#i also always worry about the balance between magic and slice of life because this comic DOES involve a lot of magic but also a lot of NO MA

[musubiki]

Hello!! I've followed you on twitter for a while for your pokemon stuff, but stayed for your cute ocs and art style! I really adore your comics, and I was wondering if it's okay to share some tips or tutorials on how you make them (panels/expression/dialogue)? Or maybe just your general process!! I also want to improve on drawing comics and you have been a big inspiration 💕

AAAA THANK U SO MUCH!!! 😭💖💖💖 IM JUS GONNA PUT SOME TIPS CUZ DOING A WHOLE TUTORIAL WOULD TAKE TOO MUCH TIME I THINK,,,these are just newbie tips cuz i dont rly know what im doing so far either 😭😭😭

- i always do the script for a comic first!!! and i usually wait a while between doing the script and actually drawing it since i usually end up changing/thinking up new ideas after a few days!!

- ive read that a good way to break panels is “one panel per emotion”!! so dont try to fit like 3 different emotions into one panel!! (BUT ive seen official mangas like GSNK bend that rule and they end up putting normal tone at the beginning of one panel and ending it with an angry tone without the characters face changing!! that also can work!!)

- i just put one tone over the whole page and set it to overlay. my stupid ass is too tired to give each hair/article of clothing a different tone (unless you wanna make ur character stand out a bit more, like all my characters right now are just gonna have normal toned hair but i wanna give taffy sandpaper toned hair)

- i try not to break up my script into pages, but instead i open a canvas, and make boxes according to how i picture it in my head!! before i used to pre-break the script into pages just to find out the pacing was weird/off and found its better to go back and forth between your script and your comic page so you can make boxes as you go if that makes sense????

- like sometimes you might wanna add an extra pause panel because one wasnt enough, or something like that, its better to just add it instead of having to go back and re-seperate your whole script again

- Clip studio has a lot of manga panel/page resources but i am too lazy to figure it all out so i just use the grid and put boxes how i want using the grid as a guide!!

- gotta decide which colors classify into which monochrome color 👁👁 mine is a little funky cuz obviously pastel pink is lighter than the orange of limes hair, yet limes hair is white in my comic and the pastel pink is a light gray..,,.,,just gotta work with your colors to make sure theres not too many similar grays right next to each other or else it gets confusing/hard to see 😭

- BIG TIP: if a panel is ugly, just accept it. dont spend 5+ hours trying to make it absolutely perfect cuz lemme tell you, you can draw a whole ass mona lisa of a panel and 90% of people will spend 2 seconds on it reading the dialouge and will just move on and forget about it cuz theyre trying to read the story. no one will notice or care it looks a little off (unless its one of those PAGE LONG panels AND/OR the pic is the main focus of the panel then yknow,,,,obviously u gotta make it nice. but if its just “i need a picture for this dialouge panel” dont worry too much. it ees what it ees.)

- figure out what process works best for you!! whether its “i sketch all my pages, then line all my pages, then color all my pages, etc” or “i do one whole page at a time and dont move on until its fully colored and texted up” or “i skip around depending on what panels i want to draw more” (me)!!! 

- its a learning process!! for me too!!! im sure in a month or a year you’ll know a lot more about comic making if you make more comics!!! first page is gonna look bad anyway. just gotta power through pages like a steamboat and not look back at them and hopefully you’ll eventually get to a point where you can read your own comics without cringing (im not there yet shdhdjdjd)

- for me, making comics is just a continuous process of “this panel is ugly” and “i hope im conveying the right emotion” and “i hope the read understands this part”, and the whole time youre doing it just repeating “its fine, its fine, its fine,” over and over again until your comic is finished

- EDIT: ONE MORE!!!!!! you only need a minimum of one background panel per page just to remind the reader of the environment!!!! no need to have background on every panel!!! have some pattern/plain backgrounds too!!!

[that-foul-legacy-lover]

sir, ma’am, person, or other pronouns, you cannot just post good writing ideas right before I sleep /j

I’d like to see that golden house prompt as a short story,,, possibly????😳

-💃

spoiler! i ain't good at choreographing fights but uh i THINK i was poetic enough so it still sounds cool??? hope that's ok!! this is also inspired by some of the brainrot i've been having and getting in the past few days so i can definitely make a part two!! also normal Childe’s there for a bit original prompt was of FL Childe injuring you during the golden house fight!! read Part Two here!!: The Sky’s Tears ~ * ~ Golden House is Falling Down Foul Legacy Childe x Reader Gender Neutral (no pronouns mentioned) Angst Warnings: Worrying, descriptions of anger, fighting (battles), a corpse, allusions to blood, pain, potential death, lightning, electrocution

~ * ~

Sometimes Childe worried you. It came with his job, you supposed. You were well aware of his status as a Fatui Harbinger, although you’ve never personally seen him at work- it had been a casual accident when you walked into him discussing plans with his subordinates. The two of you hadn’t been close back then, only acquaintances, and he made you swear to secrecy. Well, technically he had threatened you, but you didn’t particularly mind. You weren’t as in love with Liyue as some of your friends were, and you, unlike many people, understood the importance of a well-paying job. Having his position exposed to the public could very well get him fired. Those had been your concerns, so long ago. But now, as you hurried after the Traveler in all their glory, those pitiful worries seemed so far away, replaced instead by anxious thoughts flurrying by about life and death. You weren’t anyone of particular importance in the harbor, but you always made sure to pay careful attention to any rumors and gossip you heard. You always took them with a grain of salt, of course, but you had long ago learned that it was good to keep things you heard in your mind as potential possibilities. Liyue had a habit of having “impossible” events happen anyways. It really got on your nerves sometimes. Last week’s whispers had been full of a Fatui plan about meddling with the panicking government, after Rex Lapis had allegedly fallen from the sky, his status as the oldest living archon gone. Seeing that the Fatui’s reputation wasn’t particularly good, you had filed the thought away to consider later. A few days later, it came true. And Childe seemed to vanish into thin air, shifting your worries instantaneously over to him. It was funny, how close the two of you had gotten in the weeks he’d been in Liyue. At least, you were close to him. The Traveler was kind enough to let you accompany them to the famed Golden House, just to cover all possible leads. Their steps are light and quick as you approach the elegant building, all lined with gold and jade, and you can almost hear the tinkling sound of mora within. The Traveler stares up at the enormous door, clutching their sword. They seem prepared for a fight. You gulp, hoping that their stance is just how they stand as a default. The doors to the Golden House swing open, and the Traveler gestures for you to follow them, a determined look in their eyes. You enter together, and momentarily you’re distracted by the piles of mora scattered around the floor- probably more mora than you’d see in your entire life. Your eyes scan the room as the glimmer of coins snatches your attention, a tendency that friends and family had always teased you lightheartedly about- they’d call you a crow or a magpie. You didn’t mind being a bird. It sounded fun, to fly away from all your problems. Finally your gaze lands on the corpse of Rex Lapis, floating in the center-back of the room like a morbid decoration put on display. Despite it being very, very dead, it emanates an aura of power, and you involuntarily shiver, the temperature seeming to drop by a few degrees. Suddenly you hear the great doors of the Golden House slam shut, and someone’s voice questions why they, the Traveler, still lingered. The three of you, little Paimon included, turn in surprise. It’s Childe, the very person you were fretting over and looking for. You sigh quietly in relief, but your fleeting moment of calm is quickly dashed as the Traveler silently challenges him to a duel. Hastily you scramble to get out of the way, and just barely find yourself “out-of-bounds” when the arena for their fight flares to life as they both ready their weapons. Childe retrieves his bow with a twisted smile, a counterpart to the Traveler’s iron stoicness. But it seems his gaze lingers on you, and softens for a brief moment, something you tell yourself is just your imagination, because you doubt he was ever your friend to begin with. As someone whose work isn’t associated with adventuring, your knowledge of combat is limited, but even you can see the

skill of both the Traveler and Childe as their blades clash. Several times a burst of elemental energy strikes the burning walls of the arena, and you’re thankful for the barrier between you and them, because you have very little chance of surviving the power of their abilities. When Childe’s clothes darken and the mask falls over his face, you remember hearing something about a far more powerful and dangerous version of Visions- Delusions, items the Tsaritsa, Cryo Archon and ruler of Snezhnaya, rewards to her most loyal and deserving followers. Childe’s is Electro, and the crackle of static energy he slashes towards the Traveler makes your hair stand on end. You shield your eyes from the bright lights dancing around the arena, and when you reopen them, Childe has disappeared. And he reappears next to Rex Lapis’ corpse. Several things happen at once. The Geo Archon’s Gnosis is gone, taken by neither the Harbinger or the Traveler. Paimon looks worried, the Traveler looks shocked, and Childe enraged- You blink and he’s changed. Suddenly several feet taller, he now floats, some sort of terrible creature you’ve never seen before. Everything is loud, too loud, and you clap your hands over your ears, as the floor breaks away beneath you. And you fall with the Traveler and Paimon into the chamber below. You feel something catch you- an enormous clawed hand- and set you down more or less gently into a single large room. The room is the arena, an arena you stand in with no escape. The Gnosis is gone, and Childe is a monster, one of both Hydro and Electro and a foreign, starry magic that makes your skin crawl. And the battle only continues. Luckily the Traveler is adamant on staying away from you, drawing Childe’s attacks to the other side of the arena entirely, and for a majority of the fight the most you have to do is dodge falling arrows and water amalgamations. Childe’s furious questions about the Gnosis soon fade into hisses and growls as he loses himself more and more into the horrible joy of battle. You lean over, coughing slightly from the water that splashed you as a consequence of his attacks and the exertion from dodging and keeping your balance in the Hydro-soaked room. The Traveler screams, and you look up too late as a burst of electro slashes across your chest. Then everything goes white and high pitched, your senses bursting alongside the elemental energy as it runs up your damp skin and clothes. The pain from the combination of Hydro and Electro in your veins brings tears to your eyes, and it’s only amplified around your torso as you vaguely feel something warm and sticky dripping down. Someone shakes you, panicking, calling your name, but everything is white, cold noise. The sounds around you are muffled as the battle slows to a halt, and all you hear is ringing. Another hand, sharp and clawed, brushes against your arm, but it retreats when someone starts shouting. A blade is brandished as someone yells at a monster to stay away, he’s done enough damage, how dare he, and you hear a mournful, desperate chitter through the haze of static. Ah, that curious sound, it makes your heart ache. But what, or who, is it? The sword slices through the air as the monster is pushed away by a blonde-haired Traveler’s rage, and it soon joins into the pitching, ringing note in your ears before it tapers into silence and sorrow, leaving only the inky abyss of darkness crawling up to your eyes as the pain fades into weightlessness. This time, you let yourself fall. In the harbor, the Fair Lady is informed that the Golden House is falling down, falling down.

[twstdreams]

Cooking with Cater!~

Happy Holidays @caters-simp! I hope you enjoy your gift!

Content warning: food, female!reader, Santa, festive holiday

“Do we have all the ingredients?” you ask while eyeing the piles of produce on the counter. The idea is to have everything spread out beforehand so you’re not missing anything and it’s all organized, but somehow this is looking a bit more like everything is categorized by aesthetic rather than mise en place.

“Yes! ♪” Cater confirms while taking a picture of the ingredients along with a grocery list with every single item crossed off, “Let’s caption this with a question! Guess what we’re making! #holidaycooking #cookingwithmygf #selfmadetreat”

You two had decided to cook at Heartslabyul rather than at your dorm Pomefiore, because you didn’t want Vil’s nagging if you ate a bunch of high caloric food. You’re sure he’d let you cook so long as you cleaned up and your dorm leader wouldn’t oppose festive meals, but you know he wouldn’t let you skip out on having to do extra exercise to make up for it.

“Let’s get started!” you announce. Cater comes up with a million ideas and you help bring them to reality and connect them to an outcome and that stays true for your festive dinner. Cater excels at multi-tasking and keeping an eye on the stovetop while remembering to set the timer for anything that goes in the oven. Cater helps out when cooking, making sure to dish out compliments as you work, but you can tell plating is his favourite part.

You leave the assembly of the charcuterie board to Cater as he sets up a picture perfect placement with your favourite meats and cheeses. You notice some spicy salami and habanero cheddar cheese, but you’re sure he chose a couple based on appearance. 

You roll the carrot slices into a rose and make sure to tie it together before basting it in chilli garlic butter in a pan. At the same time, you pan fry your steaks until one is a nice medium rare for Cater and another your preferred level of cooked. As you’re keeping a careful eye on the food, you feel Cater’s arms wrap around your waist.

“Time for a picture! We look so cute in matching outfits!~” Cater insists and you flash a smile before hearing the distinctive click of his phone camera. You admit your matching festive clothing is adorable, but you think the bright grins you both wear are more endearing “I’m going to caption it ‘Cooking up a feast!’ Now to choose some emojis full of feeling!

A streak of spicy aioli decorates the plate before you carefully place the steak on top. Beside your carrot rose, and the impressive charcuterie board, it’s a delectable holiday feast! The two of you set the table and it looks good enough to be in a magazine. Napkins are folded to look like animals, cutlery is tied with a festive bow, sprigs of evergreen and berries are artfully placed on the table, and your favourite candles are lit. It’s a combination of your aesthetics, Cater’s trendy taste and your personal definition of beauty that you’ve refined at Pomefiore. 

“It looks so good! ♪“ Cater comments while taking a plethora of pictures. You take a picture of him while he aims his phone at you for cute matching images. More than the food, it captures the memory and feelings which will always be sweet to you.

“I’m hungry. Let’s eat now,” you insist and the two of you dig into the dishes. Small talk ensures, from your favourite new series, the classes you have next term, and so on. Nothing life-changing but it’s comforting all the same. You two take turns feeding each other fun combinations from the charcuterie board. The carrot rose is tender with a crisp outside and the steak is soft and the spicy aioli helps cut through the fattiness. By the end, your stomach feels like it could rival Santa’s.

There’s a mountain of dishes to clean between all the plating and cooking that took place the last few hours. You know it has to be dealt with but the question is when.

Will you:

Clean right away

Take a break, then clean when you get back

Clean right away route has been chosen!

“Come on, we better clean it now or else Riddle might get upset. Or worse Trey could get mad!” you exclaim. Riddle raging is nothing new but upsetting truly was a scary experience. The vice dorm leader might never raise his voice, but you would have to pay for your mistakes too.

“That’s true. Cay-kun doesn’t want to see Trey-kun’s angry side! Alright!” With an exaggerated wave of his wand and an uttering of a spell, your boyfriend has quadrupled, “Time to clean!”

Washing dishes is never fun, but it’s not so bad with Cater’s clones and festive music blasting in the kitchen. You definitely need some hand cream by the end, but it’s satisfying to see everything cleaned up and tidy.

“Oh wow, you guys did a good job,” Trey compliments while entering the kitchen. He looks a little haggard, you’re sure there’s been some kind of drama that you want no part of, but it’s not the first time you’re glad Vil is your dorm leader instead of the other options. 

“I made an extra cake, but I won’t need it anymore. You can have it, don’t worry it’s not that sweet,” he offers while handing you a classic yule log cake. 

“Oooh! ♪ I like moderately sweet cakes! Thanks Trey-kun!~” Cater chimes.

“Thanks,” you decide to not ask the story behind it but make sure to flash a bright smile, “We’ll enjoy it! Make sure to get some rest!”

“Have a nice winter break,” Trey replies. You cut into the cake to discover it’s a dark chocolate roll cake with coffee whipped cream filling. The sponge cake is airy and light with a hefty hit of cocoa, and the filling is whipped to perfection with the bitterness of the coffee balancing out the sweetness of the dessert. It’s dangerously addictive and you feel like you could eat it forever.

“Want some?” you ask as your boyfriend simply cuts you another slice without getting one for himself.

“Just watching you makes me feel full!” he insists but you roll your eyes.

“Try a bite, it’s only a little sweet,” you insist and feed him a bite of your cake. You can see the hesitation in his eyes, but nevertheless he appeases you and tries some.

“Oh, you’re right! This is so nice, I wish I could just spend the entire holiday with you,” Cater comments. 

“Someday, we’ll get to spend the break together,” you reassure. You don’t push the topic, but you mean it. You want to spend so many more holidays with Cater, make a million more sweet memories, but for now the thought stays as a wish in your heart. 

Clean later route has been chosen!

“I’m so full! I might just fall asleep and take a nap,” you say with an airy laugh.

“Oh! Look it’s starting to snow! So pretty ♪” Cater points out. Suddenly, you feel inspired and take his hand.

“Let’s walk off this groggy feeling. Besides, isn’t it nice to walk in freshly fallen snow? You can take some photos for Magicam too,” you suggest.

“Kay!~” He allows you to drag him outside, but he interlaces your fingers together so you know he’s not too against it. You take a casual stroll through the campus, and Cater knows all the picturesque spots. You enjoy talking about everything and nothing, but it also feels rewarding when you two simply walk in comfortable silence without any pressure to fill in the gaps.

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and when you see a fuming Riddle in the kitchen, you know you’re in for it.

“The kitchen is a mess! You broke rule number ...” and it is at this point you tune out the annoyed dorm leader, his face isn’t red so you know it’s not that bad, but give Cater’s hand a squeeze and a rueful smile. The punishment dolled out is cleaning the kitchen without magic, just like the Queen of Hearts or something you ignored whatever logic Riddle applied to it, and you have to rewrite the rule 50 times.

“Sorry,” you whisper and Cater just groans. 

“I never want to wash another dish again!” Cater announces. You pepper his face with kisses as an apology and you see a smile peek through.

“Let’s head to my room,” your boyfriend suggests. And well, if his clones were the ones who completed the punishment of rewriting the rules as you enjoyed a make out session, no one needs to know.

[marvelousmaize]

stay safe for me

Note: for @weakforjaskier, one of the dearest people to me in this fandom, who requested that a worried Geralt take care of a sick or injured (i went with injured) Jaskier, and Jaskier is adorably confused about why the Witcher is so worried. A confession of feelings (and softness!) ensue. It’s all very sweet and fluffy with a dash of idiots in love. 

Melina, i hope you enjoy, and that this fic brings you as much happiness as seeing you on my dash brings me, my dear :) 

 It happens before Geralt can stop it. 

He and Jaskier are on the road, as they usually are, not a quarter of a day’s walk from the nearest Temerian village. Jaskier is strumming his lute, idly composing a song, and Geralt is walking just a few paces behind the bard, hand wrapped around Roach’s reigns, when they’re accosted by a group of bandits.

This isn’t an uncommon occurrence. But usually the bandits take one look at Geralt’s two swords and his golden eyes and his medallion, realize who they’re up against, and promptly take their leave. 

Evidently not these bandits. 

They’re in larger numbers, for one - Geralt counts ten - and seem quite determined to snatch up all their coin, which is a problem. It makes them foolhardy and reckless, and Geralt has to balance fending them off with keeping Roach and Jaskier safe. He sends the mare running ahead - he’s got every confidence he’ll find her again - but Jaskier, the idiot, stubbornly stays put, refusing to leave Geralt’s side. 

Geralt incapacitates seven of the bandits with relative ease. All non-fatal injuries (he still won’t kill humans if he can help it) and he’s nearly finished with the eighth when - 

“Geralt! Behind you!”

He’s been so caught up, the Witcher’s managed to miss one of the other two bandits ready to shove a sword straight through his lower back when Jaskier wedges himself between Geralt and the bandit, using the dagger he keeps at his hip to slice at the bandit’s shoulder.

But the bandit’s sword still manages to run through Jaskier’s side.

The bard crumples, and Geralt is briefly seized with raw, icy horror, before his vision bleeds red and white hot fury surges through him. He kills the remaining bandits without another thought, and takes special pleasure in ending the life of the one who dared injure Jaskier. 

Sheathing his steel sword, Geralt goes to the bard right away, kneeling beside him. “Jaskier,” he murmurs. 

Jaskier looks up. He’s pale, and obviously in pain, but he’s responsive. The blade must not have passed through any vital organs. Thank fuck.

“Geralt -” Jaskier gasps out, but Geralt quiets him with a look.

“Not now,” the Witcher murmurs. “We need to stop the bleeding.” 

Geralt makes a makeshift tourniquet with some of the bands of cotton he keeps in his pack, securing them with a tight knot, before gingerly scooping up Jaskier. 

He finds Roach just like he knew he would only a few meters ahead, and hoists himself and Jaskier up, riding out to the closest village. 

The next few hours are a blur - Roach is fast, and Geralt is able to find an inn with relative ease - and are spent tending to Jaskier’s wound. Jaskier is as talkative as he always is, propped up on the bed, and chest bare save for the bandages around his waist. Color has returned to his cheeks, and Geralt can concede that the wound will heal nicely - perhaps won’t even scar. 

It’s finally then that he allows himself to fully cede to the anger that has been steadily bubbling up in his chest. Anger tinged with worry and guilt, because Jaskier might have died because of Geralt and Geralt - 

Geralt doesn’t quite know how to deal with that. 

“You cannot put yourself between me and a blade, Jaskier,” Geralt hisses. “Do you understand?”

“Like hell I can’t. Geralt, you would have died!”

“Then I die.”

“That’s an unacceptable outcome to me and you know that.”

Geralt fights the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Why do you insist on being so stubborn and reckless -”

“Me? Reckless?” Jaskier cuts in with a disbelieving scoff. “You’re one to talk, diving headfirst into every battle without a single regard for your life or your safety. Do you know what it’s like watching you hunt your monsters knowing you could die?” and Jaskier’s voice goes so quiet, almost choked off as he speaks. It sends a sharp spike of icy guilt straight into Geralt’s heart. Then the bard juts his chin out; his gaze is steady, and he looks utterly defiant, the imbecile. “If putting myself between you and harm’s way is what keeps you from dying, I will make that choice every single time.”

“You’re a fool,” Geralt spits out around a throat packed tightly with wool. In his mind’s eye, all he sees is Jaskier, felled by fang or claw or sword. Face as white as snow, blue eyes vacant, vermillion blood tainting his clothes, coming out of his mouth, on his fingers - 

“Better I than you,” Jaskier says, and Geralt blinks away the images of the bard dead, dead, dead because of him, because he was too late. The Witcher’s mouth curls into a snarl. 

“I won’t let you.”

“I’d like to see you try. Honestly Geralt, I must confess that you are being extremely confusing right now. If the outcome is me only slightly injured or you dead, I don’t understand why -”

“Because I won’t have your blood on my hands, Jaskier!”

And Geralt’s carefully constructed exterior of calmness and detachment dissolves with his outburst. Undone by this idiotic, heedless, brave, loyal, unflinching bard without a sense of self-preservation, who sees the Witcher - with all his enhanced strength and swords and potions and magic - and sees someone worth protecting. 

Geralt grits his teeth, pushing through Jaskier’s momentary speechlessness, trying to ignore the bard’s quickening heartbeat and his wide blue eyes. “You are - you are -” but the words are stuck in his wool-packed throat, trapped, heavy and thick, on his tongue. His fingers are carving deep moons in his palm, his mouth twisting - helpless and infuriated. 

And Jaskier - 

Jaskier might be a fool, but Jaskier is also intrinsically brilliant - an academic, a poet with a thirst for knowledge, who is eloquent and can use words like another might wield a weapon. Jaskier, who understands the nuances of emotion and can articulate them - and his eyes go even wider with realization. “Oh.” His expression softens all at once, and it soothes and inflames Geralt all at once. 

“Geralt,” he murmurs, and he smells like honey and spun sugar, like fondness and happiness. “Say it first and I promise I’ll say it back.” Geralt’s gaze snaps up. He meets eyes as blue as the ocean, open and steady and so, so earnest. It sends hope and sunlight curling at the base of his spine. “But you have to say it first, so that I might let myself believe it’s true.”

It’s an admission filled with so much yearning and heartache that Geralt can taste them. There’s a thing with wings in his chest and he thinks it’s his heart, ready to fly out of his throat and give itself to Jaskier and Geralt wants that - wants it more than anything - wants it enough to -

“I love you,” Geralt says. “I can’t stand the idea of you getting hurt because of me.”

The smile on Jaskier’s face is blinding. “I love you too,” he says back. “And I won’t get hurt if you stop diving into things with a death wish.”

“Jaskier -”

“It’s a compromise, Witcher. You can compromise with me, can’t you? Please?”

And it is said so sweetly it pulls a grin out of Geralt that is equal-parts exasperated and fond - a mix of emotions he is no stranger to when it comes to Jaskier. “You’re impossible.”

“But you still love me,” Jaskier counters with a little quiet disbelief, but his smile is still so wide and his eyes glitter with mirth. “So just agree to this compromise Geralt, and come over here and kiss me already.”

Geralt chuckles, a low, rumbling thing that reverberates throughout his chest. “Well, when you put it that way,” he says wryly, and moves from the chair to sit himself on the bed. His huge, ungloved hand twines itself around the nape of Jaskier’s neck. Jaskier is watching him through hooded, hazy eyes, and Geralt picks up on the subtle quickening of the bard’s breath. “I agree, Jaskier.”

Jaskier licks his lips - an intoxicating movement Geralt traces with hungry eyes - and curls his fingers in locks of silver-white hair. “Oh good. Now -”

But Geralt doesn’t let him finish - though he strongly suspects he knows exactly what Jaskier is going to say - surging down instead and catching Jaskier’s lips into a searing kiss, all tongue and teeth and promise. Jaskier lets out a delightful whimper - confirms Geralt’s suspicions when even as their lips interlock, he mumbles a “finally,” and smiles into the kiss - responding with unabashed enthusiasm. 

The spun sugar smell gets stronger, and it’s mixed with something else, something warm and spicy and utterly intoxicating.

(I love you too)

Geralt smiles and deepens the kiss. 

[emerald-amidst-gold]

8, 13, 80, 82, for the otp asks? 👀

OTP! OTP! >:3 Time for some more rambling~! You know, I think my love for these two dorks grows more and more as I create and talk about their dynamic. It just. HNNNNNGH. *makes grabby hands at dumb dumb wolf and dumb dumb dragon*

Anyways, my fangirling aside, let's get to answering! >:D Thank you so much for the ask, dear friend! X3

8. Who tends to worry the most?

I was going to answer this with 'both equally', but the more I think, the more I realize that Solas is the one who worries the most. XD

I mean, come on. We all know Solas is a natural worry wart. It's in the man's blood, and Fane has a tendency to make his dear wolf's blood pressure rise to fatal heights with the shit he does. PFFT!

Fane is a literal battering ram when it comes to battles (this is based on how I've specced him in-game), and he just charges in without caring if he'll get sliced, diced, or scorched. Fane's illness with magic makes it incredibly difficult for Solas to erect barriers on him, so he has to devise other ways to keep Fane in one piece (nitpicking about his armor, constantly asking, 'Are you certain you are ready?', and begging, 'Please control yourself this time, ma'isenatha.') All of that worry comes from the fact that Solas has seen Fane die, has had to guide him to it, even. Fane doesn't mean to brush off that concern and worry, but when he's embroiled in battle he...loses his senses a bit. Dragons aren't meant to fight, and fighting is what Fane does best in his new life, so he has a hard time balancing bloodlust with merciful restraint.

If Fane gets injured (which he does, but only grazes and the occasional gash), Solas won't let anyone else attend to him, fear gripping his mind, memories of blood soaked crystal and decaying scales cracking his mask and rendering him tortured. When Fane sees that, instead of just seeing the nagging, he'll go docile, go remorseful and will say, 'I'm sorry, my sky. I never meant to-- I only--hn.' Once they talk and wind down though, things get right back on track, but Solas is constantly worrying over his dragon--constantly.

Solas worries about everything with Fane--his scars, his nightmares, his battle with his identity--but battle is where he's the least reserved in it. He doesn't want Fane to have to fight, but he knows they both don't have a choice in the matter.

13. Who steals the blankets?

Solas. SOLAS.

Well, it's more that Fane gives the blankets to Solas. XD Due to the fact that Fane's affinity as a dragon was ice, he has a very low tolerance to heat. So, furs and even thin silken sheets can be a bit too much for our resident dragon to handle. Hell, Fane walks around the outer perimeter of Skyhold (trails along the mountains and whatnot) in nothing but a fur-lined cloak, his typical trousers, and his black tunic. My boy gives no fucks about the cold.

Fane and Solas' quarters in Skyhold stay a nice in-between temperature, catering to both their needs comfortably. Magic is a lovely thing, and there are certain minor spells that Fane can bear without throwing up all over the place.

...Fane does whine when the fire is a bit too stoked though. That's when the balcony windows get torn open by a deadpan Solas, who then regrets his decision like so many other things. *cackles* Fane just shrugs and gives his wolf that shit-eating smirk of his that says, 'That all you've got, Dread Wolf? Tsk. Shame.'

80. What do they love about each other the most?

Solas is enthralled by Fane's sheer tenacity. Even before the two of them realized who the other was, Solas found Fane's attitude admirable. He had a feeling that Fane was troubled, could see it during specific intervals, but he also saw the will to endure in emerald and gold. Despite the snaps, the snarls, and the moments of disassociation, Solas could see just how strong of spirit Fane was--making decisions without a single regret (on the outside, of course), standing firm to what he believed in, never bowing to those who wished to break him in half with their hopes and expectations, witnessing those moments of vulnerability when Fane's illness with magic became too much, but the other powering through it despite the pain, despite the hardship, and between it all, how much he cared about every. single. person he came across. The downtrodden and forgotten. The traumatized and bereft.

Solas adores Fane's tenacity, and most importantly, his devotion. The latter comes later when they form a romantic relationship, but Solas has always seen both traits in his dragon. And he'll do anything to make sure those shining spirits never becomes warped again.

Now, it may seem predictable, but Fane thrives off of Solas' brain. X'D Fane is a creature of observation, he picks and delves to determine why things work the way they do, or technically speaking, why people act the way that they do. As such, he's always stunned or enraptured when Solas becomes especially passionate about a topic (spirits, the Fade, the Elvhen, his beliefs, his opinions, etc.) Solas' questioning and curious nature is what made Fane open up as a dragon, had him seeing that there was someone not so black and white. So, even if it's sometimes at his expense, Fane lets Solas talk and talk and talk and talk until the candles are burnt down and the moon's high in the sky, never once letting his mind wander and spiral because he'd be a fool to ignore such a beautiful sight as his sky.

82. What is an inside joke they have?

Okay, okay! I may have mentioned this before, but Fane and Solas, on occasion, like to point out the sheer irony of Fane being the 'Herald of Andraste'.

What I mean by that is; he's a dragon. History tiiiime! >:D

Old Gods-depicted as dragons by the Tevinter Imperium.

Archdemons, those that command the Blights, the very thing the Chantry warns against aside from mages--dragons

Fane is a dragon. Fane is also the Herald of Andraste. The Tevinter Imperium used to worship the Old Gods which the Chantry says are false gods and the only true one is the Maker.

So, where does that leave us? Fane is a dragon being worshiped by most of Thedas as a literal figure of divinity. He's the very thing the Chantry claims is 'wicked' and 'heretical'. Furthermore, Fane does have the capacity to harbor a portion of an Old God's soul. *holds out hands* EH? EHHHH?!

"They worship me as a god, more or less, right?"

"If one where to delve deeply into the matter, then perhaps. I believe most of the beleagured and drifting see you as a symbol of hope, ma'isenatha."

"...They literally call me the prophet of their prophetess. They think I'm divinely touched."

"Technically, you are correct. But--oh."

"Yeah. Fucking hilarious. Looks like the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. Let's hope the scum in Tevinter don't catch wind. It would be humiliating for the Chantry to know the people flock to a dragon."

"...You are ridiculous."

"But you're laughing, so I know you see the irony, my sky." *chuckles* "Ohh, my day just got ten times better with that realization. Imagine Cassandra's face! Hah!"

"You are far too riveted by this, my dragon. ...Though I admit, it is rather amusing."

"See?" *snickers* "Herald of Andraste. Pfft. I'm a fucking dragon."

Dialogue drabble that I may flesh out and form into a snippet of pure ridiculousness! But that's the joke between Solas and Fane, and when Cassandra's catches Fane nearly exploding with the force of holding his snorts back...well, let's just say she's very confused. *cackles*

[someobscurereference]

please use this ask as an excuse to infodump about any au/headcanon/personal project you might have wanted to tell folks about recently

Ooooh, this is a huge open book, anon. And I very much appreciate the platform to do it. Let's see what I have under my hat that (I hope) I haven't spoken about before...

Semi-Erased AU

This is the title I have for it in my documents because I got inspired from the anime Erased (and some asks ask I got like 2 years ago asking me who among the Trio I thought was older/younger that I can no longer find but I Never Forgot About), but it has almost nothing to do with the original anime/manga. I'm nearly 29K into it so far and not nearly done, lol. I will be shocked if I finish before the end of the year.

However! The basic premise is it's a modern AU where Inigo (just turned 16), Severa (14 at the start and then 15 later), and Owain (12 at the start but later 13) in Ylisse get visited in the dead of night by a strange wizard man (Anankos) who pops out of a portal and begs them for help. Anankos does not elaborate on what this help is or what the Trio need to do other than they need to decide Now, they're needed in Another Country, it's going to involve some Time BS (so don't worry about your parents noticing you're gone, kids!) and he's really, really earnest about it. Inigo, unable to say no to a man so desperate and really awed at the fact Holy Shit Magic Is Real, joins Owain (who wants Adventure so bad) and Severa (who wants to be Independent and why would she say no to this crazy magical opportunity??) in helping out this strange but earnest magic man.

...Which ends up with them getting portaled to Nohr in the dead of night, given fake names, a place to live, some money, etc., told to not contact their parents by any means, and oh, right, they're starting the school year in a few weeks. Good luck!

(Inigo: Wait, you're not staying?? Anankos: Only you can do this! Goodbye! Inigo: But what are we-- Anankos: *already gone*)

(Oh, and of course Xander, Camilla, Leo, & co. also happen to attend this fancy Nohr private school the Trio are sent to. Is this related to the mysterious task Anankos has set them on? Maybe!)

I have more written than this already (again, about 29K of it) but basically it's part slice-of-life coming-of-age, part teenage romance, part magical adventure, etc. Inigo, Severa, & Owain are two teenagers and a 12 year old living in this house with no parental supervision, and they are Not Friends at the start of this fic, lol. The circumstances would be hard even if they were besties going into this mess, but they're definitely not. They make friends (and crushes) with others! And rivals. And acquaintances. And their relationships with others (and each other) will change over the course of the fic! But they're not besties at the start, lol. Oh, and POVs alternate by the month! (Fic is divided into month sections. Ex: Inigo narrates August, Severa narrates September, etc. )

I have the general plan for why Anankos brought the Trio there, what's going to happen at the climax, how their relationships will change, etc. and a Bunch Of Notes for everyone's ages and background characters and whatnot. The plot just needs to be written out in scene format. However! Since it will be such a long time before it gets finished, here is some snippets from scenes that I have already written as a teaser :3

(1)

September

“Why is the ten-year-old balancing a checkbook?” Xander asked flatly.

“He’s actually twelve,” Laslow corrected as Owain swung his legs under the table and scratched another wobbly number onto the page. “He just looks young. Don’t worry. He does this all the time.”

Somehow, Xander looked even less impressed by this. Laslow—and how strange was it that he was still getting used to that name a full month after this whole endeavor had begun—had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing or otherwise commenting on Xander’s early developing wrinkles.

“Children should not be worrying about their family’s finances,” said Xander. “They—"

Wrinkling his nose, Owain blew a raspberry at them from the kitchen table. “I’m not a kid!”

(2)

August

The strange, inhuman Anankos came the evening before his sixteenth birthday in what Laslow—then Inigo—had graciously decided not to call a kidnapping.

Inigo had been in the middle of brushing his teeth when he heard a strange noise he could only describe as the sound of air being sucked out of a vacuum. He turned his head just in time to see a flash of blue light and watch a tall hooded figure step out of a rift in time and space in the middle of his bedroom.

He choked on the toothpaste and bent over the sink to cough white foam onto the porcelain.

“I’m so sorry for startling you,” said the hooded figure. “Please, drink some water.”

...

The hooded figure said, “Wait—”

“Dad!” Inigo called down the stairs, making the hooded stranger flinch. “Did you summon any ghosts or demons in the house recently?”

The reply was almost immediate—a returned shout up the stairs. “Nope! Your mother forbid that as of last month!”

There was a bit of shuffling on the first floor.

“Why? Is there a ghost or demon up there?”

Inigo looked over his shoulder and very seriously asked the figure, “Are you a ghost or a demon?”

The figure paused for a moment, as if that wasn’t a totally reasonable question to ask at this point. “No. I am… not either of those.”

Very reassuring.

“Just checking!” Inigo called downstairs.

“Alrighty! Let me know if that changes!”

“Will do!”

(3)

“Nice to meet you,” Keaton repeated. “This here is Fang, Shadow, and Casper.”

He pointed to the very large, very middling, and very tiny set of three dogs that had accosted Selena. All three of them perked up when their names were called.

She looked at the animals, a bit curious despite herself, and then point to the largest dog—a huge mutt with shaggy white hair who looked like it could easily fit Selena’s whole head in its mouth. “That one is Fang?”

“No, no.” Keaton pointed to the chihuahua. “She’s Fang. Shadow is the black one, and the big fellow is Casper.”

Fang looked like she weighed about three whole ounces soaking wet.

“…Okay,” said Selena.

(4)

“Hark! Who goes there?”

Other students leaving the school were turning their heads, looking for the source of the overly loud, barely-into-puberty voice. Selena’s stomach sank at the sight of the middle schooler standing at the bus stop.

Odin pointed at them dramatically. “Is that Selena of the fiery skies that I spy? Partaking the journey back home, are you? And who is this?”

“Oh!” Camilla startled, sounding horribly delighted. “Is this your little brother?”

People were still looking. A pair of teen boys ribbed each other, and one girl giggled to her friends, shooting glances between Odin and Selena.

She forced a laugh. “Haha! No! Absolutely not!”

“Selena and I do not share the bond of blood,” Odin sniffed.

“What a shame,” said Camilla, and she seemed genuinely regretful. “I have a little brother of my own. I thought they could be friends. Leo could use the company.”

“Leo?” Odin dropped the pose he was striking in surprise. “The same Leo who always has his head in a book? And goes to school here?”

Camilla brightened. “Oh, you know him? Do you share a class?”

[arigatouiris]

the ghosthunter of nekoma // kenma kozume — 03

Author’s Note: This is a short series, so I’m guessing it’ll have less than 10 chapters? Or around that, at the most. Also, how did you all like the latest chapter? Do let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!

Word count: 2k

Pairing: Ghosthunter! Kenma Kozume x Hanyou! Reader

Summary: Ever since you were born, things weren’t going your way. Being able to jump in and out of your body as a spirit might have sounded cool in theory, but in reality, you were just target practice for other spirits to take advantage of. Just when you thought you could get accustomed to living a regular life, meeting the ghosthunter of Nekoma turned your life around to a complete 360.

Warnings: unrequited love, slow burn, one-sided crush, slight angst, pining, crackhead reader, ghosts, supernatural stuff, alternate universe, haikyuu manga spoilers, fluff

𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑

*

Kozume Kenma dreaded being a ghosthunter.

Not only did it demand that he worked extra hard, but it also gave him less time to be by himself. With volleyball actually interesting him these days, and Kuroo's constant nagging over how he barely paid attention to things with that gaming console in hand, Kenma knew that ghosthunting got in the way of several things that he was missing out on. The ability to see ghosts and spirits was passed down by the women in his family; and Kenma's mother was a ghosthunter, which meant he had to be as well.

It wasn't that he didn't have a choice, it was simply because there were phantoms out there that needed slaying. He had seen what they could do, even though he hadn't personally experienced it. He hadn't lost anyone close to him, no one close to him had been injured by a phantom or a ghost, so there was nothing that drove him to do so.

It was simply because it was Kenma's duty as part of a ghosthunting family.

And since there were such few numbers of ghosthunters, it wasn't the best thing to just give up on something that he actually considered an art. The only other ghosthunter he had met that was his age was the female manager from Karasuno, but she was all the way in Miyagi, and he was in Tokyo; there was no one he'd met in his area.

However, this was the first time he was meeting a hanyou. Kenma thought of you that morning as he was getting ready, as he wondered why your family had kept you in the dark about your status. Hanyou weren't common, and he was certain that his mother had once told him that as harmless as they were, their status of being half-phantom needed to be severed immediately. He wasn't sure why he didn't do it right away with you, since he hadn't ever met a hanyou before. He wanted to ask his mother, but having that conversation would drain him.

He was certain that you wouldn't be a problem. You didn't even know how to use your powers in the right way, and you barely knew anything at all. And as far as he saw it, the number of ghosts in and around Nekoma was only a handful. He hadn't witnessed a single phantom emerging in the time that he was there, just a few harmless ghosts that needed an exorcism.

All he knew about hanyou was that they were dangerous if a phantom was around. The difference between phantoms and ghosts were simple; the bad stories surrounding ghosts weren't about ghosts at all, but phantoms. Phantoms tricked humans by offering them something in exchange for something else. They strove to find a human vessel to incorporate so that they wouldn't have to go to the land of the dead. Balance needed to be maintained, his mother told him, and ghosthunters provided that balance.

The situation with a hanyou, however, was confusing. He knew that severing your ties with the spirit world wouldn't kill you, but he needed to learn why you were a hanyou in the first place before moving forward at all. If there was a source linked to your status as a half-phantom, then severing your ties with the spirit world would prove disastrous. He needed to understand why you were still alive especially when hanyou were supposed to have been dead.

However, that required a lot more effort than he thought it would. There were no phantoms, he believed there hardly existed any, especially in a place like Tokyo, so there was no need to worry.

What he didn't know was that sometimes ants come out from hidden corners when something sweet is exposed.

Kenma spotted you near your class speaking to your friend that used to eye Yaku-senpai funnily. Not knowing if you were entirely a threat did put him on edge, but it was alright for now. It was back at the end of his first year when he had removed his tanto, and it was now when he had seen you, which meant that things were relatively normal. The special trait about ghosthunter tantos and katanas were that they were indeed magical; they were embedded in the back of his phone and would only enlarge on his command. He had them with him at all times, which was why he had earned the assumption attached to him—Kenma is always on his phone.

When you spotted him, you waved at him, before your hand shrunk downward almost disappointed. He didn't know why you did that, but whatever it was, wasn't his problem. He turned away and headed to class, just before feeling a strange gust of wind flow in the opposite direction.

He almost gasped when he turned around and saw you had fallen down, or that your body had. Kenma's eyes widened before he instinctively tried to look for your spirit, before having no luck.

    "Oh my god! (y/n)-chan!" Your friend screeched before Kenma clenched his fists and clutched his phone.

He rushed to a lone corner before checking his bag for the little piece of jade his mother had given him, in case a spirit went loose and he couldn't find it. The piece of jade would act as a GPS almost and would lead him to the area where the spirit would be. He had to act quickly because your body had drawn enough attention as it is. The piece of jade began to glow on his palm before pressing forward and Kenma instantly ran toward the direction that it led. What the hell? Why is there some disturbance now?

His eyes widened when he spotted a phantom, clutching to your spirit form, right in the middle of the basketball court of his school. Kenma was panting now, and your spirit form was being squeezed to death. He was aware that it wouldn't be enough to kill you, but if the phantom devoured you, you were done for.

It took him a second to bring out his katana, the handle of it was a bright burning red, the same blade that was passed down in his family. The scabbard of the katana was a dull brown, but the blade itself was magnificent. It had a red hue toward the sharp end of the blade, which could practically cut spirit trails with ease. The katana was useless against people, and the red hue made it apparent.

    "Kenma-kun! Help!"

He didn't intend on helping you; he was here to destroy the phantom. It was grotesque and large, the biggest he had seen in his life, but it was nothing compared to the training his mother put him through every weekend. The phantom resembled a mammoth, with arms sticking out from its side, one of which was holding on to you rather tightly. Unsheathing his katana, Kenma dashed forward before attempting to slice the phantom in half, knowing that it would be enough to scatter its essence back to the spirit world. His eyes widened when it had no effect.

You screened a second later as you were being squeezed some more, which made him wonder if you could feel pain as a spirit. She's not a spirit, his mind scolded him, She's a hanyou!

A second later, he realized it was a bit too late. No spirit would be after your spirit form if your body was left unchecked. Kenma wanted to rush and check on your body first, but leaving you here would mean abandoning you.

Shit, he thought before gripping his blade tightly and rushing toward the phantom's legs. He sliced off one leg, bringing it down, before jumping in the air and stabbing it right in between its eyes. Your spirit self fell down along with the demon, and Kenma walked over to you before pulling you up. He hadn't realized until then that his heart was pounding from the excitement, but your spirit self seemed unhurt.

    "Thank you—"

    "Your body is in danger."

Your eyes widened before you quickly ran toward the infirmary, knowing that you would be there. Kenma followed you simply because he knew that it would be too late. He knew that the phantom he had fought was a distraction and that the real danger lay in whatever was heading toward your body in the meantime. He had failed, simply because he had made the wrong decision.

He didn't have to worry about your spirit self. He knew that the true danger lay in allowing another spirit to possess your living body.

As a ghosthunter, whose primary responsibility was to prevent a spirit from possessing a living body, Kenma knew that choosing your spirit self right then was a grave error. He paused when he saw your spirit self pause, your hands were covering your jaw now, and Kenma followed your gaze. Your body was getting up on its feet and turned to look at both of you—your spirit and Kenma, before a sad smile sat on your physical body's features.

He knew that by choosing to help your spirit, he had failed the primary teachings that were taught to a ghosthunter. While he knew that the actual spirit that had now possessed your living body merely used the bigger phantom as a distraction, the real danger lay in your spirit form now lurking in the air the way it was. If you could be pushed out of your own body that easily, Kenma knew that the only option to avoid future mishaps like these was to figure out why you were a hanyou in the first place. As much as he wanted to avoid it, now it seemed, that he no longer could.

    "What the..." You sounded terrified, "What is..."

Kenma knew he blew it. But, thankfully, he knew what to do.

    "I need your help," He said begrudgingly, "Meet me at building 4's terrace after school."

You turned to him with a panicked expression, "What? What about until then? My body—"

    "I can help you," Kenma promised, unable to look away from your eyes, "I need you to trust me, I'm your only ally here."

Your lower lip trembled and Kenma felt strangely sad for you. You were not really at fault here, whatever had happened was because you were kept in the dark about something you had no idea about. He looked at your wrist and noticed that you were not wearing the magatama beads around your wrist.

    "What happened to your magatama bracelet?"

    "It broke the first time I jumped..."

It's because she didn't have a replacement magatama bracelet that she was sniffed out like that, he thought, sighing internally. He gave you a worried expression before feeling an arm wrap around his shoulder. It was Kuroo.

    "She falls even without the volleyball hitting her, huh," Kuroo teasingly said, "Such a strange girl you have eyes for."

Kenma's eyes widened and he deliberately chose to avoid your gaze. You stood there, suddenly feeling the freest you've ever felt, but in the worst possible way. It felt as if you were naked, and not a soul could see you. And with Kenma avoiding your gaze the way he was, your heart was inching toward breaking.

You've never been more terrified in your life at the darkness that presented itself in one of the brightest places.

[therainroguefanfiction]

💤 Trying Too Hard (Hiryuu Rin)

Genre: Angst, Fluff, Slice of Life

Word Count: 1,562

Pairing: Reader x Rin

World: Boku no Hero Academia

Prompt: [….] is concerned because Y/N isn’t sleeping.

Author’s Note: This was written for the BNHA Sanctuary SFW Collab! Make sure you check out the original post to find a list of everyone’s fics. Happy reading~ Also, xīngān is a chinese term of endearment. According to this site:

“…literally means ‘heart and liver.’ While that might sound a bit too bloody for Westerners, the term is used to recognize the most important person, without whom you cannot live without.”

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

Being in the hero course could be pretty stressful at times, even more so in class A because everyone had their eyes on them. Even more stressful, however, was getting partnered up with the foul-mouthed, hot-headed Bakugo Katsuki. As if one assignment wasn’t bad enough, you had been paired up with him on two different assignments. Your friends made sure to offer their condolences for your bad luck, but you really wanted to try and make this work.

The first assignment was to write a short play in English and, being half-American and spending your childhood in America, this came easy to you. Bakugo himself wasn’t fluent in English, but knew enough to properly understand. There was a small argument about what the subject would be, but you conceded in order to placate his growing temper.

The play was going to be about the number one hero, LordXplosionMurder, and how he overthrew all of his enemies in order to reach the top.

The second assignment was a bit more complicated for you. Because heroes often have to work together, the assignment was to find a way where your quirks complimented one another, combining them to form a super move. The problem was that Bakugo was far superior in both physical combat and quirk control and he didn’t work well with others. He forced you into following his training regimen, threatening to beat your ass if you fell too far behind.

You had gone through a lot of training in order to successfully enter the hero course, but his regimen was just ridiculous and you were seriously struggling. Determined to keep up with the ash-blonde, thus proving yourself worthy and not getting your ass kicked by him, you decided it would be a good idea to forfeit sleep so you could dedicate more time to the training program he had given you. At first, your muscles just felt super sore and your body tired, but as the days slowly passed by, you really started to feel the effects.

The biggest change was how forgetful you were becoming, not remembering to do simple tasks that you were used to doing. You became moody, snapping at the smallest of provocations only to immediately apologize with teary eyes. You even fell down a couple of times, your tired brain unable to react in time to keep your balance.

To say that your friends were worried would be a massive understatement, but they knew how stubborn you could be and how badly you wanted to prove yourself to the ash-blonde, so they did they only thing they could think of that would help.

They told your boyfriend.

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

You sat at the desk in your dorm room, staring down at the Hero Law textbook as you read the first paragraph again for the hundredth time, but your brain was simply incapable of processing a single word. You felt so sluggish, body in a state where you were so tired, you would be far too tired to actually sleep even if you tried. So, you could only sit and stare at the paragraph, hoping that the words would magically register in your brain.

You wanted nothing more than to stop looking at that damn paragraph, but your grades had begun to slip and Aizawa was not happy about it, so you had to force yourself to study, even if it wasn’t actually doing anything for you. At least you’re trying.

“Xīngān?” A concerned voice reached your ears and you felt a cool hand rest on your shoulder.

Your eyes widened in surprise, snapping up to meet his. You hadn’t even heard the door being opened. Did he knock? Why was he in class A’s dorm? They were off limits to anyone outside of the class and if Aizawa found out, he’d be pretty angry. “H-Hiryuu…?” The throbbing in your temple was getting worse, making your face tense up as you tried to suppress a wince of pain.

Rin huffed, hands moving to his hips as his dark eyes shimmered with concern. “What are you doing to yourself, xīngān? Why haven’t you been sleeping? Do you know how dangerous that is?”

Your shoulders sagged at his scolding tone, tears pricking at your eyes. Because the two of you were in different classes and had different schedules, you didn’t get to see each other nearly as much as you’d like to and yet… he still found out about your poor life choices. He was upset with you, rightfully so, and that filled you with guilt because you hated it when he was upset. “I’m so-sorry,” you cried, desperately trying to wipe away the tears but they kept falling.

Rin’s expression softened and he didn’t hesitate to pull you into his arms, fingers combing through your hair as he whispered sweet nothings to you in Chinese, something he had learned early on to be a comfort to you. You clutched onto his shirt for dear life, stuffing your face into his chest. His heartbeat against your forehead was a major comfort to you, even if it was beating a bit faster than normal.

He shifted so he could bring his arms under your body, lifting you against his chest before bringing you over to the bed. It felt exceptionally soft beneath your exhausted body. After settling down beside you, keeping you protectively caged within his arms, he softly questioned you. “Will you tell me why you have stopped sleeping?”

Taking a shaky breath, you began to express how you were feeling and, once the words started to tumble from your lips, they refused to stop, falling quickly and without pause. Mixing this with your hiccups made it difficult for him to process, but he got the gist of it – Bakugo was the cause, pushing you way too far past your limits. Anger coursed throughout his body, but it wasn’t just aimed toward the ash-blonde. Part of the blame, he decided, fell on himself.

You were his partner, the person he loved more than life itself, but he hadn’t noticed how much you had been struggling the past week. Granted, he had only been able to see you once and that was only in passing during lunch, but he should have made more of an effort to check in on you. He wouldn’t make that mistake anymore.

His arms tightened around your body, feeling you slowly start to relax against him. His thumb gently brushed away the leftover tears beneath your eye, his skin cool against your own heated skin.

“I’m sorry…” you mumbled, eyes heavy as you struggled against the sleep that was rapidly claiming you.

“Rest now, xīngān. We can talk more in the morning, okay?” His lips were soft against the top of your head and, for the first time in a week, the smile that came to your lips was genuine.

“I love you,” you whispered before sleep finally claimed you, your breathing evening out as the tension left your body.

Rin’s heart soared at the declaration, unable to stop the wide grin spreading across his face. He leaned down, his lips brushing the shell of your ear, hoping that his words would reach you within your dreams. “Wǒ ài nǐ, forever and always, Y/N.”

━━━━━━༻B O N U S༺━━━━━━

Bakugo’s vermilion eyes shifted over when Rin approached him before class, standing beside the ash-blonde’s desk with a determined expression upon his face. The other students exchanged worried looks, their bodies tensed as they prepared to intervene if necessary.

“The fuck do you -”

“Stop being so damn hard on Y/N.” Rin ordered, not missing the anger that flashed through his eyes. While he was prepared to defend himself if necessary, he didn’t come here to fight with Bakugo. “They are doing their absolute best to please you because they’re scared of you!”

Something indistinguishable flashed through his eyes, but it was gone as quick as it came. “It’s not my damn fault they’re so weak!”

“Weak?” Rin echoed in disbelief. “Just because someone isn’t as strong as you does not make them weak! Y/N is very strong and they work their ass off with both their training and studies! Not only that, but they are kind and humble. Maybe you should takes notes from them.”

“What did you just say, you damned extra?!” Bakugo jumped to his feet, small explosions going off in his palm – an intimidation tactic that was lost on Rin.

“I said -”

“Hiryuu?” You appeared in the doorway, glancing between the two tense males with a frown. “What’s going on?”

Rin shot the ash-blonde a warning look before turning on his heel and closing the distance with a soft smile. “I was just thanking your classmates for looking after you when I’m not around.” His cool hands rested on your upper arms. “Are you sure you’re up to class? If you need more rest, I am sure Aizawa-sensei will understand.”

His concern made your heart flutter and you smiled happily. “I’ll take it easy today, I promise.”

“You better,” he mumbled teasingly, pressing a gentle kiss to your lips just as the warning bell chimed throughout the school. “I’ll come pick you up at lunch, xīngān.”

“Okay~” You chirped happily, leaning closer to take one more soft kiss from his lips before he headed to his own class down the hall.

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

📜 Read more by checking out my masterlist 📜

[mistbornthefinal]

Madoka Magica Aniversary Analysis: Part 9

Can Love and Courage Still Triumph?

The beginning of this episode replays the end of the last, Sayaka’s transformation into a witch. As Oktavia von Seckendorff looms over her Kyouko is initially uncomprehending or perhaps in denial of what just happened happened. Kyouko grabs Sayaka’s body as it falls and is forced to dodge a barrage of Okatavia’s signature wheels. Homura arrives on the scene and sets off another flashbang and the offers Kyouko her hand.

Kyouko takes it and we get our first look and Homura’s timestop from an inside perspective. Within the stopped time Kyouko demands to know where that witch came from and what happened to Sayaka, Homura reiterates the truth that Kyouko is unwilling to internalize, Sayaka has become a witch. Homura then says that unless Kyouko is unwilling to discard Sayaka’s body then they will have to run. Kyouko can not do that so they exit the barrier. (cue connect)

We find Madoka walking morosely along the railroad tracks only to run into Kyouko and Homura walking in the opposite direction. Seeing Sayaka’s lifeless body Madoka tearfully asks what happened to her friend. Homura lays it out her Soul Gem shattered and became a Grief Seed, Sayaka is gone. That is the final secret of the Soul Gem when they fully darken they become Grief Seeds and a girl is reborn as a witch. This is the inescapable fate of those who become magical girls. In payment for the number of people Sayaka has saved Oktavia will curse and equal number of people.

Of course this sort of law karmic balancing that the girls have been claiming for the past few episodes doesn’t really hold up if you think about it. Mami saved a large number of people and cursed no one due to dying before she became a Witch. Heck Kyubey’s whole operation sort of requires a certain amount of unfair exchange to be possible given they use magic to extent the life of the universe and leave other species with the bill.  That said it’s easy to buy equivalent exchange as something the characters believe,(especially Homura who at this point want’s to resolve her wish as “a life for a life”) but it’s something that Madoka’s wish ultimately rejects. 

Kyouko is angered by Homura’s cold words in the face of Madoka’s grief grabbing her by the collar, but Homura simply continues her monologue telling Madoka that this is the truth of what she aspired to become. Homura then tell Kyouko that there will be trouble if she isn’t cautious about disposing of the body. Kyouko similar to Madoka in episode 7 asks Homura how she can call herself human.

“I can’t, of course. And neither can you.”

We find Madoka sitting on her bed when Kyubey come for a visit. Madoka is unsurprised to find him alive, and he confirms that nothing that Homura said is wrong enough to require further explanation. He then lays out the reasoning behind the system his kind have inflicted on humanity. When the Soul Gem undergoes phase change a tremendous amount of energy is released and that energy is their ultimate goal. It is a source of power unbounded by thermodynamics that they can use to stave off the heat death of the universe. 

While he implies that this is ultimately for the benefit of humanity as well (and that humanity will eventually join the interstellar community) the next episode proves he is full of shit. That they have a fixed quota of energy that they expect each planet to produce and express no regret at humanities immanent extinction strongly implies that the extinction of the client species is the expected end state of their operation. In which case the relationship is purely predatory regardless of what he might claim in episode 11. 

He also gives the fig leaf that the girls all consented but that’s a weak dodge. Like forget informed consent this is maliciously and deliberately misinformed consent, he may claim that his species doesn’t understand the concept of deception that doesn’t seem to stop him from doing it constantly. Also while it’s not brought up I can’t help but feel then need to point towards all the normal humans who never consented to anything and are being eaten by witches regardless. 

Kyubey then says that given that there are billions of human’s he doesn’t understand why the death of a single human has her bent out of shape. 

you tell ‘em Madoka

Kyubey gives yet another sales pitch this time stressing the vas amounts of delicious energy she will produce when she becomes a horrible monster. Leaving with.

“So, if you ever feel like dying for the sake of the universe, just let me know.”

We check in on Kyouko who is using her magic to stop Sayaka’s gem from decaying. Kyubey shows himself to ask why and Sayaka answers his question with another question. “Can Sayaka be brought back.” Kyubey uses ambiguous phrasing to give Kyouko false hope like the dick he is. We leave this scene with Kyouko stuffing her face making it pretty clear that her eating habits are less “endearing character quirk” and more “worrying coping mechanism.”

As Madoka is walking to school with Hitomi (who tragically unaware of what has happened), Kyouko calls out to her with telepathy asking her if she’s really just going to go to school after what happened yesterday? Realizing that the fate of her friends soul is probably more important than compulsory education Madoka ditches Hitomi runs off. 

Kyouko tells Madoka that she can’t abandon Sayaka so long as there hope she can be saved. (and potentially even if there isn’t) He friends voice might still be able to reach her, might bring her back to humanity. Madoka asks if that will really work to which Kyouko replies that she has no idea. She want’s to do this because she doesn’t know, because that uncertainty allows room for hope

“Maybe if we slice that witch in half, Sayaka’s Soul Gem will fall out instead of a Grief Seed. Wouldn’t that be something? It’d be like one of those stories where love and courage triumph over all. Come to think about it, I probably became a magical girl in the first place because I loved stories like that. I’d totally forgotten about it, but Sayaka reminded me again.”

You did it Kyouko, you boiled your character arc down to the bare essentials. Kyouko asks Madoka if she is willing to help even if Kyouko can’t promise her safety or success. Madoka cinnamon roll that she is accepts immediately offers  her hand into which Kyouko places a piece of candy in lieu of a handshake. 

Back at school Homura decides to dich as soon as it’s clear that Madoka isn’t coming. 

As the two of them search for Oktavia’s labyrinth, Madoka asks if Homura is going to help them. Kyouko says no and denies that Homura is her friend, they simply share a common goal, to defeat Walpurgisnact an enemy neither of them could face alone. 

Within the barrier Madoka asks Kyouko if she is a coward for always leaving the fighting to others. Kyouko flips the script her life is happy one, to abandon that, to become a Puella Magi for a mere whim is the height of stupidity. Kyouko won’t allow it, if Madoka did she would be the first to kick her ass. 

“The only people who should put their lives in danger are those who’ve got no other choice. Anyone else is just playing around.”

Kyouko then says there might be a time when Madoka has no choice but to fight, she should only consider the contract then.

We then arrive at the center of the labyrinth, or rather Oktavia realizes that she has intruders and they are pulled to the center. Oktavia’s familiars supply the background music as Madoka glimpses the remnant of her friend for the first time. She calls out to Sayaka but Oktavia’s only reply is to summon her wheels.

Kyouko raises her barrier and perpares herself to intercept the Witches attacks. As Madoka calls out to Sayaka Kyouko deflects a barrage of wheels with her spear. However Oktavia only steps up her attacks and Kyouko seems to be struggling to fight a purely defensive battle. 

As Kyouko starts to take hits she reminisces about her first encounter with Sayaka. She had dismissed the girl a first but she kept getting up no matter what. As she recalls that day red and blue flows across the screen froming the silhouette of Kyouko and Sayaka before resolving as flowing blood. Several wheels hit Kyouko and she is thrown backward. As Madoka moves to help Kyouko to her feet Oktavia seizes her in a massive armored gauntlet and begins to squeeze. 

Kyouko finally strikes severing the Witches limb and berating Sayaka. Oktavia brings her sword down shattering the floor and reveling an inverse of the concert hall they were in presided over by a familiar that resembles a certain boy.

Homura is there to catch Madoka. Kyouko apologises to Homura for dragging Madoka into her idiocy and the creates another of her barriers between her and Homura. The message there is clear. Kyouko acknowledges Homura’s mission focusing on the one thing she wants to protect above all else, Kyouko used to think that was what she was doing as well. She undoes her ponytail to reveal the symbol of her fathers faith that she had hidden in her hair, she never truly stopped believing. 

As Homura flees Kyouko summons spears from the earth in massive numbers including on large enough for her to ride. From her clasped hand she draws her Soul Gem that she has fused with the symbol of old faith.

“Don’t worry, Sayaka I know you don’t what to be alone. It’s ok. I’ll be here with you Sayaka.”

She then unleashes a massive attack through her own Soul Gem killing both her and Oktavia.

Back at the Homu-home Homura asks an interloping Kyubey if there was any chance for Kyouko’s plan to succeed. Kyubey admits that it was impossible and that he basically manipulated Kyouko to her death so Homura would have to face Walpurgisnact alone, and thus Madoka has no choice but to contract in order to save the city. Homura says that she will never let that happen.

For this episode Magia does not make it’s usual appearance instead replaced by “and I’m home” sing by Ai Nonaka and Eri Kitamura (VA’s for Kyouko and Sayaka respectively.)

And that’s Episode 9, when you get down to this Kyouko’s episode as much as Episode 10 is Homura’s episode. Kyouko what had come into the narrative preaching selfishness stakes it all on trying to save the girl who remined her of her old ideals. Now that the full weight of Kyubey’s system is reveled Kyouko tries to find a way out and in bittersweet way she does, choosing to expend her Soul Gem in a heroic sacrifice rather than fall into despair and become a Witch.

That said now there’s only one person standing in the way of Kyubey’s plans, though to a certain extent that’s how it’s always been.

[ayakashiramblings]

ABC NSFW Headcanons: Koga Kitamikado

So... in my absence, the only time I went on ARR was to vote for Koga and Aoi. And I just realized one of my top boys is literally at the top! Hence, I’m going to do a super late tribute... 

ALPHABETICAL STYLE!!!

... I’m so sorry for ‘D’ though. Click on ‘Keep Reading’ to NOT SEE IT.

A - ‘Aftercare’ (What they’re like after sex)

Once you’ve been intoxicated by Koga… YOU GET EVEN MORE DRUNK WITH SAKE.

Seriously, a nightcap is what ends a nice round of magic… because he has much more in store!

“I’ve rolled the die to give me a one! That’s super odd!”

Goddamnit, kiss this dork, please. 

Because only amongst soft kisses will the both of you be lulled to sleep.

B - ‘Body’ (Body Part of Yours he Loves)

Your head.

… Wait, no, not like that. Sort of. Hmm...

It’s just that he wants to be closer to you and he’s extremely soft for forehead touches during these tender moments. 

Feels like that’s where you share everything, your thoughts, your deepest secrets... everything. 

C - ‘Cum’ (How does his cum taste like/look like)

You know what? I think it’s pretty good.

At first, I wasn’t certain because he is a sake lover and that will affect the taste.

Plus, he didn’t really say what he likes in Hot Pot, although I’m guessing it has to include thinly sliced meat and leafy vegetables. The thing is beef isn’t good but if he pairs it with the right non-cruciferous veggies, it could come out decently.

Another thing I’ve noticed is his regular food intake. Sure, it’s called an old man’s diet like what Kuya says but pickles and rice for breakfast are good if you want extra flavour.

So it’s one of the tops in the list for the fact it has enough volume with a taste that isn’t bitter, salty or sweet. It’s just... 

Warm. 

D - ‘Dirty Secret’ (DUH)

He hates peaches but...

Your butt... is like the only kind of peach he would ever consider eating. 

Brown peach, peachy peach, pale peach, green peach and whatever the colour your panties are today, he’s going to really secretly enjoy the fuzzy texture but also silently HATE that the closest comparison is his least favourite fruit. 

E - ‘Experience’ (Does he know what he is doing?)

He’s had a few partners but that doesn’t negate the fact that he literally takes any challenge by... the horns. 

He does go to the Entertainment sector but honestly, he’d get closer to the sake bottles then the women there first.

That said, he’s very observant and can suss out any sensitive zones you have to get you screaming all night is all I’m saying. 

F - ‘Favorite Position’ (Again, duh)

Don’t kill me. 

But it’s the CowGirl position.

Not only does he get to see you in all of your magnificent, unclothed glory... (or maybe with clothes? It’s up to you, hun.)

But there’s something about a strong woman just topping him that makes him go wild, especially when she uses his horns to guide him to her entrance as she sinks down on him.

G - ‘Goofy’ (Serious or humorous?)

Dude, expect the both of you to burst out in ridiculous giggles if any supposedly sexy line comes out wrongly.

“Hey, Koga, are you feeling... horny?”

“Depends, are we going to be thoroughly... purified in the shower?”

H- ‘Hair under THERE’ (Pubic Hair Treatment, does the carpet match the shades?)

He does get uncomfortable if any hair on him gets too long for... certain reasons. 

So yup, don’t expect a bush.

It’s interesting how the middle is entirely crimson red while the surround curls are black but Koga sometimes wonders if his lower part is bleeding as a result. 

I - Intimacy

Ladies and gentlemen, the #1 in intimacy. 

He really... really... REALLY does not want to ever lose you again so he keeps his body so close to yours.

Every time he recalls the past inferno, he would be sure to drown out the memories by stroking the flames of passion with his fingertips against your skin. 

And he will check that your eyes are still full of life, even when both of you are in the midst of a climax.

J-Jack Off (Masturbation)

Honestly? Maybe once in a blue moon last time.

This man has had to deal with running businesses, establishing connections, terrible nightmares of losing his woman, and controlling his Carnage. As cheery as he is, he’d rather dedicate his free time to helping the Capital.

Until he met you NOT dying in his arms. Now, he had to give in to these sudden carnal urges that are coming at him with full force to make up for his lack of horny times in his teens. Usually, he tries to satiate them with actually having you but if you are busy, he will do so.

K- Kinks (One or two of his kinks)

Get his horns. 

Have I emphasized it enough? 

No? 

GRAB THEM.

L - Location (Favourite places to do the do)

His office. 

A certain spot will be designated, far away from the precious books that he has accumulated but always near the spot where he can nap for just a short while... 

Only to be reminded of your sweet moans, flushed face and great, now he’s wide awake and has to work off that desire... 

BY DOING MORE WORK.

... Kuya decides to invite you more often to the house because he is getting really tired of seeing Koga not actually taking a break. 

M - Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

Canonically, he gets jealous easily. Like, he actually beats Aoi in that department. 

Mention Toichiro giving you a beautiful kimono, Kuya sleeping at your place, Past! Koga giving you a book... wait, what?

Yeah, you catch the drift. No matter who it is, he’s going to want to reaffirm your feelings for him afterwards. 

Oh, but the ultimate turn-on is you beating him in a drinking contest.

... God, I’m making him sound like an alcoholic.

N - ‘No’ (Something they wouldn’t do, turn-offs)

Absolutely. No. Sharp objects. 

Not only will they hurt you, but he’s also worried that if he himself gets pricked, the Carnage will act up.

He IS kinda into the thought of you wielding a sword though.

O- Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

The God of Giving. He gives so, so, so much. 

Whatever did we do to earn this deity?

Ok, to be honest, it was hard at first because he was worried about the horns poking your thighs and tried to do it as a human at first. 

Until you insisted that he be comfortable and try working out the best position for both of you. 

Do suck him right though. He won’t deny his love for a good blowjob. 

He’s even turned the idea of mutual masturbation into a game - who can make the other come first? The winner gets a prize (probably who is going to save everyone else’s asses next time)

P - Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual)

Koga tries not to be rough, considering both of your... er... jobs and shared tragedy together. 

If you grab his horns though... you asked for it. 

Suddenly, he is thrusting into you so hard that you get sent a little higher up the sheets, the bedding getting more wrinkled and... soaked with certain body fluids. 

He’s going to give you make-up kisses to the hip area though because of a guilty conscience... and also to admire how you are still quivering from the aftermath.

Ultimately has a good balance between slow and sensual sex to rough and rapid romping in bed.

Q - Quickies (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc)

Poor soldier. 

Poor COMRADE OF YOURS.

This is his ultimate battle.

To take you right here, right now and bang like there is no tomorrow when technically they only have 10 minutes in some random closet...

Or to patiently and painfully wait for the sake of public decency (and sanitation) where you can be together without being seen? 

Taking you here in the middle of a hallway during a Gala sounds great but so does waiting until you’re behind closed doors so you can be free with those beautiful lips of yours.

Ultimately, the risk factor is what turns him to quickies if he’s particularly flirty but for more serious times, he’s definitely going to whisk you away somewhere for only the two of you.

R - Risks (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc)

... You know... we are talking about Koga Kitamikado, right?

It’s just a matter of what KIND of risk you guys want to take. A public one, a sex-toy related adventure...

The list can go on PROVIDED neither of you gets hurt.

S - ‘Stamina’ (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

The Carnage does take a toll on this aspect but Koga is an entrepreneur for a reason.

Let his fingers & tongue please you during the moments he has to recharge in between 3 rounds. 

T - ‘Toy’ (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

… Good god, he knows the owner.

But that’s the thing. 

Just because he knows it, unless you’ve expressed interest, he’s going to take things into his own very, very, very capable hands.

U - ‘Unfair’ (How much they like to tease)

Oh, he does tease you if you are acting particularly shy despite being completely nude and fully invested in intercourse.

He’s not going to be as bad a certain fox but he does love seeing you flustered if he hits a certain ticklish spot.

V- Volume (Do they moan/grunt?)

He really hates to admit it but you’ve been the only one to get ANYTHING out from him.

It’s even worse because even Koga can’t deny how animalistic he sounds.  

Growls, grunts, & groans, everything rumbles from him through you in the closest moment.

W - ‘Wildcard’ (Random Headcanon)

Medicine is not the only thing Koga is getting from Yura once you come in. 

No, but seriously, ever since you have given him those tea leaves, he has been hooked on aromatherapy and would like to incorporate that in your sex lives. 

It helps that there are some nice essential oils and massage lotions that help both of you get slick and ready.

Yura can’t judge him because... huehue...

X - ‘X-ray’ (How is the package?)

… I am too embarrassed. Let’s just say he has hit the double-digit integer in inches. 

But if you look at how I ranked him amongst the Dawn and Twilight factions, you know it’s gooD.

Yes, that ‘d’ letter was capitalized. A Capital D for the Man who loves the Capital.

Y - ‘Yearning’ (How high is his sex drive?’)

Before meeting you? His yearning was high… particularly, the yearning to die.

Same, my boy, same.

So honestly, it’s been sort of turned off although he could feel the biological urge and go get someone to relieve him of the ‘baggage’.

Upon meeting you, suddenly he has to adjust his sword hilt and... his other sword.

Z - ‘Zzzz…’ (How fast do they fall asleep?)

Honestly, he’s going to have trouble sleeping the first few times. 

Man is busy and working off that sexual energy just converts his strength to do something else.

Hence, the introduction of sake to share a lovely drink, a lovely moment and a lovely MOMENT TO FINALLY REST... with you!

[northern-typist]

Killing Me Softly: Part One

A/N: Merry Christmas Folks! In celebration of the new Star Wars being released, I thought I’d try my hand at a Star Wars fic. If you’ve seen the new one; I’m mad, so I thought I’d write a fic to help.

Pairing: General Hux/OC & Poe Dameron/OC (If you squint.)

Set: TFA and Beyond.

‘I heard he sang a good song

I heard he had a style

And so I came to see him'

—

Colette wanted to go home. To be away from this forsaken planet, from the sandy-dunes and sweltering heat. She spared a quick glance to her closest ally, the famed - Poe Dameron - and sighed, leaning back. He caught her gaze; sending a concerned look her way. Colette could do nothing but shrug, shaking her head; the silvery-blonde hair swishing along with her. She felt something, an unease, deep down within her. Turning back to Lor San, Colette tuned back into the conversation; they were here for a reason, after all...

"This will begin to make things right. I've travelled too far, and seen too much, to ignore the despair in the galaxy. Without the Jedi, there can be no balance in the Force."

Poe and Colette shared another look, the former leaning forwards.

"Well, because of you now we have a chance. The General's been after this for a long time."

Lor San chuckled lowly, smiling mirthfully; remembering.

"The General..." He pondered. "To me, she's royalty."

"She certainly is that." Colette mused in return.

—

As a young girl, General Organa, or Leia, as Colette was permitted to call her; was the only real mentor she had known. The General was her Mother after all. She allowed Colette to forge her own way within the Resistance; which, subsequently is how Colette ended up becoming a Healer. In the wake of her Brother's, as well as her Father's untimely departure; Colette had stayed close to her Mother. She'd been requested, by the General, to accompany Poe to Jakku - Just incase somebody needed an extra-hand.

—

Colette, however, was broken away from her distant thoughts, at the arrival of Poe's droid. Poe's ever-so wonderful BB-8. The room turned towards the door, where BB-8 currently resided.

He continued to beep wildly. Standing to attention, Colette found herself rushing to BB-8, kneeling down beside him. Brow furrowed.

"What's going on BB-8, what's the matter?" She queried, quickly. BB-8's frantic beeping continued; causing Poe to turn to Lor San with worried, wide eyes.

"We've got company." His voice deep, eyes trained on BB-8 and Colette.

This is what Colette had feared. She knew something was going to happen, something truly awful; and now, her worst fears had been confirmed.

The First Order was here.

—

Out in the open, the Group were able to see the oncoming enemy. In the distance; the murky-skies had started to open, First Order ships now beginning their decent onto Jakku. Reaching out, Poe managed to snag Colette's hand, squeezing it. She glanced down, thinking nothing of it - Poe usually did this during stressful moments.

The Pair turned their attention back to Lor San.

"You have to hide, I-"

Poe was interrupted by a hand, Lor San's to be exact. His face was grim. Colette knew what was coming next, her eyes moving to the ground, before the landed on the oncoming storm.

"No, son, you have to leave; both of you." Lor San instructed.

Poe and Colette nodded, the pair clearly conflicted; but with little to no choice, they parted ways. Both sides ready for battle.

—

One by one, the Transporter ships started to land; Stormtroopers, in their droves, began to file out. Guns at the ready, aimed at the Villagers. Screams echoed around, as the gunshots were fired. Many of the Villagers were starting to retaliate, but it was ultimately useless. The First Order were no match.

—

On the other-side of the Village, Poe, Colette and BB-8; now running at full speed towards their ship. Their hands connected, pulling each other closer and closer, towards safety. Looking down, Colette noted BB-8 lacking slightly behind.

"Come on BB-8, hurry!" She called out, the droid beeping in response.

Without hesitation, the trio boarded the ship. Poe sitting in the cockpit, Colette behind him; BB-8, also aboard, aided in by the mechanics of the ship. Craning her neck back, Colette noted a few stray Stormtroopers. Her stomach dropped, quickly bringing her hand up and banging on the divider between herself and Poe.

"What the-" He started, turning also, growing quiet upon seeing the danger.

The pair shared a glance, before Poe kicked the ship into-action. Fire and explosions, all from the Village, reflected in Colette's window. She couldn't stand to look. Averting her eyes, back towards Poe. The Plane whirred to life; starting to ascend up, into the air. When-

BANG!

Everything began to shake. The ship lurched, causing Colette to grip onto BB-8; the pair glanced back, once again. Two Stormtroopers were advancing closer. BB-8 beeped, worriedly. Colette nodded; moving her attention onto the control panel before her. Pulling a lever up, the gun below began to ready itself. The Stormtroopers neared, moving quicker; causing Poe to panic slightly.

"Colette..." He exclaimed loudly, eyes wide.

Hand over the trigger; Colette inhaled sharply, and pressed down. A resounding BOOM vibrated from behind. Colette grinned, cheering loudly; Poe doing the same. Turning back to his controls, Poe started to ship up again - however, this time, there was nothing. No power, the ship wouldn't restart. Warning sounds echoed from inside. Leaning into the Cockpit, Colette allowed a frown to grow.

"What's going on?" She questioned, over the deafening noise of the explosions.

Poe simply shook his head; starting to exit the ship.

"We need to fix the ship, before those idiots catch us." With that; he fully exited.

Now alone, Colette wordlessly shook her head and released BB-8, before exiting herself. She found Poe kneeling by the plane; working his so-called 'magic' to get it fixed and ready for flight. However, it was simply no use. There was nothing that could be done. Both, Colette and Poe knew this; resigning themselves to stop, and face the facts.

Poe then noticed BB-8, who watched his closest friends closely. Observing them. He sucked in a breath, he'd made his final decision. Kneeling down, he reached into his pocket, pulling out the leather sack; the one Lor San had gifted to them. The map to Luke Skywalker. Colette watched on as Poe quickly loaded the drive into BB-8.

"You take this. It's safer with you than it is with me. You get as far away from here as you can. Do you hear me? You and Colette-"

"No."

Colette's heart stopped beating, for a moment. She couldn't speak. Staring at Poe with wide, concerned eyes. Grasping Poe's hand, she shook her head reverently. Poe knew this look and gritted his teeth; Colette was always stubborn.

"I'm coming with you, I'm certainly not running away." She stated firmly. "We're in this together, Dameron."

BB-8 glanced back and forth, between his friends, unsure. Sensing this, Colette kneeled also. Tracing a hand over BB-8's head. Her eyes full of unshed tears. He beeped lowly. Purring.

"I know BB-8, I know. But you've got to do this, we'll only slow you down. Be brave, BB-8, be brave."

Tapping his head once more, Colette gathered herself and stood; re-taking Poe's hand, squeezing it. They stared at one-another, talking silently. From behind - Another large explosion echoed, causing the pair to jump. They stared at BB-8, who in turn, beeped loudly; rolling away. The pair watched him go. Poe's eyes full of sadness, Colette's full of worry.

"Over there."

Colette snapped around, noticing another group of Stormtroopers. She swore silently, hitting Poe's stomach and moving them behind the plane. Out of sight, away from the sight of the First Order. Leaning on the plane, the pair caught their breath.

"We need a plan."

Rolling her eyes, Colette motioned to her blaster, sitting by her waist. Poe's doing the same. Then it clicked; Poe started to grin boyishly, taking Colette's hand, kissing it. Colette, shaking her head, retracted her hand. Standing, pulling the blaster from her belt. Ready to fight.

—

The Village was in complete and utter chaos. Blood covered the walls, bodies were strewn across the sand-dunes; Stormtroopers still finding survivors, killing them, scaring the wildlife around. Smoke filled the air; Lor San watched the man before him, cautiously, wary. He finished speaking; the boy, the man he once knew - Then, the Knight of Ren unsheathed his sword, the red illuminating the landscape.

Poe was nearer to the scene than Colette, who had opted to sneak around from behind. She watched, caution filling her grey-eyes; blaster at the ready. Then it happened. The man, who she knew to be called Kylo Ren; charged his lightsaber towards Lor San, slicing him down the middle. She let out a gasp, trying to keep her emotions at bay. The older-man fell to the ground unceremoniously. What she didn't expect, was her oldest-friend to suddenly start charging towards Ren. His blaster fired, but was stopped. The beam halting in the air. Poe doing the same, now stuck, unable to move. He was then brought towards Ren, Troopers gripping his arms.

Colette tried peer around further, but, was struck by a hard object. Landing on the ground, Colette moved to retaliate, however; was brought to her feet. Glancing up, she noticed that she was now in the grip of two Stormtroopers. Struggling, Colette trashed about; trying to break free. But it was no use. There was simply no escape. Poe's heart sank; as a brotherly-figure to Colette, he'd hoped that Colette might've escaped, run to find BB-8. But alas, there she was; bloodied, bruised and in the arms of the First Order. Upon seeing Kylo Ren, Colette spat on the floor.

Under his mask, Ren smirked. She's just as he remembered.

Leaving Poe for a moment; he stepped closer to Colette. Tilting his head, almost mocking her. Colette simply stared, her eyes burning holes into Ren's mask.

"Maybe I could get the map from you? I didn't think they sent Healers to the field." He spoke mechanically. His voice sending a shiver down her spine.

Colette smirked, albeit tiredly.

"What can I say? I'm one of a kind." She quipped back, sarcastically.

Ren stayed silent, the Village, those around; waiting for his next move. Colette bit her gum, chewing nervously. Knowing that her sarcastic-nature would get her in-bother eventually. Ren started to lift a hand, nearing Colette's face. In the near distance, Poe began to call out for his friend. His pleas falling on deaf ears, as Ren flicked his hand, Colette falling unconscious due to the action. Falling limp, out cold; Colette started to fall, but was caught by Ren. Picking her up, he started to carry her towards the Transporter. Poe's shouting grew louder as they neared.

"Bring him too."

His eyes never leaving Colette, Poe watched as she was loaded onto the ship. Knowing that he would be following her soon.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

—

On Board the Finaliser...

Colette awoke with a start. Her breathing laboured, almost as if she'd been experiencing a bad-dream. Resting her head back, Colette tried to move her arms, but upon inspection; she realised the worst. This hadn't been a bad-dream, this was reality. She was onboard the Finaliser; within the grasp of the First Order. Colette's thoughts immediately went to Poe. She hoped he was doing alright, doing better than her. Groaning, Colette flopped back (or did her best to); in the end, this would be all worth it. The Resistance would get what they wanted, and Colette would never have to leave the Base again.

After another round of trying to settle, the door swooshed open; causing Colette to glance up, fearful of what was about to enter. She'd heard the stories about Kylo Ren, about the First Order. Deep down; she knew who he really was. Taking a deep breath, Colette prepared herself for the worst.

Footsteps echoed off the wall. They sounded orderly, professional.

Glancing up; her breath caught. Blue met Grey, and Colette thought her world was going to implode.

'You're finally awake."

Colette swallowed, taking in the man stood before her; this was the most feared General in the Galaxy. She was face to face with General Hux. Although; a small-part of her sighed, with relief; knowing she was away from Kylo Ren. Their eyes never wavered; the tension thick. Colette tried to chuckle, though it came out shaky. She was afraid, and it was very evident.

"After all that, a girl needs her beauty sleep."

—

General Hux hadn't wanted to interrogate the girl. He'd rather be stood on the Bridge, giving orders. Instead; he was stuck retrieving answers from a Healer. She was young, he'd noted; but not that much younger than himself. The girl was pretty too, naturally so. If she wasn't Resistance, maybe he might've taken a second look. Armitage Hux was a proud man. Never humble, always took pride in what he did, what he had achieved over his time. Then he saw her; the woman, the girl; the one they all fawned over within the Resistance. General Organa's daughter.

Removing his gloves, Hux located a nearby stool; pulling it towards him and seating himself across from Colette. His careful eyes watching her; every heave of her chest, the way her brow furrowed as she thought. Colette noticed him staring. Raising a careful eyebrow.

"Are you enjoying watching me, Mister Hux?"

"That's General Hux to you." He snapped.

"Well excuse me, General Hux, I do apologise." Colette's response was snappy, yet sarcastic.

Hux raised his glance; meeting her stare. Grey meeting blue. A harsh stand off. He'd never been spoken to in this manner before. He was used to obedience, and yet, here was the very opposite of what he knew. Sniffing, shuffling slightly, Hux pulled his lips into a signature sneer, smirking.

"What's your name then rebel scu-"

"Rebel scum? It's been awhile since someone called me that." Colette laughed. She could; it was almost fifteen moons ago. Her laugh echoed around the interrogation room. It almost reminded Hux of a songbird. However, he kept these thoughts to himself. Keeping silent, he tilted his head; motioning to Colette. Understanding him, she let out a sigh. "It's Colette Organa."

That was it; Colette. A pretty name, he thought; not expecting anything less from a woman such as the Princess. But now, it was time to get to business.

"Where's the map, Organa?" He questioned sternly. Colette simply shrugged her shoulders; acting innocent, her grey eyes wide, doe-like.

"What map?"

"The map, the map to Luke Skywalker, the map to your Uncle." He pressed; growing more agitated.

Again; Colette shrugged. Acting innocent, pretending to the furthest degree. He couldn't know of her Uncle's location, no one in the First Order could. Especially not Kylo Ren. She held his gaze, defiant.

"Even if I did, why would I tell you?" She queried, eyes wide.

Hux bunched up his fists. His patience, though there was little to begin with, starting to ware thin. Inhaling sharply, he fond himself leaning forwards, closer to Colette.

"Listen here, I know that you're not stupid, you're a clever girl. Playing innocent is fun, a fun game; but this isn't make believe, this is the real world and we need that map. Tell me where it is, and I won't have to bring in-"

Colette's eyes widened, suddenly; gripping the armrests harshly.

"No, please! Don't bring him in here, please, no." She begged, obviously frightened.

This caused Hux to take a moment, to stop. He evaluated Colette; pursing his lips, deciding. What was causing this visceral reaction; he'd never seen one quite like it before.

"He's currently in with your friend-"

Her eyes lit up at this; relaxing, ever-so slightly.

"Poe..."

—

At the opposite end of the ship; Poe stared at the Jedi stood before him. He felt the pull inside his mind; the intrusion causing him a great deal of pain. The Jedi trying his hardest to find the map, where BB-8 had gone. But, unfortunately for Poe; Ren's mind tricks were far too complex. He'd found what he required. Ren was now aware that BB-8 held the key to Skywalker. Defeated, Poe closed his eyes; his mind drifting to Colette. He prayed that she was safe, out of harms way.

"You care for her."

Upon hearing the mechanical voice, Poe's eyes snapped open. He huffed, glowering at Ren. Who in turn, was smirking (as he had done many times before) underneath his helmet.

"Yeah, yeah I care for her. What's it to you?" Poe managed to spit out, tired and weary.

Ren stepped back, observing the Resistance Fighter.

"It interests me to know who she spends her time with." He droned out.

"Where is she?" Ignoring him, Ren started to slow retreat from the room; causing Poe to redden, with rage. "Where's Colette, what have you done to her?" He raised his voice again. Hoping for an answer; he wasn't gifted with one. Poe was about to try for a third time, when he noticed Ren; who had stopped in the open door.

"Your friend-" He began. "She's with General Hux, now we have the map; she's and the droid are no concern of yours anymore."

"I swear to God, if he lays a hand on her-"

The door swooshed shut; Kylo Ren gone, Poe now alone. He continued to stare at the door; angered by the Jedi.

He would get Colette back, even if it killed him. He owed her that much.

—

Armitage Hux wanted to strangle the Healer sat before him. He never considered himself to be a violent man; he wasn't his Father. But this girl; she was something else. He hadn't been able to gather the map; she was much stronger than that, he had to give the girl credit. Now; she was stalling. However, Colette Organa, had decided the best way to stall - was to talk consistently, without letting the other get a say.

She was stalling for time, for Poe.

Hux, now pacing the room, awaiting for Ren, stared down at Colette coldly. She had managed to ignore all of his glares, and stares. Oblivious, or so it seemed. When the door opened; both turned, relieved. It wasn't Ren, but a Stormtrooper. It turned to Hux, adressing him.

"Yes?"

"The other Prisoner has revealed the location of the Map, Sir."

Hux spun back to face Colette, smirking victoriously.

"How marvellous. Tell the Troops to send a team to Jakku."

"Yes Sir."

The Stormtrooper retreated. Colette refused to look at Hux, unable to meet his gaze. For some reason; unbeknownst to Hux, he felt a stab in his stomach. He ignored the feeling; it was irrelevant. Leaning down; he placed two hands over Colette, on each hand rest. She took the moment to turn, meeting his gaze. Her grey eyes burning into his own. A fire now there; he swallowed, continuing to sneer.

"Would you look at that; seems the Resistance aren't so brilliant after all."

"Oh dear, and I thought we were getting on so well." She commented.

"This is war, my dear, it's no place for the likes of you. We have what we want and we'll find it." He replied, serious and stern.

Colette bit back a laugh. Now closer to him; she was starting to notice General Hux's features. He was rather handsome, she thought; although, she couldn't allow that thought to run any further. No good would come from it. Sighing, she shifted; sitting straighter. Hux took notice. Frowning.

"Well, before you go, could you at least release my bonds? I-I need to use the refresher." She tried, hoping the ginger would fall for her spin. She watched his features, unrelenting in her gaze. He fidgeted; was he considering it? "Please, General; I wouldn't ask, but I'm rather desperate-"

“No."

"No?"

Hux began to shake his head; also standing straighter, to his full height.

"I know better than to fall for some pretty-girls lies."

There was a long, pregnant pause.

"You think I'm pretty, General?" She teased, smirking.

Gritting his teeth, Hux slammed a hand down next to Colette's head; just where she wanted him. His face was redder; clearly embarrassed. Peeking up at Hux's hand; Colette decided, then, it was time.

“I will not have some insolent Healer-“

Hux wasn't able to finish his sentence, as Colette brought her knee upwards; reaching his groin. He recoiled; but not before slamming a hand onto the controls, accidentally releasing Colette's bonds. She lunged forwards, bringing Hux to the ground. Holding him down; now straddling him; her hair hanging out of her buns. He groaned, opening his eyes. They widened upon noticing who sat upon him.

“Excellent."

"Not so bad for an 'insolent Healer', huh?" She taunted. All Hux could do was groan. Reaching inside his greatcoat; Colette grappled for Hux's blaster, finally, after awhile; finding it and bringing it out. Hux watched her though his haze; unsure of her next moves. Colette quickly stood, aiming the blaster down. Smirking. "Now, General, this has been fun. But I've got a pilot to save."

She didn't allow room for a reply, instead, deciding on rushing towards the door; however, a small voice stopped her.

“You are rather pretty, Organa.”

A small smile escaped Colette's lips. She peaked behind, just for a moment.

"You're not so bad yourself, General."

For the last time; Grey met blue, and Colette collected herself, before opening the door and rushing off down the corridor. Hux groaned; his ribs crying out for some pain-relief. He winced, sitting; gathering his thoughts. Had he allowed her to escape? Surely not. She'd managed to best him; although, Hux put that down to an element of surprise.

Colette Organa was one hell of a women, even he would allow himself to admit that.

Standing; he leaned against the wall - reaching towards the Comm system. He punched in the code and began speaking-

—

"-find her, and bring her to me. That is a direct order."

Colette raced down the hallway, and another; and another. Each one looked the same; maybe she was going around in circles? Reaching a lift, she pressed the button and waited for the oncoming lift. Occasionally glancing behind; now that Hux had broadcast her escape, the chase was certainly on.

—

There was no time left; no time to find Colette. They were on opposite sides of the ship. Poe, now with his newest acquaintance in tow; ran through the corridors - towards the landing strip. The pair boarded a ship; beginning the starting procedures. As the ship finally left the Finaliser, Poe thought about Colette; he'd come back for her.

—

DING.

Turning, Colette watched as the Lift doors opened; but soon regretted it - catching a glimpse of whom was situated inside it. She turned to run, but was halted. The Force forcing her to turn and stop. Grey latched onto grey. Finally; she was face to face with him. The One she had avoided for so long.

"Hello Sister."

—

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this First Part; I’m so excited to continue Colette’s journey.

[dandeaix-oomph]

incomplete THEY FUCK IN THE COFFIN chapter 4: cooking/drunk

Day Thirty-Two.

Ogata wakes to Sugimoto kissing him on his shoulder.

“Get up,” Sugimoto whispers, his eyes glitter-pen gold in the dim light. “It’s snowing. First snow. Come watch it with me.”

Ogata doesn’t care. He pulls the blanket tighter around him. “I want to sleep.” 

“You can go back to sleep later.”

“No.”

For a moment, Ogata thinks that he has successfully dismissed Sugimoto as the bed dips and lifts as Sugimoto slips away. Then Sugimoto’s shadow falls over him and Ogata is scooped out of bed, blanket and all.

Sugimoto’s grin is too fucking bright for the asscrack of dawn. “You can sleep if you want,” he taunts, carrying Ogata out into the living room. 

The couch is pushed up against the window; it seems Sugimoto has been prepared. He dumps Ogata onto the couch before sliding over the armrest, sliding the windows open as he hangs his arms out.

Cold, Ogata thinks, bundling himself up with the blanket. He hasn’t bothered putting on clothes after last night, what with Sugimoto acting as a human furnace beside him. “Winter sunrises are dreary,” he comments, leaning against Sugimoto. 

Sugimoto raises an arm and hooks it around Ogata’s shoulders. “But I like to watch the snowfall.”

“Hmm.” Nuzzles Sugimoto’s chest. It’s like a memory pillow. “No snow in space?”

“None at all. Only rain and hail and occasionally, flaming debris.”

Ogata snorts. “Flaming debris? Very creative.”

“I don’t know what’s up with that too.” He buries his nose in Ogata’s hair. Kisses his hairline. “Don’t worry, no one has ever been struck by it yet. It’s like those debris have eyes: they don’t strike people.”

“So they are… semi-sentient?”

“Who knows.” Sugimoto stares out of the window again. “As much as sacred sites have their spirits, I suppose.”

-

The mortality rate always goes up during the winter season, but Ogata thinks he can afford to take a break, just for a day.

He switches off his phone and leaves the closed sign on the door, and after turning up the heater, spends the morning sitting on the kitchen counter as Sugimoto tries to prepare them a meal - an attempt quickly abandoned after Sugimoto realises that Ogata has been stealing the sliced sashimi every time he looks away.

“Out,” Sugimoto commands, trying to shove Ogata out of the kitchen. “Or there’ll be no more gourmet dishes for you.”

“Who cares,” Ogata replies, and proceeds to stick his hands down under Sugimoto’s pants.

“You know,” Sugimoto mutters, after they ended up making out on the kitchen floor and leaving Ogata frustratingly hard, “there is something I want to show you.”

“Your dick anytime soon, I hope.”

“Wait, wai -” Sugimoto seizes Ogata’s wrists. “Give me just five minutes. You see what it is, then we’ll get to fucking on a proper bed, ok? Not the, the kitchen floor, we prepare food here, it’s unsanitary.”

“It’s not like any of us don’t swallow -”

“Later!” Sugimoto shouts frantically. Funny how Sugimoto still gets embarrassed about sex even after so long. “The garage first.”

“The garage? I thought I’m not allowed in until you’re done?” That rule is created after Ogata has ribbed him too hard and Sugimoto ended up sulking for the next two days. 

“I am done,” Sugimoto replies gravely. The statement lands with a thud, heavy with finality. “Mostly. I want you to take a look at it.”

Ogata is curious, but he is also achingly hard. “Must it be now?”

“It’ll only take five minutes,” Sugimoto stresses. 

Which is how they end up stumbling into the garage, Ogata still trying to nip at Sugimoto's ear while Sugimoto squirms and chuckles in equal measure.

“Hey, be serious now.” Sugimoto pecks him on his right temple before nudging Ogata around to face the coffin. “What do you think of it?”

“Trashy.”

“You didn’t even look at it,” Sugimoto protests, “honestly, Ogata. This is important to me. Did I do alright?”

“You’ve definitely passed at first glance, at least,” Ogata informs dryly, finally pulling away. “Fine. Let’s have a look then.”

Sugimoto clasps his hands nervously behind his back as Ogata circles the coffin. Ogata checks the seams and the edges. No problem there, as per usual.

The designs, however.

“It… is pretty good, actually.” Albeit rather simple. Nevertheless, it is a far cry from when Sugimoto first started out: Ogata likes the patterns that Sugimoto has etched on the corners instead of merely tolerating their mediocrity. That’s a first. “Although I wasn’t expecting something this minimalistic. Your drafts have been much more detailed.”

“About that.” Sugimoto scratches his neck. “I was hoping that you can finish it for me.”

That is unexpected. Absently, Ogata traces a spiral.  “I think you mentioned it before. Finishing touches, you called it.”

“I did. I wasn’t sure you remember.”

“Surprise,” Ogata answers flatly. “But the way you drafted around this space here...” He finally looks up. “This might as well be a blank canvas for me.”

“It is.” Sugimoto takes a step closer. Tentatively, he flattens his palm against the side of the coffin. “I reached the limits of my skills first, and then I ran out of ideas. I mean, you know what they say: grown-ups aren’t the most creative. Unless we fight to keep it, we will forget the fantasies of our childhood.

Ogata’s childhood has felt like a blanket made of lead, dragging him down until he manages to chip a hole in it so he can finally poke his head out and breathe. “Don’t say it like that’s a good thing.”

“But it can be,” Sugimoto insists. He ruffles Ogata’s hair, laughing when Ogata elbows him. “Just because you don’t throw them out, doesn’t mean that they’re all deadweights.”

“That’s sentimentality speaking.”

“Nothing wrong with that too. Without infusing anything with meaning, they’re all just items.” Sugimoto turns back to his coffin again. “But if you give it enough purpose… Remember how proud we used to be over some doodles when we’re kids? Sometimes, I feel like anything I create can come to life: grab a magic crayon. Draw an apple tree and a ferocious monster to guard it, and then a hot air balloon to fly you home.”

“Scribble a moon and your bedroom window around it, and then a cozy bed for you to sleep in.” Ogata taps on the edge. “And then they nail down the lid and burn you down into ashes at eight hundred degree celsius.”

“That took a morbid turn.”

“An absolute conversation killer,” Ogata agrees. “So are you done? Can we fuck now?”

“Ogata.” 

“You said five min - stop grinning like that.” Ogata squishes Sugimoto’s cheeks with both hands. “I said stop it.”

Sugimoto puts an arm around Ogata’s waist. “You’re ridiculous.”

“No, I’m blue-balled.” Without hesitation, Ogata loops his arms around Sugimoto’s neck and jumps - Sugimoto’s hands dart out to grip Ogata by the thigh, but the suddenness of the movement has thrown off his balance, and Sugimoto staggers back, a leg kicking in the air, before he rights himself and tilts forward.

For a precarious moment, Ogata thinks that Sugimoto will end up dropping him; then Sugimoto has one hand flattened on his lower back and the other gripping the edge of the coffin.

Huh. A very convenient position. Ogata unhooks a leg. It thuds loudly at the base of the coffin.

“Please don’t do that again,” says Sugimoto.

Ogata quirks the end of his lips. “We’ll see.” Then, “Hey, a bed is a bed, right?”

Sugimoto looks aghast as he pats on the coffin. “This is a metaphor."

“You didn’t specify,” Ogata retorts smugly. “And isn’t it tradition to christen a new bed?”

“Oh no.”

“Oh yes.” 

 "Ogata," Sugimoto pleads, "I've spent too long on this coffin to get any dubious stains on it."

"I know eight different ways to bleach out stains from wood."

"That's not -"

"Either you fuck me right now," Ogata interrupts, "or no sex for a week."

Sugimoto does not look impressed. “We both know that’s not going to happen.”

Now that’s not fair. Ogata may have been the one initiating sex more often, but he’s also a stubborn bastard. “Do you wanna bet?”

“I feel like I’ll lose either way,” Sugimoto confesses. Reluctantly, he lets Ogata pull him down, his body a comfortable weight on top as he tucks his arms under Ogata’s lower back.

Sugimoto buries his face against Ogata’s sternum. The tip of his ears are red. “Why do you always do this to me?”

Ogata curls his fingers into Sugimoto’s hair. “Do what?”

“You know what.” Sugimoto stares up at him, eyes accusing before they soften into something, something that Ogata does not want to name. “You’re a handful.”

(It’s insanity-inducing, the way that Sugimoto gazes up at him. It makes his breath stutter, his heart fluttering like those stupid butterflies when they struggle to free themselves from a spider’s web. Sugimoto can probably hear the way that his lungs hollow when Sugimoto smiles, so soft, so fucking tender, and what the hell is this, Ogata doesn’t -)

Ogata jerks Sugimoto’s head back, relaxing when those eyes squeeze shut. He’s going to make Sugimoto fucking cry. “Just shut up and fuck me, Sugimoto.”

“Don’t put it that way,” Sugimoto protests, his eyebrows knitting together even as his lips curl. He kisses Ogata on the left pec, over his heart, and rests his lips there. Badump, badump; the rhythm of human love and human lives. “I am fond of you.”

“Is that a confession I hear?”

“If you wish,” Sugimoto allows. “As I’ve said, It can be anything at all - I could be anything you want me to be, you know.”

Ogata grabs the baby hair at the base of Sugimoto’s skull and tugs until Sugimoto shifts again, a knee between Ogata’s thigh and his face so close that Ogata can barely feel the brush of chapped lips against his. “Can you?”

“Not anymore,” Sugimoto admits. “But once upon a time. Nevermore,” he continues, “unless it’s Neverland. But to visit you’ll need a vessel.” He laughs when Ogata raps his knuckles against the coffin. “Stop that, that joke has gone on long enough.”

Ogata grins. “Then make m -”

Sugimoto kisses him, soft as a rosebud, and so he concentrates on that. Concentrates on the pulse under his fingers, the heat, the flicker of the lashes when Sugimoto pauses to stare at him. 

Lovely, Ogata thinks before he can stop himself, and isn’t given the chance to berate his brain when Sugimoto starts tugging up Ogata’s sweater.

The hands are so hot against his sides, hot like tears, and they stream down to his hips to push down his pants to drip across his thighs and pool at his kidneys. Sugimoto’s mouth burns against his skin, and when he sucks around Ogata’s tit, Ogata feels a tremor rise from his bones, the earth rolling over in its slumber.

Kisses all the way down, cutting deep into his flesh - the thorns of rose vines, he thinks inbetween gasps, and wonders if it is worth the trouble to make Sugimoto run back upstairs for the lube. 

Sugimoto seems to have reached the same conclusion. “Don’t make me,” he begs, before mouthing at Ogata’s hipbone, as though that will drive his point in deeper. “Don’t spoil the mood.”

“You are the one spoiling the mood,” Ogata argues, jutting a knee up to nudge. Sugimoto kisses Ogata’s belly again, and that tickles, the muscles in his abdomen jumping before Ogata can pretend nonchalance. “Don’t do that.”

“Don’t do what?” Sugimoto has the widest smirk on his face as he rubs his chin above Ogata’s belly-button, the faintest shadow prickling the skin. “This doesn't feel good?”

“Of course not, you fucking tease -” Ogata curls upwards in a squirm that makes him feel more like a cooked prawn instead. “You -”

“Woah.” Sugimoto narrowly catches Ogata’s leg before it can kick him and fracture a bone, or something. Ogata almost wishes it can. “This is for making me do all the chores that you have been putting off for years.”

“You decide to outsource your labour for free, don’t complain.”

[whitewolfofwinterfell]

My favourite Charmed episodes - season 3

This is the third part to my Favourite Charmed Episodes meta series all posts in the series will be tagged as #favecharmedeps.

Ah, season 3. I’ve always loved this season and regarded it as being one of my favourites because it feels like this is where the show really hits the ground running and is the first season whereby I consider nearly every episode to be good (with the exception of Wrestling with Demons but even that episode isn’t all bad even if we just count seeing Prue and Phoebe being bad asses and fighting in the ring). Once again all three sister’s have great arc’s this season - Prue learns to balance work and play; Piper struggles in her relationship with Leo and finally marries him; Phoebe graduates college and enters into a very dramatic and intense relationship with Cole. We also see a lot of sister bonding this season, particularly between Prue and Phoebe at the start of the season, who are left alone for a month whilst Piper is with Leo. Power Outage, is also a great episode for sister bonding, which I’ll discuss more later. I’ve chosen 7 episodes from this season as my favourites which I’ll be discussing in this post and they are - All Halliwell’s Eve, Power Outage, Coyote Piper, The Good, the Bad and the Cursed, Just Harried, Sin Francisco and Look Who’s Barking. 

All Halliwell’s Eve (3x04)

This one should come as no surprise to anybody. I don’t think there’s a single Charmed fan that wouldn’t rate this episode in their top 10 episodes across the series. It’s partly because this episode is fun - it has two things that Charmed fans are a sucker for costumes and time travel, it has Leo and Darryl working together and a Halloween theme (who doesn’t love a good Halloween episode?). But more than that, this episode is one of my favourites because it taps into the core of the sisters heritage and traditions as witches. There’s something so enjoyable and interesting about seeing the sisters fully explore their magic and understand the history of their ancestors, how they lived and where their power originated from. They briefly experienced this kind of interaction with Melinda in The Witch is Back (1x09), but it was nice to have that expanded on and for the sisters to have the opportunity to meet their ancestors even beyond Melinda. 

Since the sisters didn’t have their powers for a majority of this episode it was great to see them do good without the safety net of their powers and to find alternate methods to channel their magic. For me, that (amongst other things) is what really sets the early seasons apart from the later seasons - the sisters were constantly trying to find new methods, strategies and techniques in how they fought evil and saved innocents beyond simply using their active powers. 

I’m also a sucker for the Halloween theme and the way it tapped into what has become a commercialised holiday, stripped it back and explored what it meant to covens of witches in the seventeenth century. 

I also loved how there were implications that the sisters shaped their own futures in this episode. They saved Melinda from evil, meaning their family line was able to develop over the generations because of the sisters - they saved their family and their future. It’s also ironic that at the start of the episode Phoebe condemns the portrayal of witches in popular culture, but ends up being the one that creates that image by wearing the pointy hat, flying a broom and cackling. It’s a nice slice of irony. 

Overall, this episode is just very pleasing to watch visually and thematically, and it still disappoints me that this is the only proper Halloween episode we got across the series since Halloween is probably the main holiday of significance for witches in regards to the traditions and history of covens. 

Power Outage (3x07)

I love this episode and think it’s very underrated. It’s a fantastic episode for the sisters’ relationships with each other, Phoebe and Cole’s relationship and generally has great drama and storytelling. 

Charmed was built on the premise that it’s about sisters that are witches, not witches that are sisters and this episode really enforces that philosophy. The sisters bicker and argue over trivial things that siblings typically argue about, and it serves as a reminder that regardless of how much the sisters love each other or how close they are, underneath it all they’re still just human sisters. The fact that the biggest vulnerability they have that Cole can exploit is their unresolved frustration and anger towards one another is very authentic and it’s scarier, because Cole doesn’t directly target the sisters and attempt to kill them, he uses Andras to amplify tensions and emotions that already exist between the sisters. After their huge argument, when the sisters try to patch up their differences and regain their powers, it’s a pivotal scene in allowing them to address the flaws in their dynamics - as the eldest sister Prue can be too overbearing and judgemental, as the middle sister Piper can be taken for-granted and overlooked and as the youngest Phoebe is regarded irresponsible and reckless by Prue and Piper. These are fundamental traits that we know exist within the trio throughout seasons 1 and 2, but the issues they cause are never fully addressed between all three of them until this point. Ironically, Cole’s attempt to sever the bond between the sisters only serves to bring them closer together. 

Speaking of Cole, this is a very interesting episode for him. This is the episode where we truly see his struggle with his mission to kill the sisters and his inner turmoil over his growing feelings for Phoebe. I’ve spoken about this before, but I think this episode is when Cole starts to realise that he’s really falling for Phoebe and it terrifies him. After her argument with Prue and Piper, Phoebe goes to his apartment and is crying and very vulnerable. He has her right where he wants her, he even has a knife in his hand ready to kill her but he can’t bring himself to do it. The fact that the episode ends with Cole killing the Triad proves that he’s no longer committed to his mission or able to go through with it. 

What makes this episode so brilliant is that it provides insight into the emotions of the sisters and Cole, and gives a tremendous pay-off with the sisters overcoming their differences and banding together, and Cole killing the Triad in a fit of rage because of the way he was feeling. 

Coyote Piper (3x09)

This is probably one of my all time favourite Charmed episodes and has been since I was a kid. And it’s not just because we get to see Piper dancing on the bar on leather pants, although that does go down in history as being one of the more memorable scenes of the series haha. It’s because it’s such a great Piper-centric episode and it also gives a lot of focus to my favourite sister relationship - Prue and Piper. 

Although we already know Piper as having a more reserved personality than her sisters, this episode is the first time we get insight into why that is. Piper’s unpopularity at school and inferiority complex explains a lot of her behaviours as an adult, particularly in season 1 where she is a lot more malleable and somewhat of a people pleaser. I know that I’m not the only one that relates to this on every single level. I was 100% the Piper at school, I was shy, awkward, self-conscious and although I had my own mind, I cared too much about the approval of others. Because of the pressure of her high school reunion and the fear of how her peers from school will judge her Piper reverts back to her high school self, desperately finding an outfit that will give off the best impression, worrying about what people will say about her life choices and even allowing Missy to order her around. 

In comparison to Piper, Prue is her opposite. We already know Prue is confident, but Prue in this episode stands out once again as being incredibly self-assured. It’s no surprise that she’s revealed to have been extremely popular at high school and the head of the cheer-leading squad. 

The fact that Prue and Piper are opposites in this manner highlights their sisterly dynamic better than any other episode, in my opinion, and explains why Piper reacts the way she does in season 4 after Prue’s death. Piper’s meekness is off-set by Prue’s confidence and outspokenness, and Prue really has to coach Piper through the reunion and push her to stand up for herself. Prue is Piper’s strength and Piper relies on her hugely in this episode for support and guidance, and their interactions in this episode are a direct reflection of how I imagine their relationship to have been at school. When Prue realises that Piper is possessed, we see her make a very emotional admission to Piper about how she feels she’s failed her and should’ve seen the signs that she was possessed sooner. This hearkens back to the theme that’s central to the episode of Prue, as Piper’s big sister, being responsible for keeping her safe. The fact that Prue knew what had to be done and she was brave enough to stab Piper is demonstrative of that big sister quality that Prue has. No matter how hard it gets, she is able to make the toughest and most impossible decisions in order to save Piper. As I mentioned above, this episode serves as a perfect basis for Piper’s grief in season 4 and explains why it is so different from Phoebe’s. Both sisters have a close and loving relationship with Prue, but Piper needs her. Prue is not just her sister, but her best friend, her guardian angel and her strength, and that is a role that Prue played in Piper’s life since she could remember, which is why she found it impossibly hard to adjust to life without her. 

Aside from this episode being important for Prue and Piper’s relationship, it is equally important for Piper’s character development. Piper begins the episode trying to change and be someone different for the benefit of others, and when she’s possessed her agency is taken away and she’s forced to become someone she’s not. That experience is enough to remind Piper that she is who she is and she should remain true to herself no matter what. 

It’s also worth noting that Phoebe’s distance from her sisters in this episode is very noticeable and is great story-telling, since she’s dealing with the aftermath of faking Cole’s death. It’s realistic that Phoebe would find it difficult to look Prue and Piper in the face knowing she’s lying to them and although Phoebe didn’t have a huge role in this episode, her behaviour was very fitting for a person who was suffering through the emotional ordeal that she was. 

The Good the Bad and the Cursed (3x14)

It’s strange that when I was a child I never liked this episode, but by god, I bloody love it now. I enjoy everything about this episode - Victor as a guest star, Alyssa’s acting (it’s off the charts in this episode), Prue and Cole (the twosome I never knew I needed), the time travel, of course, and generally I love this episode thematically. In fact, I love this episode so much that I feel like my thoughts are going to come out in a huge stream of consciousness about everything I love rather than an actual analysis, so forgive me. 

I like this episode from the opening scenes, because we get to see Victor and Phoebe together. It’s a rare moment when we get to see Victor with the girls, and it’s always great to see him actually building relationships with them. Victor left the girls because he was opposed to them being witches, so it was necessary for him to gain insight into what that means. Some of his concerns are validated as he witnesses the pain Phoebe has to endure, but likewise he sees the good that magic can do and how it saves Phoebe. His prejudices about Whitelighters are challenged when he finds out Leo is a Whitelighter (in one of the most hilarious scenes to date) and likewise, he has to face up to the reality of Phoebe being in love with a demon. Overall, this is a very pivotal episode for Victor whose knowledge and understanding of the girls’ lives as witches is brief and his opinions on magic are rather prejudiced and uninformed. It also reinforces his relationships with his daughters - his anger and fear at the possibility of losing Phoebe, his protectiveness of Piper and his desire to get to know Leo as her husband-to-be and the ease with which he interacts with Prue who welcomes him with a warm smile and hug, which is particularly significant given her attitude towards him at the start of the series. 

Bringing Prue and Cole together in this episode is freakin’ genius. Their dynamic is so interesting because it’s characterised by distrust and disdain, but they actually make a great team. They put their feelings towards each other aside and unite because of their shared love for Phoebe. There’s something so compelling about watching the two of them together (I’m not gonna lie, I kinda dig Prue/Cole as a romantic pairing because of this episode, but that’s a separate subject) and the combination of their personalities creates a fascinating dynamic. They’re both impulsive and act on emotion in the moment, and they disagree on almost everything yet they weirdly balance each other out and keep each other in check. There are moments when they have to hold the other back and talk each other down such as when Cole immediately suggests killing Sutter and Prue reminds him that shouldn’t be his first instinct if he’s trying to be good or when Cole reminds an overzealous Prue to be more cautious so as not to draw attention and arouse suspicion. Prue sees Cole for exactly who he is (perhaps even more so than Phoebe who is inclined to see Cole’s goodness and overlook his darkness) and in this episode she uses that darkness in Cole to help them through their mission whilst simultaneously detesting it and scalding him for it. Prue’s reversion of Cole lies in the fact that she does see good in him, but she doesn’t want to admit it because she doesn’t want to let that cloud her judgement and make her forget there is also darkness in him, in the same way that it often clouds Phoebe’s judgement. This episode shows that conflict of good and evil that exists within Cole perfectly, but also demonstrates that despite him still having demon instincts, he’s actually very capable of working together with the sisters and could be a very valuable asset to them (which he does become in season 4). 

Over the course of the series we meet a lot of innocents, but I actually really connected to Bo in this episode and the story of the townspeople. Part of the connection I feel to Bo is likely because he is directly connected to Phoebe, but it’s also the fact that Bo is an innocent victim that has to suffer horrendous torture and a violent death over and over for his people. He’s the literal embodiment of a savior - he dies for the sins and cowardice of his people. I think the reason this story speaks to me so much is because it’s so human and tells an important moral lesson about the importance of banding together and standing up for what’s right. Too many of us stand by and watch something we know is wrong unfold or remain silent when we see someone is being mistreated or suffering an injustice, but this town were cursed for having that kind of cowardice. Seeing the townspeople finally stand up to Sutter and save Bo is such an incredibly powerful moment and it’s very underrated. 

I also can’t talk about this episode without mentioning Alyssa’s acting which is truly incredible in this episode. The scene where Bo is being whipped repeatedly and Phoebe is screaming in pain is so difficult to watch. You really feel the pain of both Bo and Phoebe in that scene and although deep down we know that Prue and Cole won’t fail, for a moment it genuinely feels like they’re going to die. And what makes it even more heartbreaking is that every other time the loop has taken place Bo has felt that pain and it ended with him being shot dead in front of his sister and the entire town, which is heartbreaking. 

I feel like I could talk about this episode all day, it’s very understated and although on the service the Western theme of the episode might deter some people from ranking it in one of the best episodes, it’s a slice of gold which I feel is very overlooked. 

Just Harried (3x15)

This episode is another that I could talk about all day because I love every single scene in this episode - I love the sweet scenes between Piper and Leo as they prepare for the wedding, the appearances of the family Patty, Penny and Victor, Victor and Leo having a heart to heart, Piper opening up to Patty and Victor about her fears of marriage, Prue’s astral self going wild, Piper and Leo getting married in one of the most understated but beautiful and romantic fictional weddings on TV - I just bloody love all of it. 

The family dynamics in this episode are so lovely. The scene with Patty and the sisters alone is one of the most heart warming episodes in the series, so understated and it speaks to anyone who has a loved one they’ve lost whom they would give anything to see again. As I mentioned already, the scenes between Leo and Victor where Leo finally stands up to Victor and tells him he loves Piper and is marrying her whether he likes it or not is such a “HELL YEAH” moment and is the first time Leo truly gets Victor’s respect because he sees how much gumption Leo has. When the wedding is abruptly ended by Prue’s astral self, the entire family (including Cole and Darryl) come together to ensure that the wedding goes ahead because they all believe so strongly in Piper and Leo’s love (the speech Leo gives and Phoebe saying their love has touched them all, is still so sweet and I love it). Seeing Piper’s heart to heart with Victor and Patty about how the failure of their relationship has tarnished her perception of relationships and made her cynical of marriage was a very important scene. Of all the sisters, the impact of Patty and Victor’s split, Patty’s death and Victor’s abandonment is least explored in regards to how it affected Piper. We’re constantly reminded of Prue’s abandonment issues with Victor (particularly in season 1) and her unresolved trauma over Patty’s death which manifests itself in an inability to hold down a relationship. We hear from Phoebe multiple times how she felt the absence of her mother’s comfort and this resulted in her being much more emotional and sensitive than her sisters, which explains why she reacts to Victor in the extreme opposite way to Prue, welcoming him with open arms and love. It also explains why generally love, passion and romance was central to Phoebe’s character throughout the series - it’s almost like she made up for the absence of her parents love in her childhood by giving out twice the love in her adult years and constantly seeking it out in others. But back to the point, that scene Piper shared with her parents was vital for her character and I’m so glad it was them that went to her and convinced her to return to the manor and go through with the wedding. It was also refreshing to see Phoebe take on the middle sister role in this episode, trying to mediate between Prue’s exhaustion because of the antics of her astral self and Piper’s stress about the wedding. She takes the responsibility on her shoulders to make sure Prue is okay whilst simultaneously trying to ensure the wedding plans go smoothly and Piper gets the wedding she so desperately wants.

Prue’s arc in this episode is brilliant and links back to ‘Which Prue is it Anyway?’ in season 1 which explores the duality of Prue’s character. Season 3 generally focuses more on Prue’s struggle between the two aspects of her life and personality - work and play - and this episode reflects that perfectly. It’s always fun to see Prue let go and have some fun, but also astral Prue speaks to most of us on a personal level, right? We all have that feeling sometimes where we’re sick to death of following the status quo, of always abiding by the rules and doing what we’re supposed to do, and every now and again we get this overriding urge to just throw caution to the wind and go crazy. Prue feels that on a grander scale because of the sense of responsibility she carries. Patty speaks of how unfair her death is on Prue because it thrust so much responsibility on her shoulders at a young age, and although technically Prue doesn’t shoulder that responsibility anymore because Piper and Phoebe are adults who make their own choices and live their own lives, that responsibility of being the big sister never goes away, and I’m speaking from experience here. Prue’s arc in this episode speaks to a fundamental contradiction in her character - she resents the responsibility she has to shoulder but she also craves it and needs it. Being the big sister is her purpose in life, and I think the true crisis for her in this episode, which she confirms herself in so many words, is that she no longer feels like Piper and Phoebe need her. Piper is getting married and Phoebe is in her first serious relationship, and she’s starting to see that generally her sisters are relying on her less and less and leading their own lives. In contrast, she compares her own life to theirs and in a romantic sense realises that it doesn’t live up. She hasn’t had a significant connection or relationship since Andy and although she’s very independent, Prue is only human and wants love as much as any of us do. It’s no coincidence that astral Prue strikes up a relationship with TJ; she’s seeking romantic connection. She even says it herself, “I want to find love, I want to have a life” (x). And of course, Phoebe’s college degree in psychology perfectly aligns with this and allows Phoebe to analyse and understand astral Prue and she figures out that she is Prue’s id (her base desires). It’s Phoebe’s reassurance that she and Piper are fine and that they have found love and purpose because of her that releases astral Prue, because astral Prue is born immediately from the lingering responsibility Prue feels that she wants to shed. But then, as I mentioned, she wants to be rid of the responsibility but also knows she will then have a crisis of sorts as she tries to find herself outside of that primary role as big sister. In the past I’ve seen people criticise the focus on Prue in this episode since it should’ve been all about Piper and Leo, but the thing is, it’s very fitting and realistic. A lot of single adults go through a mini crisis of sorts when a close friend or relative gets married, because it makes us feel inadequate. It’s a reminder that we’re alone, that we haven’t found love and that we’re getting left behind. Piper and Leo’s wedding was the trigger for Prue feeling this way and for astral Prue’s appearance. It made perfect sense and was done in a way whereby Piper and Leo still got lots of focus. 

Piper and Leo are written as a big epic love, but they’re also understated and that’s what I love about this episode. They prove how much they love each other and that they’re still willing to fight and overcome any obstacles thrown their way in order to be together. The fact that the wedding didn’t go to plan but that they came back together and get married worked so much for them, and made it feel that much more meaningful. Piper and Leo had already fought just to get to the point of being able to get married in the first place, it would’ve been too easy if their wedding day had been plain sailing. And the way the wedding ceremony actually happened at the end, with the orbs and the improv wedding vows (which were so beautiful) felt so right. It was an intimate and romantic ceremony that had all of the important people there (minus Paige) and I’ll always love it. 

Overall, this episode has so many important themes and captures the variety of family dynamics and personalities of the characters in a very concise way. Each episode is only 40 minutes and it’s very challenging to incorporate the perfect balance between all of the characters (particularly in this instance, since there were additional characters like Patty, Victor and Penny), but this episode manages to do it perfectly. 

Sin Francisco (3x18)

This is an episode that’s grown on me over the years because it’s just so entertaining. It incorporates humour with serious themes regarding humanity. The idea of the sisters and Leo being infected with sin is so great, because it shows that regardless of how good they may be they’re still flawed and have predispositions to sin. It is interesting and entertaining to see the sisters and Leo grapple with the sins they’re infected with and Leo being infected with Sloth is particularly hilarious.

In comparison to the other episodes, I don’t have much more to say, I just really like this episode because I think it’s very entertaining and funny. Although, I am still slightly confused about why Piper was infected with Gluttony and Leo with Sloth, since neither of them usually have a predisposition to either of those sins. I understand why Phoebe was infected with lust because her character is very invested in love and romance and we see her date a lot across the seasons, it also makes sense that Prue is infected with Pride since she’s very prideful, but Piper and Leo’s sins didn’t align with their characters quite so well. But I really chalk that down to the fact that the other remaining sins - greed, wrath and envy - fitted with their characters even less. 

Look Who’s Barking (3x21)

Part of me always disliked the fact that for one of the last episodes we ever had with Prue she was a flippin’ dog for the majority of it. However, I can’t help but appreciate this episode in regards to how it handles Phoebe’s pain over Cole, using her transformation into a Banshee as a metaphor and reflection of that. It reminds me a lot of episodes like Hell Hath No Fury and A Witch’s Tail where demonic transformations are also used to express the sisters’ pain. 

I appreciate the portrayal of Phoebe’s heartbreak in this episode because it’s very authentically done. At the beginning of the episode we see Phoebe writing about Cole in the BOS as a warning to future witches. This reflects the current obsession she has with him - her love for him paired with his betrayal has essentially turned that love into a fixation because she can’t move past it or let go of what happened. She justifies that by claiming that she’s merely being logical and helpful to future witches who may come up against Cole, but in reality it’s all part of her way of trying to handle what’s happened. Later on in the episode when she has a premonition of an innocent being killed she immediately jumps to the conclusion that Cole is the one responsible and wants to vanquish him without even stopping to think it through. Even Prue, who is far from being Cole’s biggest fan, tells Phoebe that she might be wrong. But Phoebe is blindsided and at this point is trying to zone in on hating Cole as a way to suppress her love for him and the pain he’s caused her. The first time Phoebe comes face to face with the Banshee Piper comments on the fact that the Banshee zeroed in on Phoebe despite the fact that Piper was the one with the explosive power and says that it’s because she must be in pain. Immediately afterwards, Phoebe is looking in the BOS at the Cole page she’s written and that’s when the Banshee arrives and we all know what happens next. The scene where Phoebe and Cole fight in the mausoleum is one of the most raw scenes between the couple and perfectly encapsulates the heart of their relationship - how they’re fundamentally enemies that cannot and should not be together, but they’re completely in love and that love overcomes the obstacles between them. It’s also a reminder that Phoebe’s not the only one in pain, so is Cole. Just as Phoebe sets herself on a mission to hate Cole and destroy him, Cole attempts to do everything he can to suppress his human half along with his feelings for Phoebe. 

This episode is also very valuable in showing Piper’s ability to take charge in the absence of Prue and Phoebe, which I like to think is deliberate from the writers in the lead up to Prue’s death. Prue turns into a dog, Phoebe turns into a Banshee and Piper is left alone to figure it out. It’s rare that Piper is left alone to make decisions and save her sisters up until this point and foreshadows the fact that she’s about to become the oldest sister and have that responsibility a lot more often.

And that’s a wrap for my favourite season 3 episodes. I’m sure some will be surprised that All Hell Breaks Loose isn’t included on this list, but honestly, I hate watching that episode. It’s so traumatic to watch for me and ever since I was a kid I’ve struggled to watch it. I appreciate the acting in the episode, which is phenomenal, and I also appreciate the shock value, but putting emotions aside, I don’t think it’s that great of an episode. It has a lot of inconsistencies and the sisters are OOC for a majority of the episode. I believe that the episode is highly regarded by a lot of fans because it’s become memorialised as Prue’s last episode and because it has some of the most dramatic scenes of the series. But if it had followed the usual format of previous episodes where the sisters have died like Be Careful What You Witch For and Prue had survived, I don’t think it would be remembered in the same way. In fact, I think, putting the dramatic scenes of Piper’s death aside, the episode would be forgotten by most and lost amongst the other episodes that actually are good. 

Thank you for reading, I’d love to hear your thoughts on your favourite episodes of season 3. The next post will be my favourite season 4 episodes, and since season 4 is at the top of my ranking as my favourite season, expect a lot of episodes and analysis! 

[okuraiani]

Ikemen Revolution – Oliver Knight Route Part 1

Okay, Oliver’s route came out today, so I got right into it as soon as I could. I know that some people want to play it but can’t, because they don’t understand Japanese. So I tried to jot down appropriate translations while I read the first part. My knowledge in Japanese is also very limited and fragmented at most, but even though there are bound to be a ton of mistakes, I think I caught the gist of most of the lines. Don’t mind if I took some liberties in the translation here and there, though.

So if you are interested and not afraid to spoil the story for yourself, please read this first part if you like.

PART 1 CHAPTER 1

My prince isn’t riding on a white horse. He spouts all kind of insults, and appeared in front of me walking on foot. Wearing a high-quality silk hat, he takes on the form of a 13-year-old boy.

A few days have passed since my life with the black army began. With a shovel in hand I was in the barrack’s garden with Sirius.

[Alice] “Sirius, is this enough for watering them?”

[Sirius] “Yes, that’s enough.”

Sirius narrows his eyes to the flowers that were bathed in plenty of water.

[Sirius] “They are properly watered up to the edge of the flower bed. Thanks for your help.”

(I’m glad he’s pleased with it!)

[Alice] “What should I do next?”

[Sirius] “Well, can you put 5 seeds into this opening?”

[Alice] “Are those flower seeds?”

[Sirius] “No, they are Brussels sprouts. Luka said he wants to put them into a soup.”

[Alice] “Wow, I’m looking forward to that! If it’s a soup Luka makes, it surely will be delicious.”

Every night, Luka’s home-made dishes line up on the table and make me smile when I eat them without fail.

[Sirius] “Right, Luka has told me it’s a recipe you’ll like.” “He wants to make it again, so tell him later if you like it.”

[Alice] “Of course!”

(Everyone is so kind...)

Like Sirius, who invited me to take care of the flower bed so I won’t be bored.

(It’s not only the executives, even the soldiers ask me to join them so I won’t be worried.)

That’s why I wanted to thank the Black Army for their kindness.

[Sirius] “By the way, Little Lady, are you gradually getting used to living in the army?”

[Alice] “Yes! Since I’ve come to know everyone well.” “Moreover, it’s more peaceful than I thought.”

(I wondered what would happen when the Red Army declared war on the Black Army, though.)

There has been no movement since that day and there is no sign that the Red Army will attack.

(It would be nice if I can return to London without anything happening until the next full moon.)

I wished for that while sowing the seeds and applying soil, when...

[Fenrir] “Hey, old man.”

[Alice] “Wah!”

Fenrir’s face suddenly pops up behind Sirius’ back and I involuntarily let out my voice.

[Sirius] “Who’s an old man? Target practice seems to be over.”

[Fenrir] “That’s right. So, won’t you go on a date with me now, Alice?”

[Alice] “A date!?”

[Sirius] “... Fenrir.”

[Fenrir] “It’s just a walk. Come on, I’m going to go ask regarding ‘that matter’.”

[Sirius] “Oh, that one. Don’t forget to pass the letter along the way.”

[Fenrir] “Will do.”

(I wonder what ‘that matter’ is?)

I was puzzled as Fenrir thrusts his hands into his pockets and bent his body towards me.

[Fenrir] “You’ll understand if you come along.” “You are pretty much tired of being stuck in the barracks, aren’t you?”

PART 1 CHAPTER 2

[Fenrir] “You are pretty much tired of being stuck in the barracks, aren’t you?”

(Oh, so he talked to me, so I won’t be bored.)

Living in the barracks was nice, but the truth was, I secretly wanted to go around and take a look at Cradle.

[Alice] “Is it really okay if I come along?”

[Fenrir] “I don’t mind. Let’s go to our unique genius inventor together.”

[Alice] “A genius inventor?”

[Fenrir] “You two already met, didn’t you? The tiny guy who wears a silk hat.”

(He means...)

-FLASHBACK-

[Oliver] “Don’t treat me like a little kid, stupid.”

-FLASHBACK END-

[Alice] “Are you perhaps talking about Oliver?”

— at the same time.

[Oliver] “Achoo!”

In a seasoned house located at the corner of the Central District, the sneeze of a small hatter sounded.

[Blanc] “Oh my, did you catch a cold?”

While holding a sandwich for lunch, Blanc the White Rabbit leans his head over the table.

[Oliver] “You’re wrong. Of course, it’s because someone is gossiping about me.”

[Blanc] “It’s good if it is only that. But tell me if you feel ill.” “You were up until late last night, so I’m worried.”

[Oliver] “Until late at night? That’s just your imagination.”

[Blanc] “You can’t fool my ears. However small the noise is, I won’t miss it.

Oliver shrugged as he put a thick slice of cheese between two pieces of bread.

[Oliver] “Even though you’re already an old white rabbit.”

[Blanc] “Hmm? Did I hear you say Carrot Cake for dinner would be nice?”

[Oliver] “Stop it! Don’t let even the name of that repulsive orange object leave your mouth!”

[Blanc] “Even though carrots are so tasty.”

[Oliver] “Now listen, you...”

Without caring about the dissatisfied gaze aimed at him, Blanc takes a sip of his hot tea.

[Blanc] “That aside, you seem to be busy recently.”

[Oliver] “Well, there is a deadline coming up soon.”

[Blanc] “I really wish you could hire an assistant.”

[Oliver] “I wouldn’t have any trouble if that were possible.”

PART 1 CHAPTER 3

[Blanc] “So you do have the intention to hire one.”

[Oliver] “Only the intention, though. But in reality, there is no one who would want to work as an assistant for a child like this.”

Oliver wipes his mouth with a napkin, as he jumps down from the high chair.

[Oliver] “Thanks for the food.”

The eyes behind the glasses quietly watch over the small back heading back into the garage.

[Blanc] “I think there is someone who would like to, though.”

— a few hours after leaving the Black Barracks.

(Wow, that’s so cute!)

The place I went to together with Fenrir was a lovely house that looked like it came right out of a fairy tale.

[Alice] “This is Oliver’s home?”

[Fenrir] “To be exact, this is Blanc’s house. Oliver is just a freeloader.”

[Alice] “So he doesn’t live with his parents.”

[Fenrir] “Come to think of it, I have never seen Oliver’s parents.” “And Blanc is more like someone from the Red Territory...”

Before Fenrir could ring the entrance bell, the door opened from the inside.

[Blanc] “I thought I heard voices. Welcome, Fenrir and Alice.”

[Alice] “Good afternoon, Blanc!”

[Blanc] “I knew that you were taken in by the Black Army, but you seem more energetic than ever.”

With a smile on his face, Blanc draws closer in long strides.

[Blanc] “I want the lovely you to always smile like that.” “And moreover, don’t you think a smile, as if it were magic, will boost your cuteness even further?”

[Alice] “Uhm...”

(What should I do? I have trouble coming up with an answer!)

Becoming flustered when the words are delivered one after another, Fenrir throws a glance into the inside of the house.

[Fenrir] “Say, is Oliver home?”

[Blanc] “He is. Although he is holed up in the garage right now.” “Let’s stop talking while standing and go inside.”

(Thank goodness...)

[Alice] “Well then, excuse me for disturbing.”

(Amazing, there is lots of beautiful antique furniture!)

When standing next the others inside the living room and gazing at the old but tasteful furniture, Fenrir took out something from his pockets.

[Fenrir] “Blanc, I have a letter from our staff officer for you.”

PART 1 CHAPTER 4

[Fenrir] “Blanc, I have a letter from our staff officer for you.”

Blanc accepts the letter presented to him.

[Blanc] “Oh, it’s the attendance roster for the farewell party. Thank you.” “Incidentally, there are some things I want to check on—”

(Are they perhaps talking about work?)

Noticing my gaze, Blanc pointed to the back of the house.

[Blanc] “Lady, I am sorry, but could you go to the garage over there and call Oliver over for me?” “I have some excellent carrot jelly. Let’s make tea for four people.”

(Carrot jelly? It’s the first time I hear of it, but it sounds delicious!)

[Alice] “I understand. Please leave it to me!”

As per Blanc’s request I knocked on the garage’s door, but there was no answer.

(I wonder if it’s okay to go inside?)

[Alice] “Excuse me, I’m coming in.”

When opening the door with a rattle and entering the garage...

(Huh!?)

There were packages lined up messily, seeming to cause an avalanche any time soon. As I peek inside, I could see a child’s back in the middle of the packages.

[Oliver] “London bridge is broken down, My fair lady...”

(Wait a minute, this song... It’s a song from London, right?) (So even in Cradle there are people who know about it.)

After listening to him humming in a good mood for a while, I came back to my senses with a start.

(This won’t do. I was asked to call him over.)

[Alice] “Uhm, Oliver—”

The moment I took the first step, something jumped out of the shelf next to me...

[Alice] “Eek!?”

The object crossing my field of vision caused me to lose my balance and fall on my behind.

In that instance, the piled up packages swayed slightly.

(Huh? No, no no no!)

A: “Oliver, run!” B: “Oliver, there’s something in here!” C: “Oliver, help!”

[Oliver] “You’re so noisy. What on earth—”

The next moment, the packages caused an avalanche, tumbling to the floor and flashily whirling up the dust.

(Oh shoot! Are they broken!?)

[Oliver] “... hey, little girl.”

PART 1 CHAPTER 5

[Alice] “!”

When I noticed, Oliver was looking down at me with sharp eyes. At the air of intimidation that didn’t fit a child at all, my heart starts to thump heavily.

[Oliver] “Aren’t you brave, breaking my inventions after entering my workshop without permission?”

[Alice] “Inventions?”

[Oliver] “The wreckage scattered about at your feet.”

When I look down, some parts have jumped out of several boxes.

[Alice] “I’m— I’m so sorry!”

[Oliver] “Muu Muu, that’s also your joint liability.”

(Muu Muu...?)

At the end of his demonic gaze, a cute flying squirrel is clinging to the desk. When Oliver reaches out with a slender hand, the flying squirrel escaped at once.

[Oliver] “What a quick-to-escape fellow.”

(So the things that jumped out earlier was that flying squirrel.)

[Alice] “Is he your pet, Oliver?”

[Oliver] “No. He’s just the former inhabitant that has settled in the garage.”

[Alice] “I see… He is cute.”

[Oliver] “Don’t try to distract.”

[Alice] “Mm!”

Suddenly, strong-minded eyes moved closer to my face.

(Huh? What?)

When I try to escape, Oliver puts his hand on the wall, cornering me—

[Oliver] “So, how are you going to take responsibility for breaking my inventions?”

(He is so close!)

As he stares at me with big, clear gray eyes, the tension increases.

[Alice] “I’m really sorry! I want to compensate you, but I have no money that is valid in Cradle...”

[Oliver] “Don’t worry. I have no interest in taking money from brats.” “Instead, you can pay with your body. How about it?”

(With my body... wait, what!?)

[Alice] “Do you understand what you are saying!?”

[Oliver] “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t say it, would I?” “First of all, how about you show me what you’ve got?”

I was so surprised that I could hardly find any words to say to Oliver, who raised the edge of his lips.

(This kid... What a precocious brat!)

[sooosketchy]

Perfume at Hammerstein Ballroom, New York

My experience and review (sorta) of Perfume 4th World Tour FUTURE POP at Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY, USA

Saturday March 30, 2019

Having gone to their previous shows in NY I knew I couldn’t miss out but this time I changed things up and purchased seated tickets on the balcony. The show started at 8PM and ended around 9:50PM. 

We headed down to the Hammerstein Ballroom around 5PM and the end of the line had already reached the parking lot. The line grew quickly so it was a good idea arriving at least 2-3hrs before the show. After talking to people around us most of them had floor tickets in hopes of getting as close to the stage as possible. There are a couple restaurants across the street in case you get hungry and a CVS down the road. 

I had a seated ticket on the second balcony without assigned seats so I was worried how far back I would be and really wanted to nab a first row seat. The previous concerts I went to at the Hammerstein I bought GA floor tickets and realized that I can’t see anything because of how short I am! I’m 4 feet 9 inches tall and could barely see the artist(s) faces on stage unless they were high up on a stairway/prop. I could try to get to the venue earlier and be close to the front of the stage but that never works out. So I told myself to never get floor tickets and try the balcony next time.

Right before walking into the entrance some guy passing by the line yelled out “This place has RATS!” Without hesitation a fan behind me yelled, “and PERFUME!” Those who heard him in line laughed back and cheered on. He was probably looking for a reaction, but NY is known to have rats everywhere so this wasn’t alarming news. The passerby repeated his statement and then kept it moving.

Once inside we were allowed to bring in shopping bags as long as they were checked, as well as bags, and book bags. We all had to walk through metal detectors and were asked to show digital tickets this time with the barcode. Once you walk through the detectors and grab your bag you could either get in line for merch or head to your seat. The line for merch wasn’t bad so if you do have an assigned seat or you already have a friend reserving your chair go for the merch first because after the show the lines are way too long and not as monitored or controlled. After finding a seat and having a friend hold it for me I went back down to buy merch. Finding the line was a hassle but the staff had started to devise a plan to have the line for merch wrap around a stairway going down a level. The only problem was that the stairs were located in the main floor level. Someone could easily leave the line and pass into GA but the staff was ready and had several people heavily monitoring the line. You had to show your ticket again going back into GA or the balcony, so they were ready to turn people back around if they did not have tickets on them so don’t forget your phone!

Merchandise for the Future Pop tour was lacking. Nothing caught my eye and was disappointed with the t-shirt designs. Out of all the t-shirts only the white one had tour dates for the 4th World Tour, but the font size was microscopic on the back of the shirt. The front image on the white shirt was nice with all three members in a stylish pose printed in black and white ink. I would have liked the other shirts to have dates, but I went for the simple FP logo shirt with the 7th tour dates on the back. I liked the shade of blue for the katakana t-shirt. There was also a $50 t-shirt with the word Perfume on the front and an invitation to the fan club but I passed because of the dark blue t-shirt color. Tote was not as sturdy looking as the comic explorer tote, but fit the $15 price tag. The towel had an interesting design covering most of the surface and the words Future Pop on the center-right corner. What I was looking forward to the most was the pin blind bags! They were only $5 and you had a chance of getting 1 of 67 pin types. Here’s a link with all the items you can get during the tour. https://www.perfume-web.jp/eng/news/individual.php?id=172 

The stairway to go up to the balcony was to the left, but before walking up you had to show your e-ticket to the staff member. After walking what seemed like an endless stairway, I finally made it to the second balcony and I was early enough to get front row seats. Not in the middle of the balcony, more to the left side but the view was great. The seats are cramped together, but I’ve experienced worse so it wasn’t as stuffy for me. I was also front row so I had room to stretch my feet and room in front of my chair and underneath to place my bags. The seats on the first row are elevated significantly from the floor so be careful getting off and on, hold on to the chair so you don’t fall down. I saw people lose their balance stumbling off their chairs a couple times so be aware of the dip. 

As time passed the seats were filling up faster. One thing to look out for is beams when picking a seat. There are seats positioned right in front of beams and block your view completely. So get there early and avoid those seats. There was a couple looking for seats right before the show began and found two empty seats behind us on the second row, but one seat was facing a beam. They took it anyways since it was close up and it looked like all the seats were taken up in the back. 

Having a seat was great and the view was amazing but standing up was going to be an issue. I didn’t want to block anyone’s view behind me so I stayed seated. Of course I struggled to not jump up during Fake It but I stayed down and waved my hands back and forth instead, awkwardly. Suppressing my excitement around others who weren’t as hyped was a huge downer when sitting on the balcony. There’s space in front of the seats, a wide walkway, between the ledge and first row, but staff was sending back anyone who stood behind the railing, even children. This was going on during the beginning first two songs but people got the message and no one else on my side tried to stand behind the railing. HOWEVER, there was a women who sat right behind the railing in front of us for the entire show, she was just the right size and was able to peer over the bar. Because she was sitting I guess none of the staff bothered her or didn’t see her at all. She didn’t stand up not once and was pretty chill scrolling through her phone while PERFUME was preforming live in front of her. o__o

The 1st balcony seemed to have assigned seating but I have no idea how people even got seats down there. When I purchased tickets, only GA floor and BALC2 was available. I was probably too late when purchasing tickets. Side balcony was where it was at! Each one had about 12 seats but most of the people in it were standing up. I’ll probably aim for side balcony seats next time.

 Setlist 

Start-Up: Used the entire stage space to project what seemed to be a screen in thin air, counting down their previous performances leading up to their 4th World Tour and setting the mood for what was to come next, Future Pop!

Future Pop: the crowd was full of energy seeing Perfume back in NY and you could feel it during this song.

Electro World: First throwback song and a perfect follow up to Future Pop. Everybody’s hands were in the air clapping along for this one. A-chan was clapping along as well. Seeing this live was such a treat!

If You Wanna

Chourairin

FUSION: The choreo and silhouette effects were mesmerizing. Hearing this song gets me so amped up but the crowd wasn’t crazy for it. Loved it!

Tiny Baby

Butterfly: Not gonna lie, I lost it for bit hearing this song at first. Didn’t expect this song at all and loved every minute of it. I also appreciated the subs for the lyrics typed out on the back screen. Now everyone can sing along!

Secret Secret: There was no need for subs since the crowd had no problem signing back. Its was nice hearing the crowd sing in unison.  This was another song I needed to control myself and not jump out of my seat. Didn’t focus much on what was going on behind on the screen but the audio was off a bit.  

Not sure what to title the following track. It was a medley of a couple songs with a trap like beat and the trio rapping the lyrics to what sounded like Tokyo Girl. I didn’t move at all but just watched the chaos of glitched distorted visuals flicker on the screens trying to make sense of what was about to happen next. I liked it. More please. 

TOKYO GIRL

Pick Me Up

FAKE IT: Died and was revived back to life. No jumping for me this time around. The pit looked out of control!

FLASH

Polyrhythm: Ahh, Polyrhythm. This is Perfumes anthem. Somehow this song just brings us and Perfume closer together during the performance and feels like we’re all up there on stage with them. But then we’re slowly brought back to reality. Always brings tears to my face seeing this song performed. 

Encore - Magic of Love and Mugenmirai: didn’t take long for them to come back on stage. Not a fan of Mugenmirai in the encore but Magic of love left a lasting impression. 

 PTA Corner / MC / talk: Introductions! A-chan left for a few minutes and passed it over to Nocchi and then Kashiyuka. Nocchi calling out Kashiyuka while she was brushing her hair was funny. A-chan came back with what looked to be a cold ice pack wrapped around her neck, I hope she didn’t pull something.  Pamela representing Dominican Republic did a great job translating (so lucky). Story time! Perfume points out that pizza slices in the USA are bigger than they expected and surprised that just one slice of pizza is larger than thier face! Then asking the crowd how many slices fans usually eat, 1 slice or 2 slices? I spotted someone holding up 4, 5 fingers. Perfume saw it too and couldn’t help but smile. They also shared their visit to the new Hudson Yards, questioning why there was a train leading somewhere to Hudson Yards? And while they were taking a photo at the weird stair case building, looking upwards, rain droplets were coming down and A-chan exposed the smiles in that photo were fake. The crowd was then split in groups. Right side CRISPY! Left side Pizza~! A-chan also taught us a catchy tune about brushing your teeth with dance moves using your hands to brush the lower teeth, upper teeth, back and front teeth. Less crowd interaction during the talking segments than the last shows I’ve been to.  Lots of thank yous at the end. Now we wait for Perfumes comeback!

Rant

Recording was strictly prohibited and was not encouraged at all during the show. I get it, they use WiFi to control certain lights and devices on stage, but I should be allowed to use my phones camera to record while on airplane mode. That way I’m not interfering with the stages WiFi connection. This tour is all about the future and technology and the possibilities we have with them and being told not to use it doesn’t make sense. 

Merchandise was not appealing to me and could use a few more variations of color and the addition of dates of the 4th World Tour in larger font. I’m grateful for what we got but I know they can do better. Maybe bringing back a gallery exhibition like the one during Cosmic Explorer tour can allow fans to purchase merch earlier and have more options in t-shirts, dvds, cds, and other items. 

This one is more personal, on our way to the train station we stopped at a pizza restaurant to grab a quick bite before our train arrived. You could see who else just came from the concert. Some held their merchandise for all to see, Perfume cosplayers, or wore a Perfume concert t-shirt. Unfortunately we bumped into the wrong group of people who also came from the concert that said some pretty unnecessary and hurtful comments about someone in our group.  All we did was ask if they were in line, got weird glances in response and the comments started. I don’t want to go into detail about what they said, just that it was wrong and that night proved Perfume fans are a group of some of the most diverse, creative and dedicated individuals. No one has the right to say who can like what and I hope they realize that soon cause Perfume is going to continue to inspire and attract all kinds of people from different walks of life, so deal with it. 

So how was your FUTURE POP Tour experience? Did you get a blind bag, and which one did you get? Did anything strange or different happen at the show you attended?

[aethelar]

Yo- what about Newt being the protective one of Theseus? I mean, everyone is drooling over the war hero and eye catcher Theseus but no one knows of stormy winter nights when he is doubling in pain over the table because cold weather stirs his old wounds, or early mornings when he is sweating bullets and screaming during nightmares, or New Year celebrations he tries to avoid because fireworks remind him of explosions too much... Except for Newt. Newt is always there, an unmovable rock, a

root in the ground, steadying Theseus amidst the storm. Newt is a ray of sunshine and smell of flowers in the dark room, he is the herbal tea and chocolate warming the body and banishing the cold, he is the soft voice guiding Theseus out of his feverish dreams. No one pays much attention to Theseus’s younger awkward brother but they don’t know that he is the one keeping Theseus alive. And when Grindelwald attacks a Ministry of Magic reception and Theseus is caught in the middle, it is Newt who stands tall and shields him from the spells, and it is Newts patronus that guides Theseus out. IDK i have lots of Theseus-Newt feels but it goes both ways- Theseus is very protective of his sunshine noodle of a brother, and Newt is very protective of PTSD-suffering Theseus.

Can I just say this is perfect and I love it. I have very little experience of PTSD so I wouldn’t know how to write Theseus to do it justice, but please consider:

Theseus’ first girlfriend was called Kate and Newt, in theory, has nothing against her. She’s a year younger than him, generally happy, smiles a lot, and Theseus is so delighted to have any relationship at all that he trips over himself to give her anything she could possibly ask for.

Newt is wary of that last part because Theseus gives pieces of himself away with never a thought for what it costs him. He gives and gives and never expects anything back and one day he’s going to run out if Newt isn’t there to watch out for him, but for now, for his first crush and his first love, Newt will allow it.

He allows it up until Theseus graduates and Kate is left at Hogwarts for one last year; he allows it until he can see Theseus stretched thin between his training and his work and Kate still expects to be front and centre in his life and have on permanent call if she needs him; he allows it until Theseus begs off drinks at the pub and stops going to quidditch matches because she doesn’t like it when I’m out without her; he allows it until Kate accuses Theseus of seeing someone else behind her back because she feels he’s never there for her when she needs him anymore despite Theseus running himself to the bone to try and keep her happy.

“Perhaps if you didn’t have four breakdowns a week about how Lizzie’s prettier than you,” Newt remarks idly, shamelessly eavesdropping on their private conversation. “I mean, it’s not like he’s got his own things to worry about that actually matter or anything.”

“Newt,” Theseus growls, “Piss the fuck off.”

Newt shrugs, still infuriatingly casual in the way that only younger brothers can be, and saunters out. “Just saying,” he says as he goes.

“Well don’t.”

She and Theseus break up three weeks later. Theseus is, outwardly, devastated - but Newt’s better at reading him than that and he can see the way Theseus settles, focuses on his studies and relaxes without the stress of a relationship gone sour.

“No need to thank me,” he says, swanning past and stealing the last bite of Theseus’ sandwich.

“Pain in the ass!” Theseus calls after him, and that’s the first one.

The second one is called Paul. He seems nice - he’s a warder, and Newt doesn’t hesitate to pick his brains for all the runic knowledge he can find. He claims to be doing it to test Paul’s patience, and Paul actually seems to hold up pretty well. He also makes a decent cup of tea which is one up on Kate, and when Theseus comes home late Paul’s already got started on dinner, so that’s excellent too.

Then Paul has the audacity, the absolute fucking audacity to get sent on assignment to Wales and fall in love with the son of a client and that’s it, his heart is getting carved out with a rusty spoon, Newt is on the war path and he knows no bounds because how dare

“Newt,” Theseus says tiredly, interrupting Newt’s progressively more high pitched rant. “It’s sweet of you, but I’m fine.”

“Shut up,” is Newt’s eloquent retort. He piles another slice of chocolate cake on Theseus’ plate and replaces his cold cup of tea with a fresh one, because broken hearts require chocolate and tea and vengeance. “If I ever see him again I’ll trample him with a hippogriff for you.”

“It’s probably a good thing then that he’s moved to Wales,” Theseus says drily. He wilts under Newt’s aggressively caring attention and dutifully eats his cake.

“Hippogriffs fly,” is Newt’s only answer. “I’m sure Mum won’t mind.”

“Newt, no.”

Newt grumbles and contents himself instead with setting the timer on the oven for the next batch of cake.

Number three is a nameless douche of a one night stand that drops Theseus the next morning, then swings round again two months later because his wife is out of town again so does Theseus want to pick up where they left off?

Theseus spirals himself into a small ball of agony about accidental adultery and Newt force feeds him hazlenut dacqouise and loudly discusses the several ways - several ways Theseus, take your pick, Newt is more than happy to do multiple if you feel like it - that he could commit murder and get away with.

“You can’t just kill my exes,” Theseus protests, but it lacks his usual conviction.

“I’m not killing your ex,” Newt says hotly. “I’m cleansing the earth of scum, that’s what I’m doing. Will you at least tell me where he lives so I can release a swarm of doxies in his bathroom?”

Theseus laughs wetly and doesn’t tell Newt, because he’s not entirely sure if his brother will go through with it or not.

Number four is called Ameena, and for a while there, for a good couple of years Theseus thinks she could be the one. She’s studying to be a lawyer and she’s quick and funny and makes Theseus laugh; she also stays up with him until three in the morning debating world problems and how they’re going to solve them when Theseus runs the auror department and she runs the legal side. She’s never less than sweetness and light to Newt and, though she and Theseus have the odd argument, she never hesitates to say sorry after and buys him a dozen red roses each time to make up.

She’s almost suspiciously perfect, in fact. Newt goes to her graduation and sits in the back with Theseus and squints at her, trying to find her flaws. It’s not until she’s moved from college to job that he spots it - and even then it’s a frustrating one, because Ameena’s flaw is that she works too hard.

“Being a lawyer is a demanding job,” Theseus points out, setting both bowls of pasta on the table.

“Yes,” Newt says, awkwardly balancing two glasses, a fistful of cutlery and a bag of grated cheese in his arms, “But so is being a girlfriend and I just think you matter too.”

Theseus rolls his eyes and rescues the cheese. “Do you want me to start whining at her that she comes home too late and doesn’t spend enough time with me? I love her, and part of that is supporting what she wants to do as much as she supports me.”

Newt carefully doesn’t point out that from where he’s standing Theseus is doing a lot more of the supporting. It’s not like being an auror is an easy job or anything.

“Besides,” Theseus adds. “If Ameena didn’t work late we wouldn’t have brother-nights so often and then what would you do with your time?”

“I have a social life!” Newt sputters. “I totally have things to do!”

Theseus raises an eyebrow and Newt makes dramatic, over the top hand gestures to illustrate how very busy and in demand he is at all points in time (lies, all of it lies) and Newt resolves to try to be nicer to Ameena, because if Theseus loves her this much then she can’t be all bad. Newt is probably just being overprotective.

When Theseus firecalls him at two in the morning it takes Newt a second try before his bleary sleep fogged mind can process.

“She left,” Theseus repeats. “She said - she said it was for the best, she said she didn’t have time for a relationship and it wasn’t fair to me, she, she said -” his voice breaks and he stops, and Newt physically pushes his head back into the fire so he can crawl through and provide emergency hug.

“Rusty spoons,” he promises darkly, patting Theseus on the back and staring murderously into space.

“Newt, no,” Theseus protests. “What if I tried harder, what if - we were talking about kids, what if I promised I didn’t want kids, maybe that’s what it was.”

Newt snorts and hugs tighter. “You so totally want kids,” he says. And Theseus should so totally have kids, because Theseus is the perfect kind of person who’s made to play tiny games of cricket and run a barbecue in socks and sandals and embarrass his family with really bad jokes. Theseus has been handling his wild younger brother all his life, he’s had two and half decades of practice at this whole parenting thing and Newt won’t let him give up his dream for someone else. He won’t.

“But -” Theseus starts and Newt holds a hand over his mouth to stop him.

“It’s the shock talking,” he declares. Theseus makes wide, heart-broken eyes at him and Newt relents. “If you still want to win her back in a week then maybe we can win her back for you but for now, you are going to sit here and I am going to make brownies and then we’re going to watch a film and eat ice cream. Understand?”

Theseus nods miserably.

“You can’t always tell me what to do, you know,” he says when Newt removes his hand.

Newt rolls his eyes at that and goes to pull out the baking pans. “I’m your younger brother,” he says. “It’s what I’m for.”