear. You smile undoubtedly and wholeheartedly.

“Water.”

---

you’re what i need cause now i can breathe; you put the beat in my heart. somehow we fit together, and now we’re unbreakable. 

[plounce]

what if gay CATS........... were gay PERSONS

(info on this au under the cut)

theyre all shitty young adults just kind of. getting through their early 20s as best they can. or as much as they can. maybe things will get better someday, but right now they’re kind of spinning their wheels

magic exists but like eh it’s not a big thing don’t worry about it. it’s around but like whatever. not many people have it and it’s mostly just like. a curiosity or a party trick

demeter and bombularina are together, tugger and mistoffelees are together, bombularina and tugger occasionally fwb, it’s cool and aboveboard and it’s all fine

demeter:

bisexual with a preference for women. 24 years old

semi-psychic (not as powerful as tantomile or coricopat). tends to have vague and confusing prophetic dreams

dropped out of grad school for sociology due to trauma and ensuing intensified mental illness. kind of bitter about it, but tries to get through every day. general anxiety disorder even before all that

very nervous around most men she doesn’t know & trust

currently working at a barnes & noble starbucks, which sucks. she recently became the assistant manager, which turbo sucks because now she has more work for only like a buck raise, but at least she’s getting reliable shifts

her go-to therapy is cutting her hair with scissors. her hair is fried to all hell from regular bleaching

she’s learning how to crochet because she’s decided she needs to do something physically productively creative with her hands to distract herself from Stuff

bombalurina:

bisexual. 24 years old

got her bachelor’s in english two years ago and hasn’t found a job in her field and has kind of given up on it for now

she’s been bartending for like four years, does freelance editing work on the side. will occasionally write listicles for clickbait sites if she needs extra cash

literally any extra money she can save goes to tattoos. her right sleeve’s almost done

has natural red hair but dyes it cherry red

a hedonist to cope but is also just a natural hedonist. likes a good bath

i know that like the typical thing fandoms say about female characters is “doesn’t take shit” for the girlboss points but she truly does not take shit anymore. she used to take people’s shit sometimes but at this point in her life she’s tired and she has a girlfriend to be protective of. she has a couple people whose shit she will take (mostly just tugger) but besides them (and having to practice basic customer service to keep her job) she’s tired of other people’s shit! enough!

my personal take on bombalurina is a mix between the riot grrrls of the 90s and 80s punk girls, and then a dash of the greaser chicks from grease. i saw that spiked collar and my brain went OH okay i can run with this somewhere fun. same for demeter, but less so - she just has the piercings.

demelurina:

bombalurina met demeter in college at a women’s activism club, noticed her because of her dimple piercings and was like “oh someone else with a lot of metal in her face, i’ll sit next to her”

they were each other’s first off-campus roommates and were close friends. made out a couple times, but it was mostly a lot of sexual tension. there was a lot of bombalurina staring at demeter while she or demeter made out with someone else

demeter was on and off with her high school boyfriend munkustrap and bombalurina was like “oh he’s so much more stable/calm than me and she needs that, i party a bit too much for her, i shouldn’t try anything” so she just sort of. lets their almost-there peter off

(this is all bombalurina’s internal thoughts - demeter always was interested in her, but thought she was too boring for bombalurina. so neither of them thought they could pursue it)

bombalurina graduated and moved somewhere cheaper further away from campus. they kind of drift apart

munkustrap and demeter peter off and he moves away for a job (they’re still good friends, it was a very amicable breakup) and then demeter gets with macavity, which is a deeply toxic situation for her and sucks hugely and throws her whole life really off track. won’t go into further details

she finally manages to break up with him and calls bombalurina at like 2 am asking if she can pick her up, and also if she can sleep on her couch, it’s okay if that’s not okay, she just. really needs a place she feels safe, and her gut is telling her to. and of course bombalurina says yes

bombalurina also knew macavity and had also made out a couple times with him at like parties and stuff (see: staring at demeter as she makes out with people). something about transference of feelings - bombalurina was into him for a couple moments because he and demeter had a thing.

this is due to me interpreting the song “macavity” as actually about bombalurina wanting to fuck demeter and her singing as a half-repressed expression of that. i use my really good wlw brain to reach that conclusion. it’s kind of a non-competitive version of eve sedgwick’s take on the love triangle. (<-- normal thing to say)

but anyway demeter stays on bombalurina’s couch and she tries so hard to stay on track but eventually she just has to drop out. bombalurina helps her with that too. she’s just really supportive even as demeter’s life is at its lowest point. when she gets home from bartending she gets demeter to go to sleep

she just Stays with her and makes her smile and reminds her that her life isn’t over, there’s still things in her day to enjoy, to keep her trudging forward

bombalurina is roommates with tugger at this point - he also recently dropped out and demeter knows him because he’s munkustrap’s brother, so he’s Trusted and also is like “hey it’s okay that you dropped out, im here and im chilling and you like me and respect me at least a little, and you have a bachelor’s degree at least!” (more on him later)

demeter is like “oh god ive been crashing at their place for so long not paying rent, theyre gonna ask me to leave, im such a freeloader, they wont take my attempts at paying rent” but then bombalurina and tugger are like “hey! the lease is almost up! we found a pretty good 3 bedroom, do you wanna have your own room for real?” and she nearly cries because 1. the RELIEF 2. oh my god you want me around???

cut to bombalurina helping demeter put together an ikea dresser (tugger got banished to the kitchen to make crystal light lemonade for them because he’s useless with a screwdriver) and demeter has two epiphanies:

1. i thought i was ready to d*e four months ago and here i am making a dresser to put clothes into in my new apartment where i live and feel safe and loved. im still not happy but im still alive and im making a dresser

2. holy fuck im back in love with my best friend, and ten times more than i was back then.

so she like kind of freaks out because she’s already imposed so much on bombalurina, how could she impose her FEELINGS on her like this, oh no oh no oh no

meanwhile bombalurina’s back in love with her even MORE and she’s also like no... she’s already dealing with so much... i don’t want to make her uncomfortable or feel unsafe in her own home especially after her recent relationship trauma... i just want her to feel safe around me...

you might think tugger as their roommate would be like “JUST KISS” but he is in fact pretty oblivious because he is self-absorbed. mistoffelees on the other hand..

eventually they do have a big confession of feelings after demeter has a bad day and it’s very dramatic and they make out in the rain. and it’s like. well this is a movie scene. but also im cold and damp. let’s head inside our home and get warm and dry :)

and then they go inside and and talk through everything, all their feelings (not just their romantic feelings but like ALL their feelings) and their shared histories and bombalurina is like “do you think you’re... ready for a relationship right now? like that would be a good thing for you?”

and demeter considers it. she does stop and think. and then she says, “with anyone else... probably not. but it’s you. and i feel so safe around you, and we’re already so close. you make the future feel more worth it. you make more days alive feel not just tolerable, but something to look forward to. and knowing you’ve loved me all this time... it’s nice. it’s good. i’m - i’m understating it so much, it’s more than nice, it’s just - it’s a lot. i wish i had noticed back then.” “hey, hey, don’t blame yourself. i’m the one who never said anything.”

anyway. everything works out, and they start dating for real :)

tugger:

bisexual. 22 years old

dishwasher at the same bar bombalurina works at. she got him the job. he keeps bugging her to teach him bartending tricks and on slow nights she will agree to

he dropped out of their four year, but he managed to secure an associate’s in communications before he dipped

trying to be an ig influencer hotboy and hopefully get modeling jobs from that but his phone’s camera sucks shit so his account isn’t really going anywhere. but he continues to post his low resolution shirtless selfies

trying to cope with being the failure son who does not have a fancy nonprofit job with a salary and healthcare by being self-absorbed and self-aggrandizing

it works about 60% of the time and 60% of the times that it doesn’t he’s able to hide it

he dropped out right around when bombalurina graduated and he was like HEY! ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A ROOMMATE WHO DOESN’T CARE IF WE LIVE TEN MILES AWAY FROM CAMPUS? WELL HAVE I GOT A SOLUTION FOR YOU: ME!

to which bombalurina (who has fooled around with him here and there and thinks he is funny little man and genuinely goodhearted, and also he has rockin abs as a plus) says munkustrap already asked me if i need a roommate and if i do to consider you, because you don’t want to move back home. in other words: yes, you little idiot

they do fool around with each other but they are both very understanding that it is strictly platonic and for fun, especially once they become roommates. they both do not desire each other for anything serious

he did have a bit of a crush on each other when they met (hot punk older girl who’s friends with his brother) but 1. it dissipated pretty quick after they fooled around for the first time because it was not a very serious crush 2. she was in the middle of being in love with demeter so she was focused on that, emotionally

he got his ears pierced a couple times in high school but bombalurina inspired him to get a couple more. she went with him when he got his nose pierced

demeter has always understood that him and bombalurina are strictly fwb, has never been an issue.

she and him like to bleach their hair together when their hair schedules line up (he bleaches his way less often then she does), but she refuses to use his fancy conditioner that keeps his hair unfried because it’s expensive, even though he tells her to go ahead and use it, please, the health of her hair is giving HIM anxiety, demeter please. please demeter

mistoffelees:

gay. 20 years old

has magic. it’s pretty good magic but again: magic is not a big deal in this concept

a bit spooky. skulks around. a bit of a bitch but also very very nice. chooses when to speak

he has postings on craigslist and fiverr about finding lost objects and people with magic. like a gig economy private detective

side job is a waiter at a fancy restaurant

sometimes he gets paid VERY well from the private detecting, depending on the client. he does ask his psychic friends (tantomile & coricopat) to give a quick glance over on some of the more suspicious clients just to make sure he isn’t finding someone who should not be found by that person.

doesn’t go to college. is roommates with his sister victoria, who’s a freshman and studying dance. moved into town with her so she wouldn’t have to live in the dorms by having a guaranteed roommate.

tuggoffelees:

the general vibe i want for these two is mistoffelees walking around town or driving around in his shitty toyota camry while tugger tags along because he’s bored and thinks this is cool as shit

the general tone of the au is “magic isn’t a big deal” except for tugger, who thinks mistoffelees’ magic and his magic freelancing is the coolest shit ever. this is mostly because he just likes mistoffelees. “there are people who can do cooler shit than me, tug” “yeah but i don’t KNOW them also theyre not as COOL as you” “you had to explain to me how instagram reels work”

idk how they met i just think tugger shows up at his and bombalurina’s apartment one day (this is when demeter has moved in but they havent moved to the 3br yet) with this dude to dash in and pick something up and bombalurina is like “uh. who’s this” “oh this is mistoffelees he’s SO GOOD AT MAGIC” [mistoffelees nods hello] “okay bye bombalurina see you at work!!!” “uh. later”

after that he just shows up a lot. sort of ambiguous if theyre dating or what for a while before bombalurina straight up asks like “hey does the dude you’re dating know we fool around” “the dude im - what?” “... the little magic guy who keeps using our hot cocoa mix. misty.” “oh. uh. we aren’t dating.” “... do you want to? because you’re kind of all over him constantly” “um. well! haha, if i wanted to, i could! haha!” “yeah get back to me on that”

tugger trying to use his ig clout to get mistoffelees more work even though 1. he has no clout 2. mistoffelees has a very stable client base. but mistoffelees appreciates the effort. the self-promo guy promoing someone other than himself... the highest expression of love...

mistoffelees is A Nonthreatening Man plus he’s pretty obviously gay so demeter is chill around him pretty quickly. when mistoffelees is over they’ll sit on the couch where demeter sleeps and watch documentaries quietly while she crochets

they both occasionally say spooky shit at the same time because magic stuff. bombalurina and tugger are both torn between “that was cool as fuck” and “god that’s unnerving”

just a lot of tugger following mistoffelees around on his jobs and mistoffelees letting him because he’s fond of him and them occasionally getting into minor peril and interesting shenanigans, but it is 90% fetch quests

i think the first time they met tugger was taking selfies in front of a hydrangea in a public park and he saw mistoffelees walk up with a shovel and start digging in one of the flower beds and he thought he was hot so he went over and offered to take over on the shoveling to look strong and masculine and he ended up digging up a skull, which mistoffelees picked up and said “thanks” and then walked away

mildly terrifying but also very interesting and tugger’s days are kind of boring and dishwashing kind of sucks as a job to do like every night and he is a person who thrives on novelty so. moth to a porchlight

i think they do start making out for fun here and there and then a while later theyre out on one of mistoffelees’ jobs and someone asks “who’s the guy with you” and mistoffelees replies “oh that’s my boyfriend, don’t worry about him” and then it’s like. “HUH? I’M YOUR BOYFRIEND?” “uh. yeah? i assumed. is that okay?” “i mean yeah of course i think you’re great! how long have we–” “oh like a while.” “oh. uh. cool!!”

they just hang out a lot. mistoffelees enjoys teasing him and enjoys his warmth and bombasticity and tugger likes watching and helping him solve little mysteries around the county because it’s always something new. they’re kind of a comedy duo. they just enjoy spending their time together and following mistoffelee’s internal magic gps to find lost dogs and lost necklaces

yeah right now this au is just vibes and just sort of. continuing forward with your days and your weeks and your months. just young adults hanging out

[rosaliepostsstuff]

Little steps (George Weasley x reader) | pt 3 - Awe

Pairing: George Weasley x reader, (hinted) OC x reader

Part 1 • Part 2

Word count: 3254

Summary: Y/N and George deal with everyone around them with a week left to the ball, and then the big moment comes

warnings:  probably cursing, but nothing worse

a/n: it’s long but I’m not sorry this time. Next part will most likely be huge too, because I don’t really feel like dividing it up more, but maybe I’ll have to?..

George closed the door to his dorm room behind him and paused for a second, leaning back on it. “How’s the schoolboy doing? Library air working wonders?” His brother looked up at him before going back to the ‘Which broomstick?’ issue Lee and him were huddled over. His reflex was to get back at Fred for that lazy jab, but he didn’t, too dazed to care. He came over to his bed and plopped down onto it.

“I asked Y/N to the ball.” Both his roommates snickered and looked up at him. When he didn’t continue, they looked at each, then back at George. “You did?” Asked Fred, to which George answered with a confirming  “mhmm”.

Now they were both laughing. “How loud did she laugh at you, mate?” said Lee between wheezes. “On a scale of Pince’s shushes” added Fred, trying to fake seriousness. George smirked looking at the roof of his four-poster “She agreed” he said trying not to be smug, the idea still odd to him.

“Sure she did. If you snatched Y/L/N as a date, then I’m running for Minister when we graduate.”

The same night, you were all showered, in your PJs. You were standing in your little section of the dorm room, slowly brushing your long, h/c hair, getting ready for bed. Hermione already tucked in with her book, the rest of your roommates still out and about, so you were just with your friend, in that comfortable silence.

“I have a date to the ball” you broke it. “Hmm?” Hermione got detached from her evening read. “Oh, yeah. So he finally got around to asking you?” You broke your gaze from your reflection to look at her. “Actually, it’s not Matt.” Hermione raised her brows and closed her book after marking her page, but did not interrupt. “George asked me.” You pressed your lips tight. “George?..” You nod. She sits up “Our George?” Nod. “George Weasley..?!” “Well what’s wrong with that?” You stop brushing your hair, voice tone still soft, but you got slightly defensive when it was so hard to believe. “No, no.. not wrong” she assured quickly. She was now fully sat up, pushed her covers off and swung her legs over the bed. “I – I guess I just.. didn’t realize the two of you talked? … Like that, I mean. You know, besides when we all hang out or we’re at the Burrow.” She was now examining the rug at her feet. You bit your lip and shrug, looking her in the eye.

As the end of term was getting closer, the time only seemed to speed up. You managed to finish the assignments you planned to do that time and tried to stay on top of the ones still coming up.

Week after your encounter with George were limited to the polite ’hi’ and small smiles across the table or the common room, when you caught each other’s eye, before looking away.

Matthew got around to asking you to the ball when you visited Hufflepuffs’ common room last the previous weekend. He wouldn’t bring that topic anymore.

You were sat on the couch, Matt’s long arm rested on the back of the couch behind you. Your friends were doing some kind of roast contest after a few butterbeers. You were laughing under your breath at them, your own bottle in hand. You felt his hand trace circles on your exposed upper arm – the fireplace in front of you and the faint amount of alcohol consumed enough to keep you warm. You looked up at him to see that his piercing eyes were studying your face. “Everyone in this castle seems to be talking about the ball” he said. “all the girls are freaking out.” accompanied by his iconic eye-roll, which earned your chuckle  “..are you excited, Y/N/N?” “For the ball? Of course.” you said, looking down at your lap. You started fiddling with the bottle in your hand, already knowing what’s about to come. “Will you be my date?” he said delicately poking your side with his free hand, his bottom lip caught between his lips in anticipation.

There was a week left till the end of the term. You were sat at the table with Hermione, who was pouring over her potions notes, Harry, reading Flying with the Cannons for the millionth time according to you, and Ron, who was  building a card castle out of his Exploding Snap cards, a novel in front of you. You were half listening to them bicker about schoolwork and Harrys lack of preparation before the second task of the tournament.

“Leave him alone, Hermione, he’s earned a bit of a break,” said Ron, and he placed the last two cards on top of the castle and the whole lot blew up, singeing his eyebrows. “Nice look, Ron… go well with your dress robes, that will.” It was Fred and George. They sat down at the table with you. “Ron, can we borrow Pigwidgeon?” George asked. “No, he’s off delivering a letter,” said Ron. “Why?” “Because George wants to invite him to the ball,” said Fred sarcastically. You kept your gaze fixed on the book and tried to hide how you twitched at that sentence, with the words ‘George’, ‘invite’ and ‘ball’ in it. “Because we want to send a letter, you stupid great prat,” said George. “Who d’you two keep writing to, eh?” said Ron. “Nose out, Ron, or I’ll burn that for you too,” said Fred, waving his wand threateningly. “So… you lot got dates for the ball yet?” he asked missing how you lifted your eyes from the book in front of you to George’s face for just two seconds, biting your bottom lip; his twin’s half-smile “Nope,” said Ron. “Well, you’d better hurry up, mate, or all the good ones will be gone,” said Fred. “Who’re you going with, then?” said Ron. “Angelina,” said Fred promptly, without a trace of embarrassment. “What?” said Ron, taken aback. “You’ve already asked her?” “Good point,” said Fred. He turned his head and called across the common room, “Oi! Angelina!” Angelina, who had been chatting with Alicia Spinnet near the fire, looked over at him. “What?” she called back. “Want to come to the ball with me?” Angelina gave Fred an appraising sort of look. “All right, then,” she said, and she turned back to Alicia and carried on chatting with a bit of a grin on her face. “There you go,” said Fred to Harry and Ron, “piece of cake.” “Well, I don’t suppose, Y/N..?” asked Ron quietly. You snorted without looking up. “Yeah, that’s what I thought…” Fred got to his feet, yawning, and said, “We’d better use a school owl then, George, come on…” They left. Ron stopped feeling his eyebrows and looked across the smoldering wreck of his card castle at Harry. “We should get a move on, you know… ask someone. He’s right. We don’t want to end up with a pair of trolls.” You looked up from your book now, and Hermione let out a sputter of indignation. “A pair of…  what, excuse me?” “Well — you know,” said Ron, shrugging. “I’d rather go alone than with — with Eloise Midgen, say.” “Her acne’s loads better lately — and she’s really nice!” “Her nose is off-center,” said Ron. “Oh I see,” Hermione said, bristling. “So basically, you’re going to take the best-looking girl who’ll have you, even if she’s completely horrible?” “Er — yeah, that sounds about right,” said Ron. “I’m going to bed,” Hermione snapped “you coming, Y/N?” You didn’t feel like going back to your book anyway, so you nodded and together you took off towards the girls’ dorm without another word.

As both Harry and Ron got rejected by the first girls they asked and the topic of Hermione’s mystery date came round you kept quiet, not because you didn’t know, but you wanted to see the look on their faces when they saw him next to her.

  One day during that last week, when afternoon lessons were over with, you decided to finish the chapter you weren’t able to the other evening. So there you were, lying on the couch, in the mostly quiet common room, as you heard multiple voices and laughs coming down the stairs to boys��� dorms. “I’ll believe it when I see it” said Lee, walking into the common room with Fred, George, Seamus and Dean. “Oi! Y/L/N! “ Seamus called over “Yes?..” you said without looking up “That true you’re going to the ball with Weasley?” You sat up, finally looking at the boys over the backrest “You dimwits got nothing better to do? Like last minute homework before the break?” “No” he said quickly, the boys still grinning, looking between each other. George was behind them, arms crossed at his chest, leaning back on one of the tables. “Well there’s lots of them, you’re gonna have to be more specific, dear” George looked at you, tilting his head to the side “Yeah, I am” “Seriously?! What’s he got, that I don’t?” asked Dean, pretending to be hurt “See - if you have to ask, you’ve got your answer, love.”

   December 25th, 1994

You stood in front of your great mirror, examining your appearance carefully. You were mentally checking all the steps of your preparations – make-up done, your hair done in a loose low-bun, delicate jewellery complimenting the dress you had on. Oh, that dress. Its colour worked with your hair and eyes beautifully, golden accents making sure you stood out, but not too overbearing. Your shoulders were exposed and the length of the dress was comfortable, so there were no accidental dance-related exposures, but short enough to accentuate your legs. Your feet were adorned with surprisingly comfortable heels, and you used just the right amount of perfume.

You kept wondering if there was something you could’ve forgotten. In that moment, when million thoughts a minute flooded your mind, you wondered if George had asked you, like many others, because you were popular and pretty. Then, you got worried if he even thought you were pretty at all. Glancing at the clock you concluded, you just did everything you could to live up to your reputation.

The entrance hall was already bustling with chatter, students talking to their friends and dates or still waiting for them.

George was standing with Fred and Lee, half-listening to their bickering. His hands slightly sweating in his pockets, he was subtly looking over everybody’s heads to try and find you, then glanced through the entrance to the Great Hall, checking for the third time already if you were perhaps waiting for him there.

His attention brought back to his friends after Lee mumbled a string of rather rude words. “Should I shake your hand or something, mate? Cause damn…” Said Lee directly to him. What was he talking about? Then George saw his twin stare at something behind him with his mouth slightly open. “You might wanna turn around, Georgie.”

Before that night, saying what he thought of you would’ve been difficult. He met for the first time when you were still just a kid. A friend of his brother, a fellow Gryffindor, who after your first year everybody was sure had a knack for heroics. He enjoyed his interactions with you, you weren’t quite like anyone else. Not always saying a whole lot, but when you did, it was on point and your comment only got more bold over the years. You were also popular in the school, especially after puberty hit, and you seemed to interact with people from all the houses. He couldn’t deny it, you were naturally beautiful. That used to be just a fact, irrelevant to his life.

At this very moment in time, as you were slowly making your way down the steps to the Entrance Hall, he couldn’t fathom why you would want to be his date.

Your eyes found him quickly, his tall figure standing out amongst the crowd. Your excitement and unfamiliar nervousness showing in a smile that could light up the darkest of times.

Your heart was hammering in your chest and you were begging the universe not to let you trip on those stairs, when you really couldn’t watch where you were going, your eyes glued to ones across the room. Damn, he looked good in those dress robes.

“Hi.” you said, still grinning, once you walked up close to him. “Hey..” he smiled at you, still feeling as if he was in some kind of limbo. “You look beautiful” he said sincerely, without much thought “Thank you” you almost whispered, looking down at your shoes and blushing a bit. You weren’t really good at taking sincere compliments. “You look real smart” you looked up at him. He was grinning and playfully ran a hand through his hair.

You were saved from trying to fill the silence, as it seemed that the champions had started to gather for their opening dance. “We should go inside.” you gestured towards the great hall with your head. He offered you his arm to take, which you did. As you made your way inside and stepped aside with everyone else, you didn’t let go, but tried to place that feeling. The feeling of being next to George.

As the two of you were dancing, that electric feeling didn’t leave you and you were enjoying George’s company and the comfort it brought you more than you even anticipated. An he was surprised with himself, how the tiniest of your reactions to his jokes, laughs or the most irrelevant comments encouraged him to just let go and be himself.

“I mean,  by now you should really just tattoo ‘Death threats welcome’ on your forehead.” he tapped his finger on your forehead “Haa-haa.. you’re the one who had a one-way snowball fight with You-Know-Who.” you replied, to which he scrunched up his eyebrows and looked at you in confusion.

The two of you were having a break from dancing, sat side to side at your table, butterbeer in front of you.

“Three years ago, we were all staying at Hogwarts for Christmas. You and Fred bewitched some snowballs to hit Quirrell on the back of his head, remember?” He nodded, smiling at the memory, but didn’t quite get where you were going just yet. “Well Qu-qu-quirrell turned out to be his number one fan, sharing a head with him, didn’t he?” George raised his eyebrows and you both laughed, leaning on each other as the realization dawned on him. “We’re on the hit-list too, then.”

You talked some more, of the events from the past you never shared your thoughts on, family, people from the school. Then you saw him, across the hall, looking at you.

“Do you mind if I go and catch up with some friends for a bit? I promise to come back.” “Yeah, sure.. of course.” George tried to sound casual. He joined some of his friends in a conversation and mentally scolded himself for feeling possessive of you when some tall Hufflepuff bloke kept smiling, standing so close to you. Or when he took you to dance.

 When you walked up to your best friends later, it didn’t go at all as intended. Before the ball you were anticipating Ron’s reaction to Hermione going with Victor Krum, just wanting to get back at him for being nasty. You didn’t expect him to be even nastier after finding out, as you were currently listening to their fight. Truth be told, Ron’s dumb accusations made you speechless at first, but it was getting out of hand. “Obvious, isn’t it? He’s Karkaroff’s student, isn’t he? He knows who you hang around with… He’s just trying to get closer to Harry — get inside information on him — or get near enough to jinx him —” “Would you listen to yourself?! Or have you gone bonkers sitting at the table, green with jealousy the whole night?!” you stepped in “Oh, what would you know about that? I’m surprised you noticed what I did tonight as you were having so much fun with my brother. What’s up with that, huh?! Were you planning on telling me about it?” “Okay, that does it!” Hermione grabbed your hand and pulled your speechless form out of their sight.

 When you eventually got back to him, George sensed something was off, but he didn’t feel in place to ask about it. He did the best he could in this situation – take your mind off of it. You were dancing, both your hands in his, and he did everything so over-the-top. Spinning you, then pulling you close to him. After a while, you were a giggling mess, enjoying the sound of his laughter, worries forgotten.

“All right Hogwarts, just a couple numbers left until this night is over, so make the most of it.” said the vocalist of the Weird Sisters, before a slow song came on.

You both froze, testing each other’s reaction, hands still together, though the grip a bit looser.

“Do you.. want to..?” he trailed of his question. “I mean, the ball is almost over, it would be a shame to just sit it out..” was the best answer you could gather up courage for. With that you let go of his hands to place hands delicately on his chest. You were looking at your feet, feeling as if looking up at his would be too intimate. His own hands went carefully to your waist, both of you testing the waters.

And you swayed like that, content with what you had, close to each other, but neither pulling the other in completely.

Being close felt like the forbidden fruit you took a single bite out of, but taking another one would be pushing your luck.

And then the music stopped. You joined in as the crowd clapped the band one last time, listened in silence as Dumbledore thanked everyone and bid you goodnight.

“Let’s let the crowd pass a bit, yeah?” you asked, and he squeezed your hand lightly and nodded.

You were walking back to the common room in silence. Almost comfortable silence. It was just such a shame the night was over, when it could go on forever.

“I had fun tonight, so I guess, thanks for that? I mean, I expected no less” you bumped his side with the little energy you had. “At your service, m’lady” he bowed his head with a charming smile “I had fun too”

Silence.

Before you knew it, you were in front of the Fat Lady. George told her the password and the both of you came through. You only stopped next to the stairs to the girls’ dorms.

“I really had a good time” you were stalling. “Me too”

You let go of his hand to face him properly, standing on the first step to be a little taller, to which he chuckled. Now, closer to his eye level, looking at him was truly intoxicating.

Tonight changed how you saw George. It showed you just how much you liked him as a human being and how well you got along. When you looked at each other, relaxed smile on his face, you looked at his lips and wanted to kiss them so bad.

But you had forbid yourself to jump head first.

You kissed him on the cheek. “Goodnight, Georgie.” you said softly, pulling away. “Night, Y/N..”

You walked up the stairs, leaving him dazed at the bottom.

Part 4

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Queen of Masks ~ Alfie Solomons

Life as a woman, in any country really, isn’t the best, unless you score a jackpot with the most gentle, sweetest man and you become his housewife and agree to be some kind of baby factory and a maid, should he not have enough to provide for one, and a chef, nonetheless.

However, there are enough ambitious women who have enough spite in their veins to trample over anyone standing in their path of success, and would spit on graves and crush cadavers under their heeled boots that they wear with much pride and conviction.

That is exactly the case of Y/N, a gorgeous woman who won against all odds and became a Veterinary Physician in London, Camden, to be precise, and had to work under an older man who had a clinic - But it was fine, she got to learn loads, and interacting with animals on a daily basis was enough to keep her going and not to answer to any provocation from her male colleague who was far inferior to her, intellectually and intuitively speaking.

And one day, after tending to a gorgeous black race stallion, a tall and broad man walked in with a Bullmastiff boy who, upon seeing her, managed to snatch away his chain leash and jumped on her, trampling her to the ground and licking her all over her face.

The man jumped in shock, trying to pry away his pet from the poor woman, only to notice she was laughing and that he face was bright like the sun, as she tried to wipe away all the slobber from her face.

“I’m so sorry, aye, he’s never done somethin’ like this before. Here, let me help you up, right.” the man extended his hand for her to take, helping raise her up, then reprimanded his dog. “Don’t worry, mister, it’s quite alright. I kinda like when animals act so affectionate, it makes it feel as if I’m doing something right. What’s your name, darling? Let’s get you up on the table...Arghh...What a heavy baby...You’re gonna break every bone in my body...” the woman sweet talked the dog, struggling to hold him in her arms like a baby so she could put in on the table to examine. “He’s name’s Cyril, I got him last year. ‘S just a routine check up, but I think there’s a bump on his neck, yeah, right here.” the man explained, letting the girl palpate his dog and continuing to sweet talk him to calm him down. “Thyroid Carcinoma.” the male doctor spoke, which made the girl whip her head to him with a disturbed look. “Thyroid Cancer? Surely, you must be joking. Have you even been to Vet school?!” Y/N protested, shaking her head in protest at his sudden diagnosis. “What else could a bump in the thyroid area mean? Don’t play smart, just be humble and accept when you’re wrong.” the man rolled his eyes, not lifting his head from his papers. “First of all, even if it IS a tumour, it doesn’t HAVE to be cancer, it can still be completely harmless, thus, benign. Secondly, out of all tumours a dog can have, thyroid cancer is the least common one, the percentage going to maximum 2%. Therefore, NOT cancer! Besides, it could be hyperthyroidism, if you want to go over the top, but again, it could just be something the owner felt because something got stuck in his neck and-....Oh.” the girl then carefully touched the neck area, and smiled widely, looking down, nodding to herself. “What? You shut up ‘cause you finally realised I was right, despite your useless statistics?” the doctor grumbled in annoyance, not caring, obviously. “Wanna bet 100 pounds that it’s not cancer?” she asked, kissing Cyril’s head and playing with his floppy ears, action which made the dog bark playfully. “Ah, sorry, mister, I didn’t ask for your name and whether you find it insensitive or not for us to bet on a diagnosis.” she smiled awkwardly, extending her hand towards the bearded man who was watching the interaction carefully. “Alfie Solomons, lass, but call me just Alfie, right? So, yeah, ‘s fine, bet all you want, just make my boy better, eh?” Alfie shook the girl’s hand, seeing her cunningly going to the other doctor and spitting in her hand to shake and make the bet go through.  “Okay, Alfie, you might want to step to the side a bit...If you value your shoes, that it. They look pretty new.” she chuckled softly, signing him with her head to move to the side, and so he did, as she made the dog vomit, and thus, revealing a small ball. “Oi, I can’t believe it! You stupid dog, Cyril, aye, how could you manage to swallow your own toy, yeah?!” Alfie gasped, his brows furrowing from shock. “Weirdly enough, dogs, especially big ones, are prone to swallowing little things, just like human babies are. It was small enough to just make him cough, but it’s a good thing you got him here in time.” the girl started quickly cleaning up the floor as she explained everything, as the Jew was still staring in shock at the idiocy of some animals. “Well, lass, thank you for solving the mystery, yeah, of whatever the hell this was, right. So, then, tell me how much I have to pay you for this consult, aye.” Alfie asked, which made her snap her head upwards, looking up at him, her eyes wide in shock. “No, God, no, nothing, it’s on me! I mean, if it weren’t for you...” Y/N smirked, reminding Alfie of a vixen, as she twirled around and went to snatch away the hundred pounds banknotes from her employer’s hand, who was looking at her with anger and bitterness. “I wouldn’t have been paid more than I’m paid in 3 months in just one day! It’s the least I can do to thank you...And to also see Cyril again, because I think it’s a connection. Right, Cyril? You’re such a sweet baby boy-....ARGH, GODS, NO-...!” but before the girl could compose herself, Cyril jumped on her torso, knocking her down again, coating her face in yet another sleek coat of drool from the lickings. “Damn it, Cyril, you’re impossible! Let the poor lass live, eh? I know, I know, she’s pretty, but leave her alone, alright?” after he finally managed to pry away the canine, he helped the girl up, who, once again, was laughing. “Let me make it up to you, yeah, for all the trouble this prankster’s been giving you, right. I’ve this bakery, y’know, the one nearby, so, anything you want, yeah, anything, you ask for it, you say my name, right, you say Alfie owes you a favour, and it’s all on the house, eh. How’s that.” he spoke, and he could see that her overly confident and extra demeanour shattered in an instant, making her look down, her beautiful, long hair hiding her features, as she was most likely blushing and smiling. “O-Oh, then, if that’s your bakery, means I’ve heard of you, you’re THE Alfie Solomons. Yeah, I’d love that, if you’d have me, but I told you, you don’t have to. I used you to get money worth of about 3 months, or more, so really, I should be thanking you somehow, but I don’t really have anything else to offer, other than to pay for the consult myself.” her serious, boastful voice turned very soft and shy, as fast as the flick of her fingers, as she walked him out of the clinic, so only he would hear. “Your boss there...He seemed kinda...Angry, eh. Are you gonna be fine dealing with him, lass?” he asked, bending down a bit, speaking to her tone level. “I guess. What’s the worst he can do, anyway. Besides, I care more about this conversation right now, and...About this.” she smirked softly, showing off the rolled pounds from her coat’s chest pocket. “So, Mr. Gangster, is there any specific time you’d be okay with me coming by the bakery? Maybe...Under the pretext of yet another regular check up on Cyril? Or...The smell of freshly baked cookies just captured me enough to find myself senselessly walking into the place?” she asked, diving her hands into her pockets, waiting for an answer, too timid to look him in the eye. “Ahhh, I see you’ve heard of me. Well, lass, I guess I can’t pretend to be some ordinary man, right, but maybe we can still enjoy a nice chat once in a while, eh, it would be nice, right?” the corner of Alfie’s mouth turned upwards, extending his hand for her to shake. “Y/N L/N, it’s great meeting you, Alfie. And yeah, it would be great. I’ll be seeing you around, alright? Hope I’ll see you soon and maybe we can have a nice cup of tea and anything that you’ve baked. I’m looking forward to that.” she shook his hand, smiling brightly at him, gesture which he turned. “And I’ll be seeing you as well, sweetheart.” with that, she kissed Cyril’s head once again, before waving Alfie goodbye and walking back into the clinic. “And I’ll be seeing you too...Y/N.” the gangster muttered, grinning at his dog and praising him with a few pats on his head. “Cyril, my boy, you’re my lucky charm.”

A week passed, and Y/N walked into the bakery - However, it wasn’t the front up, the bakery shop that smelled heavenly - It meant the gangster warehouse where Alfie would usually conduct his business meetings. And, of course, it was shocking to him when heard the click of heels and saw a beautiful, slender woman, dressed in high-waisted pants, with a black turtleneck tucked in her pants, beautiful brown leather boots with heels and a black trench coat that elegantly, yet imposingly hung from her shoulders, as if she was some kind of mafia Queen - Elegant, but deadly.

“Hello, Alfie. I heard you have a job around this place. Not sure what it is...Medic? Secretary? Dog-walker? Maybe you could fill me in.” she asked, her hands in her pants, fidgeting in her spot. “Where’ve you heard about this...Supposed job, eh, lass? And why’d you quit your job from the clinic, eh?” he asked, his fingers intertwining as he leaned forward, elbows rested on his desk. “Ah, well...Y’know...I got my medical license pulled, so I need a way to make money, and you’re the only one that I trusted not to treat me like garbage, so here I am. I know there’s no job, but I had to try my luck and be comedic in a way. It’s probably about the only thing I’m good at, sort of. It’s fine if you don’t want to give me a job, I mean, you can’t trust me with your business info after just speaking to me once, I can imagine, and - “ she kept on ranting, until Alfie raised both his hands in the air to calm her down and stop her speaking, before he raised to his feet, getting in front of the desk and leaning back on it. “Well, I did owe you a favour, right, so, sure, you’re hired, right, I’ll find you something. While we’re at it, can you, yeah, can you fire a gun?” he asked, with a mix of seriousness and playfulness in his voice. “Is it...In the job requirements?” she asked, looking around the place with a fake kind of curiosity. “There’s no job seeking, yeah, so, therefore, no job requirements. I was just being curious, alright, y’know, I have to know what everyone around is capable of, okay.” he explained, which made her smirk and turn on her heel to look at him. “That’s only fair. After all, now that you know that I’m particularly incapable of defending myself against people in general, you’ll just have to be extra careful to keep me safe, right, Alfie? We wouldn’t want Cyril to grieve over me, would we?” she chuckled, extending her arms to her side in a dramatic manner. “Haha, yes, lass, I s’ppose you’re right. Can you handle more than one job, eh? I can hire you as a physician, right, but we don’t always have wounded men, yeah, so, you’re a smart woman, alright, I’m sure you are very capable of reading, writing, doing calculus and other stuff that involves using your head, right, so, I don’t know what name will this job have, but, maybe an assistant of sort, eh? Ollie here helps me out a lot, yeah, but he can’t do everything, he ain’t some God, y’know.” Alfie gesticulated, pointing towards Ollie, then tried to explain to her that things are serious, and not to be taken lightly. “Guess this is gonna be the thrill of my life, huh? I’m in, Alfie. At least I can get along with you without fearing having my license pulled-...Oh, wait, I have nothing to fear about anymore.” she chuckled in a self-deprecating way, making Alfie cross his arms to his chest. “You never told me what happened. Go on, tell me. I’m sure you didn’t kill a dog, or somethin’, you’re too smart a doctor to fuck up.” his curiosity got the better of him, as he saw her turning to look at him, her eyes wide, her mouth slightly agape, and he could almost see her brain gears moving, trying to think of a witty answer. “Didn’t you say something about freshly baked goodies and tea? I bet that’s gonna be a much more...Hospitable way of chatting with your new employee, wouldn’t it? Or better said, friendlier? I mean, this place is so...Ugly and humid...Only good for gangster business. The echo here, if you shout, can intimidate anyone, I’m sure. Come on, show me the actual bakery...And you better have a gramophone. I like music.” she smiled up at him, hooking her arm to his, pulling him in a random direction to urge him to guide her to the bakery, where the beautiful smell of bread and cookies mesmerised her, and she playfully swooned in her chair. “I see you’re enjoying this place very much, eh. Well, can’t say I expected you coming today, so I didn’t bake them myself, yeah, but I’ll make it up to you. Sure you want tea and not rum or somethin’?” Alfie asked, a bit awkward staying at the cute little table, with a cute, little cup of tea in his bear-like hands. “Yes, I’m quite sure, Alfie. But it’s fine, you don’t have to drink what I’m drinking, I won’t think of you any differently. In your home, you do as you please.” she chuckled at him, watching as he nodded solemnly, only to down that tea in one go, small droplets of liquid embedding themselves in his beard. “Right, right, I understand, y’er a people pleaser, you want everyone to like you, unless it goes against whatever scheme you have. You’re smart, alright. Very smart, and you’ve sharp eyes, and are cunning. I need someone like you around, yeah. But tell me, how’d you manage to lose your dream job in a week?” Alfie asked, extending his hand to gently grab her chin, pulling it so he could peer right into her gorgeous, vixen-like eyes. “Remember the bet I did when you came around with Cyril? Well, apparently that jerk got mad at me for, to quote, steal his money, so he filed a malpractice lawsuit to get his money back, 5 times more, and pulled away my license, to get revenge on me for humiliating him in front of a customer...Allegedly. Very petty, I know, but, as they say...C’est la vie. Not much to do about it, really. Now I’m seen as a con-artist thief who kills animals, so I have no way of getting a job anywhere anymore, hence why I’m here. Lovely, innit?” she snorted as she took a bit of the cookie, closing her eyes to savour it’s flavour. “And now, I think I died and went to heaven, ‘cause this is the best thing I’ve eaten in my life.” “You’re so hired, lass. Did ya pay the 500 pounds?” he asked, propping his jaw on his hand. “Yeah, thankfully. And by that, I mean I to sell my apartment so now I’m using my saving to stay at a cheap hotel, but, y’know, life’s life. At least I know I won and I was right. Maybe if I had the right connections, I could have won 10 times what I lost...But what do I know. I don’t really know how non-legal things go by.” she chuckled softly, scratching the back of her head in a playfully guilty manner. “Y’know, Y/N...I think we can solve that fairly quick, yeah. Tell me the name, and I’ll make sure things are sold. In the meantime, I’ve a nice, warm room where you can stay, right, and surely, Cyril’s gonna love your company.” Alfie smiled at her, signaling for her to follow him.

At that time, she had no idea this was actually his home, but when she did find out, she was more than grateful, if not, a bit awkward, for  having to rely so much on his kindness. However, just as he promised, Alfie managed to get that jerk of a doctor to pay her 10 times the money she paid him, and thus, she would have been able to get a very modern and luxurious place, only for herself, and even buy a dog, a cat, or hell, more of them.

But she refused, and asked to continue staying with him, if she wasn’t too much of a burden, since she really enjoyed spending time with him, and she had no idea, other than working 200% of her capabilities for her job, whatever that was, at the moment, and, of course, she would have missed Cyril too much.

It didn’t take long for Alfie’s people to realise the obvious chemistry between the two, and Ollie kept trying to convince him to ask her out, but things are always so difficult, aren’t they? Business and logics are much easier than subjective emotions.

It became sort of a routine for everyone around to see their boss writing and reading documents at his desk, while Y/N would sit on the desk, her legs resting on his chair’s back rest, as she would write on her clipboard whatever relevant things she thought were worth noting down, and would occasionally express her opinions regarding ideas that Alfie had, or some businesses that he was dealing with at the moment - All that, with, of course, the frequent witty comments they would exchange - And it was never anything hurtful, or reproachful jabs, only playful and domestic comments that always made her laugh.

“You never told me why you always look down when you interact with people, y’know, and by that, I don’t mean when you’re being some dramatic Queen, but when you’re being yourself. I mean, I haven’t seen women who let their hair so long these days, right, so I was curious about you. You do things much differently than most people, y’know that, don’t you?” Alfie asked, raising his head to look up at her, only to see, once again, trying to think of how to explain things that don’t rely on rational and objective behaviours. “Ah...Well...Uh...Y’know...I’m...My face is very expressive, y’know. So, like...I get embarrassed easily, or...Uhm...When I lie, or something, I tend to grin or laugh. I’m a messy failure who can’t do a pokerface, like, ever, so, since most people are taller than me, if I let my hair cover my face, they won’t see the truth. Or, well, y’know, at least that’s what I hope. I can’t look at them while hiding, so I’ve no way of telling whether it works or not. Contrary to me being flashy and dramatic, I’m kinda shy and terrible around people.” she chuckled awkwardly, looking away from him, bringing up her clipboard to cover half of her face. “Ahhh, I see, I see, so you go to real great lengths, yeah, to get what you want, and so far, you’ve done really well, eh. Is there anything you can’t do, lass? You’ve been doing this job for over a year, and business has improved with...Uh...Lemme see, how much did you say...Ah, yes, here, it says 23%.” he had his glasses on as his eyes scanned the documents on his desk. “I...Can’t socialise, I guess. And I can’t relax. I don’t know how to have fun. Uhm...I can’t human, I guess? I don’t know what to call it, but I think you get what I’m saying. Anyway, we have business work now, so read this paragraph here, I think we have to talk threaten Sabini a bit, he’s over his head now with power, someone has to humble him, give us a better percentage of his business, and -” Y/N tried to quickly redirect the conversation, hating when she had to talk about herself, but obviously, she couldn’t say no to the man who was always so kind and sweet with her, could she? “Nahhh, it’s fine, Y/N, let’s take a little break, right? We’ve been working since early morning, it’s evening now. Ollie, go make tea and bring those treats made today, eh. Now, lass, why don’t you tell me how did you get around to practicing medicine? I’ve always been curious by that, you know, you don’t see many women unafraid of stuff like that, yeah.” he pointed out, letting himself fall down on his chair’s seat, looking up at her. “Y’know, Y/N, you say you can hide your emotions when you hide your face from people taller than you, yeah? But what happens when they look at you from below? Gotta say, Y/N, sometimes, your worried face is rather pretty...Better now, let me look at you when you speak, yeah, we’re equals, when you go all meek on me, you make me feel like some kind o’ merciless boss or somethin’.” he chuckled, raising a bit to put her hair behind her ears, revealing a soft blush coating her cheeks, and god damn, he could feel his heart beating a bit faster. “Uhm...Okay, fine, sure, I owe you that much. Uhm...My dad was a medic too, so it became a family business for a while. And, uhm...Dad was recruited as a war medic, and went with my brother, while I and mum continued to take care of the people and animals from our city. When it was all over, I decided to get to London to practice properly, get more money and provide for my family better. They’re getting old and they need someone to take care of them, somehow.” she explained, but her eyes were darting around, and he could feel she was still hiding something because of her hesitance, but he wasn’t sure what exactly was it that she was trying to hide.

But before either of them could say anything about it anymore, a loud bang echoed through the warehouse, somewhere from the entrance, which made the girl jump in her place with a mouse-like squeak, slapping her hands over her ears.

It’s true, any person would get frightened by a gunshot that resounded so loudly through that place - And yet, this one looked like a panicked, scared fawn in the headlights - And Alfie, of course, noticed that and came to a few conclusions for himself.

However, before he could say anything, a man entered their field of vision, and he could feel Y/N tensing up, her face showing shock and disgust at the person who she clearly recognise. She turned her head to look at Alfie, and with pleading eyes, mouthing a few simple words that may or may not have shocked him.

“Let me kill him” she tried to say, but this mystery man spoke out faster than expected, and it was clear she was getting more and more angry and embarrassed by the moment. “Y/N, darling, what are you doing here? Whoring around with other men, getting into illicit business, thinking you’re superior to men just because you have some over the top ambitions that are completely unreachable, and now you think you can get rich by staying around wealthy old men, huh?” the man kept speaking, igniting an infernal fire into her eyes. “Alfie, I pride myself with my never ending patience, but I swear to God, if you don’t let me kill him...I don’t know what I’m gonna do.” Y/N muttered between her gritted teeth, shocking Alfie since he never saw her as the violent type. “I’m not doing any business with him, alright, do what you feel like doing, Y/N, he’s all yours.” Alfie sat back in his chair, his fingers intertwined over his stomach, watching with interest whatever she was going to do.

Y/N jumped off the desk and slowly prowled around it, her head hanging low, before she snapped it up, glaring lightnings at the man.

“Fuck off. Now. Or you’re dead. Do you understand this simple language, or do I need to put it in words that even a monkey would understand?” she crossed her arms, spitting poison at him. “What, can’t I be angry at my own girlfriend for being a bitch and leaving me alone? I mean, you really fucked up, y’know? You left me when I needed you the most, how tragic is that?!” he yelled at her, but she only rolled her eyes, scoffing. “Yeah, I left you ‘cause you were abusing me. The way I see it, you’re the one who sucks, not me. Now get the hell out of here. Before I do something you will regret.” her voice went an octave lower, threatening him the same way she learnt from Alfie over the time of business making. “Woaw, Y/N, woaw, that’s pathetic, even for you. You’ve never been able to even raise your voice at anyone. You were nothing more than a crybaby who couldn’t step up to anyone, and then you went to war, and what, you think you changed? You didn’t! Underneath this dumb, tough facade that you’re trying to pull in front of everyone else, you’re nothing more than the frightened little girl who needed to have everything in control and grasp a bit of power to feel superior to others after you got beaten up and had a gun pointed at your head by the Germa-” but he couldn’t continue speaking for, in the blink of an eye, she pulled out a gun for her trench coat and shot him in the head, his blood and brains shooting everywhere, all over her, on the walls and floor. “Well...Ask me anything and I will provide you with an answer that is completely honest this time. But, uhm...Take of your shirt, will you?” she had a solemn, pissed off expression as she threw off her coat before hurriedly taking off her shirt, nonchalantly cleaning up her face, then pulling it into a ball, throwing it on the cadaver, then stepped in front of a very shocked, yet impressed Alfie. “Go on, take off your shirt, will you? It’s clean. You promised I’ll never have to shoot a gun, and yet, I did, therefore I need a clean top, right? So, while I tell you the truth, don’t let me stay like this in front of you, okay?” extending her hand in front of her, while her other arm was over her chest, trying to cover her pretty white laced bra, it took a mirthful laugh out of the Jew for him to finally take off his shirt and put it around her, not caring that he was the topless one now. “Will you ever stop impressing and surprising me, lass?” Alfie asked, petting her head as a way to say she did well. “Once I stop shocking myself, sure. Until then...I believe you want to say something, don’t you?” she asked, slowly stepping in front of him, looking up at him as she properly put on his shirt that looked like a dress on her. “Yeah, lass, I think I did.”

With a gentle smile, he cupped her face, leaning down to plant a soft kiss on her lips, one hand stroking his fingers through her beautiful long hair, while the other caressed her soft visage. The tender look in his blue-green eyes felt like the safest, warmest haven she ever felt, and with an impulse decision that her heart made, she leaned forward, her arms slowly snaking around his torso, her head resting on his shoulder, and closing her eyes, she could finally feel her heart calming, for the first time in her life.

“It was you who went to war, wasn’t it?” Alfie muttered in her hair, holding her tightly. “Yeah. I don’t have a brother. It was me who went with my father to war, but he died, so I had to be the backbone of the troops. When I got home, my mum was devastated and she died of grief. I left that place to get rid of memories...And get rid of that fuckass. War left me with traumas, but it also made me strong enough to face up to who I am and stop taking everyone’s shit just because they think I’m lesser than them. Sometimes...When you talk about your time as a captain...I remember my time there...And...I realise how much I respect you...And also, how different you are from all the people I had contact with there.” she explained, her grip tightening around him, her heart quivering from the deep emotions she was feeling. “You’ve been through quite a lot in your life, haven’t you, lass? And you managed to make a life all for yourself, from the scratch, right, so, I think you’ve been doing great. France?” he asked, guiding her to a more private room, much warmer and cozier, while Ollie was to find him another shirt. “Yeah, France. Thing is...You went through all that, and it was worse for you, since you were a Captain, and you must have felt responsible for every death from your troops...And yet...Ever since we met, you’ve been sweeter than anyone has ever been, and that includes my own family. Don’t get me wrong, I loved them, but maybe...Maybe I’m just a bit softer than I let others think. And you managed to hit the right spot, in the good way, I mean. War changes everyone, and yet, you’re...I have no fitting word to describe how much I appreciate you, Alfie, but here...This thing here feels it, and I think you can feel what I’m feeling too.” she explained, resting her head on his shoulder once they sat down on the sofa, as he pulled her closer to his side, kissing her temple lovingly. “You know, Y/N...You’re not wrong. I tried not to think about my time there and the horrors I’ve seen, yeah, so, maybe it doesn’t come off as anything fantastic, and I still don’t think that being a decent person, right, to people who are close to me, is a big deal. But maybe sometimes we take things for granted, don’t we, so, maybe, you’re right. But that guy has no excuse for being a bastard. You’re safe now, Y/N, and when some day, when we’re done with this gangster mess...We can go to Margate and live a normal life there, eh. You, me and Cyril, and the sandy beach and the waves, right, and maybe, if we get bored, we can shoot those damned seagulls, yeah? They’re so annoying, I’m telling ya!” Alfie chuckled, which, in turn, made her grin at him lovingly. “I’d love to go to Margate with you, Alfie, and have seagull shooting contests together, and run barefoot on the shore, and if it’s enough light from the moon, we can swim a bit. Sounds like the perfect life if you ask me.” Y/N kissed his cheek, lovingly caressing his face before hugging his side. “That’s what I like to hear, lass. I’m sure Cyril would bark like a mad dog from happiness if he was hear, right. S’gonna be fun when we get home, eh.”

[cryingcow]

Character Story - Nishikiyama (Junior High Student) [RGGO]

Wow, 3 stories in 1 week, I’m on a roll! But I’m slowing down now, cuz the Daigo one’s pretty long, and I need to get back to studying to make up for the oral revalida I bombed XD

Anyway now it’s time for Baby Koi Boi, the partner card to Baby Dragon! I’ve always loved Nishiki, but I think I love him even more now because of this, he’s just so much more emotional and passionate than anyone else in the series <3

Also! According to this, Junior High spans from 13 to 16 years of age (cuz its 1984). Sooo it’s slightly less weird to imagine 16-year-old-pornstached Kazama buying a porn mag in Kiryu’s story XD

Story: Yuko, who STILL doesn’t get a character sprite even in RGGO, tells her big brother that she has a boyfriend. Nishiki freaks out.

Nishiki, beating up a poor civilian: “That’s for dating my sister!!!!”

Innocent civilian, getting beaten up by an angry teen: “I don’t even know who you are!!!!”

Note: In Chapter 3, the term “jealous of jealousy” or ヤキモチを妬く is used. Based on this article that took me ages to search, it means something along the lines of “gaining a crush on someone you’re jealous of” (kinda like tsunderes in anime I think) or “having a crush on someone who has a crush on someone else” or “wanting someone all to yourself”, with a hint of “love is blind”. But all of those are phrases MUCH too loaded for me to be including in here on the shaky basis of one google-translated article, so I’m leaving it as is. (But if someone who knows Japanese can confirm or deny it, please tell me so I can edit and put in the right term!)

.

CHAPTER 1

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|One day in 1984. When Nishikiyama Akira and Kiryu Kazuma were still in junior high school . . . |

[Theater Square]

Junior high school girl A: “Ah, Nishikiyama-kun! Yoo-hoo!”

Nishikiyama: “Hey.”

Junior high school girl B: “We’re all heading to the arcade. Come join us, Nishikiyama-kun!”

Nishikiyama: “No, I can’t. I have somewhere to go today.”

Junior high school girl B: “Ehh~! . . . Oh, that’s right. Sorry for disturbing you.”

Nishikiyama: “I’m sorry, please invite me again some other time.”

Junior high school girl A: “Yeah, see you next time!”

{Nishiki leaves.}

Junior high school girl B: “. . . That’s right, Nishikiyama-kun is visiting his younger sister today.”

Junior high school girl A: “Nishikiyama-kun really cares about his sister. I’m a little jealous~.”

----

[Hospital]

Nishikiyama: “Yo.”

Yuko: “Onii-chan.”

Nishikiyama: “How are you doing?”

Yuko: “Same as usual. Onii-chan, won’t you be in trouble with Kazama-san?”

Nishikiyama: “That’s nothing to concern yourself about.”

Yuko: “Is that so. Good luck-”

Nishikiyama: “Easy, easy. Just lie down.”

Yuko: “But . . .”

Nishikiyama: “I just dropped by to see you. I’ll go home soon.”

Yuko: “. . . I really worry for my Onii-chan.”

Nishikiyama: “Shut up, it’s not like that.  . . . Hm? Yuko, what’s with those live flowers?”

Yuko: “Oh, these? They’re called Phalaenopsis orchids. Aren’t they beautiful?”

Nishikiyama: “Yeah, they look really extravagant.”

Yuko: “Yup.  . . . Y-You know what?”

Nishikiyama: “Hm?”

Yuko: “Th-This is . . . a gift from my lover.”

Nishikiyama: “. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .”

Yuko: “A-Ahaha. What do you think, Onii-chan-”

Nishikiyama: “. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .”

Yuko: “. . . Onii-chan? You’re suddenly quiet, is everything okay?”

Nishikiyama: “. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .”

Nishikiyama: “. . . Ha! Y-Yeah. I was spacing out a little. Okay, okay. I’m perfectly fine. 100 percent. Perfect. Yup. Everything’s fine. There’s no problem at all. Onii-chan’s not going home yet, I just remembered a little errand I have to do.”

{Nishiki runs out.}

Yuko: “Eh?! A little- Onii-chan!”

----

[Pink Street]

Nishikiyama: (A lover? To Yuko? Yuko and a lover? A lover and Yuko? Lover? Lover? Lover? She has a lover???? She’s still a kid? But she has a lover? A lover? I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it . . .)

High school girl: “Kyaa! Please stop!”

Hooligan A: “You want me to do something good to you, don’t you?”

Hooligan B: “Yeah yeah, come feel good with us!”

High school girl: “I hate you! Let go!”

Nishikiyama: “A lover . . . to Yuko . . . mumble.”

{Nishiki distractedly walks into the hooligans.}

Hooligan A: “Hey! Watch where you’re going!!”

Nishikiyama: “mumble . . . mumble . . .”

Hooligan B: “Hey, bro. You can’t just bump into someone and then ignore them-“

{Nishiki swings around to throw his fist into the guy’s face.}

Hooligan B: “Hgugh?!“

Nishikiyama: “Shut up!!!! I’m dealing with something right now!!!!”

Hooligan A: “Huh?! Th-Th-This bastard . . . don’t think you’ll scare us off by yelling!!”

Hooligan B: “Punching me out of nowhere . . . I’ll kill you!!”

{Nishiki beats the crap out of the hooligans and sends them running.}

High school girl: “U-Um, thank you very much!”

Nishikiyama: “. . . mumble.”

High school girl: “U-um . . . ?”

Nishikiyama: “No but, Yuko with a lover . . . she never said anything about it and then suddenly . . .”

{Nishiki wanders off, still mumbling to himself.}

High school girl: “I-I wonder what’s up with that person . . .”

----

Nishikiyama: “. . . Damn it. I can’t get my head straight. Calm down. I need to calm down . . . ! Inhale~. Exhale~. Inhale~. Exhale~. Okay, taking a deep breath to calm down. I’m perfectly calm now. Now that I’m thinking with a calm head, I can clearly see what I must do. Yuko’s lover . . .”

Nishikiyama: “I’m going to find that guy and kick his ass!!!!”

.

-END-

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CHAPTER 2

.

Nishikiyama: (Yuko’s lover . . . what an arrogant bastard with a bouquet . . . Well, it was Phalaenopsis orchids. The flowers look expensive. Maybe he’s a criminal whose modus is a bouquet of flowers! Wait, I can use the bouquet as a clue-)

Drunk A: “So? What happened to the woman in question?”

Drunk B: “It’s perfect! Women are simple after all . . . it was easy!”

Drunk A: “Seriously? But I feel sorry for the woman though. Doesn’t she know you have a second?”

Drunk B: “Idiot, it’s not just two, I have five! It’s my technique so I can drop a woman anytime!”

Drunk A: “Five?! You’re the worst! Gyahahaha!”

Drunk B: “Hehe, I even gave one of the women a bouquet! That’s right-“

{Nishiki suddenly punches the five-timing drunk.}

Drunk B: “Bgyagh?!“

Nishikiyama: “You gave the bouquet . . . ? So you’re the culprit!!!!”

Drunk A: “Eh? Eh . . . ?”

Nishikiyama: “Playing with Yuko’s heart is a sin . . . I’ll make you regret it!!!!”

{Nishiki beats up the drunks.}

Drunk A: “O-Oi! Of your five women, are any of them this guy’s little sister?”

Drunk B: “No way! All five of them are older than me . . . !!”

Nishikiyama: “Oi . . .”

Drunks: “Yes?!”

Nishikiyama: “Didn’t you deliver that bouquet to Yuko’s hospital room?”

Drunk B: “W-W-W-W-Wrong! I gave that bouquet to Machiko, a cabaret girl!!”

Nishikiyama: “. . . I see. Don’t be so misleading next time. Jeez.”

Drunks: “We’re sorry!!!!”

Nishikiyama: (Damn it. If I don’t do anything, the culprit won’t be revealed. How do I figure out the criminal . . . )

Nishikiyama: “No, wait a minute. There IS a clue . . . !”

Drunks: “Yes?”

Nishikiyama: “You bought a luxurious bouquet to give to a woman, where did you buy it?”

----

[West Shichifuku Street]

Nishikiyama: “It should be in this area. Here . . .”

Nishikiyama: (According to the drunkard, there’s a flower shop in this place. I have no idea who Yuko’s lover is, but maybe if I find out where he bought the bouquet that he gave her . . .)

Nishikiyama: “What was the flower again . . . a Phalaenopsis orchid? I suppose I should ask who bought them.”

Flower Seller: “Welcome! Oh? . . . I have a lot of cute customers today.”

Nishikiyama: “. . . Do you mean me?”

Flower Seller: “Ah, sorry for saying that out of nowhere. Earlier today a boy in a school uniform around your age came to the store.”

Nishikiyama: “Hey . . . is that unusual? A customer of my age . . .”

Flower Seller: “Yeah. Unless it’s Mother’s Day, a child your age has no reason to come to a flower shop, isn’t that right?”

Nishikiyama: “Definitely . . . if you ask me, then yeah. I wanted to know, did anyone come by today to buy Phalaenopsis orchids?”

Flower Seller: “Phalaenopsis orchids? I think that boy I mentioned just now bought some?”

Nishikiyama: “! I-Is that true?! What kind of guy is he?! Do you remember his name or what he looked like?!”

Flower Seller: “He’s just like you, a strong-looking kid who seems like he gets into fights. His name was . . . ah, right.”

Flower Seller: “It was Kiryu-san.”

Nishikiyama: “. . . ha?”

.

-END-

.

CHAPTER 3

.

[Champion District - Empty Lot]

Nishikiyama: “Yo, Kiryu. I’ve been waiting for you.”

Kiryu: “Nishiki . . . why did you call me out here all of a sudden?”

Nishikiyama: “Kiryu . . . do you have something to tell me?”

Kiryu: “Something to tell you . . . ? No, nothing in particular . . .”

Nishikiyama: “Is that right . . .”

Kiryu: “What are you angry about? Does it have something to do with what you want me to say?”

Nishikiyama: “Kiryu . . . earlier today, did you deliver a bouquet to Yuko?”

Kiryu: “!”

Nishikiyama: “. . . the look on your face tells me I’m right. Since when did you start sneaking around?”

Kiryu: “I wasn’t sneaking around . . . it started the day before yesterday.”

Nishikiyama: “What, that’s quite recent.”

Kiryu: “Yeah.”

Nishikiyama: “. . . Was it your idea?”

Kiryu: “No, it was originally Oyassan’s idea.”

Nishikiyama: “O-Oyassan?!”

Kiryu: “Yeah. He said he was sure it’ll make you and Yuko happy.”

Nishikiyama: “Why . . . did you keep quiet about this?”

Kiryu: “I was . . . going to surprise you.”

Nishikiyama: “I see . . . certainly, I was surprised to death . . .”

Kiryu: “Then what are you angry about? Did Yuko not like the bouquet?”

Nishikiyama: “No, she was very happy with it. Did you choose those flowers yourself?”

Kiryu: “That was also Oyassan’s idea. Phalaenopsis orchids mean ‘happiness soars’, apparently.”

Nishikiyama: “Tch! You keep saying Oyassan this, Oyassan that . . . Kiryu, what are YOUR feelings on this matter? You aren’t saying that’s ‘Oyassan’s idea’ too, are you?”

Kiryu: “It’s not like that. I followed Oyassan’s suggestion because it aligned with my feelings.”

Nishikiyama: “Is that right . . . so it really was you . . . to think I thought you were a good guy . . . damn you . . .”

Kiryu: “Nishiki, what on earth are you so angry about?”

Nishikiyama: “. . . Don’t you know?”

Kiryu: “I don’t know, I’m drawing a blank.  . . . Could it be? Are you jealous of your jealousy for me?”

Nishikiyama: “Yeah, that’s right. I’m jealous. I’m burning you with my jealousy, Kiryu!”

Kiryu: “So you’re jealous . . . because the other party is your sister?”

Nishikiyama: “Yes because she’s my sister! And my sister is important to me, so that’s why I’m angry with you!”

Kiryu: “I see . . . I get it now. Yuko is your dear sister, so I should have consulted you properly about this. My bad . . . the line is different in matters like this, and I crossed it. How can I make it up to you?”

Nishikiyama: “Duel with me, Kiryu . . . !! A no-holds-barred, one-on-one battle!! I’ll use my fists to make you pay for this . . . !!”

Kiryu: “Okay, I understand. If this will make you feel better, then I’ll accept your challenge with my whole power!!”

Nishikiyama: “Let’s go! Kiryu!!!!”

{Nishiki and Kiryu duke it out in the lot.}

Nishikiyama: “Jeez, as usual you’re still stupidly strong . . . Oww . . .”

Kiryu: “Haa . . . haa . . . So, are you done . . . Nishiki?”

Nishikiyama: “Yeah . . . thanks. It’s regrettable, but I have to admit . . . you being Yuko’s guy, she really does have a discerning eye for people!! To be her lover . . . no one would be more suitable than you!”

Nishikiyama: “I’ll accept it!! You and Yuko . . . dating!! . . . I’ll have to ask Yuko about this matter . . . kyoudai? From now on, call me Onii-san.”

Kiryu: “. . . Nishiki. What are you talking about?”

Nishikiyama: “Huh? Oi, oi. Yuko’s bouquet of flowers in the hospital room, that was given by you. Isn’t that true?”

Kiryu: “Yeah, that’s right.”

Nishikiyama: “So that means you’re Yuko’s boyfriend.  . . . Am I wrong?”

Kiryu: “Why would that make it so?”

Nishikiyama: “Aren’t you Yuko’s lover?”

Kiryu: “L-Lover . . . ?! Oi, what are you saying?!”

Nishikiyama: “. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .”

Nishikiyama: “. . . I’m sorry, could you give me a minute, Kiryu? I’m going to make a phone call.”

Kiryu: “Y-Yeah. Go ahead.”

----

[Phone Booth]

Yuko: “Hello, Onii-chan?”

Nishikiyama: “Hey, Yuko. About that lover you mentioned earlier-“

Yuko: “. . . I’m sorry. Onii-chan, that was all a lie.”

Nishikiyama: “! S-So that’s all it was . . . But- But why did you . . .”

Yuko: “I’m really sorry.  . . . I was reading a book.”

Nishikiyama: “A book . . . ?”

Yuko: “Yup. A story of a sick girl like me getting a bouquet from a dreamy boy and falling in love with them . . . When I read that, I got jealous . . . I’m a fool. There’s no way something like that will happen to me. I lied so that even for a brief moment, I could be like that girl in the book. You were so shocked. I’m really sorry . . .”

Nishikiyama: “. . . So it was all a lie?”

Yuko: “Um-hm . . .”

Nishikiyama: “. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .”

Nishikiyama: “Haaaaaaa~~~!! I’m so relieved~~~~~~~~!!!!”

Yuko: “Eh?!”

Nishikiyama: “My hair was turning white already . . . No, what you did was bad and it’s good that you told me, but . . . Anyway, can you make things clearer next time? And if you do meet a really good guy . . . tell me first, okay?”

Yuko: “Okay . . . Onii-chan, thank you.”

Nishikiyama: “Oh! I’ll come see you tomorrow.”

Yuko: “Okay, see you tomorrow.”

Nishikiyama: (Haa~. I got absolutely played by my sister’s cute lie . . . )

Kiryu: “Nishiki, you’ve been gone for a long time. Are you alright?”

Nishikiyama: “. . . K-Kiryu.”

Kiryu: “Hm?”

Nishikiyama: “Kill me~~~~!!!! I’m sooo embarrassed~~!!!!”

Kiryu: “???? What is it, Nishiki . . . ? Ah, no, I mean Onii-san . . .”

.

-END-

 Masterlist

[queenofnohr]

Fate/Grand Order Saito Hajime Line Masterpost

Gotta pay my respects to the Shinsengumi as always.

I really do recommend reading these along with a video showcasing his lines if you don’t have him since his voice acting is phenomenal and also some of what he says is clearly like... under his breath or there’s a tone shift or whatever (for example, his lines with Okita sound rather harsh if you’re under the assumption he’s always speaking directly to her).

As always these lines aren’t in the order they appear in on his card page, but the order you’re most likely to hear them in.

One other note is - I left “makoto” untranslated when in direct reference to the Shinsengumi flag/ideals. Makoto means “truth” and it would still work translated as that, but within context it means... more than that. Not just truth, but ideals, what it means to be Shinsengumi, etc. and I thought cutting it down to simply truth was doing it a disservice.

Summoning: Hajime Saito, Captain of the Shinsengumi’s Third Division here. You can call me your beloved Hajime-chan. Wait, no, like I thought that’s no good. So you’re Master-chan, huh? Well that explains the look on your face. Oh, right, I’m not great with formalities so… with that, regards to ya.

Level Up 1: Thanks a bunch, Master-chan. Level Up 2: Thanks for that.

Ascension 1: How do I look? Pretty swanky, right? I looked like this back in the day since I was a police officer. I’m pretty used to wearing Western clothes because of that. Ascension 2: Oh, these swords? This one is a wakizashi, and the other is a naga-wakizashi. The longer the wakizashi the better, and the Commander encouraged me by saying, “That suits you surprisingly well!” …...Ha, a sword suiting me.* Ascension 3: To think there’d come a day when I’d wear this again…… A lot of things happened, but in the end I came back. It’s been so long, and no time at all…… There’s nothing more to say. Ascension 4: Thank you, really, for sticking with me this far even though I’m like this. What’s with this? I’m not the type to get all choked up. There must really be something wrong with me. …...Anyway. I’m entrusting my sword to you. —Hajime Saito, Invincible Blade and Captain of the Shinsengumi’s Third Division reporting in.

My Room Generic 1: Are you heading out? Then I’ll tag along with you. What? I won’t get in your way, so do as you like. My Room Generic 2: I’m no good at serving under people, I’m no good at not serving under people…… I just go with the flow. If I force it, it’ll just leave. My Room Generic 3: So I’m your subordinate, huh, Master-chan? Since I’m a Servant. But, sorry, I won’t go to my death. What’s the saying? If a human dies, they lose. My Room Generic 4: School of swordsmanship? Nah, I don’t do anything like that, I just swing my sword around carelessly when the time comes. It’s not anything as impressive as a school of swordsmanship. Well, if I had to call it anything it’d be the “Invincible Style.” There’s no theory to crossing swords in the first place. It’s just something I’m crazy about. That is, killing each other.

With Okita: Well, if it isn’t Okita-chan. You doing okay? What, can’t a guy ask what’s up? You always were Ms. Sickly after all. Well, in any case it’s a relief we’re on the same side. It was only you I never wanted to meet again…... With Hijikata: Vice Commander, you still…… No. It’s fine. It’s better if you stick to your “makoto.” Just as I must try to overcome my “makoto.” With Izou: So that’s Man-Slayer Izou, huh. His sword skills are certainly a big deal. Calling him a genius is no exaggeration. But the most important thing - the ability to get on in the world - is something he totally lacks. It’s all over when you die. With Ryouma: Ryouma Sakamoto of Tosa. I didn’t think I’d see you here. But if you’re not an enemy I guess I’ll thank you. That’s right, you always were quite the charmer. By the way, can you introduce me to the beautiful woman accompanying you? …...Huh? I have a bad feeling about this. With Musashi (any version): So even Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojirou are here. What’s with this place? Can a minor swordsman like me even get a day in the limelight? With all these legendary swordsmen around…… For once I wish I was on the other si— Woah, that was out of character for me. I’d better quit while I’m ahead. With Okita Alter: You’re Okita-chan!? Nonono, what’s with that look, what’s with that sword, what’s with those tits!? …...Huh? “As an Alter it’d be better to call me Majin-san”? Wow, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Whatever. By the way, how about a drink tonight? We can eat soba or whatever too. With Kagetora: So the great war hero of Echigo is a woman, huh. But Nobunaga is also a woman, so that’s not really surprising…… No, isn’t it normal to be surprised!? But, well, it seems people also thought Okita-chan was a man……

Likes: Stuff I like? That’d be playing around. I mean I look like a freeloader, right? That’s really how I am. …...Eh? You can see it? That’s unexpected. Oh, that’s right, you know the croquette soba I ate at the cafeteria? I like that. Dislikes: Stuff I hate? I’ve always been bad at dealing with stubborn guys. Weren’t those types all around me? I don’t know who you’re talking about. The Vice Commander? Oh, he isn’t stubborn. —It’s more like he’s pure. Holy Grail: The Holy Grail? It can make whatever you wish for come true? Wow~ That sounds shady even to me. Well, “don’t knock it till you try it,” and all. So why don’t you try it? If it works out, I’ll try it too.

Bond 1: Master-chan? There’s no need to worry about me, right? I’m just a guy who sides with the strong and gets carried along with the tide. No, really. Bond 2: Haa~ you’re so serious Master-chan. Aren’t you tired of it? Though even if you wanted to run away, you couldn’t. There, there, it’s okay; I’m in the same boat too. Bond 3: Look, at the end of the day, I didn’t follow the Commander or the Vice Commander. I’m an unreliable guy. So, Master-chan, don’t care about me and use me as you like and throw me away when you like. I’d like for it to be like that, too. Bond 4: —Huh? Oh, sorry. I was thinking. What, it’s not a big deal. I was wondering if it was okay to just go on as things are now. Then, I decided. That I’ll go as I am now. Don’t worry, since I’m one of the Shinsengumi that survived. Bond 5: My “makoto” is only my own. It’s the “makoto” of freedom that isn’t bound to anyone. Master-chan…… No, Master. This is my true nature. Serving someone and swearing my loyalty to them doesn’t suit me. So I will help you in accordance with my “makoto.” As long as you remain you.

Event: “Woah, looks like an event is going on. Shouldn’t you get out there? You should play while you can, ‘cause you can’t play when you’re dead. I’ve said it for a long time now, “Life is short, so play around while you’re young.” Right? Birthday: Oh, you’re here. Your birthday is today - congratulations. …...That said, I didn’t get you anything. Sorry, but I’m not that thoughtful. Oh, that reminds me - I’m not saying this is a substitute, but are you going to eat soba? If so, I’ll treat you to croquettes.

Battle Start 1: It’ll be fine, after all you have the invincible Hajime-chan on your side. …...What? Battle Start 2: Well, I hope these guys are weak. Battle Start 3: I’m Hajime Saito, Captain of the Shinsengumi’s Third Division. If you want to flee, flee quickly. …...Well, I won’t let you escape, but even so.

Card Select 1: This one? Card Select 2: ……Okay Card Select 3: Yeah, yeah

Attack 1: Hah! Attack 2: There and there and there! Attack 3: This is how to use a sword! Attack 4: There we go. Attack 5: Take this! Attack 6: There!

Extra Attack 1: Dodge it? …...You can’t! Extra Attack 2: Hoy, hoy, hoy, hoy…… it’s over! Extra Attack 3: Sorry, but this is as far as you go. …...Die.

Skill 1: Well, let’s take it easy. Skill 2: Now then, shall I kill? Skill 3: I got too carried away.

NP Select 1: I’ll show you…… an invincible blade! NP Select 2: Well then, could you step back, Master-chan? NP Select 3: You think you can take this sword? …...You’ll die if you do.

NP 1: It doesn’t matter what technique you use. Only the strong will win. …...Like me— Haugh! NP 2: Good grief. Well then…… Here I come! —This is…… the end! NP 3: Without form, it is intangible, flowing, it is infinite, and thus my sword is— invincible!

Damage 1: Oh shit! Damage 2: Ouch! Damage 3: Are you for real!? Damage 4: tch!

Defeated 1: There’s no way I could lose…… They always said I was the Invincible Blade…… Defeated 2: It was my rule to never lose a match…… I’ve lost my edge…... Defeated 3: Sorry…… Everyone……

Victory 1: My rule is to never lose a match. That’s what it means to be invincible. Victory 2: *sigh* That was an unexpectedly troublesome job. Master-chan, are you safe? Victory 3: Right, arrest anyone who’s still breathing! Third Division, withdraw!

-

* History lesson! While this could be in reference to Kondou Issami (the Commander in question), his talking about being on the police force gives me reason to believe he’s talking about his time after the Shinsengumi as Fujita Gorou (he did serve as part of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department until he retired in 1890). In that case, this story in particular is about he was the only person authorized to carry a katana (naga-wakizashi are almost identical to katana) after the fall of the Tokugawa. It also puts his tone shift in perspective when listening to the line itself - he goes from relaying a work story to reflecting on said story near-bitterly because of course a sword would suit him. After all, he was a part of the Shinsengumi (which his boss would not know about).

[goldenchan-fx2thepeacock]

Don’t Go Running Off Into Danger, Even If I Do pt 3

Hek. I woke up today and found that my FNP phic has 41 notes and my DGROIDEIID phic is gaining attention and reblogs; holy shit. And I woke up at noon. It’s Saturday. I sleep in on such days. Anyways. Last I checked, Val and Danny were gonna go get Dani, but we need some Dip and Mabs action cause I forgot last night. I will probably develop an uploading schedule later. For now, just have random updates. I might even make a side blog for this shit.

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Chapter 3

Dipper stood off in the background as Danny got into an argument with a dracula ghost. By the amount of times he heard Plasmius, this must’ve been Vlad. Danny looked pissed when he finished. He still took Dipper and Mabel to their classes, but when they tried to find him at lunch, he was absent.  “I wonder where he is?” Mabel pondered.  “I’m sure he just had something to do,” Dipper replied. Some guy walked up to their table.  “Hey, you’re the kids Fenton is touring. Listen, he’s Phantom and I have proof!”  “And you are?” Mabel said patiently. “Wes Weston. Listen, you gotta believe me!” “We legit just moved here, we have no clue what you’re talking about. Leave us alone,” Dipper said. Wes looked taken aback.  “Fine! Fenton better worry. I will expose him. I just need more proof,” Wes stalked off. Dipper and Mabel exchanged a look.  “Should we be worried?” He asked Mabel. “He seems to have it under control,” 

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Danny stared off into the daylight as they flew. Val set down.  “Come on. She’s fine. Why are you losing it?” “Just a certain Wisconsin Ghost told me about you keeping her,” “Vlad?” “Wait, you know?” “I’ve known since I met Dani,” “Jeez. I’ve known since I met the guy during my parents college reunion. I’m still pissed at him for that whole invisble wall fiasco,” “That was him?” “Yeah. I mean, I started it, but he kept trying to get in my mom’s pants. I needed to put him down a peg,” “You made his wall invisble!?” “Yeah. But it’s not like being naked on camera is going to tell the public any secrets,” “I’m confused. Why do care so much?” “It’s nothing,” Danny grunted. They were headed to the basement. “It seems to be something,” “I have things I’d prefer not to reveal to the entire school,” “No one saw your dick. You managed to catch it in time,” Val was confused. Danny laughed.  “Hey Val. Why would a guy have a female clone? Oh right. I forgot to tell you. Dani is more or less my clone because Vlad was being extra creepy,” “Weird. So she isn’t your cousin. Wait. OH MY GOD! Danny, I understand completely. If Dash knew, you’d be dead meat,” Val caught on quickly. Danny couldn’t but laugh at the dead meat. “Hey! What’s funny?” “I am dead meat Val!” “I’m an idiot. Anyways, we’re here,” She opened the basement door. Dani was sitting on the couch.  “Danny? Val? What’re you guys doing here. Shit, sorry Danny,” “It’s fine. She knows,”  “Who else knows anyways?” Val said.  “You, Jazz, Tucker, Sam and literally all the ghosts,” “Vlad included?” “Vlad included,” “And Amity Park can’t connect the dots?” “No one knows Danny Phantom has a human life. I’d be seriously pissed if someone told the general public,” “That’s fair. Anyways. We’re here because a certain Dracula cosplayer told Danny you were in danger,” Val said. Danny snorted. “Dracula cosplayer? I have to use that on him,” “Why would anyone think that’s a good look?”  “My ‘dad’,” Dani said. Thus causing both her and Danny to break out in laughter. “Where does the whole cousin thing come in?” Val asked. “My ‘Unkie Vlad’. It’s his way of making me family,” “Unkie?” Val looked lost. “I like being a little bitch to him,” “He deserves it! You should expose him,” “If I expose Plasmius, Masters exposes Phantom,” “Oh jeez,” “And there is a very good reason not to expose Phantom. And they wear way too much white,” Dani said quietly.  “I’d prefer not to get dissected,” Danny said haughtily. “They already want to,” Val made a noise of disgust.  “How could anyone with a set of morals do that?” “Heh. I’m a ghost. Not really real to most of the world. I don’t have feelings. Don’t feel pain,” Danny repeated what the ghost hunters had told him way too many times.  “That sounds awful, but we should get back to school. Cya Dani!” Val waved and put on her helmet.  “Hey, wanna leave the quick way?” “What do you mea- AAAAAAAH!” Val screamed as Danny made them both go intangible and up through the roof. “Never. Do that again,” “Hey, at least you didn’t end up going through the table and random floors and get banned from handling anything fragile,” “I’m confused,” “When these powers first came in, I was stuck dropping everything. From my pants to beakers,” “Oh jeez. So, why aren’t nerd and nerdette with you?” “Tucker had to go see a doctor out of town and Sam’s mom took her to this convention thing. They’ll be back tomorrow,”  “No comment on the nicknames?” “They’ve been called worse,” Danny shrugged. “And I’ve been shoved in way too many lockers to care,” “I have one last question. Why on earth would you try to date me when I was trying to kill you? And why did you destroy the suit when I could’ve been inside?” “That’s two questions. But Fenton and Phantom needed a distinction, and I knew you weren’t inside. Technus was controlling the suit,” “You are a mystery,” “I’d like to keep it that way,” “You won’t tell anyone my secret if I don’t tell anyone both of yours?” “That makes it sound like you’re going to tell one of them,” “That’s not what I meant,” “We need to come up with an excuse as to why The Red Huntress suddenly has a truce with Phantom,” “Later. I need coffee,” “I couldn’t agree more,” The plume of blue air showed up. “OH COME ON!” “What,” “I have to deal with something,” Danny sped off. 

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Dipper and Mabel looked at the chaos in the caf.  “Students! Hide under tables! Ghost Hunters and/or Phantom will be here soon,” Mr Lancer yelled into a megaphone. “Already here!” Someone yelled. A flash of white said Phantom. There was blue ghost throwing boxes around.  “I am the BOX GHOST!” It yelled. “Yeah, we know. Just say it already,” “I will win this fight with boxes of... spoons! BEWARE!” “Don’t you know not to bring a spoon to a knife fight?” “You do not have a knife!” “No, but I do have a thermos!” Phantom pulled out a green and grey thermos and flipped the lid.  “I will not stay in your cylindrical object!”  “Looks like you’re gonna have to,” Phantom pressed a button and a beam of light came out of the thermos and sucked the Box Ghost inside. “Is everyone okay?” Kids pushed out from under the tables.  “Phantom! Will you sign my book?” Dash said. This must be a cruel joke.  “Ghost boy! The Fenton Peeler is back in action,” “Whoops, gotta go!” Phantom dashed off as Jack and Maddie Fenton came rushing in. “Darn it. Missed him again,” They ran off. Danny walked into the caf and ran over to them. “You guys are lucky that your first ghost attack was the Box Ghost. Harmless,” “Doesn’t look very harmless to me! That’s gotta’ve been at least a level 5,” Dipper opened the journal. “Nah. Box is a solid 2. Hardly a step up from an ectopus. Might get concerned if Desiree shows up. She’s a level 5,” “What’re you?” “We more or less tested it. Pretty sure I’m a 7,” “That means they aren’t a big concern to you most days,” “Mmm. King Pariah was a level 10. That was terrifying. Vlad’s an 8. Convinced he’s a 9,”  “Okay,” “Skulker gets to be a 6 on a technicality. Without the suit, he’s a 1. He can be an 8 on a bad day. I think Frostbite is a 9. He won’t bother you guys though. Dan must’ve been a 9, but I’m not going into that. Technus is an 8, but can be a 10 if he gets his hands on the right tech. Clockwork is an 11, which technically doesn’t exsist, but Clockwork breaks the mold. He won’t bother you unless you end up destroying the world in the future,” Danny shivered.  “Who’s Dan?” Mabel looked confused.  “Nobody. Just a horrible way to learn not to cheat on tests,” Danny shivered again. “But that’s not important. I didn’t cheat on the CAT,” “Your life seems more hectic than Gravity Falls sometimes,” Dipper said. “Where is that? I’ve never heard of it,” “Oregan. Never Mind All That,” He knew the rules. “You know, the way you say that is kinda creepy,” “We’d be breaking the law if we told you why,”  “Jesus. Well, it’s not like we’ll get another Pariah unless an idiot thinks it’s a good idea. He’ll never get his hands on the crown of Fire,”  “Time Out,” Dipper and Mabel looked around.  “Umm, CW, why aren’t they out with everyone else?” “They’ve met Cipher. At this point, I cannot pause time for them,”  “Eh, whatever. Mason, Mabel, this is Clockwork. What’d you need?” “I actually came to speak to you about the Crown of Fire. In defeating Pariah, you gained ownership,” “I, uh, did what now?”  “Gained ownership of the Crown. Though in your case, it would be the Crown of Ice,” Clockwork repeated. Danny looked lost.  “I don’t need to be the King of the Ghost Zone,” “Someone must take the place. It’s your duty,” Danny looked like he was about to have a full on panic attack.  “Can it wait?” “Two years is a long wait as is,” “B-but it went thousands of years before!” “Because they failed to remove the crown and it wasn’t a singular person,”  “What’s two years in the Ghost Zone? As far as I’m concerned, that doesn’t seem like a long time. Walker was gonna give me a thousand year prison sentence,”  “You get some time, but I’ll tell you, if you take the crown, the Ghost Zone enters an era of peace unprecedented,”  “Danny, what’s happening,” Mabel asked. Danny snapped and started hyperventilating.  “I can’t. No. Why? I just wanted to keep the world safe! Is that too much to ask?” “Daniel, you do get time to think about it. Just remember, time can pass however fast or slow I want it too,” “Right, of course. Cya CW,”  “Time In,”

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Danny trudged home. Exhaustion and anxiety gripped him. Mason and Mabel had been concerned, but he wasn’t about to explain everything. He’d talk to Sam and Tucker tomorrow. It didn’t help that he’d had gym after lunch. At least there wasn’t any more disappearing walls.  “Danny! How was school?” Mom asked as he walked in the door.  “Great!” Danny said and rushed upstairs. He’d deal with The Box Ghost in a minute. Jazz stood in his doorway. She didn’t know about Dan, but she did know about Pariah. “Danny, is everything okay?” “No, everything is not okay!” “What happened? Is it Dash again? We should report him,” “It’s not just that. You remember the Pariah incident?” “Yeah, you don’t just forget that,” “Well, turns out that by beating him, I ‘gained ownership’ to the crown,” “That doesn’t sound bad exactly,” “It’s horrible!”  “How?” “I just wanna be a kid, ya know? It’s hard enough living a double life, but ruling the Ghost Zone? I’d have no chance to do anything remotely useful in the human world,” “You wouldn’t need to. If you ruled the Ghost Zone, ghosts wouldn’t come here anymore,” “The King can’t enforce rules in the Human World. It’s just scary,” 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aight, that’s a chapter, I guess. The ideas tend to come from random places, and my brain is running out of ideas. I need to do another “planning session” which is coming up with scenarios in my head to make sure they make sense.

[grantyort]

Clearing the Air

[The trio cruises along the empty city streets. Chris is fast asleep in the backseat while Daniel fidgets anxiously in the front.]

SEAN: Need to pee or something? 

DANIEL: Nah, I’m just nervous.

SEAN: [chuckles] About what?

DANIEL: Uh… Nothing. Never mind.

SEAN: [sighs] Whatever you say dude.

DANIEL: [turning to Chris] Is he... okay?

DANIEL: Yeah. He just hasn’t slept well since… you know.

SEAN: Well before he wakes up, we need to have a serious talk about all this.

[Sean pulls the car over to the side of the road. He gets out and sits on the hood, motioning Daniel to join him. Daniel reluctantly agrees]

DANIEL: Sean Iisten-

SEAN: No, you listen! I went through hell just so we could stay in this country, so you could live a normal life! Now you’re just gonna throw it all away on some wild goose chase?! Don’t you even care? I swear this is like Nevada all over again!

[Daniel looks ashamed and on the verge of tears]

DANIEL: I’m s-sorry Sean. It’s just that… we haven’t seen each other in months, and you don’t answer my texts and I thought if I-

SEAN: No… you’re right. That wasn’t fair. I’m guess I’m still… trying to figure this whole thing out.

DANIEL: I know.

SEAN: Why didn’t you just tell me, instead of pulling a stupid stunt like this?

DANIEL: I… didn’t want to drag you into this.

SEAN: Well guess what Daniel? I’m in it now whether you like it or not. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re kind of a package deal.

DANIEL: I’m sorry.

SEAN: There you go again. Always apologizing after the fact. For once, I want you to think things through before you go running off on your next crusade!

DANIEL: I’ll try.

SEAN: You damn well better. Remember the deal we made with the Feds, no big splashes! If they catch even a whiff of what you’re doing… ¡se acabó! They’ll throw my ass back in jail and lock you in some government black site. We’ll never see each other again. Is that what you want?!

DANIEL: No of course not! It’s just… Chris has lost everything. I just want to help him get answers and justice. It’s the least we can after all he’s done for us. We owe him that much!

SEAN: [scoffs] You’ve really grown up, haven’t you?

[Sean leans over and hugs Daniel who is taken off-guard but sinks into Sean’s arms, savoring the familiar comfort]

DANIEL: What was that for?

SEAN: Oh nothing. Just getting you back for earlier.

[Daniel smiles and rests his head on his brother’s shoulder]

SEAN: Enano, listen… I’m sorry I’ve been so… distant. College’s just been hectic as fuck. I’ve got a side-gig going on, and I know haven’t always been… there for you, like I should be.

DANIEL: You don’t have to apologize, Sean. You’ve already done so much. You should go live your own life for a change. Besides, I’m not a kid anymore. I can take care of myself now.

SEAN: [laughs] I’ve heard that one before.

DANIEL: I’m serious! You don’t have to worry about me. Go to parties, hook up, cram for exams or whatever. I don’t wanna be a burden anymore.

SEAN: You’re not a burden, Daniel and worrying about you is kind of in the job description. I mean the hours are long and you don’t get paid, but at the end of the day it’s all worth it, you know?

DANIEL: Yeah I know… thanks, Sean.

If Daniel threatened Sean back at the bus depot:

DANIEL: S-sorry for what happened back at the bus station. I don’t know what got into me.

SEAN: You should be. We don’t see each other for weeks and the first thing you do is try to pick a fight.

DANIEL: I just… got caught up in the moment.

SEAN: Hope you haven’t been doubling up on your pills again.

DANIEL: Of course not! I’m not stupid Sean!

SEAN: Never said you were.

DANIEL: Sorry. I don’t wanna fight.

SEAN: Me neither. But just for the record, I would have kicked your ass.

DANIEL: (rolling his eyes) Sure Sean.

SEAN: I did last time.

DANIEL: That didn’t count! You caught me off-guard!

SEAN: That’s kind of the point, genius. You think the bad guys are gonna warn you before attacking?

DANIEL: What bad guys? Besides, even if one of them got the jump on me, I’d still stop them all. Easy-peasy!

SEAN: This isn’t a superhero movie, it’s real life. You gotta pay attention to your surroundings at all times!

DANIEL: (mockingly) Whatever you say… sensei.

DANIEL: Are you… doing okay?

SEAN: What do you mean?

DANIEL: You know… with college, and track and everything. I don’t really know much except what I hear from Lyla-

SEAN: Oh you mean your little spy? I still haven’t forgotten about the library incident you know.

DANIEL: I don’t know what you’re talking about.

SEAN: Yeah, yeah! play dumb! You’re lucky that marker was washable otherwise your ass would be grass right now!

DANIEL: I thought you were supposed to be able to see that sorta stuff coming.

SEAN: I was asleep! Besides that’s not how it works!

DANIEL: Pfft excuses!

SEAN: Don’t push it. I’m still mad at you, you know.

DANIEL: (making a funny face) Yeah? How about now?

SEAN: [laughs] Okay. I’m letting you off the hook this time.

[Daniel pulls a chock-o-crisp out his pocket and begins to eat]

SEAN: Still eating those?

DANIEL: (mouth full) What? I’m hungry!

SEAN: I read an article that chock-o-crisps can stunt your growth. You better cut back or you might be stuck an enano forever.

DANIEL: That’s bullshit! I grew 3 inches since Christmas. I’ll probably be taller than you soon!

SEAN: Ha You wish! [he ruffles Daniel’s hair]

DANIEL: Stop it! You know how long it took me to get it just right?

SEAN: Since when do you care so much about your hair?

DANIEL: Chris says that it looks cool like this.

SEAN: I thought you “always looked good”.

DANIEL: Yeah, but I just like it better this way.

SEAN: Okay, okay. Hands off the hair. Got it.

DANIEL: So Sean, you...

Seeing anyone? 

Talk to Mom lately?

Seeing anyone?

SEAN: Taking an interest in my love life? Who would've thought?

DANIEL: It’s not like I really care. I just… don’t want you to get lonely.

SEAN: Don’t worry about that, enano, I got plenty of term papers and angry TAs to keep me company.

DANIEL: I’m being serious Sean.

SEAN: Well if you must know, I did meet someone recently. We were actually supposed to have dinner tonight but… you know.

DANIEL: Oh… sorry.

SEAN: (jokingly) You should be. We don’t even live in the same state anymore and somehow you still manage to cock-block me!

DANIEL: (cheekily) That’s my real superpower!

SEAN: (rolling eyes) Yeah, yeah keep laughing. Who knows? Maybe someday, I’ll return the favor.

(They both laugh)

SEAN: How about you? How’s school? Anyone giving you shit?  

DANIEL: Nah. Everyone likes me, well except Wilkes and Brad. But they’re assholes. Anyway, there is this dance coming up next week and I still don’t have a date. I was thinking of asking this one girl, Millie. We text and stuff and I guess she’s pretty!

SEAN: Whoa dude, slow down! Focus on keeping your grades up. You’ve got plenty of time for that stuff later. Me on the other hand. I think I’m just about ready to die alone.

LYLA <-> FINN/CASSIDY (Determinant)

LYLA:

DANIEL: What about Lyla? She’s single! 

SEAN: Dude no! It’d be way too weird. We’ve known each other since forever. It would never work. And besides, I’d never take her from you.

DANIEL: S-shut up. That was just a stupid crush! I’m totally over her! 

SEAN: (deadpanning) Oh no. I’m sure she’ll be devastated.

CASSIDY:

DANIEL: What about… what’s her name? The smelly hippie with the purple wig.

SEAN: Cassidy? She’s all the way up in Canada, dude! Plus, I need to get clearance every time I leave the country. It would never work.

DANIEL: That’s okay. You can totally do better!

SEAN: Oh ouch. Still holding a grudge, eh?

DANIEL: I just think… you’re too good for her.

SEAN: I’ll take that as a compliment. I guess.

FINN:

DANIEL: What about Finn? Weren’t you totally into him?

SEAN: Finn’s still in jail dude. What are we supposed to do? Make out through the glass?

DANIEL: Haha true.

(If Sean forgave Finn in Episode 4)

DANIEL: Do you ever wish things turned out differently with him?

SEAN: Sure… sometimes, but life’s too short for regrets.

DANIEL: You’re starting to sound like Mom.

SEAN: I’m gonna pretend you didn’t just say that.

(If the player did not forgive Finn in Episode 4)

SEAN: He’s applying for early parole and wants to me be at his hearing. Can you believe that?

DANIEL: You’re not going, are you? He totally used us. He deserves to be locked up!

SEAN: Whoa where’s this coming from? Didn’t you use to be his biggest fan?

DANIEL: What are you talking about?

SEAN: (mockingly) Oooo Finn’s so cool! Finn lets me do whatever I want. I wish Finn was my brother!

DANIEL: What?! I never said that! Besides, I was just a stupid kid back then!

SEAN: Yeah and no one’s denying that.

DANIEL: Whatever. If you want to go, go.

SEAN: Nah… I’m done with Finn. There’s plenty of better guys out there.

Talk to Mom lately?

SEAN: Yeah got a call from her two weeks ago. Business has been booming ever since… they legalized it in Arizona. So, expect an extra big birthday present this year.

DANIEL: Bet you want to move there so you can (he makes a toking motion)

SEAN: Haha, maybe after I graduate!

DANIEL: (sigh) I miss Away.

SEAN: I do too. There was something special about that place. Everyone there was so chill. Not like here.

Ask about Away

DANIEL: And Joanne? Is she still-

SEAN: [sigh] The latest round of chemo didn’t work. So they’re preparing for the worst…

DANIEL: I want to see her Sean, before…

SEAN: I know enano. But Arizona’s too far and way too close to the border. The Feds would never go for it.

DANIEL: I don’t care!  I need to say goodbye to her, in-person.

SEAN: [sigh] Okay. I’ll talk to Flores, see if we can work something out.

DANIEL: Thanks Sean.

SEAN: Arthur and Stanley got a new puppy! His name is Rufus. He’s a bit of a handful but super cute.

DANIEL: No way!

SEAN: I’ve got pictures.

DANIEL: Dude! Send them now!

Ask About Sean’s Eye:

DANIEL: How’s your eye?

SEAN: Can’t complain. Still gets itchy from time to time but that’s what the eye lube’s for. 

DANIEL: Ew, can you not call it that?

Ask about Sean’s Appearance

DANIEL: Dude what’s with the beard? It looks all itchy and gross!

SEAN: You’re just jealous cuz you can’t grow one!

DANIEL: Could too! I just don’t want to.

SEAN: Yeah sure… Have your heuvos even dropped yet? 

DANIEL: Ewwww, shut up!

SEAN: I’ll take that as a no. And since you love my beard so much. Here, feel it! [He rubs his cheek against Daniel’s.]

DANIEL: (laughing) Stop Sean! That tickles! Quit it!

SEAN: RESPECT THE BEARD!

[Sean drapes his arm over Daniel who leans on his shoulder. They look at the night sky together]

DANIEL: Whoa... check out that moon!

SEAN: How about a team howl? For old times’ sake?

DANIEL: Yeah! Diaz Lobos! 

[They howl together as “Into the Woods” plays]

< Previous

[bigskydreaming]

Assume for the following scenario its a not-to-be-taken-all-that-seriously-AU Batfamily who has passed the point of caring if anybody knows that they’re actually all family. Or about like, public perception to any degree.

Just....imagine living in Gotham, and its 3 am and you’ve just left some club with a bunch of friends. You’re at the sole late-night hot dog vendor still out on the street, just grabbing something quick to eat so you don’t go to bed on an empty stomach.....and then waiting behind you all of a sudden, just casually talking to each other like its no big deal, is Nightwing and the Red Hood. 

And suddenly you and all your friends are just staring at each other wide-eyed like “Be cool, be cool” and trying to communicate via over-exaggerated glances that are in no way super-obvious: “Don’t they hate each other? There was that big fight between them in the Narrows a couple years ago, it was on TV.” 

Meanwhile, the vigilante and notorious antihero are just chatting like two old friends who’ve known each other for years.  

Then it gets more surreal. Because its Gotham, and that’s just how Gotham rolls.

Nightwing and Red Hood both tense up at the same time and swivel to face a patch of shadows that looks the same as any other to you and your friends. You have zero clue what drew their attention...that is, at least until a wet and sullen looking Robin stalks angrily out of the darkness. He’s absolutely soaked from head to toe, his hood down, hair plastered to his forehead, cape dragging behind him and leaving a wet trail in his wake.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” the diminutive vigilante grunts out as he stops and stands next to his two taller and older....colleagues? Who are both making a valiant effort not to laugh. Well, Nightwing is. Upon closer inspection, it looks like the Red Hood is so entertained he’s skipped straight to the “desperately trying to find air with which to breathe” part of hysterics.

“Oh, but I want to talk about it,” a voice says from above, and then suddenly with a light, barely perceptible thump, Red Robin alights on the ground next to the other costumed crime fighters. He seems uncharacteristically giddy, at least judging by what little you know about this particular vigilante: which is basically just that you heard from a friend who heard from a friend whose roommate was present at a crime scene he was at with the cops, that like “dude is super serious, like, in that kinda intense kinda way, you know?”

“I loathe you with every fiber of my being.” The smallest vigilante glares at the newcomer - or at least, you assume he is, beneath the domino mask they all wear. The rest of his body language certainly sells that impression clearly enough. His ire is met with a negligent hand-wave, as if this is old news and not remotely worth acknowledging.

“So, Robin, why would you bother seeking out Nightwing and Red Hood if you didn’t want to talk about your current situation?” The allegedly super-serious Red Robin continues, in a tone that can only be described as gleeful. “Seems to me the logical thing to do instead would be to just turn in for the night.”

“Obviously I was seeking out Nightwing,” the younger boy sneers. “As if I would ever seek out Red Hood’s help, other than as an absolute last resort.”

“Love you too, you megalomaniacal munchkin,” the notorious antihero says cheerfully, not bothered in the least. Your eyebrows are climbing your forehead like its Mt. Everest and they have a world record to beat for fastest race to the top. You know for a fact you’ve heard like, at least ten different stories about the Red Hood killing a man for far less of an insult than that. What is going on here? How drunk are you?

“Wait, so you’re saying you need help?” Red Robin jumps on that word choice like its the treasure find of the century. “You, Robin, the Boy Wonder? What could you possibly need help with?”

The youngest and smallest of the vigilantes couldn’t more clearly regret his phrasing as he stews with a kind of intensity that has you half expecting water to just start evaporating off him.

Ignoring - or at least attempting - to ignore Red Robin, the younger crime-fighter turns to face Nightwing with an expression like he’s just eaten a bowl full of lemons. 

“I need a ride home,” Robin grinds out at last, from between audibly clenched teeth.

“And why is that?” Red Robin persists, grinning almost maniacally.

“I will garrote you with your own entrails.”

Just then, because of course they would, Batgirl and Black Bat swoop down from above and join the assemblage. 

“Oh goody, the gang’s all here,” Red Hood grunts. It still doesn’t quite manage to come across as displeased.

“Signal’s not,” Nightwing points out. He looks around slightly, as if expecting the last of the young Gotham vigilantes to be lurking somewhere nearby as well. “Where is he tonight anyway?”

“He has midterms tomorrow,” Batgirl says off-handedly. “You know Agent A forbids any and all superhero shenanigans the night before midterms and finals, insisting on at least one good night’s rest.”

“Umm no, I do not. I definitely don’t remember that rule from when I was in school,” Red Hood says. “You?”

The latter is directed at Nightwing, who just shrugs and shakes his head.

“I’m pretty sure you two are the reason its a rule in the first place,” Red Robin jumps in. Hood scowls.

“Yeah right. I was a straight A student.”

“Well, that’s not totally true,” Nightwing drawls with a smirk. “What about Chemistry -”

“I will punch you in the throat if you finish that sentence.”

“Okay, putting a pin in that because there’s definitely a story there and I want it,” Batgirl chimes back in. “But at the moment, I’m more interested in hearing why Robin’s bike is in the middle of the harbor, according to its tracker? Inquiring minds want to know, and by inquiring minds I mean Oracle of course.”

There’s silence for a second, as all heads swivel to the smallest - and grumpiest - of the caped crowd...before Red Robin bursts into delighted laughter.

“Go ahead, tell them!” He crows. “You have to tell them now.”

Robin crosses his arms sullenly and stares at the ground as if willing it to swallow him whole. “I was in pursuit of one of Penguin’s enforcers.”

When he shows no indication of adding any further information to that, Red Robin supplies it for him.

“Who ducked!”

Dead silence then.

“You drove your cycle into the bay?”

“I did no such thing!” Robin bursts out. “I drove my cycle in pursuit of one of Penguin’s enforcers, as I said. He was getting ready to disengage a boat full of illegal arms from its berth at the docks, and I aligned my cycle perfectly so as to just barely clip his shoulder and knock him to the ground while I jumped off. And he did not duck.”

“So what did happen then?” Black Bat asks with a tiny smile playing on her lips. 

Robin mumbles something unintelligible.

“Sorry, nobody caught that. You must enunciate, youngling,” Batgirl says.

“I said he tripped, alright?!”

The group explodes into laughter, even if a couple of them like Nightwing and Black Bat seem to make token efforts at containing themselves for Robin’s sake. From the looks of him, the effort goes largely unappreciated, if not outright unnoticed. 

“He overshot the guy by a good two feet and zoomed straight into the bay before he could react,” Red Robin gasps out. “It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“Which will be all the shorter if you don’t shut up,” Robin grumbles crankily. 

“Can somebody please, please get video footage of B’s face when you tell him? I need it. For posterity and stuff,” Red Hood gasps out, almost doubled over.

“You could just come with us and see it yourself,” Nightwing points out. Hood waves a hand in dismissal.

“Eh, no thanks. He’s being an asshole again this week.”

“Is he being an asshole or are you being the asshole this time?” 

The Red Hood shrugs carelessly. “Whatever. Its one or the other. Look, I can’t be expected to keep track.”

“Mm-hmm,” Nightwing hums knowingly.

“Like father, like son,” Batgirl sing-songs. She reeks of smug. It clings to her like a perfume.

“Shut it Blondie, you’re still on my shit-list.”

“What did I do?”

“You know damn well what you did.”

“Do you?” Black Bat asks her in a low voice to the side of the main conversation. Batgirl grins brightly.

“Oh yeah, definitely. And better yet, Oracle has documented proof of what I did. I’ll show you when we get home.”

Whatever else transpires is lost amid the hangover haze you awake to several hours later. You’re still unsure whether the phrase “never meet your heroes” was substantiated by the experience or not.

Further data might be required.

[stranger-who-writes-fiction]

♫ Surfing on a soundwave, Swinging through the stars, Take a left at your intestine, Take your second right past mars!

On the Magic School smelly space bus! ♫

SPOILERS for Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #2!

This is a comic where, the longer I sit with a particular issue, the more I’m like, ‘yeah. Yeah. YEAH.’

It’s dense in a way that invites the reader to go through it multiple times, and rewards additional readthroughs.

Also, it helps that the art is FREAKING AMAZING.

Seriously. Evely and Lopes should draw and color everything, forever, always.

(I will honestly be shocked if they don’t get an Eisner nom for this book.)

Anyways, all of this to say: Another issue that I enjoyed. It has one of the most genuinely sweet Supergirl moments I’ve seen in the comics in a good long while.

So, if you’re looking for a quick thumbs up/thumbs down rating, thumbs up!

If you’d like some SPECIFICS, though...

THE STORY

King is an evil genius because we don’t pick up where we left off--rather, we start in the midst of the Space Bus journey.

There is technically a Big Action Scene, but I was honestly surprised by how...casually? the story progressed.

Essentially: Kara and Ruthye are forced to travel by bus because 1.) Krem stole Kara’s rocket and 2.) this corner of the universe doesn’t have the right stars, so Kara’s still recovering from being under a red sun for an extended period of time.

The bus makes occasional stops; they encounter a space dragon; Kara takes some Red Kryptonite and saves the day; they eventually arrive on a planet with a yellow sun. 

And again, all of this occurs with a kind of...breezy ease that I was not expecting at all.

I assumed that the space dragon fight would make up the final moments of the issue, after having built up the problem to a point where Kara needed to intervene.

But, noooope. The space dragon happens somewhere in the middle, which helps sell the central idea that this is simply Kara’s life. She’s been there, done that. She’s a badass who takes it all in stride.

But! Important to note! Ruthye still marvels at the sight of Kara taking out the space dragon, as well she should, because:

OH MY GOD. THE aRT.

There’s only so many times I can say, ‘it’s phenomenal, it’s gorgeous, it’s stunning’ before sounding like a broken record.

But it is. It truly is. This is the prettiest monthly book on the stands right now.

(Realizing I’ve been spelling Ruthye wrong this entire time, maybe? IDK. Apologies if I have.)

It’s in the final moments of the book that we learn what transpired after Krem shot Kara and Krypto and fled: Kara managed to get Krypto and Ruthye to a healer, and then passed out for a week. 

Ruthye and Kara recovered, buuuuut...

Krypto is still very near death because the arrow was poisoned.

The healer can’t treat him until he has a sample of the poison.

Which Krem has.

(See where this is going?)

So! Kara regains her powers! Ruthye has a super on her side! KRYPTO’S LIFE HANGS IN THE BALANCE!

Gimme. Issue. 3. STAT.

THE CHARACTERS

Very much enjoyed Ruthye in this issue!

There’s a really tricky balancing act you gotta pull off when writing child characters; you don’t want to just write them as tiny adults, but you also don’t want to be obnoxious or cloying in trying to write ‘true-to-age.’

King gives himself a bit of a cheat, by setting her up as a rock farmer from a...what would you call it. An old-fashioned planet? And thus the kind of character who had to ‘grow up fast’ and behaves more maturely than your typical pre-teen might.

BUT! IMPORTANTLY! This is tempered by placing Ruthye in situations where her (understandable) ignorance is challenged/put to the test. Like, yes, she is mature, and well-spoken, and utterly tenacious, but she’s also out of her depth, and still in need of help and guidance.

(Which is how we get to The Best Scene which I’ll get to in just a sec.)

TL;DR - this issue has really sold me on Ruthye as our POV character and I am officially Invested in the relationship between her and Kara.

Speaking of...

It’s KARA-CTERIZATION TIME!

So, okay. There’s some ‘eh’ stuff in this one, but, BUT!

We got the goods again.

And by ‘goods’ I mean this:

Whatever other nitpicks I have (and I do! Have one! Which I’ll get to!) THIS. This right here! This is Supergirl. This is Kara.

And what a beautiful line to introduce this moment:

“And it began--as most things begin when you’re dealing with Supergirl--with a moment of kindness.”

It’s the same gentle concern we saw in the previous issue, where Kara knelt down to address Ruthye eye-to-eye. 

Here, Kara’s facial expression, and the way she takes Ruthye’s hands and shows her what to do...

It’s just. SO SWEET.

Ahhhhh it’s so good. :D

So good! In fact! That the above scene offsets my one complaint, which is that Kara came off as harsh, IMO, when addressing the bus passengers, looking for Red K. 

Other good stuff from this particular portion of the book: we get Kryptonese (maybe? I think?) And a mention of Kara’s mother being strict about certain things, which is in keeping with the 2000s series version of Alura.

Ruthye also asks if Kara ever tried to avenge the death of her family/culture and she says no; Ruthye says that she heard a lifetime of regret in Kara’s response, which I suppose could be read one of two ways:

1.) That she regrets her choice not to avenge them, or 2.) that she regrets not having the option to avenge them, as there was no one person to punch, no single action that could rectify the destruction of the entire planet.

I personally prefer the second reading.

Which I suppose contradicts the recent-ish “Killers of Krypton” arc, but who knows what is and isn’t canon anymore, honestly. XD

As for the rest of the issue! I found myself thinking of a Grant Morrison interview, actually.

Morrison apparently met a Superman cosplayer at a con and that’s when the character clicked for them: “[The superman cosplayer] was so in the character, but what really got me was the way he was sitting. It was this absolutely relaxed pose with one knee up and the arm bent over, and that’s what broke Superman for me. Suddenly I realized that Superman wouldn’t be a poser, he wouldn’t be a Muscle Beach steroid guy; he’d actually be completely relaxed because nothing could hurt him. He could be so open and friendly to everyone because no one can punch him or hurt him. He can’t get a cold, or be damaged by anything you’re carrying or wearing. For me that was the power of that, whether you want to frame it as magical or not, it actually informed the stories I wanted to write. I felt I understood him in a way I hadn’t until that moment.”

That’s always stuck with me, the idea that Clark would be the most at-ease, chill guy you'd ever talk to.

And THAT, I think, is what we’re seeing here with Kara. That at-ease-ness.

But in a way that is distinct from Clark! In the above quote, it’s clear that Morrison thinks it’s Clark’s powers that are the reason he can be so relaxed and at ease.

But Kara is de-powered here. So why is she so chill?

Because Kara is an alien.

Kara’s in her element, here. She’s used to space travel, she knows the ins-and-outs, she’s not shocked by any of the weird stuff they encounter on their journey. 

Love it. LOVE. IT.

I am SO GLAD that King decided to go with Kara being the wizened mentor, as opposed to the naïve kid learning to be tough. It’s a much more interesting angle, IMO.

Also NO MENTION OF RIVALRY BETWEEN KARA AND CLARK. WOO. LET’S KEEP THIS ROLLIN’.

Alright, last, but certainly not least:

THE GOOD BOY! KRYPTO!

When I tell you I stress-read this entire comic first thing in the morning...XD

And I am STILL stressed. And a little sad that Krypto doesn’t get to go on another space adventure but! This is MIGHTY PREFERABLE to what I *thought* was going to happen, which is that Krypto would die from his injuries, and Kara would likewise be out for revenge. 

Fortunately, that is not the case! 

So like, the stakes?!?! Suddenly sky high. Find that dirtbag Krem and GET THAT POISON BACK TO THE HEALER!!

ART and MISC. STUFF THAT I LOVE

I generally don’t like to post entire pages of a comic, or panels without context, but the...reach? of this blog is extremely limited so. I think we’ll be okay. XD

So, alright! Some moments that I particularly enjoyed!

One of the panels that Mat Lopes shared early on! 

I want this lettered version on a mug.

(Also she looks very ’Grace Kelly-ish’ here.)

Love Kara’s facial expression and her line about space travel being more fun when you can fly.

From the same portion of the book--such a neat detail that Kara keeps her cash in her sleeve!

Another set of panels that I think Tom King shared a few months back.

Love Kara’s little smirk, and the, “I’m wearing a big yellow S on my chest, and a very fashionable red skirt.”

It IS fashionable. WE SUPPORT THE SKIRT, IN THIS HOUSE.

Also the slrrrrrrp. XD

It’s good.

Okay, 1.) VERY COOL SCI-FI DESIGN and 2.) that line is great. “Can you feel it, Ruthye? We’re getting closer. The stars are changing.”

Mmmm, them good cosmic Kara vibes.

Kara’s attitude about the Red K here is fun, like, ‘WELP, sometimes you turn into a monster, sometimes you don’t!’ but again, the line is what gets me.

“Did my hair move?”

“I do not believe so.”

XD

Honestly? I could post the whole comic here. Evely’s vision of ‘public transit, but space’ is just so immediately...not ‘real’, necessarily, because there’s such a fantastical element to it all, but it is fully realized. I think I used the phrase ‘lived-in’ and that’s it--this world feels like it has always existed; every grimy nook and cranny, every rando space bus traveler.

And Mat Lopes’ colors!

There are like, five distinct color palettes at work in this issue, and Lopes handles them all masterfully.

I think my favorite is the...I’ll call it ‘ethereal space aquarium’ lighting in the bus as they view the space dragon.

The glow and the shadows and the blues and pinks...

GGGGGGGGAAAHHHHHHHHHH so goooooooood

So, yeah. :D

I am very much enjoying this weird, wild ride with small, precocious Ruthye and wizened, crusty Kara. XD There’s some stuff that I don’t *love* but my goodness, it could be a lot worse!

Let us end on the beautiful title page:

[peanutpinet]

Nine Percent Scenarios for @ninepercent._.forever on IG

Cause she chose majority soft pics, so here is a soft group pic of the boys uwu <3

Cai Xukun

Can I just say one more time, silver hair Kunkun is *chefs kiss*

Alright, for this, I’d imagine that Kun was attending your graduation (high school or university, whichever you’d like) and when it was finally your turn to go up and take your paper/medal/diploma, etc; Kun would instantly smile, pointing at you/wave at you when you turn around to face the audience. I would also feel that Kun would brag about you to the people around him (if it’s your parents then he’ll be like ‘she’s so amazing’).

“That’s my girl!! Yeap!! That stunning, breath-taking, kind-hearted, smart girl is mine. You go sweetheart!!”

Chen Linong

OMO LOOK HOW SOFT NONGNONG IS WITH THAT CAT!! I DIE

Alright!! For this one, I feel that you guys are roommates and were heading back when you guys noticed this cat that doesn’t look alright. Nongnong (being the animal lover he is) would go over to the cat and pet it. When Nongnong said that the cat seems to be sick, he would suggest to bring it to the vet; which you agreed, without question.

After getting checked, the vet gave Nongnong a prescription and Nongnong just held the cat in his arms, soothing it and telling it that it’ll be alright. Upon the sight, you just can’t help but die of cuteness and just had to take a picture of him.

“Don’t worry lil guy, I got you. You’re going to be just fine!!” *insert is uwu smile*

Fan Chengcheng

Alright, alright, for this pic of Chengcheng, I feel that he was bored at home and was like “Hey!! (Y/N)!! Let’s go out!! I’m bored” and since you were also just being a couch potato (mind you, a hot couch potato), you were like “ehhh, I don’t see why not”. Especially when Chengcheng is the one picking you up and dropping you back.

So, the two of you went out the whole day. Had brunch together then went to the mall to do some window shopping/actual shopping, whichever one you are. Afterwards, you guys just decided to walk along the streets for a bit before going back home. Along the way, it started to snow and you were mesmerised by it and didn’t noticed that Chengcheng was staring until you turned around to see him (cue the pic).

“Isn’t it pretty Cheng?”

“Sure is” (looks at you)

Justin Huang Minghao

I SWEAR!! JUSTIN CAN LOOK 20+ IN ONE MINUTE AND 16 IN THE NEXT. LIKE HOW?!

Anyways, I imagine that you guys were just hanging out since it was finally winter break. So, Justin decided to celebrate your winter break by inviting you to join him for a little outing. Like, he’s so full of energy, he wants to go out and just move!! So, the two of you were now walking along the park when you started to feel tired from all the walking and decided to take a break by just sitting down on a bench, looking at the beautiful scenery in front of you. When Justin decided to sit next to you and look at you and you were a bit taken aback when he gave you that face (the picture).

“Wh-what are you looking at?”

“You. I never noticed how much your eyes are glowing. It’s pretty. And not to mention your smile. It’s just contagious. I hope that you would smile often from now on”

Lin Yanjun

Alright, I have no idea why she chose this pic of Yanjun. Clearly, you wanted to kill me huh, Aliya? Anyways, we’ll see what scenario I got

For this specific pic, since my dear friend wanted the boys to either be your guy friend/boyfriend, this is what I came up with. You and Yanjun were childhood friends; with Yanjun being like 4-5 years older and was the heir to a company which you decided to apply for. Of course, you still had to go through interviews and everything; Yanjun believes that you can never take the easy way out. 

However, the difference between you and your co-workers is that Yanjun would always asks you about your job at the end of the day which he knows that you worked hard since he heard it from your supervisor. Working under Yanjun was tough but he would never give you work that he knows you can’t handle and every now and then he would definitely treat you by taking you to your favourite restaurants/cafes at the weekend.

You have been working so hard and slowly climbed your way and was now Yanjun’s secretary. However, there were definitely some workers that were jealous of that. They’d be like “how can she become his secretary?” “just look at her! She doesn’t even look that good” and many more. But, it never really bothered you since you knew that dealing with those people are just a waste of your time and childish.

Unfortunately, it didn’t last long. Sure, you tried your best to not care. But when those people started being physical, it was just too hard to handle. You were constantly dozing away and easily distracted that Yanjun himself became worried. He would asked you every now and then but you didn’t tell him, you didn’t want to bother him since he was basically “shouldering” your expenses.

But fear not!! One day, he finally caught the workers red-handed. You were just about to get lunch for both you and Yanjun when the elevator didn’t work and so, you took the stairs. However, those jealous workers caught you, some of them purposely bumped into you, making the food you brought fall onto yourself. But little did they know that Yanjun was passing by since he forgot to handover a document to his management team. At first, Yanjun was already ready to come in and fight. But when he saw that it was you, he didn’t hesitate one bit. He shouted at the workers, scaring them and you.

To say that the workers were scared was an understatement. Nope, they were petrified at this point. Yanjun was walking down the stairs, hands in his pockets and his gaze, colder than ever. He went to your side, asking you if you were alright but all you could do was let out a little hiccup. Noticing your state, Yanjun pulled you into a hug, looking back at the workers and told them that he’ll deal with them later and he hope that they have cleaned their belongings from the office.

“OI!! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!”

“Sshhh, are you alright? Is this why you’ve been dozing off lately?”

“J-jun...”

“ *sigh* I’ll deal with all of you later. Oh, and I hope that by the time I call you to my office, all of your belongings are packed”

“Is alright, I got you (Y/N). Please tell me the next time this happens”

“B-but...you just fired them?” 

“(Y/N)...you’re too sweet sometimes, you know that? I hope you know that things like this shouldn’t be taken lightly. I care about you, you know. Now c’mon, let’s get you cleaned up and I’ll order some food for us, your favourites, kay?”

HOW DO I WRITE SO LONG FOR HIM?! AND WITH THIS KIND OF SCENARIO!! AGGHHH CURSE MY WRITING

Zhu Zhengting

Mama Ting holding a big fluffy panda?! Welp, time to fly over to visit him (JK)

So, I feel that the two of you were hanging out all day, just a normal day of at your place, cooking, baking and watching TV shows/films all day when suddenly, the sun finally sets and it was night time. Since the both of you were too tired to cook, Zhengting suggested you guys have dinner at a nearby restaurant which of course, in the end, mama Ting paid for everything.

Whilst walking you back home, you both saw this place with a claw machine and you just so happen to see a huge panda in there. Determined to get it, you spent quite a pretty penny on it but failed to grabbed it. However, mama Ting decided to step in and get the doll for you. Which he finally did, after 7 tries.

“Th-the panda...Let me have the panda...please!!”

“Step aside (Y/N), I’ll get it for you!!”

“OMO!! TING!! YOU GOT IT!!”

“I GOT IT!!! Uhh, can I cuddle with it until we reached your home?”

“Is alright, since you got it, it should be yours”

“Eh?! Really?! I’M GOING TO GET TWO NEXT TIME!!”

Wang Ziyi

Can I say, Ziyi, multitasking to a new level man!!

So, for this pic, I thought that it’s been a while since you and Ziyi went out to grab a bite or catch up because he was very busy. However, since it was your birthday, he really didn’t want to cancel anymore plans. So, instead! He just cancelled meetings and all but he still brought a few work with him; works that he can easily finish in a short amount of time. Though he would apologise first-hand that he still had some unfinished business to take care of before you even got a chance to ask him.

“I’m really sorry that I had to bring some work with me today, (Y/N)”

“It’s fine Ziyi. I’m just happy that you even had the time to take me out”

“It’s your birthday. I wouldn’t miss it for anything else. Even though I’m technically somewhat working right now”

“I said it’s fine Ziyi. I’m happy that you’re here to spend the day with me”

“Aishh, you’re too nice (Y/N). Eh, eat up, the food will get cold! I just need to sign a few of these then I’m all yours for the day :)”

Xiao Gui

It’s been a while since I saw a soft Gui but hey!! I aint complaining!!

For Xiaogui, I feel that you finally graduated from university and was on your way back home. Well to be exact you were already back, it’s just that Xiaogui hasn’t had the time to see you. But!! He made it his mission that when he does see you, he would give you a surprise that you would never thought of.

He texted you saying that he had some free time and would like to meet up at the park that you guys used to hang out back in school. But little did you know that when you walked by the park, you saw Xiaogui, sitting on the stairs with a bouquet in his hands, a smile slowly formed on his face the minute you came into his sight.

“Kai (Wang Linkai, yea), wh-what’s all this? Are we going somewhere? OOH!! Is it for a special someone?”

“They sure are. You!”

“That’s...wait?! Me?! Wh-what?!” *cue blushing mess*

“Of course!! Congratulations on finishing your degree!! I’m proud of you (Y/N). Sorry that I have been very busy but, I wanted to do something special since you always send me something special. So, dinner?”

“I’d love to!! Thank you Kai!!”

You Zhangjing

Zhangjing in a suit!! YIKES!!! I NEED TO BREATHE!! PHEW!! OKAY!! ONTO THE SCENARIO!!

So, this is another slightly hard scenario to think of. But, here goes nothing. So, I imagine that you guys decided to have a date night since it has been a while you guys had like an actual proper date night. HECK!! Zhangjing even went all out and booked your favourite restaurant and brought out his suit for crying out loud!! Anyways, the date night, as you’d expect, was lovely. Zhangjing made sure that you get whatever food/drink you’d like then of course, Zhangjing being the responsible gentleman he is, brought you home. However, on you way back, you guys saw this bush with roses on them. And you know what Zhangjing did?

“Hey (Y/N)!!”

“Hmm? What is it Zhangjing?”

“Roses are red, violets are blue. I may not be able to rhyme but there is nothing prettier than you”

“OMG ZHANGJING!! STAWWPP!! Or more like, stop asking Yanjun for pick up lines for crying out loud!!”

[dreamingwithbts]

Demon (Boku No Hero) - Chapter 4

Warning: Swearing

“Now, it’s time for combat training!” All Might say. “Sir!” I hear Lida and I look at him in his costume. “He looks like a transformer.” I think. “This is a battle center from the entrance exam, so will we be conducting urban battles again?” Lida asks All Might. “No, we’re going to move ahead two steps! Most of the time, fighting villains takes place outside, but if you look at the total numbers, atrocious villains appear indoors at a higher rate. Imprisonment, house arrest, backroom deals. In this society filled with heroes, truly intelligent villains hide in the shadows!” All Might say and everyone hears him attentively. “For this class, you’ll be split into villains and heroes and fight 2-on-2 indoor battles. However, the key this time is that there’s no robot you can just beat up.” All Might say. “Can we beat them up anyway?” Bakugo says of course. “Will the punishment be expulsion like with Aizawa-sensei?” I hear Uraraka. “How shall we be split up?” Lida asks. I see Dad explaining the exercise by reading a scrip and I couldn’t listen to him since I was trying not to laugh. “Teams and opponents will be determined by drawing lots!” All Might say showing us a yellow box. “Sensei! There’s an even number!” Lida says. “Yes, one group will have 3!” All Might say. “Isn’t that unfair?” Kaminari asks. “Expect the unexpected!” All Might say laughing loud.

 I went to the box and I took the letter B, I look around seeing who has the same letter. “Who has the letter B?” I ask. “Me.” I hear a familiar voice. “Shoto!” I almost scream, happy I was in a familiar face. “Aka.” Shoto says nodding, smiling a little, missing the glare Bakugo was giving at Shoto. “Why did she end up with him? Does she know him?” Bakugo thinks frowning. I look around, and I see Lida was paired with Bakugo. “Good luck Lida.” I think then I see Izuku with Uraraka. “Yes! My ship is sailing!” I say under my breath celebrating. “What?” Shoto asks me serious. “Nothing, nothing!” I say still smiling.

All Might picks up the starting team, and how coincident. “Team A will be heroes, and Team D will be the villains. Everyone else, head toward the monitor room.” All Might say. “Shit.” I think when I see is Izuku versus Bakugo. “His going to kill him.” I think, imagining Izuku death. We started leaving them. “Good luck Izu-kun, I know you can do it!” I say smiling and patting his back. “T...thanks Aka-chan.” Izuku says nervous. “Don’t kill him.” I say to Bakugo when I pass next to him. “Shut up.” He responds.

 Everyone was in the monitor room watching has they prepared the battle, I was next to Shoto nervous for Izuku, looking at Dad I know he was nervous too. I see Deku successfully dodging and able to attack Bakugo. “You can do this Izuku, but I have a feeling this is making him more angrier.” I think serious watching the battle. I heard All Might talking with my classmates, but I was to focus on the battle.

Minutes passed and the battle is getting worse and worse. “All Might.” I warn him. “Young Bakugo, the next time you use that, I’ll stop the fight, and your team will lose. To attack on such a large scale inside is inviting the destruction on the stronghold you should be protecting. That is a foolish plan for both heroes and villains! You will lose a lot of points for it!” All Might say. “His not going to stop.” I say making everyone look at me. “Why do you say that?” Kirishima says, and I could feel Dad eyes on me. “Bakugo deeply, isn’t doing this to win. His doing this to destroy Izuku, winning this would be a bonus.” I say serious, not taking my eyes off Izuku and Bakugo and everyone stays quiet. “Akuma is right, as a teacher, I should stop this.” All Might think. I hear everyone talking about Bakugo, but I only stay beside Dad worried about Izuku. “All Might!” I scream watching the battle, seeing Izuku being destroyed. “Bakugo! Stop! Don’t do this!” I yell in the mic. “Aka-chan!” Izuku says shocked while Bakugo stops walking frozen. “SHUT UP DEMON!” Bakugo yells angry but doesn’t move. “This doesn’t concern you.” He says and starts running towards Izuku again. “Dammit!” I say. “Akuma voice almost stop him, why?” All Might thinks. I saw Dad struggling to know what to do. “All Might!” I say and also Kirishima tried to stop the battle.

Everyone was shocked looking at the end of the battle, I look at the ground my hair covering my face while I try to control my anger and Quirk. “I’m disappointed with you.” I say to Dad, the only one to hear me. “Akuma.” He whispers while I leave the room and go to the battle building. “Aka-chan.” Mina says seeing me leave. “Eh? Where is she going?” Kirishima asks. “Hero Team wins!” I still hear All Might.

 I enter the building room seeing Izuku being taken to the infirmary by robots, I stop and kneel beside him. “You did good, Izuku. You won.” I say and get up again seeing him go with the robots, then I look at Bakugo who was frozen in place. Silently I walk towards him and stay in front of him, red mist covering my fist, he looks at me and I punch him hard making him go against the wall, making a hole with the strength I throw him. “I’m going to kill you.” I say quietly making his eyes big, shocked, my eyes were almost red in anger, looking at him. “Not now, but if you do that again. I will kill you.” I say my red mist disappearing, and I leave the room leaving him hurt on the floor, both physically and mental. I passed by Dad without looking at me, and we don’t say anything. “WHY? WHY DOES SHE PROTECT HIM? WHY DOES HE HAVE SO MUCH LUCKY? WHY DAMMIT?” Bakugo thinks watching her leave.

 I enter the room and stand beside Shoto and everyone went silence looking at me, but no one said anything. “You okay?” Shoto asks me. “Fine.” I answer, and he goes silence again, then All Might and the others enter the room. “Well, even if I say that, the MVP for this battle was Young Lida!” All Might say, while Yaoyorozu talks I observe Bakugo, who doesn’t takes his eyes from the floor.

“All right everyone, let’s change locations and start the second match. Match two! Team B are the heroes, and Team I are the villains!” All Might continues the class.

Shoto and I were in the front of the building. “Like old times right Shoto.” I say smiling. “Yes. Let’s go.” Shoto says, and we enter the building fighting against an invisible girl and a guy with a tail. “They know each other?” Kirishima asks noticing that we knew each other. “Lucky guy.” Kaminari says. “So she does know him, how?” Bakugo thinks.

“Now, let’s start the second indoor person-to-person combat training match!” All Might say. “You know what to do.” Shoto says, and I nod immediately start using my red mist to levitate myself, trying not to touch the walls and floor while Shoto freezes everything. Shoto and I enter the room where they are with the weapon. “Hello!” I say levitating smiling at them who pose to fight. “You can move if you want, but the skin on your feet will come off, so you won’t be able to fight your best.” Shoto says stopping at the door. “That was dark Shoto.” I say while levitating towards the weapon. “He did not cause any damage to his teammate or the nuclear weapon, and on top of that, he weakened the enemy. And her using her Quirk was able to be with him and assist in any case, she was able to control her Quirk good enough to not touch the ice and is able to support the cold.” All Might say to the class. “They are so strong!” The class says.

“Hero Team wins!” All Might sas when I touch the weapon. Shoto starts melting the ice, so I levitate myself to the ground stopping my Quirk. “Sorry. The difference in our ability was too great.” Shoto says making me shake my head smiling. “You never change Shoto.” I think and all of us leave the building. “All right, everyone gather round for a review of the second match. Next, we will begin the third match!” All Might say. “He is very strong. She is too. Both stronger than me.” Bakugo thinks angry.

 The rest of the battles went on normally and the end of class came fast. “Good work everyone! We didn’t have any major injuries other than Young Midoriya, either!” All Might say, and I glare at Bakugo when Izuku was mention, and he only ignores me. “Well then, I must review the results with Young Midoriya! Change and return to the classroom!” All Might say running out. “Review, sure!” I think rolling my eyes teasing him in my mind.

The girls, who I finally knew the names, and I were changing to our normal uniform. “Aka-chan? Are you going to visit Deku?” Ochaco, who insists for me to call her that, asks me. “No, I know his going to be fine.” I say. “You were terrifying when you went to Bakugo.” Jiro. “Especially the punch!” Mina says imitating me. “He deserves it.” I say like it has nothing. “Is Midoriya your boyfriend Aka-san?” Yaoyorozu asks me making me almost shock on air. “What! No! His like a brother to me.” I say clarifying everything, and I swear I heard Ochaco sigh in relief.

The rest of the afternoon classes went normal with Izuku still in the infirmary, but Dad text me saying he was fine.

 The last class ended, and I see Bakugo quietly get out of the classroom without talking to anyone, a few minutes later I see Izuku entering the classroom, I smile at him who smiles back before everyone surrounds him, then suddenly he looks at Bakugo seat, seeing his not there and quickly left the class. “Well guys, I’m really tired, so I’m going to go home. See you tomorrow!” I say waving goodbye. “Bye Aka-chan!” Some yell at me while others just nod, and I leave following Izuku, but instead of listening to his conversation with Bakugo I teleport to the school gate waiting, for him.

“As I watched the ice guy and the demon girl I thought, ‘‘I can’t beat them’’! Damn it! I ended up agreeing with what that ponytail girl said! And I should have listened to the demon girl when she told me to stop! Damn it! Damn it, damn it!” Bakugo says to Izuku.

I see Bakugo passing beside me crying not noticing me. “Going home Time Bomb?” I ask teasing him starting to walk with him and I see him trying to cover his crying. “What do you want Demon?” He asks. “It’s okay to cry, you know.” I say. “I’m not crying!” He screams. “Okay!” I say putting my hands in surrender, then we keep walking in silence.

“Aka-chan?” Izuku says when he notices me walking with Bakugo. “Oh, I understand now.” All Might say making Izuku confused. “This may be good, they can support each other.” All Might think.

“Why are you following me?” He asks putting his hands in the pocket. “I’m not, were just going in the same direction.” I say and we both know that was a lie, but we kept walking together in a comfortable silence until we came to a crossing road. “Well, I’m going this way.” I say pointing to the right. “I’m going here.” He says pointing to the left. “Well then, see you tomo...eh?” I start saying. “What are you doing?” I ask him when I saw him going right. “What do you think I’m doing you stupid girl?! I’m taking you home!” He says not looking at me, so I didn’t see his blush. “Own! Who knew Bakugo could be nice!” I say laughing. “SHUT UP!” He screams.

 Note: Hope you like it! New chapter every Friday!

Tag List: @holaaaf​​

[tiramisiyu]

【未定事件簿】Tears of Themis: Main Story 6-13 Translation

Translation Masterlist | Video

Chapter 6 – Tiger’s Accomplice Ghost (Parts 1, 2): 6-1 / 6-3 / 6-5 / 6-7 / 6-9 / 6-11 / 6-13 / 6-15 ♦️ ♦️  6-16 / 6-18 / 6-20 / 6-22 / 6-24 / 6-26 / 6-27 / 6-28 / 6-29

--

Fu Qiao’s House

Tuesday night 8:00PM, we arrived at Fu Qiao’s house. Fu Qiao and Zhou Nan co-rented a place, so it sounded like they were somewhat richer than other university students, but the area of the place they lived in was actually very small.

MC: This house is just about 30 square meters, right.

On the left of the entrance was the washroom, and on the right, there was a very simple kitchen. There was a washing machine right under the induction stove. Deeper inside, there was a bed and book table. You could see everything in one look – the room was small enough that there wasn’t space for excess seating.

Fu Qiao: More or less. Rent in the middle of the city is expensive, and we can’t afford any larger.

Zuo Ran: Campus housing has cheap rent. You and Zhou Nan were both students, so why not rent a place there?

Fu Qiao: Nannan… didn’t go to school often. She spent more time going to the bar.

Fu Qiao: The transit here is convenient. You can take the subway to directly get to the bar or school.

MC: How many transit lines do you have to take to get from here to Xunye?

Fu Qiao: You take Line 7 to Changzhou Station, then switch to Line 3 to Jinyang Street to get there.

Zuo Ran: Isn’t it alright to take Line 7 straight to the bar? Having to switch rides must be troublesome.

Fu Qiao: Xunye Bar is on the other side of the road. If you get off the stop on the bar’s street, you’ll have to walk quite a distance over. Taking Jinyang Street is relatively closer.

Fu Qiao: From C exit, Xunye is a few steps east.

>Fu Qiao is lying!

MC: (Fu Qiao is lying. If he never knew where Xunye was, then how could he be so familiar with switching rides on the subway to get there!)

I pretended to casually shoot Zuo Ran a glance, and our eyes met. It was obvious that we were thinking the same thing.

MC: After Zhou Nan’s accident, you didn’t move back to live around on campus? You can save on costs like this.

Fu Qiao: No. I’m already in my fourth year of university, and I’m mostly focusing on internships and looking for work, so I don’t really go back to school.

Fu Qiao: Plus, we rented this place early on – we rented in first year. Rent was cheap back then, and it hasn’t risen these past few years.

Fu Qiao: It’s now really hard to find a place nearby at this price, so I didn’t back out of renting this place for future work convenience.

MC: That’s true. Real estate prices have grown fast in these past few years.

Fu Qiao: Ah, look at me, I forgot that I don’t have extra chairs at home, letting you two stand while talking.

Fu Qiao: In the past when Nannan and I were at home, it would always be one person sitting on the bed while the other sat on the chair. If we placed more around, they wouldn’t see any use.

Fu Qiao: Please wait for a bit, I’ll go borrow some from a neighbour.

Zuo Ran: Thank you for your trouble.

--

As Fu Qiao was gone, Zuo Ran and I could take this opportunity to observe if there were any clues in Fu Qiao’s house.

MC: Lawyer Zuo, have you noticed where things aren’t quite right in this house?

Zuo Ran: Mm, there are several places.

>Select: Closet

MC: Lawyer Zuo, look at that transparent closet.

The doors of the closet in Fu Qiao’s place were transparent – it could be considered as a sort of simplistic, industrial style.

MC: It seems like it’s all male clothing in there. I don’t see any female clothing in there at all.

Zuo Ran: There are few clothes hung in there – it’s clear that there’s still lots of space.

Zuo Ran: But we can’t exclude the possibility that Fu Qiao placed Zhou Nan’s items in a box to keep them.

Zuo Ran: Look at the bottom shelf – there are storage boxes.

MC: But based on my experience in putting away clothes, storage boxes typically contain clothes for other seasons.

MC: The weather’s not cold these days, and the clothes Fu Qiao hung are all unlayered clothes…

MC: Thick clothes like down clothing are probably inside the storage boxes.

Zuo Ran: If we consider that, there are only two storage boxes, so there isn’t space to put Zhou Nan’s clothes.

Zuo Ran: Because even if they were compressed, with the addition of winter bed linings, he would only be able to stuff it inside the closet.

MC: The topmost shelf of the closet is also empty…

MC: Is it possible that Fu Qiao threw away Zhou Nan’s clothes?

MC: But didn’t Zhao Fei say that they were all left for Fu Qiao as mementos? Since they’re mementos, why would he throw them?

This was very contradictory – I had somewhat of a hard time figuring it out.

Zuo Ran: We’ll indirectly ask him later.

 >Select: Closet (2)

MC: This kind of simplistic, industrial-style closet seems to be really popular these days – it’s fashionable.

Zuo Ran: I favour wooden furniture more – they have more of a sense of reality, and they look stable.

Zuo Ran: What about you?

MC: For me…

MC: Seems like there’s nothing I prefer in particular – fashionable or retro, I’m fine with it all.

Zuo Ran: Is that so… I understand.

  >Select: Bookshelf

Zuo Ran: “Basic Applications of Chemistry”, “Calculus”…

Zuo Ran: They should be Fu Qiao’s books.

MC: There isn’t a single book on photography, and there aren’t any pictures in the room like at Zhao Fei’s house…

MC: Even if Zhou Nan didn’t like studying, didn’t go to classes, and didn’t get teaching materials, she should still have photography equipment.

MC: She even went to a bar to work for photography, so she probably truly liked it.

Zuo Ran: There also isn’t any photography equipment in anywhere visible…

Zuo Ran: Photography equipment are expensive items, and they must have been things that Zhou Nan valued, so where could they be kept…?

 >Select: Bookshelf (2)

MC: Lawyer Zuo, you have a lot of collected books in your house, right – are they all law-related books?

Zuo Ran: Half of the second floor at my house is a movies and music room, and half is book room – the books I’ve collected could be considered to be many.

Zuo Ran: Aside from law, there are also movies, philosophy, science fiction, and some original German books.

MC: If there’s a chance, could I borrow some to read?

Zuo Ran: Of course. You’re welcome anytime.

 >Select: Dresser

MC: A guy’s dresser sure is simple…

Zuo Ran: Will a lady have many things on her dresser?

Zuo Ran: Things like skincare products and jewelry?

MC: That’s right! Aside from the skincare products everyone knows about, I’ve even got several kinds of combs.

MC: Such as hairbrushes, toothed combs, round brushes, bristle brushes, et cetera…

Zuo Ran: Is it to deal with different hairstyles?

MC: Of course.

MC: But the toughest part of every day is seeing all the hair that I’ll never be able to fully clear off from the combs…

Just as I’d spoken, I heard Zuo Ran laugh quietly.

MC: If I already got the high-level lawyer qualification, I probably wouldn’t be troubled by this.

Zuo Ran: No, you’ve misunderstood, I didn’t intend to laugh at you.

Zuo Ran: I just feel like you… are very lively like this.

MC: Eh?

Zuo Ran: I don’t see you like this often.

MC: …

Zuo Ran: I’ve learned it from you now. When I go home, I’ll research the different types of combs – usually, I really don’t use this many.

MC: But, Lawyer Zuo, what are you studying up on this for…

Smiling, Zuo Ran shook his head without replying to me.

 >Select: Dresser (2)

Zuo Ran: Most of the things on the dresser are things that males use. There is no indication that a woman lived here.

MC: (Where did Fu Qiao store Zhou Nan’s things?)

 >Select: Bed

Zuo Ran: There is only one pillow on the bed, and the bedsheets are also the dark-coloured style preferred by men…

MC: Yeah. Typically, though the fabrics on often get washed, it’s rare for them to be thrown away, unless if they’re damaged.

MC: For the blankets, quilts, and so on that I’ve bought, I’ll use them for several years.

MC: This is even more so for pillows – I’m reluctant to switch them out after getting used to them…

MC: But Fu Qiao… though it’s a two-person bed, it’s obvious that only one person used the fabrics on the bed.

MC: And it’s the kind that guys prefer…

Zuo Ran: After Zhou Nan’s death, he threw all the things they originally had, and changed to a new set.

Zuo Ran: We can’t exclude this possibility.

MC: Anyway, if it were me, I probably wouldn’t buy fabrics of this style.

--

MC: Looking at Fu Qiao’s house furnishings, it looks just like he’s completely erased all the indications of Zhou Nan living here.

Zuo Ran: Someone who loved deeply, who couldn’t retain in time the indications of his partner’s life after she passed…

Zuo Ran: He must be hiding something if he’s cleared everything out so cleanly.

Fu Qiao was taking a bit of a long time borrowing chairs, so Zuo Ran and I waited for quite a while before he came back.

--

Fu Qiao: My apologies, the neighbours around all get off work late, so most of them aren’t home.

MC: No need to worry, we were the ones to trouble you.

Fu Qiao: You can’t say that…

Fu Qiao: After Nannan passed, very few people still thought of her. Thank you for worrying and running around for her.

Zuo Ran: We were also entrusted to this by someone.

Fu Qiao: Uh, was it Nannan’s big brother? I’ve seen him a few times, though we’re not very familiar.

Fu Qiao: As for Nannan’s mother… she’s already emigrated to another country with her new family. After Nannan died, she only gave a call.

MC: …

Fu Qiao: You two said before that Nannan was murdered, so you mean… she didn’t use illegal drugs herself?

Zuo Ran: Yes, we suspect that Zhou Nan was deliberately murdered, so we wanted to get an understanding of the situation from you.

Zuo Ran: You should be the person who is the most familiar with her in this world.

Fu Qiao: How could that be… how could she have been murdered…

MC: Mr. Fu, do you mean that it’s not possible for someone to have murdered Zhou Nan?

Fu Qiao: Though Nannan worked as a bar waitress, which is kind of… you know, but she probably never started a feud with anyone.

>He didn’t approve of Zhou Nan!

MC: (With Fu Qiao’s tone, it’s clear that he doesn’t approve of bar waitressing!)

Fu Qiao: Ugh, I don’t know where to start, so ask as you please.

INTERROGATION START

Relations with Zhou Nan

MC: Mr. Fu, we just saw you burn the paper cranes – the relationship between you and Zhou Nan must have been excellent.

Fu Qiao: Mhmm, Nannan was my first love, as well as the only person I’ve ever liked up to now.

Fu Qiao: If not for Nannan’s incident, I had already prepared to marry her after graduating from fourth year, which would be next year.

Zuo Ran: Mr. Fu, I presume you aren’t a native to Stellis City and did not attend the same school as Zhou Nan. How did you two meet?

Fu Qiao: I’m not a Stellis City citizen – my family lives outside of the city.

Fu Qiao: I don’t really like to interact with people in real life. Instead, I chat with friends online more.

Fu Qiao: Nannan and I met online. I first liked the scenic pictures she took, then got to know her.

MC: Scenic pictures? Were they posted on social media?

Fu Qiao: Yes. We were both in high school back then, and there was lots of pressure to study, so I liked to look at her pictures to relive pressure.

Fu Qiao: During then, I vaguely felt like I liked Nannan, and I wrote in the Gaokao* that I aspired to go to Stellis City.

Fu Qiao: After we met offline when first year started, we officially started dating.

Zuo Ran: Looks like Zhou Nan’s photography skills are excellent.

Fu Qiao: Mhmm. To me, the pictures she took were the most beautiful.

 TL Note:

*Gaokao are China’s standardized tests for university admissions.

Locations of Zhou Nan’s Works

MC: Have you still kept Zhou Nan’s works?

MC: I don’t seem to see any in your house.

Fu Qiao: About this…

Fu Qiao: I… I burned all the photos…

MC: Burned them? Why?

Fu Qiao: Missing someone after seeing related things will only make me sadder.

Fu Qiao: Not just her works – I either donated all her things or burned them.

Fu Qiao: I feel like I won’t be able to walk free all my life if I leave those things at home.

Talisman

MC: If I may be so bold, is the thing on your neck… an talisman?

MC: If you keep it so close on you, was it something left by Zhou Nan?

Fu Qiao: Ah, this…

Fu Qiao: This is an talisman, but it wasn’t left by Nannan. It’s a symbol of peace that I prayed for at Yunxia Temple.

Zuo Ran: Could you take it out for a look? I’m just purely curious.

Zuo Ran: I’ve always wanted to go to Yunxia Temple to pray for one, but work is too busy, and I never have time.

Fu Qiao clutched at his collar, looking somewhat agitated.

Fu Qiao: Sorry, the master said that it’s best to not show it to anyone aside from family – otherwise, it won’t work.

Zuo Ran: I’m sorry, I acted impolitely.

The moment Fu Qiao put down his hand, I noticed that the bottom of his index finger seemed to be a bit thinner than the upper part…

MC: (Is this… the mark left by a ring?)

MC: (If one wears a ring for a long time without taking it off, day or night, then it’ll leave this kind of mark.)

MC: (A lot of people who wear wedding rings are like this.)

MC: (Ring…)

  Bar Waitressing

Zuo Ran: A hobby like photography is very costly – after all, the equipment is very expensive.

Zuo Ran: Was Zhou Nan’s financial situation alright? Did she have any financial conflicts with anyone?

Fu Qiao: Nannan’s costs were indeed large, but she was a girl that strove for self-improvement and always relied on herself to work for money. She never took on any loans.

Fu Qiao: If she didn’t have to deal with these costs, she wouldn’t have worked as a bar waitress.

MC: Mr. Fu… you must not have been willing for Zhou Nan to be a bar waitress?

Fu Qiao: Of course I wasn’t willing. This job is both tough and dangerous. Aside from drinking every day and damaging her body, those guests…

As he spoke, Fu Qiao clenched his fist.

Fu Qiao: Those guests became handsy with her quite a few times.

Fu Qiao: Though Nannan wouldn’t stay out for the night, but…

Zuo Ran: When did you find out that Zhou Nan was a bar waitress?

Zuo Ran: You considered Zhou Nan’s convenience of transit when you first rented the house, so she must have worked as a bar waitress for a while.

Fu Qiao: At the beginning, I only knew that she worked in the north area. I didn’t know she was a bar waitress.

Fu Qiao: After, she told me that she worked at Xunye, and only said that she was a singer.

Fu Qiao: Nannan’s singing was very good.

Fu Qiao never directly answered the question “When did he find out about Zhou Nan being a bar waitress”. But based on how Fu Qiao described this job, he didn’t seem like he only knew of Zhou Nan bar waitressing after her death – instead, it was like he went to get an understanding of it beforehand.

He didn’t tell the truth, and Zuo Ran and I didn’t persist in these questions, to avoid raising his alert accidentally.

Interpersonal Relationships

MC: Theoretically, if Zhou Nan was murdered by someone, can you think of any suspects?

Fu Qiao: Uh… as of now, I can’t come up with anything.

Fu Qiao: Aside from exams at the end of term, Nannan very rarely went to school. Most of her friends were ones she knew from the bar.

Fu Qiao: If I really had to say, I think that the bar guests are more probable.

Fu Qiao: Those people weren’t good people to begin with, and they could have gotten in contact with illegal drugs.

Zuo Ran: But what reason would they have to murder Zhou Nan?

Fu Qiao: Maybe it was love-related jealousy?

Fu Qiao: They’re too far away from my life, so I don’t really know much about it.

Proof He Wasn’t on the Scene

MC: What were you doing on the night of Zhou Nan’s incident?

To avoid making this question seem too offensive, I added a question to it.

MC: When did the police contact you about Zhou Nan’s incident?

Fu Qiao: That night, I was doing experiments at school. Because I was very tired, I headed straight home after the experiment finished.

Fu Qiao: When the police contacted me, it was early morning. I was asleep, and didn’t get to pick up.

Fu Qiao: I only knew of Nannan’s incident after waking at 8AM and looking at my phone.

MC: Didn’t you say that Zhou Nan has never stayed out for the night? Didn’t you get in touch with her when she didn’t get back at night?

Fu Qiao: …

A flash of panic passed over Fu Qiao’s face, and he recovered his calm very quickly.

Fu Qiao: She had keys. If she got back late, she would open the door herself.

Fu Qiao: I originally thought that she would return at 2-3-o’clock – this was also a frequent occurrence.

MC: Is that so…

MC: Did you usually pick her up after she got off work?

Partners will typically do this, right?

Fu Qiao: I’ve brought it up before, but it’s too far to go back and forth. As a non-local, I’m not familiar with the north area, and the public safety there is bad, so Nannan didn’t let me go.

Fu Qiao: She said that she had a friend that lived near us. If she couldn’t make it to the last train, then she’d come back with her friend.

MC: If so… you’ve never gone to Xunye Bar?

Fu Qiao: I’ve never gone. I’ve also only heard Nannan casually bring up Xunye’s address.

Chen Hanzhang

MC: Mr. Fu, do you know this person?

I handed Chen Hanzhang’s photo to Fu Qiao. He just hastily swept his gaze over it.

Fu Qiao: I don’t know her. Who is she?

Zuo Ran: She’s called Chen Hanzhang. She went to Xunye that night, and she is also suspected of illegal drug trafficking.

Fu Qiao: Do you suspect that it was her who killed Nannan?

Zuo Ran: We only suspect her. We have no evidence, and we also can’t find a motive for her to kill Zhou Nan.

Fu Qiao: She doesn’t look like a good person, but I’ve never met her.

Fu Qiao kept his head lowered the whole time he was speaking, and he never looked at Chen Hanzhang’s photo again.

Zuo Ran: …

Drug History

MC: Do you know about how Zhou Nan has history with drugs?

Fu Qiao: Mhmm, I know about it. But it was very slight, and she went on withdrawal a long time ago.

Zuo Ran: After this matter, didn’t you try to convince Zhou Nan to change jobs?

Fu Qiao: I did… but her income would decrease if she changed jobs, and she wouldn’t be able to make enough.

Fu Qiao: It was me that was useless – I couldn’t help her split the responsibility…

INTERROGATION END

--

After flipping through the analysis record I made before, it seemed like we’d basically asked Fu Qiao all that we needed to ask.

MC: Mr. Fu, we’ve troubled you today…

MC: Eh? Mr. Fu, you grow out your nails? I believe that it’s rare for guys to grow out their nails.

Both of Fu Qiao’s pinky nails had been grown out. The other fingers all had their nails cut neatly.

Fu Qiao: Oh, for convenience.

Fu Qiao: Either for experiments or for daily life, there are always places to use one’s nails.

Fu Qiao: It’s not quite the same as when women grow out their nails.

MC: That’s true.

Fu Qiao: That… if there are new developments about Nannan’s cause of death, could you let me know?

MC: Sure. Then we’ll bid farewell.

[chiaki-translation]

ACTOR’S CIRCUIT: Event Translation Ch1-4

Hello, I’m back with another event, people have been requesting this event so here I am. It is considerably longer than Power Ranger event so I decided to break it down into 3 parts for the main chapters. Translation will be under the cut, enjoy~

Anyway, just some random thought, the whole story to me sounds like an ambassador of safe driving somehow...

ACTOR’S CIRCUIT Ch1-4 / / Ch 5-7 / / Ch8-10 / / Epilogue

Disclaimer:

A3! is owned by Liber Entertainment

Taichi:

Today’s driving lesson’s finally over!

Then, let’s go back to the dorm—

Ah? There’s a LIME message.

Eh, from Azuma-san?

That’s rare-

Azuma:

Good work today, have you finished your lesson today?

Taichi:

I just finished the course, I’ve just reached the nearby station!

Azuma:

So the lesson venue is in the nearby station.

I’ll come over there with a car, wait a while.

Taichi:

He’ll come here with a car…  Azuma-san will?

<Short Time Skip>

Azuma:

Doggy-kun, sorry for the wait.

Tasuku:

Good work.

Taichi:

So it’s Tasuku-san who’s driving!

When Azuma-san contacted me earlier, I was a bit surprised hearing that Azuma-san will come to pick me up with a car.

Azuma:

We were driving and we happened to be near here.

Tasuku:

We happened to pass by the nearby driving school, then we thought of the one we heard before.

Apparently, it’s the correct one.

Taichi:

The timing’s perfect!

Thank you~!

Tasuku:

Is your lesson going well?

Taichi:

I’ve somehow gotten my temporary license, but I have to try real hard to get the real license.

Azuma:

Even the company will be happy to have more drivers. Do your best, Doggy-kun.

Taichi:

Yes! Ban-chan also got one recently, I’ll do my best too!

<Shifts to Lounge>

Taichi:

I’m home!

Tasuku:

I’m home.

Tsuzuru:

Welcome back.

What a rare combination of people.

Azuma:

It happened that Doggy-kun just finished his lesson, so we went to pick him up on the way.

Tsuzuru:

I see.

Tasuku:

So today, Minagi is in charge of dinner.

Tsuzuru:

Yes. It seems that Fushimi-san will be late due to work today.

Taichi:

Oh~ It looks nice!

My stomachs really rumbling now!

Tsuzuru:

Haha, good work on your lesson today.

It’s already done so you can start eating.

Taichi:

Alright! Let’s eat!

Hmm~ Delicious~!

Director:

Ah, Taichi-kun. Tasuku-san and Azuma-san too, you’re back.

Welcome back.

Tasuku:

Yeah, I’m home.

Sakyo:

Oi, those who can drive a car, come here and read this immediately.

Azuma:

What’s happening?

Director:

Actually, a famous theatrical car race from abroad, “Stage Light Race”, seems to be coming to Japan.

They are planning to hold “Veludo Race” In Veludo Town this time, and it’s going to be broadcasted in TV too.

Tasuku:

“Stage Light Race”, I’ve heard of it before.

Sakyo:

And then, this Veludo Race offers a good amount of money as the winning prize.

Azuma:

I see, so we’re aiming for the prize money.

Taichi:

Oh~ It sounds interesting!

I’ll go call those who have driving license!

<Short Time Skip>

Sakyo:

Everyone’s been assembled.

Director:

Those who have a driver license in the company now are Itaru-san, Chikage-san, Guy-san, Tsumugi-san, and Banri-kun who just gotten his license recently.

Sakyo:

After that is Takato, Yukishiro, and me.

Kazunari:

Right!

Sakyo:

Oi, why is Miyoshi and Ikaruga here.

Director:

Misumi-kun and Kazunari-kun don’t have driver license right?

Kazunari:

Taicchan seems to be talking about something interesting, so I came here!

Sakyo:

You…

Misumi:

I got my driving license recently~

Troupe Members:

Eh!?

Taichi:

Si, since when…!

<End of Chapter 1>

Taichi:

Misumi-san, you have a driving license!?

Misumi:

I got it recently~

Because if I drive, I can search for more triangles in far away places!

Banri:

As I thought it’s for that.

Tsuzuru:

You never change, it stays a mystery as per usual….

Chikage:

Then, why is it that you’re gathering those with driving license here?

Sakyo:

A theatrical car race called Veludo Race will be held this time.

The participation requirement is being a member of a theatre group in Veludo Town and the driver needs to have a driving license.

Director:

From the troupe members, we have to choose 2 people as the driver and the navigator to be in 1 group, it seems that we can register up to 3 groups.

We can rent the car, but it’s okay to use our own car.

Then, there will be special rules for the Veludo Race too.

Guy:

What’s the special rule?

Sakyo:

First one is ‘adhere to the speed limit’.

If you drive faster than the speed limit, you’ll be out immediately.

Second is ‘stopping or starting suddenly is prohibited’.

Whatever happens, safe driving is the most important.

Third is, ‘stop at the designated checkpoint and complete the task given’.

Those are all 3 rules given.

When you complete the task in the third rule, you’ll get points and it seems that the overall winner will be the pair that racks up the most point.

Guy:

So it’s not a competition of speed.

Sakyo:

Yeah. Then, the winning pair’s troupe will be able to perform in the stage along with the other participants from the same troupe.

That’s about the rough explanation of the race.

Tasuku:

So what you mean is if we won, on top of getting the winning prize, we can also do some PR for our company with the performance.

Itaru:

That sounds like a very good deal.

Tsuzuru:

But, the special rule number 3, what does it mean by task…?

Sakyo:

The tasks haven’t been revealed. Practically, we won’t know of the tasks until the actual day itself.

Taichi:

I see…

Director:

Then, I was thinking that we should decide our 3 drivers from the people who have gathered here today, how about it?

Tsumugi:

I’m quite interested, but…

Tasuku:

Tsumugi you better not.

Tsumugi:

I thought you would say so. But either way, it would be hard for me to do it when I’m doing my tutoring part-time job.

Sakyo:

How about you, Takato?

Tasuku:

I don’t mind, but…

How about Sakyo-san, isn’t it better if you do it too?

Sakyo:

I planned to join too, but I have an errand that I can’t just leave behind…

Itaru:

Uhh… Me too, I’m currently very busy at work…

Chikage:

Same here. I think it will be difficult to participate.

Director:

How about you, Banri-kun?

Banri:

I got my license and I want to try it out, but on that day my big sister specifically told me to take her out with the car.

Sakyo:

So Settsu can’t make it too.

How about Guy?

Guy:

I also got some errands. Sorry.

Tsumugi:

Uh…. Guy-san is busy too, that means--

Misumi:

Yes! Me, I can participate!

Sakyo:

Ikaruga? Are you sure you’re fine with it?

Director:

I’ve never seen Misumi-kun drive before, so I’m a bit worried, but…

Tsuzuru:

Is it just me? I feel that the person who drive with you will feel worried all the way through.

Misumi:

I drive safely, no worries!

Director:

(If Misumi-kun says so…)

I get it. Then I’ll leave it to you.

Misumi:

Yeah! I’ll do my best!

Kazunari:

But, does that means I can participate as navigator if I cannot drive?

Then I want to participate too!

Azuma:

Then, let me participate too.

I think I’m good at navigating.

Sakyo:

Then it’s decided, the driver will be Takato and Ikaruga, the navigator will be Miyoshi and Yukishiro.

Chikage:

But if you want to make 3 groups, we don’t have enough manpower.

Kazunari:

Let’s settle with Tsuzuroon to participate as the navigator!

Tsuzuru:

Yes?

I never said anything about participating…

Kazunari:

It’s fine, let’s participate together!

It’s definitely going to be fun!

Tsuzuru:

Saying such an irresponsible thing again… I understand.

I’ll participate too.

Banri:

But even if Tsuzuru participate as a navigator, we’re still missing one driver.

Taichi:

…Actually!

I should be getting my license by the race day!

Banri:

But even so, there’s not much day left before the race.

Are you going to be fine?

Taichi:

We’ll just have to see!

Sakyo:

It will be great if Nanao can help, but you’re a beginner….

Azuma:

…If that’s the case, I’ll support Doggy-kun as the navigator. That should be fine right?

Sakyo:

I see. It shouldn’t be a problem if he’s together with Yukishiro who has a license too.

In case of emergency, please change the driver.

Azuma:

Change the driver…

…Yeah, I understand.

<End of Chapter 2>

Director:

Then, Azuma-sana and Taichi-kun will form a pair…

Let’s try to decide the pair for the other members.

Kazunari:

Right!

Then, let’s draw a lottery!

<Short Time Skip>

Chikage:

Then it’s decided, the pair will be Tasuku and Kazunari, Misumi and Tsuzuru.

Kazunari:

I’ll be Tax’s assistant driver, it’s so lit!

I have to take pictures of Tax’s cool driving skill!

Tasuku:

Do your navigation work.

Itaru:

Tsuzuru, go and collect those beautiful flags.

Tsuzuru:

…No, I actually thought about it too.

Misumi:

It’s going to be fine! I said so earlier too.

I drive safely!

Tsuzuru:

I’ll believe in your words.

This time, pleased to work with you.

Misumi:

Yes! Pleased to work with you~

Director:

By the way, the costume we’re supposed to be wearing will be similar to a real car race uniform.

Taichi:

Seriously!?

The uniform is so cool!

Kazunari:

The vibes getting even higher!

Each pair get their own colour maybe!?

Director:

I was thinking of leaving it to Yuki-kun, but we can discuss that matter with Yuki-kun too.

Sakyo:

Before that, Nanao, properly get your license.

Taichi:

Yes!!

<Shifts to Balcony>

???

Yes, yes…

Azuma:

Hmm?

Taichi:

….Uh…

Azuma:

Doggy-kun, are you in the middle of studying for your license?

Taichi:

Ah, Azuma-san!

You’re right. I’m trying to study to get my real license, but it’s not getting into my head at all…

What if I barely get my license…

I should be fine if it’s just a practical skill exam like during the temporary license, but the real license requires a written exam, so I’m getting worried…

Azuma:

If you’re fine with me, would you like me to teach you?

Taichi:

Are you sure!?

It will be so valuable if Azuma-san can teach me!

Azuma:

I don’t think I can teach as well as Tsumugi though.

Then, let us start.

Taichi:

Pleased to work with you!

<Short Time Skip>

Azuma:

The meaning of this sign, it just came out earlier.

Taichi:

I learned this from Azuma-san!

So the answer here will be 0 right!

Azuma:

Yes, you’re doing well.

Taichi:

Ha~, Azuma-san you said that you haven’t been driving recently, but you’re still so well informed. And your lessons are easy to follow too!

Azuma:

I happened to have the chance, there was a period when I was learning how to drive a car.

I learned those in the past, but I’m happy that I can teach Doggy-kun about those now.

Even after you get your license, I want you to keep remembering them correctly.

Taichi:

Yes!

I’ll make sure to remember the things that Azuma-san has taught me!

But, if you know so much, why do you not drive?

It’s not like you hate driving right?

Azuma:

I don’t hate driving, I just like to be in the passenger seat more.

There’s also the fact that I like to watch the view from the window.

Depending on the driver, the view will be different and it’s fun that way.

Taichi:

You’re right, you would be able to properly see the sceneries from the passenger’s seat.

But for me, I want to see both Azuma-san in the driver seat and the passenger seat!

You know so much, so I think you will be very good at driving.

Azuma:

Maybe.

Then, next time.

By the way, Doggy-kun, why were you thinking of getting a driver license?

It’s great as an identity card, but I thought Doggy-kun is not one to care about that.

Taichi:

That’s…

I, I want to go on a date with my girlfriend riding in the passenger seat one day…!

Azuma:

Fufu, I see. That sounds like Doggy-kun.

Then in order to make it a reality, let’s do our best in your study.

Taichi:

Yes! Azuma-sensei!

<End of Chapter 3>

Tsuzuru:

It’s finally the day for the test.

Taichi:

Yes!

Then, I’ll go to get my actual license…!

Azuma:

Good luck, Doggy-kun.

Do your best.

Tasuku:

Work hard.

Misumi:

Taichi, do your best~!

Kazunari:

Taicchan, you can do it!

Fight!

Taichi:

I’m going first!

Kazunari:

Right! Hey hey everyone, let’s go and pick him up after Taicchan’s test is over!

Tsuzuru:

Ah, that sounds good.

Misumi:

Let’s go let’s go!

<Shifts to Car>

Kazunari:

The test should be ending  soon.

I’ll go and LIME Taicchan…

Tsuzuru:

Eh, a LIME message from Taichi?

Azuma:

It’s addressed to the group with everyone from the troupe.

Taichi:

I passed the test----!

Director:

Taichi-kun, congratulation!

Banri:

Congrats-

Citron:

You did it!

Congratz!!

Sakyo:

You did well.

Muku:

Taichi-kun, congratulation!

Kazunari:

Taicchan, congratulations!!  (*^Δ^*)/

We’re heading over there with a car now, wait for us!

Taichi:

Everyone came to pick me up, thank you!

Kazunari:

Taicchan, show me your driver license!

Taichi:

Hehe, tadaa!!

Kazunari:

Oh!!

Misumi:

Taichi, congratulations!

Tasuku:

That’s great.

Tsuzuru:

You did your best on studying after all. Congratulation!

Azuma:

That’s great. Congratulation.

Taichi:

Hehehe, thank you!

Tasuku:

Why not we have Nanao drive on the way back?

Taichi:

Eh! Are you sure!?

Tasuku:

You got your driving license after all.

Ah, but have you gotten your beginner mark?

Taichi:

Ha…!

Eh umm, I’m sure it’s inside my bag…

There it is! I got it as a commemoration for me passing the driving test in the training center.

Kazunari:

Nice, Taicchan!

Then, let’s drive and go back slowly!

Tsuzuru:

I’m counting on you to drive safely.

Taichi:

Yes!

Ah, Azuma-san!

Can I have Azuma-san to sit in the passenger’s seat?

Azuma:

Me?

Tasuku:

Ah, you two forms a pair for the Veludo Race, it might be good to start practicing.

Azuma:

The first one in your passenger seat won’t be your girlfriend, are you fine with that?

Taichi:

Tha, that’s something that I’ll be looking forward in the future…!

Anyway, from now on, I want to learn a lot from Azuma-san before the actual day!

Azuma:

Fufu, I’m honored.

<Shifts to Car>

Taichi:

…Right, here…

Azuma:

Yeah, you’re doing great.

Taichi:

Hehe, I did it!

Tsuzuru:

You look a bit nervous, but you’re doing really good.

Kazunari:

Yeah yeah!

Taicchan, aren’t you a step closer to being popular with this!?

Taichi:

Seriously!?

Misumi:

Hey hey, next time I want to drive too!

Tasuku:

Then, why not change with Nanao.

Taichi:

I’m good with it!

Then, let’s change at that convenience store over there.

Misumi:

Understand!

Tsuzuru, ride next to me!

Tsuzuru:

Yes yes, I understand.

Tasuku:

By the way, Minagi, you were worried with Ikaruga’s driving at the beginning, is it fine now?

Tsuzuru:

About that, I had to ride with him a few times for practice.

He really practise safe driving.

Misumi:

Right~

Tasuku:

Well, from the beginning if you drive dangerously you won’t even be able to get your driving license.

Kazunari:

Taicchan also got his driving license safely, next one will be the Veludo Race, let’s all practice together!

Misumi:

Ou!

Taichi:

I’ll lead Azuma-san to victory while driving safely!

Azuma:

I’ll do my best as a navigator too.

<End of Chapter 4>