#haha yeah they are all not great people but like listen hear me out

[thepersonnamedsam]

radio

pairing: the genz!driver x team x 23!grid

summary: some team radios of our beloved genz!driver

warnings: some swearing

note: oh i hope you all will like what i did here, it took me a hot minute, soo, pls don’t be a ghost reader

our genz!driver doesn’t drive for a specific team (pls imagine which ever is your fav), so the colours of the team radio will be violet, bc it’s not used :)

masterlist / taglist

Bahrain 2023

Q2

- „Okay y/n, you made it into Q2! Let’s keep that same pace you had in Q1“

- „Oh did you hear that? Where did Oscar place??“

- „Piastri is out in Q1, P18“

- „Wooh!! Oscar owes me 50 bucks!!! He lost the bet, he lost it! He didn’t think I’d out-qualify him!“

End of Qualifying

- „Good job, y/l/n! Thats P12 for you! Great start of the season“

- „Yeah baby! I’m the new Smooth Operator, Smooth Operator!“

Race

- „Uhm guys, I think there’s something wrong with my car…“

- „What is it, y/n?“

- „I just overtook Charles, how is that even possible?! Wtf guys, am I that fast?“

- „Oh my god, y/n, you had me stressed out here. I really thought you had technical problems for a second“

- „No worries, I’m just faster than a Ferrari“

—

- „Radio check“

- „It’s a cruel summer!“

—

- „Tell me, tell me how we finished, how I finished?!“

- „P11 baby!“

- „Uh, yeah, who’s almost in the points?!“

- „YOU!“

—

Saudi Arabia 2023

FP2

- „Tell me, is Danny here?“

- „Yea, why?“

- „Can you tell him I said hi? Please“

- „Uhm, sure I can, why?“

- „I just promised him yesterday I‘d give him a shoutout from the track, hahaha“

Q1

- „Okay, y/n, let’s get into Q3 today!“

- „Let’s gooooo!“

- „Could you not scream into the coms, please?“

- „WOHOO!“

- „y/n…“

- „Love you“

- „I don’t…“

- „You totally do“

- „I don’t“

- „You dooooo“

Q2

- „P12, good job y/n“

- „Could’ve gone better“

- „It’s a good result, y/n“

- „But still no Q3“

- „Hey, y/n, cheer up, it’s the same result as last race“

- „I thought we improved, I thought I improved“

- „We can still climb up the ladder“

- „As if, I’m not good enough for that many overtakes, I can defend, but that… I don’t know man“

- „Hey hey, listen to me, y/n. You deserve that spot in F1, you’re young and you’re learning with every race, with every test. I know you’ll be champion one day. Maybe not this race, but you’re gonna go far, kid“

- „…“

- „Are you crying, hahaha?“

- „Let me be emotional, dipshit“

- „Oh Lando is gonna have a field day with this, hahaha“

- „Please don’t show that to Lando“

- „Come to the garage first and we can discuss it“

Race

- „Radio check, y/n“

- „Vamos a la playa“

- „Loud and clear…“

—

- „FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, SHIT, SHIT, DAMN, WHY DOES IT NEVER GO MY WAY?!“

- „Unfortunate events, retire the car, y/n“

- „UNFORTUNATE?! STROLL JUST STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD AND I HAD TO BREAK SO HARD NOT TO CRASH INTO HIM THAT I CRASHED INTO THE WALL!“

- „It is what it is“

- „Don’t meme me, I’m mad… haha, okay, thank you“

Australia 2023

Q2

- „Good pace, y/n, let’s keep it that way and we’ll make it into Q3“

- „Alrighty mighty“

- „Cringe“

—

- „AND THATS P9 FOR YOU“

- „Huh?“

- „P9“

- „I’m into Q3?! Am I really?“

- „Yes! Yes you are!“

Q3

- „Whoop, whoop, that’s the sound of the police“

- „Whoop, whoop, that’s the sound that I need“

- „P10 baby“

- „P10!“

Race

- „Hi y/n, you’re doing really good out there, bring 'em home for me, will ya?“

- „Danny?“

- „Yes?“

- „Hi Danny“

- „Hi, y/n! You’re currently P9, with 0.548s to Piastri“

- „Okay“

- „Let’s push and stay in the points!“

—

- „YOU‘VE CROSSED THE FINISH LINE AS 7TH!!!“

- „THOSE ARE 6 POINTS, RIGHT?“

- „YES!“

- „It’s all because of Danny!“

- „I’ll gladly let him know“

Miami 2023

Race

- „I- help!“

- „What’s going on? y/n talk to me“

- „I don’t think my break is working“

- „y/n, we are going to retire then, box box“

- „I’ll try for one more lap“

- „No you won’t“

- „I will“

—

- „I think it’s fine“

- „…“

- „Yea, it’s fine, I can brake normally, hihi, sorry for the worries“

- „You’re a menace, y/n“

Monaco 2023

FP1

- „Monaco baby, the land of pretty people and expensive things, I am home“

- „Why’s that, you’re not from Monaco, y/n“

- „I am pretty and expensive therefore I am home“

Race

- „Radio check, y/n“

- „NOT NOW“

- „Noted“

—

- „I don’t feel pretty“

- „Sucks for you“

- „Man, that’s a shit move“

- „Sucks“

—

- „Okay y/n, you’re currently P11 with 0.639s behind DeVries, let’s push to P10“

- „DeVries? Nyck is P10? What happened?“

- „I don’t know, let’s just push him off of P10“

- „Harsh“

- „I’m a bad bitch“

- „Fuck that bitch“

—

- „Great job, y/n P10!“

- „Where is DeVries?“

- „P12“

- „Who overtook him?“

- „Bottas“

- „HAH!“

- „Be nice“

- „Ugh“

Montréal 2023

FP3

- „You are currently P3, I repeat, you are currently placed on P3“

- „Who’s pranking me? Max? Lando?“

- „No one, you ARE P3!“

- „WHAT?!“

- „Let’s take that pace into qualifying“

- „Uhm, yea, definitely“

Q2

- „What’s my time?“

- „1:18.725“

- „And Max‘s?“

- „1:19.092“

- „WHAT?“

- „You are P1, y/n“

- „Are you kidding me?“

- „I would never“

- „Mhm, but really? P1?“

- „I swear to god, P1“

Q3

- „Fuck! Shit! Holy macaroni fucking meatballs! I crashed, I repeat, I crashed“

- „Yea, we saw, retire the car“

Race

- „P7, good job!“

- „Thanks…“

- „Oh and y/n, you’ve been voted driver of the day“

- „Really?“

- „Really“

- „Firstly, I wanna thank the ground, because without it, I wouldn’t be standing here today“

- „That only works if you’re really standing somewhere, y/n, you’re sitting in an F1 car“

- „Then I’d like to thank my F1 car…“

- „I deactivated your coms“

Austria 2023

Sprint Shootout

- „What exactly is a Sprint really?“

- „Oh my god, really y/n?“

- „No… of course not…“

—

- „Great job, you placed P13“

- „Mhm, thanks… I‘m thirsty“

- „…“

- „Did no one hear me? I want my drink, where is the drink?“

- „You will not have the drink“

- „Oh you waited so long for that, didn’t you?“

- „No…, yes“

- „Kimi is a legend.“

Sprint

- „I don’t like this Sprint thingy“

- „Why?“

- „I don’t know, just because“

—

- „P15“

- „No good job?“

- „Not today“

- „Understandable“

Race

- „I want to go home, I am tired of this“

- „What?“

- „It’s getting boring with Max always leading and winning“

- „Thats why we need to push as hard as we can“

- „As if I’ll ever overtake Max“

- „One day, y/n, one day“

- „But not today, that’s why I want to go home“

- „You can’t“

- „Loser“

Silverstone 2023

FP2

- „Why do I not see Charles on the grid?“

- „Why do you have time to look at the screen and not see Charles on there?“

- „You should be driving“

- „I am“

- „Clearly not fast enough“

- „Hey, I am faster than you think“

- „You are currently driving with a speed of 156 km/h“

- „How do you know that..?“

- „I am your race engineer, I know everything“

- „Did you know that I just farted, hahaha?“

- „Unfortunately“

- „Hihi“

- „You’re gross“

- „Thank you“

- „Welcome“

—

Race

- „If Lewis stands on that podium, he owes me a dinner“

- „And if he doesn’t?“

- „I owe him a pity dinner“

- „And if you stand on that podium?“

- „Thats unrealistic, that’s why we didn’t bet on it“

- „True“

- „HEY!“

- „You said it first!“

- „Not a reason for you to call it out!“

- „Women“

- „I heard that“

- „You were supposed to“

- „Less talking, more driving!“

- „Yes boss“

- „Yes boss“

—

- „Omg, omg, omg, tell me I crossed that line without a single penalty and we don’t get a grid penalty? Please tell me this is true?“

- „YOU ARE P4 Y/N“

- „Am I really?“

- „Yes!“

- „If it weren’t for the safety car you would’ve been P3!“

- „I don’t care! It’s my best result so far!“

- „So near and yet so far“

- „Lew is P3?“

- „Yep“

- „P4 and I get a free dinner from Lew, what a day“

- „Be proud and loud“

- „WOOHOO!!!“

- „Maybe not so loud…“

- „Sorry not sorry“

Hungary 2023

FP1

- „Oh Danny Ric is back on the grid!“

- „Mhm“

- „Aren’t you happy to see my favourite person driving again?“

- „Totally“

- „Be happy!“

- „Okay…“

—

- „Oh… I just passed Danny“

- „You are on your flying lap, he needs to let you pass..?“

- „Yeah… but he needs a positive experience on his first race back…“

- „HES THE ENEMY“

- „He’s my best friend…“

- „Does he know that?“

- „Uhm, I hope so“

Race

- „Tell Lando he’s doing a great job“

- „Just drive“

- „Okay…“

—

- „Lando says thank you, by the way“

- „For what?“

- „Just forget it“

- „Okay“

—

- „Oh, for that! You’re welcome, Landi“

- „It took you 4 laps to realise“

- „My brain is sometimes slow, let me be“

- „I would if I could“

—

- „Oh how I hate Perez“

- „It’s mutual“

- „Hihi“

—

- „Radio check“

- „I am so glad that the summer break is right in front of me, just 33 more laps and it’s me chilling on the beach, getting tan and reading good books and you know, that’s how my dream life looks like and…“

- „How can she be so talkative but still be on for a podium? It’s a mystery for me“

- „And Lando and me oh and Danny will go on vacation together. Maybe Lewis will come as well. I want to go to the Maldives but we’ll see. Oh and you know what would be cool? If we really…“

- „Is she still talking? Yep…“

- „I could learn how to surf and eat loads of stuff and just relax“

- „So you finally decided to stop speaking and concentrate on the race? Great job, y/n“

- „Thanks!“

—

- „Thats P5 for you! What a race to start the summer break“

- „Thank you so much“

- „We’ll see us in 3 weeks!“

- „Byeeeee“

°°°

@ironmaiden1313 , @topguncultleader , @biglittlesecret, @gulabjamooon , @lovelyy-moonlight , @peachyplumsss , @mistrose23 , @copper-boom , @love4lando , @champomiel , @serenityleah , @iloveyou3000morgan , @angelwithoutmywings , @elleeeee21 , @youkissedareaderinthedark , @mikauraur , @thybulleric , @lpab , @fdl305 , @mellowarcadefun , @teti-menchon0604 , @vildetry06 , @bibissparkles , @aurora-maria , @lunnnix , @sya-skies , @Buckywifeyy , @dakotali , @rechtrecht , @noncannonships , @1eclerc16 , @pitlanebabe , @sopheeg , @avengersheart , @thatsadsmallchild , @peachiicherries , @idkiwantchocolatee , @callsign-scully , @mehrmonga , @badbatch-simp24 , @lissyontour , @din0nugs , @elliegrey2803 , @gay-for-victoria-de-angelis , @10vely-yutazen , @daggersquadphantom , @azriel-the-shadowsinger , @i-love-scott-mccall

[pupkashi]

satoru is SHIT at flirting and i know it

like he could easily make people swoon when he doesn’t try but the second he decides ‘yeah i have feeling for u’ all his game goes down the drain

he uses stupid pick up lines and stuff on u but always manages to mess them up so they never actually work

“satoru where are you? shoko said the meeting was at 5:30” you asked, phone pressed to you cheek as you continued to look for the sorcerer.

“sorry I’m just lost” he pauses, a smile on his face, his confidence through the roof as he open his mouth again, “lost in those eyes of yours.”

silence.

“satoru we are on the phone”

he is absolutely mortified and debates on just completely giving up, but it’s when he’s unaware of his actions and just being himself that he finds you staring at him a bit longer, giggling at his words and blushing.

satoru is shit at flirting, but god is he a natural fucking charmer

he’s holding the door open for you, offering to walk you home, listening to you talk, watching your favorite shows with you and remembering your favorite things. he picks flowers for you and gives them to you, pays for your lunch anytime you guys are together, he’s always making you laugh and giggle even when he’s feeling like shit.

he’s the kind of guy to always brush hands with you when you’re walking next to each other, he’s holding your things for you, texting you and sending you things you’d find funny or that remind him of you, complimenting you constantly but not in a weird way

he’s the kind of bad flirting that hears you mention you like something and then he’s like “oh me too!” without missing a beat but he’s actually never consumed a single piece of media of the thing ur talking about and spends all night learning abt it in case you ever bring it up again

he once asked you if you could help him study before an exam and when he realized that you knew much less than him he ended up teaching you. he was sure his luck had ran out and he had fumbled extremely hard.

“toru! i passed!” you grinned, holding the paper in front of his face. the 90 written in red ink in the top right corner made his lips curl into a smile, grinning right back at you.

“i told you that you’d do great! I’m proud of you” he smiles, not expecting your arms to be thrown around his neck, squealing softly as you pull him into a hug.

you’re only giving him half a second to process what’s happening when your lips find his cheek, your heart racing and you’re hoping that shoko really did know gojo as much as she claimed to.

satoru is stunned, his face is red and his ears are burning and he should probably close his mouth or actually say something before all his efforts are washed away.

“haha cool” is all he stutters out, he’s cringing insanely hard and subtly pinching himself when you’re staring up at him with nervous eyes.

“yeah cool,” you mumble, already turning on your heel read to lock yourself in your room when he’s grabbing your wrist and pulling you into his chest.

“can i kiss you?” he whispers, your faces mere inches apart, your small nod is all he needs before he’s crashing his lips onto yours, smiling into the kiss because holy shit i fucking made it.

when he’s pulling away from you he has this silly little grin on his face, clearing his throat before finally speaking up.

“I’m really glad you passed” he says, you can’t help but want to tear your hair out, what happened to the satoru that could make any girl swoon?

it’s not until after the two of you start dating that he’s back to normal, using every pick up line in the book (correctly this time) and making your blush like it was his job. he’d make you stutter and roll your eyes, so naturally flirting with you.

you would always make fun of him and ask where this was when he was crushing on you, he’d only get extremely red and start pouting, saying he was just too embarrassed because he thought you’d reject him.

a/n: hi hi back w a silly little drabble :P i don’t really like this much but i really wanted to post something so i hope it’s okay !! i think it’s sweet and silly hehe,, requests are open so feel free to drop something :3

taglist (send an ask to be added!) : @chilichopsticks @anime-for-the-sleepless @4sat0ruu @safaia-47 @nanamikentoseyebags @fushironi @nineooooo @the-mom-friend-dot-com @gojoshooter @sat6ru @luna0713hunter @torusmochi

masterlist

[findafight]

Jonathan’s line about Steve in vol 2 was so…. I don’t know. I mean yeah it straight up confirms that Nancy and Jonathan make fun of Steve behind his back, and like I get that I have never been in Nancy’s situation so obviously it seems more mortifying to me, but I would have felt so guilty in her place. I can’t imagine not shutting Jonathan up if he started shit talking about Steve. Like Steve would have been straight up unmentionable if I was Nancy. Idk.

I get that Duffers don’t treat their characters emotional lives seriously, but like. That’s why Robin being kind to Nancy in s5 despite Nancy’s uh.. well frankly appalling attitude towards Robin, makes zero sense to me. I really wanted Nancy to struggle being in Steve’s group. Not in the “she deserves it bhahaha” way, but like… Steve dumped his friends for her (which was good for him), and her expecting to get the same treatment and meeting Robin instead? Who actively dislikes her and for a good reason? Who is smart and cool and kind? That’s way more interesting than people kissing Nancy’s ass the whole season, while she is actively putting Max’s life in danger. Like, yeah in high school she is the chief editor of the newspaper, and at home she is the eldest sister, and with Jon she makes fun of Steve, and now none of these people are here, but Steve is here and so is his bestie. And Steve is as kind as always, but Robin dislikes her, and it is not just prejudice

Nancy Wheeler you wild girl! She has no guilt lmao She's like yeah steve was dumb and annoying and didn't enable my investigation, and jon goes yep, what an idiot. All while Steve is just like. bumpin around making friends with little nerds haha. Minding his own business blaming himself for the end of their relationship. You're right, it's kinda bonkers because even if we take the stance that Nancy didn't cheat (which I believe she did) like. she still had him as her second choice and as soon as he pushed back a bit and didn't give her the kind of support she wasn't telling him she needed (until talking about exposing the lab in the library where anyone could hear) she jumped ship and ran to Jonathan. Why would she want to talk about Steve? Why wouldn't she want to try to forget he ever existed as anything other than Mike's friend Dustin's older friend? Is that not weird for her?

(i think you might mean s4? but i can work with s5 too haha) It's so much more compelling to me to have Nancy and Robin at odds with each other because Robin is like a little guard chihuahua holding a grudge for Steve. She holds grudges so well let her do it more!! like jesus give him someone in his corner! And also for herself! She got so nervous and tried to explain and defend herself, and Nancy only really started to listen once they got into the hospital. Nancy has a not great plan that puts one of the kids in danger, one of the kids Steve is close to. (Max wrote him a letter!!) I think Robin would really see Steve's people as her people, even if she wasn't personally close to them she'd still feel comfortable around the younger teens because Steve is? Let robin be critical of this plan. Let her call it out or something. Give Nancy someone to push against, it's no fun if there's no resistance! I want Nancy to be the one wanting friendship with Robin, and Robin not being receptive to it. Nancy not having a relationship handed to her would be refreshing and I want to see how she'd try to win Robin's friendship.

Let Robin not want to work with Nancy because she's heard the rumours about how her and Steve ended, even though he only mentioned that he wasn't a good boyfriend ans wasn't what she needed so it didn't work out. Robin saw that one week Steve and Nancy had a fight, and a day later she was ditching with Jonathan? yeah something is fishy there to even the most socially oblivious person. Let Robin know Steve well enough that she knew he at least thought he was telling the truth but that there must have been more. Let Robin decide she was going to do the most cliche best friend thing and not be very nice to the ex that broke her bestie's heart.

ooooh anon what you're saying is so interesting because, yeah. Steve dumped Tommy and Carol for Nancy, and that was good for him, and then Nancy got with Jonathan who doesn't really have any friends in Hawkins. So she's always been her boyfriend's main person of similar age they're close to. But now Steve's got Robin. Who is funny and kind and weird and loyal and smart and sarcastic. Who is obsessed with Steve and who Steve is also obsessed with. And that, from a s5 stancy pov, is so interesting because now Nancy is now competing (in her mind) for her boyfriend/potential bf's attention with his best friend. Like Jonathan was focused on his family, obviously (and this caused strain for them too) but it's not the same socially as a best friend taking priority. Steve would still hold those relationships, because they're good for him and good for the others, and there's zero reason for him to abandon them this time.

I think Nancy would hate it. Like Steve would obviously give her tonnes of attention, but with him having actual close friendships not just with Robin but Dustin and Max (at least) too, she'd still feel like she was bartering for time with him. That is suuuuch a fun potential dynamic between nancy and steve and also nancy and steve's friends.

[birdmitosis]

alright kit one voice of the paranoid pretty please with cherry on top 🥺

[ask game here]

(Thank you for re-sending this ask, IDK why Tumblr hated my last attempt so much-- 🥺💕)

HELL YEAH MY #1 BLORBINA!!!!!

First impression

Haha, okay, that vocal delivery is great and I love that paranoia of the "what if He hears us?" followed by "shit!" Paranoid characters can be really hit-or-miss, though, and this particular shtick could get old really fast; I hope it doesn't.

Impression now

My favorite darling who I love and adore, my most beloved of current blorbos, the reason my STP hyperfixation is so so strong, bird of my heart 💖

Favorite moment

This is such a hard call! I'm especially torn between two moments: Of course the initial "Heart. Lungs. Liver. Nerves." is amazing and holds a special place in my heart because it's the moment I knew I absolutely adored her. But also, despite loving absolutely everything about both the Wraith and the Moment of Clarity and the transitions into both of them… "Oh right, yeah, fuck this guy. Don't trust Him." all by itself makes me love freeing the Nightmare in her Chapter II just as much. (Not that there aren't other great lines in that path, like the delivery of "I thought you needed me to run the autonomic nervous system?" which is just hysterical to me! But that line… It just won me over even more.)

As an honorable mention, let me pour one out for the cut Paranoid moment in Apotheosis:

I carry this moment, and Paranoid's thoughts about listening to others' lies having value, in my heart forever. It's just such an interesting touch and I'm incredibly sad it's gone!

Idea for a story

I have so many unbaked, half-formed idea snippets and NO details to go with them:

Paranoid running into trouble when her overpreening habits leave her without the ability to fly in a key situation, when she'd been able to (with increasing difficulty) up to that point since getting out of the Construct.

The world outside the Construct being some post- or mid-apocalypse survival horror situation and somehow Paranoid's body winds up warping in ways that remind her unpleasantly of Nightmare, primarily a bunch of eyes beginning to open up all over her body, especially her wings.

Either post-Construct or a mundane AU, bird-people or human or just human-looking, where Paranoid figures out she's trans (and slowly gains in confidence) due to drag.

Something that explores the idea of the beta voices actually turning into some of the current voices (Doubting becoming Skeptic, Flinching becoming Cheated, Meek becoming Paranoid, and Obsessed becoming either Stubborn or both Hunted and Stubborn -- and Smitten splitting off from the beta's Hero too actually!). I actually do really like the idea of the beta voices being their own individual people out there somewhere, but Paranoid reverting to Meek for a while under some circumstance could be fun to play with! And only Hero, Broken, Cold, and Contrarian would even possibly remember Meek…

Unpopular opinion

Paranoid really is not helpless and I think some people forget that sometimes! She's also got wonky morals. I'd argue that the voices you can get in other voices' Chapter IIIs often says something about them; while getting Paranoid in Apotheosis is more her going "That's Enough" and getting Skeptic in both Eye of the Needle and Den is kind of the same, the way Cold and Opportunist both show up in Wraith-from-Nightmare feels more… simpatico with how Paranoid operates? Paranoid can be fucking ruthless and also seize any opportunity she spots, especially if she doesn't trust a person (and the only people she trusts are the Long Quiet and the other voices).

She is also totally willing to abandon or murder a woman and the only one she seems to feel at all bad about at any point to any degree is the Wounded Wild. She's also also super dedicated to coming out unharmed and surviving, but she will do things like advise slitting our own throat when she thinks it's a good idea, and she is prone to panic but also remarkably self-aware about it and knows her own paranoid tendencies aren't always good, and both of those things can be easy to forget but I love them!

Finally, I want to note that people sometimes seem to forget that she doesn't actually get along as badly with Opportunist as you'd think she might! Maybe it's because when you get Opportunist in Wraith, it's specifically via doing exactly what Paranoid is advising (or would advise) you to do in that situation. Cheated and even Hero are more snippy with and disparaging of Opportunist -- even Smitten is to some degree -- and Paranoid is more snippy with Hero and Broken, and Skeptic is the one who seems most disparaging of her. The dynamics being different from what you might think fascinates me, really, and I'm curious about how both new and old dynamics might end up looking in the Pristine Cut.

Favorite relationship

I MEAN…

Much like last time, romantically speaking I love her dynamic with Cold. But platonically, I'm fascinated by her dynamics with Broken, Opportunist, and the Narrator, love her dynamic with Hero, and would be interested to see more (or any) of her dynamic with Hunted, Skeptic, and/or Smitten in the Pristine Cut.

Among the vessels, I also think she'd have interesting dynamics with Damsel, Prisoner, Spectre, Stranger, and Thorn, and would actually love to see more of her dynamic with Nightmare, Wild, and Wraith. (Looking forward to those new Chapter IIIs, too, and I'm very curious about the expanded Apotheosis chapter!)

Favorite headcanon

Well, hands down my favorite headcanon is transfem Paranoid!

But I am also super attached to her having major difficulties with getting her own body: She overpreens to the point of not being able to fly, she has all sorts of trouble sleeping (nightmares, night terrors, insomnia, even sleepwalking), and worst of all she has a harder time trusting the others to the same extent that she used to, at least at first. They're still parsing as us but they're also parsing as other and it fucks with her a bit. She also can panic due to not being able to protect the others or sense the pain/injury/illness/etc. of the others the way she'd have been able to if they still shared a body...

Like, overall she does like having her own body, it's quieter and she has more control over herself, but there's a lot that's difficult about it for her too.

[darkserenity24]

𝑭𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒐𝒔 - 𝑪𝒉 5

Loki x Reader

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙎𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙮: 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙇𝙤𝙠𝙞 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙮.

𝘈/𝘕: 𝘞𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘨𝘢𝘳, 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘤. 𝘓𝘦𝘵'𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘱 𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵

𝑭𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔

Your gaze darted back and forth between the last two people you wanted to meet, your chest tightening with a severe amount of apprehension. 

What the actual hell? How did Kayla not recognize the very person she was just ranting about staying very far away from? Had she never seen video footage of him? A photo? Nada? 

You eyed Kayla carefully as she let out a wispy chuckle, providing Loki with a blinding smile.

“Oh, you do? Great! That means I won’t have to go through the trouble of introducing myself after all. Though, I didn’t quite catch your name.” She hinted, smoothing back a piece of hair behind her ear in a flirtatious manner.

Loki continued to glower severely at the blonde before him—the woman whose brother he literally took apart with his bare hands only about a month ago. You winced at the memory and tried to ignore the white-knuckled fists he held tightly at his sides.

Tilting her head to the side, Kayla’s smile slowly waned, blue eyes filling with uncertainty.

“I’m sorry,” she blinked at him. “Did I say something wrong? Or did you not hear me ask for your name several times already?”

You instantly paled at her boldness.

Taking quick action, you swiftly stepped between them, facing Kayla and your back turned to Loki. She reluctantly dragged her gaze from Loki to you.

“Um, Kayla… this is Loki.” You divulged, face holding an uneasy expression.

Her features froze for a split second and then her eyes got big when your words finally registered in her head.

“.... L-loki?”

You nodded your head slowly. “Mhmm.”

You were fully expecting to witness her run away screaming bloody murder to anyone and everyone who would listen.

However, that was not what she did.

“Oh. Okay,” She blinked, her face relaxing a little. “That explains… yeah.”

She ran a hand through her hair nervously before sending a shy smile back in Loki’s direction. 

“Of course, you’d know who I am.” She chimed, grabbing your shoulders to spin you around to face Loki. 

He looked anything but pleased to be talking to Kayla, and he wasn’t even attempting to hide it.

“She’s probably told you a lot about me, I’m sure. We’re the best of friends you know!” She giggled.

Your mind spun in confusion, not understanding her sudden change in heart. She hated Loki and always had. Was this some sort of tactic to make herself seem harmless before she removed herself from the situation and proceeded to escape as fast as she could?

Loki’s jaw ticked, eyes darkening in a way that had you holding your breath before he finally opened his mouth to speak to her. 

“Oh, I know a lot about you and your festering sore of a sibling who is likely rotting in a-”

“Wow!” You yelled out while throwing your hands up, hurriedly interrupting Loki’s barely concealed confession.

You were so loud that a few nearby guests glanced over in your direction with curiosity. Or it could’ve been annoyance. You didn’t know which one but didn’t care at that moment. You had more urgent things to think about like how to get Kayla and Loki away from each other as fast as possible.

You threw a sharp smile Loki’s way, the unspoken warning highly evident in your eyes before glancing back to Kayla with a sheepish look. “Haha… he’s so funny, am I right? A complete jokester, I tell you. Let’s just take a moment to breathe here. How about we-.”

“Wait, did you say my brother?” Kayla inquired, turning her attention back to Loki.

Either she didn’t hear the very colorful words Loki used to describe Jacob or she was simply choosing to ignore them.

When Loki didn’t say anything in response, you sent out a silent prayer to the heavens. Yet, the extreme malice emanating from his being was strong. He wore an aggravated look of impatience, anger simmering underneath his visage as he continued to stare daggers right into her.

You attempted to save face, answering for him. “Yes, Jacob had briefly… worked with Loki at the tower for a while before he left.”

She blinked before her mouth formed an ‘o’ and the look of sudden realization popped onto her face. 

“Duh! Of course, you do!” She chuckled, placing a well-manicured hand on her hip. “Well, for the record I am nothing like him. Yeah, we’re related but-”

“Heeeeyy, Kayla!” A voice called out as they got closer to the three of you. 

“Long time no see. How have you been?” Nat asked more excitedly than you were used to her being. 

Kayla gasped when she turned her attention towards Nat. “Natasha! It’s so good to see you.”

Nat grinned, placing a hand on Kayla’s arm. “We have to catch up. Wanna grab a drink at the bar?”

Kayla nodded enthusiastically before turning towards you and Loki as if she had forgotten you were still there. “Oh shoot! I was just meeting Loki. I’d hate to be rude and leave so soon.”

“Nonsense.” Nat waved her hand dismissively. “I’m a lot more fun than him and he knows it. Come on! Let’s go before all the fireball is gone.”

Nat was practically dragging Kayla away before you knew it, sending you a quick glance over her shoulder to wink at you as they disappeared into the crowd.

You took only a second to release a large sigh of relief but wasted no time leading Loki straight out of the ballroom, only stopping when you were both far enough down the hall before you whipped around to face him with wide eyes. 

“What the heck was that back there!?” You whispered harshly, pointing down the hall towards the ballroom.

He hardly reacted to your fierce expression of indignation, only raising a brow. “What? Did you truly expect me to greet her with open arms? That clown is not your friend and you know it. I don’t trust her one bit.”

“Don’t call her that!” You sputtered, taken aback by his attack on her character. “She hasn’t done anything to deserve your foul attitude.”

“No?” his face darkened as he took a step closer to you. “Did she not take you seriously when you informed her about her maggot brother harassing you at every moment he could? Did she not prevent telling you that he was an insidious bastard?”

 “She didn’t know…” 

He scoffed, throwing you a look that would surely make anyone else feel completely stupid.

“Are you serious? Do you truly believe that?”

You took a beat too long to answer and he continued.

“Please enlighten me on why you are still friends with the sister of a man who led an attack on you not very long ago.”

You swallowed hard, staring straight at his chest. He was making you feel as if you had done something wrong. But you did nothing wrong. He was the one who was being a complete ass at that very moment.

“Kayla didn’t attack me, Jacob did. She’s innocent.” you declare stubbornly.

Loki stared at you as if you had just said something completely insane. “Innocent? Surely she knew about his disgusting behavior and had presumably been protecting him for years. She is far from innocent.”

“You don’t know that Loki, and neither do I.” You crossed your arms in defiance, staring up at him. “Regardless of what you say, I’m still going to be friends with her so just leave it alone.” You said sternly.

His jaw clenched and he shook his head as he loomed over you. “No. I will not merely stand by while you continue to make these brainless decisions as if you did not just go through an incredibly harrowing experience. In case you have forgotten, I am no longer being held within a cage which means I now have the full ability to put a stop to this nonsense. The Avengers failed you. She failed you. She is the one who could have prevented all those terrible things he did to you. You faced the consequences of her carelessness and now she must face the knowledge of her sibling being torn to shreds.” He seethed with an intense gaze.

There was no immediate response as you avoided his gaze. You cursed at yourself when you felt hot tears sting the corners of your eyes. Why did you always have to be such a crybaby? And why was Loki always around to witness it?

You felt him shuffle closer but you kept your head down, too embarrassed to meet his criticizing gaze. 

You heard him call out to you, but you still didn’t answer him.

You kept your head down in the hopes that he’d just walk away and let you deal with your feelings alone. But that wasn’t very Loki.

“Little dove,” he repeated in a much softer tone, placing a finger under your chin and gently lifting your watery gaze to meet his.

Meeting his gaze was oddly comforting. It was as if you craved for his approval deep down. His eyes were gentle and his brows drawn together as he observed you.

“I fear I must apologize for my behavior with you. I am being unnecessarily harsh and I am sorry for that. You are not the one who deserves neither my ire or frustration.”

Your lips twitched into a not so convincing smile, your eyes still sad. “It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize. I understand. This situation is just as hard for you as it is for me.”

His fingers released your chin, and then he proceeded to place a gentle hand on your shoulder, pulling you closer to him. The closer you got to him the more he could feel his body heat and smell his natural scent. He smelled like warmness and fresh pine.

“You are wrong. This is immensely more difficult for you. I made it more difficult for you. Am I not the reason for your night terrors?” 

You frowned. “I’m not blaming you for that.”

“No, but I know this is still true.”

Your eyes fell to his chest. “Either way, it doesn’t matter anymore. I haven’t had them as much since you kind of helped me out that night,” you admitted

He smiled tenderly at you. “I am happy to be of assistance. You can summon me to chase away your nightmares anytime you need.”

Loki hadn’t shown up in your bedroom after that night, and you haven’t asked him to come since then. It’s not like you didn’t think about it, but how could you ask someone who wasn’t one of your female friends to come to your room and hang out with you? You didn’t need anyone getting suspicious, especially since you knew they were watching Loki with a heavy eye.

“You’re a really good friend, you know that?” You told him with sincerity in your expression.

His lips twitched into a half smirk. “Yes, I am aware but do not let anyone else hear you utter those words. I fear I have a reputation to uphold.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep my lips sealed.”

“Oh, you must,” he cautioned in a dark silky tone, a sly grin forming on his face. “For I may have to punish you if you do not.”

Your lips parted and your mouth went dry, incapable of forming an intelligible response to his specifically worded warning. The way his words sent shivers down your spine was severely disconcerting to you.

You could’ve been mistaken, but you got the sense that he was amused by your speechlessness, a glint of mischief twinkling in his green eyes.

His gaze slowly traveled downward, examining you carefully. “Did I not mention how enchanting you look tonight?” He professed in a breathy tone. 

Chills ran down your spine when you felt his thumb brush against your bare shoulder ever so slightly. He’s complimented you before of course, but this felt different. You couldn’t explain how at that moment. 

The chills continued rolling through your body you felt like you were getting warmer by the second. Your brain could not form a clear thought, not understanding how you both got to this point after just having a serious argument.

When he lifted a teasing brow, you realized that you hadn’t answered his question. “Um n-no you didn’t, but thank you. So do you. ”

Loki looked quite impressive. Honestly, impressive was such an understatement. The way the all-black tux fit his lithe, sinewy figure was criminal. It was as if it was made just for him.

You were tongue-tied, not being able to express how you felt at the moment as you met his soul-piercing gaze. His eyes were as deep and inscrutable as the galaxies themselves. You felt as if you were falling into a trance-like state.

That’s until it was interrupted by someone calling out to you.

“Angel, there you are!” Steve exclaimed as he jogged down the hall towards you and Loki. You felt him tense, and he slowly moved away from you. You immediately shivered, feeling the absence of his warmth.

Steve sent Loki a brief glance, nodding his head in a poor attempt at acknowledgment. 

“Laufeyson.” Steve muttered.

“Rogers,” Loki responded cooly.

You could have cut the tension between them with a rusty knife.

You rubbed your arms, greeting Steve with a light smile. “Hey, Steve. What’s up?”

“I’ve been looking all over for you. Nat said you were here but I couldn’t find you through the sea of people.” He shook his head before placing his hands in his pockets. “Anyway, they just opened up the floor and turned on some good music. Thought I’d come to see if you wanna dance.”

“Me? Dance?” You snorted with raised brows. “What would make you think I’d want to do that? You know I’m not a dancer.”

He smirked. “Yeah, I know that but I wanted to ask you anyway.”

“I-” you glanced over at Loki who was still standing there beside you. His jaw was tensed and his body stiff. He was eyeing Steve with a strange look.

You frowned, not wanting to leave him, but also not wanting to disappoint Steve. You were torn.

“I don’t know…” you muttered.

“It’s alright,” Loki voiced out, glancing in your direction with a nod. “Go on, enjoy yourself. This is a celebration after all, isn’t it?” 

“O-okay. If you’re sure.” You stuttered before taking hesitant steps away from him and towards Steve.

The blonde smiled, holding his hand out to you. You took it with a shiver, not understanding why it was so cold in the building. 

Steve must have noticed since he frowned and quickly started removing his suit jacket. “As amazing as you look, we can’t have you shivering to death.”

“Oh no, that’s okay Steve, I’m not that…”

He had already placed his jacket around your shoulders before you could finish your sentence. It surprised you by how warm it was and you instantly melted into it. 

“... cold. Wow, I guess I was pretty cold after all. Thank you.” You admitted sheepishly.

“Of course, Angel, anytime. Now let's go have that dance.”He winked at you, placing his hand lightly on the small of your back.

As Steve led you back towards the ballroom, you glanced over your shoulder to see Loki still standing where you left him. 

Your gaze never left his until you were completely out of sight.

It was much later into the night when finally left the party, Steve escorting you back to the tower and up to your room. 

You understood that he didn’t need to walk you there but Steve was always the gentleman. He was a great friend to you and you appreciated him too much to tell him no.

Plus, you ended up needing his help after all. The energy you had for most of the night felt like it had been completely drained from your body. You were sluggish, stumbling over your feet as you walked.

“Whoa,” Steve said, reaching out to you. “I didn’t think we partied that hard. You didn’t have any drinks, did you?”

“Hmm… no,” You responded before clearing your throat. “Sorry, I think I’m just very tired. I don’t know why. Just need to get to sleep I guess.”

He nodded with a raised brow. “Alright. Good thing we’re almost there.”

You thanked him when the both of you finally reached your room, grateful to be closer to your bed.

“Of course, Angel,” He responded in kind. “I’d ask if you wanted any company you know… to just hang out since it’s not too late, but from the looks of it the only company you need is your bed right now.”

You let out a chuckle that transformed into a yawn. “Yeah, maybe next time. If I wasn’t such a snore we could’ve gone to the theater room and watched a movie or something.” He blinked, dark blonde brows raising. “Oh, yeah, in the theater room.” He looked down at the floor with a contemplative look before meeting your eyes again. “Guess I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

You nodded and cleared your throat before wincing a little. “Y-yeah. See you tomorrow.”

You didn’t give him much of a chance to say anything else, entering your room and closing the door immediately. You covered your mouth with both hands as you waited a minute to make sure Steve was gone before you removed your hands, instantly going into a fit of heavy coughs.

You slowly trailed to the bathroom, still coughing along the way. Your eyes watered from how severe and heavy they were getting. You filled a glass of water from the faucet before downing it almost choking on the liquid as the coughs continued to rack your body.

After a moment, they died down and you let out a tired sigh. Pulling open the bathroom cabinet, you rummaged around until you found what you were looking for.

You swallowed down the pills with a grimace, starting to truly despise your new nightly routine. You had forgotten to take them last night, and now you were suffering the consequences of that mistake.

When you were finished you shuffled to your bedroom and kicked off your heels, closed the door, and flopped facedown onto your bed straight away.

You hadn’t even had the energy to remove your dress as you fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

If you still had been awake, you might have noticed the dark shadow lingering underneath the other side of your bedroom door.

Story Masterlist

✦ 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰. 𝘙𝘦𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 ;)

✦ 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘒𝘰-𝘧𝘪 ✨: 𝘩𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘴://𝘬𝘰-𝘧𝘪.𝘤𝘰𝘮/𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺24

𝘛𝘢𝘨 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘵: @aintnooooway @mischief2sarawr @talesofadragon @cass0419 @lcolumbia1988 @timeladyrikaofgallifrey @echo-is-worth-more-than-2000

[elialys]

why do you think Hellen said no to Dales proposal?

I’m glad I waited before answering your question because I’ve listened to the Emsolation podcast with Michael Lucas (the show writer) in which he answered all kinds of questions about season 2, and that was one of them!

(I’m paraphrasing here, it’s been a few days since I listened to it!)

According to Michael, one of the main reasons why Helen rejected Dale’s proposal is because Helen genuinely can’t see herself having that kind of ‘normal’ life, not just with Dale but in general. The fact that it was Dale proposing made it even ‘worse’ because of how…atypical their couple is. Michael said Anna was pretty set on the concept that if Helen had a choice, she wouldn’t be in any relationship at all, that she was with Dale because she genuinely loved him, but it wasn’t something she felt ‘fit’ her, so Helen basically freaked out at being proposed to.

Because I love spending hours analyzing character’s motivations, fears and limitations, I’ve also thought a lot about this, not just because I’m going to be writing about it 😅 While I absolutely loved hearing Michael’s explanation and obviously believes it to be true since, duh, he literally wrote those characters, I think it’s even more complicated than Helen ‘simply’ not wanting to get married.

To me, from what we’ve seen in season 2, between the hotel scene in 2x01 with Helen’s reaction to learning Gerry had propositioned Dale, and the return of Tim in 2x04 reminding her of what’s happened before, she still had a lot of insecurities regarding Dale’s sexuality. The way I see it, even though I’m sure she believes it when Dale says he loves her and that he’s not just a closeted gay man trying to convince himself he’s INTO WOMEN, I’m sure it’s still one of her fears, that Dale is basically hiding with her, even unconsciously. And that to Dale, proposing to her and making her his wife is another way to PROVE THAT HE’S LIKE EVERY OTHER MAN.

Which is what was actually happening, in my opinion?? Even if I one hundred percent believe Dale is bisexual and that he absolutely loves Helen, he’s clearly not comfortable with that bi side of himself, in great part because he lives in a world that doesn’t accept people like him, and he’s been traumatized as a teen for having feelings for another boy—not to mention how his mum clearly doesn’t support *not being straight*. I highly recommend listening to Sam Reid talking about Dale in the official podcast for ep 2x06, he explains this so much better than me right now haha.

Basically Dale is trying to mold himself into what he believes a REAL MAN should be. So yeah, like he told Garry in 2x03, ‘of course’ he wants to get married (“Doesn’t everyone?”), because if he marries a woman, he’s CLEARLY NOT HAVING GAY THOUGHTS.

What I’m trying to say is that I think Helen is very much aware of that on some level. Of the fact that her sweet bi babygirl Dale is desperate for STRAIGHT VALIDATION, and that she might have been afraid it would just blow up in her face one day when Dale realized he actually did need “more” than what she could give him as a woman.

I’m not even going to delve into Helen’s insecurities about herself as a ‘fucking disaster’, because I could write a 40-pages long essay about her to be honest, but hopefully you get the idea. These characters are complex and very messy, and I think they broke apart because they weren’t communicating properly, which is often why people break apart. Dale never *asked* Helen if she was actually interested in marriage, even after his shitty first proposal. If they had talked about it properly, I think a lot of this would have been avoided.

[third-arch]

No Surprises-A Trafalgar Law x Reader Fan Fiction Chapter 1-Birthday

sfw, fluff, some cussing

Today was your Captain's birthday. The Heart Pirates enjoyed themselves while the party was in full swing. Chatter amongst your crewmates was largely focused on other October birthdays. "I can't think of many other people who have October birthdays…" said Penguin.

"Oh!! I'm pretty sure Marco's birthday happened, and Bartolomeo's is today, too!"

"Eh? How do you even know about that? That's just weird, dude"

You giggle. One of your crewmates looks at you,

"Say, Reader, when's your birthday? You're a bit more of a rookie here than the rest of us." "It's actually one week from today! Hehe" you stare into your lap.

"The thirteenth?? Dude! We need to celebrate for Reader!" "Ah! Nonono, it's okay! Like, I don't really go anywhere on my birthdays, I kinda just like being alone..." you respond, still staring into your lap.

This was normal for you to do. You weren't necessarily the most outgoing person on board. You kept to yourself most of the time. You also loathed parties.

"Like one time, I went to this dance when I was a teenager...and..." Trafalgar Law, your captain, sat at the far end of the table, quietly listening to your ramblings.

Hm, I guess I'm still learning more about her everyday. He felt a bit torn, nonetheless. Did she show up to my party because she was part of the crew or because she wanted to? No, that seems selfish of me to think like that. Hm...

You had an idea.

You excused yourself to go get some more lemonade from the bar. You weren't much of a drinker. You liked more simple beverages, like water, and sugar water...and...pretty much water with one or two ingredients added to it.

While refilling your drink, Captain Law approached you.

“Kanna-ya, may I have a word with you, privately?"

"Oh! Sure Captain" you felt a little anxious. Hopefully, you weren't in trouble. You sometimes had a hard time reading your captain because he was always so stern. According to your crewmates, he used to smile more. But, since his encounter with Doflamingo, his smile is more of a rare sight.

You left the busy kitchen to follow your captain to a corner of the deck. He leaned against the wall, eyes closed. "Hi Captain! Happy birthday!" You smiled

"Oi, Kanna-ya," your captain responded calmly, opening his eyes "Are you enjoying the party?"

"Yeah! I'm not much of a party person, so this is really out of my comfort zone haha, but everyone has been really sweet so far!" "That's good to hear. I'm glad you're feeling welcomed, nonetheless"

You felt sort of awkward with how serious he can appear. Your Captain was taller than you, so you felt shy at times, too. Staring at a floorboard underneath your feet, you ask, "So, how has your birthday been so far?"

"Easygoing, I guess. I'm not too big on parties, either. I just wanted to make sure that you guys were having fun and had a day to unwind." You hum in agreement.

"mm...Anyways, Captain, did you need something from me?". Your captain looked at you with sternness in his eyes. “...Kanna-ya, what are your plans for your birthday?” you look down at the ground again. "Not really anything, sir. I just kinda relax and wait for my birthday to end, I guess" you chuckle awkwardly. Captain Law still looked unamused.

"It doesn't have to be that way,” he paused, taking a moment to gather his words. “Do you want to go somewhere with me? Just us...alone?”

Sure, your captain was very stern and sometimes scary. But above all else, you admired him a great deal. Captain Law is someone very important to you. Usually, when he spoke to you, his words felt warm like the sun. Anytime he was harsh was when you did something reckless or potentially harmful to your crewmates. Whenever you said something silly or asked him a stupid medical question, he played along.

You rarely approached his office, because you thought he never wanted people visiting. You gave him as much space as you could, so much that he wanted to see you more often. However, you knew that deep down, you would always be welcomed anytime. Whenever you were doing a chore nearby Captain Law, you would rant to your captain, knowing he was carefully listening to every word.

He helped you through some really dark points in your life, and this trip might be a great way to say "Thank you".

“Sure! Where would we go?”

"Well, there's an island, not too far away from here. We could make it in about a week, hopefully by your birthday. It's covered in flowers, trees, and the weather is beautiful. There's also...other beautiful places to unwind" this is Trafalgar Law's polite and extremely low-key way of saying “hot springs”

You felt tingling sensations in your cheeks. The thought of it all sounded so wonderful. A place where you could play music, make flower crowns, and just be happy. Captain Law knew you needed this more than you thought.

"Yes! I'd love to!" you say excitedly. Your captain gave you a gentle smile. "Do you think we could stop by the Straw Hats on the way there? If they're on the way, I mean. Sanji wants to give something to me. "

"Sure. We can try that."

"YAY!!! Thank you, Captain!!" You hug him, his arms trapped under your grip.

"You're welcome anytime, Kanna-ya" he replies, outwardly unbothered. Hearing his heart skip a beat, your eyes widen and you quickly step back, retracting your hold. You felt incredibly embarrassed by your sudden and unprofessional action.

"AH! I’m so sorry, captain. I don't know why I did that. I know you're not a touchy-or whatever-Ah…um, is it okay if I hug you, captain, or-" Your Captain’s eyes sparkled as he smiled

"...Of course, Kanna-ya", he said, prepared for your arms this time. You embraced your Captain, arms wrapped around his sides and your face buried right into his chest. Your Captain gently pulled you in with his left hand very gently holding the back of your head close to him. His other arm around your shoulders.

You blushed, hearing his heartbeat pound loud and fast. He felt warm, and he had a good heart. You felt safe in his arms. You wanted to stay like this, it felt right. You both closed your eyes, completely at peace with one another.

Before completely getting lost in the embrace, you suddenly remembered your birthday present.

"Ah! Captain!" You spoke into his chest, "H-Hm? What is it, Kanna-ya?" responds Captain Law, caught off guard by the sudden and soft vibrations from your voice. Your captain loosened his arms around you, looking down at you with his tender, golden eyes.

"Gimme a sec" you look down, fidgeting and rummaging your hand in your pocket, your other arm still holding his side. You didn't seem to notice that Captain Law's arms were still holding you close, and he found that adorable.

You finally pull out a small box, about the size of your hand. "Happy birthday! Just open it later!" You hand him the box and quickly escape his embrace to go spend time with the others. "Thank you for everything, Captain! I hope you have a good birthday!" You say excitedly, struggling to make eye contact with him as you walk away. “Oi! I’m your captain! Be a little more…respectful.” It was no use, she was having too much fun for that.

“Jeez…”

-

Later that night, alone in his quarters, Law slowly undid the wrapping that you had made for him. In poor handwriting on the box read,

🌸“To: Law Captain-ya!! :)) 🤍🤍 From: Kanna-ya!! ✨✨✨”🌸

He blushed. “Damn, she didn’t need to be that cute with it…” He whispered to himself.

He carefully lifted the lid to find two hibiscus flower hair clips with a surprise attack of a pinch of glitter now getting everywhere. “!! Jeez, it's all over my fingers and desk! That girl…I am going to have a word with her tomorrow…”

They both were carefully sculpted and crafted, yet flexible and sturdy. One was painted pink in the middle and the other was painted yellow. There was a small note underneath the hair pins.

Law picked up the letter with his glittery fingers. written in poor handwriting. It read,

” Dear Captain-ya,

Happy birthday! Thank you for all that you have done for me! I wouldn't be here without you and the Heart Pirates. You are really sweet and generous. I bought these at a Wano marketplace and thought they’d look cute good on you! I hope you like them.

Sincerely,

Kanna-ya :))!! 🥳🥳🥳

P.S., Do you want to have lunch tomorrow/sometime with me? I can pay!! :0!!

-Kanna-ya” 🤍

Law had a big grin plastered on his face, thinking about how short and lovely you would look walking to a cafe with him. He carefully inspected the Hibiscus hairpins while he thought about you.

He liked imagining how you were a somewhat messy eater, always getting sauce on the sides of your mouth. How soft your hair might be, what you would wear, what perfume you would use. How he would have to point it out and maybe even

…no, I’m not bold enough to do that. Covering his hands over his face, Captain Law sighed. “Jeez, Kanna-ya…”. His heart fluttered, beating loudly the rest of the night.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hi, everyone! I hope you like my fan fiction if you stumble upon it!! This is my first time writing something like this. The entire fan fiction is complete, I'm just editing and posting as I go along. The title is inspired by "no surprises - a trafalgar law animatic (one piece)" by luseraphims on youtube!! As a huge fan of both Radiohead and Trafalgar Law, "No Surprises" (and, even more in a later chapter,) was my final pick.

Hope you guys enjoy!

[limbuscompanysituations]

Hello! Just a silly little fact again, I wasn’t rambling in a while here, so I came with some stuff. So, one of my roaches (yes, I’m a parent and have been for some time, I love my bugs sm!) recently uh… molted? Is that how you say it in English? Basically, this little lad slipped out of his outer skin? Usually, when that happens they look for a private place and hide away until their new “skin” isn’t soft and white anymore. But that lad did it out in the open in front of me and chilled with me. Guess that takes some feeling of safety and I’m honoured. I’m not here to brag about my parenting, more so to say that uh. Well. Again, I’m not here to equate Gregor to a bug, (‘bug’ isn’t an insult to me but it’s upsetting to him so, you know). Just saying that the rule definitely applies to the arm (he’s able to fight with it, it has to be hard and covered in that dark outer layer that I lack words in English to properly describe) and do with that what you will. Just yk. Probably not a nice thing for him to go through. But yeah. But I think Dante would at least be okay with giving him some time before the new layer hardens so at least there’s that. Not that he would be thrilled to explain to his coworkers what is going on.

Another fact is that cockroaches need higher temperatures than what is considered comfortable for most humans, around 30 Celsius or more. When the temperature is lower, their metabolism slows down. Again, use that fact as you want. I’m just here to share some stuff I know^^

Lastly, not connected to my new amazing friends, more so to the source book. This is my personal headcanon but since I like putting Grete’s traits onto Yuri (I know there was Grete in canon, but two girls can be similar and I just like this hc) I think Yuri, though she had no way to indulge in that interest, is quite skilled with music and passionate about it. Able to guess a tune almost right away, humming her favourite melodies when the work isn’t getting too dangerous. Her good hearing might have helped her out in terms of surviving too. This is just some random thought of mine, not much to build upon I suppose. But I wanted to share something other than bug facts hah

That is all I suppose. Sorry for bothering you again. I don’t have a sign off, but I think it’s kind of easy to tell which anon I am haha. Anyways, have a great day or night and remember to give yourself time if you need it, don’t burn yourself out for your audience. We appreciate the content you put out, but I would hate for it to be a source of pressure for you <33

I am so thrilled to hear that your little guy decided you had to be there for him to slip out of his dead skin. You're his emotional support giant... Please give your babies plenty of tasty snacks in my honor. I love insects so much...

Yuri looks like she has like, slender, skilled fingers? Wonder what would be her instrument of choice! A string instrument, or maybe some type of flute? Bet if they had the time to interact she would've tried to teach Gregor a few things about music and he would end up being able to pick up the notes she plays after a while of listening... oughhhhh...

It's not a bother to read a little bit of people's headcanons for a change. I love it! Please come here as often as you'd like! I'm having to pace myself because other than low energy, after typing some idk 10k words in a week? (I write for this blog, for my friends and also for personal projects) My wrists are giving up. Such is life...

[casualaruanienjoyer]

Could you perhaps write a post-war Levihan, but in which they go over their feelings for one another? (Or they don't, and they kind of half-discuss it. I think writing characters talking about romance is one of the easiest ways to practice difficult dialogue)

Hello Anon! I'm surprised with how many people request Levihan, I didn't know it was such a popular ship!!

I like your idea, I think I'll incorporate it with the little story (?) that I have going on about Hange and Levi post rumbling if you don't mind! Read here for part 1, part 2 and a bit of extra.

Levihan: On their way back to the tent there's silence. It's so silent that you can actually hear the wind lifting up dush from the reddish ground of Fort Salta. They haven't said a single word to eachother since "the thing", as Hange addressed it.

Levi thinks it's kind of odd, how silent she has been since then. He feels somewhat amused. Was it really that easy to make her shut up? Had he known, he would have kissed her a long time ago.

He does nothing to conceal a small smirk on his lips. He doesn't have to, Hange is trying her best to look everywhere else but him. She's been focusing on pushing his wheelchair steadily.

"Oi" he says, waving his hand. "How long are you going to stay quiet for?"

Hange jumps as if the chair had electrocuted her. "WH-WHAT?! You talking to me??"

"Who else is there to talk to?"

"I-I guess you're right, haha" she takes hold of the handles again, but doesn't move an inch. "I'm sorry, my thoughts are quite overwhelming"

"It's usually your mouth that's (and he air quoted) quite overwhelming. If you want to say something, just say it." He sighs. "Being quiet like that is not like you, it's creeping me out". His voice is monotone, but warm.

"Right. Sorry. I'm just a bit confused." She passes a hand through her hair. "I never knew you thought of me that way" then suddenly slaps her face with both hands in an overly dramatic manner as if to snap herself out of a dream. "I mean hell yeah! But also, whaat?? Why did you kiss me?? Also, ME?? WHY ME??"

"Aand there she is, the real Hange's back alright" he mutters, missing the silence from before.

They arrive back at their tent. "Look, we can talk more about it inside. My ass hurts from sitting in this chair for too long"

Hange laughs, and proceeds to help him settle down on the makeshift mattresses inside the tent. They're not the best, but it sure is better than sleeping on the ground.

She turns on a little oil lamp and falls back on her own mattress. They've been sleeping like this for a while now.

"So, Levi, I need a LOT of answers. But I think you already know that" she turns towards him.

Levi sighs, adding another makeshift pillow behind his head. "Right..." But a few minutes pass and he doesn't continue. He doesn't quite know what to say or how to say it. Eventually, he speaks.

"Hange, we've known eachother for a very long time..." he starts and Hange listens carefully.

"I don't know anyone else that understands me the way you do. I think you get what I mean". Hange nods.

"You talk a lot, way too much most of the time. You can be annoying, and your obsession for titans disturbs most people." He continues, and Hange's brows furrow. "Hey, that's not ni-"

"Shh, I'm not done" he lifts a finger, and there's silence again. "However, you are also determined, kind, skilled and a great friend to me..." His hand reaches out for hers to hold again like they have been ever since the end of the world. "I'd like to have you close. You're the only thing I have left" at that his hand squeezes hers, and he turns to look her in the eye. Hange is beyond surprised. It takes her a few seconds to process his words.

"Who would have thought all it takes for you to go soft is for the world to end" Hange said with a big laugh.

"Are you... laughing at my feelings?" His tone sounds almost threatening. But he's not serious.

"Absolutely not! In fact, I feel the same about you." She squeezes his hand in return. "And who else's gonna take care of you but me, hmmmm? I gotta make sure no one tries to roll your chair off a cliff or something." She laughs, and Levi sighs.

"Aand you've ruined the moment".

[astarionposting]

Hi, I just want to say that your work is stunning and we're very thankful for it! I also hope that nobody is causing you problems about liking that other route...It's ludicrous that people still act like children when it comes to what others enjoy, not to mention that if you show them two pictures of Astarion they won't even be able to tell which one is the 'bad' route and which one is the 'good' one.

Other than that, I wish you a very nice day!

Thank you so much! 🥹🥹 I’m so so happy you enjoy my content.

Thankfully no one has caused me any issues with Ascended Astarion stuff haha. I guess because I do acknowledge he is 100% evil if he ascends, but SOMETIMES I LIKE ME AN EVIL MAN!! I enjoy both routes and think they are both super fun to play.

I love Spawn Astarion for him being able to overcome his fears, open up, heal and become “better” (but still pretty cheeky and wanting to create as much chaos as possible) and end the cycle of abuse, which is very personal to me as well in my own trauma. I love that he is able to overcome what I would consider an unhealthy coping mechanism to his fear; he is scared, so his reaction is to obtain as much power over everyone else so no one can ever hurt him again, but then he would lose himself in the process… and his SO if you decide not to become his spawn. I mean, he pretty much becomes his BIGGEST fear, his own source of 200 years of trauma and abuse (“the new cazador”—just like Cazador did since he was also a spawn and killed his own master for power out of fear—if I’m remembering correctly).

BUT I also like the Ascended Astarion route for how tragic it is. How you can really see right through him and how he ISN’T satisfied. He gets so angry with you if you even point it out a little bit, that sacrificing all of those souls, including his own in a way, didn’t fix anything. He’s still so insecure. He is still afraid (he’s just much more aggressive and defensive about it). He is still unhappy and he will never actually be free. I mean, it’s a deal with MEPHISTOPHELES. He might have been freed from one master, but now he owes his power to another, much more dangerous and powerful being. Not only that, but he will never be free from himself. If you listen to Cazador’s inner thoughts, you can hear how much he WANTS to die, how much he HATES being a soulless and vile vampire with only a lust for blood. No capability to love, to care, to be any part of who he might’ve been before.

The song “hurt” by NIN makes me think of Ascended Astarion. He says “we can have it all, we can take the world”. But what is “having it all?”. “Having it all” to me would be the Spawn ending. Being free of his abuser, being free of owing his power to someone else, being able to be HIMSELF and surrounded by people who care about him because of who he is, not because of his power.

Anyways I’m not that great at writing my thoughts coherently so I’ll stop there lol, but I also like his voice lines cause they can be kind of hot because also kind of goofy 😭 😭 and it’s fiction!! I read the wildest fanfic out there but if an actual man spoke to me that way, I would be OUT OF THERE SOOOO FAST lol

I don’t like to call them the “bad” or “good” ending, because it’s different for everyone. I mean, it’s a ROLEPLAYING GAME. Yeah, if your Tav/Durge is good alignment, then the spawn ending may seem to be the “good” one, but if your Tav/Durge is evil then wouldn’t the vampire ascendent ending technically be “good” for them? Anyways, I just think people struggle to separate reality from fiction when they get too deep into it. I love soft-ish and cheeky vampire and also evil and hot vampire like WE CAN ENJOY BOTH!!!

Anyways, thank you so much again and I hope you also have a wonderful day!! ❤️

[cainluvr69]

Surely, We Can Make Miracles Chapter 17

Previous Chapter

Borda Island Resident: Open the castle gate!

Borda Island Resident: Bring out the new lord…!

Borda Castle Guard: Stand down! If you break the castle gate, you'll be arrested for treason!

Borda Island Resident: Treason?! Just for asking her to help us?!

Mitile: … Everyone's in an uproar outside the castle… And when Leno's in so much trouble, too…

Riquet: I'm worried about Shylock, too. And about Lord Snow in his painting… …And Lord White, too…

Mitile: Where is Lord White…? Maybe we just can't see him, and he's right next to us… No, he should be at Lord Snow's side, right?

Riquet: Oz said he couldn't feel his presence anywhere…

Mitile: Oh no…

Mitile & Riquet: …

Nero: It's gonna be fine.

Riquet: Nero…

Nero: None of 'em are that fragile. Once Snow's all healed up, White's gonna show up again, too. That's why Arthur and Rutile are out searchin' for medicine for him. Just believe in 'em and be patient.

Riquet: …Okay.

Mitile: …Alright. Nero, is there anything that the two of us can do? We were told to wait here in the castle because it'll be dangerous in the ocean, but I really did want to go with them, too.

Riquet: Me, too. So if there's anything we can do for our allies…

Nero: … I wanna tell you kiddos you don't need to worry about that kinda thing, but this whole island really is in a tizzy right now… I ain't gonna pretend things aren't real touch 'n go right now. Something bad really might happen.

Mitile: Something bad…

Riquet: Nero… Why are the people at the gate so angry? I can understand being scared of the dragon and the natural disasters it might cause. But neither of those have anything to do with the people in the castle, do they? Why did they come to the castle, and why are they so angry at those within it?

Nero: It's 'cause the new lord ain't listenin' to what her people have to say. No one can trust someone who won't listen to 'em. But even if they don't trust her, they still have to rely on her. So they're all mobbin' her 'cause they're scared she's gonna up 'n abandon them in their time of need. Ignorin' their voices when they're scared and desperate is the same as ignorin' that they exist at all. So they're here to say, "We're here, we're alive." Y'know how Arthur and Rutile listen to whatever people have to say to 'em, even if they don't agree with it?

Mitile: Yeah…

Riquet: They'll even hear out people I think are perfectly fine to ignore…

Nero: Haha… Yeah, I get where you're comin' from. But the people who're spendin' their time listenin' to you on a regular basis… Aren't the people you're gonna be worryin' about up and ditchin' you when somethin' happens.

Riquet: … …I suppose that's true. Oz also didn't talk about himself for a long time. He wasn't someone I thought would come to help me when something happened. I thought it was wrong of him to be unwilling to help others despite holding such great strength. I didn't think he was really seeing me, and so I often made a big fuss about it. "Are you listening, Oz? Make sure you respond! Be sure to say things clearly!" Just like the island residents are doing now. Oz is just bad at talking to people. He isn't doing these things on purpose to spite people. But once Oz began meeting my eyes and listening to me, I stopped feeling the need to make such a fuss about it.

Mitile: … …I understand how they feel, too… I always want to make sure people are listening to what I have to say. I always feel childish and ashamed of myself when I say that kind of thing, so I don't like to, but… When busy grown-ups look back at me and nod and listen to what I'm saying… It feels like my words…and I myself really matter… So I was really happy today. Dr. Figaro really talked with me… It made me feel like he was really acknowledging me and putting his faith in me…

Nero: …Yeah, I know what you mean…

Mitile: You do?

Nero: Back when I was younger, there was someone I wanted to stop and look at me. I don't think I wanted him to praise me, but at the same time, I really wanted him to… I wanted him to see there was value in where we were. I wanted him to think there was somethin' worth keepin' his interest.

Riquet: Are you talking about your father?

Nero: I mean, no, but…

Riquet: Was it someone who guided you?

Nero: …Yeah, I guess you could say that…

Mitile: Did he ever stop and look at you?

Nero: Maybe halfway… But I never let my frustration with that bubble over. Because he did look at me. He was workin' hard and held himself back. He did listen to what I had to say to him. …The new lord here was prob'ly the complete opposite when she was talkin' to the head chef. She didn't listen to what anyone was tryin' to tell her. So everyone, the island residents, the wizards in the market, even the people in her own castle… All of 'em expect her to cut and run at the first sign of trouble.

Riquet: … Dianne said that it's her job to guide the people living on the island. So why doesn't she do that when her people are in so much distress?

Nero: Beats me… Maybe there's some kinda circumstances we don't know about… But anyways, there's way too much bad stuff all lined up in a row out here. Even a single misstep could end up with a full-blown riot on our hands. That guy'd be good at unifying everyone at a time like this, but…

Mitile: Ah… My brother and everyone else are about to leave!

Riquet: Let's go see them off!

Nero: Yeah, let's.

✦✧☾✧✦

We were about to dive to the bottom of the sea, to where Balthazar was lying in wait. The ones meant to wait in the castle--Nero, Riquet, and Mitile--came to see us off. Figaro didn't, but he couldn't let himself pause in Snow's treatment for something like this. Snow had been poisoned, White had vanished, Shylock had been kidnapped, and Lennox was being manipulated… And to heal them, to bring them back, we had to face off against a Northern wizard and a sea dragon. Going against that sea dragon in particular… Thinking about that made my chest ache.

Akira: (…Hwylryn…)

But I could only let myself think about him for so long. We didn't have a moment to waste right now. More than anything else, I didn't want to lose Snow, White, Shylock, and Lennox. We finished up getting ready to depart, and left the castle, standing just before the castle gate. On our way, someone from the castle called out to us. Everyone was in a rush around us, anxiety plain in their movements.

Castle Butler: Master Sage, Prince Arthur, how did your investigation into the disappearances go? In truth, I have something else I wish to pass on to you as well…

Cain: We'll need you to tell our comrades about that later. We've got stuff to talk to your side about too, though. Three corpses were found without their heads, right? Can you tell us why we didn't get informed of that particular detail?

Castle Butler: W-well…

Cain: I'd appreciate it if you could make time with Lord Dianne for us. I'd like to talk to her more in depth…

Nero: I'll take over from here.

Cain: Got it?

Castle Butler: Y-yes, sir!

✦✧☾✧✦

Shino joined our group with his scythe on his shoulder and his bag stuffed full of Rutile's medicinal herbs. Murr turned back to the rest of us while walking towards the front.

Murr: Okaaaay, let's get this show on the road! All of you can use magic that'll let you move freely underwater, right?

Arthur: I can, yes. How about the rest of you?

Shino: Yeah.

Heathcliff: I'll probably be okay. I put a good amount of practice into it during lessons. I haven't been able to put it into practice for a particularly extended period of time, though.

Rutile: Same here. I've played around in rivers and lakes before, but it'll be my first time going this deep.

Chloe: Um, I'm not super confident I can.

Murr: Rustica, can you help him out?

Rustica: I believe I can keep him breathing under the waves, yes.

Chloe: Wh…what else is there to worry about?

Rustica: I cannot swim, you see.

Chloe: Huh?!

Arthur: Really?!

Murr: Have you drowned before?

Rustica: Who knows? But I'm very certain I can't swim.

Chloe: Now that you mention it, we've never gone swimming during our travels…

Cain: Just leave the swimming part to me. As long as you can both breathe underwater, I'll take point and you can follow my lead.

Arthur: There's a big river in your hometown, right?

Cain: Yeah. You should come swimming with me sometime, your Highness.

Murr: So the Sage should be with Oz, Faust, Rustica, or me. We'll make sure they're covered.

Arthur: Thank you. The deep sea is not only dangerous, but also draining to navigate. If you start getting tired, please feel free to separate from the rest of the group and take a break. If you can float up to the surface and get to the sky, it should be simple enough to find land again. If you've completely exhausted your magic, though, you won't be able to fly. Lord Oz's magic will be more than enough to bring us all back to land, but at the same time, that will be difficult to do until dawn breaks.

Faust: That's true. Murr and I should be able to aid the rest of our students, but… We should have contingencies in place, just in case. All of you should keep a close eye on how much magic and physical exertion you're using.

Heathcliff: Understood.

Cain: Gotcha.

Shino: Yeah. Can I ask something?

Arthur: What is it?

Shino: How are we gonna kill the dragon when Oz can't use magic? If the Sage is with him, he should be able to use it, but he failed at killing it just earlier today.

Shino was staring at me, and I kept my mouth shut. I remembered what I'd done only a short while ago. I didn't want to hurt Hwylryn. The moment I'd thought that, the moment I'd let go of Oz's hand, he'd stopped being able to use magic. Eleven of my dear wizards bore an injury from <the Great Calamity>, a burden that restricted them terribly. When I, the Sage, touched them, the weight of that burden was lessened. We'd done this many times over now. Oz, who could no longer use magic at night, could use magic. The sleepless Mithra could rest… But there were also many times it hadn't gone so well. No matter how many times I desperately pray for it to work, those prayers are never answered… I still don't understand why it works some times but not others. But as of this last incident, I had a feeling I'd made the first step towards understanding that mystery.

Akira: (…It's because of my own heart…)

It took me a moment to realize I was clenching my hands.

Akira: (Wizards cast magic with their hearts. This must be the same principle…) (I think that if both I and the wizard in question aren't wanting the same thing, then I can't do anything to heal their injury from the Calamity…)

But even if we said that, there were still some points that didn't cover. For instance, I wasn't very good at letting Oz use his magic again during the Umbra Volans incident, at least at first. Nor when Shylock was suffering from his heart being set aflame, even when he was in so much pain right in front of me…

Akira: (…Even though Nova was able to do it…)

Though I was at a bit of a loss, I still put my thoughts into words.

Arthur: I see… So you don't wish to attack the sea dragon, Master Sage. That's why Lord Oz isn't able to use his magic right now… That's what you're trying to say, yes?

Akira: I mean, that just has to be it, I can't think of any other reason why… That's definitely how it feels to me.

Murr: Then while we're in the water, Oz, you need to keep your desire to protect us in alignment with the Sage's. Normally I'd want to do some proper experimentation to verify things, but we sadly don't have the time for that right now.

Faust: At the very least, we should be able to make sure the younger wizards all stay safe… Oz.

Oz: What.

Faust: If you feel that your heart and the Sage's aren't matching up, take the younger wizards back to shore. Can you do that?

Oz looked at me. I looked away, feeling like I was trying to run away from the intensity of his gaze. It wasn't a comfortable feeling.

Akira: (Oz must be really troubled by not being able to use magic…) (Normally everything works out just fine, but because of me…) (When Snow and White were in danger, I started getting all wishy-washy because of a dragon I'd only just met…) (That's what he must be thinking about me right now…)

I felt terrible that I couldn't meet the expectations everyone had placed on me.

Oz: Sage.

Akira: Yes…

I responded to Oz when he said my name. The voice that spilled from my lips was unbelievably small. But Oz's voice contained no blame or accusation within its thunder.

Oz: I believe I once told you to not let your role confine you.

Akira: …

I looked up at him, startled. He had said something similar to me before. Those words, too, had felt very precious at the time. I mustn't forget my own name. The weight of my role was such that it could blot out my personal identity. And now… I was the one who had begun to forget who I was. I'd started to think that if I couldn't fulfill the role I was supposed to play, then there wasn't any point in me being here in the first place. It wasn't that anyone had told me that. But still, the weight of responsibility had made my heart begin to curl in on itself. Akira didn't need to be here. The perfect, flawless Sage should be standing in their place. I took a moment to once again look around myself. Everyone's expressions were tense, taut as a drawn bowstring. Arthur, Cain, and Faust were staring at me, their gazes focused… As was Murr, with his wandering gaze, as well as Heathcliff and Shino, after they glanced at each other. Rutile and Chloe were too, both looking worried. And then there were Nero and Rustica, who looked like they were watching over me from far away. Riquet and Mitile were holding hands, but they were looking at me, not at each other. I could tell. All of them were desperately thinking about what they could do for me. "It wasn't all you sole responsibility. We can help, too." That's what it felt like they were saying to me. I took a slow, deep breath in, exhaled, and then opened my mouth.

Akira: It's not like I can be 100% about it, but… I think I can work with Oz to let him use magic as long as it's not for violence. If it's to help any of you, then I definitely think I'll be able to help.

Faust: Got it. Thank you.

Shino: I don't want to get dragged back to shore. I'll figure something out on my own.

Cain: I'm pretty confident in my diving ability. I dunno exactly how well that'll hold up in the deep sea, but…

Chloe: But, um, isn't that gonna be pretty bad in the definitely super small chance that we got forced to fight the dragon…? Oz can't use his magic for that, and none of the Northern wizards are here, either… I mean, this is totally hypothetical, okay?! I definitely don't want us to have to fight against a dragon that the Sage is friends with!

Arthur: You have a point… Master Sage, do you think opening a dialogue with this "Hwylryn" fellow would be worth a try?

Akira: A dialogue…

Arthur: Yes. If it's possible to avoid any conflict by talking with him, then…

Arthur's words made me feel a faint sense of hope.

Akira: …I don't think it's impossible, at the very least. Hwylryn didn't strike me as being super into violence. He was more playful and mischievous, if anything…

Chloe: A mischievous dragon…

Rustica: What a wonderful prospect. I hope we can become friends.

Akira: I hope so, too.

My tone had sharpened a bit, though I hadn't meant it to.

Akira: Actually, Hwylryn said a bunch of times that his brother was more predisposed to being aggressive. So I figure that means Hwylryn himself is a lot more mild-mannered than his brother was…

Oz: …I have never heard of a mild-mannered dragon before. Though they may not be needlessly aggressive, their arrogance and wariness are both very defined. I do not believe conversation will be an option.

Akira: H…Hwylryn can definitely be talked to.

Oz: …

Arthur: Your own wariness is entirely understandable, Lord Oz. But the one who has had direct experience in speaking with this dragon named Hwylryn and flown at his side through the sky is the Sage. Can we not have faith in what they say and make an attempt at negotiations?

Akira: Negotiations… That's right, he also talked about wanting to negotiate with me! It was when we first met… You remember too, right, Rutile?

Rutile: Yes, I do. In exchange for gemstones, he wanted us to share our torta di cocco with him…

Heathcliff: A dragon that wants to eat sweets…?

Shino: That's surprisingly humble.

Oz: …I understand. If that is what the Sage wishes.

Murr: So, what about Balthazar? Are we gonna try to persuade him, too? If he wants a proper apology from Oz and Figaro, will he get one?

Murr's words were as sharp as a blade, but I didn't see any intention to pick a fight or start an argument in his eyes. He was just simply trying to get a straight yes or no answer. Arthur hesitated for a moment before turning to Oz. Oz greeted him with a steely gaze.

Oz: I see no reason to. Being unable to control my magic as I desire is putting needless strain upon the younger wizards… For that, I will apologize. However, Balthazar has no understanding of his own sins. Power is everything in the North. Bowing my head to him will do nothing but spark his fury.

There was no hesitation whatsoever in Oz's words. Murr shrugged his shoulders and looked back at Arthur.

Murr: Well, there you have it. So we're not going to be persuading Balthazar to do anything, and instead we'll just take him out. I don't really know very much about him. But I do know he's got a real thing for Shylock, and that he was the one who sank Adams Island. That means he's got both the inclination towards and means for sinking an island. We can't say for certain he won't make the same decision again if he gets pushed far enough!

Chloe: So he might sink Borda Island?

Murr: Full marks!

Arthur: Then it'd be best if we made arrangements for evacuation and rescue operations ahead of time, just in case.

Nero: Gotcha. I'll make sure I talk to the new lord about it.

Faust: Sorry, and thanks.

Arthur: Now for our next point of discussion… What precisely will we be doing once we're underwater? Heathcliff. Can you tell us what you learned from Vespa?

Heathcliff: Yes. Balthazar has taken the other mermaids captive, and rules over them like a tyrant. He works them like slaves, imprisons them in a cage at the bottom of the sea…

Oz: …I have seen this cage.

Heathcliff: You have?! When…?

Oz: Before sunset.

Heathcliff: According to Vespa, several of the mermaids know where to find a sunken ship.

Murr: Is it Melissa's ship?

Heathcliff: She doesn't know for sure, but Balthazar seems to think it is. Apparently he's been trying to threaten the mermaids into guiding him to the ship so that he can get the cintamani stone of medicine.

Faust: And so he confined some of the mermaids to that end. Why are they refusing to show him where it is?

Heathcliff: Vespa told me to keep this a secret, so I can't talk about all of the details, but… It seems to be very close to a location of great importance to the mermaids.

Murr: I see! But she doesn't know where the sunken ship is?

Rustica: Oh my. She raised one of her hands and tilted her head.

Chloe: Maybe she knows…?

Nero: Nah, this is what she does when she doesn't know.

Cain: It'd be pretty bad if we got lost at the bottom of the ocean. Can you introduce us to anyone who does know where the ship is?

Vespa: …! …!

Cain: She raised her right hand.

Heathcliff: Apparently her sisters know. They're some of the mermaids trapped in the cage, though.

Faust: It's probable that one of them knows where Balthazar is, too. We should ask them after we've helped them.

Arthur: Then let's head for the mermaids' cage!

Rutile & Shino & Cain: Yeahhhh!

That was a chorus of voices I knew I could rely on. As we drew closer to the castle gates, we began to hear the voices of angry, desperate people.

Cain: What should we do? Should we take to the sky and fly to the ocean?

Arthur: No, wizards flying off the island right now when Lady Dianne has yet to address the people would only make them more suspicious of her. So we're going to leave through the front gate. I will talk to the island residents.

Arthur's expression grew serious. Cain put his hand on the hilt of his sword, and Shino adjusted his grip on his scythe. Oz and Faust both looked like there was something they wanted to say as they watched Arthur. And then Murr did a somersault through the air with catlike grace.

Murr: One last thing! We all gotta have fun on our upcoming expedition!

Everyone raised their heads to watch Murr as he tumbled through the sky. A golden moon hung in the cloudless sky, as if the torrential rains had all been a bad dream. <The Great Calamity>. It illuminated the darkness of our world just as surely as it would destroy it. And yet, for some reason, it felt like it was watching over us tonight. It was like it knew we were heading to the bottom of the sea, where its light wouldn't reach, its gaze a peaceful and gentle one… Murr narrowed his eyes like a contented cat, though he was embracing the moonlight and not a warm sunbeam.

Murr: It's a lot easier to take it easy when you're having fun. And taking it easy opens up more options than when you're taking things too seriously! The goddess of victory is gonna run away if you've got a frown on your face! Besides, you guys won't believe how pretty the sea is at night!

He was right. I steadied my breathing, and then opened my eyes. My field of vision that had been swallowed up by the darkness slowly began to expand. The moon's light reached out to all of us, all throughout the world, embracing us in its rays. I heard the sound of the waves from the vast, mystical place we called the "ocean" so easily, never considering how little we knew of what lay beneath its waves. And thus, surely we'd see sights we'd never seen before.

Cain: Open the gate.

Castle Gatekeeper: B--but…

Arthur: I will take full responsibility. Please, open the gate.

Castle Gatekeeper: You are…?

Arthur: One of the Sage's wizards, as well as the crown prince of Central Country. Arthur Granvelle.

Castle Gatekeeper: Y-yessir…!

✦✧☾✧✦

There were many people gathered beyond the gate, anger, anxiety, and frustration clear on all of their faces. This mob was clearly motivated by more than just petty irritation. They couldn't just stand around doing nothing, not when they were worried about their families, their coworkers, their friends--and so, their legs had carried them here. But as Arthur took his place before them, their angry yelling was quickly silenced. It wasn't because he looked every inch the noble prince that he was, no. It was because his eyes, the same blue as the sea and sky, were truly pure. He regarded them with the same expression as if he were addressing his friends.

Arthur: People of Borda Island, I cannot apologize enough for having caused you worry. I am Arthur Granvelle. One of the Sage's wizards, and the crown prince of Central Country. The local lord, Lady Dianne, has asked us to look into the strange incidents taking place on this island.

Borda Island Resident: She asked you to…? So she isn't just trying to cover things up for the wizards here.

Arthur: While our investigation has yet to conclude, we have reason to believe that these incidents involve Adams Island, which sank below the waves many centuries ago… And the wizard that sank it, Balthazar.

Borda Island Resident: The wizard that sank Adams Island?! Does that mean this island is going to sink, too?!

Arthur: We won't let that happen. In fact, we're presently headed to the bottom of the sea to prevent exactly that. I want all of you to help each other. I imagine that some of the wizards that do business in the market may be familiar with similar past incidents. Listen to what they have to say. Ask them what you should do to prepare yourselves.

Borda Island Resident: B… But will the market wizards even want to work with us?

Arthur: Of course they will. As long as all of you intend to help them, too.

Chloe: A… And because Shylock's in real big trouble right now! If you tell them it's for Shylock's sake, the older wizards will definitely help you with what's going on! I think!

Borda Island Resident: Alright… Then… We should find this "Balthazar".

Cain: Borda Castle should also be coming up with countermeasures. You should contact them when you've figured out what you want to do.

Nero: Yeah. I'll make arrangements for all that.

Heathcliff was smiling as he watched their exchange. He took a small, nervous breath and straightened his back. When he noticed I was looking at him, Heathcliff told me something.

Heathcliff: I started feeling like Shylock and the others who aren't here are still at our sides somehow… Shylock taught me a lot about how to enjoy myself. Lennox taught me how to be more stubborn… Lord Snow and White taught me how to have the courage to face a strong foe… So, it just feels like they're here with us right now…

Heathcliff gazed at the ocean's dark waters. I was reminded of something. Although Heathcliff was normally a shy and gentle person… It was his desperate plea that had first moved my heart after I'd arrived in this world. Heathcliff's desire to help his comrades and kind feelings had touched me, and made me put my faith in the wizards. I felt like I was seeing the same scene now that I'd seen that night.

Cain: Riquet, the rest is up to you!

Arthur: Please don't push yourselves.

Riquet: I should be the one saying that to all of you. Please take care and come home safe. Lord Arthur, Cain, I'll see you soon! You too, Oz!

Oz: Yes.

Nero: Shino, Heath, take care of Teach for me.

Shino: That's the opposite of what you usually say.

Heathcliff: You can leave him to us.

Vespa: …! …!

Heathcliff: Vespa'll do her best, too!

Faust: I'm already calm and composed. I'll be fine.

Mitile: Rutile, please make sure to get Leno back.

Rutile: I definitely will. Mitile, take good care of Riquet and Dr. Figaro, okay? And be sure to listen to what Nero tells you. …Mitile, let me see your face.

Mitile: …Please be safe, Rutile…!

Rutile: Mhm…!

Arthur: Now then, it's time for us to depart! <Pernoctant Nixzo>!

Cain: <Gladius Procella>!

Shino: <Matzah Sudipas>!

Heathcliff: <Repsev Aivulp Sunos>

Chloe: <Suispicibo Voitengok>!

Rutile: <Ortonik Setomaouge>!

One by one, my wizards chanted their spells and stepped into the water. First were the younger ones, and then the more experienced ones also sank into the water after them. The moon's light shined off the surface of the water. Seeing such a beautiful sight made me remember something with a gasp, and all of the wizards still on the shore turned back to me. I looked at Mitile and shouted to him.

Akira: Mitile! Can you ask the owner of that one shop to bake a torta di cocco, please?!

Mitile: Torta di cocco?!

Akira: Yes! And if Mithra comes back… Tell him to bring it with one of his doors through space, please! Hwylryn really wanted to eat it! So maybe it'll help with negotiations…

Mitile: Okay, got it! I'll find the shopkeeper as fast as I can and ask them!

Riquet: If we get turned down, we'll have Nero make it instead!

Nero: Man, I don't wanna try makin' a cake with so much ridin' on it on the first go… But I'll make it happen somehow! Take care of yourself, Sage!

Akira: Yeah…!

After responding, I turned back around to the ocean. I took Oz's hand in mine and held it tightly. He reciprocated the gesture, his fingertips pressing against the back of my hand.

Oz: <Vox Nox>

And we jumped into the water together.

Next Chapter

[a-not-so-clean-blog]

Ukai x gn reader

550 words. No warnings just fluff and asking Ukai out.

You were new to town. Miyagi prefecture was a lot different from your hometown but it was cozy none the less. One of the main reasons it felt so welcoming was because of one little shop in particular.

It was by chance you picked this store, just wanting to grab a snack on your way home from work. Nothing stood out in particular so you grabbed a sandwich and went to pay. The man behind the counter was handsome but definitely looked like a former punk. He made you a little nervous but you try not to judge a book by it's cover. Your heart raced a little but not in a bad way.

He was nice enough and the casual air he gave off was refreshing. Eventually you wound up visiting once a week, then every few days, now it's not uncommon for you to just stop in and hang out on your way home.

"Ukai!" You excitedly greet him at the counter. "You feeling okay? I haven't seen you all week."

He looks up from his Jump and smiles. "Hey, yeah I'm good. Remember that weird teacher who was coming around to bother me… well he convinced me to coach his volleyball team. I've been spending a lot of time at the highschool, sorry I haven't been around."

"The punk has a sweet side?" You tease him with a smile. "I didn't know you did volleyball."

Now you get to see a whole new side of him. Listening to the stories of his students and how he's trying his best to help all of them grow as people and as players. It wasn't long until you knew all the kids' names and each new headache they gave Ukai. You started coming in on the weekends when he didn't have practice but one day he looked a little extra nervous.

"You doing okay?"

"Huh? Oh… yeah I'm fine." He takes a long drag from his cigarette and exhales a thin wisp of smoke. "We just have a big tournament coming up and I feel bad. The kids are doing great but the other teams have cheer sections that are just… overwhelming."

"Where's the game, I'd love to cheer for them!" His eyes dart to you silently asking if you're joking. "I may be a little lost trying to follow the rules but I can definitely cheer when your kids get a point!"

"You'd really do that?" You can hear the excitement in his voice.

"Sure!" You were getting excited too, his energy rubbing off on you. "And afterwards how about I take you out for a drink!"

"Haha when you said it like that it sounds like you're asking me out."

"Maybe I am?"

"Wait really?!" His surprise is cute but his excitement and disbelief is cuter.

"Yeah, if you're okay with it?" A small smile pulls at your lips.

"Of course!" A blush spreads across his cheeks. "I mean, I won't say no to a free drink haha" he awkwardly tries to put back on his delinquent persona. But the pink dusting his cheeks was a dead giveaway to how he really felt.

"Good! Your kids better do good because I'm coming to cheer for winners!" Despite the embarrassment your heart felt light. This was going to be a good weekend.

[rainisawriter]

Dragophire Empire – S.W.O.R.D (ITYc1)

༻ITYC Ficography༺ ༻ITYC Tag༺

Genre: Comedy, friendship, slice of life -> fantasy au

Word Count: 4,581

Pairing: None

World: High&Low

A/N: So, I wasn’t sure how to write this and I’m not sure if I’m happy with it, but I hope it makes someone laugh or smile, at least haha I may expand on this later, who knows. Written for the @itropeyou challenge.

I Trope You! Challenge #: 1 – Genre Shift

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Murayama entered the gym of Oya Kou, beelining for the stage that sat at the back of the room. He hopped up before falling onto the sofa beside me, excitement dancing in his dark eyes. “Guess what?”

“You finally decided to be an adult, get a job and leave Oya Kou?” I quirked a brow at him and he pouted. 

“Not even close.”

“Yeah, something like that would never happen,” I snickered. “You’ll be at this school even as an old man.”

“So will you!”

“Yeah probably.”

A moment of silence passed by as we stared at each other blankly.

Finally, I scowled. “Are you gonna tell me or nah?”

“You broke first, I win!”

“I’m leaving.” I started to get up off the couch but he grabbed the back of my shirt, yanking me back down. Before I could insult him, he finally answered.

“I found a really cool video game store during my walk today.”

“A game store?” My brow furrowed. “Those still exist? Don’t most people just buy their stuff online these days?”

“Mostly, yeah, but you’re missing out on some great titles that way,” he clicked his tongue, waving his finger at me. “Listen up, kid.”

“I’m older than you.”

He ignored the comment. “There are a lot of gems out there that can’t be bought online because they no longer exist.”

“If they no longer existed, they wouldn’t be at the store, either.” I pointed out, making him scowl.

“Yah, I’m trying to teach you a lesson.”

“Your lessons are shit. That’s why everyone at Oya is dumb as hell.”

“Oi!” Nakazono glanced up from where he was sitting below the stage, a scowl on his lips. “We’re not all dumb, ya know.”

“You’re right,” I agreed, taking in the satisfied look on his face before adding, “Todoroki is pretty damn smart.”

His expression fell to a displeased scowl again and I snickered, proud of myself.

“You’re such an ass.”

“If you’re not an ass, are you even an Oya student?”

His lips parted to retort but then he paused, thought about it for a minute and nodded. “Yeah, that’s fair.”

It was Murayama’s turn to scowl now, smacking my shoulder. “Will you focus for two minutes, please? This is important.”

“How is it important?” I leaned back against the couch, arms folded over my chest.

“Because we can find a new game to play that no one else is playing.” He paused, turning his head away and mumbling under his breath. “I was hoping it could be our special thing.“

My heart warmed at the words. He and I have been best friends for years, connecting after he and Cobra first fought. He was my brother at this point, but we didn’t spend as much time together as we could. He was always busy dealing with Oya drama and keeping the younger ones out of trouble.

Meanwhile, I’ve been working a lot lately so I could keep my apartment and still offer money to the Oya kiddos so they could get things they wanted. Admittedly, we haven’t been spending much time together lately, so it makes sense he would come up with something like this.

I knew I wasn’t meant to hear the last bit so I sighed dramatically, pretending to be annoyed. “Fine, I’ll go with you.”

He grinned, eyes lighting up.

“But you’re paying.”

He clicked his tongue, folding his arm over his chest. “Fine.”

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It was mid-autumn, the temperature dropping with each day that passed by. There weren’t many trees within the city, but the few that had been planted were already bare, their colorful leaves pooled at the bottom of their trunks. The world felt more alive, more magical during the fall season and I absolutely adored it.

I couldn’t wait for Halloween, especially since Daruma’s Halloween festival was always top tier.

I pulled my jacket tighter around my body as I headed in the direction of the store. Murayama was already waiting outside, nearly bouncing on the balls of his feet as he peered through the glass.

“It’s about time,” he scowled at me, not waiting for a response before he darted into the store.

“And I thought I was impatient,” I scoffed, following after him.

No one was inside the store so it was eerily quiet. It reminded me of those old movie rental stores but, instead of movies, it was all video games for varying consoles, many of which I had never even heard of before. Murayama had been right when he said these things were gems that couldn’t be bought online.

A lot of my free time was spent browsing game lists, looking for interesting titles to save up for. Though I was picky and didn’t have a large library, I could name a lot of games simply by the description or by screenshots, but these games? I had never heard of any of them.

I hummed as I scanned the shelves, looking for anything that caught my eye though nothing did. Some of these names were insane, too.

Rocket Sizzlin’.

Killa Y.Q.Q.

Woman the Beaver.

Teenage Direction.

The Marvelous Enigmas.

Okay, that last one wasn’t bad. Feeling curious, I picked it up and turned it over. It was a pixel game about these sentient blobs of slime trying to pass for normal human beings. My nose wrinkled and I returned it to the shelf.

I wasn’t a big fan of older games and I don’t like pixel games. I prefer games with amazing graphics that make you feel as if you can jump through the screen and enter it. I like worlds that are so rich, you get lost in them, feel as if you’re part of them. Games that make you forget about the boring, mundane life you actually lead.

“If that’s what you’re looking for, child, I have the perfect game for you.”

I blinked in confusion at the old man standing a few feet away. He was short, the upper half of his body hunched over a cane as if it were the only thing keeping him on his feet. His head was mostly bald, with just a few strands of thin white hair placed at random spots. His mustache and beard was long but the hair was thin.

Where the hell had he come from? Why hadn’t I heard him? And how the hell did he know what I was thinking?

“Did I… say all that out loud?” I wondered, though I was sure I hadn’t. 

“Part of it, yes,” he chuckled, peering at me through small, dark eyes. “You were mumbling to yourself. A bad habit, I might add.”

“Oh,” I frowned, rubbing the back of my neck.

“Come, child. Allow me to show you the game you desire.” He waved his hand at me before slowly turning and hobbling away.

I highly doubted he would give me a game I enjoyed but I didn’t want to be rude so I followed him. He was so slow, though, taking five minutes just to make it to the other side of the small store.

Murayama poked his head around one of the shelves and snickered, clearly enjoying my annoyance. I flicked him off and he faked an offended look before disappearing again.

The man took a title off the shelf with a shaky hand, holding it out to me. I couldn’t help but notice how boney his fingers were, as if there was barely any skin left to cover them. “I believe you will enjoy this.”

I took it from him carefully, reading the title. “The Five Grim Kings.” Okay, not a bad title at all. I hummed, flipping it over to read the description. “‘The Dragophire Kingdom was once a prosperous nation united under one banner, but peace can not last forever.'”

He nodded, closing his eyes.

“‘The nation started to fight itself, splitting into five different factions, all of whom were vying for power and control. While they threaten to destroy themselves from within, a new power has risen from the darkness with the intent to destroy all of them.’ Huh, that sounds strangely familiar.”

The man nodded again, a frown on his lips. “They fail to realize that they are stronger together. It is your job to unite the five factions and destroy Kaxarene.”

I hummed with interest. It didn’t look like it was that old, either, the graphics looking pretty decent on the case. It was hard to believe that it was a PlayStation 4 game. Why wasn’t this listed on the website? I bet loads of people would enjoy this.

The game was ripped from my hand by Murayama who wrinkled his nose when he looked at the cover. “I didn’t know you were into medieval RPGs.”

I shrugged a shoulder, snatching it back from him. “They’re fun to play sometimes.”

“I found something better,” he grinned, holding up two copies of a game called Cosplay Rubber Duckies.

“You have got to be kidding me…” I deadpanned, making him scowl.

“Don’t look at me like that! It’s a really complex battle royale MMO where you fight against others to take control of the mind stone and rule the world.”

“The mind stone? Isn’t that a Marvel thing?”

“They don’t own the term, idiot.”

“You’re the only idiot here, idiot.”

The old man chuckled, a twinkle in his eye. “Will you be purchasing the game, then?”

I considered it for a moment before nodding. “Sure, it sounds interesting. I’m not paying for it anyway so I have nothing to lose.”

Murayama scowled, remembering that he had agreed to pay. “It better not be expensive.”

“Doesn’t matter. Oya Kou’s leader can’t go back on his word.” I snickered, shoving the game against his chest before approaching the counter.

He clicked his tongue in disapproval as he followed after me. “You’re lucky I love you.”

“Lucky? I think you mean unlucky. You’re a pain in the ass.”

“And you’re rude as hell. It balances out.”

“Yeah, that’s fair.”

The old man finally appeared behind the counter, slowly ringing up the purchase. When placed my game in a separate bag, slowly sliding it toward me. “Do be careful, child.”

My brow furrowed in confusion at the warning, a strange feeling of doom settling in my gut. Before I could question it, though, Murayama threw his arm around my neck and started to drag me from the store, complaining about how hungry he was.

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“Mother fucker,” I muttered under my breath, scowling at the TV screen. I was never good at battle royale games and I rarely made it into the top ten. “I died, you’re on your own.”

Murayama clicked his tongue, the sound barely picked up by his microphone. “At least you survived longer than last time. A whole minute and a half! You should be proud.”

I scoffed at his teasing tone. “I hope that duck with the Mohawk murders you and consumes your corpse.”

“Wow, that’s a bit drama – shit!”

I burst out laughing when said duck slaughtered him without much effort.

“You jinxed me!” He complained. “I lost because of you.”

“Tsk, tsk, Shiki. You shouldn’t blame others for your own shortcomings. You gotta own up to that shit.”

“One v one me.”

“Hell no. I’m dumb but not that dumb.”

“Liar.”

“I don’t even know how to respond to that so I’m just gonna switch games.”

“Don’t you dare.”

I hummed, grabbing The Five Grim Kings from its case. “Too late. I’m removing the disc.”

“I’ll kick your ass,” he threatened, but it lacked any real malice.

“Please, you could never beat me.”

Which was, technically, the truth. Both of you were on the same level and when you fought seriously, it ended in a tie every single time. He couldn’t beat me and I could never beat him. It’s super frustrating, but it is what it is.

“Oh no, I’m taking the disc out of the console.”

“Oi, get your ass back here and be my distraction.”

I pretended to think about it for a moment. “Nah. We’ve been playing for five hours, bro, I need a break.”

“Five hours?” He replied in surprise. “No way, it’s been like five minutes.”

“We started at noon. It’s almost 5:30.”

“Your clock is just wrong.” There was the sound of movement over the headset, followed by a moment of silence. “Oh…”

I snorted. “Dumbass.”

He clicked his tongue. “You’re so mean to me. It’s hurtful.”

“Uh huh, sure. You want me to stream this or nah?”

“Absolutely.”

“Alright, gimme a minute.”

I was just about to insert the disc when my phone started to buzz from beside me. I muted my mic, removing one side of the headset so I could answer Yamato’s call. “What’s up, boss?”

“There’s been an emergency,” he grunted, sounding tired. “I need you to come in.“

“Seriously?” I groaned, leaning back against the coffee table. “Today’s my day off and it’s late. Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”

“No. The client is paying big money for this and we both could use the extra funds. Get your ass down here.” He ended the call.

“For fuck’s sake,” I muttered, turning the mic back on. “Oi, I gotta go. Got called into work.”

“Eh~? Just ignore it.”

“Can’t. Yamato would actually fire me this time.”

“Man, imagine having your wealth in someone else’s hands. Couldn’t be me.”

“Because you’re useless,” I snickered. “Later.”

“Don’t kill anyone.”

I left the party, setting my headset on the TV stand. I considered putting the disc back in its case but it was already out so I figured I would save future me the trouble. I popped it into the console before standing up and grabbing my shit, heading out into the cool afternoon.

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I let out a huff as I fell onto the bar stool, scowling at Odake-san. “The usual, please.”

A smile tugged at her lips as she started to prepare my drink. “Long day, hun?”

“The longest,” I sighed out, hanging my head. “This job is kicking my ass.”

She hummed as she set down a glass of chocolate milk before leaning her arms on the bar. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

I grabbed the glass, taking a large gulp before slamming it back on the counter. “My boss is running me ragged, Odake-san! As soon as I get back from one errand, he’s sending me off on another! He also complains that I take too long despite going there and straight back. He’s a tyrant.”

“Who’s a tyrant?”

I stiffened, straightening my back and looking fearfully at Odake before whispering, “He’s right behind me, isn’t he?”

She giggled with a nod, standing up to start preparing his drink.

I slowly turned on my stool, offering him a grin. “Hey, Yamato. How’s it going? How much did you hear, my guy?”

The tall man rolled his eyes before settling down beside me. “All of it.”

“Ouch.”

“I should fire you.”

“But you’re not gonna because you love me, right?” I grinned, nudging his shoulder.

He sent me a look but didn’t reply, choosing instead to thank Odake for the alcohol. 

I resisted the urge to click my tongue, downing the last of my drink. “Can I get another?”

“Coming right up!”

Yamato shook his head. “I can’t believe you come to a bar to order chocolate milk. You’re an actual child.”

“If I was a child, I wouldn’t be allowed inside the bar.”

“You know what I meant.” He sent me a look. “If Naomi finds out, she’s gonna be upset.”

“Don’t you dare tell her,” I hissed, smacking his shoulder. “It’s nothing personal, I just… the bar has a different vibe and sometimes I just need time away from Sannoh.”

“If Cobra hears that, he’s gonna be -“

“Really?” I deadpanned, making him snicker behind the glass.

“Don’t tease her too much,” chuckled Odake as she set another glass on the counter. “I like her company.”

“I like yours, too,” I nodded, taking the cool glass in my hand. “Thank you, Odake-san.”

She gave me a motherly smile, patting my arm. “Any time.”

After finishing my second glass, I said my goodbyes to the two and headed out into the night, ready to return home and get some sleep. I yawned loudly, rolling my neck. It had been a long day and Yamato expected me at the garage first thing in the morning to meet with a customer, so I couldn’t stay up too late or I’d end up oversleeping. 

Something caught my eye and I paused, taking a step back to get a better look. Whatever it was, it was catching the light of the street lamp, glinting softly. I approached it, glancing around for anyone who may have dropped it but the street was completely empty.

I kneeled down, fingers wrapping around the ice-cold metal so I could inspect it closer. It was a ring made of stainless steel, a black dragon inlaid across the length of it. In the dragon’s claws was a large orb made of sapphire. The blue seemed vibrant against the muted tones of the metal.

“Beautiful,” I breathed out, thumb rubbing gently over the orb. I glanced around again to ensure that no one was around before I slipped it onto my middle finger. The orb started to glow,  the metal growing warm against my skin. “What the -“

A circular wave of blue energy shot out from the ring, the world around me rippling like the surface of water after being disturbed. I prepared myself for what was to come next, but nothing happened. The world returned to normal, the night silent.

“I need sleep,” I muttered, rubbing my eyes.

When I returned to my apartment, I went straight to the bed, flopping onto it and cuddling the soft blanket Cobra had given me for my birthday. As tired as I was, I figured I could fall asleep pretty easily, but I found myself lying there for over an hour, unable to sleep.

I scowled in annoyance as I pushed myself up, grabbing a soda from the fridge. Caffeine definitely wasn’t something to drink when you wanted to sleep but something told me sleep wasn’t gonna come for me any time soon. Might as well enjoy it.

I plopped down in front of the TV, grabbing the controller. Pressing the home button woke up the TV, showing the title screen of The Five Grim Kings. Murayama would probably bitch about not waiting for him but I was too tired to care. I’d just buy him some ramen and he’d forget about it.

As soon as I pressed the start button, the ring started to glow again. Rather than the warmth I felt before, it felt as if it were on fire and I hissed, trying to tug it off but it was too hot to touch. “The hell?”

The lights started to flicker, the TV screen glitching out. One second, the intro cinematic was clear and, the next, it was so blurry I couldn’t even see what was happening. I shot up with a frown, looking for something I could use to pull the ring off. I settled for the blanket, wrapping it around my finger and tugging hard but it wouldn’t budge. It was as if my finger had swollen, trapping the ring in place.

When I removed the blanket, a beam of light shot from the ring’s orb and into the TV. “What the fu -“

The light exploded, blinding me as it threw me backward. I don’t know what I hit, but it knocked the wind from my lungs, my vision blurring. As I slid down to the ground, my vision dotted with black, my consciousness slipping from my grasp.

━━━━━━༻🕯༺━━━━━━

A groan passed my lips as pain shot through my skull. What the hell happened? Why does my body feel so sore?

“Hey, you. You’re finally awake.”

My body tensed as I shot up, wide eyes looking around frantically. “Oh my god, I’m in Skyrim?!”

“What is that?”

I looked at the large man sitting across from me, dirt covering his skin and his wrists bound with rope in front of him. I blinked dumbly a few times, slowly looking around. I was in the back of a horse-drawn cart, sure, but the guy sitting up front was no Imperial soldier.

Instead of armor, he was wearing a black robe and rather than being surrounded by trees, we were surrounded by an endless sea of yellow grass.

“I am so confused.”

“Did you hit your head or somethin’?” questioned the man, leaning forward.

“I think so.” I reached up to my head only to realize my wrists were bound, too. “What the fuck is this shit? Why am I tied up?”

“You got caught in Kaxa territory.”

“Kaxa?”

“Kaxarene.”

I stared at him, waiting for him to continue but he just stared back. “Thank you for clarifying, that definitely clears things up.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I was being sarcastic!”

His brow furrowed. “Sar… castic? What’s that?”

“S… Sarcasm doesn’t exist here? Oh god, I’m gonna die!” I cried dramatically, standing up and trying to yank my hands free. “Let me off this damn thing!”

“Sit down, now!” Snapped the driver, eyes narrowed at me. 

“I refuse! I have rights, ya know!”

“Please sit down, friend! You’re gonna get yourself killed.”

“I refuse! Try and kill me, I dare y -” I cried out when the cart came to an abrupt stop, making me lose my balance. The man tried to grab me but he wasn’t fast enough and I fell over the side, landing on the dirt path with an oof.

The driver jumped down, pulling a sword from within his robe. “I’ll save the hangman the trouble with you.”

I scrambled back as best as I could, scowling at him. “Stay away from me! You have no idea what I’m capable of! I’m warning you, man!”

But he didn’t stop advancing, lifting the sword above his head. 

The sound of hoofs pounding the ground made him pause, his eyes lifting to something behind me. I refused to check because I wanted to be able to dodge if he swung the sword at me. The man cursed, turning and rushing back to the cart, slapping the reins as he yelled at the horse to move.

It neighed loudly, taking off like a rocket. 

Horses raced past me after them, kicking up a cloud of dust that had me coughing. 

“Hey, are you okay?” A horse came to a stop in front of me, the man jumping off its back to kneel in front of me. The lower half of his face was covered by a red bandana yet he felt familiar to me. He pulled a knife from his belt, flipping it in his hand before reaching for me.

I scrambled backward until I hit something solid. Looking up, I realized it was the legs of a massive man also wearing a black bandana over his face. He, too, seemed oddly familiar.

“Ah, I’m not going to hurt you, I swear!” replied the first guy, holding his hands up. “I’m just gonna cut the rope.”

The second man reached down, grabbing my shoulder with one hand and easily hoisting me to my feet. “We don’t know who she is. She could be with Kaxa.”

“But she’s tied up. Why would they tie up one of their own?”

“To keep their identity hidden.”

My eyes snapped to the side as a third man appeared, blonde hair covering his forehead and dark eyes. I knew that voice well. “Cobra?”

His eyes widened in surprise before narrowing suspiciously. “Who are you? How do you know my name?”

“The hell are you talking about?” I scowled. “It’s me. Is this some kind of prank or something because it’s super elaborate and I hate it.”

“Be quiet,” hissed the second man, gripping my shoulder tightly.

“That fuckin’ hurts, bro, damn.” I tried to pull away but his grip was like iron. Wait a minute… I looked at him, squinting at his half covered face. It took a moment for it to click in my brain. “Yamato?”

“Don’t act like you know me,” he hissed, ripping the bandana down to his neck.

“Wait, then that means…” My eyes fell on the first guy, still holding the knife. “Chiharu?”

Chiharu tugged down the bandana, looking confused. “How do you know me?”

“Chiharu only just joined us,” Yamato muttered, sending the blonde a look. “No one should know him unless…”

“They’re from Oya Lions,” finished Cobra, closing the distance between us.

“Oya Lions?” My brow furrowed. Did that idiot go and change the name of the school without telling me? I shook my head, lifting my hands. “Look, I’m not sure what’s going on but I am not your enemy, Cobra. I would never betray you!”

“Cobra look.” Yamato grabbed my wrist, showing off the ring.

“That’s…” Cobra’s eyes widened and he tugged down the bandana. “Where did you get that?”

“I found it on the street. Thought it was cool but now I can’t get the damn thing off.”

“She’s… she’s the chosen one!” whispered Chiharu, looking at me with wonder.

“Chosen one?” I laughed, shaking my head. “Nah, fam. If I’m your chosen one, you’re all fucked. There’s no way anyone would be dumb enough to make me someone that important.”

“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong.”

My head snapped to the side, growing wide. It was the only man from the game store, but he looked different. He was taller, for one, his back straight. Luscious white locks flowered from his head, falling to his shoulders. Standing on either side of him were Kohaku and Tsukumo.

“You,” I breathed out, my brain slowly piecing it together. I scowled, rushing toward him. “You did this, didn’t you?!”

Kohaku stepped forward, brandishing a sharp looking sword that made me stop dead in my tracks. “Not another step.”

“Does everyone in this damn world have a sword?” I complained, glaring at the old man. “Oi, what the hell is going on? What did you do to me?”

“I merely opened the portal to get you here,” explained the man as he stepped closer, patting Kohaku on the shoulder. He instantly relaxed, though his gaze did not leave me. “The ring chose you.”

“Well, I don’t choose it. Get this damn thing off me and send me home!”

“You can’t go!” cried Chiharu, rushing up to my side and giving me a pleading look. “Please, chosen one. If you don’t help us, the Kaxarene will destroy everything!”

Yamato scoffed, folding his arms over his chest. “We’re doing fine without her. We don’t need the help.”

“Oh, but you do, my boy,” stated the old man with a frown. “You’ve no idea the darkness that’s coming.”

“What do you mean, Niramo?” Cobra took a step toward him, his brow furrowed in concern. “What aren’t you telling us?”

“I’m afraid I cannot say.” Niramo lowered his head in apology before his gaze landed on me. “However, I can tell you that this one is the one who will help bring light back to Dragophire. It will never be whole again, but it can be healed by the one who possesses the power of the King’s Ring.”

Everyone looked at me expectantly and I swallowed nervously. “You guys are so fucked…”

━━━━━━༻🕯༺━━━━━━

-> High&Low/Rampage Taglist: @kiraaaeon, @simpforchuchu, @star2fishmeg, @thatpoindexterpixy -> General Taglist: @asterhaze, @mrskenpachizaraki

I think I got everyone that wanted on the taglist, let me know if I missed anyone!

[suffarustuffaru]

im back on my reinhard/julius agenda but hear me out okay.

au where they become friends much sooner. childhood friends au.

julius’s whole world shakes when he goes to the knighting ceremony for children of noble knighting houses and he sees reinhard there—reinhard, whos powerful and Amazing and intimidating and it makes julius realize that hes far behind reinhard. it makes julius realize that he has to work harder to reach reinhards level of skill and power. but hes all starry-eyed, and he manages to catch reinhard after the ceremony and starts excitedly talking reinhards head off because reinhard is just so—awe inspiring—and ten-year-old julius at this point has way less filter and impulse control so why shouldnt he try and get close with reinhard of all people?

meanwhile reinhard is even more depressed after recently being 1. officially knighted and 2. officially given the “van” title and 3. his dad is gradually getting worse and he feels like its his fault, but julius is the first person around his age that actually shows interest in befriending him, so reinhard is just awkwardly going along with it because he doesnt want to chase julius away. hes super SUPER eager to finally have a friend. thats what they are right?? hopefully?? and reinhard is desperately holding onto this because yeah, julius likely wont like him anymore real soon, but itll be good while it lasts right?? he doesnt even mind that julius keeps asking questions about knighthood and training, because everyone does that anyway, so reinhard offers to help train julius and BAM they are now gonna meet regularly 👍

joshua meanwhile is Suffering even more than he already was because not only did julius develop an infatuation with reinhard, joshua also—like in canon yeah—faints during the knighting ceremony because FUCK I CANT LIVE VICARIOUSLY THROUGH JULIUS IF HES GONNA BECOME FIXATED ON REINHARD AND LEAVE ME BEHIND AND ALSO I HATE REINHARD AND JULIUS FOR BEING SO PERFECT, and then joshuas worst nightmare becomes true because reinhard notices this and offers to help joshua and julius home, and julius accepts of course, and joshua wakes up to reinhard and julius being buddy buddy and then reinhard starts visiting the juukulius mansion regularly so joshua is absolutely SEETHING. SEETHING.

anyway reinhards regular visits go great 👍 all he has to do is walk (Travel At Extremely Extremely Fast Speeds) to julius’s house and back 👍👍 and it doesnt take much time for julius to get out his favorite books and info dump excitedly to reinhard because reinhard of course will listen to all of this and feel all warm inside because 1. oh are we friends now? 🥺 and 2. aw julius is so passionate about this 🥰 but then it takes a turn because of course julius has his hero worship with REID ASTREA. theres a tappei qna that confirms that reinhard Knows what reid was like, and if reinhard knows that at this point, he just sits there awkwardly while julius goes on and on about how cool and awesome reid was.

reinhard then has to decide whether to break the news to julius or not, but given how in canon julius didnt know what reid was like until he actually met reid, reinhard probably didnt tell him if reinhard knew at that point. so little eight year old reinhard sits there and goes “aha yeah… reid… what an interesting person…” which then turns the subject to reinhards family, which then leads into some talk about julius’s family too—but while julius is more likely to open up a tiny bit, reinhard is more like “my father is a good person who tries his best 🙂” and julius is like “i hear that hes. kind of not. but ill take your word for it i guess haha i mean IVE never met the guy” (he recognizes reinhard getting Upset about this subject) and reinhard is like “my father is a good person yes 🙂”

meanwhile alviero juukulius is very aware of all those nasty rumors about heinkel astrea and the astreas in general and alviero is Very Aware about his nephew/adopted son’s budding friendship with reinhard, who now regularly shows up to the mansion via Speed Walking, but alviero is like. well reinhard is a very well meaning child, i just hope no drama comes out of this haha.

anyway one day little ten year old julius with his Reduced filter and impulse control (tappei has said that younger julius was a Bit of a troublemaker) goes “reinhard you should sleep over at my house please 🥺 and maybe we should sneak out of my house past curfew and go on an adventure or something lol” and reinhard is like going ??? because of course breaking rules almost never occurs to him and the idea of breaking one makes him anxious. but julius is like “cmooon please 🥺🥺 itll be fun 🥺🥺 we’ll be out and back here so fast, no ones gonna know, itll just be us 🥺🥺” and reinhard of course 1. cant say no and 2. julius would be very happy if he agreed, so he goes along with it. they go have fun they have some kind of adventure and for a moment reinhard forgets all about all the Various Pressures he is under <3

and then they go back to julius’s house and alviero is waiting there casually like “snuck out again julius? *insert exasperated sigh*” and reinhard FREEZES UP hes like “oh sir ahah its not julius’s fault. it was all my idea actually. all mine. i dragged him along with me. you should punish me instead. im really really sorry i broke the rules sir” because he’s afraid julius will REALLY get in trouble. and julius and alviero stare at reinhard like he grew another head because “jesus christ its not that deep, youre not in That much trouble. im just gonna like ground julius for a bit, its not like im gonna. kill him. or anything.” and also “JESUS CHRIST YOU ARE NOT OKAY??”

anyway yeah reinhard is a very welcome visitor to the juukulius mansion (unless youre joshua) but every time he goes home, carol and grimm help make sure reinhard’s visits arent noticed. but. well. one day heinkel will notice. its inevitable, especially when eventually reinhard and julius will officially join the knights together. and heinkel will probably give this nasty little laugh and go “well. have fun while that lasts.”

and it doesnt last.

[koizumicchi]

LIP×LIP FILM×LIVE Special Radio English Translation

-----

T/N: Keep in mind that Japanese and English aren’t my first language. I never claim my translation (attempts) to be error-free. As always, if you’re going to use or reference my translations, please do not claim it as your own and credit me.

This track is an enclosed benefit in the Deluxe version of the Blu-Ray/DVD. The length is around 18min. When I first listened to it in 2021, I immediately love it! It seems serious at first but it’s quite hilarious XD I wanted to translate it back then actually, but it’s so long!! Songs are easier to tl because they’re like bite-sized. But drama tracks...I’m not good at translating by ear...lol. Though I did my best for this one, so I hope it’s close enough!! ( ´ ▽ ` )

But I really had a lot of fun translating this, haha. I was supposed to post it for LIPxLIP’s birthday this year, but well, I couldn’t fit it into my sched that time. And I’ve been busy afterwards, so I was only able to work on it again a few days ago. Anyways, YAY, FINALLY, I finished translating! I’m really proud of myself for doing so! (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ

----- 

Both: LIPxLIP FILMxLIVE Special Radio!

Aizou: Hello! This is LIPxLIP’s Aizou and-

Yuujirou: Yuujirou. Please take care of us.

Aizou: We’re in your care.

Yuujirou: It’s finally on sale.

Aizou: Finally! The Blu-ray and DVD containing the secret story behind the formation of our unit LIP×LIP!

Yuujirou: With that being said, it was released in the theaters nationwide in the year 2020 - LIP×LIP FILM×LIVE.

Aizou: This time, to commemorate the release of the Blu-Ray and DVD, the two of us will deliver a certain program. Applause, please. 

*clapping sfx*

Yuujirou: Listening to this program means you’ve already watched the main story, right?

Aizou: There might be inside stories about the movie and the LIVE, so for the people who have not seen it yet, please head over there and check it out.

Yuujirou: Nevertheless, yabai ne.

Aizou: What is?

Yuujirou: Because if you have this Blu-Ray, you can watch the movie and the LIVE for as many times as you like!

Aizou: Yes, yes! You can watch the scene where Yuujirou cuts his bangs for as much as you like!

Yuujirou: “I…can’t do the LIVE….” Aizou’s disheartened murmuring as well.

Aizou: Don’t say that!

Yuujirou: By the way, there have been a lot of reactions since the film was released, any reaction on your side?

Aizou: Speaking of which, a while after the movie came out, our classmates came close to me with smiles on their faces, and all of a sudden, they showed me their bags. When I thought, what about it…my can badge was pinned on it.

Yuujirou: The film’s benefits?

Aizou: Yes, yes. Of course, it made me happy…but I felt slightly embarrassed. But well…Yuujirou’s can badge is a different matter - it annoys me.

Yuujirou: Why? My can badge is great~

Yuujirou: But I’m grateful to have people close to us watch it.

Aizou: Yeah. I’m really thankful. And you, Yuujirou? Did something happen?

Yuujirou: Ah, just now- it’s about yesterday though. We had lessons until late yesterday, right? So, when I came back home, I could hear a woman’s sniffles coming from the living room- and while thinking ‘It’s scary. Scary.’, I opened the door and-

Aizou: You opened the door and...?

Yuujirou: With a bath towel in one hand, Mom was crying, watching our movie.

Yuujirou: Look, we received the Blu-Ray before the others, right.

Aizou: Yeah, well- I have a feeling it’s probably Yuujirou’s mother, but a bath towel-

Yuujirou: Though she also came to the theaters. It seems the more she watches it, the more she starts to cry from the get-go. Even now, she cries at the opening LIVE.

Aizou: Ah, she was crying at that part…?

Yuujirou: Wait, anyway- It’s not good to continue to stay in this corner.

Yuujirou: Aizou, hey, like this.

Aizou: Don’t order me.

Yuujirou: It’s because, here, Aizou will be in-charge of the script.

Aizou: Okay, fine! I just have to do it, right?

02:36

Aizou: And so, the first corner is “Because it is now that I can speak of it - the FILM×LIVE Inside Stories”.

*clapping sfx*

Aizou: Here in this corner, about half a year after the film was released, we can talk about LIP×LIP FILM×LIVE. Because it is now that we can speak of it. Things such as this and that happened. 

Yuujirou: Inside stories, huh.

Yuujirou: We did a lot of things for the release of our film, right.

Aizou: Yes, yes. We also used the live streaming software to broadcast it and everyone had a look.

Yuujirou: The secret footage of the dressing room will be seen by our Julietta.

Aizou: Don’t say secret footage! Manager knows it and she properly gave permission.

Yuujirou: “Eh? Don’t tell me- Aizou’s like this!?” You might see that side of him.

Aizou: If you say that, it applies to you too!  

Aizou: As to the story of the film, though you will know the reason why our unit name is LIP×LIP, this radio’s program was crazy at first.

Yuujirou: Yes, yes. President decided on that, right.

Aizou: That name ended up as, ‘Delivering to Julietta: Ai ♡ Yuu’

Yuujirou: The President says hackneyed is good, but as expected, it’s that.

Aizou: Don’t say that. Though I’ll do everything in my power to stop it.

Aizou: Or rather- there’s one thing I want to tell you!

Yuujirou: What is it?

Aizou: When there is a delivery, can we stop using rock-paper-scissors in choosing who will go first?

Yuuijrou: But why?

Yuujirou: It’s fair and square.

Aizou: Because I can’t win in janken (rock-paper-scissors)!

Aizou: Today as well, the sweets I wanted were taken by you.

Yuujirou: Aizou’s really weak at janken ne.

Aizou: Didn’t we fight over the tuna mayo onigiri in the movie?

Yuujirou: Ah, the ones that Uchida-san bought for us after our dance lessons?

Aizou: Yes, yes. I lost at janken that time. You ate the tuna mayo then.

Yuujirou: But since then, the tuna mayo rice balls we’ve been eating have become two.

Aizou: It did. It did. Ah but, there are times where it appears as a different bento in other studios. Like meat and fish. 

Yuujirou: There were. 

Aizou: At such times, why is it that every time I want to eat something it’s similar to you, I can’t win at  janken, and I feel like I’m the only one losing money.

Yuujirou: About that- Well- Ganbatte.

Aizou: The way you say it pisses me off!

Yuujirou: But, there is no quicker way to resolve it other than janken.

Aizou: For that- Today is the day I choose first. The next time is the day Yuujirou will choose first. 

Yuujirou: Ehhh, then- if Aizou wins at janken, then we will go with your suggestion.

Aizou: I told you- Didn’t we just talk about that I can’t win in that.

Yuujirou: You won’t know if you don’t try. Who knows, you might win by some possibility. For the time being, let’s do it once.

Aizou: He really said ‘by some possibility’. 

Yuujirou: Enough of that, look, let’s do it.

Both: Starting with rock, jankenpon!

Aizou: Why did I go with scissors-

Yuujirou: I’m rock, so it’s my win! And so- Aizou’s suggestion is rejected!

Aizou: Seems like I can’t win anymore in my lifetime.

Aizou: Ah, so- do you have none to share, Yuujirou? Some inside stories?

Yuuijrou: Oh right, it’s a story about our lessons. We receive vocal lessons too, right? 

Aizou: The snippets of that and our dance lessons were cut in the movie, right.

Yuujirou: I want to show those to Julietta.

Aizou: Why?

Yuujirou: Because- Aizou couldn’t even read the sheet music. Though IV-san, who came to our lessons, had a smile on his face, he must have been absolutely fed up with you.

Aizou: Even though I couldn’t read it, I could sing it just by listening to it.

Yuujirou: I heard it during our LIVE too, but you can properly read it now, right?

Aizou: Yes- Well- Perfectly.

Yuujirou: How suspicious. Though you couldn’t read the sheet music, you could sing the chorus well.

Aizou: That’s because- if I sing this part by how it feels, it will generally sound and feel good, right?

Yuujirou: It….will…? Anyway, forget it. In the next vocal lesson, I’ll check whether Aizou has learned to read sheet music or not, and I’ll wait for the opportunity to report the details in some way.

Aizou: No- you don’t have to do it!

Yuujirou: But, in terms of our lessons, we are greatly indebted to everyone from Full Throttle4.

Aizou: Truly. They are already busy on their own and they took the trouble to take care of us newcomers.

Yuujirou: After our lessons, they would occasionally come to the agency and see how we are.

Aizou: Oh, about that! I was invited by YUI-san to eat ramen.

Yuujirou: Eh!? I wasn’t invited!

Aizou: You went back first that day because you had something to do at your house.

Yuujirou: Take me along next time, then.

Aizou: You can just go with me.

Yuujirou: No, Aizou is out of the options.

Aizou: Why!?

06:43

Yuujirou: Ah, about the inside stories! I remembered one!

Aizou: What is it, what is it?

Yuujirou: There’s a secret place you told me about.

Aizou: Ah, that place where we practiced secretly after our lessons at the agency.

Yuujirou: Yes, there.

Yuujirou: We’ve practiced there many times but there was once a time that we were not able to practice at all.

Aizou: There was?

Yuujirou: There was! When we were practicing, a stray cat came out of nowhere, and Aizou was all, ‘You’re adorable! Where did you come from?’ and became so madly in love with the cat.

Aizou: Don’t exaggerate the story!

Aizou: I did think of the cat as adorable but ‘dechuu ne’- there’s no way I’d say that!

[T/N: dechuu ne -  a cute form of desu ne]

Yuujirou: Well, you didn’t say it but-

Aizou: See, I knew it!

Yuujirou: But, the ‘we were not able to practice’ was true.

Aizou: That’s because...when a cat rubs against one’s legs, most people will pat their heads, right?

Yuujirou: They don’t rub against me…

Aizou: What, were you envious?

Yuujirou: I am not envious! I am a dog person.

Aizou: Yes, yes~ if you say so.

07:33

Aizou: Ah, do you have any inside story about the LIVE part this time?

Yuujirou: Oh yeah… The LIVE this time around..from the set-list to the small details of the performance, we put forward a lot of our suggestions, right? 

Aizou: Hmm yeah, the staff had numerous meetings as well.

Yuujirou: Yes, that’s why, we were aware of how the performance will go in general. But even so, Aizou, when he saw the sparks in the performance he was all, ‘Amazing!! Wow!! That’s awesome!!’ like a primary schooler would.

Aizou: Are you exaggerating again?

Yuujirou: This one just now was not.

Aizou: Ah- no, but-! That can’t be helped! Wait, Yuujirou was excited, too!

Yuujirou: Not as much as Aizou though.

Yuujirou: But really, it was more amazing than we imagined.

Aizou: It was incredible. And later, the light from the penlights as seen from the stage was stunning.

Yuujirou: Aizou can’t say anything other than yabai.

Aizou: Shut up! It was truly stunning! Everyone’s waving their blue and yellow penlights-

Yuujirou: There was a lot of blue. It was beautiful.

Aizou: Haa? There was more yellow!

Yuujirou: Blue!

Aizou: Yellow!

08:33

Aizou: Ah, but- LOVE&KISS made its debut this time and it was exceptionally well-received.

Yuujirou: Yes, that’s right. Everyone was enthusiastic during the solo dance part in the interlude before the last chorus.

Aizou: Just as I thought, it was correct to add dynamic dance steps to it!

Yuujirou: Yes, by the way, does Aizou have any favorite lyrics in LOVE&KISS?

Aizou: Ah, there’s a lot, but I think it’s the chorus. 

Aizou: Zettai yume wa, zettai kimi no, LOVE&KISS~ 

Aizou: Zettai muri wa, zekkouchou de kowashichae~

Aizou: That part.

Yuujirou: Other than that?

Aizou: Ah, right. Before the chorus.

Aizou: Kugidzuke ni shite yaru~

Aizou: I also like that one.

Yuujirou: Ah, that was close!

Aizou: Eh? What do you mean by ‘close’?

Yuujirou: There are similar lyrics at the end of the last chorus, right? Not the ‘kugidzuke ni shite yaru’.

Aizou: Yakitsuke sasete ageru yo…?

Yuujirou: With that being said, the next is this-!!

Yuujirou: Like a kiss, we want to convey these words to you. A corner in which we set fire to the hearts of Julietta!

*clapping sfx*

09:37

Yuujirou: In this corner, with a given situation, we will speak lines that can set fire to Julietta’s heart using dialogues!

Aizou: Hey, don’t continue like nothing happened!

Yuujirou: Eh, what?

Aizou: You made me say it needlessly! Like the ‘yakitsuke sasate ageru yo’!

Yuujirou: But we can’t go to the next corner if you don’t do it.

Aizou: No. Do it normally.

Yuujirou: Alright, first, an example!

Yuujirou: Oh no! When you open your eyes, somehow, you’ve turned into a frog! Not to mention, there is a big snake in front of you. You have to find a way to convince the snake in order for you to overcome this crisis.

Aizou: No, no, wait a minute-

Yuujirou: What is it?

Aizou: I want to question a lot of things- but- this will not set fire to Julietta’s heart but the snake’s instead!

Yuujirou: As far as the result is concerned, is it not enough if it can make an impression in the hearts of Julietta?

Aizou: Don’t be so calm about it. 

Aizou: Anyway, there will be some topics that require you to get through the crisis splendidly?

Yuujirou: Looks like it.

Yuujirou: And so, first up- Aizou’s assigned theme is this.

10:33

Yuujirou: You are a popular idol. Today is the important final day of your LIVE performance. But, oh no! You have to go to the toilet mid-concert. How would you say a cool excuse so you can go to the restroom?

Yuujirou: No, this might actually happen. I think practicing in advance will not hurt.

Aizou: It might not hurt but that’s something we shouldn’t do!

Aizou: Even so, a cool excuse...

Yuujirou: Have you thought of something?

Aizou: Ah, well…I'll give it a try for the time being.

Yuujirou: Well then, Aizou’s lines that will set fire to Julietta’s heart are in 3, 2, 1…if you please.

Aizou: Everyone. I'm really grateful you came to our LIVE today. Today is the finale so I am deeply touched. Wait, that won’t do. The light of your penlights blurs so much and I can’t see clearly at all. I want to properly see everyone’s faces, so please wait a bit, I’ll go get a towel!

Yuujirou: No, that’s too long!

Aizou: Why!? I did my very best!

Yuujirou: Indeed, it is a more of an enthusiastic speech than I imagined, but-

Aizou: Then you try it, Yuujirou! So you'll know how difficult it was for me!

Yuujirou: Uwah, Don't wanna~

Aizou: Don't say you don't want to!

Aizou: And so, Yuujirou’s assigned theme is this.

11:43

Aizou: You made it into the toilet just in time. But, oh no, there's no toilet paper, but just as you thought of that, there is a person in the cubicle next to you. Lucky. So you won't be found out that you are an idol, coolly take the paper.

Yuujirou: But somehow, it’s connected to Aizou’s theme.

Aizou: Seems like it.

Aizou: But this scenario is more likely than the previous one.

Yuujirou: I mean, us and the one in the scenarios are idols, but the situations are all toilet-themed..what’s going on.

Aizou: *nervous laughter* It's alright, I guess…?

Aizou: Are you going to do it soon?

Yuujirou: Uhmm, one way or another...?

Aizou: Okay. Then, Yuujirou’s lines that will set fire to Julietta’s heart are in 3, 2, 1…if you please.

Yuujirou: I- Hanako-san- Will you become my friend? No? Then, in exchange, can you give me the toilet paper?

Aizou: No- Wai- Wait! Wait!

Yuujirou: *laughing* What?

Aizou: Why Hanako-san!? Isn't that the male's restroom!?

Yuujirou: It wasn't mentioned whether the characters are males or not.

Aizou: But even so...in exchange for not being your friend, to give the toilet paper...

Yuujirou: It's fine as long as it’s not found out I'm an idol, right.

Aizou: Well yes, but- exactly where in those lines are supposed to be the ‘cool’ factor....

Yuujirou: Okay~ Here comes the next one!

12:53

Yuujirou: After using the restroom, you are about to go back to the LIVE; but unexpectedly, there is an alien invasion. Please persuade the extraterrestrial beings who want to take you away, in an exceptional manner.

Aizou: The themes are enigmatic stories…and even *SF has appeared.

[T/N: SF = Science Fiction]

Yuujirou: Sure enough, if you want to aim for greater heights as an idol, you cannot take one or two extraterrestrial beings as captives, okay?

Yuujirou: Aizou, do your best~

Aizou: Stop talking nonsense!

Aizou: Well.. But fine, I’ll see what I can do.

Yuujirou: Then, Aizou’s lines that will set fire to Julietta’s heart in 3, 2, 1…if you please.

13:34

Aizou: Of course, your feelings towards me make me happy. I am glad, but there are people waiting for me. Julietta is waiting for me. That’s why, I’m sorry. I can’t reciprocate your feelings. Ah, but if you’d like, you can come see our LIVE. We will show you that we can definitely capture you.

Yuujirou: Like I said, it’s too long!

Aizou: It’s fine even if it’s long!

Yuujirou: But wait, can cosmic beings communicate with us?

Aizou: If you destabilize such a premise, I’ll be helpless!

Yuujirou: Like you know, communicate with a unique dance.

Aizou: Then, I can’t convey it through the radio! 

Aizou: Okay, next! The next is the last one!

Aizou: Just as you thought that the aliens returned back somehow, everything that happened before now was actually a dream. You, who are late for school, make a cool excuse to your teacher.

Yuujirou: The unexpected ‘it was all a dream’ ending!

Aizou: Haha, but an excuse for being tardy is your specialty. You can do it, right?

Yuujirou: It’s not like it’s my specialty. And I’m not late! I make sure I am right on time!

Aizou: Oh speaking of, at the beginning of our LIVE of our movie, you were almost late! Honestly, stop hiding somewhere to sleep after our rehearsals! Searching for you is troublesome.

Yuujirou: You don’t have to look for me. But more than that, can I answer now?

Aizou: Make sure to say an impressive line this time.

Aizou: Then, Yuujirou’s lines that will set fire to Julietta’s heart in 3, 2, 1…if you please.

14:50

Yuujirou: I’m sorry! There was a girl who was lost and crying, so I walked with her to the toilet. Although she goes by the name Hanako-san.

Aizou: It’s the unexpected Hanako-san ending!

Yuujirou: This time is seriously impressive, right?

Aizou: Rather than being impressive, it’s half-hearted! Your excuse will definitely be seen through as a lie in no time!

Yuujirou: It might not be a lie, you know!

Aizou: No, is this corner alright? Did it properly set fire to the hearts of Julietta?

Yuujirou: As long as they had fun, isn’t it fine?

15:20

Yuujirou: And so, that was the “Like a kiss, we want to convey these words to you. A corner in which we set fire to the hearts of Julietta!”

Aizou: This program is ending soon, but once again, how did you feel about the film?

Yuujirou: That’s right. How should I put it, it’s been a long time since the film was announced. So somehow, I feel like, “We’ve finally come this far”.

Aizou: True. Before we knew it. 

Aizou: Forming a unit, debuting, and being able to stand in a great stage called FILMxLIVE. 

Yuujirou: It’s not something you usually experience, right? Once again, I am glad I took the first step when I saw the audition.

Aizou: Right? This is also for every Julietta who is listening. The things you want or would like to do...you may have a lot of dreams you want to realize. If you are lost, for the time being, I want you to take the first step forward. That’s what I think.

Yuujirou: He’s right. And to think that I rarely agree with Aizou.

Aizou: Don’t say rarely.

Yuujirou: But it is true. That time, I took the step forward because I also wanted to change. And now, the things I want to do keep increasing. I’m really happy with who I am presently, and I really feel that I am blessed.

Aizou: Certainly. But isn’t it difficult to continue doing your best? At times like those, it would be great if we could become an existence that can give strength to Julietta.

Yuujirou: You’re right. Aizou already said it in the interview, but when you are exhausted, please give our songs a listen.

Aizou: Hey, when I sang Kono Sekai no Tanoshimikata, I felt a sort of tightness in my chest. I have a feeling that we were singing it more to ourselves instead. So, I hope it encourages everyone who will listen to the song.

Yuujirou: I get that feeling! The song is perfect for this movie, right?

Aizou: Really, as expected of Haniwa-san.

Aizou: Please take care of LIPxLIP from now on and in the future.

Yuujirou: Please treat us well.

17:06

Aizou: We may be like this, but lastly, do you have anything like ‘I want to do something like this!’ in the future?

Yuujirou: Ah, yeah. Through this movie, I really felt that there are actually many people who support us. We also received a lot of power from everyone’s responses, didn’t we? That is why, with that kind of meaning of repaying gratitude, I want to do more things that will make Julietta happy in the future. 

Aizou: And in order to do that, we have to ‘power up’! You and I. But first of all, shall we go together for a run tomorrow? 

Yuujirou: I don’t want to! When I run with you, I will be smacked on the back and you will definitely provoke me!

Yuujirou: Furthermore, you don’t go easy on me! Show some mercy; that hurts, you know! Do you understand me?

Aizou: What’s with you. It shows I’m cheering for you! Like, “Hey, do you best!”

Yuujirou: Your help is uncalled for. I have my own pace and I will run by myself!

Aizou: Uwah, you’re not cute at all.

Yuujirou: I don’t want Aizou to think of me as cute.

Yuujirou: More than that, lastly, let’s end this with a message to Julietta.

Aizou: Got it. 

Aizou: Thank you for listening until now. Watch the film over and over again, okay? I love you, Julietta!

Yuujirou: I look forward to the day that we can meet you again. I love you, Julietta!

Aizou: And that ends it! This is LIPxLIP’s Aizou and-

Yuujirou: Yuujirou!

Both: Bye, bye!!

~END

[widgenstain]

Alright, almost a week later, here is my review of Vanya and the night I saw it. Autocorrect didn't let me type this on my phone in my grimy bunk bed and that cold got me good, but here are my thoughts! @itsathingialwayssay , @shegottosayit , @illfayted17 this might interest you. Be aware, there are spoilers for the play as well as the production behind the read more.

I saw the play on Monday September 25th, so my opinions are based on that evening, can’t say anything about other nights!

I’ll start with some negatives:

The theatre. Not so much the interior or the personnel, who are absolutely lovely, but why oh why did I have to hear the trains throughout the whole performance?! At first, I thought it was on purpose, with it being the Russian country side, so you might hear some trains here and there, but no, it’s Charing Cross that you hear. Also it’s freaking expensive, but we knew that.

Secondly, I was annoyed by the audience. It was a surprisingly large number of classic elderly theatre goers, who all seemed to enjoy themselves a lot (except for one guy who snored), some teenagers dragged there by their parents (or the promise of seeing Moriarty) and some assholes, like the ladies next to me. One came in after the first act, prosecco in hand, they whispered to each other during weird moments and generally seemed bored and/or disappointed. Which is their prerogative, you don’t have to like everything I do, but with these two it seemed… performative.

Also, about the standing ovations: I get Andrew’s critique, it’s dumb if you feel like you MUST do it, but the fact is, that in a theatre that small, you don’t get to see the person bowing, if you don’t stand up. So yeah, people stood up, I did too (because unlike in Austria where you clap for like 5 minutes if you DIDN’T like it and for like 30 if you did, in the UK they only come out to take a bow once or twice and I wanted to see him), but these two ladies just left with sourpuss faces.

Thirdly the cigarettes. I knew he was going to smoke on stage, what I wasn’t prepared for was them smelling this bad. They’re not normal cigarettes, they’re of the self-rolled, cheap student tobacco kind, that you only really use for blunts. They reeked. If you’re in the first few rows, I’m sorry.

Fourthly, I don’t know if the play really lent itself to a one man show. Don’t get me wrong, I loved what Simon did with it, the way he mostly cut out the love rivalry between Vanya and the doctor, and shifted the focus more on Helena was a great decision. It made the play more cohesive and boiled it down to its message quicker. Loved the modern language and the Britishisms (could have dealt without the name changes, no one is called Vanya in a play named Vanya) and it was truly laugh out loud funny at times, which is great, because I’m depressed enough without listening to depressed Russian people for a full show.

But still, while it all worked in the end, I think there are plays better suited for this treatment. I have spoken to shegottosayit about this, but I also think they kinda expected a familiarity with the play, because it helps you following the plot. I talked to two girls in the queue outside though and they weren’t familiar with the play and understood it well, so what do I know.

Which brings me to the great stuff. The whole thing starts with Andrew just wandering on stage, smiling into the audience, switching off our lights and turning them on on stage. As if to communicate, ok, we’re in the theatre, you’re here to watch a play, I am an actor doing that play, like we’re all in on a joke. He starts with the different characters and they all have an identifier. For example, Vanya has his sunglasses, Helena her chain, Sonya her dishrag and it’s all nice, haha, see the actor is using props, so you know who is who, it’s simple and harmless. That’s how he gets you. Because he doesn’t need them and over the course of the play he starts playing and fucking with them and it’s SO GOOD!

He doesn’t change his voice much between characters, except the two “funny” ones (and maybe Alexander), there he goes a bit into more comical registers, but for the main characters he pretty much uses the same voice. And you still can tell them apart! Because he changes posture, his body language, yes, his tone, but not his voice and the levels of masculinity and femininity (in a traditional sense), yet he never veers into camp or offensive (that aspect really fed into my unpopular opinion on the whole “straight actors in gay roles” discourse, which I will never talk about). It’s incredible to watch how fast and seamlessly he does that and how effortless too. That’s the craziest thing about watching him act, he makes it seem easy, as if it’s nothing to him.

And the faces. The theatre has opera binoculars you can rent for one pound, I forgot my glasses (mild myopia, objects further away get blurry after a long day, especially if they’re an actor I’m watching from the second to last row), so I was super glad to have them and look at his face close up. What did I see? He changes faces. I’ve seen him do it before, but in this it’s instantly and so quickly! I’m not gonna lie, it’s a bit creepy how he can change his facial shape somehow and go from sweet Sonya to hardened Ivan Vanya. It’s not just countenance or expressions, it’s something else and wow is it impressive! But a bit scary too once you think about it. ^^’

Also “zooming in” on him really cleared up something I’ve been wondering about ever since I’ve seen King Lear: One of Andrew’s biggest shortcomings on film can be that he sometimes comes across as too much, as a bit over the top. It is a theatre actor thing and he’s not the only one doing it (especially not in King Lear) and yes, that completely disappears live on stage. He acts for the whole house, but it always feels natural.

The one thing that felt a little bit forced was the singing in the end, he's right, he’s not a good singer (sorry!) and it took me out a little bit. The ending of Vanya is beautiful and heartfelt, I get what they wanted to achieve with him singing “If you go away”, it was a pause, a mood setter, but I think there are better ways to do this than through a musical interlude. That said, I saw A Little Life the other night, which is by the same production company, they made poor James Norton sing too and compared to him Andrew sings like an angel. So maybe I’m just a massive snob (hint: I am).

The other things that took me out a little were the sex scenes. Yeah, sex scenes in a one man play where the original play has none (at least not explicitly so). Damn, it’s been almost a week and my mind is still reeling from them. Did I like them? I have no fucking clue! I seriously need to talk to someone who didn’t have Andrew star in all her lonely sexy fantasies for the past 4 years, because I need to know how they affected someone with a normal, working brain who is not me.

I was torn between “wtf is going on” “JESUS HE TOOK HIS SHIRT OFF” “…you’re watching a dude make out with himself…” “…the sounds…” “don’t look at his naked back while he’s humping the stage, that’s rude, OH GOD YES LOOK AT HIS NAKED BACK, LOOK AT IT MOVE”. The second scene was even worse, because he’s standing up against a door, entangles his fucking impressive arms and moans as the lady while you see him move as the guy. Which was, yes, hotconfusingweird too, but I could have dealt with it, if he hadn’t mimed the penetration literally two seconds before and my brain just short-circuited and disappeared downstairs. The third confusingly hot thing happens in the end, when the doctor says his goodbyes. It’s actually a very good and touching scene, it has been set up that he’s falling into alcoholism and now that all his endeavours are nil, he downs more than half a bottle of vodka. We’ve all seen Andrew chug that beer in The Town and he does it here as well, but it takes a while and it’s so quiet in the theatre that you can hear him swallow and cry all the way through. Yeah. Yeah, I know.

Seriously though, there are more than one moment when the whole theatre is just stock-still. I mean, people laughed and reacted, again, one guy snored, I sighed a lot at Sonya (#ohlookitme), but in the important moments the theatre was dead quiet. Except for Charing Cross, of course.

When I left the theatre, my brain was buzzing and I walked out right into the backstage area. I read “backstage to the right” and was ready to walk to the right, even though no one was there. Except that stupid me HAD to ask the security, who I recognised from pics and the Cyrano backstage, if that was the way to the signings. And no, it wasn’t, that’s literally in front of the theatre (and honestly, probably why there are no selfies allowed this time, if they were, people would block that busy street for hours), I was walking towards the actual stage door. If I had had just one ounce of more self-confidence, I just could have kept on walking into the dressing rooms, God damnit!! (I’m kidding, I would never do that, and it would most likely get me banned for life, but still, it was a funny situation and that security was actually really nice and cool).

As for the signing, it’s a straight-forward affair, you line up, you move forwards, he signs your stuff, you move on (except if you’re an old lady, but more of that later). I soaked him in in all my manic brain overloaded happiness while waiting for my turn though, and the first thing I noticed was that he isn’t as short as people pretend he is. Yes, he wore some trainers with a thicker sole, but with them he wasn’t that much shorter than I am. Perfect height, for eye-contact, just saying.

Second thing was that he’s in the shape of his life, dear Lord! I always read him as wiry, which can look buff on screen, but no, he’s genuinely, proper buff. Those are some serious arms and just generally he’s wider than I would have expected. Other than that, he looks pretty much exactly like he does on screen. Some actors don’t, they’re either plainer or prettier (Anne-Marie Duff, she really was fucked over by some cruel form of unphotogenicness) in fact, the second night I went there I saw Sam Yates (he shook my hand :D) and he does not look like he does in pics for example. Andrew does. He has a fascinating and alive face and looks just like he did in that Vanity Fair video, except without the orange goo.

The first night I saw Simon Stephens coming out the stage door too and I literally hopped over to him, beaming like a loon. He and the people he was with were SO nice and so helpful, he signed my version of Vanya (the German edition) and I could actually voice my thoughts (which I couldn’t with Andrew) and tell him how much his interviews have helped me through the lockdowns and how I admire his writing, bla bla bla.

Anyway, I made him laugh, he shook my hand and said “it was a pleasure meeting you [widge’s real name]” in which moment my jaw literally did that looney tunes thing and dropped to my chest. Night was MADE, you don’t understand how much!

[Here I cut out a large chunk of extra thoughts to allow myself to post this in the tags]

Anyway, back to the old lady, she was the one who made Andrew laugh during the signing (LOVE that laugh), I passed her on the way back to the train and had to talk to her. She was a proper lady, dressed elegantly and she was the first damn person outside the theatre who understood my need to DISCUSS the play! Everyone else in the line was talking about other things, I had to PROCESS what had happened. She and her assistant were so cool, and she said she’d absolutely loved it and had a ton of other well thought through opinions on it. Big fan of her, no idea what her name is, but we all should get some cool older ladies to talk about theatre with, when our brains are buzzing with so many new impressions!

I aimlessly wandered on over the Thames after that, sat down in some red paint on the way, which made my jeans look interesting for the rest of the trip and had to just move for a while to cool down. I did go to the queue the next day too, just to be a little less tongue tied around Andrew (it did not work, whatsoever xD), but that was the day Joe Alwyn and a fox made an appearance, so it was totally worth it. As was the whole international camaraderie in the queue. Honestly, I’ve missed that, just people being excited about something together, I got hugged by a tiny Indian (?) girl and a Russian lady, all because we’re a bunch of excited nerds outside of theatre. It felt fucking great.