#from here. and sakura is like >_> ok um which one.

[luciality]

iggypan

[earlysunshines]

downstairs neighbor

danielle marsh x fem!reader ; fluff

synopsis: in which you party so often that you get another complaint, but this time it's from a very pretty girl that really has you considering shutting the whole function down.

warnings: alcohol and weed mentioned ; readers an asshole at first but danielle is danielle so reader goes through a whole crisis ; yeah they're adorable, basically black cat and golden retriever trope sorry not sorry ; anything else i didn't mention ; not proofread

a/n: get it because usually it's the upstairs neighbor but i'm quirky so its not... ok nvm ill delete my account i gues ... anyways FIRST DANI FIC UNDER 10K! guys im so in love with her i need to be put into an asylum do u see these pics of her LOOK AT HERR!!! i need to die like rn

danielle has settled in quite alright into her new university. she's moved in with one of her close friends from high school, decorated her side of the room, and all of her professors are oddly sweet--much better than the professors from her old school.

she makes it to the first friday of the semester, deciding to settle in and watch a movie, maybe call her mom and dad later if she doesn't doze off. but when she hears muffled music and disturbing footsteps from downstairs, she pauses the show she's two minutes into and gets out of her bed.

hanni's on the other side of the room completely slumped, her headphones peeking out from the blanket sprawled on top of her with no care in the world as to what is happening downstairs. danielle purses her lips before getting out of bed and slipping the university sweatshirts over her tank top.

she looks back over at hanni, who’s still sleeping, before heading out into the living room area, past the kitchen, and out the door.

when she reaches the floor below, she follows the noise, it gets louder as she steps through the corridors, and then she stops in front of what she suspects is the source of all this disruption before knocking on the door—no response.

“hm.” she mumbles, knocking again in a little pattern—still no response.

before she can knock again, her fist in the air ready to hammer a little harder on the door, it opens.

a girl—probably her age—answers it, eyes narrowed at danielle. she’s slightly taller, but still, danielle feels a little small with how scrutinizing she checks her out. 

“did kazuha invite you? yujin? or was it jungwon?” the girl looks at her with raised brows, expecting an answer with a slightly bothered look. it seems like danielle had interrupted their little… event? whatever event it was, did they really need to have house music being blasted so loudly?

danielle rubs her thumb against her pointer finger, trying to steady her nerves. “oh, no, i um… wasn’t invited,” she says, her voice wavering slightly. the words sound even more pathetic out loud than they did in her head, but there’s no taking them back now. she pushes on, though it feels like her confidence is slipping away with every syllable. “i was just wondering if—well, if you could turn the music down? my roommate is sleeping and it’s just… really disturbing.”

the girl in front of her snickers, a look of disbelief crossing her face as she sizes danielle up. it’s clear she finds the request ridiculous, and danielle feels her cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

“you know what, this isn’t even my party—hey y/n! come out here!” the girl calls over her shoulder, her tone dismissive as she waves danielle off like she’s someone else’s problem now.

you hear your name being called, and with a sigh, you push yourself up from the couch. the group you were sitting with whines in protest as you leave, but you roll your eyes—they’re all drunk, their complaints nothing more than the amplified nonsense of intoxicated minds.

“what is it, yunjin?” you call out, rubbing your eyes as you approach the entrance, the taste of the cheap beer sakura handed you earlier lingering unpleasantly on your tongue. “what—”

the words die in your throat as you spot the girl standing just inside the doorway. she’s probably, no, definitely new here—new to the party, new to the scene. you’ve never seen someone that makes you stop in your tracks like this. her long eyelashes flutter as she looks up at you, her big brown eyes sparkling with a mix of nervousness and something else you can’t quite place. she’s dressed in baggy sweats and an oversized university sweater, the logo stretched across her chest in signature block letters. there’s an air of innocence about her, something that feels out of place amidst the environment both of you are in right now.

you take her in, noting how pretty she is—adorable, if you’re going to be honest with yourself. she looks like a lost puppy, especially with those pleading eyes and the subtle bite of her lip—

you push the thought aside, telling yourself it doesn’t matter. you’re just here to deal with whatever minor inconvenience yunjin has decided to dump on you.

“who are you?”

“um, my name is danielle, i live right above.” she has an accent, something strong and similar to that girl yunjin’s been bickering with – was it lily? no, bangchan? hell no, she hates him and his little group. ah, hanni that short girl that came complaining during your second party of freshman year, yunjin still brings her up. 

“right, what do you want?” you ask, sensing yunjin’s departure when you feel her brush against your shoulder. “is there a problem or?”

“well, yeah, kind of…” she’s actually adorable, especially when she avoids your eye contact like that. “it’s kind of loud, you know. i was wondering if you could turn down the volume a bit? there’s a lot of thumping i can hear from above, i can’t imagine how it must be for the downstairs neighbors…”

“you must be new.”

“sorry?”

“you’ll get used to it.” you say simply, poking the inside of your cheek before starting to close the door. “i recommend a pair of some good noise cancelling headphones—and a signature study spot. see you around danielle.”

you feel a strange pang of guilt, something unfamiliar and uncomfortable twisting in your chest. you’ve done this before—brushed off people’s complaints, shut the door on them without a second thought. but there’s something about her that makes you hesitate, something that tugs at you. maybe it’s the way she looked at you, those big brown eyes wide with a mix of hope and desperation, like she was really counting on you to help. you give her one more glance, catching that puppy-dog expression that makes your resolve waver for just a second. but then, before you can think twice, you close the door on her, shutting out the sight of her pleading face.

–

danielle spends the whole night tossing and turning, the faint vibration of the music seeping through the ground and into her restless mind. it’s not loud enough to keep her fully awake, but just persistent enough to keep her from finding any real rest. she considers going back downstairs, maybe trying to have a proper conversation, coming to some kind of compromise. but every time she thinks about it, the memory of how things ended—the snickers, the dismissive attitude—fills her with embarrassment, making her shrink back into her bed.

the next morning, she’s awake before the sun, the lingering fatigue making her body feel heavy and sluggish. still, she forces herself out of bed, the need to talk to someone—anyone—pushing her into action. with a deep breath, she reaches over and starts shaking hanni awake, the clock not even close to ten a.m. on a weekend. hanni groans in protest, burrowing deeper into the blankets, but danielle is relentless, her fingers poking at hanni’s sides until her sleepy roommate finally stirs, blinking up at her with bleary eyes.

“what the hell man? the sun is still rising!”

“what do you know about the downstairs neighbor?”

“w-what?” hanni mumbles, rubbing her eyes as she turns to lay on her back and squint at her roommate. “y/n? is this about her?”

“the girl directly below us—taller, mean, arrogant, tattoo on her arm and wrist, kind of pretty, nice lips, and jawline… ugh! her!”

“that’s y/n, but you’re reaching with the whole kind of pretty part. petty? yeah, more accurate.”

“last night i went down and asked her to–”

“you went to her place? to do what, complain?” 

“yes!” hanni shuts her eyes and sinks her head deeper into the pillow, sighing softly again. her roommate is new, she can’t be harsh, and plus, it’s danielle. 

“dani… the ra is literally in love with her, and y/n uses that so she can party and get high in her fuckass living room.”

“what?”

“danielle, mo dani, please listen.” hanni sits up, blinking hard as she reaches out ot put a hand on her friends shoulder. “you’ll get used to it, you can use my old headphones and i’ll show you my favorite cafe.”

“you’re just going to let this slide?”

“well until y/n stops flirting with jiyoung; there’s nothing we can really do other than cope every friday—and sometimes saturday—night.” hanni explains, flopping onto the bed and returning to fetal position. “can you put the blanket over me, please? i’m tired and cold… please.”

danielle frowns before covering her roommates body with her weighted blanket, sighing before she returns to her bed, laying down and recollecting all her memories from the night before–of you.

—

you’re late. of course you’re late on the second week of classes, as if last weeks twenty minute surprise appearance wasn’t humbling enough. 

as you rush out of your apartment, you’re met with jiyoung standing right by the exit, as if she’s been waiting for you—she probably has. this has happened at least once a week last year. she greets you with her signature smile and a small piece of chocolate, a gesture that would be sweet if you weren’t in such a hurry. you force a smile and mumble a quick thanks, but you know what’s coming next. the compliments, the small talk, the forced out, cliché lines she always uses. it’s all part of her routine, but you really don’t have the time for it today. you need to get to class.

fifteen minutes later, you’re finally free from jiyoung’s conversation, but you’re also running dangerously late. again. you sprint across campus, your heart pounding in your chest as you mentally prepare for the inevitable stares and the professor’s disapproving remarks.

when you finally reach the classroom, you throw the door open a little too forcefully. the room falls silent as heads turn to face you, the sudden interruption catching everyone’s attention. you freeze for a second, cringing at yourself when you’re caught in the spotlight, before the professor’s voice cuts through the silence.

“late on the second week? what was it, kim… no, yang…” he trails off, squinting at you as if trying to remember your name.

you clear your throat, feeling your face heat up. “l/n, l/n y/n,” you correct him, trying to keep your voice steady.

“well, you’re lucky i’ve just started the lecture. please hurry and take a seat, you’ve already made quite the impression.”

“sorry, sir,” you mumble, pinching the bridge of your nose in frustration as you scan the room for an empty seat. most of the rows are full, and the weight of all those eyes on you makes your skin prickle with discomfort.

finally, you spot an open seat in the fourth row from the top, right at the edge. you hurry over and drop your bag beside the chair, quickly unzipping it to pull out your laptop. your hands move with practiced speed, signing in and opening a page for notes before setting your bag on the empty seat next to you. you look up, hoping to catch up on what you’ve missed so far. 

and that’s when you see her.

danielle. she’s sitting just two seats away from you, her gaze locked on yours the moment you look up. her big brown eyes, framed by those impossibly long lashes, are full of recognition—and something else you can’t quite place, and why are they sparkling? your jaw tenses as you force yourself to look away, zipping up your bag with a little more force than necessary. three seats. that’s all that separates you from the girl who showed up at your doorstep last friday, the one you dismissed without a second thought. and now here she is, sitting way too close for comfort, her presence making the air around you feel heavier.

of course you blindly chose the spot next to her. the new girl who filed a complaint, only to have the door shut on her. it’s just your luck.

you catch her in your peripheral staring at you for a few more seconds before she redirects her attention towards the professor. you let out a breath of relief, now you just have to get through the next hour and fifty minutes near the cute girl you were an ass to.

–

as soon as the class ends, you’re out the door without sparing a glance at danielle. she watches you hurry out, noticing how you started packing up your things five minutes before class was even dismissed. it’s like you couldn’t wait to get away.

you make your way to the engineering building, where you know your roommate yunjin’s class ended a bit earlier. when you spot her in the lobby, you walk up with a bothered look on your face.

“good morning…?” yunjin greets you, her smirk showing she’s amused by your expression.

“you won’t believe who’s in my sociology class,” you say, still reeling from the encounter.

“everyone takes sociology, even the finance freaks,” she replies, shrugging as if it’s not a big deal.

“nevermind.” you roll your eyes, scoffing. “whatever, let’s grab a bite. i’m hungry.”

“you always are,” yunjin chuckles, stepping beside you.

the two of you end up at your favorite local thai place, sharing a large bowl of fried rice. it’s a familiar routine—since freshman year, you’ve known one bowl is more than enough to satisfy both of you. the memory of that first time, half-drunk and thinking the portions would be small, makes you smile despite your lingering annoyance.

as you chew on your second bite, glancing at a notification on your phone, yunjin’s voice cuts through your thoughts. “so, who’s in your sociology class?”

“danielle,” you reply, not looking up from your phone.

“who?”

“the girl from friday.”

yunjin frowns, trying to recall. “at our party? there wasn’t anyone i didn’t know–”

“no, no. the girl you made me deal with. she knocked on the door—big eyes, long lashes.”

“oh, her,” yunjin hums, finally understanding. “what about her?”

“i closed the door on her that night after she complained or whatever. i didn’t think much of it, but then i was late to class because jiyoung wanted to talk to me, and i picked a random spot… turns out it was three fucking seats away from her—danielle.”

yunjin laughs, thankfully before she can take another bite of rice. “seriously?”

“shut up.”

“that’s hilarious. you think she’s going to give you shit?”

“i mean,” you poke at your rice, hesitating, “she doesn’t seem like she will…”

but even as you say it, the thought nags at you. danielle doesn’t seem like the type to hold a grudge—polite and sweet even when you were being arrogant—almost too good to be true. she looks like she belongs in a fairy tale, with her princess-like appearance and demeanor. meanwhile, you feel like the ugly villain in her story, lurking under the bridge, ready to cast a spell or something like that. the more you think about it, the more ridiculous it seems.

“then you’ll be fine, you were fine shutting the door on her anyway.”

you were fine, but that version of you was under the influence of cheap beer and too focused on going back to your conversation than dealing with someone’s complaint—even if it were from danielle.

“i guess.”

–

the next time you host a party, the volume’s turned down by two notches. you tell yourself it’s because yunjin’s been saying “huh?” to you more often, but deep down, you know that’s not the real reason.

you’ve also decided to stick with one can of beer instead of three. even yujin seemed surprised when you declined the second. 

these parties used to be at jake’s place, but he argued they should be at yours since the ra is madly in love with you, and your place is slightly bigger. you were against it at first, but socializing never hurt, and it made you happy to see others happy. you’d also be lying if you said you didn’t enjoy the occasional expensive drink that someone brought when their paycheck had been a bit fatter that week.

now, you’re leaning against the counter while minji rummages through a cupboard, searching for spare plastic cups. you take a sip from your sprite—the second can of the night, and surprisingly, neither has been alcoholic (you don’t count the bitter can of beer, it’s only five percent alcohol). yunjin’s voice cuts through the music just loud enough for you to hear, “you think that girl will show up again? give you shit?”

“i’d hope not.” you pretend it’s a truthful statement, your tone firm, a little snarky, and a bit confident, but there’s a small part of you that hopes she does. you catch yourself imagining her showing up in her oversized sleepwear again, her eyes wide, her voice so soft and sweet it makes your chest tighten a little. 

“and if she does?”

“i’ll shut her out again.”

“and if you show up late, then sit three seats away from her again?”

“ignorance.” you sip on your sprite again, licking your lips to savor something that actually satisfies your tastebuds. 

“you’re good at that.”

“aw, thanks.” you say bitterly, hearing yunjin snicker as she tears open a new pack of red plastic cups. “asshat.”

your orange-haired roommate leans against the counter across from you, then says, “i think jungwon brought penjamin.” his infamous pen, the one you took way too many hits of last time that it had you seeing the stars. 

“not again, i don’t trust myself.”

she laughs at you again, “i don’t trust you either, let’s stick with a hit or two instead of five.”

“and you need to stick with a few drinks instead of passing out on the floor again. you’re lucky you were leaning against the couch.”

“womp womp.” you can’t believe her, what an idiot.

“say that again when you wake up with your legs in the fucking blinds, or something. i still don’t know how you don’t have liver damage, and doesn’t that affect your performance on the court?”

“conditioned to drink and score three’s.”

“whatever.” you sigh, then hear a few knocks from the door.

yunjin raises her brows, then chuckles, “hey, it’s your lovergirl.”

“she’s not my— ugh. be right back.” 

lovergirl, yunjin is going to wake up upside down in her closet if she keeps it up. there’s no chance that she’s attracted to you in the slightest, not with your first impressions. the thought makes you a little dissapointed, but you shake your head, you’re being ridiculous again. 

you shake the thought away, forcing yourself to focus getting to your door and not tripping on the shoe that had been blindlessly kicked off. there’s a quiet anticipation simmering beneath your calm exterior as the music gets more faint in your ears. you tell yourself you’re being stupid, but the truth is harder to ignore—there’s a part of you that wants her to be at the door, even if it’s just to scold you again.

you open the door, and there she is—miss lovergirl herself.

“another party?” she asks, her tone light, almost teasing.

“are you going to tell me to shut the whole thing down? still haven't invested in headphones, have you?”

“actually, i wasn’t going to—the shutting down part, i have headphones being delivered tomorrow.” she replies, smiling. maybe your brows furrow, just a little. “but the music is a little quieter, that i noticed, so maybe my efforts did pay off.” she pauses, then adds, “anyway, my roommate told me there’s no getting through to you about these parties. so, i came here to give you this.” 

she holds out a keychain with a cardholder attached, and you see a picture inside—a photo of you and your little brother at your high school graduation. he’s about twelve in the picture, braces on and cheeks still chubby. it’s one of your favorite photos, and your eyes widen as you take it from her slowly, almost carefully.

“where’d you get this?” you ask, voice a bit more cautious than you intended.

“you dropped it under your seat last lecture. seemed like you were in such a rush to leave, or to avoid me…?” she tilts her head, batting those impossibly long lashes.

you realize she’s not in her sleepwear this time. she’s dressed in everyday clothes—a zip-up over a fitted white shirt, jeans, and some well-worn sneakers. a nike cap sits snugly on her head, her long, wavy hair flowing down in a way that makes you look twice. she’s wearing light makeup, and it strikes you for the first time how nice her lips are, and—

“um, thanks,” you mutter.

“it’s no problem.”

“are you going to ask me to turn the volume down now?” 

she shakes her head, adjusting the backpack slipping down her shoulder. “no, but i'd appreciate it. you’ve already made baby steps.”

if it had been anyone else saying that, you’d have rolled your eyes, maybe even scoffed in their face. but there’s something about the way danielle says it—so genuinely, so kindly—that catches you off guard. you’re used to sharp words and snide remarks, not this… breath of fresh air, this three a.m. glass of water in the form of a person.

“right, okay,” you manage to say.

“well, i'll get going then. my roommate’s friend is coming over to watch a movie with us, so we’d appreciate it if you could maybe turn it down. but, that’s up to you, mate.” 

“oh, okay, yeah.” you feel like you’re melting into a puddle. what is going on with you? “i’ll see what i can do.”

“night then.”

“night?”

she walks off, your eyes follow her until she reacehs the end of the hall. it was the most casual encounter you’ve ever had in a bit, and yet, it felt like so much more. 

–

haerin sits back, watching without a word as hanni and minji bicker over the remote, their voices rising slightly above the hum of the tv. hanni has her arms crossed tightly over her chest, a scowl forming when minji suggests yet another sappy romance. haerin half expects them to start wrestling for control, but just before the tension hits a breaking point, the sound of the door lock twisting stops them. both heads turn to see danielle stepping inside, her hand raised in a small wave, a polite smile on her lips.

“sorry i’m late,” danielle apologizes.

“you’re good,” hanni replies, running her fingers through her hair to fix it. “movie time? can you choose, please…”

“yeah! let me get changed first, okay?”

“okay, okay, but hurry or else minji’s gonna have my limbs cut off or something. and we both know haerin would rather watch than save either of us.” hanni jokes, drawing a chuckle from haerin and a playful glare from minji. 

a few minutes later, danielle is back in an old t-shirt and plaid pajama pants. she drops herself right between hanni and minji, effectively acting as a buffer. she grabs the remote, settling under the blanket as her legs casually stretch across hanni's lap.

“where were you, by the way?” hanni asks, feeling danielle’s legs settle more comfortably over her own. “if the bus was late, you could’ve called.”

“my bus came early. i just stopped by y/n’s,” danielle replies casually.

minji’s head snaps toward danielle so fast it’s a wonder she doesn’t get whiplash. haerin even lets out a small gasp of “what?”

“y/n? you mean l/n y/n?” minji echoes, her tone filled with disbelief. “you went to her place?”

danielle nods. “she dropped something in the class we have together, so i returned it.”

“and she didn’t bite your head off?” minji asks, eyes wide. “you’re really something, danielle.”

danielle just laughs softly, her fingers scrolling through the endless netflix catalog in search of a movie they all might actually agree on. she seems unfazed by the shock that mentioning your name has caused, a slight smile playing on her lips. she can’t quite understand the big deal. you’ve been… normal, for the most part—pretty normal, actually, in the three times she’s spoken to you.

“she’s really not that bad,” danielle shrugs, finally stopping on a rom-com that catches her eye. “i can fix her.”

“you can what?” hanni swivels her head toward danielle, eyes wide in disbelief.

“what?” danielle grins. “she doesn’t bite.”

“well, her friend yunjin does,” hanni mutters, thinking back to the group project from hell with yunjin, who’d spent every meeting hungover and useless. “she’s probably just like the people she hangs out with.”

“no, i bet she’s nicer deep down.”

“you’re too pure for this world,” minji murmurs, feeling danielle’s head lean on her shoulder. “she’s got a bad reputation, you know.”

“well, she turned the volume down for us,” danielle insists.

“she did?” hanni raises an eyebrow, surprised.

“yeah, just before i visited her. i told her we’d be having a movie night and said i’d appreciate it if she toned it down a bit. now we can barely feel the bass.”

hanni thinks for a moment. maybe the music is a bit quieter, but she’s gotten so used to it, she barely notices the difference. minji and haerin, on the other hand, don't deal with the noise often—haerin lives with her parents, and minji’s dorm is on the other wing.

danielle presses play, and the conversation shifts. they all settle in, pushing the topic of you, the downstairs neighbor, out of their minds as they focus on the opening scenes of the movie.

hanni leans into haerin, a smile on her lips as her legs tangle with danielle’s. “you’re so interesting, man,” she mutters, half-amused, half-bewildered.

–

there aren't any assigned seats—it's university, for crying out loud. still, you find yourself three seats away from danielle again, like last time, pretending not to notice her as you settle in, determined not to drop anything today. you set your things down carefully, opening up your laptop and pulling out your ipad, keeping your eyes firmly on the screen.

out of the corner of her eye, danielle watches you fumble with the apple pen, spinning it between your ring and middle finger. she sees it slip from your grip and clatter to the floor beside you. you let out a soft sigh, standing to retrieve it, making your way down two rows. when you straighten up and head back, you catch danielle trying to hide a smile, her shoulders shaking with quiet laughter.

“what’s so funny?” you ask, a little defensive.

“your pen-spinning skills,” danielle says, turning fully toward you with that same amused smile. “slippery fingers?”

“shouldn’t you be reviewing before the lecture?”

“i usually get here fifteen minutes early,” she replies, still grinning. “i’ve already done that.”

“whatever.” you drop back into your seat, tapping away at your keyboard as the professor approaches the front, fiddling with the hdmi cable. you open your notes app, trying to ignore the way danielle’s laughter still lingers in the air.

“you know i don’t bite, right?” her voice breaks your focus.

“what?”

she nods at the empty seats between you. “you’re sitting pretty far… come sit next to me.”

“i’m not getting up. my stuff’s already out.”

danielle rolls her eyes, moving the desk platform in front of her as she stands, gathering her things without a second thought, and before you know it, she’s dropping into the seat beside you. you weren’t expecting that—her choosing to sit next to you so boldly. but there she is, right next to you, with that grin stretching across her face as she adjusts her notebook.

“there, lazy bum,” she teases, her tone light, eyes flicking back to the professor as he sets up the projection.

you find yourself staring, caught off guard by how close she is. she smells sweet—like cherries, with a mix of amber and jasmine. you quickly shift your gaze back to your laptop, opening your calendar and planner and, almost instinctively, the tab with the jacket you’ve been eyeing for weeks.

when you steal another glance at danielle, she’s put on a pair of glasses. stupid, adorable glasses that make her look even cuter—something you didn’t think was possible. 

you can’t help the small grin that creeps onto your face as you focus back on the slides on the big screen, but your mind is still partially with her, sitting beside you, close enough to feel the warmth radiating off her skin.

—

for the next month, sociology becomes your favorite class—not because of the subject, but because it means you get almost two hours near danielle. she’s just as sweet as she looks, always greeting you with a warm smile and tossing out casual small talk that somehow feels more personal every time. she compliments you now and then, little things like “your hair looks nice today” or “i like your shoes,” which leaves you more flustered than you’d care to admit. soon enough, it's routine—you both leave class together, walking side by side until you reach the main lobby of the science building. danielle always waves goodbye with that bright smile, her eyes sparkling, even when the sky is overcast. you smile back, feeling a little bashful, but somehow, it feels right.

sometimes, you even meet up at the entrance of your little dorm complex to head to class together. danielle's just a floor above, so you run into her in the elevator sometimes too. there’s something about her—something so effortlessly charming and magnetic. it’s like she’s a light, and you’re a moth, drawn into her presence without even realizing it.

what you don’t realize is that jiyoung, your ra, has noticed these little interactions. she catches glimpses now and then, her curiosity piqued.

after another class ends, you wave goodbye to danielle, planning to meet up with yunjin, but before you can leave, jiyoung intercepts you. 

"hey, didn’t see you this morning,” she says, her tone casual but her eyes narrowing slightly. “i haven’t been seeing you around as much, actually."

"oh, yeah… i’ve been…” you start, your gaze flicking past her to danielle, who’s almost out of the building. jiyoung looks in the same direction to see danielle as well, her brows furrow just a bit. you continue, “um, spending more time with this girl in my sociology class."

"right, danielle? she’s on the floor above you, right?”

“yeah…”

“hm,” jiyoung murmurs, more to herself than to you. “you’ve been spending a lot of time with her, haven’t you?”

“i mean, yeah. she’s nice and—why does it matter?”

“you’re not into her, are you?”

the question catches you off guard, like a punch you didn’t see coming. you stare at jiyoung like she’s lost her mind. “w-what? n-no, no, she’s just— you know, we’re friends. we’re friendly.”

“nothing more, right?”

“i mean, no, but even if it were… why does it matter to you?”

jiyoung’s gaze drops to the floor, and she mumbles, “i don’t know? i mean, you said you didn’t even want to date.”

you pinch the bridge of your nose, exhaling in frustration. “look, i’ve got to meet up with yunjin. i’ll see you around, okay?”

you turn to leave, but jiyoung’s soft scoff stops you in your tracks. she hesitates for a moment before speaking again.

“by the way,” she says, her tone light but pointed. you turn your head slightly, just enough for her to see the edge of your expression. “you can’t party this weekend. there’s been an increase in complaints.”

you pivot to face her fully, opening your mouth to argue but then closing it again. you bite the inside of your lip, letting the frustration simmer before you finally nod, muttering a resigned, “fine.”

jiyoung watches you, her expression unreadable, as you walk away, but you don’t look back. the weekend suddenly feels a lot quieter than you planned.

—

even if you’d wanted to party, it wouldn't have been an option. yunjin’s gone home for the weekend to help her sister, and you’re stuck in your dorm, feeling sicker than you’ve ever felt.

the day started off fine, just a light headache that you shrugged off. but somewhere between the gym and a quick grocery run, everything went downhill. by the time you made it back to your place, it felt like your body had been run over by a truck. your head throbbed, every limb ached, and a wave of dizziness nearly had you collapsing against the wall as soon as you stepped inside.

you barely made it to the kitchen, dropping the paper bag of groceries onto the counter before stumbling toward your bedroom. the cold hit you like a slap to the face, making you shiver uncontrollably. you rummaged through your closet for the thickest sweatshirt and sweatpants you could find, pulling them on with shaky hands. 

you didn’t even think to check your temperature; the pounding in your head and the chills wracking your body were enough to know you were in trouble. grabbing two ibuprofen from the drawer, you swallowed them dry with a couple of forced gulps of water, then collapsed onto your bed. 

you pulled the covers around you, but they did little to stop the violent shivers. your teeth chattered, and you curled in on yourself, hugging your knees to your chest as if that would somehow keep the cold at bay. every breath felt heavy, every blink longer than the last, until finally, exhaustion pulled you under.

—

the music is noticeably quieter these days, sparing your hearing and everyone else a floor above or below you. really, it’s all danielle's doing. she's somehow found your weakness—those soft, pleading eyes and that gentle voice asking you to turn it down. it’s a saturday night, and normally she’d hear the faint beats of charli xcx or troye sivan vibrating up through the floor, but tonight there’s nothing. 

danielle seems to be the only one in her shared dorm—and probably the whole building—who feels unsettled by the lack of music. the silence is almost unnerving. 

“finally, i can take a nap without those headphones on,” hanni sighs, dropping face-first onto her bed like a log. 

danielle, leaning against her bedframe, bites her lip. “don’t you think it’s weird though? no party tonight?”

“weird? dani, this is a miracle,” hanni mumbles, already half-asleep. “it’s been months since she hasn’t partied, and that was only because we were all gone during summer break.”

but as hanni's breathing evens out and she drifts off, danielle’s frown deepens. it is weird. you’ve never missed a saturday night. she doesn’t even have your number to text and check if everything’s alright.

minutes pass, and her mind races with possibilities—maybe you’re just tired, or busy with something else, or… sick? before she knows it, danielle is up and moving, driven by a strange concern she doesn’t fully understand. she tucks hanni in properly, pulling the blanket up over her instead of letting it dangle off the bed. 

once she's sure hanni is comfortable, she heads for the door, slipping on her slides and grabbing her key. she feels a small surge of determination as she steps into the hallway. if something’s wrong, she needs to know. danielle isn’t sure what she’ll find out, but she's already halfway down the hall, her feet carrying her to your place almost on their own.

she gets to your door quickly, fixing her hair because you’re somehow the only person who makes her feel the need to fuss over her appearance. 

danielle knocks twice, softly at first, just enough to be heard over normal conversation, but there's no answer. she waits, listening for any sound from inside, even from your orange-haired roommate—but nothing. she knocks again, a little louder this time, about the same level as when you party. still nothing. 

determined, she finally bangs on the door with all her might and shouts, "y/n! hello?" her voice echoes in the hallway, and a few curious heads peek out from behind their own doors, wondering what’s going on.

there's a long moment of silence before she hears a faint, “coming! coming...” it sounds like you, but groggier, almost as if the sound is muffled by the door between you two.

danielle waits, her heart pounding in her chest, until the door opens just a crack, and you peek out, looking utterly exhausted. 

“y/n?”

“w-what, what...” you murmur, your voice barely more than a whisper, and slightly slurred, like you’ve been asleep for days. "who— danielle? what are you doing here? there's no party," you mutter, breathing heavily like you’ve just run a mile. "you don’t have to… have to yell at me."

“i’m not here to yell at you, i never yell at you, silly," danielle says softly, a small smile on her face. "can i come in?”

you hum in agreement, and she pushes the door open further, stepping inside. 

the apartment is dimly lit, with only the glow from the streetlights outside and a small lamp in the living room. danielle’s eyes dart around—she’s never actually been inside before, just caught glimpses through the doorway during those parties. it’s surprisingly clean, smelling of lavender and fresh laundry instead of the stale beer or weed she expected. 

you stumble forward, catching yourself on the kitchen counter, your legs shaky and unsteady. 

danielle rushes over, her hand reaching for your arm. “are you okay?”

“y-yeah, i’m fine," you mumble, but your voice is rough, strained. 

she flicks on a light, and you wince, shielding your eyes with the back of your hand. danielle guides you to the couch, sitting you down gently. you slump back into the cushions, and she takes a closer look—your hair is stuck to your forehead, cheeks rosy, and there’s a dullness in your usually sharp eyes.

without thinking, she presses the back of her hand to your forehead, feeling the intense heat radiating from your skin. “you’re burning up,” she says softly, concern etched in her voice. “how long have you been like this?”

“i– i don’t know… i’m so tired…” you murmur, your eyes fluttering closed for a moment.

“let’s get you to your bed,” danielle suggests. “can you show me?”

you nod weakly, and she helps you to your feet. you sway slightly, leaning heavily on her as she tries to steady you. you’re taller, heavier, and she’s not exactly built for this—but she does her best, slipping an arm around your waist to support you.

your head drops forward, and you breathe slowly against her shoulder. danielle's heart races as she feels the warmth of your breath, and when you look up, your faces are inches apart, close enough that she can feel the heat radiating off you. her cheeks warm up, she wonders if your fever is contagious.

but she shakes it off, tightening her grip on you. “come on,” she whispers. “let’s get you to bed.”

you lead her to your room, and she’s a little surprised by how tidy it is. the walls are painted in soft, earthy tones, the furniture minimalistic and neatly arranged. polaroids and film photos cover the walls, snapshots of you and your friends, some of family, too. there’s a warmth to it, a sense of calm that she hadn’t expected. she notices a movie poster above your bed—something she doesn’t recognize. you collapse onto the bed immediately, curling up into a tight ball, yanking the nearest blanket over you with a groan.

danielle watches you for a moment, then quietly slips out of the room. you lie there, thoughts buzzing in your foggy mind. how did she know you were sick? why is she here? did she come just for you? did you forget something? but the craziest thought of all is that danielle is in your apartment, just the two of you. the realization sends a tiny thrill through your chest.

she returns a few minutes later, carrying a bowl, a bottle of medicine, and a thermometer. she sits beside you on the edge of the bed, nudging you over gently so you're lying flat on your back, your tired eyes meeting hers. she sets the bowl beside you and slides the thermometer into your mouth. you stare at her, feeling a bit dazed, and she offers a small, reassuring smile.

when it beeps, she pulls it out and checks the screen, her brow furrowing slightly. “you’ve got a fever, it’s pretty high,” she murmurs, setting the thermometer down and reaching for a water bottle. “i kind of went through your place to find this, i hope that’s okay.”

you nod weakly, letting her help you sit up on your elbows. she presses the bottle to your lips, and you sip slowly, a few drops spilling out and dribbling down your chin. you reach up, embarrassed, to wipe them away, but danielle just grins at you gently, wiping them with her sleeve.

she places the bottle down and dips her hand into the bowl. you lie back, too tired to care, hearing the soft sound of water being wrung out. then, without warning, she presses a cool, damp cloth to your forehead, and you wince at the sudden chill, a small whine escaping your lips. danielle clicks her tongue softly, using her thumb to swipe a stray drop of water away from the corner of your eye. 

“i know it’s cold, but it’ll help bring your fever down,” she explains gently.

you feel her hand slide down, and suddenly her fingers are wrapped around yours. her thumb brushes over your knuckles in slow, soothing circles, and you let out a shaky breath, feeling a warmth bloom in your chest. you hum softly, the tension easing out of your body.

"is it okay if i stay for a bit?" she asks quietly. "i don't want you to be alone, but this is your place, after all."

“p-please,” you whisper, gripping her hand tighter, needing the comfort. “please stay.”

she smiles warmly, nodding, and you feel the weight of her presence, steady and calming, beside you. “i’ll stay close then,” she promises softly. “don’t worry.”

—

you wake up with a low groan, feeling like you’ve just been hit by a bus. every muscle in your body aches, and your head throbs just a bit. blinking against the dim light filtering through the blinds, you sit up slowly, rubbing the sleep from your eyes. you look around, trying to get your bearings. 

your gaze falls on the bowl of water beside the bed, with two rags soaking in it, and the thermometer resting on the edge. memories from before you passed out come flooding back, and your cheeks heat up at the thought of danielle sitting by your side, taking care of you. your heart does a little flip at the memory, and you shake your head, trying to steady your thoughts.

there’s no sign of her in your room. she’s not in your bed, and you exhale a breath you didn’t realize you were holding. honestly, if you had woken up to find her next to you, you’re pretty sure your heart would’ve just exploded right then and there. 

with a bit more urgency than necessary, you get up and make your way to the living room. your steps are quiet as you peek around the corner, and there she is, curled up on the couch. she’s asleep, head resting on a pillow, her zip-up hoodie pulled over her legs like a makeshift blanket. the sight tugs at something in your chest, a mix of guilt and gratitude. she stayed the whole night.

you hurry back to your room, grabbing another blanket from your bed, and return to her side. you drape it over her carefully, making sure not to wake her. danielle shifts slightly, mumbling something you can’t quite make out. her face softens in sleep, and you find yourself smiling without meaning to. 

the morning light slips through the blinds, casting a warm glow across her face, illuminating the soft curve of her cheek, the way her lashes fan out against her skin. she looks peaceful, so pretty in the soft light, and you let yourself enjoy the sight for just a moment longer than you probably should.

you let out a small sigh and decide to leave her be, tiptoeing away quietly. but as you move, you can’t help but glance back one last time, her serene expression etched into your memory. then, feeling a strange mix of comfort and nerves, you head to your room to get yourself ready.

— 

danielle wakes up only thirty minutes after you, sitting up a minute after she’s blinked herself awake. she sits up and catches you on the floor by the coffee table, knees drawn to your chest, a bowl of fruit and two pieces of toast in front of you. her vision clears, and she catches you popping a blueberry into your mouth, scrolling absently through your phone.

"good morning..." she mutters, stretching and rubbing her eyes.

you turn at the sound of her voice, surprised to see her up already. she's quicker at waking up than you; you would have stayed in bed for another ten minutes at least, but the pounding in your head forced you up earlier. "hey, i didn’t think you’d stay the whole night."

“i just wanted to make sure you were alright," she explains, moving to sit next to you, mirroring your posture, knees tucked in. "i checked in on you during the night to change the rag on your head and everything, seems like you’re back to normal.”

“you didn’t have to, danielle,” you say, feeling a wave of gratitude mixed with embarrassment.

“but i wanted to.” she shrugs lightly, her eyes softening as she looks at you. “how are you feeling?”

“i took two advils before brushing my teeth," you say with a small smile. "feeling pretty great now.”

“i’m glad. your fever was pretty high.”

“was it?” you raise an eyebrow, grabbing a piece of strawberry and popping it into your mouth.

“yeah.” she picks a piece of kiwi from the bowl and eats it. “i was worried.”

you turn your head, meeting her gaze directly. her eyes look a bit tired, her face bare of makeup, but she still looks good—so natural, so effortlessly beautiful. a thought crosses your mind: you owe her for this, for being so kind and caring when she didn’t have to be.

";ast night i didn’t hear any loud noises from downstairs," danielle continues, “there wasn’t a party going on, and i got a little concerned.”

you chuckle, setting your phone aside, resting your cheek against your knee. “so you came because… there wasn’t a party?”

“it was pretty suspicious,” she insists with a playful grin. “then you opened the door looking like you’d just fought a bear, stumbling around. it was kind of funny, and cute.”

her compliment catches you off guard. you turn away quickly, pretending to be more interested in the fruit than you are. "thank you, danielle," you mumble. "i owe you."

“it’s nothing,” she says softly. "as long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters." her words feel like a direct hit to your heart, it’s as if cupid had a gun instead of a bow and shot you right in the chest, making you feel strangely warm and fluttery inside.

“you’re so… hey, what about your roommate? isn't she wondering where you are?”

“oh, hanni,” danielle giggles, checking her phone for any messages but finding none. “she was passed out before i left last night. it's not even ten yet, so she’s probably still asleep.” she stands up, and you rise with her, feeling a slight pang of disappointment. “but i should go check on her, and fix myself up. i probably look like a mess right now.”

you look perfect. it almost lips right off your tongue, but you manage to shut your mouth.

you lead her to the door, wishing she could stay a bit longer, just a little while more. “of course,” you say, feeling a knot tighten in your chest. “thank you again for everything.”

danielle places a gentle hand on your shoulder. “it’s nothing,” she says warmly. “i’ll see you around.”

you open the door, watching her step outside, but she turns back, hesitating. before she can say anything else, you speak first. "hey, danielle?"

“yes?”

“are you free later?”

“i’m free all day,” she replies, though she adds, “but i might run errands with hanni.”

“right, well.” you play with your hair nervously. danielle tilts her head, noticing the shift in your demeanor. “you should come over tonight. i’ll cook you dinner—to repay you, of course.”

she chuckles, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. “that’s quite intimate,” she teases. “is this your way of asking me out?”

“uh—” your heart races, but you nod, swallowing hard. “yes. and i'd hope your way of accepting is… coming over around six?”

danielle's smile widens, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “i’ll see you then, as long as you’re not sick again.”

“i’d count on that if it meant having you take care of me again.”

she glances away, hiding a smile, and you catch sight of the tiny moles on her face. "you're really good at this," she says softly.

“i’m really not,” you admit, “but it’s you, so i thought i’d try a little harder.”

she rolls her eyes playfully, then steps closer and presses a soft kiss to your cheek. your skin heats up instantly, heart racing faster than before. she pulls back with a grin, waving as she says, “see you tonight, six p.m.!”

“see you…” you reply, still stunned as you watch her walk down the hall. she glances back twice, each time your smiles mirroring and growing wider.

you wonder if you should cut down on the weekly parties, maybe dedicate more time to being with her. but that might be getting ahead of yourself. for now, all you know is that you have to prepare the best dinner ever tonight—something that might just earn you another kiss, maybe on the lips this time.

[karasukarei]

Wind Breaker Drama CD vol. 1 – Fuurin, Memories of a Summer (Part 1)

I received a translation request for the drama CD that came with the first anime DVD/Blu-ray, thank you! It's quite long so I'll be doing it in sections. You can listen to it here!

I'll just be doing the script, if there's anyone keen to time it with the audio feel free to hit me up! Video editor found!

Translation masterpost here!

Note: I took some liberties with translations this time to make it read more smoothly. As always, if there’s any mistakes, feel free to let me know!

Shorthand because some names are really long:

Sakura – Sakura

Nirei – Nirei

Suo – Suo

Sugishita – Sugi

Kiryuu – Kiryuu

Tsugeura – Tsuge

Hiiragi – Hii

Umemiya – Ume

Scene 1 – 0:09~3:14

Nirei: Wahhh!

Tsuge: The blazing sun! The sparkling waves!

Nirei: This is the feeling of summer!

Tsuge: Kuu, I’m getting excited!

Kiryuu: How are they so full of energy? I’m about to melt~

Suo: Ahaha! It’s definitely really hot today!

Hii: They’re probably the kind to use up all their energy in the morning. (t/n: not quite sure if I heard this right; feel free to let me know if this is wrong!

Kiryuu: Nirei-chan, those are trendy sunglasses!

Nirei: Ehehe, I like this style! Eh, I’m getting too carried away, aren’t I?

Suo: I think it’s fine to go for a different vibe from usual! Of course, the usual Nirei-kun is great too!

Nirei: Thank you very much! (t/n: WHAT A PURE GOOD BOY)

Sakura: *grunts of anguish*

Hiiragi: Sakura? You’ve been quiet since just now, what’s wrong?

Kiryuu: Oh yo~? (t/n: THIS IS SO CUTE THANK YOU TOSSHIIIII) Sakura-chan, your face is all red, are you ok?

Tsuge: Do you have heat stroke?! You can have some of my special sports drink to replenish your fluids!

Suo: It’s all good! Sakura-kun doesn’t have heat stroke!

Nirei or Tsuge (edit: Thanks @/pikiiro!): Really?

Suo: Yup! He probably just can’t take the surrounding atmosphere.

Nirei: Surrounding?

Kiryuu: Ooh~ (t/n: this is with a cute down intonation <3) There’s a couple there, there’s a couple there, ah, there’s also a couple here.

Nirei: Speaking of which, it seems that this beach is popular as a date spot for couples!

Suo: You’ve just become embarrassed, haven’t you Sakura-kun!

Sakura: DAAAAAAAAAA

Kiryuu: Sakura-chan is so cute~

Sakura: Shut up!

Hiiragi: You guys shut up.

Suo: Ah yes. Hiiragai-san, thank you for inviting us today!

Hiiragi: It’s fine, sorry for the short notice. Umemiya suddenly asked to invite you all.

Nirei: But it’s amazing isn’t it! He won first place in a lucky draw at the shopping street!

Hiiragi: That guy does tend to win these lucky draws… (t/n: Ume-chan can you gimme your luck for my ichiban kuji draws)

Tsuge: It even comes with a stay at the inn, I’m all fired up! (t/n: I can’t hear exactly what he said, it was either 2 or 3 nights’ stay. As for the inn itself, think of it as renting out a summer house where you can do whatever you want, it’s not a ryokan where there are people at your beck and call.)

Sakura: Anyway, where is that Umemiya?!

Suo: Now that you mention it, he hasn’t come yet.

Hiiragi: That guy, he’s late again… (t/n: rip Hiiragi’s stomach)

Ume: Hey everyone!

Nirei: Umemiya-san! Good morning!

Ume: Sorry about making everyone wait!

Sakura: You’re (“omae”) the one who invited everyone you shouldn’t be late!

Sugi: It’s not “omae”, it’s “Umemiya-san”!

Ume: Sugishita, don’t fight here ok? (t/n: he sounds like he’s talking to his pet dog LMAO)

Sakura: Also! Why is this guy here?!

Kiryuu: That’s true, Sugi-chan seems to hate stuff like this…

Ume: I invited him! Since it’s summer, let’s do stuff befitting our springtime of youth! (t/n: ok I took some liberties with this translation, but I think this sounds cooler)

Sugi: Thank you very much for inviting me.

Ume: I told you guys when you entered the school right? “This summer let’s all go to the beach!” Don’t you guys remember?

Sakura: He was serious about that?

Hiiragi: This guy is always serious.

Ume: I invited Kaji and gang too but they had plans today… next time it’ll be all of Fuurin!

Nirei: Isn’t that a tall order?

Ume: Anyway let’s get into the sea! Don’t you guys find it hot just standing around here?

Hiiragi: We were waiting for you!

Ume: Oh yeah, that’s right!

Hiiragi: *groans of acidic anguish*

Suo: Hiiragi-san, it’ll be nice if you won’t need to use your stomach medicine today ^^; (t/n: reading back on this it sounds as though he’s telling Hiiragi not to use his medicine. It’s closer to “man, I sure hope you won’t end up being forced to use your medicine today” – I hope this makes sense x_x)

Nirei: Ah, hahaha…

Scene 2 – 3:14~4:59

Hiiragi: I think we can leave our stuff here.

Nirei: Eh, is that so, Sakura-san?

Kiryuu: Hmm, what is it, what’s up?

Suo: It seems that this is Sakura-kun’s first time at the beach!

Tsuge: That’s rare!

Sakura: Is it that bad? It’s not like I had any reason to come anyway…

Ume: Isn’t that fine! Since it’s your first time, it means that you can start to have fun here from now on!

Sakura: *gulps of embarrassment*

Ume: Hehe, make memories together with us. Hey everyone, let’s go!

Sakura: Oi, don’t pull me!!!

Kiryuu: Ooh- They’ve left.

Hiiragi: *sighs* You guys go too.

Nirei: Hiiragi-san, aren’t you going?

Hiiragi: We need someone to watch our stuff.

Nirei: Then I’ll stay behind. We can’t leave Hiiragi-san to take care of our stuff!

Hiiragi: Don’t sweat on it, we can take turns later.

Kiryuu: Ah, I’ll be staying behind so it’s ok~ I’m not going into the sea~

Tsuge: You’re not, even though we came all the way here?

Kiryuu: Hmm, I don’t like getting all stick from the seawater, and I also haven’t cleared my login bonuses today~ (t/n: this man has his priorities right)

Nirei: As expected of Kiryuu-san, your resolve is firm!

Tsuge: He’s displaying his virtue here! (t/n: the literal translation was “I can smell his virtue” but it’s… kinda weird lmao)

Suo: I’ll be staying behind too.

Nirei: Suo-san, you too?

Hiiragi: By the way, you guys are wearing parkas on top of your rash guards, isn’t it hot? (t/n: think of a light beach jacket, not a literal winter parka)

Suo: I don’t want to get sunburned!

Tsuge: Oh, that’s a virtue too! That’s great, I want to learn more about everyone’s virtue!

Suo: Eh… aren’t you going into the sea? (t/n: I see what you did there Suo)

Tsuge: Oh yes! Come Nirei-kun, let’s go!

Nirei: Yes!

Hiiragi: For crying out loud��� I’ll be leaving our stuff to you guys.

Suo: Of course! Please take care!

Kiryuu: Everyone has so much energy~

Suo: Yes, it does seem that way.

[kkami-writes]

waiting for us — chapter forty five. andong wc. 736 + 2 SS

The trip to Andong isn’t too bad with you ending up in the car driven by Minho, sandwiched between Felix and Jeongin. Half of the ride is spend listening to music, all of the boys singing along loudly while the other half is spent asleep, head nestled on Felix’s shoulder.

You take the time to get settled into your room before you and Seungmin decide to head towards the garden. It ends up being not too far from the hotel so you had decided to walk, enjoying the rather nice day outside.

The garden is breathtaking, pretty arched bridges and rivers with cute koi fish. Plus it was the perfect time of the year as the sakura trees were just starting to bloom. You had quickly learned that Seungmin had a bit of an ulterior motive for picking this spot. He had not stopped taking pictures of you, quietly posing you - falling into his photographer mindset. The boys had warned you that when Seungmin got inspired it was hard to get him to stop. But the way his eyes were looking at you so softly made you reluctant. So like always, you let the boy indulge just a little.

The date is comfortable, small talk here and there. You had already known that Seungmin was one of the more quiet ones, reserved. Though you had definitely seen him be just as chaotic and unhinged as the rest of them, you just figured he needed to get used to you, which you totally didn’t blame him for.

The two of you sat on a bench, not too close, a few inches apart and you could tell Seungmin was nervous, fiddling with his fingers. He had been fairly normal on the date, though most of the time was spent behind the camera and now that he could hide behind it, the nerves came back at full force.

“I’m sorry,” Seungmin mutters suddenly. Your eyebrows furrow as you turn to look at the boy. He’s looking anywhere but you.

“For what?”

Seungmin shrugs. “For being awkward. I’m- bad with feelings, sometimes I really don’t know how to express myself so I can come off indifferent or even mean. And I’m probably the least good looking out of everyone. Though to be fair they’re all pretty hot. Don’t tell them I said that,”

At that you gasp and swat at his arm, of course not very hard but it causes him to look back over to you, blinking at your reaction.

“How dare you?” Seungmin’s expression suddenly turns fearful at your words but you continue before he can panic. “First of all I need you to know how insanely attractive you are? Like? Fuck. You are so handsome Seungmin. All of you guys are, there is no tier list of who is the prettiest. So if I hear you saying something like that again I will be drilling it into your head that you are gorgeous,” He’s blushing furiously now but you’re not finished. “And I think we both know that I’m just as bad with feelings like my ass didn’t try to run away at the first thought of finding my soulmates. So we can be bad with feelings together ok? Besides maybe you’re not good at verbally expressing your affection but you definitely show it. The way you subtly care about the others, subconsciously trying to take care of them. It shows Seungmin and they know it to. So don’t sell yourself short just because you don’t express your love in the same way,”

He’s still blinking at you, cheeks flushed and staring at you a little starry eyed. Before you can even ask if you had said too much he’s cupping your cheeks and pulling you towards him. It’s a rather quick kiss, just lips pressed together for a few seconds but it still manages to take your breath away. When Seungmin pulls back he’s grinning a little cheekily, nodding his head towards the entrance of the garden.

He clears his throat. “Shall we go? The others will probably be wondering where we are and blowing up our phones soon,”

This time you’re the one blinking at him, a pretty red taking over your face. “Um. Yeah. Ok,” You’re reduced to simple words, moving to follow Seungmin who seems very pleased with himself. It seems that someone has clearly found their confidence. You certainly don’t mind though.

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[oceanbug]

when worlds collide

smau non!idol ningning x reader

23. honesty.

•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•

"Ok, text if anything goes wrong. Make sure your ringer is turned on. At full volume too."

"Ugh, she get’s it, Kurra; no need to go all mom mode on her."

"I can’t help but worry about her, Yunjin; she’s having the most emotional talk of her life. Should I put out a box of tissues? I should shouldn’t I….”

"I’ll be fine, Kurra, really."

It was 4:55 p.m., and your heart was pounding. It was time for an honest talk with your best friends. So things wouldn’t feel like an ambush, you all agreed it would be best to keep the conversation between you, Jimin, and Yujin. The others were close to you as well, but they didn't have the same childhood connection as the three of you. Although everyone had been hurt about Yujin’s betrayal, no one could experience more pain than you and Jimin did at this moment.

As the rest of the gang prepared to make their exit, you heard a soft knock coming from the front door.

"Huh, Yujin’s early? That’s a first." You gave a soft smile at Yunjin, who always tried to find comedy in the most serious moments; you appreciated it. Sakura walked up to the door and let in your childhood friend.

Yujin looked thinner and more pale than you remembered; it was obvious that this situation had taken a toll on her.

"You have a key?" Said Minji, pondering as to why she didn’t just let herself in since it was Yujin’s dorm as well.

"Yeah, but I felt like I needed to warn you all that I was here. It’s the least I can do."

As Yujin spoke, your fellow college friends began to exit the dorm. You knew they would all just stay in Kurra’s car, waiting for you to give the ‘OK’ text for them to come in, but you appreciated the privacy that tried to give you three.

"So, how’s living at Wonyoung’s?"

"Oh, um, nice? She has constant hot water, so that’s pretty cool."

"Dang! Minji does waste all the hot water, doesn’t she? I don’t have the heart to tell her that the rest of us can’t stand freezing cold showers, though."

"Ha, yeah."

This conversation was incredibly awkward.

Jimin cleared her throat and gestured for Yujin to take a seat on the sofa. To which Yujin humbly obliged. It was obvious she missed being in her dorm. She went right back to her usual seat on the sofa with a sigh of relief. (You and the others swore that there was a Yujin-shaped imprint in the cushion, but Yujin always argued otherwise.)

"We all know why you're here, Yujin."

"Right, Yeah… I don’t even know where to start."

“How about your secret friendship with Wonyoung, how the fuck did that even happen?”

"How about how you’re a back-stabbing weasel who made the love of my life kiss someone else in front of me?" Yujin winced at your comment and looked down at her feet. You knew that was harsh, but Yujin deserved it. She hurt you four years ago, and she hurt you four days ago. Yujin deserved to hear how upset you were.

"I’ll start from the beginning... Just, please hear me out."

"We’re listening."

Yujin took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Ok, it all started junior year."

_______________________________________________

Junior Year, Spring Hill High

Yujin had always been an eccentric kid. She never cared about what people thought. It was obvious by the way she acted in public. Yujin was loud, energetic, and carefree. She never had to worry about people’s opinions affecting her because she knew her friends would always be by her side. Even when she let out all the tarantulas from the science lab or when she sent three kids to the hospital after a serious game of dodgeball, Y/n and Jimin defended her through it all.

"Plus 4, take THAT Jimin."

"Plus 4." Jimin slammed down her card while giving Y/N a mischievous side-eye.

"No, this can’t be." She claimed Yujin as her eyes widened once she realized that Y/N was mimicking Jimin’s grin.

"Y/n, think this through; we’re friends."

"You’re right, Yujin, plus 4." Yujin let out an ear-piercing scream. She now had to pick up eight cards. Instead of doing so, she threw all her cards on the table and then flipped the table. Yujin always had great sportsmanship.

“Ugh, Yuuuu, the gameeeee."

"The game stinks. I’m thirsty; I’m getting some drinks."

"Loser, you’re just scared about losing the game."

“I can't hear you. You’re too far away!” She scurried off, heading toward the school’s vending machine. Her friends were right, but she couldn’t just admit defeat.

Counting the coins in her pocket, Yujin skipped her way toward the vending machine’s. Before she could fully enter the room, she noticed a tall, slender figure standing in front of her. She knew that gorgeous flowing brown hair from anywhere. It was Jang Wonyoung. Her name was known all around the school.

After having a long debate with herself on whether she should disturb the goddess, which is Wonyoung, Yujin realized that she was too thirsty to even care. But before she could walk in, she heard Wonyoung whisper to herself.

"Fuck, I’m 25 cents short."

Yujin gasped. She’d never expected to hear Wonyoung curse; she always seemed so ladylike and elegant. But I guess even princesses have their off days?

Yujin’s gasp, unfortunately, was not silent. As Wonyoung whipped her head around to see who was there, Yujin didn’t have time to hide herself. She began to panic and could only let out the words:

"25 cents!"

Wonyoung cocked her head to the side, in confusion.

Yujin cleared her throat and stood up straight.

“Um, I have a quarter, if you need it? I already had so much water, I’m practically pissing myself! It should go to someone who needs it more.” Yujin grinned, showing all her teeth. She tried hard not to make it seem like she was nervous.

Wonyoung's face darkened for a second, but she quickly turned back to her princess-like smile.

"No need, gorgeous, I got it covered."

"Are you sure? Didn’t you just say you needed a quarter?"

"I’m fine. Do I look like a charity case to you? I can afford a water bottle.” Her tone was much less polite than the first time.

"Woah! I didn’t say all of that. Look, if you’re missing a quarter, you could just say that; there's no need to get all snarky. Aren’t you supposed to be like mega rich or something anyway?”

Wonyoung’s tone became even more aggressive.

"I said I can afford it. Who the fuck are you? What’s your problem? You just come up here assuming I’m poor; well, I’m not. I could probably afford your entire home with my shoes alone. So just run along, little one; stop bothering the big kids."

Yujin was taken aback. She was speechless. All she could do to retaliate was throw a quarter at Wonyoung and run away. That was her first encounter with Wonyoung, but certainly not her last.

_______________________________________________

In fact, Yujin’s next encounter with Wonyoung happened less than 24 hours later.

She was always known to roam around the halls after school hours. Jimin would be at volleyball practice while Y/n went to tutoring, so Yujin was left alone for an hour and a half every once in a while. Sure, she could just go home. But what fun would that be? She’d rather wait for her best buddies to walk with her.

Yujin has the same route she’d walk every time she stayed alone.

First, she visited her physics class pet. Charlie the Chinchilla. She would pet him, and he’d almost always bite her. Charlie was not friendly.

This then led her to her next destination, the nurse's office! Greeting her with the same faint smile, Yujin picked up the various colored bandages to cover up her Chinchilla bite.

Lastly, she’d make her way downstairs to watch Jimin practice volleyball in the school’s gym. Heading downstairs, Yujin took her time, admiring the school’s graffiti on the stairway walls. But this time it wasn’t her usual quiet stroll downstairs. She heard various sounds coming from the 2nd-floor stairwell. Being the curious puppy she is, Yujin softly walked up the stairs to check out the high school's newest romantic entanglement.

Slightly poking her head out of the staircase, Yujin squinted her eyes and tippy-toed to get a good view. Her vision became clear, and she got a good look at the couple. Yujin’s eyes quickly went from squinted to wide-open. She gasped as she realized what she was looking at.

Was it Wonyoung and Yeonjun?

Realizing the pair that was in front of her, Yujin tripped on her own two feet and began to fall down a flight of stairs.

"Ah Fuck!"

"Who’s there? You, Werido, are you trying to get a good look for your spank bank?" Yujin recognized the voice. It was Yeonjun.

"It’s you again; you're that girl from the vending machine." There came the other voice of the pair; it was Wonyoung, and she was staring right down at Yujin.

Trying to recover from the great fall she just had, Yujin let out a stuttered:

"N-No! I promise, I just heard noises and came to see."

"That’s the literal definition of being a weird pervert.”

Yujin couldn’t find a good excuse for herself, so she did what she does best. She ran away. Straight into the second bathroom.

Quickly slamming the door behind her, she let out a deep breath of air. Yujin frantically started pacing around. What was she going to do? Surely she had seen something she wasn’t supposed to. Was Wonyoung out to get her now? She closed her eyes, thinking of the various ways she could attempt to get out of this situation, until she felt a cold, wet towel on her knee.

"That was a big fall you took; your knee’s bleeding."

Yujin quickly opened her eyes. Was Wonyoung cleaning up her knee?

"Sorry for Yeonjun’s harsh words; he’s kind of an idiot."

"No, it’s my fault; I shouldn’t have watched; it was weird."

"I probably would’ve done the same; don’t worry, really.” Wonyoung’s voice sounded sweet. It was a complete 180 from the yelling she had done at the vending machines. She had a look of sincerity on her face.

"Um, you know I won’t tell anyone about anything. But don’t you think maybe Ning should know that Yeonjun and you are... Since you guys are like best friends, and that’s her boyfriend? Maybe you can talk it out? Share custody of him? Just my opinion though, I think I’d like to know." Yujin’s words trailed off. She couldn’t even fully register what she’d seen, let alone say it in words. Yet she still felt obligated to give her opinion. It’s true that Ningning wasn’t the most kind person, but even she didn’t deserve to get backstabbed.

As Wonyoung took out a bandage to put on Yujin’s knee, she felt Wonyoung’s hands shake.

"Um, Wonyoung?" She bent down to Wonyoung’s level and saw tears in her eyes.

"I messed up. Big time, I’m such a shitty person.” Her words were spiraling out, and tears were flowing out of her eyes. Yujin didn’t know what to do.

"Oh, no, hey, you’re not. Everyone kisses their friend's boyfriend sometimes.” No, they do not.

"No, not that. This isn’t even the first time. He’s not even her boyfriend. Yeonjun’s just pretending to like her, so she’ll keep paying off his stuff.” At this point, it was obvious that Wonyoung had pent-up emotions that she needed to let out. Yujin tried to keep her reactions to herself and kept quiet so as to let Wonyoung keep talking.

"And I’m no better than he is. You know, I try to tell myself that I care about her. That Ning’s my best friend, but how can I believe that when my friendship with her didn’t even start for the right reasons? You were right, okay? I am poor. I have no money. There, are you happy? I was counting quarters and couldn’t afford a water bottle. I only yelled at you because I thought you would tell everyone, and word would eventually get to Ning. I need her in my life. Without her, I’d just be some low-level poverty case with no friends looking for a handout. After a while, I really did start seeing her as my friend. But now here I am, making out with her boyfriend. What’s wrong with me?” Wonyoung sobbed on the bathroom floor.

Yujin didn’t know what to do. Why was Wonyoung spilling her guts out to her? Was it really out of guilt?

"Listen, I’ll just forget I saw anything, really. I’ll forget the kissing Ningning’s boyfriend and the quarter thing. I promise." Yujin was hugging Wonyoung at this point. She wanted nothing more than to get out of this situation, but she couldn't just leave Wonyoung on the bathroom floor. Sure, what she did was messed up, but she had her reasons, and she clearly showed…..remorse? 

"Aw, how sweet of you! You’d do that for little old me? Then how about I pay you back? Anytime you need a favor, it’s on me! Anytime sweetie." Wonyoung’s tears dried up in an instant, and her usual chipper tone came back. Almost as if nothing had happened.

Yujin never thought of a time when she would call upon the evil terror of Wonyoung, but I guess it was a nice thing to have. Besides, even if she did want to tell Ningning, would she even believe her? There's no way she’d believe Yujin over her best friend, Wonyoung.

“Ok, Deal."

_______________________________________________

Senior Year Spring Hill High School

"No, I’m going to do it, Yujin; I’m going to confess at the graduation party."

Yujin sat against the wall outside of the school’s gymnasium, pondering back at Y/N's words toward her. She winced at the thought of Y/N getting shot down by Jimin. Their friendship was important to Yujin; she couldn’t risk breaking it apart. It was all she had.

But what could she do to fix this? She could only accept the impending doom of their trio.

"What’s wrong, cutie? You seem distressed.

Yujin turned her head to see the school’s princess. Her flowing hair was never out of place. A soft smile is always on her face.

"Oh, Wonyoung! It’s nothing. Just thinking things, I guess." She nervously chuckled; she had never really interacted with Wonyoung since that day. But Wonyoung did always greet her in the halls, much to the confusion of others.

"Sugarplum, you can talk to me. We’re secret buddies! What’s bothering you?” I guess it couldn’t hurt venting to her? I mean, she was right—you were secret buddies, technically?

"Um, well, it’s just that.... you know Jimin, right? And Y/n?"

"Your cutie-pie friends, yup!"

"Yeah, them, well, Y/N kinda, sorta, maybe has a huge ginormous crush on Jimin. And Y/N is kind of confessing at the party. I have no clue what to do, Wonyoung. I feel like I’m losing them. If Jimin rejects them, then it’ll be awkward between Jimin and Y/N. It’ll be like having divorced parents; I’ll have to choose! Either Jimin, the international superstar of Spring Hill High, who will surely make other friends in no time, Or Y/N, the known introvert, who probably only hangs out with me because she can’t be in a room alone with Jimin for more than two seconds without possibly fainting. So once Jimin’s out of the equation, they’ll have no real reason to hang out with me. On the other hand, if Jimin accepts, then I’ll be a third wheel. Always in the way of their lovey-dovey relationship. I don’t know which one is worse. Either way, it feels like I’m left all alone."

“Aw, honey, that’s quite the conundrum! How can I help? You still have a Wony favor to call in?"

"What, no? I can’t just medal in their lives."

"You sure? Offers never expiring!”

"I’m sure."

_______________________________________________

Senior Year, Spring Hill High Graduation Party

Yujin was not sure.

It was the night of the graduation party, and she was positive that the only way to stop this rejection from happening was by getting Wonyoung involved.

She walked up to Wonyoung and uttered:

"Could I ask a favor from you?"

Wonyoung’s eyes lit up in delight.

"I thought you’d never ask Buttercup!" Wonyoung quickly grabbed onto Yujin’s hand and guided her around the party area. She led her to Ninging, where she was comfortably sitting on Yeonjun’s lap. Yujin shuttered.

"Ew, is this a charity case? Why is she here, Wony?” Ninging glanced at Yujin, looking her up and down. Wonyoung ignored her comment and dragged Ningning by the hand to a quieter part of the party.

"Ning, Yujin has something to ask you. Go ahead, buttercup!"

Yujin gulped as Ninging started her down.

"Um, could you help me? Try to save my friend from embarrassment.”

"Again, ew, why would I help trash like you?"

Wonyoung put a hand on Yujin’s shoulder.

"Yujin, don’t be so worried; I’ll tell her for you if you’re too nervous. Ningning, Yujin’s caught her friend Y/N kissing Yeonjun yesterday. I know this probably isn’t the place to tell you, but she thought you should know. She even has a perfect plan to get her back!"

Ningning’s face went from annoyed to hurt. She looked like she was about to cry. While Yujin’s face went as pale as a ghost, She didn’t expect Wonyoung to lie. Was this really the only way to save your trio?

"Is this true?” Ningning asked.

Yujin took a deep breath, but before she could answer, Wonyoung cut her off.

"I’m afraid, darling. But do you see Jimin there? Y/N's so in love with her! I bet you could break their heart just like they hurt yours. ~"

"I’ll make that bitch regret ever touching him."

Ningning walked away to throw a drink at Yeonjun’s face, then marched up to Jimin to give her the proposition. To which Jimin obliged.

Yujin watched the whole ordeal go down and felt a whisper in her ear that sent shivers down her spine. It was Wonyoung’s voice going from sweet to the same cold-aggressive tone she once used at the vending machines.

“It looks like we’re both shitty people, aren’t we? It looks like you’re stuck with me, sweetheart. ~"

_______________________________________________

Present Time

“So, that’s how everything went down. That’s how Wonyoung and I met, and how I set up the Ningning-Jimin kiss. That’s everything I’ve kept hidden from you guys, I promise.”

“Yujin, What the fuck.”

•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈

masterlist ~ next

(Synopsis) Y/N had never been the type to take life for granted. You grew up with the mindset that if you wanted something, you had to work for it; So getting paired up with the university’s “Rich Bitch” Ning Yi Zhuo for your midterm was the last thing you wanted. Are you willing to step into the world of fame for an A+?

taglist(open): @azraism; @kimsgayness; @sewiouslyz; @winieter ; @llluvbluy ; @i06kkura; @everydayiloveyves ; @edamboon ; @rdfgfv ; @beawolfbealionbeyou; @manooffline; @captivq

[echantedtoon]

Demon Bride Ch53 Karaku Is Working On It

(WARNINGS!!: Karaku IS his own warning. Possibly some innuendos. Mentioning of Sakura's past actions. Yn LITERALLY snacks sense into Sekido when he calls Karaku stupid but he later redeems himself.)

(Author's Note:  This chapters events spans about two months after Douma speaks to Yn about Sakura. The Hantengu's Bros Arc is slowly coming to a close. The quadruplets will be around for maybe one or two more chapters after this one.)

You know. You were expecting things to be a little bit different than before sure. But what you didn't expect really was that you would be woken up by... Nothing. No knocking. No voices. No Rui going to school. Just blissful slumber until you woke up on your own. The breakfast just left on your doorstep. They didn't even wake you up for it. Odd. But VERY much welcome. 

It was a WONDERFUL day.

You actually got to sleep in for a long time, eat breakfast at your own pace, got to be left alone, and treated yourself to a long, long hot bath and book reading session. No one bothered you other than another knock on the door that was just lunch being left on your doorstep and then again later today when Rui got home and was holding...his puppy??

"... Don't tell me you brought your puppy to school! You're not supposed to do that. What if she got lost while you weren't looking."

"I know. Sensai said the same thing when he saw her. But Arachnid will get so lonely without me! How can I abandon her?"

"Sekido assigned someone to look after her while you're at school. Leave Arachnid home from now on and play with her until you get back. Ok?"

He sighed. "Ok."

"Good. Now come eat dinner and then it's bedtime for you."

It was a good day. You didn't feel stressed anymore so you guessed Douma was right about you releasing all the pent-up stress out on Sakura. Which you still felt bad about but she did attack you first. Sigh...You'd think about this later. The next day however you DID have a visitor. Just a little while after Rui left for school. A knocking on your door had you opening it up only to discover Aizetsu on the other side, and he was...smiling?

"U-Um...I-I hope I'm not disturbing you."

"No. What's brought you here?"

"Um.." He suddenly looked embarrassed and rubbed his neck and you noticed that he had a book in his hands. "I-I was done with a b-book and wondered if you wanted to read it? A-And maybe spend time with..me.." He looked away embarrassed. "Reading other books...to-together."

You immediately smiled. "Of course I would!  Come on in!" 

The blue eyed demon smiled and came on in. The rest of the day was filled with you in Aizetsu's lap as you two read through the books. Three days later Aizetsu came back again with even more books. And it continued onwards like that with Aizetsu for a while. Apparently his brothers and himself all agreed on letting them all individually spend time with you in their own ways. Oh. That was nice. But I'm the middle of it all you had a knock on the door and answered it only to see Karaku there smiling and crossing his arms. 

"Karaku? What are you doing here?"

He smirked. "I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by.~ Also I thought of a math equation. You-" he pointed at you. "-plus me-" he then pointed at himself. "-equals dinner together.~"

"No." He froze as you shook your head. "Sorry. I already made arrangements to spend time with Aizetsu and ONLY Aizetsu for a few days. You'll have to check back when I'm not busy. Why don't you just spend time with your father and little brother? I'm sure they'll be much better company."

You then politely closed the door. A few days later you were expecting Aizetsu back only to jump when the door suddenly flew open and Urogi announced his presence. 

"Hey, Dove!!" He just allowed himself into your room. Happily chuckling noticing that you jumped. "I'm here for my turn with ya!"

"...OK!! NEW RULE!!" You scowled firmly standing up and pointing at him with a serious look that made Urogi pause. "If you EVER enter my room without knocking or asking again I will NEVER go out with you again. Privacy is basic decency. Understood?" He gulped and quickly nodded. "Good. Now what are you here for?"

He instantly smiled again. "It's my turn to spend some time with you! I was thinking we should go out again and hunt or fish!"

That immediately caught your attention. "Really?! Like REAL hunting and fishing REAL game!!" You smiled. "Real fish and rabbits and wild turkeys?!"

"And deer and ducks and whatever else you want, Princess.~ In the real wild forest!" He then flexed an arm up. "Not to brag but I have a really good catching streak!"

"When can we leave?!"

Urogi threw his head back and cackled. "Whenever you want, Pigeon.~"

And thus started the trend of the female servants nearly fainting it terror or screaming and running away or looking disgusted at you when you started going out with Urogi every few days and came back with a few things. The first day he took you out, you brought back a few ducks which you then gave to the shocked kitchen staff and you looked quite a mess. The female head of the dwell, Yoko, actually fainted into her husband's arms the next time he took you out and brought back an entire deer you brought down by tackling it with your newfound speed and strength. One good thing from your new demon body. Often when you came back you were dirty, and a mess and your kimonos were ruined. BUT GODS WERE YOU HAVING FUN AND FEELING ALIVE AFTER SO LONG!! After a particular trip back Karaku had ran into you while coming down the hallway with Urogi whom was carrying a boar that'd surely be made into delicious pork later. The green eyed demon had looked surprised seeing you both there but nearly burst out laughing at the sight of you covered in dirt and with a few leaves stuck to your hair. 

"Hahaha! Wow. You like you had fun! What happened?"

"I brought down a boar by tackling it to the ground." You jabbed a thumb at Urogi whom was easily lugging said wild game on his shoulder with an amused grin. "Feels good to get some workout in."

Urogi chuckled. "She's pretty fun to hunt with I'll tell you that much.~ Like a tigress on the prowl."

"That's great!" Karaku clapped his hands with a wide smile. "Then we can go do that when we go out!"

"Sorry. I can't." He immediately paused. "Urogi promised to teach me how to catch fish with my bare hands. But perhaps a different time. Excuse me. I need to go wash off."

You then stepped around him leaving him standing there and Urogi patted his shoulder with a genuine smile his way. "Be a little patient, Bro. Tell you what. I'll be sure to put in a good word for you with her."

"Thanks. ... Appreciate it."

However the next brother to greet you a week later after your last run in with Karaku wasn't Karaku himself, but an grumpy looking red eyed demon who knocked on your door expecting you to answer.

"Hmph. It's about time. I've been waiting long enough."

You brow rose at him. Already feeling a bit cranky from the loud knocking and attitude he gave you. "What do you want, Sekido?"

"I'm here to spend my amount of courting time with you of course! What else would I be here for?!" Your brow rose higher. "Now get ready. We're going out!"

You crossed your arms. "Uh huh. Y'know..To be honest I was expecting you to be Karaku again asking me for a date."

Sekido scoffed Rolling his red eyes. "That idiot is always doing things stupidly." Your eyes focused on him dangerous. "That's why he gets himself in so many stup-"

S M A C K!!

A MASSIVE slap sound echoed throughout the hallway and bounced off the walls in echoed slowly fading away. There was a stinging in your hand and in Sekido's left cheek as he suddenly found himself staring in the other hand, his head whiplashed to the side. For a long moment nobody spoke until Sekido slowly looked back to you absolutely stunned silent meeting your rage filled eyes.

"Your brothers are not stupid. I've heard you calling all of them everything from 'bumbling idiots' to 'stupid'....I do not tolerate that bullshit in my presence.And you're lucky I didn't strike you hard enough to break your neck for doing that. Aizetsu is a bit clumsy but good meaning. Urogi is easily forgetful but he's a good guy. Karaku...Heh. Karaku is a n asshole a lot of the time but he isn't stupid. He made some stupid mistakes and suffered from it but guess what. So did I. You better not speak of Zohakuten or your father that way either." Your hand harshly grabbed the door. "I won't be seen with a man who degrades his family in such a disgusting manner. I'd consider it an embarrassment. Until you can get your egotistical angry head out of your ass and get it then you can consider yourself banned from me entirely."

S L A M!!

AND the door was slammed in the stunned demon's face. Honestly you weren't really expecting Sekido to come back. Or for him to beg for forgiveness. But only a week later there was another knock on your door and you answered to the presence of Sekido to your surprise. But after a moment of silence you just frowned at him crossing your arms and waiting for him to speak. Red eyes stared intently at your frown. You didn't budge. Not even bothering to ask why he was there. Until his eyes slowly lowered by him bending at the knees. Your eyes didn't look away still making eye contact with him until he sat on his legs hands on his knees. After another few seconds of intense staring, he leaned over until his head bowed over silently. He was bowing at you silently.

"Nothing to say for yourself?" He remained silent. ...Honestly this was probably the closest thing to an actual admission to he was wrong that Sekido would be giving you. "....You know what you did was really bad and it could really hurt someone. As long as you don't do it again and treat me without demanding things from me, then I can just give you a warning this time. Next time I won't be so nice." A hand gently placed itself on  his head. "Now get up and raise your head. I want to go on a walk with you."

He looked up at you and your hand slowly removed itself from his face only for him to grab it and press his lips it it's palm with a small hum. "... You'll be my wife by the end of this year. I need your presence."

"We'll see. But for now let's go on that walk then we can get something to eat and this time I'll pay for it no matter what you say."

You were surprised when Sekido was mostly silent for most of the time you both were together. Mostly he let you talk and he listened to what you said. There was still plenty of hiccups when you both went out mostly on walks or Sekido would take you to a few quiet places such as the book store or a restaurant, and there sometimes was a few men who'd stare at you which earnt Sekido's wrath. You remembered one time you were getting a few ink stones as a gift for Kyogai at the book store when a hand grabbed your arm and you looked up at an unknown man smiling at you.

"Hey. You look lost. May I escort you to where you're going?~"

He was grabbed by the collar and YANKED away from you a second later by a VERY raged looking Sekido who snarled at him. "FUCK OFF!! THAT'S MY FIANCE YOU PERVERTED FUCK!!"

To his credit he didn't try to instantly pummel the guy but his arms were shaking badly as he watched the man instantly take off. Then he just wrapped his arms around you pulling you to himself. Making you raise an amused brow. 

"I didn't know you were so protective."

He scoffed as rested his head on yours pulling you against him."You smell like Aster flowers to my bumb- ...*ahem* To myself and my brothers. Your scent is unnaturally sweet to others as well. It's...very attracting like what draws bees to flowers." He paused as you patted his arms.

"Well then let's go pay for the ink stones and get on our way. I wanna treat my big, strong fiance to some home cooked pork I caught just two weeks ago.~"

His face lit up red..but then he blinked. "Wait. Did you say you caught a wild pig?!"

From then on whenever you both went out Sekido would always have either an arm wrapped around your shoulders or waist, be holding your hand, or having you hang onto his arm. You noticed that less men looked at you then. The few that dared to look were usually scared away by Sekido sending a silent snarl they're way.  This time you didn't run into Karaku until much later after Sekido stopped visiting. But it still wasn't him who knocked on your door. When you answered the knocking one day when Rui was home, you were surprised to see none other than Zohakuten and Mr. Hantengu there. 

Zohakuten looked annoyed and had his arms crossed before huffing. "My father says in order to become proper in-laws we have to be better acquainted outside of my brothers. We're here to have lunch with you and talk."

Rui looked up annoyed from his book holding a sleeping Arachnid in his lap but you shot him a knowing glare. "Rui and I would be delighted to have you both over for lunch. Please come right in.'' You politely stepped aside with a smile that made the teenager pause. "I'll go ahead and get a servant to get some food for you all. I hope miso ramen is alright. Your father must be tired. Come sit down."

"...Hmph. I will give you one thing, despite your unladylike behavior at least you know how to treat your gu-AH!!"

Said teenager winced as a firm hand gripped his ear and yanked him harshly. "Forgive him. My son is still inexperienced. So inexperienced. He has a tendency to say things that I find insulting. Forgive him."

Rui snickered hiding his face behind the book he held when you shot him a glare. "Oh. It's alright. Children will be children. Come inside."

It was in the middle of lunch and Mr. Hantengu's ramblings of how a little Sekido used to be so shy and hide behind his legs when the door knocked and you answered it only to see Karaku again. He smiled wider and winked at you.

"Hey, Beautiful.~"

"Karaku. What a nice surprise. Are you looking for your father?," you politely greeted him making Zohakuten look over at you both curiously.

He shook his long black hair before smiling wider. "Nah. I figured I was overstepping on everyone's else's time with you so I waited til Sekido's turn was over with before coming back."

You blinked lightly surprised before nodding. "That's very considerate of you."

"So we'll go out then?!"

You shook your head. "I promised Rui I'd spend time with him today, and I'm having lunch with your family. I'm sorry but not going out today."

"Then maybe we can go out tomorrow? Or later this week! Whenever you want -" he paused as you calmly held up a hand to him.

"Karaku, Im not going to go out with you. Not yet. It's nothing against you, it's really not. But you still haven't proved to me that you're going to be taking this seriously or change how you treated me before. I'm still willing to give you a chance, but you have to show me you're willing to put in the work. Just asking me to go with you over and over isn't proving anything. I'm sorry, but until then please don't ask me again."

You left him just standing there blankly slowly closing the door in his face-

"And then she just shut the door in my face!," Karaku yelled out frustrated from where he just laid on the floor staring at the ceiling. 

His father hummed just a little aways from him carefully seeing up a hole in a pair of Zohakuten's pants. He always played so roughly during training. Good thing he learnt how to sew three hundred years ago. Zoha was just lazily watching one of his older brothers sulk on the ground boredly. 

"I TRIED LITERALLY EVERYTHING!!", Karaku yelled out frustrated throwing up his arms, "FLOWERS!! GIFTS!! FLIRTING!! ASKING!! I TRIED EVERYTHING SHORT OF JUST THROWING MYSELF AT HER FEET AND BEGGING HER!! WHY WOULD SHE BOTHER HELPING ME OUT IF SHE DOESN'T HAVE INTEREST?! WHY BOTHER TO GIVE ME A CHANCE THEN?!" His arms flopped back to the floor. "I just... don't get it, Dad. I've done everything right. Haven't I?"

"Perhaps that is your problem." Green eyes tilted upwards towards the shaky hand sewing demon. "You are doing what YOU THINK she'd like, but have you ever p-paused to consider that perhaps how you do things isn't what she wants?"

"But all girls like flowers and gifts. Aizetsu and Sekido gave her flowers and she loved them! She's always doing things with them... What's so different from me?"

The sewing was paused as the older demon sighed and looked at him. "My son. The way you act IS what she didn't like. It's true you may have stopped that behavior but she does not see you proving you did. Giving her material gifts does not reveal which intention is behind it."

Karaku blinked before turning from his back to lay on his stomach to look at him better. "Then... How do I prove to her that I AM trying?!"

"That I cannot say because I am not her. You will have to think hard about what she would accept for her to believe you."

"What?!"

"Think about what she made you all do whenever you made her angry before. What did she make you do in order to make her happy again?"

Karaku groaned laying his head in a hand. "*Sigh* She yelled at us and hit us with a giant stick and then she made us apologize to everyone she thought we wronged and then you made us apologize to her...for.." He slowly trailed off as his green eyes widened as a thought crossed over his mind. "Uh...Hey, Pops. Do you still have that random stack of papers around here?"

"Of course."

"Good, good. Um..I'm going to need them and for you to watch me write a lot of letters so I can have some witnesses. Lots ..and LOTS of letters."

You didn't see Karaku again for almost two weeks. You did see his brothers once or twice and Douma once when he popped back in annoyingly, but no Karaku which you supposed might be for the best if he really wasn't interested after all and left you alone. You should return that courting gift he gave you though. It wouldn't be right to keep it when he wasn't courting you after all... You'd give it to Aizetsu and have him give it back to Karaku. However you weren't expecting the frantic knocking on your door and you answering it to see the sight of a panting Karaku on the other side.

"Hey...I-....Hhhhhaaa." He leaned over one hand on the doorframe heaving for air. "Give...A-A minute."

You blinked. "Karaku?" He was a bit sweaty and wheezed like he ran a hundred miles uphill. "What happened to you? Is something wrong?" 

"I- ...got you....*GASP* T-This." A hand shakily held up a single tulip. "F-for...you.."

You blinked... slowly taking the flower before looking back at him. "Thank you? But that doesn't answer my question."

"I-I was...Oh gods.." He inhaled and leaned back up with a sigh. "I came as soon as I heard all my...letters were given out finally."

"Letters?" Your brow rose. "What are you talking about?"

"My letters to all my exes." This time both your brows skyrocketed up and he instantly held up his hands. "It's not what you think! Look. I know you think I'm...Well a womanizer and maybe I am, but I don't want anyone but YOU! Not Sakura or anyone else! So I did this!" His arms were thrown out. "I wrote apology letters to every single one of my exes with the exception of the bitch you battered. Took me a while and a lot of paper. Gods. So much paper. But I did it! I apologized for everything! So...please?"

You continued to stare at his pleading eyes before slowly looking down at the flower you held. Karaku...Apologized to all his ex lovers? ALL OF THEM?! You stared at the flower in shock before slowly turning into a thinking face ... Before looking back at him.

"Karaku."

"Yeah?"

"Are you free today?"

Karaku felt himself go shocked for a moment before again his eyes lit up again and a giant grin spread out on his face. "YOU'RE SERIOUS?!" You nodded. "HOLY FUCK YES!!" 

You squealed as suddenly two arms wrapped around you suddenly and you found yourself twirled around a few times by strong arms before you were sat back down on your feet in front of a genuinely happy smiling Karaku. 

"You'll love this! You like cherry blossoms right?! What an I saying? Everyone loves those! You'll love this part of a mountain I know!" He grabbed your hand and started pulling you towards the door. "C'mon! Nakime will know what spot I mean when I tell her!"

You rose a brow but allowed him to excitedly pull you behind him and out of the Dwell. Long story short, he took a confusion route until he found that weird lady and kept bugging her until she sighed and just raised her instrument.

STRUM!!

In an instant you both were teleported. One moment you were in the Infinity Castle and the next you stood somewhere windy. Karaku in front of you grabbing the sides of your head and stepping to make you face a different direction but not allowing you to look anywhere but him. It made you a bit red in the face from his close approximity. Huh. Those green eyes were pretty now that you thought about it.

"And look behind you." He let you go then and stepped back.

You blinked for a moment before looking around you and freezing at what you saw. Wind blew through trees as there was instantly a sweet perfumed scent in the air. The warm breeze scattered about hundreds of thousands of pink petals as they blew through the wind dislodged from countless and countless cherry blossom trees that swayed in the golden sunlight under the deep blue sky. Hundreds of pink petals hit your body and the wing blue your hair around. Slowly you caught one as it blew by before it was again reclaimed by the wind. Slowly you looked from the trees to see a decently sized stream close by which was FULL of petals carrying them away to places unknown. Slowly your eyes turned to Karaku again as he tilted his head smiling, arms crossed.

"Pretty beautiful huh?" He looked around himself before chuckling. "It's tradition to confess under these trees right?" He shrugged. "Thought it'd be appropriate for a courting session."

"Are you kidding me?" He paused but you lit up. "THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!" You held out your arms twirling and cascaded a flurry of petals around you. "I've never seen this many at once before! This place is absolutely beautiful!! How did you even find this place?"

"It's actually the spot my parents had their wedding." He shrugged. "You can say it's been in the family for a while." He then smirked and leaned over as you blinked. "So this is the part I confess to you. Well I already love you. So does that mean we can skip directly to the true love's kiss?~"

Instead of getting angry like he expected you actually rolled your eyes and smiled. "Yeah right. You couldn't get a kiss even if you caught one."

Karaku blinked... before a large and mischievous smirk graced his face and he chuckled lowly making you pause. "Oh really?~ Is that a challenge, Princess?~" 

He purr-growled in glee. You froze. "Karaku, NO!" He uncrossed his arms wiggling his eyes at you. "No! NO! I said no!" You took a step back. "Karaku I swear if you even think-"

"RAW!!"

You squealed out loudly as he suddenly jumped up holding his arms up and you ducked as he lunged to grab you. You dodged his lunge before running off towards a couple trees, your senses heightening as you heard him quickly follow. Despite how you SHOULD'VE been reacting to this your mouth broke out in a grin and you ran a little faster- Squealing again as you felt a hand almost snatch your shoulder. Eventually you ran around a tree and stopped turning around and facing Karaku who was on the other side of the tree. You both leaned back and forth. A wide smile on his face and a chorus of laughs escaping his mouth as he blocked your way this way and that.

"You can always just give up at let me catch you.~"

"Want a kiss? Gotta earn it!"

His pupils dilated and he gave a heightened growl of glee.  You made a break for it to the left back towards the stream and immediately you heard footsteps behind you- You squealed as two strong arms wrapped around your waist lifting you up and both of you tripped over yourselves-

SPLASH!!

You both just fell into the stream and immediately cold water seeped into your bones. Karaku was first to get up coughing a little and spitting out a few pink petals. A few pink petals cling to him from the water and he groaned reaching up to rub his face before opening his eyes. 

SPLASH!!

"HEY!!"

 His hands flew up to cover his face from water before his green eyes blinked as laughter filled his ears. And he froze. There you were smiling and laughing at him. Your hair a mess but sunlight glittering off of the droplets of  water making you skin look like it was made of diamonds. Your skin decorated with hundreds of pink petals matching her intoxicating scent. Cheeks a warm hue and lips a pretty color. You squealed again as strong arms wrapped around your body and turned you, pressing you against a very toned chest. For a brief second you saw emerald eyes and then the next thing a pair of lips clasped into yours. And for a moment nothing else happened before he pulled away as you looked shocked at him.

"Oh. Um..Shit. Sorry. Guessed I should've asked first huh?" You rose a brow. "Um I- DWAH!!"

He suddenly found himself clutching you as he was dipped. One hand holding his back and the other gripping his leg and he stared shocked until something punched his own mouth and he stared shocked as you kissed him before pulling away as he continued to stare dumbfounded.

"This was fun. Let's come back again two days from now and have a picnic together. After all you need time to court me without your brothers too."

"....If it's wrong for me to want a dominant woman in this relationship, then I Sekido's right about me being crazy."

[utsugi-ren]

OK I HAVE SO FUCKING MANY (ALSO I MEANT TWITTER NOT TUMBLR I AM. SCHTEWPID)

My number 1 recommendation for a manga that like. Happenstance has a transgender character (kinda spoilies) is Fire Punch which is my favorite manga ever. Tw there is a lot of sexual assault tho and the trans character is kind of ...um. Not the best person in a lot of ways...I'd still HEAVILY recommend it because it's fucking amazing, made by the same guy who did Chainsaw Man, also if u want links to any of these I can dm u em B3

I also REALLY LOVE Yuureitou even though it is terrible representation but as a story it's amazing. It sexualizes the main trans character a lot and also it's. transmisogynstic as shit. I can't even cover for that, the way it handles it's one transfem character is really fucking bad

I feel like I have to mention wandering son except I don't want to cuz I don't like it but this list wouldn't be complete without it LMAO, but like. By jove it is also transmisogynstic...also tw for sexual assault that is! Kinda never addressed which pisses me off, that shit triggered me so hard, which is the entire reason I hate the manga so bad.

Hakei Seken Sama I WOULD recommend, but be warned the scanlation out currently is absolute garbage, which might ruin the experience for you (for an idea of how bad it is, I make shift translated it using google translate and it pretty much came out as the same as the scanlation...so. Yeah)

These are the big recommendations, and yes I would recommend Wandering Son just cuz it's like. Important as a story to read honestly. If u want a good retelling of it, watch the anime, if u want the full story, read the manga even tho it kinda sucks

For stories where trans characters play a smaller role there's:

Sket Dance-The final dance arc features a trans boy and it's so cute I love Sket Dance (U do not have to read the hwole story to understand what's going on in the last dance arc)

Heart no Daiya-This one's pretty good! There's only maybe? 5 chapters with the trans character and tbh I didn't like the manga itself but I do like how they wrote him

Level E-The anime is definitely better, but if u can't find it anywhere the manga works too...I think the anime is episode 8/9 and the manga is chapter 10/11 but I could be wrong about that..

Sakura-Chan to Amane-Kun-Wandering Son but better and ended WAY earlier, it's cute. Idk what else to say :P

Villain-Doesn't feature a trans man BUT featuers a transmasc character, it's still releasing but it's super slow. Last update was in January </3

AFTER SCHOOL MATE-One of my favorites! Idk what to say, it's also cute

Bokura no VR-One shot, but it's cute, I'd recommend it

Bokura no Hentai-Ok so this one doesn't have any trans men but please read it please oh please I am begging you I am begging everyone to read Bokura no Hentai please

Chiguhagu by Akahon Naomi-Transmasc character without an explicitly stated gender

F-Compo-Do not read this unless u are prepared for a terrible manga. I have read it of course, but that's because I am deranged.

Battle Angel Alita: Last Order-I read this a long time ago ? Being trans isn't that important but there is a trans man here

IS - Otoko Demo Onna Demo Nai Sei-As the name implies, it's about an intersex trans boy who's coming to terms with the fact he's gay! I never finished this just cuz it's kinda boring, but from what I read I liked it :3

The Gay Who Turned Kaiju-Cannot recommend this one ENOUGH, not really focused on trans people but there is a trans character!

Paros no Ken-Idk what to say about this one

Poor Poor Lips-Character shows up later in the series, but the beginning is cute too if u wanna read it all!

Claudine-CLASSIC, absolutely a must read

Shounen Note-The character is never explicitly stated as trans but. He's trans. I claim him LoL. Shows up later in the manga

Stop!! Hibaru-kun-Shows up in the last chapter, tho the entire manga is about being trans. Also a classic, would recommend reading it

To Strip the Flesh-SO GOOD idk what else to say

Yuzu no Koto-4-koma manga about a guy who just came out at his school, short and cute

Zenbu Kimi no Sei-This is an ecchi made by someone who mainly does porn but the trans characters are treated with respect and I like it ! Be prepared tho it's very horny

These are all the ones I can think of right now (except for one I am completely blanking on . Something blue I think ?? It's super popular and I think by the same guy who did Shounen Note) but yeah. Have fun LoL

I remember back when you were on tumblr for like. 5 seconds before the shit (tm) went down, u reblogged a post about Boys run the Riot, and ever since I've been wondering if u wanted more trans men manga recommendations because. I know a lot. And I need to show off this useless knowledge to someone

YES id love to find more manga like brtr!!

[shizukateal]

The new Precure designs - I gotta know what you think. They have some unecessary details, a lot of which definitely fit in the category of "you'd probably dislike them," but personally I'm something of a fan! The big bows are unnecessary but endearing

Cure Precious

Anon, once again, I'm going to clear this up properly in a separate post but I do not have a categorical hatred of tails. Not only does my magical girlsona have one, but also my favorite magical girl of all times is Sakura Kinomoto, and my favorite dress from here is the princess dress that has a gigantic tail.

Even this girl here, yeah, I wouldn't say her tail or rather the general overskirt is good, but it's not all that bad either. However, it probably wouldn't have been needed at all if the skirt puffed up a bit better instead of having this clunky awkward movement to it, although that could just be the artist. The problem is that between its sharp, stiff edges, general weird shape, the unnatural way it transitions from the sash and overstuffed apron. Moving to the top, I'm not sure I understand the flaps on top of the sash, but more importantly it was pointless to make it so that the top "zips" to the side with the trimming of the neckline following through. One can barely notice it at all because the front ribbon distracts from it and beyond that it interrupts the aesthetic the outfit is going on in the first place and it makes one question how it carries through to the overskirt. Her hove-sock-boots are odd but not necessarily ugly, so they can stay as far as I'm concerned. All in all she could be slightly more polished, but she's far above acceptable! Congrats to her.

Cure Spicy

The blue one is called spicy???? Um, ok I guess? She does look like she has an attitude I do like how her stance compliments her outfit. The short boots with the stockings and this kind of slitted/ asymmetrical overskirt plus the long gloves, it all gives a mature edge to the look. Sadly, the transition from top to skirt is awkward due to the apron -and even without it it's a bit hard to imagine how to make it work properly- and the back ribbon takes away too much attention. Still, she retains points because this approach is rare to see and it makes her stand out.

Cure Yum-yum

There's the skeleton of a very interesting idea here, once again suffering under the weight of excessive ornaments. The bowler hat/ hairpin? doesn't even have anything to do with the chinese hairbuns, the chest ribbon looks clunky because of how big and distracting it is, and the top line of frills on the skirt adds nothing needed. The shoes are also... impractical? clumsy? Like, those aren't actually shoes, those are short socks with frills with two ribbons shoddily tied around the ankles to give the impression of shoes the same way a white sheet with wholes gives the impression of a ghost. The sash upholding the apron being striped like that is also tiring to the eyes in between all of the other pattern and color combinations it competes with.

As for the back ribbon... Hm :/ See, I don't hate it and I think on itself it is pretty, but it's positioned too low on her back to fully sell itself as butterfly wings and it is too big to properly highlight her waist. I'd call hell Diet Tsuruno, but let's be real: next to eachother Tsuruno is a properly balanced meal and this girl is a sundae overstuffed with every candy in spite of any sense of flavor and texture balance.

Cure Finale

It's a bit hard to put into words how she fails, because the ideas behind her choices make sense on paper, but they simply do not get together.

First of all, here's a good opportunity to compare why I might like a tail and not another. While certainly not perfect, Cure Precious' tail gets a pass over this one because hers is more aerodynamic, for lack of a better word. It's cut in such a way that the weight is not unanimously placed on the lower back, even if the shape of it is not all that attractive. Meanwhile Finale is hard to imagine moving with much free-range, because there's so much weight behind her between the tail -which also starts at a lower point that Precious' and is longer-, her hair and the big ribbon. The drapes attached to the orbs are also jarring and they bring out this sorta uncanny-valley effect of how stiff and 2-dimensional the skirt looks. Once again the apron is cute, and it kinda helps the hipline transition because it starts too low, but at the same time it doesn't fully match the skirt either. Not because of the colors of course, but because, again, the skirt looks like a paper cut-out, and that makes the apron look taped on top of it.

I also get why they cut her sleeves, but it doesn't really help. This looks to me like a case of someone trying to make the square peg fit into the round whole by literally cutting it. It would've been better to just give her shorter puff sleeves, ones that look like they actually belong to the jacket and overskirt. In summary she is pretty, but not consistent enough for me to find her admirable.

My overall assessment is that they are below the A La Mode and Healing Precures, but above the Huggto Precures.

[pequenosol]

Alright!! Hi!! It's been a while....again....but this time I actually accomplished quite a bit of stuff!!

So, after beating Tulip, I decided to take on Grusha. I actually postponed doing so for like a day or two because I was so nervous X"D

And when he showed up, he didn't really help with my nerves hffggxxfxgxfxfxfxf- I get it, Grusha!! You're edgy and have a tragic backstory, STOP CALLING ME COCKY DOES THIS SOUND LIKE IT'S COMING FROM SOMEONE WHO'S COCKY?!? 👀💦

Thankfully he was a pushover and I one-shotted all but his last Pokemon with Cinnamon and Osaimhthus c:

After that, I got EXCITED! Not only did I beat the last gym, but the next boss for me to take on was none other than the wonderous, spectacular little boi, ✨Ortega!!!✨ (for context, he's probably my favorite character in the whole of the Pokemon franchise <3<3 He's great...)

My team for the base was Lemon, Mei, and Cinnamon. I took out Ortega's piano teacher and defeated the thirty random Pokemon with ease- then. Then the little boi graced me with his presence ✨✨✨✨~

When he showed up on his Starmobile, I FLIPPED OUT.dtsrdrxtftcgvyvhhhvvvhvhcgcg- Just. God d@mn he's such a good character....I love the small sassy ones <3

ANYWAYS *clears throat* As for the actual battle...well. He definitely was a challenge- at least at first. Ortega sent out his Azumarill first, and OH MY GOD. That THING was a BEAST. It's Aqua Tail was SUPER POWERFUL on its own, BUT. BUT IT WAS RAIN BOOSTED TOO!! And I couldn't switch out to Cinnamon or Mei, because they'd absolutely get destroyed!! So, really the only thing that I could do was spam Max Potions on Lemon until either Azumarill missed an attack or used up all its Aqua Tails, and pray I didn't get critted- To quote Ortega, "Do you realize how out of your league you are now? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)" Yessir. Yes, I do 🥲

Thankfully, my prayers were answered and the Azumarill went down without taking any lives. I switched to Mei because Lemon did her job and did it well and deserved a break <3 Mei outsped everything and all of Ortega's other Pokemon weren't a problem, and so he went down and I could enjoy some cutscenes and lore about him c:

Next on my list was the False Dragon Titan! I trained everyone up and caught a Mimikyu named Sakura (he/they/fae) to use in the fight. Nothing really remarkable about the fight; Lemon took care of the Donozo and Sakura defeated the Tatsugiri without any problem.

After that though...MAN, THE CUTSCENE WITH ARVEN AND MABOSTIFF GOT TO ME HARD 🥺🥺🥺 I was freaking sobbing by the end of it you guys... T~T So beautiful...

Then Professor Turo ruined it and Arven started talking about his daddy issues >:/

Now, the last thing for me to do before all the big conclusions to the three paths happened was to take down the Caph base and fight Eri. And. Um. Can I just say I'm super intimidated by her??? X"D So, to cope with that intimidation, I put Guayusa and Coconut on the Team, and fully evolved them into Dragonite and Salamence, and leveled them (and Cinnamon) up to level 65. Yup. That's how scared I was 🥲

Thankfully, my preparations all payed off!! :D I killed all the Pokemon in the base. All of them. Without any problems c: Heck, I even out-sped and one-shot Eri's Annihilape(which was what I was the most afraid of)!!

Also quick detour I love the aesthetic of the area surrounding the Caph Base...it's so pwetty 🥺🥺

Anyways, I made Eri cry (sorry Eri :c) and then Cassiopia was like, "I'm the Team Star boss!! Meet me in the school parking lot at 2:00 am for a fight!!" And I was like "ok, cool."

So. Yeah! I'm getting pretty close to the end of the game, which is very exciting! :D Here's some art I did while I was gone, and I'll see you guys next time!!

[bbbambam]

Imagine...you meeting the pillars for the first time💕. (pt.4)

No.4 : Kanroji Mitsuri

Synopsis : It was a long,long day of training.You didn’t realized that it was already late noon until your stomach started to growl loudly,thank god that you were training alone,if not, “You may be embarrassed about this for the rest of your life” you thought.Ah-right,you still haven’t had lunch yet.Well,a little break wouldn’t hurt,right?And so,you went to the town,looking for something to eat.You decided that you want to eat at (restaurant of your choice) today,but coincidence or not.You’ve come across a girl who has a very long pink locks with light green colour spreading at her tips.She was looking at the poster which says “Come 2,pay only for one”.From the looks of it,it’s like she’s come alone and damn-it was that (restaurant of your choice)!You can’t let this precious opportunity to slip away,can you?So-you slowly started towards her and say “Sorry miss,did you come alone?” once you has reached her.Anddddddd...who knows what’s gonna happened,hm?

(Y/n) : “Um...sorry miss,did you come alone?” *You said quietly when you reached her*

Mitsuri : “Uh...yes?,do you...um...need something?” *She answered nervously,a little confused and scared to why would a stranger like you try to talk to her*

(Y/n) : “Well...um...I saw you looking at that poster for quite a moment and...well...-I figured that you might came here alone...like me...” *You reply her shyly out of excitement and doubts that slowly swarm in your mind,you can feel your sweat soaked in both your hands as you rub them together a little anxiously*

Mitsuri : “Oh!I see!” *Her eyes lit up brightly.She has a very beautiful pair of orbs with a light green colour that sparkle just like the emerald. “She’s really beautiful” you thought as you face started to turn into a little shade of pink* “Did you come here alone also?Oh wait-you already said that you come alone,sorry-haha,my bad!” *She said quickly with a big grin on her face,her face is also tinted pink from embarrassment *(man-that was so cute!)

(Y/n) : “Yeah!And so...I was wondering...if you...um...would like to eat with me...and I’ll pay for the half of one person and you pay for the other half...What do you say?” *You said,a little more relaxed,but your whole body is still tense and your face is still covered in pink*

Mitsuri: “Of course!What’s your name?” *She asks happily with a kind smile* “Oh!I almost forgot to introduce myself first!,Hi!I’m Kanroji Mitsuri!” *She said so!oh I don’t know what to say!so sweet and lively?as she held out one of her slim hand waiting for you to shake her hand* (Ahhhh!This girl is so adorable omg!!❤️I love her!💗)

(Y/n) : “I’m (l/n) (y/n).Pleasure meeting you here ms.Kanroji.” *You smile,a lot more relaxed now as you feel the tension finally leaving your body before you began to reach out for her hand*

Mitsuri : “Oh no,no!Please just called me Mitsuri,(y/n)-chan!And I’m also very excited to meet someone new like you!” *She squeaked and squeeze her eyes shut,her face is somewhat red as if she was thinking of something very cute with a very big grin while she was shaking your hand enthusiastically with both of her hands,you were a little shocked by how much of her energy and her power she has while she was shaking you hand. “She must be very strong” before you blink for a few times* “Ah!Did I shake your hand too hard?” *She asks,her voice is full of guilt and sadness as she gently let go of your hand*

(Y/n) : “No!no!Mitsuri-chan!You’ve done nothing wrong!Don’t worry about it!I’m fine!” *You reply quickly putting your hands up and shake them a little like trying to comfort her,fear that you made her feel bad*

Mitsuri : “Really?” *Her face lit up a little,she’s still worried that she has hurt you in some way*

(Y/n) : “Yes!Of course!Why would I lied to you?” *You watch as she started to finally smile once again,ah-that beautiful smile of her*

Mitsuri : “Thank you!(y/n)-san!Well then...what are we waiting for!?Let’s go inside!” *Her sweet voice rang through your ears as she drag you inside the restaurant along with her and you laughed airily*

A waiter in the restaurant : “Good day!Our dear customer!How can I help you?” *He politely asks while bowing a little*

Mitsuri : “We’d like a table for two people please!” *She happily reply*

A waiter in the restaurant : *He nodded his head and gesture his hand for you two to follow him while saying “Then please follow me this way” he bowed again and started to the direction of the table*

Mitsuri : “Let’s go over there (y/n)-chan!” *She started to pull you with her once again*

(Y/n) : “Ok!” *You grinned and she grinned back*

**You two were so cute like two children running around the restaurant with excitement that everyone in the restaurant have to bit back their laughter/smile and some have to let out a chuckle**

Mitsuri : “Omg!There’s a lot of delicious things!” *She quickly said once she’s sat down and got her menu,she let out a squeak when she found her favourite food in the menu,Sakura Mochi*

(Y/n) : “Oh yes!You’re right!” *You squeak along with her the moment your eyes met with a lot of delicious and alluring things called food.*

**As you and Mitsuri let yours and her eyes wander over the menu,the other people in the restaurant have to once again,restrain their laughter/smile/chuckle as they watch you two-no,two exciting children in amusement as they try to choose some of the delicious food in the menu out to order**

**After some moments have passed the waiter of the restaurant came to you both as you and Mitsuri beckoned him to come closer**

The waiter of the restaurant : “So what would you like to have,my ladies?” *He softly spoke with a kind and amused smile on his face*

Mitsuri : “Oh!I’m gonna have This one and this and that and that one and oh!last one!another 10 Sakura mochi please!What about you (y/n)-chan!?” *She looks up from the menu to look at your eyes with a smile.Not to mention that you and the waiter were so shocked by the amount of food she ordered.God,your jaw almost dropped to the table!*

(Y/n) : “I...um...guess I’ll have (food of your choice) please” *You state nervously,still shocked by what had just happened.The waiter quickly nodded his head before saying “Your orders will be serve after some moments,please kindly wait” he quickly grab the menu gently before bowing his head slightly and then he turned around and walked away after that*

(Y/n) : “Whoa...are you gonna eat all of that?” *You ask her quickly once the waiter is out of sight*

Mitsuri : “Well,yes!I eat a lot more than you think,you know?” *She shyly replied,her face blush a little as she put one of her hand up in a loose fist at the level of her lower cheek to her chin.(How cute! >//<)*

(Y/n) : “I see!That’s a good thing!” *You smile gently*

Mitsuri : “You think so...?” *She asks quietly,her face is a bit more red!*

(Y/n) : “Yes!Mitsuri-chan is always so cute!” *You grinned at her happily*

Mitsuri : *She grinned back a little bashfully* “Thank you (y/n)-chan....*

**After that you talk a lot about other things,I’ll let you imagine your own conversations with her (such as : your hobbies/talent,your day/life,your favourite food/colour/things and etc.Literally,anything that you wanted to talk with her.I’m sure Mitsuri is willing to listen to your every word or what you have to say and she’d be more than happy to just talk with you,whatever the topic is about as long as she’s comfortable with it!>;❣️(such a sweet girl right?yeah,I know,that’s why I love her so much!💝)**

-Time skip to when both your food was served!✨

Mitsuri : “Wow!It looks so yummy!” *She exclaimed as she looks at the delicious thing in front of her and then smell her food* “And it smells good...” *She trailed off,she’s so deep in the trance of her thoughts with her food,but she’s snapped out of her thoughts when you said...*

(Y/n) : “Yeah,I agree!Then what are we waiting for!?Let’s dig in!” *You speak so excitedly that Mitsuri’s mind was once again deep in thoughts as she’s held captive by your beauty. “How can anyone be so kind,sweet and beautiful just like you,(y/n)-chan?I doubt that there’s any person in this world that is just like you except you yourself...” Mitsuri thought.* “Mitsuri-chan?” *You quietly checked that if she’s still here with you by waving your hand in front of her face for a few times*

Mitsuri : “Y-yes (y/n)-chan?” *She quickly snapped herself out of her trance and force herself to look at you and give you all of her attention as she listened to what you were gonna say* “I’m sorry that I wasn’t listened to you (y/n)-chan...”

(Y/n) : “It’s alright Mitsuri-chan!Don’t worry!It’s just that...are you okay?I called out your name for a few times but you didn’t answer me!and it made me a little concerned about you!” *You quickly explain what had happened a few moments ago and Mitsuri now realized that you had caught her staring at you,STARING if you know what I mean.*

Mitsuri : “Oh!I...um!sorry!What were you saying (y/n)-chan?” *She replied you with red face,clearly flustered and embarrassed*

(Y/n) : “...I was saying that we better should dig in!You wouldn’t want to eat your food when it’s cold already,right Mitsuri-chan?” *You speak with your velvety voice that is so calm and kind,a small smile also present on your face as you think of how cute she looked when she’s all nothing but a completely flustered and embarrassed mess.*

Mitsuri : “Oh yeah!I wouldn’t want that!Now,let’s eat!” *She quickly replied,while trying to change the subject*

(Y/n) : “Mitsuri-chan,Are you sure that you’re alright...why do your face is so red...?” *Okay hear me out,you didn’t say this because you want to tease her-it’s out of pure concern!(Or so I thought...whatever!this is up to you,dear readers!Your choice if you want to tease her or not!❤️)

Mitsuri : “Y-yeah!I’m fine!Completely fine!It’s just um...a little hot in here-hehe!” *Mitsuri’s trying her best to keep her voice normal since she almost squeaked in her every word,but that still didn’t hide the fact that her face is so red*

(Y/n) : “Okay....if you say so!” *You’re still full of concerned to her,but you didn’t want to push her to make her uncomfortable or anything so you let it go*

**And at that you both started to eat your own food.She offer you some of her food and you also offer yours,you both tried to feed each other together at the same time as an exchange of both your food (And of course,both yours and Mitsuri’s face were as red as the tomato as you both try to feed each other),it ends up like a very-VERY cute couple trying to feed each other!And you both also exchange some words with one another while you eat (such as “It tastes so good!” or something like that OMG-).That was until you noticed that there was some food stuck at the corner of Mitsuri’s mouth before you speak...*

(Y/n) : “Hey Mitsuri-chan...” *You called out for her gently to make her look at you with a loving smile on your face*

Mitsuri : “Hmmmmm?Yes (y/n)-chan?” *She replied while her cheeks were still munching on her food,it was adorable you must admitted*

(Y/n) : *Without a word,you softly raised your hand and gently caressed away her food that was at the corner of her mouth* “You have a food stuck at the corner of your mouth,here...” *You kindly said as she stopped chewing and looked into your loving eyes*

Mitsuri : *Mitsuri suddenly felt hot,just only from the touch of your hand,which still didn’t leave her face it’s only caress farther to her bottom lips she opened her mouth a little with surprised “(y/n)-...chan?”.She was looking at you right in the eyes as your hand was still caressing her lips for quite a few more seconds with that tender smile on your face and your loving eyes before you pull your hand back and look down at the table with a quiet mumbling of “Sorry...if I made you uncomfortable...” “Oh no!It’s fine (y/n)-chan!I don’t mind” She said that even though her face was red,but you couldn’t say much...since your face was no different from her in redness.*

**You two were silent for some moments,before Mitsuri broke it (You didn’t notice that when you look down at the table,Mitsuri has that little shy smile on her face as she gazed gently at you)**

Mitsuri : “I-uh...I think that we should continued eating,shall we?” *She tried to light up the mood this make you smile a little because of how caring and sweet little thing she is*

(Y/n) : “Yes...” *You look up to her,smiling shyly.She also smiled at you before quickly saying...*

Mitsuri : “Oh and I almost forgot again!There’s a cherry blossom festival over there!Would you...would you like to come with me?I’ve heard that there’s a lot of interesting and also a lot of fun things to try!” *She asks,nervousness and expectations were full in her voice and face*

(Y/n) : *You nodded happily in return before you say...* “Sure thing Mitsuri-chan” *You replied quickly and you swear to god that you heard her sighed in relief* “Well then,maybe we should hurry up and go take a look at the festival together?” *You state with a smile*

Mitsuri : *She also nodded her head* “Yeah you’re right!Let’s hurry up and finish this (y/n)-chan!” *She said enthusiastically with a big grin*

**And at that you and Mitsuri hurry up and finished both your food before you both held hands together and left the restaurant to go and see that cherry blossom festival, “It’s gonna be a very fun and special day today!” You both thought as you happily ran together to the festival with both your hands still clutch together tightly....I’ll leave the rest to you my dear readers,you decide what happened next!✨💕.**

-Not to mention that when you two left and ran out of the restaurant,everyone in the restaurant has that smile plastered in their faces,they must thank to you both that they wore that smile for the rest of their day.Have a wonderful day,my dear readers!✨💕

Note.The arts are not mine!Credits to the artist!💝❤️

[volfoss]

💛?

Hi! I assign you...

Athena Asamiya!

she is like. THE magical girl in kof. let me tell u all abt her. so she has psychic powers!! and shes an idol! but shes like very chill and literally THE nicest character in the series. she loves her peter rabbit tea set which like. best character trait etc! shes rly good at like making web sites and enjoys all kinds of computer stuff! she loves sweet foods (Momiji manju, things with kinako dissolved in milk; strawberry daifuku, Sakura daifuku, churros)!! when i tell u genuinely. she is nice to LITERALLY everyone. let me like give examples: iori and ash. iori is like. evil supreme but not really. hes goofy silly hes my babygirl but everyone hates him. but athena shows like. genuine concern for him esp after all hes been thru (iori is like um. sure involved in plots). ash is literally the worst 16 year old ever (affectionate. hes like a brother to me) and EVERYONE but maybe 4 people hate him. now let me like show u some of her win dialogue to ash in particular:

^ GOING INSANE. so ash went missing and like. shes never been on his team. she has NO reason to rly wanna help him or his team. but by god she is gonna. i just ough.

^ ALSO THIS. like ash genuinely is very much a guy who like carries stuff on his own and doesnt like to confide in other people when he has problems and even tho theyre fighting shes like trying to help him.

OK. back to info i just like. needed u to see how shes just genuinely SUCH a kind person. OK ALSO. u will like this but shes like. def aromantic coded a bit

^ kensou is her teammate and she is like. always rly friendly to him despite him just being like hey kinda interested in u romantically she just like. blows him off on it completely. and is just like so glad we r friends :)

SHES ALSO LIKE. very strong to fight as! shes not my main or anything but shes rly rly tough!! BUT ANYWAYS. blorbo image time.

^ this pic is like. actually so swagtacular. so let me give like an explanation. athenas hair length changes in EVERY game and her hair was a short bob in 99 (when this art is from!) but the fact that like idk. it feels like a very trans picture to me personally (i hc her as nonbinary if that matters lmao) but how like blue mary (far left in the red top) is just like cheering her on, and how king (middle in the pink suit) is like just rly cheerfully giving her a haircut and how even leona (far right in the green suit) is having a good time. images that mean the world to me etc. also like. shes friends w the womens team canonically (which has Mai, King, and Yuri a lot of the time) and i just ough. idk i love their interactions.

^ this picture is simply like rly pretty n cool and i just. ough. she is so strong she is my best friend etc. i love her so much and this art is so good.

^ rough sketch but like. i need u to see shes besties w my friend Kula. i love it so so much i just oughhhh sobs. i love how theyre friends. i just oughhh <- is experiencing many emotions rn

^ her w her team!! the old guy (Chin Gentsai) is her and Kensou's mentor! and kensou is the guy to the far right! i just ough. they r all friends etc. i love it

^ my fave athena look! its from kof 2001 and i just ough. i love her outfit here and her short hair! imo it rly suits her and i just!!! i love athena so much literally one of THE characters ever

^ NEED u to see her cute little red shorts outfit here! the other characters from L to R are: Yuri Sakazaki (my best friend!! shes another character i think u would like), Kasumi Todoh (VERY swag she makes funny puns), Athena, and Mai Shiranui (literally THE woman EVER AND EVER.)

[herether]

Noragami Chapter 88.2 Thoughts

//breathes\\

This post is gonna be kinda long bc there are a few (a LOT) of important panels this chapter. Holy Smokes. Pls bear with me.

“your sister would whimper things like “I wish I could come back as something else” or “maybe i’d be happier in heaven.””

“and you’d say, “but then you’d have to die, right?” ”

Holy. Fuck.

Idk what AdachiToka was thinking putting this in, but this is the REAL stab in the heart. What the fuck. Especially the next panel:

Run towards the future.

Haru (Yukine) would say they’d get out of there someday, together, running towards the future where they could get away from the abuse they were experiencing and live happily. Their goal was to get out of here, and every time his older sister would whimper about wanting to die, (which, by the way, is fucking devastating and soul crushing), Haru would tell her—hey, I know it’s hard, but we’ll work though it. It’ll ease up on us. We’ll get out of here. You can’t die.

Her little brother.

I cant imagine what’s weighing on her conscience after this. After all, she was the one that ended up living and not him. How absolutely traumatic it must feel for her.

Yukine’s asking why he sent his sister letters when they had telephones, and although I imagine most of you probably figured the answer out, i’ll just add it in here anyways.

It was too dangerous to call her.

After his mother and Yuka left, his mother probably tugging Yuka as quickly as she could out of that house and leaving Haru behind, their trash father .2 was more than likely in such a state of hatred that he never wanted to hear from them again. He would probably demand from Haru not talk to them/see them, so it was too dangerous to do anything other than send her letters.

Regarding his web-search, I was a little confused as to why there’s absolutely nothing about him. But thinking about it more, it could be that as some of you mentioned, it isn’t Yukine’s full name. Haru could be short for ‘Haruka’ or something. Even then, though, the search would still bring up something, right?

So I came up with the conclusion that no, that probably wasn’t why nothing showed up, but rather the fact that nobody looked for him. Nobody bothered, his dad couldn’t care less about it other than those ‘flyers’ (?) he was passing around. 35 years ago might have been a time where stuff like that was just.... hopeless. If a child was gone that was it. You wouldn’t find him again. There was no point. Or maybe— many people in the neighborhood didn’t bother looking because they knew the Tajima family’s father. They knew that he was abusive and assumed that Haru had ran away to find his mother and sister, so they thought, hey, there’s no point. He’s fine where he is.

Although Yukine was talking about his past family with the whole “why did they leave me behind” thing, I think it ties in pretty well to what’s going on now. I’ve already seen a couple posts talking about this, where, the lovely noragami fandom have said that what happened before his death is coming back full circle to what’s happening now. In Yukine’s eyes, everyone around him: Yato, Hiyori (ESPECIALLY THESE TWO.) Kofuku, Ebisu, Tenjin—Daikoku, Mayu— everyone abandoned him again. It’s almost as if he just didn’t matter. No one cares about his existence, now, in Hagusa’s eyes, Father is the only “kind” one.

Then— we get a panel showing the Child abuse cases rising, and Hagusa realizes he isn’t the only one this has happened to. He accepts this darkness, accepts what’s going on, why he is this way, and in the last panel we see Yuuki, Hagusa’s final form finally being able to fully take over him. Hagusa lets him in—accepts him, hence the black hair.

Wanted to put this in here because UM HELLO IMAGINE seeing your CHILD looking like THAT and ?!;&:&:&:!:!:!:¥~$~!;’ The absolute FEAR in Yato’s eyes hohmygod.

Also I swear if Yato loses an eye after that scratch—

We can imagine AdachiToka will probably end up giving him some kind of scar as a reminder, especially for Yukine, that this had happened. Since AdachiToka really likes these fkin reminders. With Sakura, the “ne”, with Bishamon and the “ma”— we might as well give Yukine a reminder of what happened and give Yato one eye :D no? IF THAT HAPPENS IM GONNA LOSE MY SHIT PLS NO.

And finally:

I want to remind every single one of you that Yukine still has Hiyori and Yato’s charms so everything is going to be OK. ALRIGHT. OK.

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

The Truth Hurts.

...

*Makoto stands outside the central building as soldiers start patrolling the rim of the building.

...

...!

...

...

*The air is quiet and Makoto’s state of contemplation and tranquility is only interrupted by Byakuya patting him on the shoulder.

Be warned. Once you go in, you won’t be coming out for a while.

I know. I’m not too worried about that.

Then what does worry you?

You told me that everyone was waiting for me on the inside...I’m not sure how I’m supposed to face them, after everything.

Trust me when I say this to you. Ever since all of this, the one thing that they’ve all been praying for is to have you and Kyoko back.

There’s nothing you need to worry about.

That’s not true...There’s some things...I have to tell them.

...

Yes...So it is as I feared then...?

...

I’m sorry...yes...

...

Very well...If you’re determined to tell them, I will have your back.

But we won’t make any progress by simply standing here.

You’re right...let’s go.

Huh?

*Once inside, Byakuya guides Makoto to the Chairman’s office. They stand outside the door.

It seems...a little quiet...

That’s strange...They should be here?

*Byakuya opens the door for Makoto, and he steps on through.

Um...Hello-

*THUD!*

GUH!

!!!

*Makoto steps through the door, and before he can get a greeting out, he suddenly gets dived on.

Wah!? S-Sayaka!?

Makoto...Oh my god, I thought I’d...! Oh my god...!

H-Hina, hey! What-! Ahaha...Come on guys!

*Teary eyed, just as Sayaka is, Hina also pulls Makoto into a hug, using her one good arm.

Thank goodness you’re ok! I-I was so worried!

Hey ya big bastard.

Yeah, where the hell’ve you been all my life!?

Uhaahaahaa!

Take your time. We have lots of it.

*Taka seems to try to say something, but is so bleary eyed and happy, he’s unable to force the words out. Sakura pats him on the back.

I...can’t exactly find the right words right now. So I’ll just ask how you’ve been, Mr Naegi.

...Despite the circumstances...I suppose it’s a pleasure to see you again Makoto.

Dude! C’mere!

*All of the 78th class take turns greeting Makoto after his absence.

*sniff* How...How are you feeling...?

Well...tired. Definitely tired. Actually, exhausted might be the more accurate word. 

Given the circumstances, I can only assume there to be one reason that you’re here.

You really are truly no longer a suspect in the initial bombing, are you?

Not completely. Byakuya, and I hope you guys, believe in my innocence at least, but we still need to prove it to the rest of the Foundation.

I’m happy to go through with whatever plans we have.

*Sayaka and Hina, after wiping their eyes and smiling with joy, finally get off of Makoto, who gets back to his feet.

Speaking of which, what actually is the plan from here on out Byakuya?

Simply put, in the confines of this lockdown, I’m in the process of setting up a closed court.

All things considered, I should have done this from the start. But I had no evidence, and things had become too hectic. It didn’t cross my mind until now.

Well I’m absolutely certain that Makoto will be ok.

Me too. But again, that remains to be seen.

I’m just happy I’m able to reunite with you guys.

I’ve caused you all a lot of problems...I’m sorry...

It’s fine. We’ll forgive you as soon as you beat this case.

But...Makoto. What happened out there? Why do you look so beat up?

Is it because of what happened at the cabaret?

I see you already know about that...but...no, that’s not it.

To be honest, while I was on the run, I’d tried to get some answers myself. It was all well and good relying on the connections I had through Kuripa, but I did end up realizing that we would have to do some legwork on our own.

We teamed up with the Kisaragi Foundation agents, and flew to Shikoku. After the incident, Yukari Koime had flown there to get away.

Then what happened!?

We were horribly unprepared. Koime was far stronger than we anticipated. And for one sole reason, being she has a neural implant containing a strong AI.

A strong AI. You mean...like an Alter Ego...!?

Exactly that.

I-Is something like that even possible...!?

It’s basically unheard of...but logically speaking, it’s not out of the question...

It gets worse. It’s not just any Alter Ego either.

Koime is linked to Junko Enoshima’s AI from the Jabberwock Island Killing Game...!

!!!??

That’s the first I’ve heard of this...!?

Y-You’ve gotta be kidding! You mean Junko’s back!?

Not necessarily. Her AI from Jabberwock is back. And there’s not much she’s capable of doing when she’s not connected to Koime.

Chihiro, if possible, I need you and your father to look further into the possibility. See if there’s a potential weakness contained within it.

I-I’ll do my best.

Shit man...! We really fucked up...!

How so? I mean, we did, but just so we’re on the same page, what do you mean?

I think we took these Zetsubou punks way too lightly.

Oh, you think? Look at all of the stuff they’ve put us through recently! I don’t want to support the guys who’re supposed to be our enemies, but this plan was nothing short of genius!

...But aside from that...um...

Sayaka. Is something wrong?

*Byakuya calls her out, and everyone turns to look at the idol.

...I’m almost afraid to ask...But there’s something I’ve noticed...

What’s that?

...

*Sayaka swallows.

Mukuro left Future Foundation, despite the threat of that protocol hanging over her head, to come and support you.

Did she ever find you? And if she did...where is she...?

...

...

*The room is completely quiet.

...I’m sorry guys...Let me explain...

...

No...No, no, no, no, no...! No, that can’t be...!

*Makoto explains the circumstances of Mukuro’s death to his classmates. The reactions. He gives time for the news to sink in, but even after a short while of contemplating on it, some of his classmates are unable to accept the truth.

...I don’t believe it...If there was ever a woman in this world who seemed unkillable...!

Hifumi, she’s died before.

I-I know that, but my point stands!

...

Does anyone know if she had any friends? Or even any remaining family members, asides from her batshit crazy sister?

Yeah, she did...She had us...

...

H-Hold on a second! What are you guys talking about!?

What do you mean? Am I not allowed to ask questions of my own anymore?

No, it’s just...! Come on man! You’re acting like she’s dead, why are we acting like she’s dead!?

I’ve looked into the stars just now and I’ve seen the truth! Mukuro’s definitely still alive! She’s just hiding in wait somewhere for the perfect moment to make her return!

Hiro...Your prophecies are only ever 30 to 40% accurate. And the chances of coming back from the dead are basically 0%.

...

But over half of us in this room did exactly that!

And besides, what does it matter in that case! Even if Mukuro is dead, we have the machines! All we need to do is resurrect her with the machines, right!?

Come on everyone! We’re the Future Foundation! We need to pull ourselves together!

Taka, the machines only work once per person. And we already used them to bring Mukuro back.

Once you’re gone, you’re gone for good.

...

I-I’m sorry, I...I need to...

*Sayaka suddenly pushes past everyone and runs out of the room.

Wha-! S-Sayaka wait!

...

B-But we couldn’t know that without possibly trying!

Dumbass! How do you think we even discovered that the machines worked like that! We had to have tried that at some point, right? And that’s how we figured out it doesn’t work.

Look Leon, I appreciate you trying to clear the air, but you’re getting a little too worked up.

What!? I’m getting worked up!? It’s not my fault that you guys are being idiots!

Mr Kuwata, please don’t say stuff like that!

Mondo, please. Do something about this! Can’t you calm them down?

Ngh...

Sorry Chihiro, but I’m with Leon on this one.

Wha-!? What do you mean!?

Look, I get it alright? I get that holding onto whatever hope we have left is kinda the thing with us, but there ain’t no point if that hope ain’t there to hold on to in the first place.

Mukuro’s gone. And we gotta understand that.

No, I refuse to accept it! There has to be another way!

There ain’t another way!

There’s ALWAYS another way!

Hina, you’re grasping at straws! I get that you don’t want to accept the truth; I don’t either, but there’s a different between wanting and needing!

But dude-!

Look, if you’re so sure of yourself, why don’t you go try it!?

What!?

L-Leon...you’re scaring me...!

I’m sure the Acting Chairman will grant you permission! If you’re so desperate to prove your theory, if you’re so desperate to TRY, then why don’t you talk to him!?

RAAAAAAAAAAAGGGH!!!

*CRAAAAASHH!!!*

!!!!??

!!!!??

!!!!??

!!!!??

!!!!??

!!!!??

!!!!??

!!!!??

!!!!??

!!!!??

*The argument and harsh interactions between the 78th class are instantly cut, when Sakura, who has remained quiet this whole time, picks up armchair in Kyoko’s room and tosses it against the wall, denting the frame and breaking the chair to pieces. The noise is so loud, it cuts out everyone, and the bickering is stopped right there and then.

...*heavy breathing*

S-Sakura...

...

Mukuro isn’t coming back Hina.

...

I’m sorry that of all people, I have to be one of the one’s who tells you this straight away, but as much as this technology escapes my grasp, I understand it enough to know that she isn’t coming back to us...

However...that doesn’t give you the excuse to take your anger and your frustration out on them Leon.

...

You...You’re right...I’m sorry...

...No, I’m sorry. Sakura’s right, I’m being selfish...

I just...I can’t accept it...Any of it.

...Me neither...I-I can’t accept the fact that she died such an unfair death...She made a sacrifice, and it was totally in vain.

No, it wasn’t. I refuse to let it be.

As do I.

And it’s because of that, that we can’t be arguing like this. The only way we’re going to stop Yukari Koime and Organization Zetsubou, is if we work together.

That’s the only way we can avenge our fallen comrade. W-We have to make this work....We have to!

And we will.

*Byakuya stands in front of everyone, and grabs their attention.

We’ve lost far too much already, thanks to Organization Zetsubou. But we have a chance to make a comeback.

They won this fight, but they won’t win this coming war. But I can only say that if I have all of you on my side.

Ultimately, I realize that the vast majority of problems that we’ve been going through as a group lately have been caused by my actions. Which is why I hope to reprimand my mistakes.

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

*Everyone nods in agreement.

If you ask me, Mukuro’s sacrifice was my fault. She wouldn’t have easily allowed herself to die had I not put myself in danger.

No Makoto. It’s Yukari Koime’s fault. No matter how far back you look into the source of a problem, it’s all gonna link back to her and her Zetsubou cronies.

Mr Owada is correct on that front. Please, don’t start blaming yourself.

Too late for that. But Byakuya’s not the only one who’s gonna reprimand his mistakes.

*Makoto turns to Byakuya.

Byakuya. I know I just got back, but may I go and talk to Sayaka?

Permission granted.

...I’ll be back. Then hopefully the rest of us can catch up on a better note.

*Makoto bows in apology, and then leaves to find Sayaka.

[argumentl]

The Freedom of Expression Ep 45 - Walking from Kishibojin, Haunted staircase.

00:00 J: Ah, this, this! Akamaru Bakery.

00:20 K: So, as to why we are here..it will be a mystery to everyone I think.

J: Haha

K: Joe just really wanted to eat this bread.

J: Thats right.

K: So, we came here.

J: Yes.

K: Akamaru Bakery.

J: Yep, Akamaru Bakery.

K: Where is this?

J: Its Zōshigaya. Well, Zōshigaya is just up there, but this place probably only locals know about. Its on Tsurumaki Street. This is a very small shopping street, but Akamaru Bakery is here. I found this place by chance before, and it was really good.

T: What did you get?

J: Kaoru?

K: Chicken Nanban

T: I got a hot dog.

J: I got this tuna and egg mix.

K: I wanted to get that, but I thought I shouldn't if you are getting it.

J: Haha, no, no, no, that makes me look bad.

K: Hahah.

J: This is ¥190, right?

T: Its cheap, isn't it?

J: It is cheap!  Ok, lets stand and eat.

T: Yep.

J: Ok, lets go for it. Apologies to the locals, we are not trying to be rude. Its a food report. This kind of bakery is quite rare these days, isn't it? They're all like new, stylish ones now.

K: *eats* Mm.

J: *eats* Mm, tastes good.

K: Yeah, its good.

J: The bread is really soft too.

T: Yeah.

J: I didn't eat before this.

K: If this was in my neighborhood, I would come every day.

J: Absolutely. Ah, delicious. So, this is like an 8 min walk from Zōshigaya station, right? Its a bit of a walk, but you'll be able to find it online if you search for it.

T: Ths is good. Its delicious.

2:25 J: (*At station*) Well now..

K: Where is this?

J: So this is the tram on the Toden-Arakawa line.

T: Its Kishibojinmae station.

K: Ahh, so ??? (*Facing away from camera with mask on...couldn't clearly make out what he said*)

J: Thats it. So, we are gonna move to a different spot from here.

T: Yep, its been all funfunfun before now, but this time we are gonna go looking for some Tokyo mysteries. So, we'll get on this train and go to a certain place.

J: Tokyo Sports is all about mysteries, monsters, and UFOs, right? (*Couldn't really follow the rest of this exchange*)

*They get on, then off the train at the next spot*

3:29 T: The mystery spot that I am gonna introduce is this bridge. Omokage bridge (Omokage=face/visage).

J: It just looks like a regular bridge.

T: Its a really short bridge. Its almost not a bridge. This explains the name (*points to info board*). So, actually, on the otherside of the bridge there used to be the criminal execution center for Zōshigaya.

J: Ahh, so this is not exactly the river Styx, but..

T: Yeh, and they would part from thier family on this side of the bridge, and be taken over to the other side.

J: I see.

T: Its just a theory, but its thought that its called 'Omokage/visage brige', because they left the memory thier faces here. But there is also a history to this brigde. You know the story of 'Yotsuya Kaidan'/The Ghost of Yotsuya?

J: Yep, yep.

T: With Oiwa san..

J: Like 'I curse youuuu'

T: Yeh, yeh, yeh. Do you know the story of Oiwa san?

J: Yeh, I do. Like 'One plate, two plates..'

T: No, thats Sarayashiki, thats a different one. So, what happened was, there was a man, and his wife called Oiwa. The man became annoyed with her, and she was made to drink a poison which scarred her face. Then he forced her to seperate from him. The woman cursed him, saying she would come back as a ghost. This woman Oiwa was nailed to a door post, and thrown in the river to be washed away, there's a scene like that, right?  Its thought that this is the spot she was thrown in the river. So, this story, Yotsuya Kaidan, came about as a Kabuki play after its writer, Tsuruya Nanboku had gathered up a lot of these kind of local  rumors during the Edo era. We don't know if Oiwa san really was washed away here, but we know this kind of thing did happen. Its only a short bridge, but its got this kind of history going back to the Edo era.

J: ???*1

T: Actually, I used to live around here.

J: Ehh? Why in such a frightful place?

T: It was cheap.

J: Is this in Shinjuku ward?

T: No, its in Toshima ward.

J: Oh, Toshima?

T: Just on the verge of Shinjuku.

K: It says Shinjuku here.

T: Yes, but..Oh, the other side is Toshima.

J: Where we are stood now is Shinjuku. Its next to Waseda, right?

T: Should we cross the bridge?

K: Yeah, lets cross it.

6:50 J: The river is pretty, isn't it?

(*Next is short exchange about the sakura leaning into the river, and execution spot over on the other side, which I can't make out clealy due to them all facing away from the mic, and very loud traffic passing simultaneously*)

T: So you see, this place is very historic.

J: It makes a shiver run down your spine when you think of it.....*shudders*. Sorry, its just being in this place.

K: Ok, should we head to the next spot?

J: Yeh, should we go?

K: Its a different place next.

*In the suburbs*

7:46 K: Where is this?

J: Here in Bunkyō Ward, they call this place Nezucchi (*The name of a comedian who is good at tellIng riddles*)

T: Nezucchi?

J: Haha

K: He lost it. haha

J: Sorry, Im embarrassed now, haha. Well, actually, they call this area Yanasen/谷根千, which is the neighborhoods of Yanaka, Nezu, and Sendagi together, and we are in Nezu today. Its a very quiet surburban area, but this place was voted for by a listener, or rather a user, as a good mystery spot. We recieved this email, so Kaoru could you read it out?

K: (*reading*) Its from 'Yasubeniisann'. It says, 'This is quite famous, but in Nezu there is a haunted staircase. When you go up the stairs there are 40 steps, but going down, there are only 39'....Um..did..

J: We already spilled the mystery.

T: Yeah.

J: Well, we already spilled the mystery , but yes, this is what we are going to see. A mysterious set of stairs. Lets go.

8:49 K: (*approaching the stairs*) Right up to the top, yeah? Not half way?

J: Yeah, I think right up to the top.

K: Both sides are the same, right?

J: Seems like it. Which side is the way up?

K: Eh? You could go up either side, right?

T: You mean like on an escalator where one side is up and one side is down.

J: Should we try counting the steps?

K: You're too eager, haha.

T: Which side should we do, the right side?

J: No, lets go with the left side.

T: Like in Kantō.

J: Yep, Kantō style.

K: Ok, Im gonna start.

J: Ok...1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7....

9:57 K: (*reaching the top of the staircase*) 39 steps.

J: 39? Yep I got 39 too. And next, if we go down..

T: On that side?

K: Will it be 39?

(*They walk downstairs *)

K: (*Reaching the bottom*) Eh?

T: Wasn't that 40?

K: I got 39.

T: Huh?

J: Huh?! I got 39. You got 40?

T: Yeah, I got 40.

J: Eh?! Hang on, whats going on?

10:55 K: (*Re-reading the email*) It says there are 40 steps going up.

J: 40 going up?

K: Are they including this? (*points to first concrete step on level with the ground*)

J: Oh, is that it?

K: If they are including this..

J: Yeah, if thats included, then..

T: I see.

K: I'll try starting from this. (*starts going up*)

J: Maybe you're supposed to go up the other side.. I can hear you.

T: Im out of breath..

J: Oh, you're carrying the bag..

T: Its embarrassing, im out of breath.

J: Its this step, this one.

11:36 K: (*Gets to top of stairs*) Ah, I see.

J: (*Getting to top*) 40!

T: (*Starting from the bottom*) This is the first step, yeh? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9....

J: Haha

T: Then across?

J: No, no, diagonally.

T:...38, 39, 40.

K: You included the very first step at the bottom, right?

T: Yes...huh?

K: Huh? Really? How come only I'm different?

12:30 T: (*Going down*) This is the first one. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6....... ....... 37, 38, 39, and this is 40.

K: You're not counting this one, are you? (*To J*) This one is ???*2

J: Ahh, thats the difference.

13:08 J: Do we count this one? Thats the problem. According to the email, there are 40 steps going up, and 39 going down.

K: Its like can you count this as 1..?

J: Yeah, thats it.

K: Im not sure.

T: Its raised by about 5cm.

K: Well, I mean...we'll digest that bread easily.

J: Haha, yeah, we can definitely say we exercised today.

T: Its been quite tough for the staff doing the filming.

J: Yeah, haha. While we were going up one by one, they were going up and down each time. But what is our verdict about this?

K: Was is right? If this is the first step?

J: Im pretty intrigued about this.

T: Well, let's give our answer here. To conclude.

J: As a last word?

T: Yeah.

J: Well, it depends on whether or not you count this as the first step. If you do count it, then there is 40 steps going up. But if you look over here, this side is barely elevated from the ground at all. So you end up taking the second level as the first step.

K: Yeah.

J: Thats it right? And back over here, the first step is more elevated, so you would make that number 1.(*Starts climbing*).1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...

K: (*To T*) Ok, shall we go?

T: Yep, lets go. Bye Joe.... ... ... That was fun.

K: Yeh, it was. (*Too windy to make out what they are saying*)

T: I wonder if Joe is still doing it.

15:00 J: (*Coming downstairs*) They're not here? They left me. Hello? You two? What? There's no one here.

Takabayashi: That was 39.

J: Was it 39? So, yes, that means going up is 40 steps, and coming down is 39 steps. The  others have already left, so if you'd like to try this, its in Nezu...the haunted staircase. Please come and have a go, get some exercise.

15:31 T: He didn't call out for us to wait, right? haha....... ... ... Haha, here he is.

J: ??? (*No idea what he means here*)

T: You didn't realise we'd gone?

J: No, I didn't. When I came down there was no-one there, so it was a bit lonely. I closed the segment by myself.

T, K: Hahaha

T: How about this haunted staircase?

J: What do you think, Kaoru?

K: There was no ghost.

J: There wasn't, was there.

K: Its more like a mistaken staircase.

J: Yeah.

T: Ah, I see. Haha. To be accurate, the mistaken first step.

J: Yeah. When you go up, the fist step on one side looks as if its slightly elevated, so..

T: Yeah. We could go looking for other mysteries like this.

J: Yeah, lets solve them all!

K: So it seems as if we can use this one then.

J: Ah, thats good! We didnt waste our effort. So, if anyone knows any other mysteries that we could solve..?

K: Yeh, anything is ok, just let us know.

J: We'll solve them.

K: Ok, well, we can finish here. Please subscribe. Thank you very much. 

*1,2 Couldn't catch.

[shade-without-color]

I like prompting people for chaos so here’s me prompting you for chaos, darling. 💙 Inu no Taisho learns his partner (your choice but I think I know who you’ll pick 😘) has been practicing drag and just got selected to be a certain TV show as a contestant. I hope you’ll have fun with this.

Hey ya!! @moon-ion

Thank you for that fun ask! So I am going for cis women in drag, because I am inspired by Victoria Scone from Drag Race Uk season 2 and my favourite anime queen Rock M Sakura

A surprise gift (A Toga x Izayoi story)

“Uhm, like holy shit….” Izayoi covered her mouth slightly when she heard the phone call. Ok. Ok. Ok. Ok. Ok. I got this….

Quickly she looked over at Toga who seems busy watching the latest action film, while she quickly grabbed her package of heels from the door step. Toga looked over at wandering eyes of Izayoi. “Uhmmm……you seems worried…”

Izayoi tutted a little. “No I am not…I am going out with….Ume-san….” Toga covered his face bemusedly. “Huh? That Ume-san…” Toga grinned a little. “I wonder what is she like….”

“Well she is loud….conceptual….think anime character….”

Toga tutted a little. “Does she have a social media account…”

“….Uhmmm….she seems….” Izayoi grinned a little,”Private…and I am her manager, so I am not allowed to diverge….” However hearing the door bell at the distance. Oh shit….that would be….

Alright…alright…stay calm…stay calm…stay calm…

Thankfully it was another delivery man staring at Izayoi indifferently. “Are you Ume-san…” Izayoi sheepishly nodded at him. “Yes…” Quickly she took the box away, which Toga’s eyes widened with surprise.

Wait a minute…..

Izayoi, my girlfriend…doing drag… that seems sus….

Was her best friend….wait…huh?

“Hey Izayoi….no hard feelings babe….Are you that Ume-san….the one you said that you helped her out in managing her social media accounts huh?”

“Yes….” Izayoi sheepishly grinned at him. “I am….it was fun….don't get mad at me please…”

“Why should I….”

Toga shrugged his shoulders. “Well I know one who dabbled in that, was it my old friend Kirin….he tried that a few times- I think he grew bored out of this thing….”He rubbed his head back and forth. “But a woman doing that art…well it is unusual….”

“I know….” Izayoi heaved in shame. “I should not have lied…and oh I just found out… that I am participating in a contest…I know it is very small…but I am going to make a difference…and I wish…I wish…”

Toga kissed Izayoi by the forehead. “Hey….no worries, we should ride and die together…just let me know what you need and I will help….”

Izayoi laughed a little. For once her burden is lifted from her shoulders. “May I ask your old friend for help for some stuff…” Toga chuckled cheekily. “It would take me some balls to prevent Kirin to not rip my head off…”

“Do you need some ideas…”

Izayoi pondered a little. “Once I can get the email with the brief…. We will figure what to do….” Izayoi busied herself with a cold glass of water. “To be honest I am actually shit scared of what is to come….”

‘I think you can do is to be yourself and have fun..am I right…”

Izayoi grinned a little, indeed a word of comfort sounds good. “That is what Ume would say huh…”

[vgckwb]

P5R: Rebel Girl (A FeMC Story/P5R Rework) Chapter 89: Mutual Understanding

Ren couldn't believe it. Sojiro, the man who was taking care of her, just told her that he knew who the original Medjed was. With the speculation around Futaba Sakura being related to Sojiro Sakura, this was not something she could ignore, or write off as him being mistaken. At the same time, she was concerned.

“Um…” she said. “Are you sure this is something that you want to broadcast?”

Sojiro grunted. “Well…ugh…I don’t know… I mean, I figure I can get her out of the worst of it, provided this Phantom Thieves thing works, but…” He sighed. “I don’t know what else to do…”

Ren noticed something in Sojiro. “You’re really serious about this.”

“Hm. More serious than you can imagine,” he replied.

Ren set Sojiro’s phone on the counter. “Sojiro, do you trust me?”

Sojiro was now confused. “That’s a bit of a loaded question, but yes…”

“Then I promise, I’ll get the Phantom Thieves here to hear you out,” Ren said.

Sojiro was stunned. He picked up his phone. “You’d do that?” Ren nodded. “Heh. Well, I’d like to see what happens. But I can’t wait forever.”

“You don’t need to worry about that,” Ren said.

“Heh, worrying is pretty much all I do these days,” Sojiro responded. “But I get your point. Anyway, I have to get home now. Can’t wait to see your miracle.” He waved as he left, while Ren waved back.

Once he was out of the cafe, Morgana popped out “Um, are you sure about this?”

“You’ve seen boss,” Ren said. “He respects honesty. Besides. It seems like he was in pain.”

“Well, I can’t disagree,” Morgana said. “This might be our only way out of this.”

“I’ve gotta go message everyone else about this,” Ren said. “Do you want your food now, or after?”

Morgana sighed. “I’ll take it now.” Ren smiled, and proceeded to feed Morgana. After which, she whipped up something for herself. After she sat down to eat, she got out her phone.

Ren: I think I found our way in.

Ren: But we need to reveal ourselves to boss.

Ryuji: For real?!

Ann: Like, fully?

Makoto: Speaking as someone who’s been on the other side of this, I think it would be appreciated.

Yusuke: Hold on, why are we doing this?

Ren: He told me he knows who the original Medjed is.

Ren: I think we owe him at least that much.

Jose: When did he tell you this?!

Ren: He was trying to post that information on the Phansite, but couldn’t figure it out.

Jose: Huh.

Sumire: You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?

Ren: Yeah.

Sumire: I could tell.

Ren: Are we all on board?

Sumire: I am.

Makoto: Me too.

Yusuke: Of course.

Jose: Yep!

Ann: You can count me in!

Ryuji: Me too!

Ren: Thank you.

Ren: After school tomorrow, got it?

Sumire: Yes.

Ryuji: Got it!

Jose: OK!

Ren: See you then.

Ren put her phone away. She and Morgana finished eating, and then went upstairs for bed.

The next day, after school, the Shujin-based thieves gathered. “This wasn’t exactly how I planned on spending my summer,” Makoto remarked.

“Eh, you kind of get used to it after a while,” Ren said. “Although this is coming from someone who barely made it one school day before all this metaverse stuff came crashing down on them.”

“Fair enough,” Makoto said.

“I’m kind of glad that we’re getting this out of the way at the beginning,” Sumire said. “That way, I can have the full summer to myself. It’s kind of like doing your homework early.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Ryuji groaned.

“Well, I think that’s a healthy outlook to have, Sumire-chan,” Makoto said. “Proving that age doesn’t mean as much as you think it does.”

“Well, I mean,” Ryuji began, “it might be better to get accustomed to school before actually heading back, you know?”

“Oh, that is a good point,” Sumire responded.

“Don’t listen to him, Sumire-chan,” Ann said. “He’s just pulling that out of thin air.”

“I am not!” Ryuji countered.

“Can we just go?” Ren asked. “I want to get this over with as soon as possible.”

“R-right,” Ryuji cowered. “Let’s go.” They all nodded and headed out. They met up with Yusuke and Jose, and then went to LeBlanc.

As they stood outside the door, everyone was nervous. This was the moment before they had to spill everything to Sojiro in hopes for information that would help them. “You OK?” Morgana asked.

Ren nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go.” She opened the door, and everyone entered. Ren sighed a sigh of relief, seeing only Sojiro and no customers.

Sojiro looked at them. “Ah. Welcome. What’s on the agenda today?”

Ren took a deep breath. “Here goes,” she whispered to herself. She sat at the counter, while her friends gathered around her. “Sojiro.” He looked perplexed. “You wanted the Phantom Thieves? Well, here we are.”

Sojiro was surprised. “You’re…you’re joking right?”

Ren shook her head. “This is as real as it gets.”

Sojiro looked around at the rest of the thieves, looking for someone to break. No one would. “Huh. You kids really are the Phantom Thieves.” They all nodded. “Hmmm.” He walked around the counter to the door. He changed the open sign to “closed” and walked back in. “Well, we have the shop to ourselves now. Mind if I ask a few questions?”

“What?” Ryuji shrieked. “Don’t you-”

Ren lifted her hand to stop Ryuji. “By all means.”

Sojiro had to think for a moment. “How…did this happen?”

“Do you want the long version?” Ren said.

Sojiro sighed. “Is there a short version that makes sense?”

“I don’t even think the long version makes sense,” Ren admitted.

Sojiro rubbed his head. “Just…try to make it make sense.”

“Well, I’ll see what I can do,” Ren said. “So, basically, what’s going on is I was called upon by a powerful being from another dimension to save the world. In order to do so, we have to sneak into said other dimension and become the Phantom Thieves to steal the desires of others in an effort to stop a powerful being from creating a world of chaos.”

Sojiro was dumbfounded. “That’s…a lot to take in…”

“Wait, you believe it?” Ann asked.

“Yeah, I’m not sure I would have believed it,” Yusuke admitted.

“Well, before I made this place, I used to work in politics,” Sojiro said “So I can tell when someone is lying or not.”

“How incredible,” Yusuke remarked.

“So, what does the cat do while you’re out on these adventures?” Sojiro asked.

“Oh, he’s in on it, 100%,” Ren said. Morgana popped out.

“In fact, he’s not really a cat,” Sumire said. “He comes from the dimension we go to. He just…looks, acts, and assumes the role of a cat.”

“Well…I guess it’s true…” Morgana shamefully admitted.

“Huh. Sooooo, does he just meow like that all the time?” Sojiro asked.

Ren shook her head. “He talks, and we can understand him, but that’s only because we've been on the other side with him.”

“We can even understand him here,” Jose said.

“Heh,” Sojiro laughed. “I doubt that the police would take this seriously if you told them.”

“So, our cards are on the table,” Ren said. “Feel like returning the favor?”

“Hm, I guess if you’re gonna help me,” Sojiro said. “As you probably know, this Medjed threat is getting out of hand fast, and that’s because of the original Medjed.”

“You know who that is?” Makoto asked.

Sojiron nodded. “My daughter: Futaba.”

The thieves were all shocked. “Futaba…Sakura?” Ann asked.

“Yeah,” Sojiro answered.

“I guess both ideas were correct…” Ann muttered

Sojiro got a bit curious. “What does that mean?”

“Well, it’s a bit complicated…” Ren admitted. “But basically, all of our major targets so far have had these structures called Palaces. Palaces form from a strong distorted desire.”

“We had actually heard from someone going by the name ‘Alibaba’ that they wanted us to change Futaba Sakura’s heart,” Sumire continued. “And when we investigated, we found out that she had a palace.”

“But when this whole original Medjed threat came up, ‘Alibaba’ revealed themselves as the original Medjed and terminated our deal,” Ryuji finished.

“So, you’re saying they’re all the same person?” Makoto asked.

“That’s correct,” Sojiro said.

“And that person is your daughter?” Yusuke continued.

Sojiro nodded. “That’s right.”

“Is…she why you didn’t want me living at your house?” Ren asked.

“Well there’s no point in hiding it now, is there?” Sojiro responded. “Yeah, she’s the reason. And much like what you've had to say, it’s complicated.”

“We’re listening,” Ren said.

Sojiro nodded. “Well, for starters, Futaba actually isn’t my daughter from birth.” This was a bit of a surprise. “She’s the daughter of���someone I knew very well.” The thieves could hear the somberness in his voice. “She was a researcher by the name of Wakaba Isshiki.

As I mentioned, I worked in politics. One of my jobs was communicating between government officials and different companies to see what deals could be made. Wakaba worked at a tech company. I made contact with her.”

Sojiro smiled. “I’ll fully admit, I’m something of a ladies’ man. My charms tend to work on most people. Not her. She was a cut above the rest. Though I guess it makes a bit of sense. She already had Futaba when we met.

Erm, I’m getting off track a little. The point is, through our continued interaction, we became close. Two years ago, she was working on a big project when suddenly…” Sojiro paused. He was almost too afraid to say it, but even more afraid to believe it. “She died.”

The thieves were in shock. “What…happened…?” Makoto asked, still on edge.

“Heh. That’s the fucked up thing,” Sojiro said. “The official report says she committed suicide.” The thieves shocked even more. “I have my doubts though. Mainly that a bit before it happened, she told me ‘I think someone’s going to kill me.’ Heh. I didn’t know what to do. I offered to help, but Wakaba was adamant that I couldn’t.

Futaba was with Wakaba when it happened. She flung herself into oncoming traffic, right in front of her daughter’s eyes.” The thieves were all pale. “Though, like I said, I doubt this was of her own volition. And if that wasn’t enough, the investigation unearthed a quote-unquote ‘suicide note’ that placed the blame at Futaba’s feet.”

“What the fuck?” Ren said, with a grim expression on her face.

“After the funeral, Futaba went to live with her uncle,” Sojiro continued.

“Well, that makes sense,” Makoto said.

“Sure, but the guy isn’t a stand up person at all,” Sojiro said. He turned to Ren. “You’ve met him before. You know what he’s like.”

Ren had to think. “Wait. He’s THAT asshole?!”

“Yeah…” Sojiro said. “He wasn’t treating Futaba right. He was barely feeding her. He didn’t give her a bed. He just didn’t care. I had to step in.

I quit my political job and started this place. I also offered him a large sum of money for Futaba’s guardianship. She’s been living with me ever since, but…she’s still dealing with what happened.”

“I can’t even imagine,” Makoto said.

“I can…” Sumire admitted. “To see someone so close to you ripped away from you just like that. Shouldering the responsibility.” She sighed. Ren pulled her in for a comforting side hug.

Ren looked at Sojiro. “So, how do you know that she’s the original Medjed?”

Sojiro was a bit taken aback. “I’ve known ever since she started doing that stuff. Wakaba would tell me. I didn’t interfere because, well, she’s been serving justice. But when ‘Medjed’ started going off the deep end, she wasn’t really doing that stuff anymore, so I knew it had to be someone else. I was aware she took up the name ‘Alibaba’ when she started doing that stuff again. Although I’m not sure what made her take up the Medjed name once more.”

“We might know,” Ren said, catching Sojiro’s attention.

“It’s that stupid bitch, Eris!” Ryuji exclaimed.

“...’Eris’?” Sojiro question.

Ren nodded. “If you recall, we are tasked with stopping a powerful being of chaos. Eris is that being.”

Sojiro became confused. “What does she want with Futaba?”

“We…aren’t sure…” Ann admitted, confusing Sojiro more.

“Again, it’s a bit complicated,” Ren clarified. “Basically, all of our previous major targets were being targeted by people who were assisted by Eris. Those people, the crusaders as we call them, were out to kill the palace ruler. However, we believe Futaba is not only a palace ruler, but also a crusader.”

Sojiro needed a bit of time to absorb that information. “I think that makes sense.”

“It does?” Makoto asked.

“Strange as it sounds, yeah,” Sojiro answered. “She’s gone through a weird personality shift these past few days. She’s more energetic, but something felt off. And when she basically announced that…well…you know…I knew I had to do something.”

Ren smirked. “Well, you’ve come to the right place.”

“Totally!” Ann cheered.

“We’ll help you out!” Ryuji said.

“Both you, and Futaba,” Sumire said.

“Because we are the Phantom Thieves, and that is what we do!” Jose chimed in.

“Indeed,” Yusuke added.

“You have our word,” Makoto assured him.

“Yeah!” Morgana shouted.

Sojiro chuckled. “Thank you. Everyone.”

Hierophant-Sojiro Sakura: Rank 5

Ren whipped out her phone. “So, do you guys want to get started figuring out the rest of the code tonight?” Sojiro was puzzled.

“Well, I’d like to figure it out sooner, rather than later…” Sumire answered.

“I agree,” Makoto said. “But I think it would be better if we began our investigation tomorrow.”

“I agree,” Yusuke called out. “Today has already been a lot.”

“Yeah, not to mention it was the last day of school before summer break,” Ryuji added. “I feel like getting our rest will help us.”

“Wow Ryuji,” Ann said. “That’s actually a smart observation.”

“Plus, I feel like with it being summer, we’d have more mobility,” Jose said.

“Sounds like we have our answer,” Morgana said.

Ren nodded. “I agree.

“Huh…” Sojiro said. “I’m sorry. I believe you, I just…I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind about the cat.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, he likes you,” Ren said.

“It’s true,” Morgana said, even though he knew Sojiro couldn’t understand him.

“Hm,” Sojiro chuckled. “Well, I guess I can’t complain.” Sojiro got up and went back around the counter. “You guys are planning to help Futaba?” The thieves nodded intermittently. “Well, you know what they say, ‘an army marches on its stomach’. I’ll cook for you all while you’re on this mission. It’s the least I can do.”

“You mean it?” Yusuke said, hardly containing his excitement.

“Of course,” Sojiro answered.

“Thanks boss!” Ryuji said, excitedly.

“Yeah, thanks boss!” Ann said.

“Do you want some help?” Sumire asked. “I’m really good at cooking.”

“Nah, I think I’ll be alright,” Sojiro said. “Hell, knowing that you’re helping is giving me an excess of energy.”

“Whatever you say, boss,” Ren said. Sojiro smiled at them. He cooked the thieves a meal, and served it to them. The thieves enjoyed their meal thoroughly. They knew that tomorrow, things were going to get more intense. They had learned the true nature of what was going on, and they knew that by entering Futaba’s palace, they’d be confronted with it head on. They knew they had to be prepared for anything, and through Sojiro’s cooking, they felt more prepared than ever.